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In the wake of COVID-19 and its effects around the world, Humble Bundle has teamed up with a team of developers, publishers, and creators to raise funds to support organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. We at Paizo are contributing the Starfinder: Pact Worlds campaign setting PDF.

The Pact Worlds are the beating heart of the Starfinder RPG campaign setting, a solar system full of citizens both familiar and bizarre. From the cosmopolitan corridors of Absalom Station to the carnivorous jungles of Castrovel or the floating cloud-cities of the gas giant Bretheda, this hardcover rulebook is your guide to Starfinder's core worlds and civilizations, and the perfect place to launch any adventure. Contains 14 intriguing worlds, unique character themes, new playable alien races, new archetypes, starships, equipment and more! A perfect introduction to the worlds of Starfinder!

This special one-week bundle features $1,071 USD worth of games and ebooks for just $30 USD. 100% of the proceeds from your bundle purchase go to support organizations responding to COVID-19. For example, delivering protective gear to safeguard healthcare workers and providing medical care to infected patients.

Interested in knowing more about how the charities in this bundle are using funds to combat the spread of COVID-19 and help those affected? Learn more about how Direct Relief, International Rescue Committee, Doctors Without Borders, and Partners In Health are responding at the Humble Conquer COVID-19 Bundle page.

Starfinder Near Space releases this month, and to show off some of the new character options available in the book, we present Sheevak Smoke-Eater, an NPC antagonist and rival that you can use in your Starfinder campaigns. Among his many abilities, Sheevak utilizes an alternate vesk racial trait and the battle leader archetype, in addition to a new weapon in the form of the doshakari, all from Near Space. While NPCs don’t normally use themes, we’ve given Sheevak the stormrunner theme to give you a sneak peek at one of the new themes from the book as well. In addition, we offer a brief look at Sheevak’s current base of operations, the gas giant Ulthel, which is fully detailed in Near Space.

Content from other Starfinder products is marked with the following abbreviations: NS (Starfinder Near Space) and PW (Starfinder Pact Worlds). These books are available here on paizo.com or online at sfrd.info.

SHEEVAK SMOKE-EATER

CR 6

• XP 2,400
• Male vesk operative (battle leaderNS)
• CE Medium humanoid (vesk)
• Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +14

DEFENSE

HP 80 RP 4

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• EAC 19; KAC 20
• Fort +5; Ref +8; Will +9
• Defensive Abilities armor savant, evasion

OFFENSE

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• Speed 40 ft.
• Melee tactical doshakari +12 (1d6+7 P; critical wound [DC 15]; analog, disarm, operative) or unarmed strike +12 (1d3+4 B)
• Ranged advanced shobhad horizon striker +14 (3d4+6 P; analog, sniper [1,000 ft.], unwieldy) or frostbite-class zero pistol +14 (1d6+6 C; critical staggered [DC 17])
• Offensive Abilities debilitating trick, natural weapons, trick attack +3d8

STATISTICS

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• Str +2; Dex +5; Con +1; Int +0; Wis +1; Cha +4
• Skills Acrobatics +19, Athletics +14, Culture +14, Intimidate +14, Survival +19 (+23 with trick attack)
• Languages Common, Iji, Pahtra, Vesk
• Other Abilities brawnyNS, operative exploits (ever vigilant), specialization (explorer), stormrunner themeNS (eye of the storm, theme knowledge), victory cry NS (got ’em!, regroup)
• Gear freebooter armor II (jetpack), advanced shobhad horizon strikerPW with 25 sniper rounds, frostbite-class zero pistol with 1 battery (20 charges), tactical doshakariNS, mk 2 serum of healing, adamantine alloy cable line (50 feet), environmental clothing (zero gravity), grappler, signal jammer (level 6); Augmentations cardiac accelerator

SPECIAL ABILITIES

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• Brawny Sheevak takes pride in being as physically fit as possible. He gains a +2 racial bonus to Athletics and Acrobatics checks. This alternate racial trait replaces fearless.
• Eye of the Storm When in stormy conditions, Sheevak is able to gather greater information about his surroundings. His visibility range in a storm is reduced by only half, and he takes a –4 penalty to Perception checks instead of –8. When he succeeds at a Survival check to endure severe weather, he can move his full overland speed and still receive the +2 bonus to Fortitude saves against severe weather. He suffers the forced movement and takes damage from a failed Acrobatics check to fly in dangerous wind conditions only if he fails the check by 10 or more, instead of by 5 or more.
• Stormrunner Theme Sheevak is trained to navigate the tumultuous atmospheres of gas giants with grace, learning weather patterns and recognizing the order in the apparent randomness of storms. Stormrunners gain an ability adjustment of +1 to Dexterity at character creation.
• Stormrunner Theme Knowledge The life of a stormrunner is about beating the odds in high-risk situations. Reduce the DC of Survival checks to endure severe weather, orienteer, and predict weather when in rainy, snowy, or windy conditions by 5.
• Tactical Doshakari This punch dagger resembles a miniature doshko extending from the knuckles, with one to four diamond‑shaped blades.
• Victory Cry (Ex) Followers of a tradition that originated in the Veskarium among devout followers of Damoritosh, battle leaders are known for celebrating victories as they happen. Sheevak knows how to capitalize on his allies’ successes in battle, inspiring them to further incredible feats. As a reaction when Sheevak or an ally scores a critical hit against a significant enemy with an attack or drops a significant enemy to 0 Hit Points, he can issue a victory cry, choosing one of the following and providing its benefits to all allies within 60 feet (but not Sheevak himself):
• Got ’Em!: Affected allies gain a +2 morale bonus to damage rolls until the end of their next turn.
• Regroup: The triggering ally regains 10 Stamina Points.
• These alternate class features replace the operative exploit class features normally gained at 2nd and 4th level.

Sheevak Smoke-Eater is a veteran stormrunner, leading a team salvaging minerals and other valuable resources from the atmospheres of gas giants. He’s currently working for Project Omega, a top secret research facility in orbit around the Near Space gas giant Ulthel. Sheevak’s mission is to take samples from ulthelim, the planet’s native species, for study by Project Omega’s scientists. Project leader Dr. Holton-8 pays well, and ethical characters who seek to shut down Sheevak and his employers are in for a fight.

For members of Sheevak’s stormrunning team, you can use the stats for the mercenary rookie on page 174 of Starfinder Pact Worlds, but replace their Stealth skill with Acrobatics +13 and add the Eye of the Storm and Stormrunner Theme Knowledge special abilities from Sheevak’s stat block above.

ULTHEL

Ulthel is a gas giant in Near Space with a toxic atmosphere, home to a species of jellyfish-like creatures known as ulthelim. Early visitors to Ulthel reported hearing mental pleas from the ulthelim, which begged the visitors in a single cacophonous voice to partake of the planet’s wisdom, to merge with the clouds of ulthelim, and to become one with the planet as a single entity. These were always the last reports visitors logged before they themselves disappeared without a trace. To some, visiting the planet is a surefire death sentence. But to others, the transformative nature of the ulthelim represents a blueprint of utopia. To still others, the gas giant holds a potential gold mine of riches and scientific secrets that’s worth braving any risk.

For more character options and more details about Ulthel and dozens of other Near Space Worlds, check out Starfinder Near Space, available now!

Jason Tondro
Starfinder Developer

Due to COVID-19 affecting everyone, some shows on the schedule may be canceled at any moment. We prioritize our content creator’s safety over their productions as we all deal with the current pandemic, so we apologize in advance if plans abruptly change from what’s scheduled here.

We also encourage you to keep tuned next week, as we prepare for our Starfinder & Pathfinder adventures in the world of Virtual Tabletop!

So here is what’s happening this week at OfficialPaizo on Twitch!

Pathfinder 2E Extinction Curse with Squiiddish, Mar 30, 1:00 p.m. Pacific

The Circus of Wayward Wonders has just arrived in the remote town of Abberton, and the 2 Perception crew are the stars of the show! After an unfortunate event the crew finds themselves in charge of keeping the show alive. But, how will they fare?

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams the Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path Extinction Curse every Monday at 1:00 P.M. on Squiiddish’s Twitch channel here. We will be hosting this show on the OfficialPaizo Twitch channel.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker with Paizo, March 31 & April 3 , 1:00-4:00 p.m. Pacific

Did you know that our Social Media Producer Payton Smith never played Kingmaker? I know right!? We brought in Pathfinder’s Creative Director James Jacobs to hop in and be Payton’s Guide to Golarion. So if you’ve been curious about the history of Pathfinder, it’s lore, or overall want to get to know us. Join us on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel and for all that is good in this world, help keep Payton alive as he journeys through the River Kingdoms corner of Golarion.

Pungeon Crawl, April 1, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

Note: Pungeon Crawl will now be hosted on the Paizo Twitch channel instead of being streamed directly. You can find BBWolfe’s twitch channel to support the show here.

"The results of the breakfast sweepstakes are in and The Biggest Darn Heroes of the Pact Worlds are about to get a new set of legally-distinct sidekicks as the Pungeon Crawl returns! Join the Deep Space Defenders as we find out if a handful of breakfast cereal contest-selected weirdos can keep up with your favorite syndicated space saviors! Sent on a mission with REAL HEROES, they’ll be put to the test as things go wrong, while on camera the entire time! As their situation develops the heroes’ morale may falter, but with the help of you, the faithful viewers, your favorite heroes can grip success from the jaws of failure! Wednesday nights 8e/7c only on Paizo!"
- BBWolfe

Streamed on OfficialPaizo on Twitch.

Arcane Mark, April 2, 7:00 p.m. & April 4, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Arcane Mark is a stream with Design Manager Mark Seifter and Organized Play Lead Developer Linda Zayas-Palmer covering all sorts of RPG and Pathfinder-related topics, from GM Tools to Design Diaries to Workshops. Thursday episodes are always interviews, usually covering Paizo staff you might not have seen as often in other interviews. Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here. (We will be prioritizing Glass Cannon for the broadcast times on Thursday. But once Glass Cannon ends the channel should switch back to Arcane Mark)

Age of Ashes with Squiddish, April 4, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Pacific

“Fires burn atop the ruined citadel on Hellknight Hill, sending plumes of red smoke into the air that could be a call for help. Now a gang of adventurers rise together to investigate the current conflict. How will they handle the Hellknights? Will they all burn in horrendous fire? Tune into this new Pathfinder Second Edition live play show!

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams on the OfficialPaizo on Twitch channel every week at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Court of Corvids with QueueTimes, April 5, 4:30 p.m.

Court of Corvids is an actual play show that takes place in a homebrew setting using the Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset. It is currently on hiatus having finished its second story arc but will return with a brand new one on Sunday, February 23rd at 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

In this setting, facts and fiction blur together. In fact, the story began with a lie, one that grew so much it became the central pillar for an entire community…that is until the party stumbled upon the truth and brought it all down. Since then, they’ve been on the road, trying to find their place in a vast world they didn’t even know existed for most of their lives.

The party, taken through this world by GM and occult enthusiast Jacob Kile, consists of:

• Croog Claudel, played by Croog: A human monk searching for his long-lost siblings, hoping to make amends when he finds them.
• Moss the Magnificent, played by Molly McIsaac: An Elven Sorcerer trying to recapture the fame she had back home.
• Robyn Way, played by Jonas Newhouse: A Gnome druid desperate to hide from her former life and family. She’s married to Remi.
• Remi Ashwillow, played by William White: The Goblin fighter and Robyn’s partner is just trying to make friends and live life after being stuck in a cult for many years.

Catch Court of Corvids being hosted live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here.

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We've added a new Forum for Streaming & Actual Play discussions. If you have any questions you’d like to submit for our Q&A segments at the end of our Starfinder Wednesdays or Pathfinder Fridays you can do so in our Forums.

Pathfinder Fridays Fan Club

Starfinder Wednesdays Fan Club

If you have a Pathfinder or Starfinder stream, post it under Third Party Broadcasts.

Catch us live at our Official Twitch Channel. Catch the Video On Demand (VOD) on Twitch immediately after it is done or a week later on our YouTube channel.

Yesterday, we posted a blog about play-by-post (PbP) benefits and experiences and ways play Pathfinder Adventure Card Game online. Now we continue the conversation, with a focus on virtual tabletops (VTTs) and general links and resources. If you missed Payton’s blog about home gaming options on Tuesday, I recommend you check it out, as it is a great overview of the online resources available to gamers!

From Jesse Davis (IronHelixx), Regional Venture-Coordinator, Online Region:

Watching the virtual gaming space adapt, evolve, and grow over the last thirty+ years has been an interesting and exciting experience. It's grown from simple, kludgy, rudimentary tools to realistic 2-D, and even 3-D, tabletop experiences rivaling its analog progenitors, and even exceeding them in certain aspects. The virtual tabletop has allowed friends and family spread wide-and-far to continue, or even begin, their campaigns that otherwise would never have happened; its allowed people from all over the world to “sit” at virtual-tables together in ways impossible in the past; allowed those with no access to game-spaces to play when they would otherwise be without; and extended opportunities for those unable to attend conventions to finally take part in such events from the comfy confines of their own homes. Watching the org-play opportunities explode online over the last decade has been even more exciting to watch. The online world is now a vibrant 24/7, 365 community filled with gaming opportunities, for every system and style of play that you can imagine. We look forward to where it goes from here - and look forward to you joining us and becoming part of the virtual gaming community we love so much.

Virtual Table Tops

Living in an area with little in the ways of Society games locally, and between my job and family being unable to drive the hour to Toronto where games are abundant, I found myself drawn to the online community. While there is a little more of a learning curve compared to physical games, I found a welcoming and robust community drawn from all across the globe eager to take a new player under wing and show me the ropes. A few years later and I somehow ended up being the Venture Captain for the VTT Community and am now helping new players with the transition to online.

What is VTT? VTT stands for Virtual Table Top and is a system of online play utilizing a representation of the physical table top for maps and tokens. Instead of flip maps we use digital copies and images instead of mini’s/tokens. The most popular VTTs used for organized Play are Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds , which are usually accompanied by Discord or Google hangouts for voice chat capacities. Finally, when a game is done the GM will fill out the chronicle sheets using a PDF editor like Foxit or Adobe Reader and email them out to the players.
— James Bartlett (Finegas), venture-captain VTT

I got involved in the VTT games a few years ago, and I have never looked back. The community is incredible. We have so many GMs and players from so many diverse backgrounds. Everyone is made to feel welcome, from new players looking to dip their toe into society play, all the way through to 5 Star and 5 Nova GMs, looking to help with conventions. One of my favourite things about our online community, is that everyone is always happy to help. Have a rules question? Come and ask in one of the rules channels. Need some support setting up your first table? Just ask! And (my personal favourite), asking if someone is happy to run their children through their first game, to help them learn about internet safety. Honestly. The PFS and SFS community worldwide is fantastic. And I believe we are lucky online to have built that same community feel- Just stretched over a few more miles!
— Helen Yau, venture-lieutenant VTT

Want to know the real secret to playing Society games online? It's easy. Really easy! If you can send an email, you can play online. The various virtual tabletop systems available are all fantastic and have many incredibly useful tools and options that you can use to build some amazing experiences and unforgettable games. With all these tools available it can sometimes seem daunting to get involved, but the most important part of the game is the players and GMs, with those and a short introduction to the basics of playing online you can jump in and be playing games with your regular group, or nufriends from across the world, the same evening you decide to try. We'll be very glad to see you there!
— Rich Lowe, venture-lieutenant VTT

Roll 20 my chosen virtual tabletop "VTT" is a robust tool that allows people from all over the world to join up and play Pathfinder/Starfinder just like we were sitting together in the same room. Moreover, it allows beginners and experts with the system to sit at the same table and use basic to advanced tools as each chooses. From relying on the built-in dice roller, to using character sheets or building simple to complex macros.
— Steven Mombourquette, venture-agent VTT

Tools and Links:

Tool Quick Suggestions by type:

VTT:

• Personal groups moving online:
• Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds w/ Discord
• Conventions moving online:
• Roll20 w/ Discord
• Regional gaming groups/Org Play lodges moving online:
• Roll20 w/ Discord
• Regional gaming groups/Org Play lodges moving online:
• Roll20 w/ Discord

PbP:

• Paizo Forums - PFS1
• Paizo Forums - PFS2
• Paizo Forums - SFS
• Paizo Forums - PACG

OrgPlayOnline Discord (For PFS[1|2]/SFS/PACG):
http://OrgPlayOnlineChat.com

VTTs:

• Browser Based:
• Roll20
• Astral
• Installable "Thick" Clients:
• Fantasy Grounds
• d20Pro
• Foundry
• MapTool FOSS
• TableTop Simulator
• Skirmish VTT

PbP Forums:

• Paizo Forums - PFS1
• Paizo Forums - PFS2
• Paizo Forums - SFS
• Paizo Forums - PACG
• Mythweaver
• RPGGeek

PACG Online:
https://acg.orgplayonline.com

Discord Org-Play Lodges:

• Roll For Combat
• Cosmic Crittermanders
• Starfinder Nexus

Tools for Filling in Chronicle Sheets:

• Foxit Reader
• Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
• Nitro PDF Reader
• Adobe Fill and Sign Android
• LibreOffice Draw FOSS
• PDFelement Commercial - Not Free
• PDFEscape Web Based
• PDFill Commercial - Not Free

Voice/Video Tools:

• DiscordM
• Google Hangouts
• Skype
• Mumble FOSS
• Zoom

Tokens Makers:

• TokenStamp
• TokenTool

Upcoming Online Events:

VTT:

• Crittercon 3 by Cosmic Crittermanders: April 17th-April 19th, 2020
• Details on Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/hAQgjmX

PbP:

• OutPost : March 30- May 18, 2020
• Details: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42xo9?Announcing-Outpost-III-Putting-on-the-Ritz#1

Additional Online Play Resources for events moving online:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RymYlTucCRdrRwuh2yWlLfPwmFWBq2dG5bmfYm2Q57w/

Once again, shouting out a ginormous thank you to Online Regional Venture-Coordinator Jesse Davis and his team for sharing their knowledge and experience with our community!

See ya back next week for our spotlight blog. Until then, stay safe, wash hands, and – Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Just because we’re practicing safe physical distancing doesn’t mean we can’t have amazing adventures together. From now through May 3rd, save 25% on all Paizo PDFs, including Pathfinder Second Edition, Starfinder, and even classic Pathfinder titles.

Not sure where to begin? Here are some top picks.

Get everything you need to get started with Pathfinder Second Edition with the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Harness the power of the Pathfinder Bestiary and bring 400+ monsters to your gaming table, or unleash more enhancements to your game with the Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide.

Explore the world of the Pathfinder roleplaying game with the Lost Omens World Guide, Lost Omens Character Guide, and Lost Omens Gods & Magic. Delve deeper with Pathfinder Tales fiction by some of fantasy’s best authors.

If epic adventure is more your taste, add Pathfinder Adventure Paths to your digital library, including Age of Ashes and the just-released Extinction Curse. Want a more science-fantasy theme? Shoot for the stars with Starfinder Adventure Paths, including the first volume of The Threefold Conspiracy.

Looking to save on an evening of adventure? Check out the scenarios available through the Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society.

Your galactic journeys through science-fantasy begin with the Starfinder roleplaying game Core Rulebook and Beginner Box. Fill your galaxy with creatures from the Alien Archive, Alien Archive 2, and Alien Archive 3, each bringing new playable character races.

Not ready to build your own galaxy of civilizations? Pact Worlds brings the universe to life. Add the Armory and outfit your heroes and monsters with the latest weapons and armor, or include the Character Operations Manual and add three new classes to your game.

Hundreds of more game titles exist, from classic Pathfinder rulebooks to maps and pawns. What’s your favorite Pathfinder or Starfinder product? Let us know in the comments below.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Paizo has made the decision to cancel PaizoCon 2020. We look forward to this celebration with our gaming community every year, and while it’s hard to cancel an event like this, we feel this is the best course of action given the global situation.

The Seattle Airport Doubletree by Hilton will cancel all PaizoCon 2020 room reservations en masse. If you have follow up questions regarding your hotel reservation, please contact the hotel.

We’re looking into some options for things we might be able to do digitally over Memorial Day weekend that would still allow us to connect with our fans. With the rapid changes occurring both locally and globally, we have not yet come to any conclusions on the feasibility of providing digital content. Once we make a determination, we will let you know.

There’s also likely to be some questions about what this means for 2021. We’re doing our best to adapt to these challenging times, and we’ll update folks when we have more details for next year’s PaizoCon, May 28th-31st, 2021. For fans who plan to attend next year’s convention and choose to push their 2020 4-day Badge forward to 2021, we’ll have an enhanced swag bag at the show to express our appreciation. We know that many in our community are facing uncertainties with their future plans and may not yet know if they will be able to attend next year’s PaizoCon. There’s no pressure to make a decision about what to do with your Badge: all 2020 PaizoCon Badges and preview Banquet Tickets that have been issued will automatically work for PaizoCon 2021. If you determine that you need to return a Badge or a Banquet Ticket, just follow the instructions below for requesting a refund.

If you would prefer to receive a refund for a purchased PaizoCon 2020 Badge or Preview Banquet Ticket, please review the following instructions to process your return:

Refunding PaizoCon 2020 Badges or Preview Banquet Tickets if you do not want to push them forward to PaizoCon 2021:
Please note, once we have processed a request for a refund for a Badge or Banquet Ticket, we cannot reinstate the order at a later time.

If the Badge or Banquet Ticket is currently on the account of the purchaser:

• Email customer.service@paizo.com and let us know if you would like your refund applied to the payment method used on the order or as store credit.
• Provide the order number when possible.

If the Badge or Preview Banquet Ticket has been transferred and is no longer on the account of the purchaser:

• The recipient of the Badge or ticket can transfer the item(s) back to the account of the purchaser.
• If the recipient is having difficulties with transferring the Badge back to the purchaser, they can contact customer.service@paizo.com for assistance.
• We cannot initiate transfers for Badges or tickets unless the account that currently has possession of the Badge or ticket requests it directly.
• Once the Badge or Banquet Ticket has been transferred back to the purchaser, the purchaser can contact customer service and request a refund.
• Be sure to include if the refund should be applied to the payment method or as store credit.

If you are the recipient of a transferred Badge or preview Banquet Ticket purchased on paizo.com, and you would like a refund applied to your account:

• If eligible for a refund, transferred Badges or Banquet Tickets will be refunded as store credit to your paizo.com account in the original purchase amount. Contact customer.service@paizo.com to request the refund.

If you have additional questions or concerns, just let us know at customer.service@paizo.com.

Thank you to all our fans and community members who support Paizo. We’ll miss seeing you at PaizoCon 2020, and hope to see you in 2021!

Time for your weekly check in! Place a comment below letting us know how you are holding up. Now, more than ever, we need our communities and relationships to help us weather the tumult, and we have an awesome community. Speaking of awesome, our Online Region venture-officers stepped up to the call for support! For the past few weeks, as the Friendly, Local, Game Stores shuttered due to government mandates, the online venture-officers helped their physical region counterparts move games, and entire conventions, online. The online VOs ran training sessions, compiled resources, and answered questions. They are the experts, and as such, I asked them to guest author today’s blogs. Due to the length, we split their responses into two. This blog focuses on play-by-post (PbP) benefits and experiences, as well as ways play Pathfinder Adventure Card Game online. Tomorrow’s blog focuses on virtual tabletops (VTTs) and general links and resources. If you missed Payton’s blog about home gaming options on Tuesday, I recommend you check it out, as it is a great overview of the online resources available to gamers!

I’m turning the blog over and will see you next week for our first of the month Spotlight blog.

From Jesse Davis (IronHelixx), Regional Venture-Coordinator, Online Region:

Watching the virtual gaming space adapt, evolve, and grow over the last thirty+ years has been an interesting and exciting experience. It's grown from simple, kludgy, rudimentary tools to realistic 2-D, and even 3-D, tabletop experiences rivaling its analog progenitors, and even exceeding them in certain aspects. The virtual tabletop has allowed friends and family spread wide-and-far to continue, or even begin, their campaigns that otherwise would never have happened; its allowed people from all over the world to “sit” at virtual-tables together in ways impossible in the past; allowed those with no access to game-spaces to play when they would otherwise be without; and extended opportunities for those unable to attend conventions to finally take part in such events from the comfy confines of their own homes. Watching the org-play opportunities explode online over the last decade has been even more exciting to watch. The online world is now a vibrant 24/7, 365 community filled with gaming opportunities, for every system and style of play that you can imagine. We look forward to where it goes from here - and look forward to you joining us and becoming part of the virtual gaming community we love so much.

Play-by-Post

One of the best kept secrets Pathfinder is the Online Community. Not every community or individual has an established group of players or Lodge within a reasonable distance of them. This is what led me in search of online Pathfinder games several years ago. I came across Play-by-Post on the Paizo website and a very helpful and fun community. With games more than 2+ hours away from my home I was able to easily find games within the online Play-by-Post community. While they may take a bit longer (One post a day) than a traditional face to face game I can put more effort into the actual roleplaying aspect which helps enrich the purpose of our games. At first it might seem a bit overwhelming, but it is incredibly easy, and we have a great and wonderful community that will help guide you each step of the way. Come and join us for a game during these trying times. Locations can be found below:

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PbP Lodges (Play-by-Post):

1. PFS 1E Flaxseed Lodge
2. PFS 2E Cottonseed Lodge
3. SFS Castamir's Flaxseed Station Lodge
4. RPG Geek Lodge
5. Mythweavers Lodge

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Play-by-Discord Lodges

1. Roll for Combat (Play-by-Discord)
2. Cosmic Crittermanders (Play-by-Discord)

— Derek Larsen (Tyranius), venture-captain PbP

Play-by-post gaming was the one thing that kept me playing Pathfinder and roleplaying games in general. It started about 15 years ago when I moved away from the metro Boston area. I left a land of plenty when it came to game stores and places to engage in my favorite hobby to a place where few opportunities existed. So, I started getting into virtual tabletop games to satisfy my need to play. Then I started to have a family, one child then two, the third and fourth followed. Now with a full family and more responsibilities in my career, the time to set aside four or five hours at a time was no longer there. Play-by-post gaming which I had dabbled in before seemed like the natural solution. I found the Pathfinder Society group on Myth Weavers and jumped right in. Played a few games to get my feet wet, then tried my hand at GMing when I was ready. Fast forward a few years and our first VA had to leave his post and that when I was picked to step into the VO corps. While I play and GM on Paizo as well, my focus is on the smaller lodges. There may not always be a game mustering when you get there but stop in some time at RPG Geek or Myth weavers and say hello. Tell us what you are interested in playing and maybe someone will be happy to help you find a game. We’ll certainly be willing to show you the ropes. Figuring out the post formats may take some getting used to, but we'll guide you along until you get used to it.
— Michael Hallet, venture-lieutenant PbP

If a face-to-face roleplaying session is like exploring the set of a big-budget movie, a Play-by-Post or PbP game is akin to living inside the pages of a great book. PbP evokes the literary roots of fantasy gaming. And just as you are unlikely to digest an entire book in one sitting, you can play a PbP game as much, or as little, as you like throughout the day and weeks. The text format and slower pacing allow time to experience vivid, detailed descriptions, deep, internal monologues, and shrewd, sharp-witted negotiations. When I play via PbP, my bards' songs are more lyrical, my androids’ computations are more analytical, my clerics are more prayerful, and my gnomes are more playful. My insightful envoy can readily pick up on the thoughts in the room. My crazed, mad witch usually has a song running through her head. My incompetent witchwyrd spy always finds his well-planned schemes becoming thwarted by his more savvy, fellow party members. My pompous, scholarly wizard spouts out facts with Wikipedia-like knowledge. And whenever someone speaks to her, my wise-cracking ysoki always-- always-- has the perfect, instant comeback. Indeed, if one didn't know any better, they'd almost think that she'd taken several hours, perhaps even days, to come up with it.
— Lysle Kappventure-agent PbP

I first became involved in RPGs several decades ago though I did not have my first Organized Play experience until August 2017. I had a great local community to play with and within a year I had GMed my first game, attended my first PaizoCon, and discovered Play-by-Post (PbP). The online community was just as welcoming and supportive, and I discovered PbP provides the ideal environment to improve my roleplaying and GMing skills. It also provides an opportunity to play with others in very many areas of the world and without needing to commit a significant single block of time or share a time zone. I have since begun to enjoy the different benefits of online VTT (virtual table top) play, also with an international group of players. I am happy and honored to be a part of the team that helps provide structure for our Online Organized Play community.
— Katrina Hennessy, venture-agent PbP

Though I didn’t participate in my first Play-by-Post under the Organized Play umbrella until 2015 I’d discovered the format nearly a year and a half earlier by random chance and pretty quickly fell in love. Some of my fellow Venture Officers have already laid out many of the wonderful advantages to be found by playing online such as flexibility, convenience, and expanded opportunities for roleplay. Yet the one that has been the most meaningful in a personal sense is that Play-by-Post has allowed me to find my own voice and tap into a sense of creativity that I never knew I had, all through the power of writing and cooperative storytelling. It allows me to be the things I want to be and express myself in a way that I’ve always had a difficult time doing at face-to-face tables. The feeling this gives me is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world - and it’s a feeling that I’d love to share with others. So, if Play-by-Post sounds appealing to you, please drop in at any of the lodges and say hello! We’d love to meet you and help you get started.
— Kristin Wilhite, venture-agent PbP

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

While our colleagues over in the roleplaying game space have many options for where and how to run their games, the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is understandably more constrained… after all, PACG cards don’t fall under the Open Gaming License. Despite this, Paizo has been more than willing to work with those of us who don’t have the time or opportunity to meet in face-to-face space to play this game that many of us are very passionate about. Over the past year or so the online PACG community has been consistently growing. To handle that growth an online system, which can be found at acg.orgplayonline.org, has been created to allow for games to be played through play-by-post on the Paizo forums. This system is still in its relative infancy, but it allows games to be run by a “box runner” (or BR), with that BR posting updates to the forums and players posting their actions and a summary of their current hand. You can see an example of one of these games, where BR AAUGHWHY has been running myself and others through all 6 adventures of the Season of Tapestry Tide here.

For more info on how this all works, check out the second half of this blog post which gives a high-level overview. If you’re interested in trying out one of these games, I recommend checking out the Flaxseed On Deck Lodge. There we have instructions on how to get involved as well as other resources that can help you get started with building your character deck to play online.

In addition to our play-by-post system, we’ve been authorized for the time being to allow for other methods of play. Some of our player base has had luck with running games using web cameras, with players using the PACG Wiki to reference cards they acquire and may not have physical copies of. We’re also looking into additional options, so please feel free to post in the Flaxseed On Deck Lodge discussion thread if you’d like to propose or ask about other options.

We very much look forward to having you join us in playing PACG online!
—Tyler Beck, venture-captain online ACG

I got involved in Play-by-Post for Pathfinder Adventure Card Game a few years ago because my schedule does not always allow me to take large blocks of time to play with my local group. That makes it difficult for me to attend regularly and complete a campaign with them. What I like about play-by-post is that it can be done anywhere, and it takes less time out of my day spread out over a week rather than all in one afternoon. Basically, it's been a convenient way to get a little dose of ACG on a regular basis without straining my schedule. Another part of the online play-by-post I have enjoyed is that it allows players to connect from all over the world.

Something somewhat unique to play-by-post for the card game is that some players choose to roleplay their turns. This is not required by any means but is sometimes a nice way to add flavor to turns that I have never seen at a face-to-face card game session. Here’s an example from Amaryllis meeting a Treachery Demon, or Lem fighting a Cultist.

We have many helpful players so don’t be afraid to check out the resources Tyler provided and ask questions as needed. We were all new to the online format and/or card game at one point or another!
—Race Dorsey, venture-agent online ACG

A huge thank you to Online Regional Venture-Coordinator Jesse Davis and his team for assisting our community and sharing their knowledge!

See you tomorrow for the second half. Until then – Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

I just wanted to update you with new information about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Paizo and what it means for you. As you know, the situation is changing rapidly and the team here at Paizo is having to take in new government rules, regulations, and health department guidance on almost a daily basis.

On Monday, March 23rd, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee issued a stay-at-home order for non-essential businesses. Most of Paizo has been working from home for a while now, but our warehouse team had been continuing to ship orders to distributors and paizo.com customers. Paizo will now be closing our warehouse for two weeks starting on the evening of Wednesday, March 25 and put those workers on a paid furlough during that time. The team is working hard to finish March subscription shipments before this shutdown. After two weeks, we plan to resume warehouse shipments unless the situation dictates that we do otherwise. Our customer service team will continue to work from home answering your questions. They have a thread on our forums to keep customers updated with their progress on customer requests: Paizo Customer Service Status Updates & What to Do.

We can still fulfill PDF sales, and we will be launching a PDF sale later this week. Buying PDFs is a great way to help Paizo get through these troubling times as well as getting great gaming products at great prices! Watch for an email announcing the sale in your inbox later this week.

I must also announce that we have made the decision to cancel PaizoCon 2020. Though we and our partners at the DoubleTree Hotel believe this is the best course of action for the safety of our staff and attendees, this is particularly sad for us because we at Paizo really enjoy having the chance to hang out with all of you and play games for a weekend. There will be a number of options for dealing with your badge and banquet ticket purchases, including rolling it forward to next year with a nice gift waiting for you at PaizoCon 2021 to thank you for sticking with us through these times. If you have purchased a badge, look for an email explaining your options soon. Our customer service team would greatly appreciate if you could wait to contact them about PaizoCon badge options until after we have sent out the email to badge holders.

The staff has been hard at work from home. The Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide and the Starfinder Starship Operations Manual have both been sent to the printer to be delivered in time for Gen Con, and other products are going to the printer each week. There is a light at the end of this tunnel, and we want to make sure that there are new roleplaying game products there for you to enjoy when we get through it.

Once again, thanks so much for your kind words of support and your continued patronage of our products. Together, we can get through these difficult times. We look forward to seeing many of you at the gaming table soon.

Lisa Stevens
CEO, Paizo Inc.

Journey to Near Space, the galactic region that contains the Pact Worlds, the Veskarium, and countless other systems and worlds. This hardcover rulebook expands the Starfinder campaign setting with details on dozens of planets and cultures found in Near Space, each perfect as a locale for science-fantasy adventure! Inside this book you’ll find:

• In-depth gazetteers of the nine worlds of the Veskarium, the interstellar empire founded by the militaristic vesk, and of 20 more worlds and civilizations of Near Space.
• New starship options and a dozen new starships.
• A wide variety of new player options: archetypes, themes, gear, spells, and alternate racial options!

WELCOME TO NEAR SPACE

In the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, the discovery of the hyperspace dimension known as the Drift has granted explorers access to a plethora of new worlds. Home to many sapient species both peaceful and otherwise, Near Space is not a single geographical area. Rather, it is defined by how quickly one can reach a world using the Drift, which depends on how many of the mysterious Drift beacons are nearby. One world might be virtually unreachable to another through normal travel, but the two might be neighbors via Near Space and can therefore reach one another in a matter of days.

WHAT’S IN THIS BOOK

Near Space is a bigger place than could be fully captured in any number of books—or even datapads—but these 160 pages are packed with information about some of its most interesting places.

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

CHAPTER 1: THE VESKARIUM

Chapter 1 is all about the Veskarium, the home system of the warlike lizard people known as vesk. Along with brand new in‐depth information about the vesk species, each of the Veskarium’s eight planets are covered in detail, as is the massive mobile star base and shipyard known as Conqueror’s Forge.

Illustration by Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo

CHAPTER 2: WORLDS OF NEAR SPACE

Chapter 2 opens with a guide on exploring the reaches of Near Space, along with 20 prominent and diverse planets and systems that starfarers from across the galaxy might visit. Whether you want detailed home worlds of playable species or entire new systems to explore, this chapter has you covered.

Illustration by Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo

CHAPTER 3: STARSHIPS

Chapter 3 introduces new starships for several kinds of Near Space denizens, including six new vesk starships. There is also a selection of new starship options for those who wish to further customize their home away from their home world.

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru.

CHAPTER 4: PLAYER OPTIONS

Chapter 4 is packed with player options, from alternate race options for nine Near Space–based species (including hobgoblins, osharus, and skittermanders) to new themes and archetypes. The chapter also offers new armor and weapon options, plus new shields (Starfinder Character Operations Manual 124) and spells, which can be used to flesh out adventures in Near Space.

You can acquire Near Space at your favorite local gaming store. Or with your ongoing Starfinder Roleplaying Game subscription, we'll send each new installment right to your door and charge your payment method automatically as we ship each product. You only need to sign up once, and never need to worry about renewal notices or missed products.

The next big releases for Starfidner will be the Starship Operations Manual and the Starfinder Core Rulebook Pocket Edition in July, which actually means the first weekend in August at Gen Con 2020.

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

It’s barely light—just after dawn—and my heart is pounding, hammering in time with the pahtra war drum’s rhythm. The visceral stomp of heavily armored boots and the jagged crackle of automatic rifle fire roil around us all. The vesk move awkwardly, still clumsy and off-balance in gravity that’s far weaker than what they’re used to. They carry their laser weapons with pride, firing sleek lines of light through the trees, and I find myself baring my teeth in a disdainful snarl. The magnetic storms of Vesk-6 make laser weapons risky even at the best of times, but the azimuth laser rifle is the standard-issue armament for the Veskarium army, and so the vesk carry them. My hands tighten on my own rifle, adrenaline surging as the war drum urges us forward. I take to the shadows behind a trio of ancient trees, waiting for the right moment to leap into the fray.

Is this what my forebears felt, some 300 years ago, fighting against the vesk invaders intent on reconquering a world they knew they had once controlled? Or even longer ago, before the Gap, when the Veskarium first came to Pulonis and claimed it as Vesk-6, the newest part of their empire?

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

But this isn’t a war. We aren’t a guerilla team fending off an invasion—it’s a training exercise, and the vesk in the clearing are as much my teammates as the other pahtras in the trees around me. The largest and boldest vesk in our unit leads the way, with just over a half-dozen others not far behind her. One vesk for each pahtra in our unit. Usually we train side-by-side, learning from one another, but today we’ve been divided up, pahtras against vesk. My own vesk partner stands firmly in the center of his unit, holding his rifle steady and firing careful blasts. It’s a typical vesk tactic, all stoic and solid and focused on formation, while my half of the unit has split up, each of us blending into the trees and utilizing the tactics that work best for us.

It makes Major Koboratash furious, our disregard for formal strategies. It’s also how we’ve won the last six of these mock battles. I wonder what she’s trying to accomplish, dividing us up into Team Pahtra and Team Vesk when the high despot’s program has us training side by side in the first place. I know some of my teammates think the major is secretly training the vesk to fight some of the pahtra resistance cells active near Leapfang Bay. I hope they’re wrong.

I wait for my chance to leap into the fray, watching for an opening, a distraction, an opportunity. My gaze settles on Jaskenayo, a particularly stodgy vesk with dark green scales, and the fur down the back of my neck suddenly stiffens. A shiver runs down the length of my spine. Something here is... wrong. I can’t say what or why or even how I know, but something about him has me deeply unsettled. His movements aren’t quite in step with the others, the tracking of his beady eyes just a little jerky. Like he’s watching the skirmish and reacting just a nanosecond too slow to be real. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and the tension along my spine grows so tight it’s painful. Something here is deeply, terribly wrong.

I slip back into the shadows. Make my way around the simulated firefight, slinking along the underbrush, until I’m off to one side, almost opposite our war drummer. Slowly, careful not to draw attention to my movements, I dump the blanks from my rifle and swap in the magazine of live ammunition from my belt. We all carry it, as a precaution against the countless predators of Vesk-6, since you never know when a sky viper might turn a training exercise into a life-or-death fight. Somehow, even though I can’t say why, I know this is one of those times.

The headstrong scrapper of my unit gives me the opening I need, rushing in to take on the frontline vesk with her bare hands like the reckless brawler she is. I lift my rifle, take careful aim. Breathe out. Pull the trigger.

Jaskenayo goes down so easily. He hadn’t seen me, and I was so close my single shot punched right through his overplate. He falls with a strangled cry.

Chaos breaks out. Of course it does—these training exercises aren’t supposed to be lethal. Everyone is shouting, and eight standard-issue Veskarium laser rifles swing around to focus on me, sharp clicks ringing out as they, too, are switched to a lethal setting. The hammering rhythm of the war drum falters, and then ceases altogether. My pahtra teammates stare, aghast. I feel my vesk partner’s eyes on me, betrayed and furious.

My fear—that creeping sensation of wrongness—dissipates almost as soon as Jaskenayo’s body hits the ground. But it’s immediately replaced by a different kind of fear, less visceral and much more intellectual, as Major Koboratash’s outraged shouts resound through the jungle. Demanding to know what just happened. What I thought I was doing. And I realize, really realize, what I’ve done. I just killed my teammate. Our war drummer’s partner. My partner’s childhood friend.

The major stomps up to me, and I hand over my rifle. I try to explain myself, but I don’t have the words for it. I have no proof, no justification—I just knew something was wrong. She doesn’t believe me, of course. She sees a recruit killed by friendly fire. A personal vendetta turned lethal.

I can’t even pretend it was an accident. They’ll court-martial me, and I’ll be discharged, dishonorably, without the Soldier’s Due.

Then, behind the major, Jaskenayo’s body twitches. I flinch back, and the major spins around as the dead vesk body jerks and shudders. Then, horribly, his body seems to deflate as a slick, bulbous ooze slithers out from beneath his armor.

A hymothoa.

I understand, then. I hadn’t encountered one of the indigenous oozes before, but I knew about them. Like how they eat away at a host’s organs and replace them, puppeting them around in pursuit of goals no one has ever been able to understand. And that some pahtras have something of a sixth sense for hymothoas, when most other species have no way to detect them other than with extensive medical scanning—something almost impossible here given our planet’s unpredictable magnetic storms.

The major snaps out an order, and suddenly eight azimuth laser rifles are firing on the thing with lethal force. When I blink away the afterimage of eight laser beams, all that remains of the hymothoa is a damp patch on the leafy jungle floor beside Jaskenayo’s now-unmoving form. I begrudgingly admit to myself that the vesk weapons have some benefits after all—my own rifle would have been far less effective against an amorphous foe.

Major Koboratash looks back at me, scowling. “You knew?”

I nod and stammer, trying to put into words the gut feeling, the absolute certainty that things weren’t the way they should be. Childhood tales flit through my mind, warning of the bogeyman oozes, but I can’t use a ghost story as a justification. My heart is hammering louder than the war drums had before. She can still court-martial me. Have me discharged. Order the squad to turn their laser rifles on me and fire—the Army of the Veskarium certainly has no overabundance of mercy.

But she cuts me off with a snarl and a sharp gesture. “That was well done, Gunner Sehvet.”

I shut my mouth. The major looks between me and the unmoving corpse on the jungle floor. I wonder what the ooze had hoped to accomplish by parasitizing Jaskenayo. Probably nothing good—for all their inscrutability, the creatures seem to have as much resentment of the vesk occupation of our planet as the most deeply entrenched pahtra resistance cells.

The major barks new orders. She turns north and leads the way as if nothing unusual had happened. We all leap to comply, vesk and pahtra alike. Lines form as we pair up with our counterparts and begin the strict, regimented march back to Command 6. My vesk partner falls into place beside me, and I can feel his uneasy eyes watching me, but now isn’t the time for chatter. I don’t know what I’d say anyway, because I have a sinking feeling this is just the beginning.

About the Author

Lyz Liddell is a designer for Pathfinder Second Edition at Paizo. She writes adventures and rules for Pathfinder and Starfinder, plus an abundance of independent fantasy and science fiction in various stages of editing and querying. You can find Lyz and learn more about her innumerable hobbies on Twitter at @LyzMayTweet.

About Tales from the Drift

The Tales from the Drift series of web-based flash fiction provides an exciting glimpse into the setting of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. Written by members of the Starfinder development team and some of the most celebrated authors in tie-in gaming fiction, the Tales from the Drift series promises to explore the worlds, alien cultures, deities, history, and organizations of the Starfinder setting with engaging stories to inspire Game Masters and players alike.

Hi everyone! I’m Payton, your Social Media Producer. Just like us here at Paizo, you are probably stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meaning your weekly game sessions with friends around the table might have stopped. So I wanted to help people find ways to help your friends continue the adventure.

This Pathfinder & Starfinder Home Gaming Guide is built to help introduce you to various tools and tips to smoothly get your campaign back on track. Since I have generally played tabletop RPGs online, I want to share what I’ve learned with all of you.

If you have any tips and tricks you’d like to add to this guide, please leave a comment down below this blog, or help out another fellow player on social media!

Virtual Tabletop Options

Astral currently only supports just the Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook, but it has a lot of amazing tools and features to manage your campaign. Features like animated maps, weather effects, line of sight, an intuitive interface to help keep up with the game’s rules, and so much more! I have been using Astral to run demos of Pathfinder Second Edition, and I love it more and more every session. With its easy drag and drop interface, I find myself being able to Game Master fairly efficiently with my improv style storytelling.

Astral as of this time is opening up their paid features for free until the end of April, so for newbies and veterans of virtual tabletop, now is the time to give Astral a try.

For those needing help learning how to use Astral, I highly recommend checking out Astral’s tutorials provided here to help you get started.

Astral looks absolutely stellar!

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Roll20 is a popular option for many players. If you want to quickly pick up a Starfinder or Pathfinder Adventure and play, you will find that Roll20 supports a large number of Pathfinder & Starfinder products. Several of our adventures are ready for you and your group to play right now!

Roll20 has a lot of easy to use features!

For those wishing to set up homebrewed campaigns, Roll 20 has various features to help keep your games organized. Along with a large assortment of tools to build your maps in-game, such as line-of-sight, lighting, support for animated images, 3d dice rolling, turn orders, character sheets, and so on. The list is vast, making many campaigns I’ve run so much easier thanks to Roll20.

You can find Starfinder and Pathfinder Second Edition content prepped and ready for you within Roll20’s marketplace.
Pathfinder Second Edition: https://roll20.net/pathfinder2
Starfinder: https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/search?keywords=Starfinder

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Fantasy Grounds is an incredible virtual tabletop system. The amount of tools and features it supports is too vast to list in the blog, but let me link you to their feature list for you to browse yourself here.

Fantasy Grounds makes it easy to share character art and information between players.

One of my favorite things about Fantasy Grounds is that nearly every Adventure Path Paizo has put out is fully converted and prepared in Fantasy Grounds. So for those wanting to play through Pathfinder Second Edition’s Extinction Curse Adventure Path or any other Adventure Path you can do so fully prepared for your Game Master and players in Fantasy Grounds. The support for Starfinder & Pathfinder is huge on this platform, and we highly recommend it for those looking to get set up with a premade adventure as quickly as possible.

Having the map and monsters already set up for really helps shorten prep time for your GM!

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D20PRO is a fantastic platform that helps automate a lot of Starfinder’s systems to help you focus on the role-playing aspect of your campaign. Along with saving you time during your play sessions. You can find a list of their features here.

They currently only support Starfinder at the time of writing this blog, in which you can start your star-fairing adventures here.

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These are the majority of the virtual tabletop platforms that have support for Pathfinder or Starfinder. We encourage you to pick and choose whichever one of these best fits your group.

Voice Chat Options

Discord is a popular communication platform that hosts tons of servers dedicated to various topics. Also, shout out to all the Pathfinder & Starfinder fan-made discords out there (I’m lurking in a few of them). Discord allows you to host private chats & calls to help organize your tabletop RPG campaigns. And the best part is that the entire service is free! One of the significant advantages of Discord is the ability to find games within various servers. Check your favorite fan websites or fan groups, and see if they have a Discord server. Then ask if anyone is up for playing a game! Discord is a great platform to find like-minded communities, gaming sessions, and friends!

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Additional Resources

You can add a bit of flair to your gaming sessions with dramatic sounds, use additional tools to make character creation easier, or use tools to make looking up rules and details a breeze. Here is a collection of resources that can help improve your gaming experience.

Syrinscape is a fantastic source for music and sounds to help enhance your Starfinder and Pathfinder gaming sessions. You can take a look at their collection for Pathfinder here, along with Starfinder here.

Now you can be your very own DJ for your campaign!

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Hero Lab Online is a great tool to help create your Pathfinder and Starfinder characters. I use all the time when drafting characters and when playing our in-office Extinction Curse Adventure Path campaign. Hero Lab also has support for player-content from our books such as backgrounds, classes, and options found in Pathfinder Lost Omens Gods & Magic or Starfinder’s Character Operations Manual.

Hero Lab keeps track of what is correct or incorrect for your character, helping those new to character creation.

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Archives of Nethys is our official system reference document (SRD) for all your rules needs. If you are looking to look up a rule, affliction, or effect quickly, this is one of the most useful tools in your arsenal. For Pathfinder: http://pfrd.info/ For Starfinder: http://sfrd.info/

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Whew! That’s a lot of resources to take in, but once you utilize and practice with all of these tools in your gaming workshop, you’ll wonder how you ever gamed without them.

Of course, the community itself has made a lot of amazing tools that make your gaming sessions a lot easier. There are just too many to list in this blog, and we’d hate to play favorites. So I encourage you to post your preferences in the comments down below! We’d love to hear about your favorite tools.

Please be safe out there, and please prioritize your health and safety.

May you forever continue being a critical success!

Payton Smith
Social Media Producer

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This is a first in a series of blogs on online gaming. Next up, two blogs on using these resources and finding games from Organized Play on Thursday!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

Inside volume three of the Pathfinder Extinction Curse Adventure Path, Life’s Long Shadows, by Greg A. Vaughan

Previously, in Echoes of the Dead God Linger, we took a look inside volume two of the Extinction Curse Adventure Path. Now we charge ahead to volume three!

Strange forces assail the Swardlands, breadbasket to the city of Absalom. A malevolent spirit haunts the region’s leader, an unseen murderer mutilates her victims, and malicious forces occupy the once-sacred aeon towers. The heroes must stop the killings, repel subterranean invaders, and stun the people of the Swardlands with circus shows the likes of which they’ve never seen! The Extinction Curse Adventure Path continues with “Life’s Long Shadows,” an adventure for 9th- to 11th-level characters.

Spoiler Alert

Art by Darko Stojanovic

Explore the breadbasket of the Isle of Kortos, including its towns, personalities, and mysteries in Swardlands Gazetteer by Greg A. Vaughan!

“A city with nearly a third of a million souls, Absalom—the City at the Center of the World—has a huge logistical burden in feeding its populace. When Aroden, the Last Azlanti, raised the island from the depths of the sea, he foresaw this need and blessed it with fecundity through the aeon towers and their magical aeon orbs. Even after Aroden’s death, these towers nurture what was once barren, submarine rock.

However, as the influence of Aroden has waned in the century since his death, so too has the power of the aeon orbs. What was once a near-perfect cornucopia of growing lands for crops and timber—a region virtually untouched by climatic fluctuation or soil exhaustion— has begun, in small increments, to creep back toward a more mundane environment as the power of the aeon orbs slowly dwindles. The expected multiple harvests per year have become unreliable, timber stands are sparse and recover slowly from logging, and the soil in some fields has become exhausted, forcing farmers to leave them fallow. Some people of the Swardlands— Swardfolk, as they call themselves—are on the verge of panic, while others blithely ignore the changes around them, insisting any change must be only temporary or imaginary. Something has to change, and soon, or the Swardlands will fail. And if the Swardlands fail, can Absalom be far behind?”

For more information on 17 locations, including Kerrick, the region’s principal city and hub of trade don’t miss the full five-page article in print or PDF.

Art by David Astruga

Unbury the dogma and mythos of the gluttonous demon lord Zevgavizeb, god of subterranean horrors, cavern‐dwelling reptiles, and debased xulgaths in Zevgavizeb by Amber Stewar

“Zevgavizeb—the Beast of Gluttondark, Lord of Reptiles, and Sun-Devourer—is a ravenous and cruel demon lord whose followers commit heinous sacrifices and engage in long, brutal wars in the name of their deity. Beyond his followers among the xulgaths (also known as troglodytes) who form the majority of his congregation, Zevgavizeb is little known among mortals, for his interests rarely extend beyond his own Abyssal demesne and his insatiable hunger. Most scholarly works describe him briefly, pointing to his origins as a qlippoth before his ascension to demonkind as one possible explanation for his insatiable hunger and unquenchable bloodlust. The Sun-Devourer alternates between periods of genocidal gluttony and torpid slumber, with his followers reflecting this pattern of war and peace in their cycles of catastrophic collapse and societal elevation.

Faithful xulgaths believe that each period of Zevgavizeb’s infamous slumber allows the demon lord to literally digest and incorporate some portion of the knowledge of those he devours and those sacrificed in his name. In this state of torpor, there is little to fear from the Lord of Reptiles, and his followers enjoy periods of peace and prosperity. When the demon lord’s hunger riles him once more, though, the shock waves of his cravings can be felt in the very bones of his devotees, who themselves become driven to rage-fueled violence. These “ravenings,” as xulgaths refer to the periods of war that coincide with Zevgavizeb’s hunger, have kept his cults in eons-long conflicts and stunted the development of their societies for as long as they have worshipped the dread demon. His adherents believe that each cycle of sleep and rampage progresses the Beast of Gluttondark toward some unknown endgame. While other civilizations disregard Zevgavizeb’s followers as brutish cannibals and warmongers, they fail to see that the deity’s adherents remain in a state of relative unenlightenment only due to the nightmarish culls that fuel their ancestral deity’s continuing apotheosis.”

For more information on Zevgavizeb’s personification, realm, dogma, worshippers, temples, shrines, priests, holidays, aphorisms, holy text, relations with other religions, and new rules—including a Zevgavizeb-themed background, feat, and spell—devour the full five-page article.

Art by Olivier Bernard

This volume presents a new ancestry, archetypes, monsters, and much more in the Adventure Toolbox by Anthony Bono, Jacob W. Michaels, Andrew Mullen, Patrick Renie, Alex Riggs, Timothy Snow, and Greg A. Vaughan. Yes, there are three new magic items, ten new monsters, the golem grafter and lumberjack archetypes, but this volume contains a surprise that I think will bring us all delight for years to come — the shoony ancestry!

“Diminutive humanoids who resemble squat, bipedal dogs, shoonies are sometimes mistaken for weak and insular pacifists. However, their sheer perseverance, incredible work ethic, and resourceful use of diplomacy make shoonies far from helpless.

According to shoonies, Aroden created their kind to provide him with pleasant company soon after he created the Isle of Kortos. Shoony culture is rooted in this myth and its implications, which help to explain the ancestry’s long reputation for hospitality, good will, and pacifism. War is antithetical to the shoony way of life; shoonies rely on cooperation and persistence to make their way through a world that can seem at times hellbent on destroying them. Shoonies are unflappable in their optimism and always see the best in others, even when faced with frequent subjugation and exploitation that might create bitterness or xenophobia among other societies. To shoonies, peace is a goal always worth striving for, and no villain is beyond redemption, so they aim to resolve problems with peaceful solutions.”

Art by Olivier Bernard

And now you know why I like to call this the Doggies and Demons volume of the Adventure Path. *percussion sting*

So that's a taste of volume three. We release Pathfinder Adventure Paths monthly in six-volume arcs, meaning each year sees the release of two complete Adventure Path campaigns. You can acquire them at your favorite local gaming store or with your ongoing Pathfinder Adventure Path subscription.

Next, we will unveil volume four, Siege of the Dinosaurs, with a gazetteer of the town of Willowside and lore about the inhabitants of the Abyssal realm of Gluttondark, as well as new monsters and xulgath-themed rules!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

There’s been a lot of bad news related to the situation with COVID-19 right now. From those forced into isolation and quarantine, to those facing sudden financial or medical hardship, to those upset that an event they were looking forward to was canceled, a lot of people have been having a rough time. Teachers, artists, authors, performers, musicians, and many others have been stepping up to help keep spirits high despite the circumstances. In particular, I’ve been following the curious resurrection of an obscure Japanese yokai—known as an amabie, the creature was recorded as predicting a plague, but claiming that anyone who saw a picture of the amabie would be cured of the disease. Now, Japanese artists on twitter have been sharing their own drawings and other creations of the amabie to offer their best wishes for good health.

An Edo-era depiction of an ‘amabie’. Image Public Domain, from Wikipedia.

Often in Pathfinder, we focus on creatures that are cruel and vicious, to better serve as foes for player characters. But right now, I think a humble yokai that seeks to do good deserves its own spotlight. So here is my “picture” of the amabie, sketched with words, to give to you.

Amabie

Creature 3

Rare, NG, Medium, Aquatic, Kami

Perception +13; disease sense (imprecise) 30 feet, low-light vision
Languages Aquan, Common
Athletics +10 (+12 to swim), Intimidation +8, Nature +11, Religion +10
Str +1, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +3

Disease Sense The amabie detects sources of disease and creatures that are infected with a disease, but receives no information beyond the location of the disease or such afflicted creatures.

Warding Visage An amabie’s image helps ward off sickness and bad fortune. For this ability to function, a non-amabie creature must clearly see the amabie and succeed at a DC 10 Crafting (Artistry) check to create an image of the amabie within 7 days. Any creature that sees this image within the next 28 days can use a +11 modifier to saving throws against diseases and curse effects instead of its own saving throw modifier for the next 14 days. Once a creature has gained a bonus from a specific amabie’s warding visage ability, it is permanently immune to that amabie’s warding visage ability.

---

AC 19; Reflex +8, Fortitude +6, Will +7

HP 43

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Speed 20 feet; swim 30 feet
Melee [one-action] +13 claw (agile), Damage 1d6+3 slashing plus touch of purity
Divine Innate Spells DC 22; 3rd remove curse (x2), remove disease (x2); 2nd augury, dispel magic, restoration; 1st chilling sprayAPG, ill omenAPG; cantrips light
Touch of Purity An amabie deals an extra 1d6 good damage to any creature with the ability to inflict diseases or curses.
Whirling Slash [two-actions] The amabie makes three claw Strikes, each at its current multiple attack penalty.

Be well, do your best, and stay safe.

Eleanor Ferron

Make your game your own with the Pathfinder Second Edition Gamemastery GuideUse it to build your own creatures, hazards, items, NPCs and more! You'll find it here and at your favorite local game store.

You can start today with the free Gamemastery Guide Monster and Hazard Creation PDF. Then, consider competing in the RPG Superstar Contest from Roll for Combat!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

As we here at Paizo continue working from home, and you can get the updates on what we’re doing about COVID-19 here. We’ve decided to find ways that allow you to get to know us better and experience Pathfinder Second Edition and Starfinder with us. So please enjoy our stay at home adventure of “Paizo Plays Plaguestone.” And later in the future a Starfinder adventure with employees from Paizo!

Also one major note, due to the virus affecting everyone some shows on the schedule may be canceled at any moment. We prioritize our content creator’s safety over their productions as we all deal with the current pandemic, so we apologize in advance if plans abruptly change from what’s scheduled here.

So here is what’s happening this week at OfficialPaizo on Twitch!

Pathfinder 2E Extinction Curse with Squiiddish, Mar 23, 1:00 p.m. Pacific

The Circus of Wayward Wonders has just arrived in the remote town of Abberton, and the 2 Perception crew are the stars of the show! After an unfortunate event the crew finds themselves in charge of keeping the show alive. But, how will they fare?

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams the Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path Extinction Curse every Monday at 1:00 P.M. on Squiiddish’s Twitch channel here. We will be hosting this show on the OfficialPaizo Twitch channel.

Dragons & Things, March 24, 6:00 p.m. Pacific

A crew of adventurers-for-hire thrust into the middle of a monumental disaster will decide how far they are willing to go for the promise of profit. As the powerful try to buy the heroes' loyalty, they are left wondering whether their job is to put fires out or start new ones. When no good deed goes unpunished, and every bad deed offers pay, this crew must ask themselves whether they are heroes or mercenaries.

Cast:

• Meghan Caves
• Jamie Mills
• Katie Wilson
• Adam Rady
• Nathan Ondracek

Catch them live on either Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker with Paizo, March 24, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Pacific

Did you know that our Social Media Producer Payton Smith never played Kingmaker? I know right!? We brought in Pathfinder’s Creative Director James Jacobs to hop in and be Payton’s Guide to Golarion. So if you’ve been curious about the history of Pathfinder, it’s lore, or overall want to get to know us. Join us on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel and for all that is good in this world, help keep Payton alive as he journeys through the River Kingdoms corner of Golarion.

Pungeon Crawl, March 25, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

Note: Pungeon Crawl will now be hosted on the Paizo Twitch channel instead of being streamed directly. You can find BBWolfe’s twitch channel to support the show here.

"The results of the breakfast sweepstakes are in and The Biggest Darn Heroes of the Pact Worlds are about to get a new set of legally-distinct sidekicks as the Pungeon Crawl returns! Join the Deep Space Defenders as we find out if a handful of breakfast cereal contest-selected weirdos can keep up with your favorite syndicated space saviors! Sent on a mission with REAL HEROES, they’ll be put to the test as things go wrong, while on camera the entire time! As their situation develops the heroes’ morale may falter, but with the help of you, the faithful viewers, your favorite heroes can grip success from the jaws of failure! Wednesday nights 8e/7c only on Paizo!"
- BBWolfe

Streamed on OfficialPaizo on Twitch.

Arcane Mark, March 26, 7:00 p.m. & March 28, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Arcane Mark is a stream with Design Manager Mark Seifter and Organized Play Lead Developer Linda Zayas-Palmer covering all sorts of RPG and Pathfinder-related topics, from GM Tools to Design Diaries to Workshops. Thursday episodes are always interviews, usually covering Paizo staff you might not have seen as often in other interviews. Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here. (We will be prioritizing Glass Cannon for the broadcast times on Thursday. But once Glass Cannon ends the channel should switch back to Arcane Mark)

Androids & Aliens Live by Glass Cannon Network, March 27, 5:00 p.m. Pacific

Set in the distant future, five strangers find themselves caught in the middle of an interstellar mystery that threatens the very existence of the galaxy! Join the folks at the Glass Cannon Network as characters’ fates lie in the hands of dice rolls and friendships are ruined over rules arguments in this officially licensed Actual Play of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Dead Suns Adventure Path.

Join GlassCannon live at 6:00 p.m. Pacific for a hilariously good time, hosted on the Official Paizo Twitch Channel, or directly on their Twitch Channel here.

Dragons & Things, March 27, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

On the day of their release, two former inmates and their advocates find themselves trapped in an underwater prison in the wake of a terrible disaster. With no way to access the surface and return to their disrupted lives, they struggle to survive as the prison threatens to collapse and kill everyone inside. Can they find a way out of an inescapable facility, and even if they can, is there any place for them in a city that already took away their freedom once before?

Cast:

• Eric Radic
• Ben Burch
• Diana Restrepo
• Adam Conn

Catch them live on either Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel.

Age of Ashes with Squiddish, March 28, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Pacific

“Fires burn atop the ruined citadel on Hellknight Hill, sending plumes of red smoke into the air that could be a call for help. Now a gang of adventurers rise together to investigate the current conflict. How will they handle the Hellknights? Will they all burn in horrendous fire? Tune into this new Pathfinder Second Edition live play show!

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams on the OfficialPaizo on Twitch channel every week at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Court of Corvids with QueueTimes, March 29, 4:30 p.m.

Court of Corvids is an actual play show that takes place in a homebrew setting using the Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset. It is currently on hiatus having finished its second story arc but will return with a brand new one on Sunday, February 23rd at 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

In this setting, facts and fiction blur together. In fact, the story began with a lie, one that grew so much it became the central pillar for an entire community…that is until the party stumbled upon the truth and brought it all down. Since then, they’ve been on the road, trying to find their place in a vast world they didn’t even know existed for most of their lives.

The party, taken through this world by GM and occult enthusiast Jacob Kile, consists of:

• Croog Claudel, played by Croog: A human monk searching for his long-lost siblings, hoping to make amends when he finds them.
• Moss the Magnificent, played by Molly McIsaac: An Elven Sorcerer trying to recapture the fame she had back home.
• Robyn Way, played by Jonas Newhouse: A Gnome druid desperate to hide from her former life and family. She’s married to Remi.
• Remi Ashwillow, played by William White: The Goblin fighter and Robyn’s partner is just trying to make friends and live life after being stuck in a cult for many years.

Catch Court of Corvids being hosted live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here.

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We've added a new Forum for Streaming & Actual Play discussions. If you have any questions you’d like to submit for our Q&A segments at the end of our Starfinder Wednesdays or Pathfinder Fridays you can do so in our Forums.

Pathfinder Fridays Fan Club

Starfinder Wednesdays Fan Club

If you have a Pathfinder or Starfinder stream, post it under Third Party Broadcasts.

Catch us live at our Official Twitch Channel. Catch the Video On Demand (VOD) on Twitch immediately after it is done or a week later on our YouTube channel.

New players will soon be able to take their first steps into an amazing world of fantasy adventure! Unveiled for November 2020, the Pathfinder Beginner Box will contain everything you need to learn how to play the Pathfinder, including rules to create your own fantasy hero and tools to make your own amazing stories.

Will you be a courageous fighter, charging headfirst into battle, or a sly rogue, moving quietly to strike at foes from the shadows? Maybe you will be a knowledgeable wizard, wielding incredible arcane spells or a wise and pious cleric, using the power of your deity to shape the world for the better. It is all up to you!

Inside you will find a rich toolbox, filled with everything you need to get started, including rules for character generation, an introductory adventure, guidelines to build your own campaign, character sheets, a full-color map, character pawns, and dice. This deluxe box set will be the ideal introduction to the Pathfinder, leading the way to a lifetime of adventure!

The Pathfinder Beginner Box will include:

• An 80-page Hero's Handbook, including rules for character generation, a solo adventure, skills, spells, and equipment.
• A 96-page Game Master's Handbook, containing an introductory adventure, over 20 pages of monsters, rules for building your own adventure, and magic items.
• Four premade characters so you can jump right into the action and four blank character sheets if you want to make your own hero.
• Over 100 character and monster pawns to use on the full-color double-sided adventure map.
• Four game reference cards to help players remember their actions.
• A complete set of polyhedral dice, including a d20, d12, d10, d8, d6, and d4.

For a glimpse of what’s to come, check out the Starfinder Beginner Box.

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks,
Marketing and Media Manager

Discover Goblin Gulp, Geek Grind Coffee, and the Stay Cafe Promotion!

Goblin thirst is quite the thing;
Works up quickly when we sing!
Pour a cup and gulp it down;
Goblin Gulp’s the best around!

We are excited to introduce our new licensed partner, Geek Grind Coffee Company! Their limited-edition whole bean Goblin Gulp Coffee is hand-harvested in Colombia and will arrive in April 2020. You can pre-order right now at a special discount price with early-bird pricing.

Goblin Gulp Coffee Pre-Orders are Now Open.

Goblin Gulp is 100% Colombian coffee which Geek Grind Coffee Company harvests in the mountains, sun-dried and roasted to perfection. The taste notes are ripe red fruits, green apple, and vanilla, with medium body, low acidity. The caffeine content is somewhat higher than average for a 100% Colombian. It is smooth, delicious, and perfect for breakfast or after dinner via drip or french press. It is also outstanding for espresso shots. The coffee is whole bean so you can grind as needed, according to your use and brew style.

You can also get your gulp on with this large, durable ceramic mug—the best way to drink your grind!

Pathfinder Goblin Gulp Coffee Mug

In the photo above Armando, who is a roasting, tasting and horticulture expert, checks the baby coffee plants which soon will be ready to be planted on the mountainside.

Experts In Their Field
Geek Grid operates at the highest levels of innovation related to ecological protection as well as social advocacy for their farmers and community of growers. They support and invest in the schools, infrastructure, and lives of their neighbors and community. The Geek Grind family are mountain farm owners and intimately understand the day to day needs and opportunities that the world of coffee delivers.

Above, the team on a recent trip to Colombia discuss the timing of the harvest and the opportunity for new blends.

A Family Business
The Geek Grind family has been a leader in the coffee cultivation and farmer advocacy forefront for more than 40 years. They continue to provide that leadership today in both the US and Colombia. Their desire is to introduce the finest coffee in the world, Colombian high elevation Arabica, to you and those you care about. We love gaming and we love coffee. They support women in management positions and feel very fortunate to be in an industry that can touch all out passions.

A very close farmer friend of ours, in the photo above prepares the beans to be sun-dried as they have done for generations.

Only Natural Methods
A lot has changed in the world of coffee in the last hundred years but the best way to get from farm to your cup is not necessarily one of them. Handpicked, hand dried in the sun, carefully sorted and roasted quickly in small batches; this is how they do it. Sometimes the old way is still the best way. This is as true today for Geek Grind Coffee as it was when they started more than 40 years ago.

We Empower Women In Coffee
Geek Grind proudly supports every facet of childhood education, industry training, and women in management positions in Colombia.

Welcome to the Stay Cafe promotion!

To make the most of a difficult situation Goblin Gulp has launched a "Welcome to the Stay Cafe!" promotion since so many are needing to stay home at this time. We might as well have great coffee if we are stuck at home right?

Buy any 12oz bag of any Geek Grind coffee blend and get one free. Use code "StayCafe" at checkout and get a free bag of 12oz coffee with any 12oz bag purchased.

You can also use "StayCafeK" and get a free box of Dragons Roast Kcups with the purchase of two boxes of Dragons Roast Kcups.

No end date for this special has been set at this time. Shop now at www.GeekGrindCoffee.com

US shipping only at this time. Shipping to Canada is not available yet but Geek Grind is working on it. You can also go to info@geekgrindcoffee.com if needed for questions or service.

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

Apologies in advance for adding yet another COVID-19 email into your inbox, but it’s important that I let you know how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting Paizo and what we are doing about it.

As you know, social distancing is the most important way that we, as a society, have to fight this new viral threat. Three weeks ago, I started the process of shifting almost all Paizo employees from working in our Redmond offices to working from home; they will continue to do so until we believe it is safe to congregate in our office again. For now, our small-but-valiant warehouse team remains in place, shipping orders to both customers and distributors. Even in the warehouse, we practice social distancing, staggering work schedules and limiting the number of people in each area of the warehouse; if we are given cause to believe that their safety is compromised, we will cease warehouse operations until the crisis passes.

As for the products and packages our warehouse team is handling (including products made in China and other countries), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures... Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods and there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods.” (See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html for more information.)

Working from home does require Paizo to sacrifice some of our normal procedures. Our customer service team can’t answer the phones from home, so until we are able to move back to the office, customer service is available only by email (customer.service@paizo.com) and via the Customer Service forum on paizo.com. We have also unfortunately had to cancel all of our visits to gaming conventions and trade shows for the foreseeable future.

Which brings us to PaizoCon. The safety of our attendees and staff is of paramount importance, and we are working closely with our host hotel and monitoring local, state, and federal government guidelines on a daily basis. The Washington State government is currently prohibiting gatherings of 50 or more people, though the timeframe does not yet approach the announced dates for PaizoCon (May 22–25). If the gathering ban or other concerns suggest that we should cancel or postpone PaizoCon, we will inform the community as soon as we can.

While Paizo is currently able to carry on with relatively few issues, many game stores are unfortunately at risk of going out of business if the pandemic goes on for an extended period of time. If your local store is still open, please help them out by buying from them when you can.

Please also keep in mind that social distancing doesn’t have to mean the end of social gaming. Our partners at Fantasy Grounds, Roll20, and D20PRO provide great tools for playing roleplaying games online. Paizo also hosts some great play-by-post campaigns, so you can practice social distancing and still have a great time gaming with your friends.

We are at the start of one of the more difficult moments in the history of the world. We are going to have to help our neighbors, our local businesses, and each other get through this. It won’t be easy, but Paizo will be here fighting to keep great RPG products coming into your homes.

Thank you for your continued friendship and business. We will update you when the situation changes.

Lisa Stevens
CEO, Paizo Inc.

I hope this blog finds our communities of players weathering the social distancing restrictions. As we noted in last week’s organized play blog, we already moved some of our organized play activities online and are working to add more over the upcoming weeks. A huge shout out to the GMs who are learning new platforms and offering their skills via different mediums. For those that prefer play-by-post to virtual tabletops, Outpost III launches this week. You can find more information here.

With working from home causing a new set of challenges for the organized play team, we decided to combine our preview blogs into one for this month. We’d appreciate feedback on this new format, so please put any constructive criticisms below.

We hope you enjoy playing these scenarios as much as our team enjoyed working on them!

If you didn’t see it earlier, check out our blog where we showed off the fantastic Pathfinder Society (second edition) faction art.

Next week, tune in for a status update on organized play. Until then, Explore, Report, Cooperate (and wash hands!)

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Pathfinder Society Releases

Greetings, Pathfinders! This month we’ve got a couple exciting scenarios for you and one awesome quest, so I’ll be jumping right in and letting you know what those are.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 1-16: The Perennial Crown Part 1, Opal of Bhopan and Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-17: The Perennial Crown Part 2, The Thorned Monarch are a pair of back-to-back Tier 3–6 scenarios written by Alex Augunas, veteran Paizo freelancer and third-party publisher, and Thilo Graf, who you might know for his comprehensive reviews of tabletop gaming products at endzeitgeist.com and contributions to high-profile third-party products like Lost Sphere Publishing’s City of 7 Seraphs. When I reached out to Alex and Thilo about working on this project, I knew I had something really unique and I had a strong feeling that they were the ones who could give it to me. The Perennial Crown adventures are part of the Open Road season metaplot, which send the Pathfinders sailing down the eastern coast of Garund to the famed island of Bhopan, where founding Pathfinder Selmius Foster met his end some four centuries ago. On this island that much of the Inner Sea has considered to be practically mythological for hundreds of years, the PCs will find that both their enemies and allies are fey and inscrutable, bound by beliefs, traditions, and ambitions far older than the Pathfinder Society or most nations of the Inner Sea.

In addition to exciting new NPCs like the one pictured here, be ready to see these adventures showcase some of the exciting new subsystems introduced in the Pathfinder GameMastery Guide!

Art by Josef Kucera

For this month’s quest, Alexandria Bustion shares her awesomeness and takes us to Numeria with Tier 3–6 quest Pathfinder Society Quest #8: Shadows of the Black Sovereign! Numeria is a land of high technology ruled by a warrior-king, and for years the Pathfinder Society has been banned from operating within its borders. This hasn’t stopped Venture-Captain Dagur Hawksight from maintaining a secret lodge in the border town of Hajoth Hakados, however, and now the time for the Pathfinders to step out of the shadows has come once more! Not everyone is excited to see the Pathfinders joining Numeria’s political scene, and as the Black Sovereign himself makes his way to the lodge, Dagur finds that a scribe has gone missing with ledgers critical to sealing a deal that would allow the Pathfinders to more openly explore the country and its technological wonders. Can the PCs track down the critical documents and missing scribe before Numeria’s iron-fisted warlord arrives to drive the Pathfinders from Numeria once and for all?

That’s all I’ve got for you adventurers! Good luck in the battles to come, and until next time, Explore! Report! Cooperate!

Michael Sayre
Pathfinder Society Developer

Starfinder Society Releases

Two new adventures coming to you this month, including our first trip to Vesk-controlled territory, as well as an extraplanar jaunt that starts the endgame for our Season 2 storyline. Let’s see what’s on the docket!

Starfinder Society #2-19: Truth Keepers is a repeatable Tier 3-6 scenario from 5-nova GM Natalie Kertzner and new author (and prolific GM) John Curtin. This one starts with a bang, as an evening of relaxation at a Starfinder bar is interrupted by an attack! To retrieve a stolen artifact, the PCs will have to travel to the heart of the Veskarium itself and tangle with a fringe cult of vesk soldiers. This adventure features randomized elements, as well as a number of colorful NPCs, that are sure to keep you coming back for more! And if you’re really hungry for more Veskarium, pick up Starfinder: Near Space, on shelves next week!

The Seeker’s Respite (the bar in question) is a regular hangout for Starfinder agents. Inside, while your time away celebrating Starfinders new and old, joining in a vidgame, or just stewing with other agents over this terrible equipment they keep sending you out with, I mean, this battery barely holds a charge, and I’m pretty sure this second skin is more like a fifth skin at this point…

Seeker’s Respite

Starfinder Society #2-20: Shades of Spite is a Tier 7-10 scenario from veteran author Vanessa Hoskins. Those of you keeping up with the Year of a Thousand Bites storyline will likely have strong feelings about a particular white-furred ysoki, and many are asking: “Why is Datch like this?” To get the answer to that question, the PCs, along with a priest of Lao Shu Po, venture to the Shadow Plane. While there, a master assassin tests their mettle, in the hopes that they get what they need to finally defeat their foe.

We’re in the endgame of year 2 now, and the only thing standing between the Starfinders and Datch’s machinations is this enigmatic individual. Will the PCs convince him to share what he knows, or does he have other motivations entirely?

Silent Strike

Alrighty, that’s it for March’s releases! Come back next month we’ve got a notorious collector bringing the Swarm to the Pact Worlds, and the next stage in an ongoing historical treasure hunt.

Until next time,

Alex Speidel, doing his best Thurston Hillman impression
Organized Play Associate

Reading over our community feedback, several people noted that the faction symbols for Pathfinder Society (second) edition hadn’t enjoyed a premier and that the faction leader art only appeared in scenarios, like Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-01: Absalom Initiation! In this blog, we included a list of current scenarios that contribute to each faction’s storyline. Some factions have more scenarios listed, but fear not! We’ve still got five months to go in the Year of the Open Road and more faction goodness up our sleeves

While these images don’t currently appear in a community use packet, we hope to fix that in the near future. For those looking for faction pins, similar to the ones for Starfinder Society and Pathfinder Society (first edition), we hope to have news shortly. If you are interested in a faction and haven’t had a chance to play the associated scenarios, we encourage you to consider checking out an online game! For now, let us formally unveil the images!

Envoy’s Alliance

Motto: Strength in Community

Year 1 associated scenarios:
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-03: Escaping the Grave. The Envoy's Alliance undertook a sobering mission into the Gravelands to confirm the deaths of missing Pathfinders and rescue any survivors, of which there was only one

Grand Archive

Motto: Chronicling the Past

Year 1 associated scenarios:
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-04: Bandits of Immenwood. The Grand Archive collected a cursed primal artifact and transported it to the Grand Lodge for safekeeping.

Horizon Hunter

Motto: Glory Lies Over the Horizon

Year 1 associated scenarios:
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-05: Trailblazer’s Bounty. The Horizon Hunters helped chart the course of a new trade route between Isger and Molthune.
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-09: Star-Crossed Voyages. The Horizon Hunters, led by Calisro Bennary, set out to chart a new course through the waters off the western coast of Garund in search of an ancient iruxi civilization.

Radiant Oath

Motto: A Light in the Shadows

Year 1 associated scenarios:
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-12: Burden of Envy. The Radiant Oath teamed up with the unscrupulous Guaril Karela to smuggle refugees out of Xin-Edasseril.

Verdant Wheel

Motto: Truth Sprouts from the Ashes

Year 1 associated scenarios:
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-15: The Blooming Catastrophe. The Blooming Catastrophe- The Verdant Wheel helped put an end to an unexpected invasion of Abyssal leshys in the Finadar Forest of Iobaria

Vigilant Seal

Motto: Protect, Contain, Destroy

Year 1 associated scenarios:
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-07: Flooded King’s Court. The Vigilant Seal worked with the Goblin King to uncover an ancient evil hidden beneath the Puddles district of Absalom and deal with it appropriately.
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads. The Vigilant Seal survived a seance that wasn't all it seemed and secured a dangerous artifact of devilish design.

Check in later today for our monthly scenario previews!

Until next time, explore, report, and cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Zemir stepped around a fetid pool of… something… and tried to breathe shallowly. Intellectually he knew that either his mask was working or it wasn’t, and either way the worst he’d suffer was a strong sense of nausea if he did get a whiff of unfiltered air. But the horrid smell that penetrated the mask’s filters still made him want to avoid taking deep lungfuls of the stuff. Which made it difficult to keep up with Obozaya, as his vesk companion strode unfettered through the densely-packed market.

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru.

“I still do not understand you mammals!” Obozaya sounded more amused than perplexed. “If the atmosphere’s odor is so terrible it turns you into mewling monkeys, why not activate your environmental controls rather than just using the breather mask?”

Zemir ignored the “monkeys” jab. He was still relatively new to the crew of the Sunrise Maiden, hired for his power to search through and bring things from various iterations of reality. Obozaya was a respected, veteran member of the crew, and Zemir was better off humoring her. If he could earn Obozaya’s trust, the rest of the crew would quickly follow.

“There are two reasons.” Zemir sidestepped a group of haggling kasathas and picked up his pace to walk next to the vesk. “The first is that I’m not sure how much I trust this filter to pull the actual toxins out of the air, given how much of the rotting-fish-and-eggs odor it lets in. Since we’re here to get surplus air filters and pressurized tents so the rest of our crew can operate on this planet long-term—longer than our armor’s environmental seals will last—I’d like to test this model in the field. I don’t fully trust AbadarCorp’s marketing claims.”

Obozaya nodded, her teeth flashing briefly in what Zemir had come to believe was an expression of appreciation. Vesk might be one of a dozen species immune to the toxins in this planet’s air, but she was pragmatic enough that she certainly wouldn’t want her teammates hampered by nausea and weakness if their mission ran more than a few days.

“Secondly... are we being followed?”

Zemir did not change the tone of his voice at all, and to her credit Obozaya did not spin to look around. Instead she simply angled her path to skirt a denser part of the crowded market’s patrons. Zemir fell in behind her, moving through the wake she made in the throng. Creatures of half a dozen species cursed and stepped in behind them, shaking fists and raising their chins in angry postures. Which meant it was easy for Zemir to spot the group following them as they plowed into the already-agitated crowd, shoving sapients out of their way while remaining quiet and taking on hunched postures, trying to keep their profiles below the general level of the market’s customers.

There were three of them, short and broad humanoids in heavy armor. Zemir guessed they were lashuntas... or dwarves, though he had much less experience with dwarves. Their equipment was worn and patched, but looked functional enough. All three had laser rifles of some kind slung over their shoulders, and holstered sidearms. Their armors’ environmental seals were active, protecting them from the extreme discomfort of the atmosphere, and making their faces harder to discern.

But their facial tattoos were clear enough. He shifted his view, searching through nearby iterations of his own reality, and saw the three figures following someone on this street, at this time, in most alternate realities. Their presence here was not random.

Obozaya took a sharp turn onto another major road and stepped to the side, allowing Zemir to pass her. She shot him a glance with a raised brow ridge.

“Three of them, definitely following us. Short, maybe korasha. Facial tattoos.”

“Golden League?” Obozaya asked.

Zemir shrugged. “I don’t know the local families well enough to hazard a guess. Would Golden League assassins be likely to want you dead?”

Obozaya shook her head once, firmly, while unclipping the safety strap from her stellar cannon. Zemir bit his lower lip, though his mask concealed the expression. If they weren’t Xun assassins, then they were most likely just robbers, possibly drawn by his own obvious good taste in equipment. In that was the case, Obozaya and he could likely deal with them if it came to a fight, but likely not without getting ejected from the market for getting flechette holes in nearby shops. And even if he could talk their way out of expulsion, the shop they were headed to for supplies might close for the day if there was talk of a brawl in the street

Of course if they were robbers, their main motivation would be to make a quick credit in a shakedown.

Zemir put a hand on Obozaya’s arm. “Follow my lead.”

Her brow ridge went up even higher, but she nodded. Just as the three tattooed pursuers rounded the corner, Zemir stepped into the street and turned to face Obozaya.

“NOW you want your back pay?”

Obozaya was clearly surprised, but covered it quickly enough, especially since all eyes were on Zemir. She growled at him, which he hoped was just her way of playing along.

“I’m mortgaged to the hilt!” Zemir let exasperation leak into his voice. “I’ve even been reduced to wearing cheap knock-off fashion. Not a thing on me is worth a tenth its appearance. And since the family disowned me, I can’t turn to them for support!”

At first the squat ruffians simply stood in shock and stared at Zemir complaining to his apparent bodyguard, but as he continued to describe the dire straits of his finances, and lack of extended family, their expressions went from shock to sour. About the time he claimed he could pay Obozaya in a week, when his next loan came through, the lashuntas—he’d seen at least one antenna, so they must be lashuntas—turned as a group and trundled back the way they’d come.

Once Zemir was sure they were out of earshot, he stopped whining.

Obozaya chuckled. “Not how I’d have handled it, but effective. But aren’t you worried word will get out that you‘re broke, and merchants will refuse to talk to you?”

Zemir shrugged. “If we needed high-end or custom goods that you can only buy with an appointment, maybe. All we need are more filter masks. When we show the paramilitary surplus dealer our credits, he won’t care about rumors.”

Obozaya seemed satisfied, and began making her way toward the surplus shop again. “That taken care of... what was the second reason you’re not using your environmental seals?”

Zemir’s mask kept his predatory grin from being obvious, but his eyes did sparkle.

“I want to know this miasma well enough that I can grab a cloud of it from another iteration of reality. If I ever need to flood a room with it, anyone unfamiliar with the stench is in for quite the shock.”

---

About the Author

Owen K.C. Stephens is a veteran of the tabletop RPG industry with more than 20 years of experience, including being on staff at Green Ronin, Paizo, and Wizards of the Coast and being the publisher of RogueGeniusGames.com. He has worked on numerous RPG lines, including being co-author of the Star Wars Saga Edition RPG and Design Lead for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. You can support his writing and free content production at Patreon, and follow him at his blog, on Facebook and on Twitter.

About Iconic Encounters

Iconic Encounters is a series of web-based flash fiction set in the worlds of Pathfinder and Starfinder. Each short story provides a glimpse into the life and personality of one of the games’ iconic characters, showing the myriad stories of adventure and excitement players can tell with the Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games.

We welcome Roll For Combat into our fold of licensed partners! Roll For Combat will continue to create Pathfinder, Pathfinder Society, Starfinder, and Starfinder Society actual play podcasts, as well as manage the recently relaunched RPG Superstar contest.

“We love playing in the systems and worlds that Paizo develops, and being able to contribute to even a small part of the Pathfinder and Starfinder universe is a dream come true,” said Stephen Glicker, owner of Roll For Combat and host for the RPG Superstar contest.

“We were also huge fans of the original Paizo RPG Superstar contest, and having the opportunity to not only bring it back but to grow and enhance the contest is an exciting project that we hope to do every year going forward.”

Roll For Combat creates the actual play podcasts Three Ring Adventure, a play-through of the Pathfinder Extinction Curse Adventure Path; Tales From The Black Lodge, an episodic podcast featuring the Pathfinder Society game system and rotating guests and players; The Fall of Plaguestone Podcast, a play-through of the Pathfinder Adventure; and The Dead Suns Adventure, a play-through of the Starfinder Adventure Path.

In addition, Roll For Combat just relaunched the RPG Superstar Contest! The contest is now live, with over 100 prizes, dozens of winners, and lots of other surprises! Contestants will be challenged to make their very best Pathfinder 2nd Edition monster, with a special end-destination planned for the very best entries of the content!

"Roll for Combat brings great podcasts and articles to the Starfinder and Pathfinder communities, and their love of gaming shines through everything they produce. We're excited to see what they bring to life under the RPG Superstar contest!" said Jim Butler, Paizo VP of Marketing and Licensing.

The Roll For Combat Patreon page allows subscribers to access episodes early, view live recordings of all of their shows, and much more!

Learn more and find links to the Roll For Combat podcasts, blogs, reviews, events, store, and more at rollforcombat.com. Roll For Combat also hosts one of the largest and active online Society lodges at discord.rollforcombat.com/ and recently relaunched the RPG Superstar contest at rpgsuperstar.com.

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

“Where is Starfinder Wednesday & Pathfinder Friday?”

Paizo is taking steps to keep our employees safe and healthy in regards to the coronavirus so some employees will work at home for a couple of weeks. This means we have postponed our regular programming. Do not worry! Everyone at Paizo is doing fine, and we appreciate everyone who has sent us messages concerned about our health and safety.

In place of Starfinder Wednesday and Pathfinder Friday, Payton will be live streaming Pathfinder: Kingmaker on Paizo’s Twitch channel. So if you’ve ever wanted to check out the game, and get to know Payton a bit more, we invite you to teach Payton all that you know about Pathfinder, while having some fun conversation.

We still have some amazing streams happening, so here is what’s happening this week at OfficialPaizo on Twitch!

Pathfinder 2E Extinction Curse with Squiiddish, Mar 16, 1:00 p.m. Pacific

The Circus of Wayward Wonders has just arrived in the remote town of Abberton, and the 2 Perception crew are the stars of the show! After an unfortunate event the crew finds themselves in charge of keeping the show alive. But, how will they fare?

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams the Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path Extinction Curse every Monday at 1:00 P.M. on Squiiddish’s Twitch channel here. We will be hosting this show on the OfficialPaizo Twitch channel.

Dragons & Things, March 17, 6:00 p.m. Pacific

A crew of adventurers-for-hire thrust into the middle of a monumental disaster will decide how far they are willing to go for the promise of profit. As the powerful try to buy the heroes' loyalty, they are left wondering whether their job is to put fires out or start new ones. When no good deed goes unpunished, and every bad deed offers pay, this crew must ask themselves whether they are heroes or mercenaries.

Cast:

• Meghan Caves
• Jamie Mills
• Katie Wilson
• Adam Rady
• Nathan Ondracek

Catch them live on either Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker with Paizo, March 18 & 20 , 1:00-4:00 p.m. Pacific

Did you know that our Social Media Producer Payton Smith never played Kingmaker? I know right!? We’re calling on all Pathfinders to help in Paizo’s quest to better familiarize Payton with the Pathfinder universe. He is going to need all the help you can give him to run his kingdom effectively.

Join us on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel and for all that is good in this world, help keep Payton alive as he journeys through the River Kingdoms corner of Golarion.

Pungeon Crawl, March 18, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

Note: Pungeon Crawl will now be hosted on the Paizo Twitch channel instead of being streamed directly. You can find BBWolfe’s twitch channel to support the show here.

"The results of the breakfast sweepstakes are in and The Biggest Darn Heroes of the Pact Worlds are about to get a new set of legally-distinct sidekicks as the Pungeon Crawl returns! Join the Deep Space Defenders as we find out if a handful of breakfast cereal contest-selected weirdos can keep up with your favorite syndicated space saviors! Sent on a mission with REAL HEROES, they’ll be put to the test as things go wrong, while on camera the entire time! As their situation develops the heroes’ morale may falter, but with the help of you, the faithful viewers, your favorite heroes can grip success from the jaws of failure! Wednesday nights 8e/7c only on Paizo!"
- BBWolfe

Streamed on OfficialPaizo on Twitch.

Arcane Mark, March 19, 7:00 p.m. & March 21, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Arcane Mark is a stream with Design Manager Mark Seifter and Organized Play Lead Developer Linda Zayas-Palmer covering all sorts of RPG and Pathfinder-related topics, from GM Tools to Design Diaries to Workshops. Thursday episodes are always interviews, usually covering Paizo staff you might not have seen as often in other interviews. Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here. (We will be prioritizing Glass Cannon for the broadcast times on Thursday. But once Glass Cannon ends the channel should switch back to Arcane Mark)

Androids & Aliens Live by Glass Cannon Network, March 20, 5:00 p.m. Pacific

Set in the distant future, five strangers find themselves caught in the middle of an interstellar mystery that threatens the very existence of the galaxy! Join the folks at the Glass Cannon Network as characters’ fates lie in the hands of dice rolls and friendships are ruined over rules arguments in this officially licensed Actual Play of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Dead Suns Adventure Path.

Join GlassCannon live at 6:00 p.m. Pacific for a hilariously good time, hosted on the Official Paizo Twitch Channel, or directly on their Twitch Channel here.

Dragons & Things, March 20, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

On the day of their release, two former inmates and their advocates find themselves trapped in an underwater prison in the wake of a terrible disaster. With no way to access the surface and return to their disrupted lives, they struggle to survive as the prison threatens to collapse and kill everyone inside. Can they find a way out of an inescapable facility, and even if they can, is there any place for them in a city that already took away their freedom once before?

Cast:

• Eric Radic
• Ben Burch
• Diana Restrepo
• Adam Conn

Catch them live on either Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel.

Age of Ashes with Squiddish, March 21, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Pacific

“Fires burn atop the ruined citadel on Hellknight Hill, sending plumes of red smoke into the air that could be a call for help. Now a gang of adventurers rise together to investigate the current conflict. How will they handle the Hellknights? Will they all burn in horrendous fire? Tune into this new Pathfinder Second Edition live play show!

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams on the OfficialPaizo on Twitch channel every week at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Court of Corvids with QueueTimes, March 22, 4:30 p.m.

Court of Corvids is an actual play show that takes place in a homebrew setting using the Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset. It is currently on hiatus having finished its second story arc but will return with a brand new one on Sunday, February 23rd at 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

In this setting, facts and fiction blur together. In fact, the story began with a lie, one that grew so much it became the central pillar for an entire community…that is until the party stumbled upon the truth and brought it all down. Since then, they’ve been on the road, trying to find their place in a vast world they didn’t even know existed for most of their lives.

The party, taken through this world by GM and occult enthusiast Jacob Kile, consists of:

• Croog Claudel, played by Croog: A human monk searching for his long-lost siblings, hoping to make amends when he finds them.
• Moss the Magnificent, played by Molly McIsaac: An Elven Sorcerer trying to recapture the fame she had back home.
• Robyn Way, played by Jonas Newhouse: A Gnome druid desperate to hide from her former life and family. She’s married to Remi.
• Remi Ashwillow, played by William White: The Goblin fighter and Robyn’s partner is just trying to make friends and live life after being stuck in a cult for many years.

Catch Court of Corvids being hosted live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here.

---

We've added a new Forum for Streaming & Actual Play discussions. If you have any questions you’d like to submit for our Q&A segments at the end of our Starfinder Wednesdays or Pathfinder Fridays you can do so in our Forums.

Pathfinder Fridays Fan Club

Starfinder Wednesdays Fan Club

If you have a Pathfinder or Starfinder stream, post it under Third Party Broadcasts.

Catch us live at our Official Twitch Channel. Catch the Video On Demand (VOD) on Twitch immediately after it is done or a week later on our YouTube channel.

Inside volume one of Starfinder’s The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path, The Chimera Mystery, by Jason Keeley

When the security officer of the starship Chimera goes missing, the heroes are asked to investigate. Murder, misdirection, and misapprehension abound. But is this whole whodunit only part of a much larger conspiracy?

It is time to pull back the curtain, just a bit, on The Threefold Conspiracy. The plot will remain a mystery, but the back matter is full of advice, lore, and game material we can’t wait to show off. So, this blog may have light spoilers, be warned.

Don’t want to chance it? Go back and read the flash web fiction The Threefold Conspiracy: Gray Matter to set the mood.

As previously revealed, inside you will find advice for running and playing in adventures focused around secrecy and mystery, by Jason Keeley. Read an excerpt in Motive, Means, and Opportunity.

New from Jason Keeley, the Sanjaval Palanquin is a long-haul passenger transport freighter. It could be the setting of many adventures for Pact Worlders and Starfinder homebrewers of all stripes.

“Sanjaval Spaceflight Systems produces the Palanquin model of heavy freighter for a variety of transport applications, but it’s often converted into a long-distance high-quality passenger conveyance for regularly traveled space lanes. The Palanquin’s several decks provide enough room for spacious guest accommodations, which are far enough away from crew quarters that the two groups don’t need to mingle in the corridors. With two cargo holds standard, the Palanquin serves as a capable freighter for those passengers who are transporting valuable goods to far-off reaches.”

The full article includes more details, statistics, and deck plans!

Discover In from the Cold, a collection of new class options for espionage-themed characters, by Crystal Frasier.

“You want to know why you’re here? Imagine you’re a brain, yeah? But no eyes, no ears, just sittin’ warm and cozy in your skull with nothin’ but imagination and pixie sparkles to keep your attention. You’d never need to see how mean the real world is. How it can chew you up and spit you out. That’s great for some. But me? If something is about to go pear-shaped, I want to know. I like to see the bullet coming. And that’s what we do, kid. We’re not soldiers. We’re not heroes. We watch and we listen, and when we see the bullet coming, we tell the brain when to get out of the damn way.”
—Donlaia Sekk on Training Day 001

Subterfuge is the exacting scalpel to warfare’s indiscriminate shrapnel. And in a galaxy where superweapons can wipe out entire planets, a careful hand is infinitely more useful for achieving practical goals. Even the most noteworthy interstellar conflict in recent memory— the war between the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds—lasted only 5 years before both sides shuddered at the mounting cost and devastation of open conflict. But the so-called Silent War— focused mainly on smaller skirmishes and espionage—lasted ten generations, as dedicated spies and agents on both sides faced off to uncover the other power’s secrets, sabotage their efforts, and sway the direction of their politics.

Espionage encompasses a number of tactics. A nation conquered by placing loyal entities on its throne without a drop of spilled blood can immediately turn its engines of commerce to fill your pockets. Quietly bribed researchers can grant you access to scientific knowledge. Magical scrying sensors can overhear state secrets. Deep cover agents can live among the enemy populace for years and find work within government and security organizations. The ultimate goal of espionage is to take what your foe can’t afford to lose— knowledge, resources, loyalty from their populace, or the lives of key figures—while knowing exactly how they will respond.

The article includes envoy, mechanic, soldier, and technomancer options, as well as three new spells, and is available in both print or PDF.

Catch a glimpse of Gadravel, a planet of war-torn ruins and ghosts, by Erik Mona.

“By the time explorers affiliated with the Pact Worlds first came across the lonely, haunted planet of Gadravel on the frontier of Near Space, it was already an ancient graveyard. The trench-like scars across Gadravel, visible from space, hint at an ancient destruction wreaked by some unknown force or super weapon that also wiped out every living thing on the planet. In the decades since its rediscovery, the unquiet spirits of Gadravel’s slaughtered populace have swallowed a dozen scientific research expeditions and countless opportunists and explorers. Scavengers come in search of forgotten technology or unclaimed plunder, while pirates seek refuge among the silent streets of abandoned cities, hoping to shake off pursuit by bounty hunters. Those who alight on the planet’s surface and leave within an hour or two often escape with fantastic riches and intriguing components of baffling alien technology. Those who linger too long are devoured by the ghosts and remain on the planet for a torturous eternity.”

In Alien Archives you will encounter seven full-page creatures entries with art, including an adorable shapechanging ooze and a predatory bird able to eat bullets, by Stephen Glicker, Jason Keeley, Luis Loza, Isabelle Thorne, and Gabriel Waluconis.

“Marrax and I noticed the smears of blood on the floor right away. They seemed to form some kind of pattern or maybe words in a language I never seen before. Someone stepped forth from the shadows. It looked like Professor Ko, but her clothes were tattered and there was some kind of symbol carved into her chest. She shuffled forward and grabbed Marrax and slashed at his shirt with long nails. I panicked and ran out of there. But Marrax’s wounds began to shift and glow, and it was like he was moving through tar... I’m sorry, I left him screaming in the dark.”
—Report from Lonthis Vens, janitor at Qabarat University of Xenoarcheology and Xenoanthropology”

Paizo releases Starfinder Adventure Paths monthly in three- or six-volume arcs. You can acquire them at your favorite local gaming store. With your ongoing Starfinder Adventure Path subscription, we'll send each new volume to your door and charge your payment method automatically as we ship each product. You only need to sign up once, and never need to worry about renewal notices or missed products.

Next, we will unveil volume two, Flight of the Sleepers, with an article describing the enigmatic grays, a survey of fringe science, and a selection of new and strange monsters!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks,
Marketing and Media Manager

Wow. What a week! In a typical year, this week would’ve been a trip to Reno for GAMA trade show. My days at GAMA mean lots of meetings with industry folk, talking to retailers, and generally spreading the word about Paizo’s organized play programs. But this year is anything but typical. I’m not one to get flustered about epidemics – lived in England during Mad Cow and in South Korea during the last SARS outbreak – but even I’m finding the information overload surrounding Covid-19 overwhelming. This morning, half my emails were from companies talking about the steps they are taking to contain and protect from the virus. I’m glad everyone’s taking steps to minimize the footprint and restrain the outbreak.

Which brings me to what organized play is doing. Staff are practicing hygiene and social distancing techniques. We suspended travel to events through the end of May, which caused us to withdraw from a number of conventions. Paizo leadership is looking at PaizoCon and evaluating options. Many of the conventions we withdrew from have now cancelled or postponed their events and others are following suite. The Washington state government banned gatherings over 250 people. This is the first governmental restriction in the US, but I don’t expect it to be the last. Europeans in many countries have limited travel and some are in lockdown status. I expect directives from other nations as well as we all step in to combat the spread of the virus.

What does this mean for our players and the communities that support the events? Fortunately for us, several years ago we established an online region under the direction of regional venture-coordinator Jesse Davis. We are working closely with Jesse and the online team to look at moving physical games to online space. We ask that any GM willing to run online games let their local coordinators know. We are still processing event support for those events that have not cancelled. We ask organizers to drop us a line to update their event status at organizedplay@paizo.com.

These are trying times and we appreciate our communities stepping up and doing their part to limit the spread of the virus. We thank you for your assistance and will let you know more when we have the information.

Until next time—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Inside volume two of the Pathfinder Extinction Curse Adventure Path, Legacy of the Lost God, by Jenny Jarzabski

Previously, in The Greatest Show on Golarion, we took a look inside volume one of the Extinction Curse Adventure Path. Now we charge ahead to volume two!

Legacy of the Lost God is a Pathfinder adventure written by Jenny Jarzabski for four 5th-level characters. This adventure continues the Extinction Curse Adventure Path, a six-part, monthly campaign in which the heroes lead a traveling circus as they unravel a plot to eradicate all life from the islands of the Inner Sea. This adventure also includes information about catfolk of Golarion and the villainous xulgaths, as well as new monsters and circus-themed rules.

For some, that is as much of a reveal as you want and you might want to go and back and read the free Player’s Guide.

For the curious, let’s soft-paw forward with a look at the back cover summary.

“The Circus of Wayward Wonders arrives in bustling Escadar, eager for fortune and fame. The heroes must confront foul forces in a buried temple to learn more about the looming threat facing the Starstone Isles. Their investigations put the heroes on a collision course with their circus’s greatest rival: the cruel catfolk Mistress Dusklight, ringmaster of the Celestial Menagerie! The Extinction Curse Adventure Path continues with “Legacy of the Lost God,” a complete adventure for 5th- to 8th-level characters.”

For those who want to know more about the additional support articles and game materials in this volume, read on! But be ye warned, thar be SPOILERS ahead!

Perhaps the most player-friendly lore in this volume is the Catfolk of Golarion article by David N. Ross.

“With many of the most prominent physical features of felines, catfolk make an impression virtually everywhere they are encountered—which is all over, considering their propensity for travel and adventure. In addition to catlike personality features such as curiosity and pride, they have a rich shared culture and often know much more about the situations they find themselves in than they let on. Indeed, the story of catfolk is a story of nobility and confidence, of wit and guile, and of exploration and friendship to the highest degree.

While catfolk are well known for their strong sense of individuality, they share a number of common characteristics that differentiate them from other people of Golarion. They are almost universally curious, making them natural adventurers and voyagers as well as scholars and researchers. Many are gregarious and talkative—social traits reinforced by upbringings that emphasize strong bonds with close friends, whom catfolk refer to as their found kin. They are equally at home in cities as well as in the wild, though their tendency to inadvertently meddle in others’ affairs sometimes pushes them to the fringes of non-catfolk societies, where they socialize with similarly capricious people such as tengus and kitsunes.”

For more on catfolk history, society, culture, adventurers, settlements, and more read the full article in print or PDF.

Going deeper, some Game Masters who don’t intend to run this Adventure Path might want to adapt or adopt this troglodyte lore for their campaign. Enjoy this excerpt from Among The Xulgaths by Andrew Mullen.

“None of Golarion’s Darklands denizens are as prolific— or as underestimated—as xulgaths. Called troglodytes by the surface‐dwellers who see them as little more than foul‐smelling brutes, these lizard‐like humanoids once ruled a vast empire beneath Golarion’s surface during the Age of Legends, and powerful xulgath psychic leaders commanded legions of formidable warriors amid grand obsidian temples and stone ziggurats. Now, xulgath civilization—if it can even be called that—exists in disparate fragments spread throughout the Darklands and in the dark corners of the world’s outer crust, and craven groups of scavengers, backstabbers, and cannibals fight among themselves for control of petty caverns and scraps of food.

Ancient xulgath civilization spread from a massive subterranean vault called Vask, in the deepest layer of the Darklands, Orv. In the time of xulgath dominance, Vask was filled with lush vegetation and kept safe from the Darklands’ ambient radioactive energies by the nurturing glow of six mysterious orbs known as "cavern hearts." Beneath this quickening luminescence, the xulgaths thrived, establishing large communities around mysterious stepped pyramids. Impressive aqueducts, fungus farms, and vermin ranches supported the xulgaths’ orderly—if bloody— society as it spread throughout the vault.”

For much more information on xulgath society, worship, resources, artifice, minions, allies, incursions, and more read the full article.

Now for the crunch! The Adventure Toolbox by Stephen Glicker, Luis Loza, Ron Lundeen, and Andrew Mullen includes 14 circus magic items, the animal trainer archetype, four circus spells, and nine uncommon monsters. You will find aberrations, animals, fey, undead—including the new visitant template. Finally, there are three unique, detailed creatures. All of these new materials can be dropped into your Age of Lost Omens or homebrew games..

“Animal Trainer Archetype
You have befriended an animal to serve as an able assistant and loyal guardian.”

We release Pathfinder Adventure Paths monthly in six-volume arcs, meaning each year sees the release of two complete Adventure Path campaigns. You can acquire them at your favorite local gaming store. Or with an ongoing Pathfinder Adventure Path subscription, we'll send you each new Pathfinder Adventure Path volume and charge your payment method automatically as we ship each product. You only need to sign up once, and never need to worry about renewal notice or missed products.

Next, we will unpack volume three, Life’s Long Shadows, with information about the bountiful area known as the Swardlands and the malevolent demon lord Zevgavizeb, as well as new monsters and rules!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

Rock rained near New Valor.

With a twist of the wheel, Zurkrishu maneuvered the hover tank out of the largest boulder’s path before drifting back onto their collision course with the colossal kyokor as Renz kept firing the main autocannon. “Stay with me, Renz,” Zurkrishu admonished over her shoulder as Renz’s tracer rounds veered off target. “We only got this one chance, yeah? Let’s do it for Daimalko!” Still hundreds of feet off, the kyokor lunged toward another vehicle, snatching and crumpling it in a single motion as its occupants rained haplessly back to the ground. As Renz’s explosive shells hit home, the kyokor hurled the wreckage at their hover tank, striking it straight on and flipping it end over end.

Time slowed. Zurkrishu went flying, her hand outstretched toward Renz as she cried out “Captain!”

Captain? In that frozen moment, Renz looked down at their sleeve. No, they were a sergeant, weren’t they?

“Captain!”

Something wasn’t right. The kyokor’s roar was fading into dull static as Renz tumbled through the air.

“Captain?”

Renz blinked awake. Their sheets were tangled like so much wreckage, and the only light came from an unblinking featureless face projected on their wall monitor.

“Captain, there’s an incident,” Stilchee announced patiently. The embri’s mask hid her emotions admirably, yet Renz could detect a hint of silent judgment. “You’re needed on the bridge.”

“An incident?” Renz quipped while rolling off their bed in a vain search for trousers. “If they’re fighting again, just break ’em up.”

“I assure you, Flowers and Esh are on their best behavior. I respect your non-Pact Standard sleep cycle enough not to disturb you unless it’s important.” Stilchee paused before adding, “We have unexpected company.”

Renz swore quietly all the way to the bridge, idly rubbing the Daimalkan military insignia on their jacket. For decades, the Veskarium had subjugated the planet Landahl and its peaceful illyr inhabitants, provoking a guerrilla war that the illyrs were slowly losing. Not wanting to provoke another Silent War, the Pact Worlds had stayed out of the unjust annexation, but sympathizers with deep pockets still supplied the illyrs where they could. It was just such a smuggling run that Renz had accepted, sneaking ordnance to the rebels.

As Renz arrived, Esh reflexively stood and saluted, the hobgoblin’s military upbringing taking over before he sheepishly returned to his seat. The ghoran behind him smirked before Esh chidingly swatted them, ruffling the ghoran’s fern-top undercut. “All right, business time. What’s happening?” Renz demanded.

Stilchee maintained eye contact as she turned on the main viewscreen, displaying a fleet of Veskarium warships.

Illustration by Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo

“What the Hell’s with this welcoming party?” Renz demanded. “All reports described light patrols, not a blockade!”

“Kinda wish we were being paid more for the run, huh Renz?” quipped Flowers, their sarcasm belied by their nervously gripping the starship’s controls.

“Hey, it’s a good cause, alright?” Renz shot back before looking to his embri science officer. “Stilchee, our cover’s still in order, right?”

“Aye, captain.” The alien mollusk bobbed her mask as her claws tapped away. “Our hold remains shielded, and our documentation still insists we’re shipping scientific instruments and other supplies to the Obedurn Associates research colony, a neutral entity. I worry more that their flagship has begun scanning us aggressively.”

“Your countermeasures holding up, though? Good.” Renz shook out their shoulders, checked their mutton chops, and ran a hand through their hair. “Patch me through to our new friends, and I’ll clear up this misunderstanding before they dig too deep.”

Stilchee tapped away diligently as Flowers mockingly mouthed “nu-nu-friends” and pantomimed a dancing skittermander to Esh in an attempt at levity. The ghoran snapped back to the controls when the screen suddenly displayed a massive Veskarian starship’s bridge filled with dozens of vesk officers. Before them loomed their leader, a vesk in overplate armor, her fuchsia-and-green scales bristling with confidence. “Attend, and identify yourself,” she boomed, her vesk second-in-command stepping into view at her side.

“Glory to you.” Renz inclined their head slightly in respect. “I am Renz, captain of the Zurkrishin. We’re bound for Landahl carrying food, clothing, and scientific instruments for Obedurn Associates. What earns us this welcome?”

“You stand before Wing Commander Tolskamash of the Army of the Veskarium, Thrice-Tested Conqueror of Persam-6 and commanding officer of the Scorchrazor. I trust you understand commerce to Landahl is tightly restricted?”

“Absolutely, wing commander.” Renz briefly glanced to Stilchee, who pointed insistently to her station’s display, indicating multiple ships were now scanning the Zurkrishin.

“Yet even so, you traffic in the name of rebel sympathizers?”

Renz stared back in disbelief. “Sympathizers, wing commander?”

The vesk’s first officer responded. “Sympathizers,” he intoned grimly. “They recently declared their support for the illyr resistance. Those who serve them are in violation of Veskarium law. Violators are to be eliminated with prejudice,” he added with a hungry grin.

“The Veskarium’s justice is not so cruel, sub-commander,” Tolskamash remarked calmly to her second without breaking her predatory menace.

“Then no doubt the captain would welcome a boarding party to search his starship,” amended the first officer.

“They/them, thank you!” snapped Flowers from the pilot’s chair, interrupting the vesk’s interrogation.

“They/Th—?” Wing Commander Tolskamash blinked, quirked her head, and studied Renz before straightening and raking three claws over her breastplate in display of the god Damoritosh’s doshko blade, nudging her second to do the same. “My subordinate and I were mistaken and meant no disrespect,” she apologized while struggling to regain her earlier momentum. “The captain, ah, they would certainly—"

“It’s an honest mistake, please,” Renz interrupted with a casual wave before adding, “But I believe it’s not the only honest mistake at hand—we’re simple teamsters given bad information. My crew will send you our manifest imminently, and we can forget about these misunderstandings. Hold, please.” Stilchee cut the transmission as the off-balance vesk struggled to respond.

Renz furiously scratched their mutton chops before Flowers began another round of gallows humor. “Hey, hey!” Renz snapped. “News doesn’t travel any faster through the Drift than we do, okay? It’s just bad timing. We can talk our way out.”

“We don’t have long to talk, captain,” Stilchee reported, pointing to her screens. Alerts silently popped up every few seconds, signaling that each of the vesk ships was scanning them. Their cover was slipping as surely as Stilchee’s masked emotions, and Renz could hear the restrained fear building in her voice as she more quietly counseled: “Just because you named the ship after a colossus hunter doesn’t mean it can take on that many goliaths.”

“That, ah, might not be true,” countered Esh, pantomiming finger-guns to emphasize his point. “At this rate, they won’t just find our illyr shipments.”

Renz scowled. “And why would our starship’s basic armaments upset the vesk?”

“What are a few lasers between friends?” The hobgoblin flicked at his own screens and added, “But when we were doing maintenance last, I gave our systems a little, ah, upgrade that might spook their sensors.”

“Like what?”

Esh’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Little something we called ‘Gideron Gold’ back in the home system.”

“Gider—" Flowers visibly wilted. “We’re packing nukes?!?”

“Hey, you de-stress with spa days, I de-stress by knowing we’re packing real heat!”

“Damn, you Authority types don’t mess around.” Flowers cracked their knuckles. “That changes the odds just a little.”

Esh gave the ghoran a playful shove, “Well look who bloomed and grew some stamens!”

“Irrelevant!” Stilchee chided while furiously reconfiguring their starship’s signatures to foil the vesk scanners. “Captain, we have perhaps a few minutes before they see through our cover. We need a plan.”

Renz quickly reviewed the armament specs before responding. “Typically vesk. This isn’t a patrol fleet, but one designed to make an example, just like they’re doing to the illyrs. Whether we let them on board or just wait long enough for them to scan us, they’re going to learn just how much ordnance we’re packing.” They glowered out the window while idly rubbing their jacket’s insignia. “But when it comes to dealing with colossi, I like to think there’s an Option 3.”

The embri deflated slightly. “By your tone, captain, I’m sensing that last option is not ‘retreat?’”

“You can bet your best mask it ain’t,” Renz declared dangerously. “Didn’t you hear me earlier? I promised the good wing commander a full inventory—and that means declaring every rocket, bullet, and beam we’re packing.”

Esh cackled and rubbed his hands in anticipation before turning to the starship’s targeting computers. “Permission to send those scaleys the first line item?”

Renz nodded. “Shields up, Stilchee. Flowers, take the first opening through this blockade. Esh, light ’em up with whatever you’ve been bragging about. We’ve only got this one shot, yeah?” they encouraged, tapping the Daimalkan insignia once more, their face briefly lit by the saffron glow of Esh’s torpedoes silently screaming toward their targets. “This time, we do it for Landahl.”

About the Author

John Compton is the Starfinder Senior Developer at Paizo, Inc., having recently joined the team from years creating organized play adventure content. He has written extensively for Pathfinder and Starfinder, including adventures, setting content, and rule books, and before working for Paizo, he was a teacher, practicing archaeologist, and archaeometallurgist. You can find John on Twitter and Paizo-facing Discord servers @Archaeotagh.

About Tales from the Drift

The Tales from the Drift series of web-based flash fiction provides an exciting glimpse into the setting of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. Written by members of the Starfinder development team and some of the most celebrated authors in tie-in gaming fiction, the Tales from the Drift series promises to explore the worlds, alien cultures, deities, history, and organizations of the Starfinder setting with engaging stories to inspire Game Masters and players alike.

The galaxy of the Starfinder RPG expands with this month’s release of Starfinder Near Space, which details dozens of planets and civilizations in this region of the galaxy and includes new starships and a wide selection of character option as well.

Among the many worlds located within Near Space are not only the allied planets of the Pact Worlds, but also the core worlds of the Veskarium, the interplanetary empire of the warlike vesk. While vesk are a relatively common sight in the Pact Worlds and throughout the galaxy, their home system has remained something of a mystery. But no longer! Starfinder Near Space takes us into the Veskarium for the first time, so let’s take a brief look at the vesk empire and its diverse worlds.

The Veskarium

Centered around a blue sun called Ghavaniska, the Veskarium is an autocratic empire and military dictatorship with one overarching goal: conquest. Long before the onset of the Gap, the vesk conquered all of the planets of their home system, renaming these worlds after themselves and numbering them in order of their distance from the sun. When the Gap ended, the vesk turned to their well-organized pre-Gap military archives and set about relearning the boundaries of their ancient empire and re-establishing the Veskarium’s dominion over their subject worlds in less than a decade. Vesk dominate the empire and make up the majority of its inhabitants, but the Veskarium encompasses dozens of planets, and their native inhabitants enjoy full citizenship in the empire. Vesk believe they have an obligation to care for their conquered vassals, and while the Veskarium’s laws are strict and draconian, standards of living are high, and most residents of the empire, vesk or not, are content with their lives and support—or at least tolerate—their government.

Vesk Prime

The closest planet to the sun, Vesk Prime is the vesk home world and the imperial capital of the Veskarium. It is the most densely populated world in the empire, with large, modern cities—like the sprawling metropolis and vast military installation Command Prime—surrounded by huge tracts of cultivated lands and wilderness reserves. Under the leadership of High Despot Vindaskayo Swarmripper, Vesk Prime remains the center of the empire, both politically and culturally. The Veskarium originated here in ages past, when the vesk defeated the other native sapient species of their home world, the caiagaras and the skeraskens, and first proclaimed their empire before expanding to the other worlds of the Ghavaniska system.

Vesk-2

Ghavaniska’s second planet, a calm, watery world with a shallow, salty ocean covering much of its surface, was the Veskarium’s first extraplanetary conquest. The squid-like ijtikris are native to Vesk-2, and after centuries of vesk rule, they are highly integrated into Veskarium society. Strange, ancient ruins that predate ijtikri culture dot the scattered islands of Vesk-2 and are an enduring mystery on the planet, hinting at the possibility of another sapient species that inhabited the world in the distant past. Ijtikris have an instinctive aversion to these sites, but vesk have no such compunctions and have explored many of them. The flooded swamp-forests of Vesk-2 are also a center of domesticated defrex ranching in the Veskarium.

Vesk-3

A garden world with expansive forests, abundant nutrients from constant volcanic activity, and warm, shallow oceans, Vesk-3 is saturated in a constant, rainy spring. Ostensibly a paradise, Vesk-3 remains one of the Veskarium’s most difficult planets to rule, thanks to its indigenous population of ever-helpful skittermanders. Although they far outnumber their vesk overlords, skittermanders generally don’t seem to understand the significance of their conquest. Their obsequious nature grates on the practical-minded vesk, who commonly joke that skittermanders will eagerly “help” tear down your engine unless you eat them, and even then they’ll stick around and help chew your food. As a result, vesk presence on the planet is mostly confined to one of the planet’s two primary continents, leaving skittermanders largely autonomous in their native lands.

Vesk-4

Nicknamed “the Glutton” by early vesk conquerors for its tendency to pull celestial bodies—such as its own moons—into its powerful gravitational field, Vesk-4 is a dense planet with a single landmass teeming with lush jungles, sodden swamplands, and volcanic mountain ranges. Home to an indigenous species of sapient mole‑like creatures called talphi, Vesk-4 is an important hub for mining useful minerals, left behind by millennia of meteorites crashing into the planet. Recently, however, the Veskarium has begun harvesting crystals that can be refined to power solarian weapons, and Vesk-4 now supports an academy specializing in training solarians. Life on Vesk‑4 is generally difficult. Citizens lead austere, regimented lives focused on labor and service, and seismic activity, radiation, and frequent meteorite collisions constantly threaten settlements.

Vesk-5

Encircled by bands of red and purple gases, Vesk-5 is the largest planet and the only gas giant in the Ghavaniska system. The planet’s atmosphere surges with powerful lightning storms and pounding hydrogen rain, and its dense, unstable core constantly ejects valuable ore that the Veskarium monopolizes. Nevertheless, daring adventurers called stormrunners dodge military patrol craft and brave Vesk-5’s dangerous atmosphere to “mine” these profitable minerals using gigantic energy nets deployed from their ships, causing the Veskarium to brand them outlaws—a label that many stormrunners adopt as a badge of honor. Vesk-5’s only native sapient species, formians, reside in orbiting hives in the planet’s small, rocky ring system, and most other inhabitants live on the gas giant’s largest moons.

Vesk-6

Though distant from the sun, Vesk-6 is an inexplicably warm jungle world with relatively low gravity, towering trees, gigantic insects, and other titanic flora and fauna that struggle ruthlessly with one another to survive. A powerful magnetosphere helps the planet retain its atmosphere, but the magnetic winds it generates devastate many forms of technology, with the result that Vesk-6’s surface remains mostly untamed. The planet’s dominant sapient species, the catlike pahtras, initially resisted the vesk invasion, but they were eventually conquered and incorporated into the Veskarium. Most pahtra nation-states signed treaties with the Veskarium that grant them an unusual amount of autonomy, but some groups of pahtra guerillas continue to battle vesk peacekeepers for the liberation of their home world.

Vesk-7 and Vesk-8

The distant, icy worlds of Vesk-7 and Vesk-8 are the outermost planets of the Ghavaniska system, and a posting to either of them is usually a punishment for dishonored vesk or those exiled for controversial or troublesome political views. The two worlds share virtually the same orbit, though Vesk-7’s orbit is retrograde, and twice each planetary year, the planets’ shared moon, Traverse, transfers its orbit from one world to the other. Magical gates linking the planets and their moon activate at these times, allowing the native kothamas of Vesk-7 and Vesk-8 to travel between them. Vesk-7 hosts a small, nominally independent city of people who want to leave their pasts behind them, while Vesk-8 holds a penal colony established to mine the planet’s valuable shimmerstone deposits.

Conqueror’s Forge

Initially constructed to address a perceived technological gap between the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds, this massive space platform and shipyard—with a distinctive silhouette reminiscent of a doshko—has the full status of one of the Veskarium’s core worlds, with its own high despot in command. Equipped with banks of mighty thrusters (and even a powerful Drift engine, if rumors are to be believed), Conqueror’s Forge travels throughout Veskarium space, collecting resources for research and production, manufacturing weapons and starships for the Veskarium’s military, and selling its technological developments to other species to fund additional research. One section of the station, officially denied by the Veskarium government and known only by the codename Vesk-9, is devoted to confidential research, advanced experimentation, and other secret projects that remain classified to all but those with the highest security clearances.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of the worlds and peoples of the Veskarium. If you’d like to learn more about the Veskarium (or other Near Space cultures), pick up a copy of Starfinder Near Space and keep your sensors locked on the Paizo blog and Paizo’s Twitch stream for more previews and behind-the-scenes details of Near Space and Starfinder!

Robert G. McCreary
Starfinder Creative Director

“Where is Starfinder Wednesday & Pathfinder Friday?”

Paizo is taking steps to keep our employees safe and healthy in regards to the coronavirus so some employees will work at home for a couple of weeks. This means we have postponed our regular programming. Do not worry! Everyone at Paizo is doing fine, and we appreciate everyone who has sent us messages concerned about our health and safety.

In place of Starfinder Wednesday and Pathfinder Friday, Payton will be live streaming Pathfinder: Kingmaker on Paizo’s Twitch channel. So if you’ve ever wanted to check out the game, and get to know Payton a bit more, we invite you to teach Payton all that you know about Pathfinder, while having some fun conversation.

We still have some amazing streams happening, so here is what’s happening this week at OfficialPaizo on Twitch!

Pathfinder 2E Extinction Curse with Squiiddish, Mar 9, 1:00 p.m. Pacific

The Circus of Wayward Wonders has just arrived in the remote town of Abberton, and the 2 Perception crew are the stars of the show! After an unfortunate event the crew finds themselves in charge of keeping the show alive. But, how will they fare?

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams the Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path Extinction Curse every Monday at 1:00 P.M. on Squiiddish’s Twitch channel here. We will be hosting this show on the OfficialPaizo Twitch channel.

Dragons & Things, March 10, 6:00 p.m. Pacific

A crew of adventurers-for-hire thrust into the middle of a monumental disaster will decide how far they are willing to go for the promise of profit. As the powerful try to buy the heroes' loyalty, they are left wondering whether their job is to put fires out or start new ones. When no good deed goes unpunished, and every bad deed offers pay, this crew must ask themselves whether they are heroes or mercenaries.

Cast:

• Meghan Caves
• Jamie Mills
• Katie Wilson
• Adam Rady
• Nathan Ondracek

Catch them live on either Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker with Paizo, March 11 & 13 , 1:00-4:00 p.m. Pacific

Did you know that our Social Media Producer Payton Smith never played Kingmaker? I know right!? We’re calling on all Pathfinders to help in Paizo’s quest to better familiarize Payton with the Pathfinder universe. He is going to need all the help you can give him to run his kingdom effectively.

Join us on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel and for all that is good in this world, help keep Payton alive as he journeys through the River Kingdoms corner of Golarion.

Pungeon Crawl, March 11, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

Note: Pungeon Crawl will now be hosted on the Paizo Twitch channel instead of being streamed directly. You can find BBWolfe’s twitch channel to support the show here.

"The results of the breakfast sweepstakes are in and The Biggest Darn Heroes of the Pact Worlds are about to get a new set of legally-distinct sidekicks as the Pungeon Crawl returns! Join the Deep Space Defenders as we find out if a handful of breakfast cereal contest-selected weirdos can keep up with your favorite syndicated space saviors! Sent on a mission with REAL HEROES, they’ll be put to the test as things go wrong, while on camera the entire time! As their situation develops the heroes’ morale may falter, but with the help of you, the faithful viewers, your favorite heroes can grip success from the jaws of failure! Wednesday nights 8e/7c only on Paizo!"
- BBWolfe

Streamed on OfficialPaizo on Twitch.

Arcane Mark, March 12, 7:00 p.m. & March 14, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Arcane Mark is a stream with Design Manager Mark Seifter and Organized Play Lead Developer Linda Zayas-Palmer covering all sorts of RPG and Pathfinder-related topics, from GM Tools to Design Diaries to Workshops. Thursday episodes are always interviews, usually covering Paizo staff you might not have seen as often in other interviews. Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here. (We will be prioritizing Glass Cannon for the broadcast times on Thursday. But once Glass Cannon ends the channel should switch back to Arcane Mark)

Androids & Aliens Live by Glass Cannon Network, March 13, 6:00 p.m. Pacific

Set in the distant future, five strangers find themselves caught in the middle of an interstellar mystery that threatens the very existence of the galaxy! Join the folks at the Glass Cannon Network as characters’ fates lie in the hands of dice rolls and friendships are ruined over rules arguments in this officially licensed Actual Play of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Dead Suns Adventure Path.

Join GlassCannon live at 6:00 p.m. Pacific for a hilariously good time, hosted on the Official Paizo Twitch Channel, or directly on their Twitch Channel here.

Dragons & Things, March 13, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

On the day of their release, two former inmates and their advocates find themselves trapped in an underwater prison in the wake of a terrible disaster. With no way to access the surface and return to their disrupted lives, they struggle to survive as the prison threatens to collapse and kill everyone inside. Can they find a way out of an inescapable facility, and even if they can, is there any place for them in a city that already took away their freedom once before?

Cast:

• Eric Radic
• Ben Burch
• Diana Restrepo
• Adam Conn

Catch them live on either Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel.

Age of Ashes with Squiddish, March 14, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Pacific

“Fires burn atop the ruined citadel on Hellknight Hill, sending plumes of red smoke into the air that could be a call for help. Now a gang of adventurers rise together to investigate the current conflict. How will they handle the Hellknights? Will they all burn in horrendous fire? Tune into this new Pathfinder Second Edition live play show!

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams on the OfficialPaizo on Twitch channel every week at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Court of Corvids with QueueTimes, March 15, 4:30 p.m.

Court of Corvids is an actual play show that takes place in a homebrew setting using the Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset. It is currently on hiatus having finished its second story arc but will return with a brand new one on Sunday, February 23rd at 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

In this setting, facts and fiction blur together. In fact, the story began with a lie, one that grew so much it became the central pillar for an entire community…that is until the party stumbled upon the truth and brought it all down. Since then, they’ve been on the road, trying to find their place in a vast world they didn’t even know existed for most of their lives.

The party, taken through this world by GM and occult enthusiast Jacob Kile, consists of:

• Croog Claudel, played by Croog: A human monk searching for his long-lost siblings, hoping to make amends when he finds them.
• Moss the Magnificent, played by Molly McIsaac: An Elven Sorcerer trying to recapture the fame she had back home.
• Robyn Way, played by Jonas Newhouse: A Gnome druid desperate to hide from her former life and family. She’s married to Remi.
• Remi Ashwillow, played by William White: The Goblin fighter and Robyn’s partner is just trying to make friends and live life after being stuck in a cult for many years.

Catch Court of Corvids being hosted live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here.

---

We've added a new Forum for Streaming & Actual Play discussions. If you have any questions you’d like to submit for our Q&A segments at the end of our Starfinder Wednesdays or Pathfinder Fridays you can do so in our Forums.

Pathfinder Fridays Fan Club

Starfinder Wednesdays Fan Club

If you have a Pathfinder or Starfinder stream, post it under Third Party Broadcasts.

Catch us live at our Official Twitch Channel. Catch the Video On Demand (VOD) on Twitch immediately after it is done or a week later on our YouTube channel.

The Starfinder Roleplaying Game takes place in a galaxy that is vast and full of surprises, so it’s no wonder that our rulebooks occasionally contain surprises of their own—some of which might include unclear meaning, the occasional typo, or the like. At Paizo, we strive to provide clear and concise rules content to help you play an exciting and engaging game, and part of that is clarifying when things go awry.

To that end, I’m very excited to announce our new-and-improved FAQ and errata page! Special thanks to Rei Ko, Maryssa Mari, and Andrew White for building this tool. This new streamlined system will help us efficiently address our community’s most pressing questions in a centralized, easily searchable location.

Illustration by Miroslav Petrov

A handy localized search function helps you find the exact answers you need, so go ahead and search for “forced movement,” “solar flare,” or even “page 179” to highlight questions and errata containing those terms.

As you use this resource (which contains our existing FAQ as well as some new questions and answers), please also continue to visit Starfinder’s rules questions forum. You might find that a helpful community member has already clarified something you were wondering about, and you can join others in calling for a question to be added to our FAQ.

Thanks, and we look forward to answering your questions!

Joe Pasini
Starfinder Lead Designer

OPM Musings

With the current state of affairs, we wish all our community to take measures to keep themselves and others safe. Please do not attend public games if you feel ill. We encourage the community organizers to assess the situation for their area and formulate a plan.

For those wanting to game but not wanting to gather in public places, the Online Community, led by Regional Venture-Coordinator Jesse Davis, have a full roster of virtual tabletop and play-by-post games. For more information or to register for games, visit the Org Play Online discord channel.

A quick update on our tech backlog. I’ve been poking around the system (you may have seen some of my efforts) and have pieces in place as soon as we can get the user-interface complete and through quality assurance. This includes updates to 0 table Starfinder GMs and erroneous AcP numbers. Will update again when we have a firmer rollout date.

Welcome Alex

I asked Alex to write a few words of introduction to share with you!

Hi nufriends! I’m Alex Speidel, the new Organized Play Associate (read: Tonya’s minion). Our Venture Officers are already well-acquainted with me, as I’ve been sending them everything they’ve asked for over the past few weeks.

I’ve been playing Starfinder since its release in 2017; I’m here for the “roleplaying” part of the roleplaying game, and I think it’s a great universe to explore. When I’m not in the Pact Worlds, I’m watching reality TV at home, reading sci-fi and fantasy, or getting ice cream with my future husband. Moving to Seattle is a great chance for us to get out and explore the beauty out here, and I’m excited to come out to conventions and meet you all! If you like to make bad decisions, you can follow me on Twitter at @AlexSpeidel.

Sanctioning

Developer James Case led the charge on getting the next bit of sanctioning through the door for Pathfinder Society (second edition). We updated the original Character Options blog with information from the Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide and a few other clarification bits.

We still have Pathfinder (first edition) sanctioning in the hopper but had a few setbacks that mean a bit longer delay, as we ensure scenarios move through the production line and look to our convention season deadlines. Thank you for your patience.

Campaign Coins

We awarded no coins during the past month.

Stars, Novas & Glyphs

One GM reached their 5th star in December. We still have a few weeks in 2019 for those trying to earn their 5th star before the year’s end. Doing so indicates a commitment to organized play, as to achieve this milestone, GMs must run 150 games, of which at least 50 must be unique scenarios and 10 special scenarios, as well as run a game for a venture-captain. A conservative estimate of time needed to reach 5-stars is 650 hours!

Congratulations to Michael Owen Hill and Betty Osthoff on achieving their 5th star!

We had no GMs reach their 5th Nova this month.

Glyphs exist in our system and they just need a bit of webcoding to get them to show up!

Convention Listing

You can play in Society games at any of the conventions listed below! The list includes all submissions as of 3 March. If you see one missing, ping the organizer and have them submit a request for support or have them email me at organizedplay@paizo.com to discuss their event. All of the conventions on the list maintain some type of web presence, be it website, social media page, or Warhorn listing, so if you are interested in attending in either capacity, check out their websites or contact the local venture-officer for more information!

Convention	Location	Start Date
Cincycon (2020)	Hamilton, Ohio	3/6/2020
TPKon VIII: The Fate of TPKon! (2020)	Online	3/6/2020
Coastcon 2020	Biloxi, MS	3/6/2020
Southend Pathfinder Conclave 2020	Southend, Essex, UK	3/7/2020
Emerald City Comic Con 2020	Seattle, WA	3/12/2020
BFG CON (2020)	Frederick, MD	3/13/2020
COSCON 2020	Lyndora, PA	3/20/2020
Cleveland ConCoction (2020)	Aurora, OH	3/20/2020
KevätMaraCon2020	Oulu, Finland	3/20/2020
ConQuest SAC XV (2020)	Sacramento, CA	3/20/2020
ConQuest SAC XV (2020)	Sacramento, CA	3/20/2020
PFS MANCon 2020	Manchester, England. UK	3/20/2020
Gamestorm 22 (2020)	Portland, OR	3/26/2020
Garycon XII (2020)	Lake Geneva, WI	3/26/2020
CogCon Spring Revel 2020	Rolla, MO	3/27/2020
CoNfUsIoN 2020 - Winter (2020)	Gouda, zuid-holland, the Netherlands	3/27/2020
Logias de España 5 (2020)	Spain	3/27/2020
Not-A-Con 2020	Winder, GA	3/29/2020
Outpost III (2020)	Online	3/30/2020
CODCON 2020	Glen Ellyn, IL	4/3/2020
Save vs Hunger 2020	Maryville, TN	4/3/2020
AtomiCon VIII: Story and Song (2020)	Durham, NC	4/3/2020
AnimeDetour 2020	Minneapolis, MN	4/3/2020
NORWESCON 2020	SeaTac, WA	4/9/2020
EyeCon 20 (2020)	Sydney, NSW, Australia	4/10/2020
MDog 2020	Kalamazoo, MI	4/10/2020
WonderCon 2020	Anaheim, CA	4/10/2020
GameOn-Icon 2020	Plymouth, NH	4/11/2020
Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo 2020	Huntsville, AL	4/18/2020
KoboldCon 2020	Colorado Springs, CO	4/23/2020
KoboldCon 2020	Colorado Springs, CO	4/23/2020
RavenCon (2020)	Williamsburg, VA	4/24/2020
Pretzcon 2020	Ralston, NE	4/24/2020
Chupa VII (2020)	Austin, TX	5/1/2020
1D4 Con 2020	Shepherdstown, WV	5/15/2020
PaizoCon 2020	Seattle, WA	5/22/2020
UKGE 2020	Birmingham, UK	5/29/2020

Organized Play Staff Travel

With the concerns of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, staff attendance at conventions is suspended at the moment. We apologize to all affected by this change in plans and will work with organizers to reschedule appearances. We will update this list as we have more information. To all, stay safe!

For those proactive organizers out there, please note the deadline to request Paizo staff attendance is 1 June 2020. Organizers may email your interest to organizedplay@paizo.com. Note: staff do not attend conventions that conflict with Paizo-sponsored shows.

Until next time—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

It never failed to amaze Devi, coming out of Drift. The sensation, visual and mental, of time and space returning to their normal flow, of planets, stars, and the black expanding to their normal size. The tiny feeling of relief that he’d made it through.

Devi’s route through the Drift had taken just under three days. Even though it was quite rare for Drift voyages that short to encounter disaster, ships traveling in Near Space still occasionally disappeared. Triune’s miraculous space highway had done wonders for the Pact Worlds, opening new planets and cultures for all, but using it wasn’t without risk. During his trip, he’d seen swirling black holes, ancient debris from long-wrecked spaceships, and the far-off silhouettes of creatures with more eyes and tentacles than he could count, but nothing directly threatened his ship and making it safely still felt especially good.

He piloted a heavily modified Ringworks Wanderer he’d gotten for an amazing deal at an underground auction in an off-the-grid port in Akiton. Devi had asked no questions and the ysoki auction runner had named no names. Devi liked to think there was honor among the same species, but even so, he’d personally gone over the ship to make sure there were no problems and after installing a custom Drift engine and new pilot controls to fit his height, the Winding Jaunt was fit for interstellar travel. She could hold a crew of three—her ideal crew size—but Devi could never seem to hold onto crewmates. That’s probably why he hadn’t yet risen high in the Starfinder Society. After life in an overstuffed warren under the eyes of innumerable relatives, he liked traveling alone. It was better that way, out in the black with nothing but his thoughts and the far-off stars.

The Winding Jaunt drew closer to her destination, the orange and purple-tinged planet growing larger on the front display screen. An unexplored planet around a yellow sun, one of the few that could support organic life. One of countless worlds on the edges of Near Space, just outside the unknown edges of the Vast. Devi had listened to a crusty vesk spacer talking about its coordinates while he’d been in port buying supplies to send back to the warren weeks ago.

Devi was glad he’d followed up on the pirate’s drunken boasts. There the planet was, sure as daylight. And if the readings Devi was getting were any indication, this world was filled with all kinds of biodiverse lifeforms. Large bodies of water. Breathable atmosphere, too, at least with the right adjustments to his suit. Some heavy thaumic surges, but an overall stable reality field. This could be his ticket to promotion in the Starfinder Society, crew or not.

As the Jaunt entered atmo, Devi initiated the ship’s landing sequence and set the computer scanners to find a suitable landing zone—a clear field near a forest, but with enough sightlines that he’d see anything overtly dangerous approaching his ship and have enough time to respond. After reviewing scans of several possibilities, Devi chose an open clearing near a lightly wooded area, just a couple of clicks from one of the planet’s oceans.

The Jaunt descended, adjusting its pressure, wards, and shielding so the vessel wouldn’t burn up as it let gravity do some of the ship’s work. Devi used the next hour to review his own supplies. Enough food and water for a few weeks. His weapons and armor were primed and charged, his AI ocular implant set to record and catalog all new forms of life he came across. He even had some trinkets, coins, and other useful items should he come across any sapient species looking to trade. Though that seemed unlikely. So far, the ship’s scanners had detected no trace of technology or sentient-made shelters. With a final push from its thrusters, the ship landed in its chosen clearing and made a scan of the perimeter.

“So far, so good,” Devi murmured to himself and his AI. This was one of his favorite parts. The moment before stepping outside into the unknown. A chance to learn new things, discover key mysteries of the universe. It was like a fine wine or cheese, to be savored for as long as possible.

Illustration by Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo

Devi lowered himself from the ships platform and took a step out into a whole new world. It was more wonderous than he’d allowed himself to imagine. Purple and orange light filled a lush, open forest, covered with vegetation that—at least according to his AI—were not catalogued in the Society’s archives. He could hear far off grunts and screeches, reminding him of birdsong or mammalian apes. The ground felt solid. The atmosphere, with a few minor adjustments, tasted sweet.

The planet was beautiful. Pristine and untouched. He must do his best to keep it so during his exploration. He began to walk toward the trees. It wasn’t long before he encountered his first new species. His AI ran through its database and could find no matches. It bore some similarities to various types of gecko, but it carried its young in a pouch, an adaptation usually reserved for mammalian life.

He watched in fascination as the lizard-like creature pulled a bulbous-looking fruit from a nearby branch and fed it to the young one in its front pouch. Though Devi had taken care to stay upwind from the creature, it must have heard his quiet footfalls in the grass, for the creature quickly turned to face him.

Fleshy pink antennae extended from either side of the creature’s head behind its large eyes and pointed themselves at him. Devi felt a presence in his mind. Although he had never experienced it before, it seemed similar to what he had learned about how telepathy and psychic magic worked. The message in his mind was primal, instinctual.

Prey / notprey?
Hunger / nothunger?
I-not-food. No-food-me. Look-other-place.

The last bit was accompanied by a gentle push on his mind. Devi had not been thinking of the fascinating creature as food, but felt sure that if he had been considering eating it, the influence from the creature may have convinced him, or at least a creature of lesser intelligence, to leave it alone.

“Instinctual telepathy,” muttered Devi to himself. Perhaps his own mind, or his AI, had translated the mental push into words. “Remarkable.”

The creature grew alarmed at his continued presence. Both antennae expanded.

Stepback.
Stepback
Stepback.

Without meaning to, Devi almost took a step back, only stopping himself mid-gesture as he realized the creature had pushed him to do so. Now the creature and its brood looked terrified. Devi tried to calm the creature with his own thoughts, but it only shifted its face quizzically

No-sky-thinker, Devi heard back in his mind. After pondering this a moment, he realized sky meant above, higher-up, that the creature couldn’t parse his… words? He’d need to use something other than words to reassure it.

Devi was no xenodruid, who drew power and magic from the cycles of the natural world, though he’d heard stories of them while still a youngling in the warren. Kasathas debating philosophy with the animals of the forest. Elves disappearing into living trees and emerging from different trees half a world away. Nature priests living for a thousand years or more in an ongoing cycle of rebirth. What would they do, in this moment?

Closing his eyes, Devi tried to think in pictures. He thought of himself eating plants, of gently petting the creature. He thought of his den mothers in the warren, of safety, comfort, and a warm thermal blanket. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the creature had drawn closer to him, the muscles in its body less tense, the ridges on its back no longer standing erect.

Not-prey-not-death, the creature emoted to its child in what felt like a happy croon. Safe-friend.

Devi nodded. The creature’s antennae retracted into the sides of its head and it wandered off, though not before brushing against Devi’s leg in friendship.

Overhead, several winged creatures zipped through the air, moving almost too fast for Devi to see them. Luckily, his AI recorded them through his ocular implant, so he could review the footage later at his leisure. Right now, Devi was more interested in the giant megafauna he saw sipping water from a nearby stream.

Fascinated, he stealthily approached the herd, continuing to record footage through his ocular implant. Their thick hides were dark blue and green, with long tentacles slowly undulating out from their maws and necks. The large creatures took slow gentle sips from the lake they’d gathered around, some pausing to munch on the green grass at their feet. Slow, calm, not too bright. They seemed like peaceable herbivores, so Devi sent a command to his AI to scan them more thoroughly and record all the data. It was something of a surprise when the herd all raised their tentacles, the air about them rippled like water, and the creatures vanished before his eyes.

Devi studied the edges of the lake for some trace of the creatures. It wasn’t until he heard ground-shaking footsteps behind him that he looked over his shoulder. There the megafauna stood, regarding him with strange, solemn eyes. Devi backed away slowly, keeping his eyes on them, but his arms spread wide to show he was no threat.

Had they teleported? There was no sign of such magic. But… he checked his AI’s chronometer to find it was acting strangely. He looked at the ground where the creatures had stood. No foot prints. No recently eaten bare patches in the tall grass.

Had they… but that was… Devi almost thought impossible, but then he remembered all the wonders he’d heard about when joining the Starfinders. Nothing out near the Vast was impossible. Only undiscovered.

If these readings were right, then it hadn’t been his imagination. The creatures had apparently traveled back in time, just several seconds, in only their individual timelines, to the point before they’d reached the lake, just so they could see if he was a threat. Perhaps their tentacles were somehow able to unravel the quantum threads of localized time…

Instinctive, short-range time travel as a natural defense. The Society wouldn’t believe this. The possibilities were staggering. He wondered how far back their range went. Seconds? Minutes? If technomancers were able to synthesize how the creatures could achieve this affect…

The sun began to set beyond the far-off amber sea by the time he finished noting all he could about the creatures. Daylight passed quickly on this world, it seemed. Devi knew it was time to get back to the Jaunt. Two giant moons began to glow in the lavender twilight above. Devi would have to take notes and study just how they affected the sea’s tides, or if they pulled at the planet’s natural magical and life forces.

Back in his ship, Devi powered up the defensive shields and settled into his bunk. He thought about all he’d seen today. His findings would get him several accommodations. This planet was a wonder—and still in Near Space for all that! And its native life! These creatures had adapted to escape and survive in such astounding ways. Instinctual telepathy and short-range temporal travel. It just showed how amazing evolution was.

Only as he started to drowse off to the night-sounds outside the ship did the question occur.

Just what had they evolved to escape from?

For the first time since leaving the warren, Devi found himself wishing he had a crew. Wide awake now, he didn’t think he’d get much sleep tonight. Outside, the sun sank beneath the purple sea and darkness covered the planet. The wilderness grew quiet, as if waiting for something to emerge.

About the Author

Patrick Hurley has had fiction published in Galaxy’s Edge, Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, Abyss & Apex, New Myths, Arcanist, Aurealis, Frozen Wavelets, The Overcast, and The Drabblecast. He is a 2017 graduate of the Taos Toolbox Writer's Workshop. In 2018, he was a finalist for the Baen Fantasy Award. Patrick lives in Seattle and is a member of SFWA and the Dreamcrashers. He still can’t quite believe he has the good fortune to also be an editor at Paizo.

About Tales from the Drift

The Tales from the Drift series of web-based flash fiction provides an exciting glimpse into the setting of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. Written by members of the Starfinder development team and some of the most celebrated authors in tie-in gaming fiction, the Tales from the Drift series promises to explore the worlds, alien cultures, deities, history, and organizations of the Starfinder setting with engaging stories to inspire Game Masters and players alike.

Conspiracies continued.

Hail Starfinders,

The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path has begun and I have uncovered additional resources for Starfinder mystery and conspiracy adventures!

The Unseen are mysterious groups that infiltrate various organizations for their own gain. The only documentation that has been widely distributed can be found on page 497 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook and the Zeffrac Science Platform entry on page 116 of Starfinder Pact Worlds. For speculation, watch Who are The Unseen, Starfinder Lore - Starfinder Wednesday with Starfinder Developer Jason Keeley and Starfinder Creative Director Robert G. McCreary, who some claim are authorities. Note: spoilers for The Threefold Conspiracy Adventure Path were avoided, but GMs may wish to preview it for their players.

Which races would you add to the Unseen? What is your concept for a character who has gone rogue from the Unseen? At the start of every new Starfinder adventure, it is fun to refer to the Inspirational Media found on page 516 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook. The Expanse series is there. The Cigarette Smoking Man could be added to the list. What are your favorite pop culture conspiracy theory resources?

The Glass Cannon Network produces Androids and Aliens, an officially licensed actual play podcast of the Starfinder Dead Suns Adventure Path. Starfinders can be entertained, informed, and inspired by these professional storytellers as they craft an air of mystery. Note: Rule accuracy may vary.

What Starfinder podcasts, streams, and compatible products would you recommend for enhancing intrigue?

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks,
Marketing and Media Manager

An Encounter for a Bestiary Bundle!
Using accessories can really enhance your game, and I couldn’t be more excited for people to get their hands on the new Pathfinder Bestiary Battle Cards. I helped put them together and during the process I was constantly thinking how they could make a game easier by just plucking out the cards you need for the session and not have to flip through the Bestiary. You can even throw together a quick encounter by grabbing a few cards from the box, plucking the corresponding pawns from the Pathfinder Bestiary Pawn Box, and slapping down a Flip-Mat on your table. Since I was thinking about it, I did just that and want to share it with all of you.

The encounter below is intended for 3rd-level Pathfinder characters. If you don’t have a 3rd-level character and don’t want to make one for this encounter, pick up one of the 3rd-level pregens here.

It takes place in an area of rugged badlands, although you could set this pretty much anywhere gnolls could be found, deserts, plains, or hills. For this encounter, consider using the Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Ambush Sites Multi-Pack.

You’ll need the following pawns and cards from the Bestiary Pawn Box and Bestiary Battle Cards:

• Gnoll Hunter
• Hyena
• Pugwampi (2)

Badlands Ambush Moderate 3

"Tasked with delivering vital supplies to an isolated outpost, you’ve been traveling through the rocky badlands of western Katapesh. Worried about attacks by bandits and other threats of the desert, your group has been traveling along a nearly dry riverbed to keep your profiles low."

The PCs aren’t alone on their trek. A lone gnoll hunter named Magorek has been out hunting with her trusted hyena for food to provide food for her band. Unfortunately for her, she picked up a couple of tag-alongs—a pair of mischievous pugwampis. Magorek isn’t pleased with the fawning gremlins following along, but she hadn’t run them off yet thinking that they might provide a useful edge in case she comes across any threats too big for her to handle. In her search for prey, Magorek stuck to the dry riverbed in hopes of finding game that came to the small stream to drink.

Creatures: It’s here where Magorek hears the PCs footfalls echo down the rocky walls of the riverbed. She can’t yet see the PCs, but her keen survival skills let her know that there are more than just a couple people. Unsure if she can take the group, she quiets the bickering pugwampis and takes cover to hide. The PCs are unaware that they’re about to walk into an ambush.

Magorek stays hidden, waiting to see the PCs so she can size them up. Unafraid of the threat and certain she can take the PCs—and bring home meat to her fellow gnolls—Magorek attacks as soon as the PCs are within 40 feet. One of the pugwampis see her draw her bow and follow suit. When combat starts, the hyena rushes to the closest PC, savages them with its powerful jaws, and attempts to drag the character back to the gnoll. One of the pugwampis stays back with Magorek and fires at the PCs, while the other runs to the group sword drawn. If the hyena manages to successfully use its Drag action on a PC, Magorek drops her bow and engages the PCs in melee on her next turn. The toadying pugwampi, of course, follows. If Magorek is reduced to 10 Hit Points or fewer, she takes the time to drink one of her lesser healing potions (see Treasure below). If Magorek is reduced to 5 Hit Points or fewer, she shamefully attempts to flee, showing no concern for her companions.

Artist: Ben Wootten

Magorek

Creature 2

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Female gnoll hunter (Pathfinder Bestiary 178)
Initiative Perception +7

Artist: Ben Wootten

Hyena

Creature 1

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Pathfinder Bestiary 211
Initiative Perception +6

Artist: Yasen Stoilov

Pugwampis (2)

Creature 0

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Pathfinder Bestiary 193
Initiative Perception +6

Treasure: In addition to her listed items, Magorek wears a bandolier holding three lesser healing potions and a lesser antidote.

Adam Daigle
Managing Developer

Inside volume one of the Pathfinder Extinction Curse Adventure Path, The Show Must Go On, by Jason Tondro.

Our series of blogs exploring the Extinction Curse Adventure Path includes Come One, Come All, to the Extinction Curse Player’s Guide!, the web flash fiction Extinction Curse: Waiting in the Wings, and Extinction Curse Extravaganza! Now, let’s start looking more deeply into what each volume adds to the Pathfinder Second Edition game. (I don’t see spoilers in this blog, but they are ahead, so proceed accordingly.)

The Show Must Go On is a Pathfinder Second Edition adventure for four 1st-level characters. This adventure begins the Extinction Curse Adventure Path, a six-part, monthly campaign in which the heroes lead a traveling circus as they unravel a plot to eradicate all life from the Starstone Isles at the heart of the Inner Sea. The adventure also includes advice on how to run a traveling circus, new circus-themed rules, and a menagerie of monsters both wondrous and wicked.

The free Extinction Curse Player’s Guide by Ron Lundeen provided six new backgrounds—the aerialist, animal wrangler, barker, blow-in, butcher (not what you might think), circus-born, clown, mystic seer, and rigger. It also shared player-friendly lore on the isles of Erran and Kortos.

But a Pathfinder Adventure Path is more than just an exciting plot written by a collection of the best authors in the industry. It also includes new rules, stats, and support articles to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. So let’s start to shine the spotlight on the backmatter from the Extinction Curse.

A circus can now be added to any Pathfinder game. You can start by using the Life in the Circus article by Patrick Renie. Here’s an excerpt:

“The smell of animals, incense, and burning pitch fills the air. Murmurs of excitement punctuate the dark, open space. From outside, silver light cast by a crescent moon slices through the tent’s entryway. Suddenly, music bursts in from all sides. The curtain rises, spotlights flood the ring in the middle of the tent, and a lone figure standing in the center spurs the crowd’s cacophonous applause. “Welcome, welcome!” the figure booms. “Welcome to the greatest show on Golarion!”

At the start of this adventure, the PCs inherit the Circus of Wayward Wonders, and they’re thrust into the roles of showrunners in addition to their responsibilities as adventurers. Throughout the Extinction Curse Adventure Path, the PCs will travel all over the Isle of Erran and the Isle of Kortos, undertaking a grand adventure to save the land from an ancient evil. Thankfully, it’s not all dire omens and life-or-death circumstances—during their off time, the PCs can unwind by running a joyous circus where the worst case scenario is a comically clumsy show. To ensure their circus is a success, the PCs will need to promote, orchestrate, and execute fantastic shows in towns big and small.

The rules in this article are designed to give the PCs agency over their circus and approximate the fun and responsibility of running a traveling troupe of entertainers. While intended for use throughout the Extinction Curse Adventure Path, the rules are flexible enough to be used in any campaign...”

For more rules and guidance on running a circus, preparing for the show, putting on a show, payout, prestige, and more read the full article in print or PDF.

You can download it here!

Bring your circus to vivid life with a million dreams and the Adventure Toolbox by Andrew Mullen, Patrick Renie, David N. Ross, and Michael Sayre. This includes two new uncommon player archetypes—the juggler and staff acrobat, the juggle skill feat, five nature snares—like dust pods, seven circus weapons—like the scorpion whip, eight environment spells—like personal rain cloud, and new nine monsters. In fact, we can name a few of the monsters without spoilers—the bone croupier, flea, living graffiti, and luminous ooze—because they are not used in The Show Must Go On. There are also two unique foes that are fully detailed with two pages each. All of these new materials can be dropped into your Age of Lost Omens or homebrew games and are available in print or PDF.

Juggler Archetype You’re a skilled performer, with impressive balance and coordination that help you greatly in battle. And the Staff Acrobat Archetype You can perform amazing acts in and out of combat when you have a spear, staff, or polearm.

This is a good opportunity for a Pathfinder Second Edition vocabulary reminder from the Core Rulebook. Many of these new materials are uncommon—meaning available only to those who have special training, grew up in a certain culture, or come from a particular part of the world. As we just learned from the Gamemastery Guide, “Uncommon elements are difficult to access, but a PC can usually find them eventually with enough effort, potentially by choosing a specific character option or spending substantial downtime tracking them down.”

We release Pathfinder Adventure Paths monthly in six-volume arcs, meaning each year sees the release of two complete Adventure Path campaigns. You can acquire them at your favorite local gaming store. Or with your ongoing Pathfinder Adventure Path subscription, we'll send you each new Pathfinder Adventure Path volume and charge your payment method automatically as we ship each product. You only need to sign up once, and never need to worry about renewal notice or missed products.

Next, we will look inside volume two, Legacy of the Lost God, with information about the catfolk of Golarion and the villainous xulgaths, as well as new monsters and circus-themed rules!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

Here is what’s happening this week at OfficialPaizo on Twitch!

Pathfinder 2E Extinction Curse with Squiiddish, Mar 2, 1:00 p.m. Pacific

The Circus of Wayward Wonders has just arrived in the remote town of Abberton, and the 2 Perception crew are the stars of the show! After an unfortunate event the crew finds themselves in charge of keeping the show alive. But, how will they fare?

Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams the Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path Extinction Curse every Monday at 1:00 P.M. on Squiiddish’s Twitch channel here. We will be hosting this show on the OfficialPaizo Twitch channel.

Androids & Aliens Live by Glass Cannon Network March 2, 6:00 p.m. Pacific

It’s the 100th episode of Androids & Aliens!

Set in the distant future, five strangers find themselves caught in the middle of an interstellar mystery that threatens the very existence of the galaxy! Join the folks at the Glass Cannon Network as characters’ fates lie in the hands of dice rolls and friendships are ruined over rules arguments in this officially licensed Actual Play of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Dead Suns Adventure Path.

Join GlassCannon live at 6:00 p.m. Pacific for a hilariously good time, hosted on the Official Paizo Twitch Channel, or directly on their Twitch Channel here.

Dragons & Things, March 3, 6:00 p.m. Pacific

Dragons & Things are back!

The Krag Krew has returned with a whole new selection of characters, story, and sense of adventure in the world of Pathfinder Second Edition. Paizo will be hosting them on our Twitch Channel, but if you want to directly support them you can catch them live directly on the Dragons & Things Twitch Channel. They have a new studio, a new look, and an amazing group of individuals to keep you entertained. We hope to see you in the chat!

Starfinder Wednesday - What is Near Space?, March 4, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Pacific

What is Near Space? For what we currently know of it. Is that it’s the galactic region that contains the Pact Worlds, the Veskarium, and many of the planets discovered and colonized by explorers from those civilizations. The Near Space hardcover rulebook expands the Starfinder campaign setting with details on dozens of worlds and cultures.

Join the Starfinder team live as we reveal what’s in the upcoming book. While also answering your questions.

Pungeon Crawl, March 4, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

Note: Pungeon Crawl will now be hosted on the Paizo Twitch channel instead of being streamed directly. You can find BBWolfe’s twitch channel to support the show here.

"The results of the breakfast sweepstakes are in and The Biggest Darn Heroes of the Pact Worlds are about to get a new set of legally-distinct sidekicks as the Pungeon Crawl returns! Join the Deep Space Defenders as we find out if a handful of breakfast cereal contest-selected weirdos can keep up with your favorite syndicated space saviors! Sent on a mission with REAL HEROES, they’ll be put to the test as things go wrong, while on camera the entire time! As their situation develops the heroes’ morale may falter, but with the help of you, the faithful viewers, your favorite heroes can grip success from the jaws of failure! Wednesday nights 8e/7c only on Paizo!"
- BBWolfe

Streamed on OfficialPaizo on Twitch.

Arcane Mark, March 5, 7:00 p.m. & March 7 10:00 a.m. Pacific Arcane Mark is a stream with Design Manager Mark Seifter and Organized Play Lead Developer Linda Zayas-Palmer covering all sorts of RPG and Pathfinder-related topics, from GM Tools to Design Diaries to Workshops. Thursday episodes are always interviews, usually covering Paizo staff you might not have seen as often in other interviews. Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here. (We will be prioritizing Glass Cannon for the broadcast times on Thursday. But once Glass Cannon ends the channel should switch back to Arcane Mark)

Glass Cannon Live! by GlassCannonPodcast March 5, 5:00 p.m. Pacific

In the spirit of old-school tabletop role-playing games, a collection of five super-nerds engage in an officially licensed Actual Play podcast of Paizo’s Giantslayer Adventure Path, but now it’s LIVE on Twitch for the first time ever!

Join the folks at GlassCannonPodcast as characters’ fates lie in the hands of dice rolls and friendships are ruined over rules arguments in this officially licensed Actual Play of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly stream on the GlassCannonPodcast Twitch page here.

Pathfinder Fridays! Gamemastery Guide: Infiltration & Chase Rules. March 6, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Pacific

Alright team, listen up!

We have a job we have to do, and we’re suppose to snatch away this lady’s most prized possesion. We’ll have to infiltrate her mansion and get the goods. Once we get out of the mansion we’ll have to skedaddle to a secondary location! Make sure no one finds you, or else we’ll have a chase around Absalom on our hands.

Join the Pathfinder team as we show off how you can use the Pathfinder Second Edition Gamemastery Guide’s infiltration rules to help your party get the prize! Along with teaching you the chase rules encase you get caught.

Dragons & Things, March 6, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Pacific

What!? Even more Dragons & Things?
Dragons & Things returns with Season 3 with a whole new Pathfinder Second Edition adventure!
Catch them live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel or directly on their own Twitch channel here.
They’re funny, in costume, lovers of TTRPGs, and absolutely worth it to check out.

Age of Ashes with Squiddish, March 7, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Pacific “Fires burn atop the ruined citadel on Hellknight Hill, sending plumes of red smoke into the air that could be a call for help. Now a gang of adventurers rise together to investigate the current conflict. How will they handle the Hellknights? Will they all burn in horrendous fire? Tune into this new Pathfinder Second Edition live play show! Squiddish with the 2 Perception crew streams on the OfficialPaizo on Twitch channel every week at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Court of Corvids with QueueTimes, March 8, 4:30 p.m.

Court of Corvids is an actual play show that takes place in a homebrew setting using the Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset. It is currently on hiatus having finished its second story arc but will return with a brand new one on Sunday, February 23rd at 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

In this setting, facts and fiction blur together. In fact, the story began with a lie, one that grew so much it became the central pillar for an entire community…that is until the party stumbled upon the truth and brought it all down. Since then, they’ve been on the road, trying to find their place in a vast world they didn’t even know existed for most of their lives.

The party, taken through this world by GM and occult enthusiast Jacob Kile, consists of:

• Croog Claudel, played by Croog: A human monk searching for his long-lost siblings, hoping to make amends when he finds them.
• Moss the Magnificent, played by Molly McIsaac: An Elven Sorcerer trying to recapture the fame she had back home.
• Robyn Way, played by Jonas Newhouse: A Gnome druid desperate to hide from her former life and family. She’s married to Remi.
• Remi Ashwillow, played by William White: The Goblin fighter and Robyn’s partner is just trying to make friends and live life after being stuck in a cult for many years.

Catch Court of Corvids being hosted live on Paizo’s Official Twitch Channel, or directly on their channel here.

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We've added a new Forum for Streaming & Actual Play discussions. If you have any questions you’d like to submit for our Q&A segments at the end of our Starfinder Wednesdays or Pathfinder Fridays you can do so in our Forums.

Pathfinder Fridays Fan Club

Starfinder Wednesdays Fan Club

If you have a Pathfinder or Starfinder stream, post it under Third Party Broadcasts.

Catch us live at our Official Twitch Channel. Catch the Video On Demand (VOD) on Twitch immediately after it is done or a week later on our YouTube channel.