So Much New Material!

Monday, July 25, 2016

Gen Con is in less than two weeks, and Paizo always pulls out the stops with new publications to wow the crowds in Indianapolis. This year we're bringing a big pile of exciting titles, including Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Horror Adventures, Pathfinder Player Companion: Legacy of Dragons, and of course the much-anticipated Pathfinder Society Pawn Collection. You'll see even more at the end of August, with Pathfinder Player Companion: Haunted Heroes Handbook, as well as Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Planes of Power, which serves as a key sourcebook for the upcoming Season of the Stolen Storm!

Illustrations by Hannah Boving

But why stop there? Gen Con's traditionally the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild's opportunity to release a few extra adventures. This year, thanks to the July release date being so close to the convention itself, it's almost as though they were one and the same—at least that's how it's felt around here! As a result, we have 11 exciting adventures we're featuring at the convention. Let's take a look!

Nearly six years ago, the Pathfinder Society traveled to a promising archaeological site known as Azlant Ridge outside Bloodcove at the edge of the Mwangi Expanse. Ever since then, I've heard players ask what became of that site and if the Society had uncovered more of its mysteries. At long last, we've returned, guided by contributor and veteran Pathfinder Society author Ron Lundeen, taking your Tier 3-7 characters deeper into the Terwa Uplands in Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-27: Beyond Azlant Ridge! This was also our opportunity to depict the unflappable Juliet Dias, the expedition's manager shown below.

Something's rotten in the state of Thuvia, and although the Pathfinder Society has uncovered a vile plot and helped thwart it, the mastermind is still on the loose. Thankfully, a key member of the plot has reconsidered her loyalties and has reached out to the Society for help, as she has learned that the villains intend to cast the Thuvian city-states into civil war in a bid for personal power. Political intervention isn't the Society's standard practice, but if a band of elite agents can thwart this conspiracy, avert disaster, and also eliminate the ringleader of the Korholm Agenda, it's worth entering hostile territory. Luis Loza brings Season 8 to a climatic, Tier 7-11 close in Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-28: Ageless Ambitions in Aspenthar, domain of the ambitious Prince Zinlo (pictured below)!

In April we began a grand undertaking with Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-20: All for Immortality, Part 1: First Taste of Eternity: the reintroduction of dedicated, high-level content in the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild. So far the feedback we've received has been really encouraging—certainly making us consider more Tier 12-15 content in the future—and working on the series (including some ludicrous hard mode options) has been a lot of fun. Of course, high-level content benefits from high-level settings, and what better place is there for a Pathfinder to go than the heart of the Aspis Consortium. I've left the fate of the Consortium is in your hands in Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-29: All for Immortality, Part 3: Serpents Fall!

And because I'm a glutton for punishment, I took on a second adventure during this busy time: an exciting sequel to last season's Pathfinder Society Special #6-98: Serpents Rise that sends a motley band of 8th-level Aspis agents and misfit hirelings deep into Nidal to infiltrate a threat to the Consortium's authority. We debuted Pathfinder Society Special #7-98: Serpents' Ire at PaizoCon 2016, and it's undergone some polishing since then to trim its run-time, making it a great fit for Gen Con this year.

The pregenerated character adventure model has proven an exciting way to tell stories happening outside the Grand Lodge—especially when showing what's in store for the campaign's next season. Developer Linda Zayas-Palmer has also worked behind the scenes on many of our best scenarios and the Campaign Clarifications document, and this time the stars aligned for her to apply her narrative mastery and author the spectacular Pathfinder Society Special #7-99: Through Maelstrom Rift. An organization known as the Concordance of Elements has sensed a dangerous anomaly on the Plane of Air, and the ruling council (including one of its representatives pictured below) has dispatched an eclectic team representing the united elemental forces to avert the looming disaster and discover its cause. If the idea of playing a proud genie, a miniature dragon, or an elemental serpent made of living lava strikes your fancy, don't miss this great adventure for 6th-level pregenerated characters.

Phew! Time to catch my breath for a moment.

Illustrations by Sebastian Rodriguez and Dion Harris

In Season 4 of the campaign, the Society spent a lot of time in Varisia. We've taken an extended break in the years since, but with the imminent release of the updated Pathfinder Adventure Path: Curse of the Crimson Throne, the prospect of visiting Korvosa again was just too good to pass up. You may recall that the Society has a good friend, Zeeva Foxglove, who runs the nearby Green Market, and she's contacted Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch with a desperate plea for assistance. Scott Sharplin spins us an engaging urban adventure with mysteries, plots, and just a hint of pseudodragons in the Tier 1-5 Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-01: Portent's Peril.

One of the greatest strengths of Pathfinder Society scenarios as a medium is that they allow us to explore such a wide variety of places in the course of a year. I'm always looking for more ways to feature Tian Xia, and we planted a pretty significant plot hook near the end of Season 6 in the hope of traveling to the sorcerer kingdom of Dtang Ma. An unlikely ally (the friendly disembodied head pictured below) has pointed the Society to an abandoned temple that still contains historical records dating back a millennium or more. The PCs tread on sacred ground, though, and they must watch their step if they are to scale a mountain, study this lost site, and save a lost soul. Contributor Mikko Kallio shows off his story-telling talents in Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-02: Ward Asunder, a Tier 3-7 adventure.

Two years ago, hundreds of Pathfinders gathered in the halls of the sky citadel Jormurdun to reclaim it for study. The Society turned control of it over to the dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains shortly thereafter, and they have industriously worked to restore their ancestral home. The duergar of the nearby Darklands are none to thrilled about this development, and in a recent attack, they captured a host of dwarves, put them in chains, and began driving them south toward a future of slavery or sacrifice. Jormurdun has asked the Society to intercept the duergar before they escape, but taking on such a large force won't be easy. Mike Kimmel takes the PCs deep underground to gather allies and launch a daring rescue in Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-03: Captives of Toil, which has special opportunities for members of the Liberty's Edge faction.

Wait, you want more? Sure, I've got three more gems for you.

We're debuting a new set of six 1st-level quests by Eleanor Ferron, and Jenny Jarzabski, and Landon Winkler. In Honor's Echo, the PCs assist a disenfranchised Taldan nobleman, the descendant of the heroic Honaria Alcasti whom the empire used as a scapegoat centuries ago. In order to restore the family's name, he and the PCs search Taldor, Andoran, and Qadira for evidence of Honaria's good deeds and make a case before one of Taldor's most influential figures. Like past quest series, Honor's Echo is for 1st-level pregenerated characters, but we are decoupling past quest series (i.e. The Silverhex Chronicles and Phantom Phenomena) from the pregenerated character requirement.

Gen Con is also the debut of Pathfinder Academy, an extension of previous years' Kids Track program. This year we're adding a five-quest series dubbed Transitions that teach players key lessons—attacks of opportunity, splash weapons, combat maneuvers, conditions, and more—as they graduate from the Beginner Box to the full Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. After each short lesson is an adventure that highlights those rules and follows the story of the heroes tracking down villainous Aspis agents who have stolen holy relics from Magnimar. By the end, the players are ready to participate in some Pathfinder Society adventures. In fact, we've dedicated several tables to kid-friendly games—some even run by young GMs! Seth Brummond, Andrew Hoskins, Bob Jonquet, Nathan King, Lucas Servideo, and Michael VonHasseln contributed a combination of adventures, lessons, and wisdom to make this project a reality.

Finally, there's the big interactive event: Pathfinder Society Special #8-00: The Cosmic Captive by Matt Duval! The asteroid known as Aucturn's Tear flies through the solar system every 56 years, but strangely it has begun glowing brightly in the night sky while opening portals to another realm as it passes by planets. Hmmm... the more I talk about the story, though, the more I spoil the adventure. Let's boil it down to a few key points. First, we're exploring new design territory for interactive adventures, combining both traditional aspects of the interactive experience with a host of new ways to affect other tables. Second, it's loaded with elemental goodness—and not just the “I'm immune to critical hits” elementals, but also fun elemental themes and locations. Third, it's the first interactive adventure to combine the Roleplaying Guild and Adventure Card Guild into one giant event. Finally, it's a stellar debut to an incredible new season: The Season of the Stolen Storm!

We'll see you at the Best Four Days in Gaming!

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer