The Future of Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Part I: PaizoCon and Beyond

Monday, March 21, 2011

Though we're still in 2011's first quarter, we in Pathfinder Society Central are already plotting out details of Season 3, which will officially begin in August at Gen Con. Before we can move into the next season, however, we need to conclude Season 2. I guess now's as good a time as any to announce the final four scenarios of the current season—The Year of the Shadow Lodge.

At PaizoCon, as always, four new scenarios will debut to tie up all the loose ends with the ongoing metaplot of the season, and foreshadow the themes and challenges of next year. In this case, we've got the two part Shadow's Last Stand arc, set in the Andoren capital of Almas. Part I is At Shadow's Door, by Steven Robert, and Part II is Web of Corruption by Patrick Renie. Pathfinder Society campaign coordinator Hyrum Savage will send the PCs deep into undead-ruled Geb in You Only Die Twice, and Michael Kortes will pit the PCs against a team of deadly assassins in The Mantis's Prey. Players closely following the conflict between the Shadow Lodge and the Decemvirate will find all their questions answered in these four action- and intrigue-packed scenarios.

Because we've got some fairly significant changes and expansions coming to the campaign as it enters its fourth year, we decided to vary things up a little with July's releases. Instead of two standalone adventures left dangling between the conclusion of one year-long story arc and the introduction of another, we'll be putting out a three-part, first-level adventure arc called First Steps, designed to act as an introduction for new players, or old players starting new PCs. In this series, PCs will undertake their first missions as Pathfinders, learning what it means to be a member of the world-spanning organization, getting familiar with Absalom—their new home base—and meeting the heads of all the factions as well as some of the Society's most persistent enemies.

Adam Daigle starts it all off with In Service to Lore, followed by Stephen Radney-MacFarland's To Delve the Dungeon Deep. Larry Wilhelm wraps it all up with A Vision of Betrayal. PCs will end the series at second level, and choose their faction at the series' conclusion, deciding which of the motivations or play-styles most fits their character. As if this weren't exciting enough, all three scenarios will be available for free.

Stay tuned to this blog for more announcements about the future of the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign in the coming weeks.

Mark Moreland
Developer