I Get a Little Help From My Friends

Thursday, January 19, 2017

We've all been there, whether by seeing it in a movie, reading it in a book, or experiencing it in your favorite tabletop adventure: the protagonists stride into the throne room, where the regal monarch greets them and says, “Hail, noble adventurers. Long have I sought heroes to assist me with this plot hook, and you may be the saviors I need.” That treatment may work well in a European-fantasy setting awash with minor kingdoms and desperate NPCs, but in Qadira, everyone knows somebody; there's rarely any need for a regional governor to rely on some no-name group of 9th-level adventurers, much less have any motivation to entrust them with important tasks. Whether one's the soul of courtesy or a boor busting into a trade prince's parlor demanding news of the nearest dungeon, an unknown adventurer's almost certain to receive the same response: “Who the hell are you?”

While Jessica Price was writing Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Qadira, Jewel of the East, we began discussing the importance of one's status through citizenship, family, and social connections—everything from selling a goods without a license, to choosing a spouse, to arranging a meeting, to traveling the roads without paying tolls. That was all well and good for citizens, but we knew that for Qadira to be a fun adventuring location, it needed to be accessible to foreign PCs. If an adventurer isn't born into Qadiran society, how can he access its wonders? Patronage. With the right friend, doors both figurative and literal open for the PCs. After we had nerded out about Roman patronage for a while, Jessica exclaimed what we were both thinking (and I give you the direct quote): GAMIFY SOCIAL CLIMBING. The honor system in Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign gave us a starting point, but the more we brainstormed how Qadira's social mobility worked, the more we realized we needed something tied less to the client and more to the patron herself. The patronage system was born.

Illustration by Anson Tan

Qadira, Jewel of the East dedicates four pages to the patronage system, which provides a mechanical framework for a client (either a PC or the entire party) to earn social credit (Clout) with a patron. Each patron has a certain amount of influence (Rank, ranging from 1 to 10), holds power in a certain sphere within the society (Category), feels a certain way toward the client (Disposition), and may know other equally powerful people in other social spheres (Affiliation). As a PC performs tasks in a patron's name, he earns Clout that he can spend on improving the patron's disposition or buying favors. The trick is that relative social status plays a significant role in who talks to whom, so a tourist stands almost no chance of arranging a meeting with the satrap; in game terms, one's starting Clout depends heavily on the patron's rank and the PC's ranks in the patron's favorite skills, and if that calculation results in 0 Clout or less, the prospective client had better supply a really nice gift or suffer being ignored.

Patrons are the key to success in Qadira. The right patron can not only provide the PCs with a critical lead on a lucrative adventure site, but she can also help outfit them from her personal stockpiles, secure them access to restricted areas, and then spread word of their deeds. Of course, this is a two-way street; if a PC intends to earn that Clout, he must perform favors for the patron, help her earn prestige by having sponsored a successful hero, and avoid embarrassing her. The patronage system includes a wealth of suggested ways one can earn and lose Clout, including methods unique to different patron categories (e.g. attending a major social event for a social patron or recovering a major relic for a religious patron). Perhaps my favorite little feature is the list of additional patron qualities that modify the patronage system in little ways to fit a patron's positive and negative qualities. If the PC intends to keep climbing the social ladder, though, his patrons can be of further service, granting him a reliable introduction to higher-ranked patrons that had previously ignored him. A sword-swinging warrior can find a home in any campaign, but in Qadira, a PC who plays the system right could secure unfettered access to the empire's wonders, the ear of any celebrity, and a marriage proposal to one of the satrap's cousins—all by knowing who's who and how to befriend them. I like to think that in a Qadiran campaign, playing a social climber could be just as important a party role as that of a healer or trapsmith.

What you'll find in this book is designed for Qadira but is easily adaptable for other regions and settings by renaming a few titles or adding a new category. Since I spend most of my time working on the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild campaign, I thought it fitting to include an informal patron stat block for several of the Pathfinder Society's most reliable contacts in Qadira.

Trade Prince Aaqir al'Hakam (Season 8)
N male human
Rank 6 mercantile patron
Key Skills Appraise and Profession (merchant)
Affiliation none
Additional Qualities deep pockets

Venture-Captain Esmayl ibn Qaradi (Season 8)
NG male human
Rank 4 academic patron
Key Skills Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (history)
Affiliations political, social
Additional Qualities well-connected

Eurdan Stonemantle (Season 6)
NG male oread
Rank 4 tribal patron
Key Skills Sense Motive and Survival
Affiliation none
Additional Qualities none

Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri (As of Season 2)
NE female human
Rank 5 political patron
Key Skills Bluff and Knowledge (nobility)
Affiliations mercantile and military
Additional Qualities jaded

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Qadira, Jewel of the East hits shelves in less than a week! Grab a copy, and turn your setting's political landscape into the PCs' playground.

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer