First World Problems

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Illustration by Emily Fiengenschuh

In the forthcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, Fey Revisited, we examine ten classic fey creatures in the context of how they function and fit into the world of Golarion. Each article presents details on the ecology of the creature (life-cycle, habitat, and so forth), its aspect of nature, and a sample creature of the type as well as a description of the sample's home. We also provide some background about each fey creature's real-world mythological origins and the fairies' tokens.

A fey token is an item, generally crafted by the fey giving it, that can be provided to another creature as a sign of the fey's blessing or approval for a short period of time. Each fey creature in the book has different conditions upon which it grants its token, and each has a limited magical effect that generally lasts about a day before its magic fades. As an example, here's the token granted by the evil water fey known as nuckelavees.

Illustration by Helge C. Balzer

Token of the Nuckelavee
Nuckelavees are rarely pleased by anything other than bloody vengeance, but occasionally they take a liking to a mortal—usually one with some connection to nature—who has a reputation for being a friend of the waters, perhaps by virtue of clearing a river of debris or driving a coven of polluting hags from a shore. In such instances, the nuckelavee bestows its token upon the do-gooder. The recipient awakens one day to find a bracelet made of cold, gray skin that smells of brine and constantly drips water. (Some say the nuckelavees craft these bracelets from strips of their own skin, which is why they have none left to wear.) Upon donning the bracelet, for the next 24 hours the recipient gains the ability to make contaminated water clean enough to drink (as per the spell purify food and drink, but only for water). However, the fey token has a cost. For the same duration, the water inside the recipient's body becomes tainted, lowering his or her Constitution by 2. When the token's power expires, there is a chance that the devil of the sea comes after the recipient to reclaim the bracelet.

Ok, so maybe that's not the fey token most PCs would want, especially given that last bit about the nuckelavee maybe coming for them. The rest of the tokens presented in the book totally don't have hitches and gotchas like that, though. I swear. Really. Why wouldn't you trust a fey creature not to try to trick you?

Fey Revisited is available for preorder now and will start shipping to subscribers this month!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Righteous Indignation

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I know that many of you are anticipating Chronicle of the Righteous, which introduces the forces of good and covers over 50 empyreal lords, mystery cults, and celestial beasts. While you'll have to wait until late May for the full book, Wes has agreed to share a preview of what's to come with Chronicle of the Righteous's cover boy, Ragathiel, General of Vengeance. Enjoy!

Ragathiel, General of Vengeance

LG angel empyreal lord of chivalry, duty, and vengeance

Cult

Holy Symbol Bastard sword crossed with a crimson wing
Temples Battlefields, castles, fortresses, headquarters of knightly orders, war rooms
Worshipers The avowed, knights, soldiers, the wronged
Minions Aasimar paladins, blink dogs, kirin
Obedience Slay a proven wrongdoer in Ragathiel's name. It is not enough for the sacrifice to have an evil heart or evil intentions; the sacrifice must have committed evil or unlawful deeds. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against spells and effects cast by evil creatures.

Boons

Virtuous Combat (Sp) bless weapon 3/day, litany of righteousness^UC 2/day, or magic vestment 1/day
Retribution (Su) You gain a sacred bonus equal to half your HD on damage rolls made with slashing weapons against the last creature to have physically wounded you within the last 24 hours.
Pure Soul (Sp) You can cast holy aura on yourself once per day. In addition to the effects of the spell, you gain DR 10/ good and cold iron and you treat any weapon in hand as a +5 holy weapon for the duration of the effect.

Illustration by Eva Widermann

Ragathiel, child of the archdevil Dispater and a goddess of fire, stands on the front line of the war between Heaven and Hell. He carves through legions of fiends and drives back lesser evils with the mere presence of his awful majesty.

Ragathiel is a tower of glorious might. He stands almost 20 feet tall, and five lofty burning wings stretch from his back. The General of Vengeance once had six wings, but one was severed, torn from his body by Dispater himself.

Ragathiel's tainted heritage has left him with a wrathful heart, and the angel struggles constantly to master his baser impulses in service to the light. For thousands of years he strove to prove himself to the angelic choirs of Heaven. In the Maelstrom he wrestled for 16 years with a monstrous evil serpent whose scales wept acidic blood until he was able to choke the life out of it. He led an entire army against one of the iron fortresses of Avernus and burned the castle to the ground with holy fire, single-handedly maiming Infernal Duke Deumus in the process. Finally the other empyreal lords agreed to admit Ragathiel into their ranks, and now they appear to trust the angel completely—though that trust took centuries to develop.

Ragathiel takes an active role in the battle against Hell's fiendish legions. He shines at the head of his army, a figure of golden light cleaving through the ranks of devils that face him. Soldiers of all kinds, but particularly knights, pay homage to Ragathiel and pray for his virtue and wrathful strength in battle. Those who have taken vows, especially those of duty or vengeance, hold Ragathiel as their ideal, and his agents sometimes assist those who have been grievously wronged and now seek righteous vengeance.

The lower slopes of Heaven are home to Ragathiel's Fortress, a magnificent steel structure designed to withstand a thousand-year siege if need be.

Cassidy
Editorial Intern

Pathfinder Preview!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

It's Savannah again. The prodigal intern from last summer returns... for Spring Break anyhow. It's been an accidental intern reunion here at Paizo, as my predecessor Jerome is helping out in the warehouse this week. Personally, I think I've got the better end of the deal, since I get to tell you all about some of our upcoming products and how exciting they're looking. So, from the depths of the Editorial Pit and my appropriated computer comes an intern's-eye view (when that view isn't "hiding on pallets from the cave raptors.")

Do you want the power to challenge the gods themselves? Then Mythic Adventures is the book for you! This is the perfect resource to help you take our game up a notch, and give your characters the power to challenge the gods themselves. Mythic Adventures allows you to take up new mythic magic items, artifacts, and legendary items, utilize news feats and spells, and walk one of six mythic paths. However, with mythic heroes also come mythic foes, and this book has over 40 of them, including mythic versions of the minotaur and the medusa!

Next up is the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited. This book showcases some of Pathfinder's most vicious and well-known demons and provides in-depth information, such as what sins they arise from. The balor, the succubus, and the vrock are among the demons mentioned here, but Demons Revisited doesn't stop there! There are a list of named demons, some of them from previous Pathfinder products, and some of them brand new, but each of them unique in their own horrendously cruel ways. This can help to add some spice to the conjurations of your villains (or your PCs) and nothing says "personal" quite like a named summons. As an added bonus, this book ties in with the upcoming Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path!

Speaking of Wrath of the Righteous, The Worldwound Incursion is also up for August. One of the most exciting aspects of this Adventure Path is that it is the first to utilize the rules of Mythic Adventures, making it a truly epic adventure! On top of that, there will be six demon lords featured in Wrath of the Righteous, and the first of them will be in The Worldwound Incursion's bestiary.

Continuing our demonic theme is Pathfinder Player Companion: Demon Hunter's Handbook. This book explains exactly how to eradicate or control demonkind through might or magic. To help, there are all sorts of archetypes, feats, spells, and magic items to give you just what you need to take care of the vilest of demons and purge them from the land (or take their power for yourself...). Don't travel to the Abyss without one!

For the fans of steampunk out there comes Wardens of the Reborn Forge by Paizo's own Patrick Renie. This module takes place in the Grand Duchy of Alkenstar, which has withstood the ravages of the Mana Wastes thanks to the amazing inventions of its citizenry. When the clockwork guardians start attacking the townspeople, though, the power balance of the city is thrown into disarray. Can our heroes discover the cause behind these attacks and save Alkenstar from itself?

In case you were wondering about what you were going play some of these awesome adventures on, you can look no further than the Pathfinder Map Pack: Evil Ruins for all of your creepy, dungeon-crawling needs! From spider haunts to profane altars to overflowing ossuaries, this map pack brings all the horror and dark ambiance of unhallowed ruins to your game.

If frightening ruins aren't what your game calls for, then the Flip-Mat: Basic Terrain Multi-Pack might be just what you need. Its full-color textures include grassland, stone floor, street, and water. It also folds up to be travel sized, making it great for the GM on the go.

If you haven't had enough of demons yet, then I'd suggest that you check out the new Pathfinder Tales novel from fan-favorite (and intern-favorite) author Dave Gross: King of Chaos. This is another adventure featuring Count Varian Jeggare and his wisecracking hellspawn bodyguard, Radovan. This time they find themselves mixed up in the battle at the Worldwound as the demons break free of the wardstones. In addition to being an excellent book with interesting characters, King of Chaos is also a great resource for those who are running or playing Wrath of the Righteous.

To round out our Worldwound-themed August comes a new set of Pathfinder Item Cards. These cards represent the trove of treasure that characters can amass, as well as the medals that heroes can earn in their service against the demon hordes and the legendary artifacts that they will need to defeat the Abyssal armies.

From Paizo's collaboration with Lone Shark Games comes an entirely new breed of game: The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set. This is a cooperative card game for one to four players. Choose a class and select your cards to create a unique character to play through your first adventure, the Burnt Offerings Adventure Deck. If you want even more card game goodness, then check out the Rise of the Runelords Character Add-On Deck, which adds on 110 cards worth of new classes (including druid, monk, paladin, and my favorite, barbarian), new items, and enough cards to expand to five or six players.

All right, well that's a wrap. Let's hope that writing this was a good enough offering that I don't get thrown to the cave raptors. Hope you enjoy all the new products!

Savannah Broadway
Editorial Intern

Winter Witch Revisited

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Illustration by Ryan Portillo

It's the end of the summer, and while it's not winter quite yet, we got you a frosty gift. When we recently released Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige there were some questions on the messageboards regarding the winter witch prestige class and how it worked with hexes and spells and some of the other goodies the prestige class gets. Since we're gearing up for the Reign of Winter Adventure Path, we decided we'd revisit the winter witch, make a few clarifications, and present you fine folks with the result. We wanted to get it cleared up so people can play the class in the Adventure Path, but don't think we're being completely altruistic—we really wanted to make sure that the White Witches of Irrisen provide a significant challenge to pesky adventurers making trouble and poking their nose in their nation's frozen business!

Download the New Winter Witch Spread! (1.2MB zip/PDF)

Adam Daigle
Developer

Unveiling the Shackles

Thursday, June 7, 2012

When we started working on the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path and Wes drew up his incredibly detailed map of the Shackles, we knew we’d have to fill out this huge region if we wanted to do it any justice. Thanks to Mike Shel and all the excellent work he did on Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles, we had a cornucopia of locations and adventure sites to put on the map. Factor in all the cool islands and seaside towns visited throughout the Skull & Shackles AP, and what we ended up with is a lot of locations throughout the Shackles.

Like, a lot of locations.

Each volume in the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path pinpoints the important islands visited in that adventure, and Isles of the Shackles maps out the big islands detailed in that book and their major cities, but beyond that, readers have yet to receive an exhaustive map that features all of the heretofore mentioned locations in the Shackles. This blog post remedies that.

The downloadable web supplement is a huge PDF map of the Shackles featuring tags for all of the locations heretofore mentioned in Pathfinder products. The map is highly spoiler-intensive since it gives the precise location for over 150 islands, towns, and sites of interest throughout the Shackles. Thus, it should go without saying that this map is meant only for those who aren’t players in a Skull & Shackles campaign or a campaign set in the Shackles. Otherwise, this map will prove an indisputable boon for GMs and readers interested in the Shackles who have no qualms with discovering each and every location in the region in excruciating detail. You can find more information on all of these exotic and often treacherous sites in Isles of the Shackles and throughout the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path.

Download the Isles of the Shackles map supplement here!

Happy trails and safe sailing!

Patrick Renie
Developer

Round 2 Challenge Preview

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Greetings, potential superstars! There’s been some discussion about the Round 2: Organizations challenge, as smart competitors want to start working on a Round 2 submission early just in case they make it into the Top 32. While we haven’t finalized the rules document for Round 2 yet, we have decided the Organization format will match that in the Inner Sea World Guide, which looks like this:

Organization Name

Alignment: [two-letter abbreviation]
Headquarters: [location]
Leader: [character name]
Structure: [multinational corporation, military hierarchy, orders of crusading lawbringers, loose affiliation of like-minded explorers, religious cult, assassin’s guild, and so on]
Scope: [regional, national, or global (specify region or nation, if any)]
Resources: [property, valuable assets, castles, fortresses, equipment, network of local agents, informants, safe houses, and so on]
[100-word introductory paragraph summarizing the organization.]
Structure and Leadership
[100 words on this topic.]
Goals
[100 words on this topic.]
Public Perception
[50 words on this topic.]

Note that the organizations in the Inner Sea World Guide are approximately 1,400 words, so your submission write-up is a lean, stripped-down version of that. If you don’t have a copy of the Inner Sea World Guide handy, here’s the entry for the Aspis Consortium - (3.9 MB zip/PDF) from that book that you can use as a model for your write-up.

Your organization should be something PCs would normally oppose or come into conflict with, not an organization a typical heroic PC would join. The organization doesn’t necessarily have to be villainous, but it should definitely be a potential antagonist.

Full details (including a BBcode-formatted template for this challenge and an example organization from the Inner Sea World Guide) will be available next week. In the meantime, use the above information to guide your design for Round 2.

Remember, the deadline to submit your wondrous item is January 6th! You can’t submit an organization in Round 2 unless you make it into the Top 32 by submitting a wondrous item!

Sean K Reynolds
Designer and RPG Superstar Judge

Illustrations by Eva Widermann and Wayne Reynolds. Widescreen version here.

Dragon Empires Gazetteer Wallpaper!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Check out this great wallpaper for the Dragon Empires Gazetteer, courtesy of two of the nicest and most talented artists in the business—Wayne Reynolds and Eva Widermann!

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

Night of the Pale

Monday, December 19, 2011

Night of the Pale is mentioned on page 249 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide. We are advised it is a night of morbid revelry, as people wait indoors for the ghosts of last year’s dead to pass by their homes.

Creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description below of the Night of the Pale and beneath that you’ll find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Illustration by John Gravato

Not all of Golarion’s holidays and festivals are times of rejoicing and delight. Holidays worshiped by dark and sinister cults and religions tend to be hidden affairs, their rituals and ceremonies involving cruelties and vile practices that send shivers of fear through gentler society. Scholars suspect that the Night of the Pale—a holiday that traditionally takes place on the last day of the year, the 31st of Kuthona—has links to several sinister religions, but today no one church has specific association with the event. Nonetheless, the Night of the Pale is an event that many look forward to all year, whether in fear or excitement.

On the Night of the Pale, it is said that the ghosts of those who died during the previous year manifest upon the world and come to visit the homes they lived in during life. Although some might think that the chance of seeing even the shade of a dearly departed one might be a blessing, the Night of the Pale is not a time for tearful reunions, for these ghosts, tradition says, do not return out of love for those they left behind but out of darker compulsions. Lingering jealousy, unfinished arguments, or the simmering need for revenge are said to be what compels the dead to return to torment the living on the Night of the Pale.

The evening of this night in many communities is celebrated by a morbid feast, the food prepared with themes revolving around graveyards, the dead, and other spooky traditions. This feast, on one level, helps the celebrants to make light of their fears while sharing good company with similarly nervous neighbors, but at another level is believed to placate vengeful spirits as toasts are raised to the memories of the recently departed. These feasts include retellings of favorite memories of the departed, in hopes of reminding the approaching ghosts of brighter and kinder memories than those that compel them to return. The feast always ends at least an hour before midnight in order to give participants time to return home, decorate doors and windows with salt and other trinkets taken from the feasting table (salted bread baked into crook-like shapes are a favorite, as these can be hung from doorknobs and eaves) to ward off evil spirits, and hide in their bedrooms until dawn. Brave youths and adventurers often deliberately stay out after midnight, either to dare the ghosts to challenge them or simply for the thrill of bucking tradition. Every Night of the Pale, it seems, there are disappearances among those who stay out after midnight, although whether these vanishings are the result of dissatisfied locals taking the opportunity to run away from home, murderers or wild animals or other mundane dangers, or the vengeful spirits carrying off their victims depends upon the circumstances.

The morning after a Night of the Pale is also the first day of the new year—a time that many celebrate more as a relief for surviving the night before than in anticipation of what the new year might bring, although regional preferences for how this day is celebrated vary enough that no single tradition holds over the other. Save, of course, the lingering fears of what dread spirits might come knocking upon warded doors one year away...

As always, I am interested in reading your thoughts on future holiday write-ups and boons. This is especially true in regard to the various equinoxes and solstices.

Download the Night of the Pale Boon! - (111 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 1/9/12.

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Seven Veils Celebration

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Jestercap blog and boon seemed well received last month so I decided to try out another holiday this month.

Seven Veils is mentioned on page 249 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide. We are advised it is a celebration of brotherhood between all civilized races, marked by interracial masquerade balls. I thought this seemed like a neat holiday and decided it should be expanded upon.

Once again, creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description the holiday, and you will find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Illustration by Eric Belisle

Diversity is a fact of life in the Inner Sea region—not only do numerous human ethnicities mix and live among each other throughout the area, but races entirely separate from humanity dwell there as well. It’s not uncommon to see elves brushing shoulders with humans in marketplaces, gnomes working as merchants in dwarven settlements, or tengus serving aboard ships mostly helmed by humans. Indeed, two of the more widespread races in the Inner Sea region—the half-orc and the half-elf—are the specific results of diverse unions.

The holiday known as Seven Veils, which takes place on the 23rd of Neth in most realms found in the Inner Sea region, is a celebration of this diversity—a time when social boundaries break down even further in a day-long event filled with dancing, feasting, and courting. The evening traditionally closes out with the Seven Veil masquerade, a ball wherein the participants wear disguises that either hide their actual race and/or gender (often using minor magical trinkets and spells) or specifically disguise these features as entirely new characteristics. At the end of the ball, the participants remove their disguises to their partners, often with unpredictable and sometimes delightfully awkward results. Traditionalists and conservative minds often find the Seven Veils masquerades to be scandalous or off-putting, yet they remain particularly popular in most of the larger cities of the land.

Historians note that the original "Dance of the Seven Veils" has a much different genesis than one promoting diversity—the mysterious cult of Sivanah, goddess of illusions, mystery, and reflections, is generally cited as the source of this festival, and indeed, worshipers of the goddess (herself known as the Seventh Veil) count the 23rd of Neth as one of their most sacred of days. What rituals the church of Sivanah performs on this date, however, are unknown to outsiders, for the cult enjoys its secrets. This secrecy has, unsurprisingly, given rise to all manner of sinister rumor, yet when Seven Veils rolls around each year, its eager participants are quick to set aside rumor in preference for the night’s fun and games.

I am interested in reading your thoughts, not only on Jestercap and Seven Veils, but also on future holiday write-ups and boons. This is especially true in regard to the various equinoxes and solstices.

Download the Seven Veils Boon! - (111 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 12/12/11.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Pathfinder Tales author chats on tonight, November 21, hosted by Master of Ceremonies Dave Gross!

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Celebrating Jestercap

Monday, October 24, 2011

Since I have been involved with Pathfinder Society, one thing I have heard mentioned by players on numerous occasions is that they wish they could learn more about Golarion and incorporate that knowledge into their Pathfinder Society character. After thinking on different ways to make this happen, it occurred to me that Golarion has quite a few holidays mentioned in Faiths of Balance, Faiths of Corruption, Faiths of Purity, and The Inner Sea World Guide. As in the real world, where holidays are important to all of us, holidays in Golarion are important to our characters and the NPCs spread out across the world.

Every so often, I will write a blog that details a holiday in Golarion to help Pathfinder Society characters share in the spirit of the holiday. Creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description below for the first holiday in this series: Jestercap, mentioned on page 249 of The Inner Sea World Guide. At the end of the description, you will find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Jestercap occurs at the end of the month of Lamashan, traditionally on the 27th (although a few regions have taken to moving the exact day around slightly so it always falls on the last Starday of the month, allowing people who wish to celebrate in excess to have the following day of rest to recover). While Jestercap has been embraced with excited open arms by the gnome communities of the Inner Sea region, its original genesis is said to have been in one of Taldor’s coastal cities not long after King Aspex the Even-Tongued broke from the nation, significantly weakening Taldor’s power and beginning that nation’s long decline. The holiday was originally intended to distract the distraught Taldan populace with a night of revelry and comedic entertainment, but the antics of jesters simply weren’t enough. Over the course of the first few years, Jestercap evolved from a holiday of observation to a holiday of participation. Today, the holiday is a time where anyone can pull pranks or jokes or japes on companions, on neighbors, and (most typically) on rivals, with the understanding that provided no lasting harm is done, any humiliations inflicted before midnight are to be taken in stride. Of course, come morning the day after, there are inevitably jokes that went too far, and grudges and feuds borne from Jestercap antics have a way of lingering for months to follow.

Download the Jestercap Boon! - (115 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 11/14/11.

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Uncommon Courtesy

Friday, October 21, 2011

I’m pleased to report that I have now seen preproduction samples of all 41 miniatures in the Pathfinder Battles Heroes & Monsters set, and I am thrilled with how they look! At long last we have discovered the “perfect” goblin skin tone, and the big meaty Ettin finally has the proper ink wash to make him a truly menacing brute. Things are really coming together, and folks around the Paizo office are blown away by the quality of the sculpts and paint jobs of the entire line. The commons in particular are amazingly impressive, with far better paint jobs than most gamers are used to at that rarity. WizKids has done a tremendous job both in the initial execution, and in keeping up with a bewildering amount of changes and suggestions from Paizo aimed at making these minis as close to perfect as possible.

To that end, we’ve been shaking up the rarity scheme a bit, so while I was planning to reveal the entire uncommon list today, we’re going to have to wait another week since a few minis are moving around and I don’t want to reveal anything that might change later.

But I do want to share some uncommon images with you! As I explained last week, we see the uncommon rarity as the perfect landing point for player character miniatures (the “heroes” in Heroes & Monsters). While everyone needs multiple orcs and goblins, you probably don’t need a whole army of human rangers or dwarf clerics or what have you.

Today’s blog shows off three of the uncommons (that won’t be changing rarities) no one outside the office has seen yet. Two of them are player character types, while the third is a creature you’ll use again and again.

Our first miniature this week is the Dwarf Fighter, a doughty dude in plate armor and a fancy winged helmet. If you’ve got a copy of the Inner Sea World Guide you probably recognize this guy from the back cover. He means business!

Next up is our Half-Elf Cleric, in this case a crusading warrior of Iomedae. I really like the way WizKids emblazoned her holy symbol on her tabard. And since she’s using a sword and wearing plate mail armor, this miniature easily doubles as a fighter or paladin.

Last up this week is a nasty Venomous Snake, whose image comes straight out of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. A bright red coat is nature’s way of saying “I am going to murder you,” and it’ll be fun to watch your players squirm like Indiana Jones when this little guy hits the table.

That’s it for previews this week! But here we are at the end of the post, and I can’t spoil that uncommon list I was planning to, and I feel terrible! So, in order to make up for this egregious slight, here’s a list of a few rares in the set that we haven’t previously announced!

Gargoyle
Half-Orc Barbarian
Spectre
Werewolf
Minotaur
Ogre

There are a lot more rares than that, but I’ve got to hold onto some of my cards. The set doesn’t come out until December, and we’ve got plenty more blogs to go before the set releases!

So let me know if there are other topics you’d like me to cover on these Friday blogs, and I’ll do my best to do so!

Cheers!

Erik Mona
Publisher

An Accounting of Abbadon

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Illustration by Jorge Fares

Considering the date, a preview of a more sinister sort seems in order. A while back I put together a listing of the devilish denizens of Hell (one you can complete with the CR 14 gylou and CR 19 puragaus in Bestiary 2). But with the upcoming release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the third volume in our Book of the Damned series which focuses on the pure evil fiends known as daemons, it seemed appropriate to give daemonkind the same treatment. So here you go, a daemon for every dark deed and nearly every CR.

CR	Daemon	Source
2	Cacodaemon	Bestiary 2
3	Lacridaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
4	Vulnadaemon	Bestiary 3
5	Venedaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
6	Ceustodaemon	Bestiary 2
7	Suspiridaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
8	Hydrodaemon	Bestiary 2
9	Leukodaemon*	Bestiary 2
9	Sangudaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
10	Piscodaemon	Bestiary 2
11	Erodaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
11	Meladaemon*	Bestiary 2
12	Derghodaemon	Bestiary 2
13	Thanadaemon*	Bestiary 2
14	Temerdaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
15	Crucidaemon	Bestiary 3
16	Astradaemon	Bestiary 2
17	Phasmadaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
18	Purrodaemon*	Bestiary 2
19	Obcisidaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
20	Olethrodaemonn	Bestiary 2

Ushering in his brethren, we have Jorge Fares's vile venedaemon, just one of the new breeds of daemonkind revealed in Book of the Damned 3. Also, before any one asks, no we haven't done this sort of listing for demons yet, but considering all the sources on the list above, maybe that would make a fine Bestiary 3 preview in the coming weeks. Only time will tell.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse hits store shelves next month.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

* Deacon. If you don't know what this is, learn all about it in Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Illustration by Dmitry Burmak and Daryl Mandryk. Widescreen version here.

For Glory, Not Gold!

Friday, September 2, 2011

A lot of folks have long been clamoring for more Norse-inspired gaming goodness, and we've got that coming for you to the axe-hilt in the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings. To get you in that northern Inner Sea mood in the meantime, here's an awesome Linnorm Kings wallpaper featuring the art of Dmitry Burmak and Daryl Mandryk.

Christopher Carey
Editor

We Come from the Land of the Ice and Snow!

Friday, August 26, 2011

As we struggle to keep our heads above water amid Bestiary 3's monster monsoon, here's a quick art preview of J. P. Targete's incredible work from the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings. For more on Bestiary 3... stay tuned.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Gen Con Announcement Recap!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

ENnie Awards: Product of the Year
(for the Advanced Players Guide)

Whew... another Gen Con over and done with! We had a great time at the show, in no small part due to the incredible support of our fans and customers. You all are the BEST!

In a Gen Con filled with highlights, though, for me one of the most incredible moments came about 15 minutes after the Ennie Awards wrapped up, when we went up to the Pathfinder Society Organized Play room to announce to a room of several hundred gamers that we’d won. The uproar of cheers that filled the room when Erik climbed up on his chair and made that announcement was overwhelming. Pictured is one of those many awards—the trophy for Product of the Year (Advanced Player’s Guide) held up with an enormous room of hundreds of Pathfinder Society GMs and players in the background.

We also made a large number of announcements at Gen Con for products coming out in the months ahead. Most of these announcements can be found here and there on paizo.com, but I thought I’d group them all up here in this post so everyone can find out about them at once.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Coming at the end of the year is Pathfinder Bestiary 3, followed next Spring by the Advanced Race Guide (a big hardcover book that’ll give you new options for ALL of the zero Hit Die races we’ve published to that point, as well as rules for building your own races of any power level), and then next Gen Con with Ultimate Equipment (a hardcover filled to the brim with new toys and magic items for any Pathfinder character).

Pathfinder Adventure Path: At long last, we’ve started the Jade Regent Adventure Path! But once you’re done traveling over the frozen Crown of the World and exploring Tian Xia, be ready next February for some good old-fashioned plundering and mayhem with the pirate-themed Skull & Shackles Adventure Path. And then, next Gen Con, we celebrate five years of Pathfinder and ten years of Paizo by returning to where it all began—the Shattered Star Adventure Path brings it all back to Varisia with a frantic search to be the first to recover and rebuild an ancient Thassilonian artifact—the original Sihedron Symbol—before it’s too late!

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: We sold out of the copies of Inner Sea Magic and Pathfinder Society Field Guide we brought to the convention! Coming in the future in this line is a trip to the north with Lands of the Linnorm Kings, a visit with the daemons and their overlords in Book of the Damned 3: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, our first real excursion into the lands of Tian Xia in the Dragon Empires Gazetteer, and an investigation of ten favorite beasties in Mythological Monsters Revisited. Then, next year, we’ll explore the other planets of Golarion’s solar system in Distant Worlds, look at the big guys in Giants Revisited, look to ancient empires with Lost Kingdoms, explore the pirate and monster infested Isles of the Shackles, and finally take a trip back home with Magnimar: City of Monuments.

Pathfinder Player Companion: After debuting Goblins of Golarion at Gen Con, we’re ready to finish out the three-part exploration of the faiths of the Inner Sea with Faiths of Corruption. Two months later, the Dragon Empires Primer gives players all they need to know to make characters from Tian Xia. And early next year, Pirates of the Inner Sea will finally let you unleash your inner buccaneer!

Pathfinder Modules: We’ll be heading back to Varisia even earlier than Magnimar: City of Monuments and the Shattered Star Adventure Path, though, with Feast of Ravenmoor, a low-level module set in the Varisian hinterlands. Two months later, test your mettle in The Ruby Phoenix Tournament, and then next January find out what our latest RPG Superstar winner, Sam Zeitlin, has in store for you in The Midnight Mirror!

Pathfinder Tales: Dave Gross’s trip into Tian Xia, Master of Devils, launched at Gen Con to great success. Later this year comes Death’s Heretic by Paizo’s own James L. Sutter, followed next year by Hugh Matthews’s Song of the Serpent and Tim Pratt’s City of the Fallen Sky.

Pathfinder Battles: After WizKids releases the initial set of prepainted plastic Pathfinder miniatures of Merisiel, Kyra, Valeros, and Ezren (Pathfinder Beginner Box Heroes, which ties into the upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box), you can look forward first to the 40-miniature set of Heroes and Monsters, to be followed up later next year by the Rise of the Runelords set.

And finally... the announcement that I was the most excited for: a 420-page hardcover compilation of Rise of the Runelords, fully updated to the Pathfinder rules and expanded with new encounters and tons of new artwork, due for release at PaizoCon 5 next June!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Golarion Day: Inner Sea Magic Preview

Thursday, July 21, 2011

	Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

Well, because you asked for it, here's a preview of some elements taken from the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, Inner Sea Magic. I'm including excerpts from two different sections of the book—one of the possible results for unleashing primal magic (as might occur if you try to cast spells in the Mana Wastes) and one new hex that the winter witch archetype grants access to (and yes they do gain a bonus on all cold spells they cast).

Excerpted from "Sample Primal Magic Effects": 75–78 Strange telekinetic forces rip through the area, attempting to trip all creatures in a CR x 10 foot radius. The event makes a trip combat maneuver check against all available targets, using a CMB of 10 + CR. Any creature tripped by the event has its equipment reorganized and tangled by the mischievous telekinesis. Until a creature takes a minute to reorganize its belongings, retrieving a stowed item is a full-round action.

Excerpted from "Spells": Frozen Caress (Su): Whenever the winter witch casts a touch spell, she can infuse the magic with cold as a swift action. This grants the spell the cold descriptor, and adds 1d4 points of cold damage to the spell's effect. If the touch spell allows a saving throw, a successful save negates this additional cold damage.

And here's one more preview—the names of all 39 spells that appear in the book, presented in alphabetical order:

Aroden's Spellbane Bladed Dash Bladed Dash, Greater Blast Barrier Call Weapon Crusader's Edge Eaglesoul Eldritch Conduit Eldritch Conduit, Greater Fleshcurdle Forceful Strike Geb's Hammer Geniekind

Hungry Darkness Hunter's Lore Ice Spears Impart Mind Khain's Army Kiss of the First World Light of Iomedae Martial Marionette Martyr's Bargain Music of the Spheres Orchid's Drop Pugwampi's Grace Shadow Barbs

Shining Cord Siphon Magic Song of Kyonin Spell Absorption Spell Absorption, Greater Spellscar Suppress Primal Magic Tattoo Potion Transfer Tattoo Vengeful Comets Vex Giant Weaponwand Zone of Foul Flames

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Maichol Quinto. Widescreen version here.

Deep, Dark, and Deadly!

July 15, 2011

It's been awhile since we've had a wallpaper, and this one's a doozie. Featuring some stunning artwork by Damien Mammoliti and Maichol Quinto, and themed around Dungeons of Golarion, it showcases Alain venturing into the Red Redoubt of Karamoss, a massive siege-fortress outside Absalom constructed by a combination of the machine-mage Karamoss's mechanical minions, powerful magic, and Numerian technology.

In the forefront is the leader of the kobolds living in the Candlestone Caverns, deep beneath rural Andoran. You definitely want to watch out for him!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Field Guide Art Preview

Friday, July 1, 2011

In the buildup to our print deadline for Gen Con, we saw a fair amount of book schedules get a bit of "compression," with books that should be being worked on (and thus previewed) a month apart being separated by a few weeks. Or in this case... ONLY a week. Last week we previewed some art from Dungeons of Golarion, but the Pathfinder Society Field Guide is right on its heels! And what kind of field guide would it be if it didn't have a section that talked directly about the things eager new Pathfinders might face in the field? Challenges like daemon-spawning portals, angry dinosaurs, and vengefully violent six-armed animated statues?

Well... no one ever said that being a Pathfinder was easy, I guess.

Illustrations by Maichol Quinto and Florian Stitz

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Golarion Day: Report From Kintargo—Dungeons of Golarion

Thursday, June 23, 2011

If they weren't such an excellent place to make quick money, I doubt I'd ever want to go into an actual dungeon. As it stands, I try to make it a practice to only venture into the ones that are worth the trouble. I'm not a fan of slinking through sewers, skulking about in guano-reeking caves, or sneaking through a ruin that's been picked over by thousands of lesser explorers. Give me a megadungeon any day, though. Not only are these things immense (and thus filled with immense amounts of treasure), but they also tend to be dripping (sometimes literally) with history and lore and stories that can date back hundreds or even thousands of years. When you get skunked in a dungeon in the treasure department, it's nice to at least come out of there with a wider appreciation of ancient Thassilonian art, experience with strange Numerian technology, or tales of close calls with primeval wonders and horrors.

The Egorian vaults have a fair amount of information about the megadungeons of the Inner Sea region, but there are six of them that someone seems particularly interested in. Hollow Mountain in Varisia, the Red Redoubt of Karamoss just outside of Absalom, the lost dwarven mines of Zolurket, Andoran's Candlestone Caverns, the mysterious Pyramid of Kamaria in Osirion, and, of course, Gallowspire. The files include several maps of specific levels found in all six of these megadungeons, along with sketches of cutaway views of the complexes as well. And extensive notes on the monsters, traps, and (oh yes!) treasures said to be found within.

Some neat stuff. So of course I stole it all. I've sent the notes on to a contact in Magnimar, and she's going to see to it that they're bound and distributed. They should be arriving soon—within the month. Until then, though, I thought folks would be interested in perhaps a few images of some of the critters said to dwell in the dungeons.

I don't know about you, but they certainly look like the type of monsters who would keep a lot of treasure in their lair! I've got my fingers crossed!

Illustrations by Emile Denis, Maichol Quinto and Damien Mammoliti

Shensen
Old Cheliax Shall Rise Again!

Outmaneuvered

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Even in the midst of PaizoCon preparation, the design staff just loves those crazy little rules questions that pop up on the messageboards, during actual play, or that just randomly stray into our heads when we are designing an archetype or putting the finishing touches on a monster.

Since I just returned from Comicpalooza in Houston, I had a number of those questions come up while conversing with players or that popped up during play, and shared those experiences when I returned. Well, no good deed goes unpunished. While in the middle of sharing my experiences, Jason quickly pointed out that we needed a Design Tuesday blog. So let's look at some question and answers involving everyone's favorite subject—combat maneuvers! Today I'll go over a couple of pressing ones. We will get into more minutia next week.

Illustration by Allision Theus

Question: Standing up provokes an attack of opportunity. I can attempt to trip a creature with an attack of opportunity. Can I use the trip combat maneuver to keep my opponent down on the ground?

In a word, no. By far this was the most common combat maneuver question at the show that people asked me. I had folks try to use it in the game, and I can understand why. As a tactic, it seems pretty powerful. Too powerful, and that's why there are some subtle timing issues that are going on when a creature attempts to stand up and provokes the attack of opportunity.

When the attack of opportunity is provoked for standing up, the creature is still prone, since an attack of opportunity interrupts the action that provoked it. Since that's the case, the creature is still prone when the attack is provoked, and you cannot trip a prone creature, as it is already prone.

Okay, all you trip monkeys out there, don't fret overly much. If you want an effect similar to the one you desire, you just have to pay a higher action cost. Use the ready action. Just make sure your triggered action is "after the creature stands up from being prone" or something similar. I know, it's not nearly as sexy (or free) but I have faith you'll find a way to make it work to the detriment of those wily monsters.

Question: A creature grappling an opponent typically needs to make two combat maneuver checks to pin someone (one to grapple, the next to pin). If you're pinned, do you also need to succeed at two checks to escape, one for the grab and the other for the pin?

The answer to this question is also no. When a creature is pinned, it gains this more severe version of the grappled condition, and the two conditions do not stack (as described in the pinned condition). While this means that you do not take both the penalties for both the grapple and the pin, this also means that pinned supersedes the grapple condition; it does not compound it. For this reason you only need to succeed one combat maneuver or Escape Artist check to escape either a grapple or a pin.

Stephen Radney-MacFarland
Pathfinder RPG Designer

Illustrations by Alex Aparin and Roberto Pitturru. Widescreen version here.

Everything She Does Is Magic!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Seoni is by far one of the most popular iconics we've ever written. The classic high charisma sorcerer, she's graced the pages of Pathfinder products from the very beginning. Now she can grace your desktop along with Alhazra, the iconic oracle, in this Inner Sea Magic themed wallpaper.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustrations by Eric Belisle. Widescreen version here.

Rivals!

Friday, May 27th, 2011

It's Friday, and even though Hyrum's out at BookExpo America this week, he and Crystal still managed to set us all up with another awesome wallpaper—this time featuring some of the excellent art in the new Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rival Guide. Now wasn't that thoughtful?

Enjoy the long weekend, and we'll see you all on Tuesday!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Orcs, Giant Scorpion Robots, and Barbarians: An Interview with Tyler Walpole

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A couple of weeks ago we interviewed Ed Greenwood, our Guest of Honor at PaizoCon 2011. This time I had the pleasure of interviewing Tyler Walpole, our Artist Guest of Honor this year.

Tyler is one of those artists who just gets it. I don't think he's created a piece I don't love and it's going to be awesome to see him at PaizoCon this year. From orcs battling giant monsters single-handedly, to lone barbarians taking on giant arachnid robots, Tyler's art is dynamic, detailed, and just plain awesome. Tyler's definitely on the list of artists I want to paint murals in every room of my future mansion when I win the lottery.

And he's an illustrating machine, doing work for us (seriously, look how awesome the Master of the Fallen Fortress cover is), IDW on the D&D comic, Hero Games, and a ton of other high-profile companies. We're lucky to have him with us at PaizoCon, and if you're coming out, you should definitely see if you can buy him enough drinks to get a sketch.

And now, on with the interview!

1. A brief bio, where you are from and how you started in the industry?

I am a self-taught illustrator who lives in Des Moines, Iowa. I spent several years trying to break into the comic book industry as a penciler. That ended up being a bit like pounding my head against a brick wall. Lots of offers to do work for free, but no professional (i.e., paid) work. In 2000 I decided to forgo my annual trip to Wizard World Chicago, and instead created a portfolio of black-and-white interior illustrations and went to Gen Con. I talked to every art director I could find on the showroom floor. When I got home, I had an offer to do some work for Palladium Books, and that worked out pretty well, so I kept pursuing more and more game work (and added color into the mix) until I had enough coming in to make the jump to full time. I've managed to stay pretty busy ever since.

2. When did you discover your creative talents?

I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I spent a lot of time in grade school being told not to draw on my homework... now drawing is my homework!

3. What inspires you?

I take inspiration from everything. Movies, games, books, walks in the park, all of it! I have a pretty active mind, and almost anything can germinate in there and come out as something useful for my art.

4. How would you describe your style?

Oh man, I have no idea. John Romita, Jr. once described his work as "Deadline Style"... its as much as I can get done by the deadline. Working in a publishing environment has sort of dictated that I also have a "Deadline Style." One of these days I'm going to spend just as long as I please on something. I'll go back to you after that happens. ;)

5. Do you have a favorite story or character?

Let see... I'm pretty satisfied with most of the covers I've done, my favorite is probably the Orcs of Golarion. It's essentially a Conan vs. the Monster illustration... only in this case Conan is an Orc, and he's dual-wielding axes. Sarah pretty much let me do my own thing on that one, in design terms, and I really enjoyed it.

6. Who are your favorite artists, writers, and/or influences?

Well, here again, it could be just about anybody. Some of my favorites include Donato Giancola, Dan Dos Santos, Todd Lockwood, Greg Manchess, Frank Frazetta, James Jean, Phil Hale, Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan, Adam Hughes, Bill Willingham, and Jim Butcher.

7. How do you juggle freelance work and life?

I skip out on a lot of sleep. No, seriously, I skip out on a lot of sleep. I love my job, but I'm married and have two sons. I do my best to make it to every family function, school event, and baseball game. But, many nights, once everyone is in bed, I sneak back to the studio to make sure I'm on top of my deadlines, and squeeze in some time to develop my own projects.

8. Describe yourself in 5 words.

Living the dream. So grateful!

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

Besides being Artist Guest of Honor at PaizoCon 2011, you mean? I found a publisher for one of those projects!

10. Any advice for aspiring artists?

Practice your art. All. The. Time. Whatever you decide to do, whatever voice emerges through your art, or writing or music, honor it, and do it the best you can... the business part of it will follow. People are drawn to excellence in many forms, so don't try to be like the other guy. And keep at it!

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

Golarion Day: The Stars Are Right!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

So, I was out sick yesterday, and as a result missed out seeing Pathfinder #46 get sent off to the printer. Which is pretty exciting, since that volume's got more Lovecraftian awesomeness in it than anything we've done to date? The proof is in these out-of-context illustrations by Scott Purdy that are sure to get everyone thinking that the Carrion Crown Adventure Path will be taking some pretty drastic and unexpected turns! (Fans of Carrion Crown's Ustalav locations can breathe easy, though, since these pictures are from the foreword and the bestiary of the book, and thus don't actually depict events that occur in this volume's adventure.)

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Golarion Day: They're Coming to Get You, Harsk!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

And just like that, Undead Revisited is shambling off to the printers! I previewed some of the art for this book a few weeks back, showing off how ten of the iconic heroes are doomed to meet grisly ends when this book hits store shelves. As with all books in the Revisited line, each chapter ends with a sample stat block—in the case of this book, a sample undead or new variant. Among those ten stat blocks we have a fallen Knight of Ozem and a fallen Hellknight, two undead dragons, a demonic mohrg and a daemonic devourer, a priestly lich and a kingly wight... and the following two critters from the entries on nightshades and the spectral dead—I'll let you all guess what exactly these are.

Illustration by Florian Stitz	Illustration by Francesco Graziani

All in all, ten fine and quite compelling reasons why those poor iconics are dropping like flies in this book! As for which of these ten undead got to Harsk... you'll just have to wait and see!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Golarion Day: Report from Kintargo—Rival Guide

Thursday, March 10, 2011

It's been quite a few weeks since my last report. I've learned a lot since then... too much to reveal to you all in a single report, but I wanted to make sure those idiot Thrunies weren't on to me. Looks like I'm safe, though. I've kept an eye out for Thrune agents since my last report, but haven't seen or heard anything. Which means it's safe for me to start sending regular reports!

One thing I noticed in the vaults below Egorian was a sizable collection of intelligence on numerous adventuring groups active throughout the Inner Sea region. At first I thought this was just the Thrunies keeping track of potential enemies, but after sifting through the stacks, I realized it was quite the opposite. They've been watching a lot of cults, mercenary groups, and other troublemakers who they hope to ally with, perhaps to use as agents to send against their enemies. And since the enemy of Thrune is my friend, I figured that letting my friends know about enemies they don't know about yet would be a good thing. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, my point is that Thrune's collected quite a bit of information about these potential rivals, and I snatched dossiers for ten of them. I've sent them on to the Pathfinders, and they've promised to publish the information when they get a chance. They're thinking of calling it something like "A Comprehensive Guide to Rivals," despite the fact that I think the shorter "Rival Guide" is more to the point and doesn't imply that these are the only rivals we'll ever face. Just ten groups of them.

Illustration by Eva Widermann

Of those ten groups, we've got a mercenary band from Brevoy more active these days in the River Kingdoms, a sadistic group of incredibly powerful adventurers, some elf-hating agents of the Aspis Consortium down Sargavawards, a bunch of crazy pirates led by some sort of haunted oracle, some foolhardy giant-hunters up in Varisia, a group of slavers led by a barbaric gnoll down around Katapesh, some freaky assassins or murderers up in Ustalav, and even the Queen's Hands—a group of relentless investigators who work for Queen Abrogail herself. (Fortunately, the Queen's Hands don't seem to get up to the north side here that often.) The Pathfinders were obviously most interested in some group based in Absalom—the Poisoned Lodge, or some such—a group of poisoners and drug dealers that have been annoying some of the Pathfinders of late. But to me, the most interesting group was probably the Dust Coven—a group of exiled drow worshipers of the demon lord Shax who have been cutting a murder-swath through the Inner Sea of late. Their leader is a witch (who seems to have been reincarnated from a drow into an annis hag, if the rumors are to be believed) who specializes in all sorts of magical dusts and powders—I'm including descriptions of two of these in this report. They'll be in the "Rival Guide" or whatever that book ends up being called, along with lots of other information about these groups and the specialized magic, spells, and tools they use. I'm also including an illustration of the Dust Coven's sign—the rune of Shak gripped in a creepy-looking hand. (Someone could do with a manicure.)

In any case, make sure to check the book out when you see it, but if you're reading it where the Thrunies might see you... take care. They'll probably get pretty angry once they see the book on store shelves.

Shensen
Old Cheliax Shall Rise Again!

Golarion Day: Inner Sea World Guide Preview

Thursday, March 3, 2010

OMG! GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WEEK? THE INNER SEA WORLD GUIDE DOES!

Seems like I've been working on this book for a year. Oh, wait. That's pretty much correct. Feels good that it's finally about to hit store shelves and reach subscribers. In the meantime... as proof that it exists... here are five screen shots I just took of five pages from the book, to whet appetites and let folks know just how awesome looking this book is going to be.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

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!

Misfit Monsters Podcast

Monday, December 13, 2010

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to speak with the folks at Know Direction, a monthly podcast devoted entirely to all things Pathfinder, brought to you by the folks from 3.5 Private Sanctuary and the Tome Show. We talked at great length about Misfit Monsters Redeemed (which I had the privilege of developing), as well as the Pathfinder Chronicler fanfiction contest and Paizo's recent hires from the Pathfinder community. If you're curious about what exactly went into Misfit Monsters, head on over to the episode's webpage to listen. (The interview takes up approximately the last quarter of the show.)

For the record: That high, goofy quality to my voice is just my cell phone. I sound way manlier in person, kind of like a young James Earl Jones. Just ask Wes! (On second thought, don't ask Wes.)

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Tom Rex Found some Dinosaur Art for you Delicious People!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Greetings, meat-flavored fans! What's the scoop? Tom noticed that there is a shocking... no, criminal lack of dinosaur-themed art on this blog. Tom realized this when the Boss changed his messageboard avatar that there was unknown dinosaur artwork lurking on Paizo's servers. Tom likes dinosaur pictures, because they inspire Tom. And because Tom is so much more handsome in real life, dinosaur art makes Tom feel better about his tiny forelimbs and the recent scandals about Tom being a cannibal. (What can Tom say! Tom's friends and family are delicious.)

Anyway, back on subject, Tom! Tom went sniffing through the still-to-be-published art (did you know that Tom's olfactory senses are among the most highly developed in the world? Tom can smell you wherever you hide, so it's better to not bother and just let Tom eat you alive is what Tom is saying). And not only did he find the image that Boss Jacobs stole for his new avatar, but three others! Two from some big book about monsters, and another from some book about some sort of lost city with a big lake in the middle where there are dinosaurs. One of them is not REALLY a dinosaur, but Tom still has fond memories of the Todd Tylosaurus and his megalodon gumbo, so Tom's okay including him in the art preview. That's the scoop on that!

P.S. Sarah is on another continent. Tom, as a result, doesn't known who the artists are for these wonderful pictures. So don't ask Tom who made this art! Tom assumes the artists are yummy, though, and you don't need to know someone's name to know that. That's also the scoop on that.

Tom Rex
King of Reporters

We Have Ways of Making You Report

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Early this month I posed a challenge to the community to report their Pathfinder Society events in exchange for an extra-early preview of art from the forthcoming World Guide: The Inner Sea. Well, I'm overjoyed to report that the targets we set were the definition of an underestimate of what you folks were capable of. Not only did the number of events taking place in October surpass our monthly average, the total number of previously unreported events that finally got reported exceeded our expectations to a level we haven't seen since we sold out of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook before it was even released. Seriously. I'm incredibly proud of the entire PFS community, and all of you should be too! I knew people were playing, and now we can actually see how much our fans are enjoying the campaign.

As a lawful being through and through, I will now uphold my end of the bargain. Though there are still a few days left in October to increase your numbers even further, the targets are already clearly blown out of the water. Thus will I release the hostage art. And this isn't just any art, mind you, but an image James Jacobs specifically didn't want to reveal until much, much later. Cries of triumph echoed from Erik's office, through the editorial pit, and as far as the warehouse when we saw the numbers, though, so you all get what you earned.

BEHOLD!

Illustration by Tyler Walpole

Now that you got what you wanted, don't stop reporting. I plan to keep the rewards coming for your hard work!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustration by Branko Bistrovic

Get Lost

Friday, October 22, 2010

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

We're nearing the homestretch in development of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Cities of Golarion and that means it's time to start leaking some of the brand-new art you can expect to find within the tome's dusty pages. Check out these relics we've unearthed while plumbing the ruins of Kho in the Mwangi Expanse and Storasta in the demon-choked Worldwound.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Psst... Wanna see some new art?

Thursday, October 7, 2010

It's no secret that the most popular entries in this blog are art previews, and we love showing off the beautiful work of all the great artists who have created the visual look and feel of Golarion and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. But all the attention on art has brought to our attention the bargaining power we hold as your art peddlers.

Players in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign have probably noticed that Season 2 has centered around the mysterious Shadow Lodge, and we plan to carry this theme through to the end of the year. We're also planning an even more intricate metaplot for Season 3, in which PCs' successes, failures, and faction prestige will have a direct impact on future scenarios and world canon as a whole. But this means that we need to see a much higher rate of reporting from GMs and event coordinators.

With the announcement this week of our first 13 PFS regional coordinators (whom we're calling Venture-Captains, naturally) it's now even easier for PFS participants to get event support and organizational assistance near their local game store or convention, but there are surely uncounted sessions that have gone unreported in the past few years. We need to see these numbers, as they'll allow us to focus resources toward where you play, as well as plan for the future of the Society, as we see what scenarios are played most often, and which factions have the most players and average prestige.

So! If we see 600 newly reported PFS sessions in the month of October, I'll preview some exclusive new art from the upcoming World Guide: The Inner Sea. We will be previewing the book when its release date approaches, but my gut tells me you want to see some art sooner rather than later. So get out there and start a PFS group for your friends or at your local game store! Report that session you ran over the summer that you haven't yet. Show us you want the art now!

P.S. (from Hyrum) If you report over 700 tables, we'll spoil a piece of art James Jacobs specifically said not to reveal.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Inside the Pit: Monster Design 101

Monday, September 27, 2010

Now that Bestiary 2 is wrapping up and Misfit Monsters Redeemed will soon arrive in all its flumph-loving, snail-flailing glory, Wes has asked me to give you all a quick lesson in monster concept design. Although everybody approaches monster design differently, while developing Misfit Monsters, we decided to codify certain key design principles by illustrating them on the Editorial Pit whiteboard. The attached image, sometimes known simply as the Aboleth Flowchart, represents a basic but often overlooked tenet in the creation of new monsters for Golarion. (The diagram for lesson number two, the so-called "Mad Wizard Rule," is somewhat less technical, as it's just the phrase "Did an insane wizard create it?" surrounded by a cloud of a tiny "no"s and a drawing of me stabbing myself in the eye with a highlighter.)

I hope you found this peek inside the design team's methods and philosophies educational! Next time on Inside the Pit: how to make Managing Editor Wes Schneider weep like a frightened child! (Hint: It involves spreadsheets and the 2011 product schedule.)

James Sutter
Fiction Editor and Developer

All Your Map Questions Answered

Monday, September 13, 2010

I know the question on everyone's mind this glorious Monday morning has nothing to do with what you'll be wearing to the office today, or whether you remembered to put your homework in your bag before heading off to class. No, the most pressing concern for any Paizo fan worth his salt is, "What's up with that Huge Ass Map?"

Well, loyal followers, I have good news re: the HAM: we're making continual progress! Just last week we all "ooh"ed and "aaah"ed over the final, high-resolution art from cartographer Rob Lazzaretti, who deepened all the colors, added hundreds of miniscule new coastal islands, and included more detailed representations of areas like Kyonin, the Stolen Lands, and Ustalav. We've got all the tags we can fit on the existing map, and I've gone through with a fine-toothed comb to find missing locations, misnamed cities, and incorrectly placed tags. Up next? James Jacobs and I are going to go through the whole image, giving names to as-yet-unnamed rivers, mountain ranges, islands, and other geographical features.

Check out these pictures of the current iteration of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio and I promise I'll have brand new art (not photos) for everyone later this week.

A map so big we couldn't handle it in one piece!	These will all have names very, very soon.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Map Swallows Desk—Editors Next?!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Remember that big ol' map that we started working on a while back? We're chugging away at it (with no signs of gibbering yet), and are moving ever closer to the final version!

I have to say, it was painful to fold the working map up, even gently, and not just because it reminded me how short I am! I was irrationally afraid of damaging it, yet that was the only way to wrestle it onto my desk without committing Ultimate Sacrilege—cutting it up.

It's hard to tell at this resolution, but the map is covered in handwritten notes: names of cities, islands, rivers, and ruins; arrows showing where existing labels should be moved to; circles grouping multi-word names; and check marks verifying locations or spellings. There are about a thousand or so notes in all, written in a variety of hands, some of which would make doctors swoon with jealousy. The thought of verifying all of those tags on the final version is a source of both terror and glee. (Tom Rex recommended we write our signoffs in our own blood to increase accountability, but his slavering makes suspect he cares more about softening us up than accuracy.)

Judy Bauer
Editor

One Last Hoorah

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Crystal: Oh, hey... I just figured out what smells so good. I think I'm in Wes' office.... but, there's a flying car parked outside!

Sara Marie: Please be careful! This is getting dangerous; they'll be back from Gen Con any minute now! Porcupine.

Crystal: I think when we got separated, I went to the future... This must be where Sarah got those covers from! Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: I'm getting kinda nervous about this... but if it's the future maybe you'll be safe...

Crystal: Don't you see, Sara? If leaking some bits of art makes us famous, then what happens if I leak entire future supplements! We'll be IMMORTAL! Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: If you think immortality is safe...

Crystal: Now, let's see.... "Classic Game Designers Revisited," "Flumphs of Golarion," "Adventure Path 12: Samurai Cowboys Ride Again".... Oh!

Sara Marie: Are you all right?

Crystal: More than just all right!... I think I just found the Bestiary 2! The whole thing, complete and bound!

Sara Marie: No way!

Crystal: We'll leak this and then the fans will... the fans will.... Uh oh...

Sara Marie: Crystal?...CRYSTAL!

Crystal: There's tripwires, Sara!

Sara Marie: Get out!

Crystal: Everywhere.

Sara Marie: GET OUT!!! (Carefully!)

Crystal: They're even on me!

Sara Marie: OK. Don't. Move.

Crystal: Oh, well played, Mr. Schneider. Well pl-

Sara Marie: Crystal? Hedgehog?

...

Sara Marie: do you read me

...

Sara Marie: Hedgehog!? Porcupine?! DO YOU READ ME?!!!

...

Sara Marie: HEEEEDGEHOG!!!!

* * *

Dear Fans,

I apologize that we could not bring you the entire Bestiary II, however, I feel it is my duty as a fellow fan and adventurer to bring you one last piece of artwork, another Misfit Monster, snatched off of James Sutter's desk as I ran fleeing from the dungeon that is the Editorial Pit and Development offices.

Sara Marie

Best Monster/adversary

Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 06:48 PM Pacific

Silver: Classic Horrors Revisited

Gold: Pathfinder RPG Bestiary

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Best Cartography

Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 05:44 PM Pacific

Gold for Pathfinder Chronicles City Map Folio!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Cats are away…it's time for little goblins to play!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Sara Marie: Hey Crystal!

Crystal: Yes?

Sara Marie: I just brought an order down to the warehouse and I realized something!

Crystal: That cats do, in fact, float?

Sara Marie: You are the ONLY person down there.

Crystal: Yes, yes I am!

Sara Marie: Know what else I saw?

Crystal: The end, whereupon none were spared, not even the children?

Sara Marie: The editorial pit. Unattended.

Crystal: Well, I wouldn't call it "unattended." I'm still here.

Sara Marie: Precisely. Sutter's desk, all alone, with no one to guard it.

Crystal: His cans of beans left unattended...

Sara Marie: Suppose he's got anything good over there?

Crystal: Perhaps his collection of priceless pre-Columbian guitar picks?

Sara Marie: I meant interesting.

Crystal: Oh! Yes! I think he has the original Dead Sea Scrolls and the final manuscript of "Misfit Monsters".

Sara Marie: I just had an idea! The entire editorial staff is going to be working this week at Gen Con. Every single one.

Crystal: Two time zones away

Sara Marie: There is no way they're gonna have time to check on Paizo's website.

Crystal: Definitely no way! Plus, they'd have to time travel to do it. What with the time zones and all.

Sara Marie: We could totally put up a Misfit Monster or two on the blog. WE WOULD BE FAMOUS!!

Crystal: Famous, eh? I do enjoy fame… But... do we dare?

Sara Marie: Ooooh this one is snazzy!

Crystal: What are you looking at in there? Hang on. Let me chew through my leg chains... Holy Lamashtu! Is this the new Flail Snail?!

Sara Marie: Sweet! I knew there would be perks to not going to Gen Con!

Crystal: You mean besides avoiding the sleep loss, exposure to dangerous chemicals, vomiting and hair loss?

Sara Marie: I wonder who else left their office unattended...

Oh, Yes We Did!

Monday, July 26, 2010

PRESENTING! The action scene you’ve all been waiting to see!

Illustration by Andrew Hou

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Mammoth Mitts

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

When an early draft of the Pathfinder Player Companion: Inner Sea Primer crossed my desk, I remembered that it's time for another Golarion-themed knitting pattern!

What’s that you say? It's too hot to knit with wool at this time of year? Nonsense! Summer lasted only 2 days this year, and it was only 50 degrees Fahrenheit when I biked in this morning—practically mitten weather already! And if you don't live in frigid Seattle, remember that it's never too early to start making Crystalhue gifts... such as Mammoth Mitts!

These mittens feature a mammoth motif¹, spiraled ribbing and decreases, and colors that echo the Realm of the Mammoth Lords art from the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting. (Players who knit their mittens from qiviut earn 1 PA. Players who gather their own qiviut gain a bonus PA, but must make a DC 25 Reflex save to avoid being trampled.)

Mammoth Mitts
Materials: worsted weight yarn: 1 skein MC (moorit/red-brown), 1 skein CC1 (cream), 1 skein CC2 (purple); 1 yard of thinner black yarn
1 set US 4/3.5mm double-point needles, embroidery needle
Gauge: 24 sts/29 rows = 4 inches/10 cm
Directions for larger size are in brackets.

Directions:
Using MC, cast on 36 [44] sts.

Right cuff (ribbing spirals to the left):
Rows 1–2: (k2, p2)*
Rows 3–4: (p1, k2, p1)*
Rows 5–6: (p2, k2)*
Rows 7–8: (k1, p2, k1)*
Repeat these rows until cuff is desired length.

Left cuff (ribbing spirals to the right):
Rows 1–2: (k2, p2)*
Rows 3–4: (k1, p2, k1)* (p1, k2, p1)*
Rows 5–6: (p2, k2)*
Rows 7–8: (p1, k2, p1)*
Repeat these rows until the left cuff is the same length as the right cuff.

Mitten body²:
Rows 1–4: Knit (36 stitches).
Row 5: Place marker, make 1, knit 1, make 1, place marker, knit to end (38 [46] stitches).
Even rows 6–18: Knit.
Odd rows 7–19: Slip marker, make 1, knit to marker, make 1, slip marker.
Continue until mitten has 52 [64] stitches.
Rows 20–26: Knit. (Knitting should reach just above the join of your thumb and index finger when you put your hand inside.)
Slip the 16 [20] thumb stitches onto a piece of waste yarn.
M2 stitches, join the live stitches (38 [46] stitches).
Rows 27–29: Knit 3 rows.
Work Chart A [B] (2 repeats per row).
Rows 40–53: Resume MC; knit. (When you put your hand inside, knitting should just cover your pinkie, about 5.5 [6] inches from base of palm.)

Right Mitten Decrease (decreases slant to the left):
Row 1 (Medium): (k16, ssk)* (36 stitches)
Row 1 (Large): k44, ssk (45 stitches)
Rows 2–14: Knit.
Row 3: (k7, ssk)* (32 [40] stitches)
Row 5: (k6, ssk)* (28 [35] stitches)
Row 7: (k5, ssk)* (24 [30] stitches)
Row 9: (k4, ssk)* (20 [25] stitches)
Row 11: (k3, ssk)* (16 [20] stitches)
Row 13: (k2, ssk)* (12 [15] stitches)
Row 15: (k1, ssk)* (8 [10] stitches)
Bind off.

Left Mitten Decrease (decreases slant to the right):
Row 1 (Medium): (k16, k2tog)* (36 stitches)
Row 1 (Large): k44, k2tog (45 stitches)
Rows 2–14: Knit.
Row 3: (k7, k2tog)* (32 [40] stitches)
Row 5: (k6, k2tog)* (28 [35] stitches)
Row 7: (k5, k2tog)* (24 [30] stitches)
Row 9: (k4, k2tog)* (20 [25] stitches)
Row 11: (k3, k2tog)* (16 [20] stitches)
Row 13: (k2, k2tog)* (12 [15] stitches)
Row 15: (k1, k2tog)* (8 [10] stitches)
Bind off.

Thumb:
Pick up the 16 [20] stitches, plus 2 more from around top of thumb.
Rows 1–16: Knit. (Until just past the end of your thumb, about 2 [2.5] inches.)
Row 17: K2tog*.
Bind off.

Finishing:
Weave in all ends.
Using thin black yarn, embroider the eye and tusk details (feel free to go crazy making your mammoth look shaggy!).

Chart A (19 stitches × 11 rows):

Chart B (13 stitches × 11 rows):

1. The motif used in this pattern is based on a motif used in Kathleen Tayor's "Elephant Hats".
2. Row numbers will be a bit higher on the mitten body for the larger size, since it has more increase rows. I've included notes about fit, so you can gauge more precisely how to adjust the pattern to your own (or your recipient's) hands.

Judy Bauer
Editor

2010 ENnie Award Voting Begins!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Voting begins today for the 2010 ENnie Awards, so drop whatever you're doing and head on over to the ballot box at EN World!

Voting continues through July 25th, but don't wait! Vote for your favorite games, products, and publishers today!

To remind you before you head off to cast your votes, here's what Paizo and some of our incredibly talented friends are in the running for!

Best Adventure

• Pathfinder AP #31: Stolen Land (Paizo Publishing)

Best Aid or Accessory

• Campaign Coins (King of the Castle Games & Paizo Publishing)
• Pathfinder GM Screen (Paizo Publishing)

Best Art, Cover

• Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)

Best Art, Interior

• Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)

Best Cartography

• Pathfinder City Map Folio (Paizo Publishing)

Best Electronic Book

• Pathfinder Society Scenario #29: The Devil We Know Part 1: Shipyard Rats (Paizo Publishing)

Best Free Product

• Advanced Players Guide Playtest (Paizo Publishing)
• Wayfinder #1 (Paizo Fans United)

Best Game

• Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)

Best Monster/Adversary

• Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
• Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited (Paizo Publishing)

Best Production Values

• Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)

Best Website

• d20PFSRD.com
• Pathfinder Wiki

Product of the Year

• Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)

Don't forget to consider us as one of your choices for Best Publisher, too!

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

The Shipping of the City

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Heads up, everybody! As of last week (turns out the blog can get a little packed during the summer), City of Strangers has officially left the building, shipping out to subscribers and anyone else who wants to pick up a copy. This'll probably be my last post about the book for some time, but I wanted to reiterate how excited I am (and how cool it is to see folks commenting on the product page!). We put out a lot of awesome books, but this one has been in the back of my head—or on the desktop of my computer, glaring accusatorily at me, demanding to be finished—for about four years at this point. To finally get it out there and see people's reactions, well... it's a lot of fun.

Illustration by Christopher Burdett

And you know, I still haven't gotten over the book itself yet, either. Normally by the time we finish developing a book and drag it, bruised and bloody, across the finish line (also known as "shipping it to the printer"), there's some angst mixed in with the love—not because it isn't great, but because all we can see when we look at it is sweat and tears, and maybe some weekends spent in the office. Yet when it comes back from the printer, all shiny and new, we all get that new-baby glow I keep hearing about. In this case, though the book had a whole lot of midwives, I really feel like the father, and the fact that Jared Blando's maps perfectly captured my hopes, and the artists (and art staff!) outdid themselves to bring the words to life... well, I've probably waxed maudlin long enough. Here's an example instead:

When I first wrote about the city in Seven Swords of Sin, there were quite a few details I threw in at random, which folks then picked up on and asked about. What, for instance, were the wormfolk? I certainly didn't know. It wasn't until Eando Kline came up against one in Pathfinder Adventure Path #3 that I realized they were nagas. And though I had a pretty good mental image of what they looked like, that was nothing compared to Christopher Burdett's fabulous illustration.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the wormfolk. (Though don't let her hear you calling her that.)

In any case, it's been a fabulous ride thus far, and I hope that those of you who check out the book enjoy your time in the city as much as I have!

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

2010 ENnie Award Nominations!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Nominations for the 2010 ENnie Awards are live and we couldn't be blown farther away! Paizo products are up for awards in 11 categories, with related Pathfinder projects showing in even more. Unbelievable! A huge thank you from all of us here at Paizo to all of our readers for your endless enthusiasm and help in expanding our rules and worlds, as well as boundless appreciation to everyone at ENWorld for organizing and hosting one of the most highly anticipated event in gaming year after year.

But this year's ENnie Awards are just kicking off. Head on over to ENWorld to check out all the nominees and prepare for this Friday (July 16th) when the voting booths open and you can cast your vote for your favorite RPG rules, accessories, products, and projects.

Thanks again from all of us here at Paizo Publishing and we'll see you at the ENnies!

Best Adventure

• Pathfinder AP #31: Stolen Land (Paizo Publishing)

Best Aid or Accessory

• Campaign Coins (King of the Castle Games & Paizo Publishing)
• Pathfinder GM Screen (Paizo Publishing)

Best Art, Cover

• Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)

Best Art, Interior

• Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)

Best Cartography

• Pathfinder City Map Folio (Paizo Publishing)

Best Electronic Book

• Pathfinder Society Scenario #29: The Devil We Know Part 1: Shipyard Rats (Paizo Publishing)

Best Free Product

• Advanced Players Guide Playtest (Paizo Publishing)
• Wayfinder #1 (Paizo Fans United)

Best Game

• Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)

Best Monster/Adversary

• Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
• Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited (Paizo Publishing)

Best Production Values

• Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)

Best Website

• d20PFSRD.com
• Pathfinder Wiki

Product of the Year

• Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Illustration by Mike Corriero

Did you know...

Friday, July 9, 2010

...that flail snails are the philosophers of the Darklands, writing epic communal poetry in their slime trails?

...that executioner's hoods, trappers, and lurkers above are all members of the same species, simply different genders or stages of the life cycle?

...that flumphs come from the stars to warn us of lurking cosmic horrors (and have an elaborate migration process which inspired impromptu interpretive dance by Paizo staffers)?

...that delvers were created by the Vault Keepers of Orv, and dig their tunnels in hopes of one day proving themselves greater architects than their masters?

...that lava children procreate by consuming elementals?

....that disenchanters were originally bred for the magical wars between Geb and Nex?

Learn all of these tidbits and more in the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting release, Misfit Monsters Redeemed!

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

My Magical Week at Paizo

Monday, June 28, 2010

When Erik Mona called me during my weekly game of Council of Thieves, I suspected it was for some purpose other than to earn me a free reroll. (Note: Any time a Paizo employee calls you during a Pathfinder game, it is required that your GM allow you one rerolled d20.) Erik’s reason for the call was to ask me to stay in Seattle a week longer than I’d planned after PaizoCon in order to help fill the massive Inner Sea map for the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio for release later this year.

That I said yes should go without saying.

Working at Paizo, even for a week, is a dream come true. Whether I’m casually catching glimpses of new art for the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 and the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: World Guide—The Inner Sea, playing an oracle of bones using final Advanced Player’s Guide rules in Josh Frost’s office game, or taking part in a super-secret editorial meeting to work out some exciting products on the 2011 calendar, the last five days still seem partially unreal.

But don’t let me discount the huge amount of work that gets done on a daily basis in the Paizo offices, and the vast pile of work yet to do. I have personally gone through every Adventure Path volume through Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv and have mined almost 500 specific, named locations, many of which will appear on the final poster map. Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens has been covering the Pathfinder Modules line and just got through Cheliax in the campaign setting hardcover (the Katharevousa River, which flows by Kintargo, has yet to be tagged on a map, for example). Needless to say, this is a massive project. While there’s still a long way to go, I can already tell that this map will absolutely blow the mind of anyone who’s ever hoarded RPG maps or who (like me) has a penchant for world continuity and canon.

Thanks to the members of the messageboards and PathfinderWiki who helped with suggestions of extremely esoteric and obscure locations from the last 3 years of Pathfinder products. Look for the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio in stores and on paizo.com this fall.

Mark Moreland (aka yoda8myhead)
PathfinderWiki Administrator

Demon Lord Thursday

Thursday, June 24, 2010

I'm still scrambling to finish up writing for Book of the Damned II: Lords of Chaos, and while I'm not done yet (I'm a VERY naughty freelancer!), all of the art for the book is done. And since my time writing should be devoted to demons and not blog posts... I'll stop here and just show off some pictures: Angazhan, Cyth-V'sug, Flauros, and Kostchtchie, all courtesy of the super-talented Eric Belisle!

Illustrations by Eric Belisle

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Photography by Gary Teter

It's Huge!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The way the story goes, Erik walked into the copy shop with a disc holding the map of the Inner Sea Region and asked the employee there to make the image as big as he could.

"Okay, here we go," the man said, holding up a sheet maybe two feet high.

"I don't think you understand," Erik replied. "I need this big."

Thus it was that last Friday, Erik and Wes came into the office holding a map of the Inner Sea Region that, when unrolled, measured seven feet tall and six feet across. As we all stood around it in shock, looking down on it in mingled wonder and terror, I think the same two thoughts were in everyone's brains. Here was the world we'd created...

...and now we needed to fill it.

For of course that's why we had the map printed. With the forthcoming World Guide: The Inner Sea (a revised and expanded version of the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting hardcover, fully updated to the Pathfinder RPG) and the Inner Sea Poster Map Folio, it's time for us to finally buckle down and crank our own obsessive tendencies to the max as we attempt to place every location that's featured in a Pathfinder game product in its appropriate place. And of course, as if that madness weren't enough, the forthcoming world guide also presents a ton of new adventure locations and notable sites for regions that previously only had a few dots on a map. While there are still countless places left open for GMs to populate and describe as they see fit, this is our attempt to create something truly comprehensive to satisfy even the most detail-oriented GMs.

This, of course, is madness. I'm sure that within a month, we'll all be gibbering on the floor as the ink staining our fingertips reaches toxic levels. But until then, the Map will be on the wall, watching us, daring us to try to fill it in. How much of our hubristic attempt to catch everything makes it into the final map folio is anyone's guess—it may be that printing every tag would result in type too small to see with the naked eye—but you'll know when you see it that the Paizo editorial team gave their all to make it as accurate as they could, boldly chucking interns and coworkers into the line of fire. That's how much we care!

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

Linnorm Helm

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Some people paint minis; others sketch their characters or scenes from their adventures. Me, I knit—tentacled beasties, piratical or tentacled hats, fingerless gloves with guild names embroidered across the knuckles.

Being between projects at the moment, I was browsing knitting patterns online and was disappointed to note that although there are some amazing fantasy knitting patterns, I couldn't find any Pathfinder-related patterns! That must be remedied!

As this realization coincided with the first set of pages from the World Guide: The Inner Sea hitting my desk, I thought it only fitting to create a pattern that represents one of the Inner Sea peoples. Thus, I present to you the Linnorm Helm^{1, 2}!

Linnorm Helm
Materials: worsted weight yarn: 1 skein MC (dark red; use 2 skeins for Large version), 1 skein CC1 (dark green), 1 skein CC2 (yellow-green)
1 set US 4/ 3.5 mm double-point needles
Gauge: 24 sts/29 rows = 4 inches/10 cm
Directions for larger version are in parentheses.

Directions:
Using MC, cast on 112 (128) stitches.
From bottom to top, work 2 repeats of the chart A (B).
Using MC, knit for 2 (3) more inches or 5 (7.5) cm.
To decrease for the top:
Row 1: (k6, k2tog)* [98 (112) stitches]
Row 2: Knit.
Row 3: (k5, k2tog)* [84 (96) stitches]
Row 4: Knit.
Row 5: (k4, k2tog)* [70 (80) stitches]
Row 6: Knit.
Row 7: (k3, k2tog)* [56 (64) stitches]
Row 8: Knit.
Row 9: (k2, k2tog)* [42 (48)stitches]
Row 10: Knit.
Row 11: (k1, k2tog)* [28 (32) stitches]
Continue working k1, k2tog until 8–10 stitches remain, then bind off. Weave in all yarn tails.

Chart A

Chart B

Errata: If you find that the bottom of the hat tends to roll up on you, start with a 1" ribbed brim, and then begin the chart. Just be sure to take this added length into account in determining when to start decreasing! For the medium size, knit around for 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the end of the chart, then decrease; for the large size, knit around for 2 inches (5 cm) above the end of the chart, then decrease.

¹ The charted motifs are based on a motif from Nancy Spies' wonderful book Here Be Wyverns.

² If you're wearing an actual helm, this hat works well as a liner. It's no fun to have your helm freeze to your ears in winter, believe me!

Judy Bauer
Editor

City of Strangers

Thursday, April 22, 2010

It is still coming.

	Illustration by Alberto Dal Lago

...Man, it's so tempting to leave the blog post at that, but I've got to stop with these one-line blog posts. They're too addictive!

Suffice to say, then, that City of Strangers, the new Pathfinder Chronicles guide to Varisia's outlaw city of Kaer Maga, has shipped to the printer. What you may not know is that this book has been in the works, in one form or another, for more than two years at this point. What started out as a few-page setting for Seven Swords of Sin grew into one of the first Pathfinder's Journals in Pathfinder Adventure Path #3: "The Hook Mountain Massacre." From there, with it clear to everyone around that I was in love with this city beyond any affection I'd felt for a game setting before (though a few have since come to rival it—*cough*solarsystem*cough*), it was decided that there should be a book... and not just any book. A setting that was at once a bizarre city filled with subterfuge and strange sights, but also containing a monumental dungeon that people could venture into again and again, with different tropes and themes to the various layers. Not a small order (especially considering Erik, James, and Jason had just finished writing the new Castle Greyhawk book, whose map turnovers were a million times cooler than anything I'd ever drawn). If it was going to be done, Erik decided, it had to be done right, and that meant it needed to take as long as it took. Rather than announce the project and a projected release date, we wouldn't so much as acknowledge the book publicly until it had been completely written.

And so, with nothing on the schedule, I officially unofficially began work on City of Strangers. Six months and a learning curve or two later, I turned over the completed manuscript, and the book was officially put on the schedule. If I may say so myself, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. All the gangs are there—the Sweettalkers, who sew their own lips shut, and the troll augurs, who read the future in their own entrails. The wormfolk and the Tallow Boys, the golem-crafting Ardocs and the mysterious Temple of the Child Goddess. All the districts are there, from the egalitarian Bottoms where freed slaves fight a shadow war of abolition, to the necromantic markets of Ankar-Te where zombies trail after their masters like faithful dogs. The Undercity is there, with levels like the Godsmouth Ossuary, the Dark Forest, the Forever Bore, the Still Place, and of course Xavorax, City of Silence, the city-beneath-the-city that houses the mysterious Caulborn. And despite all the words in this book, I'm perhaps most pleased with the maps—it's downright intimidating trying to design a city map of a Jacobsian or Schneiderian level of detail (especially when they're sitting 20 feet from you), yet Jared Blando did an unbelievable job of bringing both the city and the dungeons beneath it to life in a way that both mirrored and exceeded my imagination.

And now it's away to the printer, set to hit stores and subscribers this summer. I hope you enjoy visiting it as much as I have. It's been a long, strange journey...

James Sutter
Editor

Rummy-Tug-Tugger Contest Results!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Illustration by Silvia Gonzalez

So! After taking a week to make the agonizing choice, Rob McCreary has selected the winner of the Rummy-Tug-Tugger illustration contest! The winning illustration was done by Silvia Gonzalez; we’ll be autographing a copy of the NPC Guide and sending it out to Silvia as thanks for the great illustration!

Illustration by Mikael Sebag	Illustration by Duane Lacher

Actually, there were a lot of great illustrations. We took time last week to sit in the editorial pit and look them all over, and Rob had a tough time making the final choice. And so he wanted to show a few honorable mentions as well; one by Mikael Sebag (who sent in a super-rotund and kind of cute version) and another by Duane Lacher (who sent in a much scarier version). Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest; it was great seeing what you all came up with. And that makes me wonder... would folks like to see us do more art contests like this? Let us know in the comments to this post!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Illustration by Scott Purdy

Kaer Maga

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

It is coming.

James Sutter
Editor

The NPC Guide: The Babies Are Back!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Cave raptors are sated and have finally released me from their grim, stony world—it's time to blog!

Back when I served as a lowly intern, a weary and overworked Sean K Reynolds offered me my very first Paizo gig. The encroaching Pathfinder Chronicles: NPC Guide would need dozens of generic stat blocks if GMs were to treasure it above even their own families. A not-insignificant portion of my sanity died off as I stared into the abyss of an estimated twelve billion 1st- to 5th-level nonplayer characters, but ultimately the turnover made its way back to Sean and his shiny, shiny knife.

In any creative industry, there's a phrase that goes something like, "Your babies will get cut first." Meaning that in any creative project, your favorite elements or that extra something special you really loved creating will probably end up on the cutting room floor. The NPC Guide was no exception, and several of my favorite characters ended up cold and lifeless at Sean's feet. But now, through the miracle of the Internet, I have the power to bring them back!

So behold these glorious characters, free of charge! Behold the glory that is the Internet!

Er... I mean, check out these sweet NPCs, coming straight to you as a super-sized web enhancement for the NPC Guide. This first installment of five is only the beginning; we'll toss up more batches from time to time, so stay tuned.

ALKENSTAR: GUNMARSHAL CR 3
Hero or villain, the Gunmarshal stands as a proud icon of Alkenstar's victory over the chaotic Mana Wastes. Even gunslinging rogues and bandits are influenced by honor and tradition afforded by that pride.

Spoiler:

XP 800
Dwarf fighter 4
N Medium humanoid (dwarf)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex) (+4 dodge vs. giants)
hp 22 (4d10)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +3; +2 vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities; +1 vs. fear
Defensive Abilities bravery +1
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee short sword +5 (1d6+1/19–20)
Ranged revolver +8 (1d6) or Rapid Shot +6/+6 (1d6)
Special Attacks +1 on attack rolls against goblinoid and orc humanoids
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 8
Base Atk +4; CMB +5; CMD 18 (22 vs. bull rush or trip)
Feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms), Gunslinger (see below), Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (revolver)
Skills Acrobatics +5, Craft (guns) +9, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (engineering) +7, Perception +6 (+8 unusual stonework), Survival +8
Languages Common, Dwarven, Kelish, Osiriani
SQ armor training +1, stonecunning
Gear studded leather, revolver, short sword, gun cleaning kit, cigars (3), smokestick, tindertwigs (3)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Gunslinger (Ex) This character does not provoke attacks of opportunity when attacking with firearms. See page 59 of the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting.

BELKZEN: THUNDERING CHOIR MUSICIAN CR 1
Though feared for their swords and the mad gleam in their eyes, the one memory that forever haunts those who've warred against the orcs are the drums. Carried for miles across hills and rocky plains, the ominous drumbeats of orc thundering choir musicians weigh on the minds of men like the heartbeats of tireless predators, never stopping, never slowing. The thundering choir musicians are fierce warriors, but the rhythm of their drumbeats and chants is their foulest weapon, whipping other orcs into murderous frenzies and inspiring terror in the hearts of even the bravest men.

Spoiler:

XP 400
Orc bard 2
CE Medium humanoid (orc)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception –2
DEFENSE
AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor)
hp 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +1
Weaknesses light sensitivity
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee longsword +4 (1d8+3/19–20)
Ranged masterwork sling +2 (1d4+3)
Special Attacks bardic performance (13 rounds/day, standard action), countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1
Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +3)
1st (3/day)—cause fear (DC 12), cure light wounds, remove fear
0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 11), message, resistance, summon instrument
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 6, Cha 13
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 14
Feats Extra Performance
Skills Appraise +5, Craft (leather) +5, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nobility) +0, Perform (Percussion) +6
Languages Common, Orc
SQ bardic knowledge +1, versatile performance (percussion), well-versed
Combat Gear thunderstones (4); Other Gear studded leather, longsword, masterwork sling, bullets (20), lucky human foot, masterwork drums

DRUMA: KALISTRADE PROPHET CR 1
By achieving wealth, the Prophets of Kalistrade prove themselves more righteous than those around them. They travel to discover converts and new business opportunities, furthering their enlightenment. Part entrepreneur, part cultist, they open doors and pull strings for those they consider friends, or financially hinder their detractors.

Spoiler:

XP 400
Human expert 3
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +0; Senses Perception +2
DEFENSE
AC 11, touch 10, flat-footed 11 (+1 armor)
hp 10 (3d8–3)
Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee quarterstaff +2 (1d6)
Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19–20)
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 11, Con 9, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 12
Feats Persuasive, Skill Focus (Knowledge [religion]), Profits of Kalistrade (see below)
Skills Appraise +7, Bluff +1, Craft (jewelry) +6, Diplomacy +6, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (geography) +5, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (local) +2, Knowledge (nobility) +3, Knowledge (religion) +5, Linguistics +5, Perform (Oratory) +0, Profession (merchant) +7, Ride +1, Sense Motive +8
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Kelish
Other Gear padded armor, light crossbow, quarterstaff, copy of The Prophecies of Kalistrade, mercenary contracts
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Feats The Kalistrade prophet has the Profits of Kalistrade feat, which grants him a "resource pool" of 300 gp, allowing him to obtain goods of this value even in settlements too small to have something that expensive. See page 73 of the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting.

FIVE KINGS MOUNTAINS: DWARVEN TRADITIONALIST CR 2
In the eyes of some dwarves, the civilizations of the surface world slowly erode dwarven culture and values, tearing away at their heritage like the rain wears away great stone monuments. Elves bear inefficient frippery, while humans buck the social order, and the less said about halflings and gnomes the better. These traditionalist, xenophobic members of dwarf society would love nothing more than complete isolation from other cultures, and perhaps even to return to the depths of the Darklands. While this usually amounts to little more than talk, the numbers of these radical conservatives swell on occasion into dangerous political groups and gangs.

Spoiler:

XP 600
Dwarf expert 2/warrior 2
LN Medium humanoid (dwarf)
Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 9, flat-footed 18 (+7 armor, –1 Dex, +2 shield) (+4 dodge vs. giants)
hp 30 (4 HD; 2d8+2d10+10)
Fort +5, Ref –1, Will +4; +2 vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee masterwork dwarven waraxe +5 (1d10+1/×3)
Ranged light hammer +2 (1d4+1)
Special Attacks +1 on attack rolls against goblinoid and orc humanoids
STATISTICS
Str 13, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 13 (17 vs. bull rush and trip)
Feats Alertness, Power Attack
Skills Craft (armor) +7, Knowledge (engineering) +3, Knowledge (history) +3, Perception +0 (+2 unusual stonework), Profession (blacksmith) +8, Sense Motive +5
Languages Common, Dwarven
Combat Gear caltrops (3), potion of bull's strength; Other Gear masterwork banded mail, masterwork heavy steel shield, masterwork dwarven waraxe, light hammer (2), genealogy books, masterwork artisan's tools

GEB: BLOOD LORD INITIATE CR 2
The practical seat of power within Geb rests with the Blood Lords. Administrators and necromancers both, any family of repute attempts to position their members within its ranks. The most fortunate embrace undeath, gaining immortality as vampires, ghouls, or other intelligent undead.

Spoiler:

XP 600
Ghoul necromancer 2
NE Medium undead
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 24 (4 HD; 2d8+2d6+8)
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +7
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, undead traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d6+1 plus disease and paralysis) and 2 claws +3 (1d6+1 plus paralysis)
Ranged ray of frost +4 (1d3)
Special Attacks channel negative energy (DC 15, 6/day), grave touch (1 round, 6/day), paralysis
Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
1st—cause fear (DC 14), shield, reduce person (DC 14), ray of enfeeblement (DC 14)
0 (at will)—arcane mark, bleed (DC 13), detect magic, ray of frost, read magic
Prohibited Schools illusion, conjuration
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 15, Con —, Int 17, Wis 11, Cha 14
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Command Undead, Improved Channel, Scribe Scroll, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +4, Climb +6, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (planes) +8, Linguistics +9, Perception +5, Profession (politician) +6, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +7
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Kelish, Osiriani, Vudrani
SQ arcane bond (amulet)
Combat Gear scroll of mage armor, wand of true strike (15 charges); Other Gear acolyte robes, government seal, spellbook

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Ook!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Ook ook! Ook!

Illustration by Vinod Rams

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Introducing Rummy-Tum-Tugger!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Every other Thursday evening, I run my "Shadow Under Sandpoint" campaign for the editorial folks. I started the game several months ago for three reasons—as a team-building exercise, as a way for we editors to get more familiar with the game we created, and because it sounded fun. Several of the PCs from this campaign appear in the recently released NPC Guide, in fact... but not all of them.

When Rob McCreary joined the Paizo editorial team, I invited him to join the game (which brought our total number of players up to a staggering total of nine!). After a false start with a half-orc (who soon left the party to seek fame and glory as our iconic inquisitor), Rob settled on a gnome summoner inspired by another of our new iconic characters. Yet unlike the iconic summoner, who has some sort of weird chicklizatrice type monster as an eidolon, Rob went for a different critter entirely.

His character is named Balazar, and his eidolon is named Rummy-Tum-Tugger (no relation to a certain similarly named feline superstar). When Rummy-Tum-Tugger first showed up, I asked Rob to describe him, but that didn't really help. It seems that every session, something new comes up and folks have to revise what they think Rummy-Tum-Tugger looks like. "Wait, his teeth shoot ice?" "Huh? He has six limbs?" "He's PURPLE?"

There's only one solution. A contest!

Break out your pencils, pens, paints, and Photoshops, because whoever draws Rob the best and most accurate depiction of Rummy-Tum-Tugger not only gets the satisfaction of helping my poor group of PCs visualize what their newest member actually looks like, but I'll sweeten the deal by sending that person a copy of the NPC Guide, signed by the entire Paizo editorial staff!

To enter, simply email your illustration to me at james.jacobs@paizo.com as a .jpg attachment by the end of the month—keep the file small (600 KB or less). Rob will then pick his favorite picture of them all and that'll be the winner, and we'll show it off in a blog post at the start of April.

And now, the details! Rummy-Tum-Tugger is a Medium-sized eidolon. He's got the quadruped base form, and looks vaguely like a purple badger with six legs, each leg tipped with scary sharp claws. His jaws are filled with BIG sharp teeth that are caked with even sharper razor-sharp ice. Oh, he also has a gore attack. Some sort of horns or spikes or something. Did I mention he's purple? He also wears an amulet of mighty fists. And he can talk. And he likes cheese, but since he's lactose intolerant poor Balazar has to constantly watch Rummy-Tum-Tugger's cheese intake.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

The Best Laid Plans...

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I hate airing our dirty laundry in public...

Who am I kidding, I relish airing our dirty laundry in public, but professionalism and good taste often makes doing so... "inadvisable." But this is a special situation and in this instance it's easy to talk around the specifics so to protect the innoce—well, in this case, to protect the guilty. As we've been trying to show off our editorial processes with this project, even more reason to let you all in on how things sometimes play out around here.

The product in question: From Shore to Sea, our Pathfinder Module partnered with Wolfgang Baur's patron-fueled Open Design venture.

The topic: Sometimes we get screwed.

So, let's backtrack a little bit. Here's something most folks didn't notice—unless you've been getting emails from me or really enjoy reading the credits pages of our projects. Around October of last year my title here at Paizo totally didn't change. What comes after that title did, though. Thus, "Managing Editor of Pathfinder" became "Managing Editor of Paizo Publishing." The distinction: now I'm not just in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly for Pathfinder Adventure Path, but everything else we publish too. And, as a special bonus challenge, that it all happens in a timely manner. That's been the real trick. It's like telling someone to build a number of towers (one for each product line) but, hey, for fun, let's start at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon, in this case, is our "schedule debt," a sizable hole with depth markers called Dragon and Dungeon magazines, the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, and other beautiful fiascos that have gradually meant nearly everything we publish has fallen off its intended tracks. A real nasty peril when you've got thousands of gamers rightly demanding the products they've subscribed to and expect from month to month. But with my shiny Paizo-brand carrot and Paizo-brand stick, and the incredible efforts of our insanely talented and even more dedicated designers, editors (with a special nod to Judy Bauer, Chris Carey, Rob McCreary, and James Sutter), and folks at all levels of the company who have sacrificed nights, weekends, sleep, and meals to write and edit, those towers have reached up and up toward the light. The first tower to break the surface was the Pathfinder Module line with From to Shore to Sea, scheduled to go to print, on time, March 5th.

Or rather it would have, if the art we ordered actually came in. Oh, I don't just mean came in on time, I mean, was going to come in at all. What we got on the due date instead of a half dozen illustrations was an apology from Joe "You'll-Never-Work-in-this-Town-Again" and a very empty "good luck!" Lame. Now, art directorix Sarah Robinson is a goddess for a variety of reasons, but the power she employed in this particular crisis was to bat her eyelashes via email and coax a whole host of fantastically talented artists to take up the slack, and in record speed. What that did mean, though, is that instead of going out on time, From to Shore to Sea is now going out next week, three weeks behind my precious schedule. Ugh.

Illustration by Dan Scott

Wolf set us up with this great plan, author Brandon Hodge pulled together a fantastic adventure, the Open Design patrons made a host of inspired suggestions, and Rob developed this thing into a fine addition to our Pathfinder Modules line in record time. And Dan Scott, our ever reliably awesome cover artist, did the incredible cover I’ve attached here. (Again, Dan: great and timely work. We love Dan’s stuff.) Yet despite top-notch materials and everyone who touched the adventure doing heroic work, sometimes things still don't work out the way they should. Sometimes it makes things frustrating and stressful, but never, ever boring.

From Shore to Sea will be awesome, there's no doubt about that, and I'm more excited about this one than I am about most. But, sadly, this one has had a bumpy journey, and my first tower breaking the surface will likely have to wait for City of Strangers in the Pathfinder Chronicles line later this month. Missing a deadline sadly isn't something new, so don't go adjusting orders or rechecking release dates; this happens sometimes and no one outside this building ever hears about it. Our website and warehouse teams are also quite adept—to our chagrin—at picking up our slack. And, should all our plans continue to work and there are relatively few additional catastrophes, you shouldn't ever hear me griping about our "editorial debt" again.

So just a heads-up for all the folks who have been invested in and keenly anticipating Open Design's From to Shore to Sea: it's awesome and it's coming, but sometimes the path from author to your hands has some unanticipated adventures. And expect a very boring blog post from me in a few months announcing that all our product lines are, at last, shipping to the printer on time. It might not matter much to folks outside these offices, but here, it's going to be cresting the top of a very tall hill.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

Illustration by Tim Hitchcock

Maps, Maps, Maps

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Here at Paizo, the normal process for ordering a map for an adventure or sourcebook goes something like this: First the author sends us a map of the imagined area, drawn out to the best of his or her abilities. With that in hand, we check it thoroughly for any contradictions with existing continuity, and redraw or retag sections as necessary to correct mistakes, make the map more interesting, or simply increase legibility. We then hand the map over to Art Director Sarah Robinson, who sends it off as reference to a professional cartographer. Once the professional version comes back, we check it against the original and make changes as necessary. It's a process that happens every day at Paizo.

And then, once in a great while, an author turns the whole system on its head.

In this case, that's Tim Hitchcock, who provided such amazing map turnovers for several locations in Heart of the Jungle, our guide to the Mwangi Expanse, that we couldn't in good conscience send them all away to a cartographer. Instead, we're doing something we very rarely do, and including several of Tim's original art pieces—such as this rendering of Usaro, city of demon-worshiping apes—as player handouts, perfect for GMs who want an in-game reference they can show their players. Between the loads of professionally rendered, heavily tagged maps and Tim's pages torn straight from an explorer's diary, this book is one of the map-heaviest supplements we've ever done, and I can't wait to hear what GMs think when this experiment finally hits bookstores.

Or to see what Tim draws next...

James Sutter
Fiction Editor & Developer

Leeches!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

One of my favorite parts of being an editor at Paizo is getting to read about the new monsters in each bestiary before they come out. My favorites are the ones whose descriptions make me shiver with a delicious sense of horror and disgust. If the players facing these foul beasts make the same expression that I do reading about them, GMs will be richly rewarded for including them!

Last week, James Sutter was casually describing some of the nasties in Heart of the Jungle as he handed over a copy of one of the chapters: "You know, giant botflies, giant leeches, and [...]" Oh sorry, could you repeat the rest of that sentence? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my inner child screaming in fear.

Illustration by Andrew Hou

You see, when I was about 10, I was reading my dad's Dragon magazine back issues while en route to a week of camping in northern Minnesota, and I came across an article called "Ecology of the Giant Leech." The description of foot-long ribbons of muscle whose bite you can't even feel slowly fattening as they fill with your blood horrified me—suddenly I was terrified to be spending a week canoeing and swimming in leech-infested waters. ("Leech-infested" is not an exaggeration; the water along the shore of every beach and campsite was thick with six-inch-long leeches.)

I studied over the article again and again, poring over the stats and descriptions of their attacks and vulnerabilities, so I'd know how to defend myself when the time came. (You can laugh, but clearly, it worked!)

Now giant leeches are back—and I can't wait to read about them again! Partly because I love being creeped out by things that go bump in the water, and okay, I confess, partly to learn whether leech-fighting methods have evolved over the years.

GMs, you're going to love these wriggly critters: monsters based on one of nature's actual horrors, and whose attack is so insidious that victims may not even notice until it's almost too late. The only thing more priceless than the expression on your players' faces when they find a couple giant leeches draining one of their comrades—and wonder about that crawling sensation on their own backs—will be the look on their faces when they realize they have to cross that swamp again on the way back.

Yours shudderingly,

Judy Bauer
Editor

Winter 2010 Releases: An Early Look!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

This week Paizo posted new product descriptions for dozens of products to be released in the third trimester of 2010, including new hardcover books, a revision of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, and a brand new line of Pathfinder novels!

We've been hard at work on these items for months, and even though you'll have to wait until at least September before they hit your game table, we're thrilled to finally be able to discuss some of this stuff in public. The suspense has been killing us!

Folks are already discussing some of our new releases on the paizo.com messageboards, but as the commentary has been flying fast and furious over the last couple days, I figured it might be helpful to post a broad overview of our new offerings here on the blog, with direct links to the products in question.

So without further ado, let's plug ourselves into the future-caster time machine and take a journey forward to September through December 2010. Bring your dice and a few character sheets. You're going to need them!

PATHFINDER FICTION
The biggest announcement is a brand new line of Pathfinder novels written by some of the biggest names in fantasy fiction! The first book, Winter Witch, by New York Times best-selling author Elaine Cunningham, explores the tale of a barbarian shield maiden who ventures from Varisia to the winter-locked land of Irrisen to rescue a possessed sister—and the canny young cartographer who follows her into that haunted land. The book formally releases in September, but we'll have copies on hand at this year's Gen Con Game Fair as a special preview. October sees the release of Prince of Wolves, by former Amazing Stories and Dragon editor Dave Gross, which revisits the Pathfinder agent Varian Jeggare and his tiefling assistant Radovan, last seen in the Pathfinder Journal section of the Council of Thieves Adventure Path. Additional novels will follow in 2011 from well-known authors including Paul S. Kemp and other familiar faces. Stay tuned for more info!

NEW HARDCOVERS
Following up on the forthcoming GameMastery Guide and Advanced Player's Guide, 2010 will see the release of one more hardcover rulebook in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line: Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2! Like the first Bestiary, Bestiary 2 will include more than 300 monsters for use with the Pathfinder RPG, including old favorites like the hippogriff and new planar creatures like the aeons and proteans. This book will cover most of the standard monsters from the history of the game that we couldn't fit in the first Bestiary, as well as tons of other great monsters you've never seen before. Each monster will receive a full page or a 2-page spread, using the same format as the original book.

Supplies of the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting hardcover are dwindling faster than we can count, so in September we'll release a revised edition in the form of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting World Guide: The Inner Sea. Fully updated to the Pathfinder RPG rules and with expanded coverage of nearly every nation, the latest version of this book contains a new cover from Wayne Reynolds, an updated map, fixed errata from the first edition, and more than 300 pages packed with tons of information about the lands, peoples, beliefs, and cultures of the world of Golarion. Paizo Creative Director James Jacobs is giving this project his personal finish, making sure our campaign setting book is a solid bedrock of our publishing operation for years to come. We're really pleased with the early development of this book, and think it will be an ideal resource for all Pathfinder players and game masters.

PATHFINDER CHRONICLES
In addition to the revised campaign setting, in late 2010 we'll release the Inner Sea Map Folio, a massive 32-panel map of the Inner Sea region containing all "canonical" locations from every Pathfinder product published to date! This monster is sure to brighten up the gaming room or man-cave of any Pathfinder enthusiast, and its "four poster" format will even allow for easy reference at the game table for those lacking the wall space to do it justice. The Campaign Setting product line will also see a new Classic Monsters-style book in the form of Misfit Monsters Redeemed (and you won't believe what that's about until you read the description, believe me) as well as Lost Cities of Golarion, which explores six adventure locales from throughout the world of Golarion.

PATHFINDER PLAYER COMPANION
We can't let the GMs have all the fun, after all, so we've also planned a couple of sure-fire player's guides for the last third of 2010 that will be must-buys for Pathfinder RPG players. October sees the release of the Inner Sea Primer, a slimmed-down overview of the Pathfinder world designed specifically for players. This book will include tons of new character traits tied to the regions and religions of Golarion, and will provide a perfect "gist" of the setting for those looking to dip a toe in the water without needing to buy a big hardcover book. December sees the release of Halflings of Golarion, which rounds out the player's guides to the standard "demihuman" player character races in the Pathfinder RPG with plenty of details on how to integrate them into Golarion campaigns. Lots of fun equipment and lore in this one for fans of halflings (and everyone else, too)!

PATHFINDER MODULES

Gamers have been asking for a high-level Pathfinder adventure since the very beginning, and now I'm pleased to report that the time has come at last! Shipping in September, The Witchwar Legacy takes 17th-level player characters to the snow-shrouded witch kingdom of Irrisen to thwart a plan by the Ice Queen involving the insidious Baba Yaga herself! If that's not enough, in November we'll release a brand-new 1st-level starter adventure called The Godsmouth Heresy, set in the shadowy city of Kaer Maga, site of June's City of Strangers sourcebook!

GAMEMASTERY ACCESSORIES
Paizo's popular map products keep on coming in the last part of 2010, including the first-ever crossover between the Map Pack and Flip-Mat lines! Everything starts innocently enough in September with the release of Flip-Mat: Forest, but things really get interesting in October, with Map Pack: Shops. This 18-tile map set includes the interiors for several different stores, apothecaries, taverns, and the like, but things become super-special when you combine this pack with November's Flip-Mat: City Streets, which details a mercantile district suitable for use with other city Flip-Mats. The roofed buildings on this Flip-Mat (suitable for rooftop chases) correspond exactly to the interiors presented in Map Pack: Shops, providing a uniquely immersive tabletop experience. And if that's not enough to impress your jaded players, spring December's Map Pack: Ambush Sites on them. They probably deserve it.

GameMastery Cards keep coming as well, this time in the form of new GameMastery Condition Cards, handy reference cards for all of the various conditions in the Pathfinder RPG rules.

PATHFINDER ADVENTURE PATH
And, of course, we haven't forgotten the date that brought us to the big dance in the first place. The last trimester of 2010 will see plenty of action in the Pathfinder Adventure Path line, as the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path takes a jungle trail toward its stunning conclusion! Ruined Azlanti cities, Red Mantis assassins, monkey-men, the Pathfinder Society, ancient serpentfolk, and one very, very angry Gorilla King are all in store in a quartet of adventures by Tim Hitchcock, Kevin Kulp, Greg A. Vaughan, and Graeme Davis! The Serpent's Skull is a return to classic-style adventuring in the Pathfinder tradition, and we can't wait to get you guys into the jungle!

I'm saving our Planet Stories releases for tomorrow's blog, so be sure to tune in then for some of the biggest Planet Stories news we've had yet!

So much is happening here at Paizo these days that it's difficult to remember the uncertainty and horror of the last few years, with major changes to our business, our game system, and our lives. All of us really appreciate the support you have shown us so far, and we look forward to more exciting products in the months and years to come!

Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing

River Kingdoms of the Fellnight Queen

Friday, January 29, 2010

It's a busy week here at Paizo, and that means it's time for an art blog! So enjoy this sneak peek at some artwork from the upcoming Pathfinder Module Realm of the Fellnight Queen and Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms!

	Illustration by Andrew Kim
Illustration by Jorge Maese	Illustration by Andres Espara

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles and Pathfinder Modules

In with the New

Friday, January 22, 2010

I recently had the "opportunity" to run into yoda8myhead, extra pervasive poster on these boards and mastermind behind the Pathfinder Wiki. Besieged with the usual onslaught of questions and accusations also came a request for a few more pieces of art previewing some of our upcoming products (and perhaps in some cases "past-viewing" some recent releases). Ask and ye shall receive… ya harpy. :P

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

From Classic Horrors Revisited	From Cities of Golarion	From NPC Guide
Illustration by Tyler Walpole	Illustration by Craig J. Spearing	Illustration by Kyushik Shin

NPC Guide Concept Preview

Monday, December 21, 2009

Pathfinder Chronicles: NPC Guide has a lot of stat blocks—about 100, at this point in development. Most of the book is the first chapter, one page per NPC and generally one NPC per country in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, each with a history and illustration. Here’s a little preview of some of these named PCs.

Illustrations by Christopher Ocampo

Krun Thuul of Belkzen, an orc military genius
Brinian of Brevoy, an arrogant young Aldori sword lord
Halig of Geb, a ghast priest of Zon-Kuthon who hungers for power
Bjorn Grimsong of the Land of the Linnorm Kings, a warrior prince with a borrowed name
Thaim of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, a young hunter on a mission, mammoth in tow
Lord Achimair of the Sodden Lands, a sahuagin warlord with a bad temper

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

March of the Damned

Friday, November 20, 2009

Well, we're wrapping up the Council of Thieves Adventure Path here and along with it my series of new devils in each month's Bestiary draws to a close (on our end at least). At long last, let me reveal my ulterior motive. The new devils in Council of Thieves, when combined with those in Princes of Darkness: Book of the Damned Vol. 1, the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, Pathfinder #12, and two stragglers from another project I'm still keeping mum about, all sync up to give you more than enough diabolatry to fill out twenty levels of infernal adventure. Check it out!

Illustration by Andrew Kim

CR	Devil	Source
1	Lemure	Bestiary
2	Imp	Bestiary
3	Gaav	BotD
4	Ukobach	Pathfinder #25
5	Barbazu	Bestiary
6	Magaav	BotD
6	Lesser Gidim	Pathfinder #29
7	Levaloch	BotD
7	Salikotal	Pathfinder #26
8	Erinyes	Bestiary
9	Osyluth	Bestiary
9	Chertov	Pathfinder #27
10	Phistophilius	Pathfinder #12
10	Uniila	Pathfinder #28
11	Hamatula	Bestiary
12	Ayngavhaul	BotD
13	Gelugon	Bestiary
14	Forthcoming
15	Greater Gidim	Pathfinder #29
16	Cornugon	Bestiary
16	Bdellvarita	Pathfinder #12
17	Deimavigga	BotD
18	Advodaza	Pathfinder #30
19	Forthcoming
20	Pit Fiend	Bestiary

Being told to "go to Hell" just became a much more daunting proposition, huh? I'll be sure to update this once those last two slowpokes come on across the finish line.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

Illustration by Craig J. Spearing

A river, a river, my kingdom for a river!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

It's been just over a fortnight since I risked life and limb to infiltrate the stygian depths of Paizo's editorial pit, so I thought it was time to provide a few brief glimpses into the shadowy machinations of Paizo's editorial process.

As soon as Paizo's minions discovered my presence, they lost no time in hurling reams of word-filled paper at me. Armed only with a quill and a pot of green ink, I got right to work, slashing hanging participles and eradicating the feared passive voice. Along the way, I realized I was working on a comprehensive guide to realms of a most low character. While it was my great pleasure to read and edit a plethora of famed authors' impressions of such a dangerous and unstable land, I soon learned that mapping such a chaotic territory and compiling its history into a concise timeline were Herculean tasks of epic proportions. Nevertheless, I persevered, so that you, loyal readers, would get only the best.

But these riverine dominions were not my only task, for two new classes were ready to take their place in an upcoming guide to advanced play and needed a critical editorial eye before making their playtest debut before the eager masses. I was only too happy to give the oracle and cavalier my aid, and send them happily on their way.

As for what comes next, your guess is as good mine! I am hoarding a few secrets, of course (I've been sworn to secrecy on the threat of Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts regarding the happenings at last week's secret Sandpoint game, for example), but more tidbits will slowly be making their laborious way to bloglight, I can assure you. Until then, I bid you fond farewell. And watch out for the fish!

Rob McCreary
Assistant Editor

Joining the Core: Seekers of Secrets

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Unless you've been kidnapped by goblins and held hostage in their dingy lair, you're likely aware that we are about to release a new book in our Pathfinder Chronicles line called Seekers of Secrets. Seekers covers just about everything you can imagine with regard to the Pathfinder Society. It describes in detail how your character can join the Society, the history and origins of the Society, a gazetteer of the Society's activities in the Inner Sea region, detailed maps, brand new ioun stones and new rules for using them with a Pathfinder's wayfinder, three new prestige classes, and new feats. All of that in 64 pages!

Because this book covers the Pathfinder Society so well and because it contains a great deal of magnificent new material for Pathfinders everywhere, we've decided to include this book as part of the core assumption for Pathfinder Society Organized Play. What this means for you as a Pathfinder Society GM is that you will likely see references to the new rules, magic items, feats, and prestige classes in future Pathfinder Society scenarios. What this means for you as a Pathfinder Society player, is that everything contained within this book is legal for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play and you may begin using the material from this book immediately.

I hope you enjoy everything inside Seekers of Secrets. The authors (Tim Hitchcock, Erik Mona, Sean K Reynolds, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor) have done a bang-up job bringing us a detailed glimpse into the inner sanctum of Pathfinder lore and adventures. If you're ever in the Starrise Spire in Mendev, tell Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury I said hello!

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Illustration by Jim Pavelec

To Hell and Back

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

With Book of the Damned: Princes of Darkness showing up in stores shortly and the Council of Thieves Adventure Path well underway, the keen-eyed reader might be noticing a few crossovers. Indeed, Princes of Darkness was very much meant to be a companion to our infernal Adventure Path, while at the same time, we've drawn more than in a little bit of diabolism in from that damnable tome. So if you're reading through Book of the Damned and come across a creature or two that you're unfamiliar with, look no farther than Pathfinder Adventure Path for all the details we couldn't fit between two covers. Already the subtly mentioned ukobach (#25), stymphalian (#26), cerberi (#28), and a whole host of new devils have appeared, with even more infernal lore to come. So stay watchful all you infernal scholars out there! The secrets of devilkind reveal themselves fully to only to the most cunning diabolists.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Illustration by Eric Lofgren

Seekers of Secrets: Journeys and Rewards

Monday, October 19, 2009

Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets talks about the tests to become a Pathfinder and the training members receive if they pass, but the carrot that convinces most applicants to try is the chance to explore strange places, discover exotic treasures, and be published in the Pathfinder Chronicles. This illustration encompasses all aspects of those rewards, from the young Pathfinder referring to the Chronicles for clues on how to open a strange sealed door, to the female Pathfinder so impressed with Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin that she cut her hair just like his, to their overzealous companion too intent on unearthing a cache of wayfinders and ioun stones to heed his fellows' warnings.

Illustration by Craig J. Spearing

Of course, few could blame him for this eagerness. The Pathfinders are said to have enough treasures in their vaults to buy and sell all of Absalom—surely an exaggeration, but greed is a powerful lure, and many join the Pathfinder Society just to get their hands on as much magic as possible.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

From Baria to Golarion

Friday, October 16, 2009

So, I've made no secret of the fact that I've given large parts of my 25+ year-old homebrew campaign setting, Baria, over to Golarion. One of the more successful of these imports are the Red Mantis assassins—and by extension, their home city of Ilizmagorti. When it came time to assign authors for Cities of Golarion, I was sorely tempted to claim the chapter on Ilizmagorti as my own—I was nervous that even if another author did a GREAT job with the city that the end result wouldn't match my own personal vision of the city. The same goes for the city's map, to be honest. But my work schedule being what it was (I'd already taken up two chapters of Classic Horrors Revisited, alas, I couldn't responsibly claim the chapter of Ilizmagorti for Cities of Golarion as my own. And so, with some nervous fear and much wringing of hands, I gave it up for someone else to write about.

I'm happy to say that what Rob McCreary wrought with his words is exactly what I'd envisioned for the city of Ilizmagorti—he hit every nail square, and the resulting chapter is hands-down my favorite in the book as a result (which is saying something, since there was some tough competition!). Even more exciting, he came up with some concepts that I'd never thought of for Baria's Ilizmagorti—concepts that inspired me in some really fun ways. It's really weird being inspired to write things about something you made up due to someone else's work on that concept! Weird, but wonderful!

Yet as wonderful as Rob's words were, a city can live or die by its map. For Cities of Golarion, we tackled the creation somewhat differently. We hired writers to write the chapters, but we hired artists and cartographers to create the city maps. Long-time readers of this blog might remember earlier this year when I posted the Map Open Call—the results are some of the best city maps that Paizo's had the pleasure to print. Presented here are the two versions of the map of Ilizmagorti—the first one created by Daniel Thomson, based on my outline of what the city should incorporate. The other map is the final version you'll see in the book and in the Cities Map Folio as a four-panel poster. (We've left the tags off of Rob's map so you can ogle the beauty of his work easier.)

Illustration by Daniel Thomson	Illustration by Rob Lazzaretti

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief

Illustration by Craig J. Spearing

Cities of Golarion—Whitethrone Preview

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

One of the six cities presented in Pathfinder Chronicles: Cities of Golarion is Whitethrone, capital of the wintry land of Irrisen, written by Jonathan Keith.

Home to the jadwiga ("children of the witch-mother"), the descendents of the witch Baba Yaga, Whitethrone is a playground for evil nobles, with Queen Elvannia's family enjoying the last few years of its ruling legacy before her mother instills another daughter to rule for a century. The city is home to snow goblins, ice trolls, and even winter wolves and worgs, all of them with the same rights as humanfolk. Visitors must beware, for Baba Yaga cast a spell on the Howlings district that allows the lupines to walk in human form to more easily interact with the two-legged population; the people of Whitethrone know better than to hunt wolves outside the city, or insult the shaggy-haired men and women whose breaths fog the air on even the warmest days.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

Illustration by Craig J. Spearing

Seekers of Secrets—Skyreach and Ambrus

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Time for another preview of Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets!

Skyreach: This five-towered fortress, visible from miles away over Abaslom's skyline, is the heart of the Pathfinder Society. Here the Decemvirate rules and make its rare pronouncements beneath the enchanted skylights of the Great Hall in the central tower, and both resident and visiting Pathfinders sequester themselves in cozy lounges to study, socialize, and plot future missions. Packed tight with chambers ranging from well-known ballrooms named after nations to innumerable trophy rooms and museums to rows of featureless doors identified only by number, Skyreach is a warren that only the Decemvirate understands completely. The majority of its mysterious spaces are off-limits to all but those specifically invited by Ambrus Valsin, the venture-captain who runs the daily operations of the Grand Lodge at the Decemvirate's command.

Meticulous with details and annoyed by inefficiency, Ambrus makes a point to supervise all important duties within the Grand Lodge, and keeps a long list of relatively safe but time-consuming jobs on file, ready to hand out to rookie Pathfinders to keep them busy and out of the way of more experienced agents. Tall and meticulously groomed, Ambrus doesn't appreciate backtalk and reserves particularly strenuous assignments for those who annoy him.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

Book of the Damned: Heresy Devil and Erinyes Queen on Labor Day

Monday, September 7, 2009

Ahh, Labor Day! A day to relax, share the company of friends, and enjoy one of the last summer weekends in the northern hemisphere. Of course, if you're this heresy devil from Princes of Darkness, Book of the Damned Volume I, you've probably never had an honest day of work in your life—just beers, bratwurst, and corrupting existing religions to evil. He's really let himself go, the guy probably weighs like 2,300 pounds! And here's his nagging girlfriend, one of the Erinyes Queens. "Why can't you get a job? All you do is loaf around with your stupid friends! My mother was right about you!" Feels like home, doesn't it?

Illustrations by Eva Widermann

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

At Long Last: Seekers of Secrets

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Illustration by Craig J. Spearing

Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets was delayed a long time, probably because of several nasty curses brought on by too-curious chroniclers into forbidden lore. The book is finally out the door, which means it's time for some previews! This time it's an excerpt from one of the book's many biographies of notable Pathfinders and a hint about how some powerful individuals bind their ioun stones to their flesh to keep these treasures safe.

Eliza Petulengro: Absalom's newest venture-captain hails from war-torn Galt. She is a talented diviner with a photographic memory for text, names, and faces. Soft-spoken and polite, she has a pleasant habit of calling initiates by name even after meeting them only once. Though she appears bookish, this is just a facade to deter suitors and keep her affairs private.

Implanting Ioun Stones: Not all the secrets of the ioun stones lie with the Azlanti. While the First Humans mastered the intrinsic powers of the stones, uncovering new attributes and binding them to devices, the Thassilonians explored the interaction of ioun stones and the living mind and body, and in time devised a means of implanting an ioun stone within the flesh. This process, originally believed irreversible, protected the ioun stone from harm and theft while still providing its full powers to the owner.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

Illustration by Frances Tsai

Book of the Damned: Moloch and Stygia

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Now that we're back from the adventures, misadventures, and unexpected romances of Gen Con, it's again time to talk about one of our upcoming books, Princes of Darkness, Book of the Damned Volume I. I'll just quote Master Schneider's text.

Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Moloch: All who burn join the armies of Moloch. A being of seething wrath, the Lord of the Sixth embodies both absolute discipline and directed destructive force. General of Hell's Armies, Moloch endlessly trains his infernal legions to be the greatest martial force in the multiverse.

Whatever body Moloch might have once possessed was consumed in flame long ago. Now, the General of Hell is an embodiment of the most devastating, inhuman aspects of war, a creature of fearsome black metal and spiked armor encrusted with the blood of countless opponents. With his clawed gauntlets he exerts the strength of a titan to heft the blood-soaked sword Ramithaine and the horned battleaxe Goreletch. Even in his most tempered moods, flames leap from Moloch's eyes, flaring nostrils, and every other joint and chink of his scorched armor, this blaze growing more wild as the archfiend's ire rises. He never removes his armor, though on the rare occasions where it has become damaged in the heat of battle, nothing lies beneath but flames and the faint outline of withered, fire-charred bones.

Stygia: Every lie spoken throughout the planes condenses as a drop of poison to flood Stygia, the fifth layer of Hell. Amid the tangled swamps and fetid jungles rise moldy ruins, mired temples to false deities, and whole blasphemous cities. The waters of the Styx mix with the layer's venomous bogs, creating vast noxious moors before flowing into vast black seas. Dilapidated avenues paved with cracked stones—remnants of empires that never were—cut through these dense bogs, though they regularly succumb to unexpected floods of stagnant water. Travelers who brave the paths or manage to fight their way through the swamps for long enough inevitably discover examples of the layer's countless ruins, overgrown temples and cathedrals, disparate crumbling monuments, and fortresses upturned as if flung by gigantic and careless hands. Most of these decrepit structures—drawn in their entirety from innumerable mortal worlds—still bear artifacts and artistry from forgotten epochs, typically idols and icons of deities and divine forces unknown to even the longest-lived inhabitants of the multiverse.

In the mountainous scriptorium called the Library of Oaths, diabolical clerks record every mortal oath with a damning consequence. These records prove binding, and those who break their words are damned to eternity in Stygia for as long as their vows remain within the library vault.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

Illustration by Frances Tsai

Princes of Darkness

Monday, August 3, 2009

lllustration by Kieran Yanner

Wes is a pretty creepy guy. He always wears black and red, never smiles, lights creepy candles at his desk, and his voice is a spine-chilling hiss.* What better person to write Book of the Damned, Vol. I, Princes of Darkness?

This book is a seven-course feast of lore about Hell, devils, and Asmodeus. You get descriptions of all nine layers of Hell, each layer's archdevil ruler (such as Dispater, the Iron Lord of Dis), new hellish spells and magic items, a new diabolist prestige class (and her imp "animal companion"), information about the influence of true names and sigils on controlling devils, promotion and demotion among the ranks, five new kinds of devils (including the levaloch, soldiers of Malebolgia), and excerpts from an ancient book penned by an exiled angel about the nature of Hell and the origin of Asmodeus himself. The art is beautiful and evocative; art director Sarah Robinson has outdone herself yet again, producing a beautiful book about the ultimate place of evil.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Chronicles

*Wes is actually very nice, outgoing, and fun to work with. And I'm not just saying that because he's hissing. A lot.

2009 ENnie Nominations!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The dash toward the 2009 ENnie Awards has begun with Paizo accepting nominations in six categories, including a fan nomination for Best Publisher! These acknowledgments start off the process of honoring the best products and ideas in the last year of tabletop gaming, but in the end it all relies on you! Be sure to check back in with the ENnies this Friday when voting begins, giving you the chance to cast your ballot for your favorite games and accessories.

Here's this year's rundown of Paizo Products up for honors:

Best Cover Art
Pathfinder Adventure Path #19: Howl of the Carrion King

Best Adventure
Pathfinder Adventure Path #19: Howl of the Carrion King

Best Campaign Setting
Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting

Best Cartography
Pathfinder Chronicles Second Darkness Map Folio

   

Best Miniatures Product
Game Mastery Flip-Mat: Waterfront Tavern

Best Regalia
Planet Stories: Infernal Sorceress, by Gary Gygax

And a Fan Award for Best Publisher!

Check out all the publishers at the ENnies Awards homepage, and be sure to check back this Friday for your chance to cast your vote! Thanks to ENWorld and all of you for this year's nominations and the endless support!

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

New Products Announced

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

This week we announced a slew of new products:

Pathfinder

Pathfinder #14 Second Darkness Chapter 2: "Children of the Void"—A star has fallen from the sky, destroying the island known as the Devil's Elbow. Tasked by a group of elven bounty hunters to investigate a dark elf assassin tied to the catastrophe, the heroes travel to the blasted island only to find it crawling with prospectors, merchants, and mercenaries eager to salvage the legendary "skymetal" sure to have fallen from space.

Pathfinder #15 Second Darkness Chapter 3: "The Armageddon Echo"—Evidence recovered from the devastated island known as the Devil's Elbow indicates that vile dark elves have infiltrated the ruined elven city of Celwynvian. The heroes join forces with the valorous elves of Crying Leaf in an attempt to reclaim the city from darkness.

Pathfinder #16 Second Darkness Chapter 4: "Endless Night"—Disguised as evil dark elves, the heroes penetrate a hidden city in the subterranean Darklands in an effort to discover the drow plan for the coming apocalypse. The possibility of a traitor among the goodly elves of the surface world and the discovery of the heroes' ruse leads to a race through treacherous caverns in a desperate effort to warn allies of impending doom.

Pathfinder #17 Second Darkness Chapter 5: "A Memory of Darkness"—Armed with the knowledge that an elven traitor supplied the drow with the magical means to call down the stars and devastate Golarion, the PCs arrive at the elven nation of Kyonin to find their claims falling on deaf ears.

Pathfinder Chronicles

Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods & Magic—This comprehensive 64-page guidebook provides an overview of the 20 "core" Pathfinder Chronicles gods and their religions, with an emphasis on rules and information players can use at the game table, whether they're playing a zealous cleric, brave paladin, or simply a faithful member of any character class.

Pathfinder Chronicles Item Cards: Second Darkness Deck—This 54-card set allows heroes to keep track of their equipment in style and is completely compatible with all of Paizo's other GameMastery Item Card sets.

Pathfinder Chronicles: Into the Darklands—Delve the deep secrets of the Darklands, a subterranean realm frequented by dark elves, shadow dragons, and worse! This comprehensive sourcebook provides an overview of the cavernous realms below the surface of the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting.

Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Absalom—The largest and most important metropolis in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting comes alive in this comprehensive guide to the City at the Center of the World!

GameMastery Maps

GameMastery Flip-Mat: Darklands—features a maze of interconnected underworld tunnels. The Flip side features a huge, cavernous chamber.

GameMastery Flip-Mat: Desert—features a majestic desert filled with blowing sands and massive dunes. The Flip side features a desert oasis centered on a small pond and teeming with life.

GameMastery Map Pack: Elven City—Locations include: Treehouse Dwelling, Mystic Arch, Statuary Garden Temple of the Four Winds, and Council of Chambers.

GameMastery Map Pack: Ancient Forest—Locations include: Druid's Glade, Fairy Ring, Overgrown Ruins, Blighted Glen, and Briar Patch.

Planet Stories

The Hounds of Skaith, by Leigh Brackett—Eric John Stark rides again! Leigh Brackett's unforgettable science-fantasy hero of The Secret of Sinharat and The Ginger Star cuts a red swath across the brutal planet Skaith!

The Dark World, by Henry Kuttner—Henry Kuttner's Sword and Sorcery classic returns to print at last! World War II veteran Edward Bond's recuperation from a disastrous fighter plane crash takes a distinct turn for the weird when he encounters a giant wolf, a red witch, and the undeniable power of the need-fire, a portal to a world of magic and swordplay at once terribly new and hauntingly familiar.

Death in Delhi, by Gary Gygax—A giant ruby and a plea to rescue the purloined crown jewels of Delhi arrives at the villa of Magister Setne Inhetep, philosopher-wizard of the Pharaoh of Aegypt!

Carolyn Mull
Paizo Sales & Marketing Assistant