New Adventures to Kick Off Summer

Monday, June 27, 2016

August 4th, the first day of Gen Con Indy, draws ever nearer, so Linda and I are industriously preparing the huge swath of new adventures leading up to and kicking off the new Season 8: Year of the Stolen Storm. Back when I was first pitching the new All for Immortality seeker arc, adding two extra adventures onto the end of the season seemed quite reasonable. Now that Linda and I are in the thick of developing (and writing) these adventures, we sometimes have that moment where we rock back and forth slightly while giggling madly anytime someone asks how things are coming along. I like to explain that we're laughing about the cruel creativity of this month's authors, who have crafted some delightful stories, encounters, and NPCs. Once you see what's coming out this month, I think you'll agree.

Illustrations by Sebastian Gomez

Back in Season 5, I realized that the Pathfinder Society hadn't traveled to the Mwangi Expanse in earnest for many years, so I set aside some space in Season 6 to explore this region. We got to adventure in the cities of Bloodcove and Nantambu as well as experience the diverse environments along the Sargavan border, and the feedback we received was very positive. Folks wanted to see more of Nantambu, and there was a lot of interest in seeing more of the Mwangi Expanse—especially another adventure with some pulp "exploring the unknown" elements. I contacted Pathfinder Society Open Call and Phantom Phenomena author Brian Duckwitz to write this month's Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-24: Dead Man's Debt and apply his flair for wilderness encounters to the ongoing developments around Nantambu's Pathfinder lodge. In this Tier 1-5 adventure, the PCs head deep into the jungle to uphold the Pathfinder Society's honor, and in the process they'll have a great opportunity to observe the Ekujae elves' culture—perhaps at spearpoint!

Illustration by Ben Wootten

Season 6 also saw a major overhaul of the PC factions as each of the "national" factions gravitated toward more philosophical goals. When the Cheliax faction evolved into the Dark Archive, several players were concerned that without a Chelish connection, their Hellknight PCs would no longer be relevant in the Pathfinder Society. The short answer is that Hellknight PCs are still welcome so long as they honor the Society's principles. The slightly longer answer is that Hellknights are a rather charming organization because their interest in opposing or collaborating with the Society depends a lot on context. Much as I tried to express that Hellknights don't need a Cheliax faction, I knew the best way to demonstrate that would be in a scenario. The basic premise for Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-25: Orders from the Gate has been floating in my head for some time, and only recently did I identify both the right Tier 5-9 slot and the right author. Cole Kronewitter is another Open Call veteran and Phantom Phenomena author who really distinguished himself for his atmospheric descriptions, dialogue, and use of the setting, and for this adventure he consistently wowed us with his increasingly creepy and flavorful encounter design. The PCs get to work with the Order of the Gate Hellknights in order to stop a common foe, and over the course of the scenario, they may also find common ground with these allies. For those of you who asked for a fun "law vs. chaos" adventure, dig in! Not sure why you should be as excited about Hellknights as we are? Check out this preview for this month's Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight!

In April, contributor Thurston Hillman kicked off the first dedicated seeker-level content in five years with Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-20: All for Immortality, Part 1: First Taste of Eternity. The recent troubles in Thuvia have pointed to a mastermind in Nidal who conducts otherworldly research in her hidden laboratories. In this month's Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-26: All for Immortality, Part 2: All the Gods Beyond, editor-in-chief F. Wesley Schneider and developer Amanda Hamon Kunz have teamed up to deliver a Tier 12-15 terror (complete with a bruising, just-for-bragging-rights hard mode option). I hesitate to share too much and spoil the adventure, so I'll just encourage you to dust off those high-level characters and play!

Pathfinder Society Character Sketch Competition Winner!

Congratulations and the prize of $30 in paizo.com store credit goes to Femme Fatale d'Avignon, who submitted an illustration of their character "Phaedra Lingalare"! Our two runners up Crescentmoon and Redwald will each be receiving $10 of paizo.com store credit for each of their brilliant sketches! Be sure to take another look at the winning entries and the other awesome submissions we received here.

Gen Con Update

Although tickets went quickly for our upcoming interactive event, there are still open seats for Thursday night's special Serpents' Ire and Saturday night's special Through Maelstrom Rift. In Serpents' Ire, you depict cutthroat agents dispatched to learn who's stealing from the Aspis Consortium and shut down their operation—permanently. This continues the behind-the-scenes story of the Consortium and its rising stars and gives players another chance to exercise their darker side as they uncover serious secrets all but unknown to the Aspis leadership.

You may have heard that in Through Maelstrom Rift, the players portray elemental guardians who seek to preserve the balance of the planes, but so far we haven't talked about the characters. In the Aspis Consortium adventures, the players have portrayed humans scallywags, elven experiments, and even the occasional monstrous humanoid or worse. In traveling to the Plane of Air, though, Linda's had a chance to ditch Core Rulebook races altogether. We figured that this might be a good opportunity to introduce you to the smallest member of the team, an aspiring bard with the bravery of a warrior three size categories larger than she. Can you really say no to a face like that? Neither can I, which is why I encourage you to head over to the Gen Con sign-ups and grab a ticket now!

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer