There's been some speculation recently on the messageboards about my recent move from New York to Seattle, some even claiming that I'm the newest Paizo employee. Those assumptions are correct.
Frequent blog readers may recall that I worked a week at Paizo HQ back in June. At the end of that week, Erik, James, and Lisa asked if I’d like to come on board to work in-house on setting continuity and Pathfinder Society scenario development. I've fostered quite a reputation as a "canon lawyer" with all my work on the PathfinderWiki and PaizoCon trivia contests, so this was an offer I simply couldn't decline. In fact, working for Paizo is a dream come true that I can't quite wrap my head around yet.
It took me two months to close up the decade-long chapter of my life in New York City and open a new one here on the left coast, but after a 3,000-mile U-Haul drive with my brother, here I am! I’m not quite sure what exactly my job is going to entail, but I imagine my presence on the boards won’t change (though I won't be going by yoda8myhead going forward). Hopefully I'll still have time to work on the wiki.
Now that I have the power, this also means I can put up all the art previews I requested—sometimes demanded—as a fan. I've been waiting a long time to put the following in a blog post:
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
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