Paizo has built itself upon the strength of its adventures—the first offerings we published set in the world of Golarion were adventures of different types, ranging from short encounters with maps and minis included to classic 32-page softcover standalone modules, and of course, the flagship monthly adventure line: Pathfinder. This line’s name became the more specific “Pathfinder Adventure Path” two years later when we launched the Pathfinder RPG, but ever since that first volume kicked off Rise of the Runelords nearly two decades ago, the format has largely remained the same. Even as we’ve recently shifted to a focus on three-part Adventure Paths, the physical nature of the product hasn’t changed from a softcover 96-page monthly softcover book.

Paizo’s made a name for itself on its adventures—even before the rise of the Pathfinder RPG, we were creating standalone adventures and Adventure Paths. There’s an old industry adage that “adventures don’t sell,” and while it’s true that a product like an adventure, which is aimed only at the GM, will sell less than a product aimed at players, I’ve never agreed with the theory that creating and publishing adventures is a waste of resources. To me, adventures are the whole point of an RPG—without adventures, GMs have nothing to run and players have nothing to play.