Every faction on Golarion has its Heroes, members that rise above all others due to their accomplishments or in some cases, due to their notoriety. The Pathfinder Society is no different except in scope of membership and commonality of purpose. Instead of an organization based on ideology, the Society dedicates itself to exploration by way of chronicling adventures in exotic locales and publishing tales of these exploits in the Pathfinder Chronicles. Thus, even the most heated of religious rivals or political enemies can find common ground in the Society!
The Decemvirate, ten mysterious hooded leaders have driven the Society through three centuries of exploration of mysterious locations revealing lost tales and mysteries. Perhaps the greatest of these explorers was Durvin Gest, who is credited with being the first person to explore the Ruins of Old Azlant.
The most exceptional members of the Society may, or may not, have been members of the Decemvirate. Regardless, their Legacies live on in cases where they are dead and they share their wealth of knowledge with younger members of the Society where they are still living (or unliving).
The Bountiful Venture Company has founded a Colony called Talmandor’s Bounty on an island in what is left of Azlant. Despite substantial interest shown in joining the efforts to colonize the island named Ancorato, the Society has been rebuffed. The Decemvirate of course, finds this rejection inexplicable and will not simply allow the slight to pass. Therefore, the Decemvirate seeks the best and the brightest and most importantly unknown young members of the society to surreptitiously join the next ship from Almas journeying to the Colony.
But how best to pick those who are unknown commodities? Why it is to ensure that those chosen are either trained by current exceptional Members or are somehow descended from the greatest Legacies of the Society!
The following Traits must be selected by each Player representing their own connection to the Pathfinder Society through either a Current Member, an Ex Member, or a Legacy Member. Each Player may only choose one of the Traits listed below. Your Backstory will include your connection to the Chosen Scion Trait.
Note that each Trait grants at least one Skill as a Class Skill giving the PC a +2 Legacy bonus to that Skill (some Legacies allow for selection of the skill while others only allow for a single option). In addition, the Scions also have in their possession a Wayfinder of great power that has been passed down through history and landed in your hands or was given as a gift by a Current Society Member to aid the young Society Member, their Protégé on this Grand Quest! Remember, the Wayfinder is considered a tool of the Pathfinder and they should be kept out of view of other Members of the Expedition.
Wayfinder - A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of a long lost civilization, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself. However, some of these Wayfinders contain multiple slots for Ioun Stones. In addition, these Wayfinders do not create resonant power effects and all Ioun Stones function without interference. Where the description of the Ioun Stones below differ from “official rules”, the description below supersedes RAW.
To clear any confusion, Ex-Members are still alive but not currently tied to the Society, Current Members are active Members and in some cases Leaders and Venture Captains, and Legacy Members are deceased or believed to be deceased Society Members.
Finally, I will only select ONE PC from any given Scion Trait chosen. So, for example, if three submissions select Adolphus, only one of those three will be selected.
Scion Traits:
Adolphus – Legacy Member:
Adolphus was a Pathfinder who began his career as the assistant of the Pathfinder Selmius Foster. He published the account of his master's death in Volume 3 of the Pathfinder Chronicles. He went on to found the Pathfinder Nexus House lodge in Quantium having acquired the money through questionable methods.
Benefit – Diplomacy is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Adolphus’ Wayfinder: Mulberry Pentacle (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Bluff & Diplomacy, Opalescent White Pyramid (Ioun Stone) - Proficiency - Bastard Sword.
Ailson Kindler – Ex Member:
Ailson Kindler is a famous and popular author of gothic romances, although she considers herself today to be semi-retired. She lives in Grimol Hall in Ardis, the former capital city of Ustalav. She is also a former associate of the Pathfinder Society; however, because of strong disagreements with the Society, she has all but cut ties with the organization, or has she?
Benefit – Perform is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Kindler’s Wayfinder: Amethyst Pyramid (Ioun Stone) - Hide from Undead, Dark Blue Rhomboid (Ioun Stone), Alertness Feat.
Ambrus Valsin - Current Member:
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin runs the daily operations of the Grand Lodge at the Decemvirate's command. Meticulous with details and annoyed by inefficiency, Ambrus makes a point to supervise all important duties within the Grand Lodge, and keeps a long list of relatively safe but time-consuming jobs on file, ready to hand out to rookie Pathfinders to keep them busy and out of the way of more experienced agents. Tall and meticulously groomed, Ambrus doesn't appreciate backtalk and reserves particularly strenuous assignments for those who annoy him.
Benefit – Intimidate is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Valsin’s Wayfinder: Scarlet and Green Cabochon (Ioun Stone) - Endurance Feat, Pale Blue Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Strength
Colm Safan - Legacy Member:
Safan spent ten years researching the possible location of the Ravenous Sphinx before discovering its location. He then spent much gold hiring workers to uncover the massive statue, but was killed by an ancient trap soon after entering the structure.
Benefit – Knowledge History is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Safan’s Wayfinder: Mossy Disk (Ioun Stone) - '+5 any 1 Knowledge Skill, Nacreous Gray Sphere (Ioun Stone) - Anti Aging.
Dalania Pontius - Legacy Member:
The Pathfinder Dalania Pontius is best known for being the author of an inaccurate account on dragons published in the infamous Volume 11 of the Pathfinder Chronicles. She wrote the story based on information given to her by the chatty brass dragon Helexa as her primary source. Unfortunately, Helexa was more interested in telling a good story rather than in accurately telling the truth, and the account ended up being published with many misleading statements and outright lies. As a direct result of this information, many Pathfinders lost their lives, and countless more were injured.
Benefit: Bluff is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Pontius’ Wayfinder: Mulberry Pentacle (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Bluff & Diplomacy, Amber Spindle (Ioun Stone) - '+1 All Saves.
Drendle Dreng - Current Member:
Drandle Dreng is the venture-captain of the Pathfinder Society who handles Pathfinder assignments concerning Absalom's history and mysteries. He has a remarkable memory: he recalls hidden truths about the city's most important people that even they have forgotten. These secrets are not just gathered from Pathfinder agents: one of Dreng's most interesting habits is that, at least one day a week, he dons the "disguise" of a beggar and wanders the streets and markets of Absalom. When asked about this, he has replied, "Tongues are looser around the poor, and a beggar needs no magic to make himself invisible."
Benefit – Knowledge Local is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Dreng’s Wayfinder: Eastern Star (Ioun Stone; Emerald Spire version) - Comprehend Languages, Pink and Green Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Charisma
Durvin Gest - Legacy Member:
Durvin Gest is perhaps the most famous of all pathfinders and his exploits feature prominently in several of the earliest volumes of the Pathfinder Chronicles. He is best known for his exploration of Old Azlant, the destruction of the treacherous Lens of Galundari, and his commandeering of The Silken Purse and piloting it around the southern tip of Garund. Even centuries after his final disappearance in 4360 AR, Gest remains one of the most legendary names in Golarion and statues of him grace many of the Pathfinder Society's facilities, including a 20-foot likeness in Absalom's Grand Lodge.
Benefit – Escape Artist, OR Handle Animal, OR Survival is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Gest’ Wayfinder: Gold Nodule (Ioun Stone) - Understand, Speak Read, and Write Azlanti, Deep Brown Sphere (Ioun Stone) - Discern Location (above or below sea level), Pale Ruby Trillian (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Stealth.
Eando Kline – Ex Member:
Under orders from Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae of Absalom, spent much of 4707 and 4708 AR traveling throughout Varisia and the Darklands, following a mysterious ioun stone. His adventure took him from Magnimar to Kaer Maga, through Korvosa and the Cinderlands, all the way to Urgir in the Hold of Belkzen. There, Kline gained access to the Darklands, which eventually led him to a lost serpentfolk city. Fearing the discovery would be disastrous if revealed, Eando raced rival pathfinder Arnois Belzig down the Sellen River to Absalom, hoping to prevent the location of the city from being published in the Pathfinder Chronicles. When his pleas failed to sway the stoic Decemvirate, Kline resigned the Pathfinder Society. He has since been spotted by Pathfinder field agents in the port city of Azir in Rahadoum.
Benefit – Disable Device is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Kline’s Wayfinder: Dark Green Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - Detect Poison At Will, Pale Ruby Trillian (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Stealth.
Escobar Vellian - Legacy Member:
Escobar Vellian was a warrior-mage from Galt. He is credited with braving the waterlogged temple of Xanthuun in the Sodden Lands, battling a horde of drowned zombies to reach the fabled treasure holds of Ammelon VI, last patriarch of the ancient kingdom of Ghol-Gan. Vellian's exploits were published in Pathfinder Chronicles volume 23.
Benefit – Swim is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Vellian’s Wayfinder: Vermilion Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Acrobatics & Swim, Amethyst Pyramid (Ioun Stone) - Hide from Undead.
Gilray Jandivan - Legacy Member:
Volume 14 is the first volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles to contain only accounts of Pathfinders’ exploits on other planes, the fourteenth volume features a record of Gilray Jandivan’s journey to 23 Abyssal realms and the cataloguing of the demonic hordes there.
Benefit – Knowledge Planes is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Jandivan’s Wayfinder: Pearly White Spindle (Ioun Stone) - Regen 1 pt per 10 Minutes.
Gojan the Sharp - Legacy Member:
He travelled to Numeria in 4308 AR and endured a decade of hardship under the oppressive Ontar, the Black Sovereign of Numeria, in order to gain access to the Silver Mount: a titanic edifice of steel that looms over Numeria's capital, Starfall. In 4318 AR, he finally earned Ontar's blessing to enter the forbidden lands and explore Silver Mount. While on his mission there, he cataloged the seven different types of local skymetal, and observed the appearance of the Lawgiver, the herald of Abadar, in the city of Chesed. He also found and plundered the recreation deck within the Silver Mount during his investigation.
Benefit – Knowledge Engineering is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Gojan’s Wayfinder: Pink Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Con, Incandescent Blue Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Wisdom.
Gregaro Voth - Legacy Member:
Volume 1 of the Pathfinder Chronicles chronicled Voth’s adventures in the Mwangi Expanse.
Benefit – Perception is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Voth’s Wayfinder: Magenta Prism (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Any 1 ability score (can change that ability daily).
Grandmaster Torch – Ex Member:
Grandmaster Torch is one of Absalom's most notorious information brokers. While he can most often be found in his lair within the Siphons beneath the Puddles district, he has been known to travel Golarion for research and "business." The exploits of this scoundrel are numerous and dark.
Benefit – Sense Motive is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Torch’s Wayfinder: Dark Green Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - Detect Poison At Will, Mulberry Pentacle (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Bluff & Diplomacy.
Ilnerik Sivanshin – Ex Member:
Ilnerik Sivanshin is a name out of Pathfinder Society legend. A famed member of the Amber Privateers, they themselves the most famous Pathfinder team that called Westcrown's Delvehaven Pathfinder lodge home, Sivanshin is one of only two members to survive an ill-fated expedition into the Mwangi Expanse. Donatalus Bisby, leader of the Privateers, also survived the expedition. Sivanshin was his chronicler. Ilnerik is now rumored to be a member of the Undead dwelling somewhere is Westcrown to this day…
Benefit – Disguise OR Stealth is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Sivanshin’s Wayfinder: Nacreous Gray Sphere (Ioun Stone) - Anti Aging, Deep Red Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Dexterity.
Janira Gavix - Current Member:
She is a member of the Pathfinder Society well-known to new initiates. Her discovery of the Pilgrim's Cave in the foothills of the Kortos Mountains is one of her more recent accomplishments. She has a life-long love of learning, and aspires to become a Pathfinder Chronicler.
Benefit – Knowledge Religion is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Gavix’s Wayfinder: Dusty Rose Prism (Ioun Stone) - '+1 Insight bonus AC, Mossy Disk (Ioun Stone) - '+5 any 1 Knowledge Skill, Scarlet and Blue Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Int & +3 Know HX.
Koriah Azmeren - Current Member:
Koriah Azmeren, one of Varisia's most famous Pathfinders, is considered an expert on the subject of the Darklands and is a member of the Sihedron Council. Koriah's exploits were chronicled in Volume 44 of the Pathfinder Chronicles, where the confirmation of the existence of the drow was first published.
Benefit – Knowledge Dungeoneering is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Azmeren’s Wayfinder: Pale Ruby Trillian (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Stealth, Amber Spindle (Ioun Stone) - '+1 All Saves.
Kreighton Shaine - Current Member:
Venture-Captain Kreighton Shaine holds the title of Master of Scrolls within Absalom's Pathfinder Society. Kreighton Shaine is considered strange and absent-minded to his Pathfinder peers, but his abilities in solving puzzles and codes more than make up for his eccentricities.
Benefit – Use Magic Device is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Shaine’s Wayfinder: Scarlet and Blue Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Int & +3 Know HX, Pink and Green Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Charisma.
Ling Yayao - Current Member:
Venture-Captain Ling Yayao is a heroine of the Pathfinder Society straight out the pages of the Pathfinder Chronicles. In many tales, Pathfinders dramatically distressed and in need of help from their loyal and heroic peers have been lucky enough to be saved by Ling after she rides to the rescue, covering impossible distances on her loyal companion, a horse called Fallow Grain. In return, the striking heroine takes no reward, only a kiss.
Benefit – Ride is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Yayao’s Wayfinder: Turquoise Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Ride & Grant Mount Fleet Feat', Opalescent White Pyramid (Ioun Stone) - Proficiency - Spiked Chain.
Marcos Farabellus – Current Member:
Marcos is the current Master of Swords within Absalom's Pathfinder Society. The most popular of the Three Masters of the Society's Grand Lodge, Marcos is known for his storytelling, good humour, and devil-may-care approach to combat and training. In truth, his bravado is more a teaching technique to keep his audience rapt, with his true goal being the preservation of Pathfinders' lives.
Benefit – Sleight of Hand is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Farabellus’ Wayfinder: Thorny (Ioun Stone) [Multi-Colored] - '+2 ALL Combat Maneuvers.
Old Mage Jatambe - Legacy Member:
Old-Mage Jatembe was a great wizard and folk-hero to the people of the Mwangi Expanse. Through his deeds and magical teaching, Jatembe brought the people of Garund out of the barbarism of the Age of Anguish and on the path back to civilization. His followers continued spreading this knowledge long after he was gone, greatly influencing the magical traditions of countless cultures throughout Garund and Avistan.
Benefit - Knowledge Arcana OR Spellcraft is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Jatambe’s Wayfinder: Scarlet and Blue Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Int & +3 Know HX, Clear Spindle (Ioun Stone) - No food or water, Pink Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Con.
Seeker Osprey – Current Member:
The druid Osprey is a member of the Pathfinder Society, although he tends to work outside of the organization's standard hierarchical framework. He gets his name from his habit of wildshaping into dark-eyed raptors.
Benefit – Knowledge Nature is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Osprey’s Wayfinder: Incandescent Blue Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Wisdom, Mossy Disk (Ioun Stone) - '+5 any 1 Knowledge Skill.
Selmius Foster - Legacy Member:
Selmius Foster was a Pathfinder who was published in many of the early Pathfinder Chronicles. Foster's Vudra exploration lead to the opening of Vudran spice trade with Absalom which in turn lead to the Grand Lodge being donated to the Pathfinder Society in 4320 AR. He died exploring Bhopan slain by a ravenous pack of dog men.
Benefit – Climb OR Linguistics is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Foster’s Wayfinder: Eastern Star (Ioun Stone; Emerald Spire version) - Comprehend Languages, Dusty Rose Prism (Ioun Stone) - '+1 Insight bonus AC, Mulberry Pentacle (Ioun Stone) - '+5 Bluff & Diplomacy.
Sheila Heidmarch – Current Member:
One of the two venture-captains who founded the Pathfinder lodge in Magnimar, Sheila Heidmarch is a seasoned but now retired adventurer. Sheila and her husband (and lifelong adventuring partner) Canayven Heidmarch acquired their private estate in Magnimar's Naos district after retiring from a life of adventuring. Seeing value in their homeland, Sheila and Canayven have established the first Pathfinder Society lodge in Varisia, granting the Society access to the relatively unexplored wilderness region rich with ancient Thassilonian artifacts ripe for the plunder.
Benefit - Knowledge Geography is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Heidmarch’s Wayfinder: Magenta Prism (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Any 1 ability score (can change that ability daily).
Sheraya Solistar – Legacy Member:
Sheraya Solistar was the last heir to the Chelaxian Imperial House of Asgavan. A Pathfinder Society's expedition in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, led by the Chelaxian princess, disappeared in the caverns below Tusk Mountains in 4638 AR. Her loss shifted the power in Cheliax toward House Thrune. For decades Pathfinder agents and allies of the House Asgavan tried to find a sign of Sheraya's retinue. Some would-be revolutionaries among the Chelish exile community in Absalom are trying to organize a new expedition, hoping to find a living heir of Sheraya, capable of challenging House Thrune in Cheliax.
Benefit – Heal OR Knowledge Nobility is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Solistar’s Wayfinder: Deep Red Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Dexterity, Clear Spindle (Ioun Stone) - No food or water, Pink and Green Sphere (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Charisma.
Zarta Dralneen – Current Member:
Paracountess Zarta Dralneen is a beautiful Chelish woman who served as diplomatic envoy to Absalom until she was condemned on false charges in 4713 AR. Although cultured and refined, Dralneen is a master manipulator who uses her charms and diabolical power to her advantage. Her loyalties lay with House Thrune, but she is now independent.
Benefit – Bluff is a Class Skill for you and you gain a +2 Legacy Bonus to that Skill.
Dralneen’s Wayfinder: Dark Blue Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - Alertness Feat, Pale Blue Rhomboid (Ioun Stone) - '+2 Strength.
