I was reading the Inner Sea Guide and was wondering if there are ranks or titles between venture-captains and initiates in the Pathfinder organization, like in a military group? If not, has anyone made up any for a campaign of theirs?
Necro bump.
Venture Captain and Venture Lieutenant are presumed to exist from the PFS equivalent, but I've never met a Venture Lieutenant in the narrative.
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer
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The key thing to remember is that the Pathfinder Society operates more like a time-honored lodge of like-minded adventurers than it does a rigid hierarchy with obligatory service. Although the tone has varied over the years, Pathfinder Society "missions" less about "You must do this, and I will pay you" than they are about a venture-captain wanting more help with a project or offering the PCs the first dibs on a promising lead that she doesn't have the time or resources to handle. The Society rarely pays agents because they're scratching each other's backs: the venture-captain provides an important lead, and the agents go adventuring, keep most of the treasure they find, and return with key relics or information.
At the top there are ten members of the Decemvirate. They tend to handle much more long-range planning and far less on-the-ground leadership.
Below them are the three Masters: the Master of Scrolls, Kreighton Shaine; the Master of Swords, Marcos Farabellus; and the Master of Spells, Aram Zey/Sorrina Westyr (depends on where you are in the Pathfinder Society scenario storyline). These three act as a more direct set of leaders by overseeing large initiatives and even organize important expeditions.
Venture-captains are noteworthy agents who have earned enough respect and wealth to found a lodge, which they maintain using their own resources (perhaps the Grand Lodge provides a maintenance stipend for some of them, but we've barely explored that in publications). Venture-captains often build up extensive collections of notes, journals, and tomes that they couldn't read in a single lifetime, to say nothing of being able to explore every ruin that appears nearby. As a result, it's in a venture-captain's interest to mentor other Pathfinders in the area and encourage them to investigate the surrounding region's wonders—including any research opportunities that contributes to the venture-captain's ongoing studies. Once again, the agents provide a good amount of labor in exchange for a crack at discoveries, wealth, and fame.
Then there are agents, which comprise the bulk of the Society. Just because they all share the same title (or non-title, really) doesn't mean they're entirely equal. Pathfinders often have a sense of who's a rising star, an accomplished explorer, or an untested novice, and one's publications and endeavors help lend a Pathfinder informal influence in the Society. Again, the Society doesn't have an especially rigid organizational structure, so subdivisions beyond these four categories might exist but are fairly irrelevant to the Society's overall operations in-game.
In the campaign setting, there are no venture-lieutenants; that's a real-world designation.
Thanks for the great summary! That context is a great help when sending out themed invites to sessions and conventions.