I'm tempted to start this blog off with "Four score and seven years ago," because it seems about that long ago that Paizo decided to forge our own path in the RPG world and started work on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. In reality it was only about a year and half ago, but in that time about 55,000 people downloaded our beta playtest document and more than 200,000 posts were written on our messsageboards discussing the rules—and making them better—while still maintaining backwards compatibility with the 3.5 OGL rules. And it was all worth it! The Core Rulebook is one of the most beautiful books that I have ever been a part of, and I'm extremely proud of my team for making this happen while still holding down the fort with the rest of our product lines. And now I'd like to remind you of all the Pathfinder goodness that's available, so you don't miss out!

By the time you read this, the Gen Con exhibit hall will have opened, and lines of customers will gotten their hands on more than 4 pounds of fantasy magic. And if the website hasn't already been brought to a crashing halt from countless folks trying to purchase it, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook PDF should be available now! Priced at $9.99, we expect that there will be a lot of people anxious to see what we've all come up with. The good news is that PDFs don't sell out, so check back later if the site is slow!

But there is so much more than the Core Rulebook releasing today. Our first Pathfinder Adventure Path designed for the Pathfinder RPG has started. Pathfinder Adventure Path #25: "The Bastards of Erebus" is the first volume in the six-part Council of Thieves Adventure Path, which will take place in the Chelaxian city of Westcrown. "The Bastards of Erebus" is written by our very own Sean K Reynolds and kicks off the intrigue among the diabolists in Westcrown.

Jason Bulmahn, the designer of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, also took his design skills to Crypt of the Everflame, our first Pathfinder Module designed for the new rules. This is a great introductory module for beginning characters, and it also serves as a nice introduction to some of the mechanics that have changed between 3.5 and the Pathfinder RPG. We're also releasing GameMastery Flip-Mat: Dungeon, with a layout matching locales from the module, making running this easier and more visually stunning for your group.

"But wait," as they say, "there's more!" Qadira, Gateway to the East and Cheliax, Empire of Devils, the two latest Pathfinder Companion volumes, were also created using the final Pathfinder RPG rules. Besides great campaign background on these two pivotal countries in Golarion, each has plenty of Pathfinder crunch, including new feats and traits, equipment, prestige classes, magic items, monsters and spells.

And if you haven't checked out our Pathfinder Society Organized Play program, now's the time! The free Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play has been updated for the Pathfinder RPG, and the first four Season 1 Pathfinder Society Scenarios are now available! Folks like you are playing them this weekend at Gen Con, and you can play them yourself right at home!

We've already released the Pathfinder RPG Bonus Bestiary, which details more than a dozen monsters that won't be in the main Pathfinder RPG Bestiary in October. You can also adorn your game room with the Pathfinder RPG Launch Poster, featuring the amazing art of Wayne Reynolds!

And we've saved the free stuff for last: The Pathfinder RPG Reference Document, an online reference containing the Open Game Content from the Pathfinder RPG rules is now available! We also have a Pathfinder RPG Conversion Guide that will show you the best ways to use your existing 3.5 library with the new Pathfinder RPG rules. We've posted the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary Preview, which includes all the monsters from the forthcoming Pathfinder RPG Bestiary that you'll need to run "Bastards of Erebus" and Crypt of the Everflame. We've updated our popular Character Traits (516 KB zip PDF) document for use with the Pathfinder RPG. We've got a Council of Thieves Player's Guide for folks getting ready for the new Pathfinder Adventure Path, and we've released the errata (1.2 MB zip PDF) for the first printing of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, which have already been incorporated into the PDF. And there will be even more as we roll forward! Check back frequently here at paizo.com to see what goodies we have in store!

Thanks for helping us make the launch of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game so amazing!