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Author Jim Zub on Pathfinder Comics

Apr 4, 2013, 10:00 AM

Adapting source material to different mediums can be really difficult. Each form of entertainment has its own strengths and weaknesses. Movies aren't books, games aren't prose, and comics aren't video games. When you move between mediums, you need to understand what the essence of the source material is and do all you can to keep that core intact while adjusting the rest around it.

Author Jim Zub on Pathfinder Comics

Thursday, April 4, 2013

When Erik Mona invited me to pitch Paizo a plan for the Pathfinder comic series I was thrilled and intimidated at the same time. The Pathfinder setting is robust and detailed, filled to the brim with incredible story potential. Thousands of gaming groups have taken the world of Golarion and made it their own, populating it with characters and events from the sourcebooks while using it as a canvas for their own creativity. How could I filter all that great material down into a cohesive and engaging comic that would work for longtime fans but also be new-reader friendly?

I banged it around in my brain for a while and honestly thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew, until I realized the essence of what makes Pathfinder, and tabletop gaming as a whole, so great.

It's the characters. It's always been the characters.

We play these wonderful games because we want to connect with characters and with each other. The characters we make, PCs or NPCs, are storytelling avatars that empower us and entertain us.

If I could create a cast of characters that felt genuine and had the kind of playful interaction I enjoy so much around the gaming table, then it could work. Of course, all the details and rules would find their way into the comic too, but they'd be there reinforcing that core of character interaction.

Using the beautiful visual designs established for the iconics by Wayne Reynolds, I started to brainstorm who they were: their goals, mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. Once I figured that out I felt confident I could create a comic that felt like gaming with friends, regardless of where the actual story went.

When I get a chance to meet readers of the Pathfinder comic at conventions and they tell me they enjoy it because it reads like a great gaming session, I know we've done our job well. The essence is intact even though it's been adapted to a new medium. I'm proud of the series and excited about our second story arc arriving in 2013. If you haven't had a chance to check out the Pathfinder comic, I encourage you to browse the free samples posted here online (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) or order the upcoming hardcover collection for Dark Waters Rising.

I hope you enjoy reading the Pathfinder comic as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Getting the chance to flesh out the Pathfinder iconics has been a real honor. I can't wait to level them up for many more adventures to come.

Jim Zub
Pathfinder Comics Author

Jim Zub is a writer, artist and art instructor based in Toronto, Canada. He juggles his time between being a freelance comic writer, Project Manager for UDON Entertainment and Program Coordinator for Seneca College's award-winning Animation program. His current projects include Makeshift Miracle, a modern day fable, Skullkickers, a sword & sorcery action-comedy, and Pathfinder, the comic series based on the best-selling tabletop RPG.

Pathfinder Volume 1: Dark Waters Rising, the first Pathfinder hardcover graphic novel, is available to pre-order now and will be released June 2013.

Secrets of Sandpoint Revealed

Feb 12, 2013, 10:00 AM

When Erik Mona asked me if I'd be interested in writing additional content for the Pathfinder comic, I nearly giggled with joy—this would be an excellent place for me to finally get some of the information about the Sandpoint hinterlands out there that I've been building up over the years. I've managed to get some more Sandpoint goodness into the Adventure Path line now and then, most significantly recently with the first installment of Jade Regent and the two goblin-themed Free RPG Day adventures (make sure to check out the upcoming We Be Goblins Too! coming soon to a friendly local game store near you!), but I've always got more to say about my favorite town on Golarion and the region surrounding it.

Secrets of Sandpoint Revealed

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

One way I've been scratching that itch was to set my in-house campaign in Sandpoint. For several years, I ran my "Shadow Under Sandpoint" game for nine (whew!) fellow Paizonians, and during that campaign they began to learn about the sinister machinations of the Red Bishop, the local ghoul population, secrets hidden in certain Sandpoint mansions, the truth behind the serial killer known as Chopper and the mysterious Sandpoint Devil, and more.

But now, that group's split into two groups, and both of them have moved on to Osirion to fight against the rising cult of the Scorpion God Rovagug, leaving Sandpoint behind.

Which brings me back to the Pathfinder comic.

In each issue of the comic, I've been able to present more information about the hinterlands surrounding Sandpoint. Compared to the Inner Sea region, the Sandpoint hinterlands are really quite small, but as I've proven to the rest of Paizo, they're more than large enough to run an entire campaign from 1st to 11th level or so. I drew upon several of the plot threads I developed for that campaign when I was writing content for the comics, but also took the chance to get into print some other ideas and concepts I'd been toying with in the back of my head about the hinterlands over the past several years.

So! If you're looking for more adventures for your characters to have in and near Sandpoint (perhaps as supplementary encounters in your Rise of the Runelords campaign), or if you simply want to know more about one of the first locations we ever developed for the Pathfinder campaign setting... look no further than the Pathfinder comic! Below, I've built a handy table of contents for the first six issues of the comic, and since not every issue is out for sale yet, this doubles as a sneak preview!

Pathfinder Issue #1: The first issue kicks off with a gazetteer of the town of Sandpoint—if you don't have Rise of the Runelords, this is a great place to pick up information about Sandpoint a new PC might want to know. For the GMs, there are three pages of Adventure Hooks, including more information about the Sandpoint Devil, the serial killer Chopper, and the ruins of the Old Light. Full stat blocks for Sheriff Belor Hemlock and Father Abstalar Zantus, as well as for the stars of the comic—Seoni, Valeros, Ezren, and Merisiel—round things out.

Oh! I almost forgot! Each issue of the comic comes with a short encounter area supported by a foldout 10" x 16" battle mat! In this issue, the encounter takes place on Sandpoint's Junk Beach, where a band of goblins are up to no good...

Pathfinder Issue #2: In the second issue, the attention turns away from Sandpoint into the Hinterlands, settling fully on the small forest known as Shank's Wood. A two-page gazetteer of the region begins the section, followed by an encounter in a creepy building the local goblins have taken to calling the "Shankshack," since one of their enemies, a man named Shank, dared to move in. Of course, as visitors to the Shankshack quickly learn, an enemy of goblins isn't necessarily a friend to you! Stats for the last two stars of the comic, Kyra and Harsk, finish this installment off, and the battle mat depicts the creepy Shankshack and surrounding forest in all its glory.

Pathfinder Issue #3: This time around, I dig into my notes from my old "Shadow Under Sandpoint" campaign and pull the curtain back on Paupers' Graves, a lonely, not-so-abandoned graveyard found on the Lost Coast not far from Sandpoint. As far as graveyards go, Paupers' Graves isn't all that great at keeping its dead in the ground, and the included battle mat and encounter present the domain of Jediah Kheln, the region's ghoulish master. As a bonus, you'll find stats for some undead dogs I've been calling "ghoul hounds" for several years. I've been trying to get them into a bestiary for a while, but they kept getting cut, so I just threw them in here. I'm happy to report that they managed to paralyze the characters of some of the folks who shall remain unnamed who saw fit to cut them in the first place. Ahhh... sweet revenge.

Pathfinder Issue #4: Now we head on over to Mosswood, at the very eastern edge of the Sandpoint hinterlands. This issue features a gazetteer of these goblin- (and worse) infested woods, focusing on four significant encounter areas within. One of these, a lost shrine to Gozreh known today as the Spider Stones, is featured in this issue's encounter. I'll give you one guess as to what kind of monsters you can expect to fight at the SPIDER Stones. As a bonus, our iconic druid Lini and her faithful snow leopard Droogami get stat blocks too!

Pathfinder Issue #5: This time around, a shocking plot twist in the comic gives me a chance to go back to "Burnt Offerings" and expand upon something that I didn't have time to fully explore in that first adventure—the evil and mutation-causing waters of Lamashtu. Rules for what happens when you drink too much of this stuff are presented, and then we have a four-page encounter with the Bloodfang Goblins of Mosswood, including stats for their commander, Big Chief Wortus, a cleric of Lamashtu who might just have some plans for those evil waters of Lamashtu.

Pathfinder Issue #6: The first story arc comes to a close in Issue #6, and since Lamashtu's cult has played such an important part in the comic (and indeed in "Burnt Offerings" as well), I'm taking this opportunity to explore something I've been hinting at in print for years—the reason the demon lords Lamashtu and Pazuzu are so interested in the Lost Coast. Also included is an encounter area for a shrine of Lamashtu—a shrine that happens to be the personal temple to one of the most powerful clerics of the Mother of Monsters in Varisia!

The first six issues of the Pathfinder Comic will be available in graphic novel format, in stores April 2013!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 6

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 6

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 5

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 5

Author Jim Zub on Pathfinder Comics

Author Jim Zub on Pathfinder Comics

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 4

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 4

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 3

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 3

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 2

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 2

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 1

Pathfinder Comics #1: Part 1

Secrets of Sandpoint Revealed

Secrets of Sandpoint Revealed