We’ve been publishing Pathfinder books since 2007 (the first of which didn’t even use the Pathfinder branding). Over the nearly 15 years since GameMastery Module D-0: Hollow’s Last Hope came out, many titles have gone out of print. While they’re available as PDFs on paizo.com in perpetuity, for a lot of fans, those books that came and went before they started playing are something like holy grails for their collections.

I’m happy to announce that as of last week, Paizo has partnered with DriveThruRPG, hosts of the Pathfinder Infinite and Starfinder Infinite community content programs, to offer print-on-demand versions of select out-of-print titles. We’ve got 10 titles up currently, including The Emerald Spire Superdungeon and Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting (both in your choice of soft- or hardcover versions); missing volumes of the Council of Thieves, Reign of Winter, and Return of the Runelords Adventure Paths; Pathfinder Campaign Setting favorites Paths of Prestige, Technology Guide, and The Worldwound; and both We Be Goblins! and We Be Goblins Too!

These print-on-demand versions differ from the originals only in that the inside covers have been printed as additional pages in the books’ interiors (and that some are now available as softcovers for the first time), and they will easily fill out gaps in any collector’s bookshelf.

We have more titles in the works and will keep adding more as long as folks keep buying the ones we’ve got. Make sure to let us know in the comments what out-of-print titles you most want to see available as print-on-demand offerings, and we’ll set our priorities accordingly.

Mark Moreland
Director of Brand Strategy

Beadle & Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse is releasing its first-ever premium box edition of a Pathfinder release. Why, it’s Absalom, City of Lost Omens! Presales of the Gold Edition begin today, with 10% off to anyone who orders by November 28th.

The Gold Edition comes with NPC cards that can hang on the GM screen, with artwork on the front for players and roleplaying info on the back for the GM. You’ll see all the most interesting denizens of Absalom!

It also comes with location cards featuring artwork of the building or location on front, and background information on the back, to help you understand where you are at all times.

Don’t miss the wearable faction jewelry for players, several short bonus adventures, and large battle maps in this Gold Edition.

Learn more at beadleandgrimms.com/pathfinder/absalom

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, so the Organized Play team wanted to take a moment to give thanks to our Paizo community. Without you all, the worlds of Pathfinder and Starfinder would be just stories we told ourselves. We’re grateful for all your support and wish you well as this year comes to a close. We also want to thank the Organized Play community organizers for supporting our programs in these turbulent times. Without the venture-officers, we would lack structure, and without GMs, we would lack games. To all of you who spend time planning schedules and completing tasks behind the scenes, a huge shout out of thanks!

Every year we have several dozen events which support charities. We developed the charity boon programs to support these efforts. We’d like to recognize a few of the events who conducted charitable activities and supported the charities’ good works!

Cosmic Crittercon 4, April 23-25
The Crittermanders raised $6,789, a very pleasing and orderly sum, for Doctors Without Borders in their fourth annual charity event. They also had cookies!

Con-Current 2021, June 11-13
With charity boons, embroidered items, and rerolls, the Ohio Organized Play community raised $5,295 for Planned Parenthood and Jasper’s Game Day.

Defenders of the Healing Flame, August 21 & November 6
With two charity streams and many shenanigans, the team raised $6,420 and threw one glitterbomb at the OPC.

Gen Con Online, September 16-19
Gen Con auctioned off boons, signed books and embroidered items to support Take This and Trinity House, raising a total of $5,886!

SkålCon 2021, October 29-31, Plymouth MN
In celebration of their first physical con since the pandemic began, the community raised $4,750 for Tubman, a local shelter, and collected physical goods to donate as well.

PF2e Foundry Community for Extra Life 2021, November 6th
The Foundry developers’ streamed game on their platform raised $3,567 for Extra Life.

Mace 2021, November 12-14, Charlotte NC
The North Carolina community came out and raised $2,800 for the North Carolina Zoo and $3,000 for Veteran’s Bridge Home.

If we missed your event or you want to promote an upcoming charity event, please let us know in the comments! We know there are charity events year-round that deserve the attention.

Until next time, Explore! Report! Cooperate! and eat some pie for me!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

Grab Black Friday through Cyber Monday deals at paizo.com with 25% off your favorite digital products! From now until midnight Pacific time on Monday, November 29, you can save 25% on all Paizo digital products. The sale is not valid on products from licensed or compatible publishers, subscriptions, or e-tickets.

Take the first step into an amazing world of fantasy adventure with the Pathfinder Beginner Box or science fantasy with the Starfinder Beginner Box!

Ready for deep character customization, streamlined play with three actions, and four levels of success? Unleash your hero with the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, gear up and throw down with Pathfinder Guns & Gears (the latest rulebook), or any one of six others in between!

Explore the diverse and dynamic Pathfinder setting with the Pathfinder Lost Omens World Guide! Deepen your knowledge of lore—and loot—with our newest release, Pathfinder Lost Omens Grand Bazaar.

We have adventures of every length, from One-Shots and Bounties to Adventure Paths. Don’t miss our standalone adventures, like Pathfinder Adventure: Night of the Gray Death, for several sessions of Pathfinder play.

Add a sold-out product to your digital library, like the Age of Ashes Adventure Path’s Hellknight Hill or the newest volume of the Strength of Thousands Adventure Path, Doorway to the Red Star!

Is science fantasy your thing? Your galactic journeys begin with the Starfinder Core Rulebook. Then, expand your galaxy with our newest rules-and-setting book: Starfinder Tech Revolution.

Shoot for the stars with Starfinder Adventure Paths, including the new Horizons of the Vast Adventure Path!

Hundreds of more titles—from classic Pathfinder rulebooks to cards to maps to pawns—are available, so there’s something here for everyone!

Adventures Ahead,

Aaron Shanks
Marketing and Media Manager

“I don’t like the look of that sloop,” said Daker, punctuating the last word with his ever-present sneer.

Callum extended his spyglass and directed it at the little vessel, a little less than two hundred feet to port. Its crew scurried about their duties as the sun reached for the golden edge of the western horizon.

“A fisherman,” said Callum, still scanning the deck of the other vessel, “returning home. Not everyone’s a pirate, Gaius.”

“We’re in the Shackles, Orrin,” answered Daker, still sneering at the smaller ship. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re all pirates, ‘til they prove otherwise.”

They had the poopdeck of the Madam Diabola to themselves, a sleek Chelish warship armed with the latest in cannon technology, each devil-mouthed barrel etched with a magic sigil which promised every shot they fired would fly deadly and true. The Madam was given the honor of watching this insignificant settlement’s harbor while Admiral Lecarnas and the rest of the punitive fleet sailed off to lay siege to Drenchport that very morning. Callum didn’t even know the town’s name, but he also didn’t care.

“I grant you, she’s a bold one,” Callum answered, watching as the sloop slowly moved in their direction. “Must’ve sailed out early morning, before we sealed the harbor. We could just warn her off with a hazard flag.”

Gaius Daker was too bloodthirsty in Callum’s opinion, even if he was his oldest friend from his Fort Gorthoklek days. Too enthusiastic with the sap when leading a press gang, too ready to—

“Fire a bit of iron across her bow with that pretty new swivel gun,” said Daker, eyeing the polished little cannon mounted on the port rail. “And beat to quarters. Lads and ladies need a bit of exercise, to keep ‘em on their toes.”

Madam Diabola was one of three vessels in the fleet outfitted with the new weapons, swivel guns similar to smaller versions of the black iron cannons on the decks below, tended by scurrying halfling prisoners the crew had taken to calling “powder rats.” Gaius Daker wanted to hear the cannon roar. Callum thought such impulse foolish. Would the captain approve of such actions?

“Gaius,” began Callum, but swallowed the rest of his words when he caught Daker’s glare. He knew that look well. Daker was senior midshipman of the watch, and his words were no mere suggestion. That dark look made it an order.

“Beat to quarters!” Callum shouted, turning to the swivel gun.

Sailors across the vessel leapt into action and the sound of martial drums filled the air. Callum couldn’t help but admire the artistry of the little bronze cannon, mounted on the gunwale, its mouth fashioned like a dragon’s maw, fangs bent outward. He checked the breech, pleased to find it properly loaded and ready. Captain Hecata was fond of the lash, and her newly trained gun crews knew this better than most. They tended Madam’s newfangled weapons of war well, out of fear if not pride.

The sloop was much closer now, turning to port so that it showed Madam her broad side. Callum, ready at the gunwale, turned to look at Gaius Daker, who he caught tugging at his officer’s jacket to sharpen the lines of his uniform.

“They’re giving us a fat target, Gaius,” Callum said, a bit of pleading in his voice. “Maybe a signal flag’ll do the trick.”

“A signal flag, Mister Callum?” came the lilting alto of Captain Hecata as she climbed up onto the poopdeck. “Perhaps I should prepare tea for these Shackles scum while you wave silk at them? What have we here, Mister Daker?”

Gaius, eyes alight with bloodlust and just plan lust, grinned at the captain and saluted.

“Suspicious vessel off the port, Captain! I ordered Midshipman Callum to fire a warning shot across her bow!”

Callum grimaced. Just like Gaius to throw him overboard if it made him shine a bit brighter in Hecata’s emerald eyes. Daker offered the captain his spyglass and she took it, rewarding him with one of her unreadable smiles that could as easily portend divine preferment as utter doom. She looked through Daker’s brass device and within a heartbeat repeated the midshipman’s order.

“Mister Callum, fire that shot. And I wouldn’t be cross with you if that shot puts a crimson part in someone’s hair.”

Callum nodded and turned the swivel gun in the direction the sloop’s starboard bow. He angled the shot as low as he dared—Hecata might not care if he took off some poor bastard’s head, but he did. He asked a blessing from Abadar and fired the cannon. The shot ripped a hole low in the sloop’s staysail and a cry of fear washed across the space between the vessels, announcing the sloop crew’s shock.

A woman in a long coat came to the starboard rail of the sloop, waving both arms frantically.

“Ahoy, Chelish warship!” the woman cried, long brown locks freed as she added her hat to her call for mercy. “We’re honest fishermen, bringing a bellyful to our little island! See how low we ride?”

Callum noted the ship was indeed running awfully low in the water.

“You feed pirates then?” shouted Captain Hecata with a contemptuous air, hands on her hips.

“Nay! Settlers, eking out a life in these hard islands! Shelly is a free port, and we give no allegiance to any pirate lord!”

“Our intelligence says otherwise,” said the captain, and Callum saw she wore that same smile she had given to Gaius. Those fishermen had best say their prayers. It was clear now where this encounter was headed.

Callum joined the naval academy in Hinji when it became clear his mercurial father would favor his younger brother when the inheritance was doled out. He had been fed tales of high adventure on the open seas, contending with the elements and wild creatures, bloodthirsty pirates and rebels intent on bringing Cheliax to its knees. Instead, he found himself part of an instrument of intimidation. Well-armed nautical bullies.

“There are a dozen innocent souls on this ship, captain!” the brown-haired mariner in the sloop called out across the water. “We bring back the bounty of the sea to feed hungry bellies. Men, women, and children. No more, no less. I beg you let us pass!”

The woman’s last words were made with hands clasped together, as if offering up a prayer.

“Prepare to be boarded,” sang Captain Hecata, drawing her cutlass and nodding to Midshipman Daker, who wore a giddy grin on his face.

Callum looked back at the sloop, the long-haired fisherwoman, hands still clasped like a supplicant…and then his eyes caught a shimmer, as though he looked at a painting behind glass, tilted to catch the sun’s rays. A warning tingled at the base of his spine. He turned to share his misgivings with the captain, when the unmistakable sound of a cannon report, several in fact, sent him instinctively to the deck, prostrate with his arms cradling his head. The first ball struck the portside railing on the quarterdeck below, obliterating wood and sending deadly splinters in all directions. The second tore through Gaius Daker, reducing him to an ugly spray of red.

In the next moment Callum was helping the captain up from the deck, one side of her smart Chelish uniform painted with Daker’s blood.

“Return fire!” she roared, shaking off Callum’s assistance. “By all the tines in Hell, that’s no bloody fisherman!”

Callum glanced to his left—the sloop was gone. In its place was a black-sailed brigantine, the iron mouths of cannon protruding from open gun ports, its main deck alive with surly-looking sailors brandishing weapons.

Illustration by Pixoloid Studios from Pathfinder Guns & Gears

Pirates! he thought as Madam Diabola’s new guns answered the brigantine’s attack. But it was as if the wind took the iron hurled at their enemy away like fallen leaves. Of its sixteen guns, only a single cannonball connected with their chameleon foe. What sorcery did these brigands have at their disposal? Illusion to disguise a warship? Elemental servants to carry away iron shot?

It was then that Callum caught sight of the brown-haired woman again. He could swear she was smiling at him directly, and as if to confirm it, she gave him a jovial wave and held her hands up to her mouth to trumpet her words across the now-smoky distance.

“Welcome to the Shackles!” she cried.

About The Author

Mike Shel is the author of the Iconoclasts trilogy of fantasy novels and over a dozen Pathfinder RPG titles including The Dragon’s Demand, Isles of the Shackles, Tomb of the Iron Medusa, and Valley of the Brain Collectors. A Michigan native, Mike now lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he practices as a psychotherapist. Find more about his fiction and RPG works at mikeshel.com.

About Tales of Lost Omens

The Tales of Lost Omens series of web-based flash fiction provides an exciting glimpse into Pathfinder’s Age of Lost Omens setting. Written by some of the most celebrated authors in tie-in gaming fiction and including Paizo’s Pathfinder Tales line of novels and short fiction, the Tales of Lost Omens series promises to explore the characters, deities, history, locations, and organizations of the Pathfinder setting with engaging stories to inspire Game Masters and players alike.

Q&A with Beadle & Grimm’s Product Development Goblin, Donk

Moderator: I understand Beadle & Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse is releasing its first ever premium Box edition of a Pathfinder Release. Why Absalom, City of Lost Omens?

Donk: Absalom is THE iconic city in Golarion. Plus there’s danger lurking around every corner, so lots of opportunity to make the characters’ lives miserable.

M: Pre-sales of the Gold Edition begin on Black Friday, with 10% off to anyone who orders by Nov 28th. Did you have any say in that?

[D]: Product doesn’t really talk to marketing. There’s a high wall, three moats, and pit traps filled with trolls between us and the marketing department. Our intradepartmental memos are stuffed in the mouths of junior VPs who are exchanged via catapult nightly. That said, I don’t disapprove.

M: I’ve heard the Gold Edition comes with NPC cards that can hang on the GM screen, with artwork on the front for players and roleplaying info on the back for the GM. What kinds of NPCs might we expect?

[D]: You’ll see all the most interesting denizens of Absalom: noble goblins, brave goblins, handsome goblins and brilliant goblins. Probably some other things, too, but I really haven’t checked.

M: It also comes with location cards. Artwork of the building or location on front, background information on the back. We’ve never seen that before from the Warehouse. Why now?

[D]: Locations cards really help you understand where you are at all times. If you’re a member of the Pathfinder Society, that’s great for their motto of “Explore, Report, Cooperate”. And if you’re a member of the Bloody Barbers, it’s perfect for their motto of, “Bury the bodies further from the house.”

M: I’m surprised a goblin would come up with wearable faction jewelry for players. What was your inspiration?

[D]: We take special pride in our jewelry pieces. They’re designed by our crack jewelry designers, and lovingly crafted from the fillings ripped out of the teeth of marketing goblin project coordinators. Reduce, reuse, recycle, but without the reduce part—we call that “maximizing operational efficiency.”

M: I see. So, you included several short bonus adventures in this Gold Edition. How do you expect GMs to use these?

[D]: Our original design mandate for the bonus encounters was that they would be a short, sharp way to terrorize an adventuring party, complete with large battle maps to mark where the characters fell.

M: Oh, so you also include large battle maps?

[D]: Battles are more fun if you know where you are and what’s around you. After all, the difference in a five foot square is sometimes the difference between living to fight another day and your fellow party members looting your corpse.

M: There’s quite a bit more that will come in the box that I saw on beadleandgrimms.com/pathfinder/absalom. How would you rate your website goblins?

[D]: In general, our website goblins aren’t worth the cost of the oil to boil them. On the rare occasion that they actually manage to make the website work properly, we hold a party with floats and cake.

M: Any last quote you’d like to leave our readers with? Words of wisdom?

[D]: If you open your windows after sundown, and if the wind is blowing just right, you can hear the screams of the mighty warehouse engines coming to life. They’re ready—nay, eager—to build something great for the Pathfinder audience, and I think the product department has really knocked it out of the park. Assuming the website goblins can keep the site up and the marketing department doesn’t go berserk and start handing the boxes out with happy meals, we should be in for a good ride.

Pathfinder Arena, a competitive board game set in the Pathfinder roleplaying game’s Age of Lost Omens setting, is now live on Kickstarter!

Join the early supporters and get the miniature of a Young Black Dragon for free! This early bird offer lasts only for 24 hours. The campaign will end on December 13th, and the estimated shipping date is November 2022.

The campaign will feature a new expansion: Trap tiles. Trap tiles substitute some of the Arena tiles and introduce a new way to score points. Will you be able to prove yourself worthy of their test, or will you fail?

In Pathfinder Arena you will take the role of one of the iconic heroes of Pathfinder, trapped in a magical entity, calling itself “Arena”. The entity poses a challenge to the party: select a champion to claim the right to escape from it. Score glory points by defeating the monsters summoned in the Arena, or by triggering beasts against your opponents!

Players can modify the Arena structure by spending action points to push or rotate the tiles. By doing so, players can move opponents into a monster’s range and trigger an attack to score as many points as the damage the monsters inflict.

Each hero has asymmetric abilities and a tailor-made deck, reflecting their class. Heroes level up during the game by picking up tokens in the Arena to enhance their abilities and access to their deck. Choosing which cards to draft and which ability to prioritize enables players to develop different strategies in the Arena and makes each hero unique.

Pathfinder Arena will feature 18 highly detailed miniatures in the core set alone. The miniatures will be compatible with the main Pathfinder line. The Kickstarter campaign will also feature four expansions (heroes, monsters, one dedicated to Age of Ashes, and trap tiles) and exclusive Kickstarter stretch goals only available during the campaign.

Join now on the journey and make Pathfinder Arena real!

Guest Blog
Tommaso Grossi
Communication Manager
Giochi Uniti Srl, Italy

Back it now here!

Welcome, Archivists. I’m James Case, here for your debrief on the playtest for Pathfinder Dark Archive! First, thank you all for taking the time to try out the psychic and the thaumaturge and for filling out surveys, talking about the classes on forums and chat servers, making blog posts and videos, and all in all helping us make the classes the best we can be! Now that the playtest has wrapped, we wanted to talk about some of the feedback we saw and the directions we’re starting to take class revisions. While we’re still in the middle of discussions, development, and analysis, we thought we’d check in. Keep in mind that both classes will get a ton of small updates across the board, as well as more feats, class path options, and the like, so we’re just going to focus on the big changes here!

Psychic:

Thaleon, the iconic psychic. Sketch by Wayne Reynolds.

Main Takeaways:We tried something a little different from the conventional spellcaster model with the psychic’s lower number of spell slots and strong focus on …focus... cantrips, amps, and other special powers, with conventional slotted spells filling a more supplemental role. The overwhelming majority of you responded that you preferred this approach over a conventional spellcaster approach; however, much of the feedback also indicated that while what the psychic got in exchange for this reduced spell loadout was very interesting, it didn’t feel powerful or useful enough to make up for the difference in lost spell slots. So, a major direction of change for the psychic will be to retain the “fewer spell slots” and “cantrip/amp focus” class role, but adjust the power level of the supplemental pieces so that you can truly feel like you’ve unleashed the awesome power of your mind. I’ll get into some of the approaches we’re taking in each point below.

We also wanted to get a sense in the playtest of what you all thought of the general tone and genre of the class. This was pretty conclusive—over two-thirds of respondents said the more magical cast was working for them, so we’ll be staying the course here as well!

Spells and Spellcasting: A strong majority of respondents stated that they preferred the playtest arrangement of the psychic’s spellcasting and key ability scores, so we’ll be sticking to those and keeping the psychic as a spontaneous occult spellcaster whose subconscious mind gives them a thematic choice of key ability score between Intelligence and Charisma.

I also want to call out that, as with past spellcaster playtests, the specific spells granted on the conscious minds drew only on spells we had already published, so some needed to be chosen for role (“a damaging spell here” or “a scouting spell here”) and easy understandability even if they were a little outside the theme—for instance, magic missile was a stand-in for a more on-theme damaging level 1 spell on the distant grasp psychic. The final Dark Archive book will introduce several new spells with the psychic in mind for thematically tighter granted spells!

Psyche: The ability to unleash your psyche to amp spells for free was originally intended to let psychics really feel like they got to be masters of focus by cheating the Focus Point caps. However, the fact that psychics had almost unlimited Focus Points took up a lot of the power budget for the class, rippling into the psyches needing to come online later and have both benefits and drawbacks, as well as affecting the power of amps (which I'll touch on next). Therefore, one of the biggest changes we’ll be making to psychic is to remove this aspect of Unleash Psyche, and then redistribute that power through the rest of the class for a more consistent play experience.

Consistent feedback also showed that while psyches were interesting when unleashed, most combats didn’t last long enough after the third turn to make getting into the psyche feel worthwhile (meaning that much of the psychic’s power was tied up in a feature they had inconsistent access to). While we don’t want to make Unleash Psyche an “assumed first-turn action” in the vein of Rage, Hunt Prey, or similar, we do want to make it easier to do. Thankfully, with the removal of psyche’s role as a source of unlimited Focus Points, we have a lot of options for making it more accessible, as well as for adding more punch, such as effects that happen when your first Unleash your Psyche, more special abilities that happen automatically when you are unleashed, or the ability to end your psyche earlier for a single big benefit.

Amps: Amps are one of the major parts of the psychic, and most respondents stated that they found these options very interesting—Mark tells me that amps scored among the highest for “interesting” of any class we’ve playtested—but also that they felt weak in comparison to normal focus spells. They were! Since Unleash Psyche meant that you could amp your focus cantrips 5 or more times in a single combat, as opposed to a hard maximum of 3, those amps needed to be a little under the balance point of spells like fire ray. While psychics will retain their focus on amps, they likely won’t have such an outsized number of them, so we have plenty of room to now bring the power scale of amps back up.

New Stuff!: Of course, we always increase the number of options between the playtest and the final class! In addition to the new spells that will be added in Dark Archive, the psychic will of course be gaining new feats and choices of both conscious and subconscious minds. In honor of our new iconic psychic, Thaleon, I’ll share his conscious mind, which is called the tangible dream. This path focuses on materializing and projecting the user’s thoughts into the physical world, allowing you to conjure walls, blades, and other constructs of force (or astral thread, or ectoplasm, as your character concept fits) around the battlefield!

I’m getting a vision… It’s… of Mark, talking about the thaumaturge!

Thaumaturge:

Mios, the iconic thaumaturge. Sketch by Wayne Reynolds.

Hi everyone, Mark Seifter here for a post-playtest report for the thaumaturge class. I first want to thank you all for participating in the playtest by running and playing games, posting your playtest results and analysis, answering surveys, and having good discussions! In particular, the playtest was happening during a pretty challenging period for us at Paizo, and I appreciate how all of you in the playtest stepped up your game compared to earlier playtests with extremely civil discourse, keeping repetitive points to a minimum so I could keep up with all the new ideas, and just really engaging with each other’s ideas and feelings in good faith to talk about different directions.

Overall, people really liked the thaumaturge, with a strong good feeling from the majority of players, but there were definitely some areas where it needed tweaking or rethinking, usually in a way that didn’t detract much for most playtesters but did in a big way for a small number of them. This left the thaumaturge in an interesting situation, with about as many people who were about as many huge fans of the class as the highest-ranking class we’ve ever playtested, but then that small number with especially low rankings. The great news about that is that it left a clear path forward.

Main Takeaways: The one thing I wasn’t sure about was whether playtesters would like our new vision of the thaumaturge or would prefer something more similar to the first edition occultist. What I discovered is that you really like the martial thaumaturge concept, by an overwhelming majority, and want it to remain a magpie picking up from all four traditions. However, there was a desire to make it clearer how the class fantasy works with respect to exerting your force of personality to convince the universe, as well as to add more capacity to the class’s skills so that Charisma-based skills are front and center to match the intro lore about being persuasive. The changes to Esoteric Antithesis and Find Flaws (see below) may help with this as well to allow better advantage of your Charisma key ability score, while freeing up a broader variety of character concepts—this will let players freely choose whether to lean more heavily on magical learning or more on making things up as you go along as best fits the character. We’ll also be making a variety of quality-of-life changes based on other playtester proposals.

New Implements: As the playtest mentioned, we’ll be adding up to nine implements (three each granting active, reactive, and passive abilities). Of the four new implements, one of them will be the tome (or a ledger, notebook, or similar object), a passive implement that mysteriously writes down information about everything around you to assist you. The other implements are one to let you inspire and lead your allies, one to debuff your enemies, and one that misleads your enemies’ attacks, but I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what implements those might be!

Esoteric Antithesis and Find Flaws: One thing I’ve learned from these playtests is that our playtesters tend to be our most dedicated and experienced players (and even if you’re new to Pathfinder, you are very experienced with tabletop RPGs in general). So, whenever even our most experienced playtesters think a mechanic is complicated, I think I should take another look at that. People loved the benefits for these abilities but thought they were complex, and that they sometimes had issues being tied directly to Recall Knowledge. Our plan is to disentangle Esoteric Antithesis from Recall Knowledge (with a feat, like investigators’, to pick up a free Recall Knowledge if you want that), instead just flat-out forcing your will on the universe with a check to establish a connection (I’m thinking a name like “Forge Connection”). One consequence of this is that even on a failure, you can forge a connection, but a success or critical success will give you more. Additionally, while a high majority of players really liked the playtest benefit from Esoteric Antithesis, there were some good ideas about how to open up to allow a variety of benefits to allow for more playstyles. So, we’re looking at offering multiple benefits a thaumaturge can pick from when you successfully forge a connection. This separates out the benefit where you apply a creature’s highest weakness and the benefit where you create a new weakness as two options, to handle the feedback people gave about situations where they were already applying a creature’s highest weakness due to preparation for the encounter. It also allows you to gain new benefits, for instance, when you might prefer a special buff or debuff instead of simply more damage. Right now, we’re toying with the idea of having a different connection for each implement, as some folks also thought implements could use one more unique power, and then have more connections available through feats

Pacts: People loved the story of the pacts—in fact, they wanted them to have stronger effects, and many wanted the option for any character, even non-thaumaturges, to gain them. We had actually planned on including similar pacts in a yet-unannounced part of the book, but based on your feedback, we also expanded the pacts into a full-on pact binder archetype for anyone to take! Opinions were pretty varied about their rarity, perhaps the most mixed we’ve ever gotten in a multiple choice question for paths moving forward, so we’ll take that into account moving forward.

A Glimpse, A Hunch, A Flicker of the Future:

Hey, thanks for sticking around! Here’s something coming up in Dark Archive—while the book is still in development and various things might change a little, I wanted to give a sneak peek into a new type of player option coming up in the cryptids file, one of the eight casefiles of the Dark ArchiveM.

Creature Echo Feats

Creature echoes are a new type of feat that grant you special powers based on exposure to an unusual creature. These are rare and usually only occur after a significant event involving the creature. Imagine a town where people have, one by one, begun to turn to stone. You might spend many months tracking down the cause of the phenomena, only to eventually find it was an ancient creature with a petrifying gaze living deep under the town. However your encounter with the creature goes, the following feat might echo with you if you survive:

Stone Skin — Feat 12
Rare, Transmutation
Prerequisites You have been petrified.

It might have been a medusa, dracolisk, or even a fossil golem; regardless of the source, you were the target of some petrifying effect, and an element of that stony gaze has remained with you, both protecting and slowly consuming you. Your limbs are coated with a layer of stone that rests atop your skin. You gain a stone fist unarmed attack which deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage, has the shove trait, and is in the brawling weapon group; unlike a normal fist, it does not have the agile or finesse traits. As your life force ebbs, this petrification spreads over more of your body to form a stony armor. When you have fewer than half your maximum Hit Points, your stone fist unarmed attack increases its weapon damage die from 1d8 to 1d10 and you gain resistance to physical damage equal to your Constitution modifier.

If you would gain the dying condition, you can choose to instead be permanently petrified to avoid the risk of death. Counteracting this petrification requires a casting of stone to flesh of a spell level equal to at least half your level, as well as a counteract check against the hard DC for your level. Each time you recover from petrification caused in this way, you gain a new scar on your skin in the shape of a long, thin crack.

Scribes of the Archive

Before I go, I want to say thanks to the awesome writers whose work is featured in the book. We’re in the middle of development and I gotta say, they’ve done some strange, spooky, and brilliant work!

Written by Rigby Bendele, Logan Bonner, James Case, Dan Cascone, Jessica Catalan, Banana Chan, Kay Hashimoto, Sen.H.H.S., Patrick Hurley, Avi Kool, Daniel Kwan, Kendra Leigh Speedling, Luis Loza, Ron Lundeen, Liane Merciel, Jacob W. Michaels, Andrew Mullen, Quinn Murphy, K. Tessa Newton, Mikhail Rekun, Patrick Renie, Michael Sayre, Mark Seifter, Shay Snow, Soup, Alex Speidel, Solomon St. John, Geoffrey Suthers, Ruvaid Virk, Jabari Weathers, and Isis Wozniakowska

---

We’ll have more for you in the future, so stay tuned for further updates over the next year. Again, thank you all so much for taking the time to participate in the playtest and for sending in feedback to make the classes the best they can be!

In darkness lies enlightenment,

James Case
Designer

Mark Seifter
Design Manager

In early 2021, Toy Vault debuted two 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle products featuring licensed art from Pathfinder. The initial two designs both featured the work of legendary fantasy artist Wayne Reynolds, who has produced breathtaking scenes of adventure and intrigue for Pathfinder since its inception nearly 20 years ago.

The Core Rulebook design features iconic characters from the RPG, including Harsk the dwarven ranger, Merisiel the elven rogue, and Kyra the human cleric, all doing battle with a massive, fire-breathing dragon.

Meanwhile, Bestiary features some more of the fantasy world’s monstrous inhabitants, including three mischievous kobolds; an enraged ogre; and a giant, menacing hydra.

When asked about his history with producing fantasy art like the imagery featured in these two puzzles, Reynolds said, “I have been working in the RPG industry for almost 30 years, with my first piece of art being featured in 1993.

“I was working with Paizo when they took over Dragon and Dungeon Magazines,” Reynolds explained. “I was doing some cover art for them, so when they started Pathfinder, I was one of the first people they approached about providing art for the game.

“It is exciting to be able to work on something from the ground level. My experience with Pathfinder has been massively enjoyable. I just love everything about that sort of world.”

When asked about what pieces of art his personal favorites are to create, Reynolds said, “Mainly the iconic characters, as my specialty is in character design. I love being able to tie history to fantasy, and I always do a lot of historical research before beginning work on that type of a project.”

Speaking specifically about his art being used to create jigsaw puzzle products, as well as how he thinks he’d fare putting them together himself, Reynolds said, “I like doing jigsaw puzzles. They are relaxing, and I think they also make for a good exercise as an artist. I am probably the wrong person to do a puzzle featuring my own artwork, though, because I already know the image so well.

“I imagine it would be sort of like a musician dancing to their own music,” Reynolds added.

Fans of Pathfinder, Wayne Reynolds, and fantasy art in general have made these jigsaw puzzle items two of Toy Vault’s most popular new offerings this year, and it is with great excitement that we announce two more brand new puzzles featuring Pathfinder imagery—Gamemastery Guide and Gods & Magic.

Gamemastery Guide once again showcases a wonderful piece of Reynolds art, this time depicting Alaznist, one of the game’s villains, ascending a staircase while holding onto an impressive-looking spear-type weapon in one hand. Towering above her is a large black dragon with giant horns, red eyes, and wings extended.

Gods & Magic features work by the talented Russian artist Ekaterina Burmak. The scene depicts the Starstone near the top, with three characters below. These three characters are Cayden Cailean, Iomedae, and Norgorber, all of whom ascended to godhood after touching the Starstone, according to official Pathfinder lore.

These two all-new Pathfinder puzzles are available now, just in time for the 2021 holiday season. For more information on Toy Vault, please visit www.toyvault.com.

For more information on Wayne Reynolds art, please visit www.waynereynolds.com.

“Please, Dhareen, must we go through with this? A bit of rock climbing is hardly a challenge for the Castrovel Kid!” Dhareen imagined her mentee thrusting his chest out proudly, thumb pressed triumphantly above his heart as he blustered several feet below her. She smiled to herself and pushed her piston-puncher into the mountain’s side, activating the gadget with a press of her lowleft thumb.

Kuh-klank.

“Perhaps, but it is custom among the tribes for a Yavnii to administer a test to every hopeful Brekai wanting to undergo the Test of the Mountain, and I am afraid that not even I have the authority to make exceptions to shobhad tradition. Not even for the ‘Castrovel Kid.’”

“See, you say that, but I can hear your grin,” Vellero replied sullenly.

“I know not what you mean.” Dhareen grinned again.

Both gladiators fell silent as they climbed, Dhareen pausing her ascent long enough for Vellero to scale up alongside her.

Kuh-klank.

He had taken to her tutelage well. Ka’s cliffside was grueling even for an expert; twenty-two miles long and comprised of thin basalt overtop stronger metamorphic stone, careless climbers often plummeted to their deaths after relying on pistons pounded into brittle basalt. One of the many roles of a yavnii was to ensure their breknai did not succumb to such a fate. Vellero had learned Dhareen’s lessons well thus far, scaling around several patches of basalt she had left in his path as a test.

Kuh-klank.

Vellero’s concentration reminded Dhareen of when she first met the headstrong lashunta in the ring at Arl’s VitariTech Coliseum. They were competing in the Icons Grand Brawl, and he was favored to win. The young man was a crowd pleaser on a seven-match winning streak. He was good, but not good enough; Dhareen scrubbed the floor with her future friend’s face. Literally. Nevertheless, there had been a spark within Vellero, a spark that intrigued her. The second time she knocked him down—or perhaps the third—he clamored to his feet with a bruised antenna and a few chipped teeth, wiped fresh blood from his lip, and grinned.

“Why do you persist?” Dhareen had asked, scarcely winded. “You cannot win. You bring yourself only pain. Throw your towel; others have when facing me. There is no shame in surrendering to your better.”

“You’re right,” he’d replied. “But that wouldn’t be fair for the folks who came here to see me fight, and I don’t want to let a single person in this ring who believed that I could win down.” He raised his fists into a boxer’s stance, a pointless gesture against an opponent twice his size with twice as many fists. “When I go down, I want them to know I gave it my all!”

Kuh-klank.

“I don’t mean to sound indignant,” Vellero interrupted Dhareen’s thoughts. “I know that the Test of the Mountain is sacred to your people, and that it is an honor to be allowed to undergo it as an outsider.”

Dhareen raised an eyebrow. “But?”

“But,” Vellero took a breath. “Is the reason we’re doing this,” Vellero gestured out behind them, over red dunes and rolling clouds of dust. “Because you don’t think I can?”

“If I didn’t think you could pass the Test of the Mountain, I wouldn’t have begun the climb with you, nor permitted you to undertake it.” Dhareen’s voice was gentle but her statement absolute. “The mountain is sacred to my people. We do not tolerate bloodshed on Ka. To send one who is unprepared up the Mountain is as shameful as slaying one’s enemies at its base.”

Vellero’s expression softened slightly. “Thanks.”

“Do not speak of it. You don’t want your throat to dry from the ascent.”

Vellero blinked, then burst out laughing.

“I don’t understand what you find so funny about that. You’ll have twenty miles left when we’ve reached the end of our shared path.”

Vellero kept laughing for a minute, wiping tears from his eyes. “Thanks, Dhareen.”

“You’re—”

Kuh-KUN.

Dhareen reaches for a falling Vellero in this illustration by Victor Manuel Leza Moreno from Starfinder: Galaxy Exploration Manual.

Dhareen gave herself no time for thinking. Before the sound of shattering basalt reached her ears, before Ka itself folded like a withered tumblefern in a windstorm, she whipped around to where Vellero was climbing even as his cliffside shifted downward, a cascade of metamorphic stone tearing free from Ka and tumbling towards the ground below. Vellero screamed as he fell, but Dhareen plucked him from the air like a corpseheron snatching a leaping spookfish out from the Irkonian Sea. Dhareen didn’t speak Ysoki, but she had spent enough time around ratfolk gladiators at VitariTech to recognize the lashunta lambasting the situation with at least six of the fourteen different Ysoki swears that she knew.

“Hold on, Vellero!” Climbing down wasn’t an option; a rockslide was eminent, and the best place to be during a rockslide was above it. Vellero was much smaller than she and less experienced at climbing, he would only slow them down. She could climbe faster with all four of her muscled arms free, anyway. There was only one option remaining.

Hoisting the Castrovel Kid onto her shoulders like a mother giving a youngling a backride, she placed the much smaller lashunta onto her shoulders and started climbing as fast as she could, giving only the barest of warnings. “Hold tight!”

Though Dhareen could hear Vellero shouting, her intense focus and the earsplitting sounds of portions of the rock wall sloughing off afforded her no opportunity to comprehend him. She climbed as quick as her body would allow, muscles aching and flaring as she abandoned her piston-punch and climbed barehanded. She knew full-well that the smallest mistake would send both she and her friend to their doom.

Ten yards from the top.

Five.

She was going to make it.

She and Vellero were going to make it.

Then her world shook as shadow overtook her vision. A boulder dislodged from above, tumbling towards her, threatening to crack her skull and send Dhareen and her breknai tumbling miles to their death. She refused to close her eyes; she would greet the Lady of Graves with firsthand tales of how she died. She was not alone; at the peak of her vision, she saw a small lashunta arm, no bigger than that of a shobhad child’s, reach out as if to catch the boulder. Dhareen admired Vellero’s bravery one last time.

The boulder collided with Vellero, and for a moment it was like watching a diver plunge into a serene pool. Vellero’s hand, then his arm, and then both their bodies plunged into the boulder.

Was it just an illusion?

Fine dust covered Dhareen as the boulder passed through her. From within, she watched the metamorphic rock splinter and crack in flight, first into smaller boulders, then into stone and pebbles, and finally into dust. The boulder never touched them; it dissolved before it even struck the Castrovel Kid’s hand.

Dhareen was stunned at first. But with safety just a few yards above and Ka continuing to shake and splinter, the feeling passed quickly as she bellowed at her peculiar friend.

“That, Vellero! Keep doing that!”

About The Author

Alexander "Alex" Augunas (he/him) is an author and behavioral health worker living outside of Philadelphia. He has contributed to numerous gaming products published by Paizo, with several of his better-known contributions including the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Starfinder Character Operations Manual, and Pathfinder Lost Omens Legends. Alex is also a staff member of the Know Direction Network, where he serves as Master of Ceremonies for Know Direction: Beyond, and publisher of third-party publisher Everybody Games.

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.

Those adorable little Free RPG Day one-shots with pregenerated characters are now available. Since they’re free PDF downloads, or only a few dollars in print on the Paizo store, they’re perfect for giving new players a taste of Pathfinder and Starfinder. Veteran players can simply enjoy a side session of fun!

The Starfinder Four vs. the Hardlight Harlequin

POWER UP!

Everyone across the galaxy enjoys the occasional diversion in a holographic amusement chamber, whether it’s relaxing on a sandy beach or taking part in an action-packed adventure on a war-torn battlefield from the safety of home. But what happens when the digital settings and inhabitants of these simulations come to life and threaten a group of innocent fun seekers?

Thanks to some inadvertently malicious code created by a proud game designer, such a calamitous event has occurred on a small moon hosting an entertainment expo! The building is slowly but surely being digitized while the game designer’s mind has been taken over by a comic-book villain. Only a group of newly recruited Starfinders can save the day!

Pathfinder: The Threshold of Knowledge

On the Brink of Greatness!

Graduates of the Magaambya are well-known as some of the most skilled magic wielders in Golarion. Now it's time for a new group of students to take their first steps on the path to greatness.

In Threshold of Knowledge, players take on the role of one of five students from the prestigious Magaambya, the oldest school of magic in the Inner Sea region. When a teacher goes missing, it's up to these new heroes to step up and solve a wicked mystery that threatens the existence of the Magaambya itself!

Threshold of Knowledge is a short adventure for 1st-level characters that takes the heroes into the Magaambya and the nearby city of Nantambu. In addition, the five pregenerated characters provide a quick way to jump into the adventure right away in this exciting offering for Free RPG Day! Grab some dice and some friends and play the role of new heroes in training!

Find past Free RPG Day products here!

• Pathfinder
• Starfinder

Remember, Free RPG Day would not be possible without your favorite local game store, so be sure to drop in and give them your patronage.

Find a Store

On the occasion of Transgender Awareness Week, we at Paizo want to reaffirm our support for our transgender colleagues, creators, and community members. We recognize that we've not always been there for our trans community members. While things are rough now, we as a company are dedicated to improving and providing a safe space for all gamers—especially trans gamers—to play, create, and be part of a thriving community where they are not only welcomed but celebrated.

We felt that this year, we shouldn’t place additional emotional labor upon our trans staff, creators, and community to contribute to a blog for Trangender Awareness Week. Rather, we wanted to address the issue of transphobia on our forums.

Many members of the community have noted a high amount of homophobic and transphobic posts recently. Let us be clear: these hateful posts are not okay under any circumstances, and those who make them will be faced with permanent suspension from the forums. Though our customer service department is doing their best to keep watch and address moderation flags, it’s clear that the volume of moderation needed on the forums in the last few months has meant that the team sometimes takes more time than usual to moderate a thread.

Transphobia is serious and removing it from the forums should take precedence over other more routine moderation tasks. Therefore, if you need to report transphobia on the forums, please don’t hesitate to contact customer service directly by email at customer.service@paizo.com with INTOLERANCE in the subject line. Any such hate will be dealt with swiftly and incur a permanent suspension.

While we realize that combatting discrimination is an ongoing process and this is only a small step, we hope that it can begin to make our community forums a place where all members of our community feel welcome, and more importantly, safe.

Thank you to our trans community members and other allies who have pushed us to be better recently. We hear you, we value you, and we will continue to improve ourselves, our games, and our community to earn back the trust we’ve lost. It’s hard to admit that we haven’t been living up to our values, but it’s the right thing to do, and we can’t move forward without doing so.

Please also consider donating to nonprofits benefiting and supporting the trans community—members of our staff recommend TGI Justice Project and Ingersoll Gender Center, though there are many great organizations doing the work that would value your contribution.

Over the last six weeks, Paizo's Leadership Team has attempted to better listen to and understand the challenges faced by its workforce, customers, and community. We want to take a moment to update you on a few important developments that have emerged from those conversations.

Before we begin, it's important to note that this update does not address requests regarding salaries, adjustments to the current work-from-home environment, or other matters that are now subject to negotiation with the United Paizo Workers union during collective bargaining.

We’re still searching diligently for a candidate to fill the company’s Human Resources Manager position, and plan to begin interviews very shortly. As this is an incredibly important hire, we want to make sure we find the right candidate with experience leading initiatives related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) and working with a union. We are continuing to gather resumes as the search continues.

We’ve hired a company called Energage to complete an employee engagement survey on behalf of Paizo. This survey is designed to allow employees to provide anonymous, unfiltered, and honest feedback to the company that will help Paizo establish priorities for improvement planning. It will also serve as an important benchmark against which to measure the results of future surveys, allowing us to develop a baseline to measure against. We expect employees to be able to access the engagement survey sometime this week.

Discussion in the past several months has resurfaced two instances in which a Paizo executive mishandled user data when replying to message board posts, resulting in allegations of doxxing. These actions were contrary to Paizo policy, and corrective actions were taken to ensure that this does not happen again.

“This was a huge mistake on my part and I am deeply sorry for any issues that have arisen from these actions. This was not the right way to treat our customers and I apologize,” said Paizo President Jeff Alvarez. “As President, I know I need to hold myself to a higher standard.”

Paizo takes issues related to discrimination and harassment very seriously. We have hired the law firm of Moritt Hock & Hamroff (MH&H) to investigate allegations of discrimination against trans employees and sexual misconduct before reporting back to the Leadership Team. Investigators from the firm will reach out to members of Paizo’s staff and others that made claims on social media. Cooperation with the firm is voluntary, of course, but we remain committed to investigating these matters thoroughly to ensure a safe and respectful workplace.

We chose MH&H upon the recommendation of a consultant with expertise in matters of DEIB. MH&H has a team of attorneys that specialize in these issues, and we’re confident they’ll be able to provide an impartial analysis of the facts that we need to move forward with any corrective actions.

Because the results of these investigations are private personnel matters, Paizo will not be able to make them public. Corrective actions will be taken against any employee (including managers and executives) found to be guilty of these allegations.

It has never been Paizo’s intention to discriminate against any employee when making decisions of who to send to industry trade shows, but we see now that our room-sharing policy was based on outdated interpretations of gender, was not friendly to transgender employees, and could contribute to a perception of transphobia at the company. Paizo’s Leadership Team acknowledges the pain this caused, and we understand that we need to be better at recognizing issues where such decisions could have unintended results. We also recognize that such actions do not align with Paizo's core values, the values of its staff members, or the sentiments of diversity and inclusion expressed in Paizo products, and as such, have disappointed, angered, and confused members of our community. We believe these mistakes are not representative of who we are, or what we want the company to represent. We need to do better... and we will.

“As the person in charge of trade shows, I want to apologize to anyone that felt marginalized as a result of the convention decision-making process,” said Jeff Alvarez. “It was not our intent to discriminate against anyone, and I’m sorry.”

As previously communicated, Paizo has adopted a one-employee-per-room travel policy moving forward. Regardless of gender identity, couples will be allowed to share rooms during travel as long as both parties request it.

Paizo remains committed to maintaining a diverse, safe, and fun workplace where our employees are treated fairly and look forward to creating awesome Pathfinder and Starfinder products for many years to come. We hope that this update helps communicate that we, the Leadership Team, are doing our best to listen to and address the concerns of our community members. We believe in creating a better Paizo, and believe that transparency, communication, and accountability will be instrumental as we move forward. Thank you for your continued support of our company and our products.

Paizo Leadership Team
David, Erik, Jeff, Jim, Lisa, and Mike

This life-sized replica stands a full three feet tall, ready to wreak havoc on anyone who enters their domain. The statue has been sculpted fully in sturdy, lightweight foam and latex, carefully hand-painted for realistic detail.

The iconic Pathfinder Kobold, with their sharp spear, is ready to stake their claim. Perfect for display in your home, retail store, or wherever they're likely to find treasure.

• 36-inch-tall foam figure
• Sturdy construction
• Hand-painted details, including armor and adornments

SHIPPING NOTE: Shipping costs are calculated by the dimensional volume and weight of a given item. Because of the size and shape of this item, it will ship separately from any other items ordered, and shipping may be restricted to certain destinations. We are not able to provide any alternate means of transportation other than the options presented to you during checkout. Unfortunately, due to shipping restrictions, we cannot ship the Kobold Statues internationally.

Minor assembly required.

Pathfinder Foam Replica: Life-Sized Kobold (Red) and Pathfinder Foam Replica: Life-Sized Kobold (Blue) are expected March of 2022.

On Thursday, November 11th at 5 PM Pacific/8 PM Eastern, Arcane Mark is teaming up with Nonat1s and Roll for Combat to bring you a special edition of one of the features from our stream, Build a Monster Workshop, hosted on the Nonat1s YouTube channel. Build a brand-new monster based on ideas and decisions you can vote for in chat! Then, catch Linda, Mark, Nonat1s, and Stephen talking about monster building in general, as well as the ongoing RPG Superstar Contest, the newly released Battlezoo Bestiary for Pathfinder, and more! Don't miss the live stream tonight!

Mark Seifter
Battlezoo Bestiary Developer & RPG Superstar Judge

Hello, Starfinders!

This month, First Seeker Ehu Hadif dispatches Starfinders to Eborth, a planet claiming to possess technology immune to the Data Scourge, which they’ll share in exchange for Pact Worlds protectorate status. Alongside representatives from the Stewards and the Xenowardens, the Starfinders serve as envoys tasked with reviewing the world’s petition. On the record, the Starfinders are concerned with examining Eborth’s archaeological sites for clues to the planet’s past, but behind the scenes, the Starfinders must determine if the claims regarding Eborth’s technology are true. With the fate of both Eborth and the Pact Worlds hanging in the balance, there’s sure to be more going on than meets the eye! Starfinder Society Scenario #4-11: A World’s Ambition is a scenario for levels 7–10 written by Matt Duval.

Take care, Starfinders!

Jessica Catalan
Starfinder Society Developer

Illustrations by Fabio Di Bernardi and Enrique Barajas

Take heed, Pathfinders! Court is in session, and the Pathfinder Society itself is on trial! Recently, the Church of Iomedae in Almas, the capital of Andoran, made a legal claim against the Society’s lodge. The Almas Cathedral, once a Cathedral of Aroden, came into Venture-Captain Brackett’s possession during an especially tumultuous time for the church of Aroden, but he insists that his claim to the building is legitimate. Unfortunately, it seems the People’s Council has begun to question whether the Society’s prominence in the city is more trouble than it’s worth. The Pathfinders will need to be at their best if they’re going to sway the Council, as the Church of Iomedae has sent a formidable representative to make their case.

With the chilling events of the recent East Hill haunting behind them, the Pathfinders should finally be able to focus their full attention on the legal case.

Surely nothing else bad will happen before the trial.

Or during the trial.

Surely not.

Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-05: Inheritor’s Rite is an adventure for levels 1–4 written by Elizabeth V Nold, one of our most dedicated Organized Play volunteers. It’s the second scenario in a two-part Andoran metaplot arc for the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries. To experience the full story in order, you’ll want to play Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-02: The East Hill Haunting first. However, the scenarios each stand on their own, and you are not required to run or play them in order.

Explore! Report! Cooperate! Objection, Your Honor!

Mike Kimmel
Pathfinder Society Developer

Watch the live-play premiere of Starfinder One-Shot: The Great Grav-Train Robbery tonight at 6 PM Pacific at @OfficialPaizo on Twitch. See the cast announcement for bios!

Look, the plan couldn’t be simpler. Just rappel onto the roof of a speeding train filled with armed gangsters, somehow get inside, get the passcode that opens the cargo car off the chief of security without alerting their army of goons, locate and grab that crazy artifact everyone’s after, and then call your getaway pilot for an extraction before the train reaches its destination. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Starfinder One-Shot: The Great Grav-Train Robbery is written by Andrew White can be completed in a single 3- to 4-hour session. It includes four 6th-level pregenerated antiheroes whose stories and motivations tie into the plot of the adventure. (Pregenerated characters for this adventure are also available as a free download.) If players create their own characters, they can use the adventure background to customize their characters to the adventure. This adventure can be easily used on virtual tabletops, run off digital devices, or printed out and played at a table.

Who’s Playing Who?

Michelle Nguyen Bradley as The Muscle: Barat Oza

Species: ijtikri
Theme: mercenary
Class vanguard

Find her work at michellenguyenbradley.com and follow her on all socials at @iamchubbybunny.

Jim Rodehaver as The Face: Aramesh Maageri

Species: spathinae
Theme: grifter
Class: envoy

Find him on Twitter at @EvilJimjam.

Diana Restrepo as The Thief: LNA-464

Species: SRO
Theme: space pirate
Class: operative

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @dianares3.

Jenny Jarzabski as The Hacker: Kevan Bokoloff

Species: uplifted bear
Theme: scholar
Class: technomancer

Following her on Twitter @spaceprincess_j and stop by twitch.tv/spaceprincessj.

Thurston Hillman as Game Master

You can find him on social media @oncallgm and over at twitch.tv/oncallgm.

Watch the live-play tonight at 6 PM Pacific!

Both new Adventure Path volumes this month allow you to face challenges on new worlds. We continue to release all the Pathfinder rulebooks as Pocket Editions, a popular new option. A new Pathfinder card deck is ready to help players remember to use those Hero Points. Homebrewers will find session inspiration in crypts, lava, jungles, and ghost towns with our new maps. You’ll find over eight new Pathfinder and Starfinder products at the Paizo Store and your favorite local game store today.

Pathfinder Guns & Gears Pocket Edition

GEAR UP AND THROW DOWN!
When swords and spells just won’t be enough to win the day, it’s time to power up your game with clockwork gears, lightning coils, and black powder! Guns & Gears, the latest rulebook for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (Second Edition), brings the excitement of firearms and fantasy technology to your tabletop!

The pocket edition presents the same content in a smaller sized softcover for a lower price and better portability.

Don’t miss the Guns & Gears Authors blog!

See four gunslingers in action in the Pathfinder One-Shot: Head-Shot the Rot!

Starfinder Adventure Path #42: Whispers of the Eclipse (Horizons of the Vast 3 of 6)

NIGHT COURT
A neighboring charter reaches out for assistance when their leaders go missing. After tracking the team to a lush jungle valley inhabited by alien dinosaurs, the PCs discover the expedition was teleported to an ancient Azlanti lunar base. Can the PCs rescue their fellow explorers from the darkness that lurks there?

This Starfinder Adventure Path volume continues the Horizons of the Vast Adventure Path and includes:

• “Whispers of the Eclipse,” a Starfinder adventure for 5th-level characters by Kate Baker.
• A history of elven journeys to new planets by Jessica Catalan.
• A toolbox featuring equipment used by the early Azlanti Star Empire, a collection of creatures that could endanger unwary explorers, and a glimpse at a battered world of blue sands and a violent past, by Kate Baker, Jenny Jarzabski, Andrew Mullen, and Jim Seals.
• Statistics and deck plans for a surveying starship vital to the Azlanti Star Empire’s first forays into space by Dennis Muldoon.

Watch the Starfinder Horizons of the Vast Adventure Path Trailer!

Pathfinder Adventure Path #173: Doorway to the Red Star (Strength of Thousands 5 of 6)

SOAR ABOVE A PLANET OF ADVENTURE!
Armed with the knowledge that a long-vanished ally lies on the other side of a magical portal called the Doorway to the Red Star, the heroes must earn the trust of the portal’s guardians and then travel through it—to a planet of red sands and high adventure! Working to gain allies among scholarly brain creatures and suspicious ratfolk, the heroes infiltrate a massive airship and fight to free their ally from an insidious trap. The Strength of Thousands Adventure Path continues with “Doorway to the Red Star,” a complete adventure for 15th- to 17th-level characters.

Watch the Pathfinder Strength of Thousands Adventure Path Trailer!

Pathfinder Hero Point Deck

MORE THAN A REROLL
A well-timed Hero Point can turn the tide of battle, but with the Pathfinder Hero Point Deck, you can do more than just reroll a single check. Each one of these 52 cards lists a special effect that grants a boon, such as a sudden surge of speed or the ability to stave off death! Use the card as a traditional Hero Point or turn it in for the special effect!

Starfinder Flip-Mat: Lava World

WATCH YOUR STEP!
Whether your heroes are surveying a moon dotted with erupting volcanoes or fighting on unstable islands amid an active lava flow, no Game Master wants to spend time drawing every volcanic rock outcropping and lava fountain. Fortunately, with Paizo’s latest Starfinder Flip-Mat, you don’t have to! This line of gaming maps provides ready-to-use science-fantasy set pieces for the busy Game Master. This double-sided map features a river of lava cascading down a cliff face on one side and a bubbling, lava-filled crater on the other.

Don’t waste time sketching when you could be playing. With Starfinder Flip-Mat: Lava World, you’ll be ready the next time your players discover that the floor is lava!

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Ghost Towns

WHERE DID EVERYONE GO?
A ruined hamlet where a sinkhole has swallowed the town square, or an abandoned village whose lone cathedral lies in ruins: such ghost towns forever beckon explorers to uncover their lost secrets. This Flip-Mat features two different ghost towns for your players to explore: a remote, abandoned village and a ruined town square.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Ghost Towns measures 24” × 30” unfolded and 8” × 10” folded. The Flip-Mat’s coated surface can handle any dry-erase, wet-erase, or even permanent marker. Usable by experienced GMs and novices alike, Pathfinder Flip-Mats fit perfectly into any Game Master’s arsenal!

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Jungle Multi-Pack

IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE!
What forgotten mysteries await in the jungle? Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Jungle Multi-Pack provides ready-to-use, captivating jungle scenes for the busy Game Master. As your heroes explore an overgrown ruin or hidden waterfall, or seek shelter in a village, these four different combat maps will have you covered! Don’t waste your time sketching when you could be playing. With Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Jungle Multi-Pack, you’ll be ready next time your players head out into the jungle!

This set includes two flip mats, each measuring 24” X 30” unfolded and 8” X 10” folded. A Flip-Mat’s coated surface can handle any dry-erase, wet-erase, or even permanent marker. Usable by experienced GMs and novices alike, Pathfinder Flip-Mats fit perfectly into any Game Master's arsenal!

Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Dungeon Crypts Expansion

AMONG THE DEAD!
What sinister undead dangers lurk deep within the twisting catacombs? The Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Dungeon Crypts Expansion Set bolsters the Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Dungeon Starter Set with 24 new, full-color 6 × 6-inch double-sided tiles, stunningly crafted by cartographer Jason Engle. Suitable for experienced Game Masters and novices alike, this product fits perfectly into any GM’s arsenal. Wet-erase, dry-erase, and permanent markers erase from the tiles, and convenient packaging makes for easy storage. Why map out an entire underground crypt by hand when Flip-Tiles can do it for you? This set includes:

• Tomb halls
• Burial chambers
• Vast crypts
• Reliquaries
• Mysterious shrines
• Winding catacombs

In our digital-only line, train-heist themed Starfinder One-Shot #2: The Great Grav Train Robbery is available now!

Plus, new Pathfinder and Starfinder Society Scenarios and a Pathfinder Bounty release via Paizo.com on Friday, November 19

Pathfinder Bounty #16: Boom Town Betrayal

DESIGNED FOR LEVEL 1
A citizen is in search of heroes! His parents recently found themselves swindled by a nefarious noble from distant Taldor. Needing adventurers to come and assist, the man offers a hefty reward for any assistance that can be provided. Of course, not everything is as it appears on the mean streets of Absalom.

Written by: Logan Harper
Logan Harper (she/her) is a customer service representative at Paizo as well as a freelance contributor for Pathfinder and Starfinder who has written for projects including Book of the Dead and Horizon’s of the Vast. She is a film, commercial, and voiceover actress with two adorable pups and an Animal Crossing obsession. You can find her on twitter @itsloganharper where she mostly talks about upcoming projects, video games, comic books, and TV/movies.

Shop the Paizo Store and your favorite local game store today!

First, we at Paizo acknowledge that our beautiful coastal rainforest is the traditional, unceded land of the Coast Salish people, specifically the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People. Today and every day we honor the Duwamish Tribe—past and present—and the land itself.

November is Native American Heritage month. This is a time to celebrate the culture, history, and heritage of indigenous peoples across the Americas. We asked some of our Native American contributors and staff to lend their voices to this celebration.

Dolok Darkfur, from Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-12: Breath of the Dragonskull by Michael Sayre

Michael Sayre, Paizo Designer (he/him)

Growing up, my grandpa’s Tlingit stories showed me how storytelling works as a vehicle for culture and values (and how it’s a great way to pass the time waiting for the fish to bite!) Those stories of kushtaka and little men in the woods excited me, and I remember hanging on my grandpa’s every word, realizing how his cadences and storytelling devices had been passed to my uncles, who would use the same rhythm even for different stories, which were all so hypnotic and mesmerizing. I remember the elders at the rec center and other events who would tell stories I’d never heard before but which were still so familiar.

Stories of Raven helped me contextualize the cleverness and skill of Tlingit elders and leaders in a modern environment, and I’d only continue to discover the value and power of some of those stories as I grew older. Stories about Bear (both ally and obstacle) helped me realize how strong people can be when I thought that people, especially me, were just weak and flawed. All of those stories and experiences helped make me realize that I wanted to tell stories of my own. Gunalchèesh ax eet yeelatûowu.

Taking the first steps to telling those stories never would have happened without the support of Goldbelt, our tribal corporation, that assisted me on numerous occasions with education and health care related issues that would have forced different life choices if I’d had to navigate them without a corporation representing a rich tapestry of communities supporting me. What I am, all the Tlingit & Haida people of southeast Alaska helped me be.

Jessica Catalan, Paizo Developer (she/her)

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica Catalan (she/her), and I’m a Canadian, Métis freelancer author and Starfinder Line Developer for the Starfinder Society. This year, Canada held its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, an annual commemoration honoring the children who died while attending residential schools and the survivors, families, and communities still affected by the legacy of the residential school system. While this is a step forward for us, reconciliation without action is just words and there is much to be done. I’ll spare you the newscast.

I’m not much of a speaker, but as many of us have realized over the past two years, while one voice can be silenced, together we are strong, and we can be heard. So, in addition to raising my voice and lending my support to Every Child Matters, MMIWG2S, and other movements here in Canada, I can take two concrete steps I’d like to mention today: reclamation and amplification.

Today, I’m here to amplify. I encourage you to look at the other names on this blog—check out their works, support them on ko-fi or patreon, back and purchase their projects, follow them on social media. Hear them. Keep an eye out for other Indigenous works, such as Coyote & Crow, and support the people involved. And if you’re an Indigenous TTRPG author who loves Starfinder and is struggling to have your voice heard, reach out to me. I’m listening.

Carlos Cabrera, Paizo Contributor (he/him)

Hi there, my name is Carlos Cabrera. I am mixed, but I identify as Mexican, Indigenous (Mescalero Apache), and Cape Verde (Portuguese and African). At first, I was going to write something for both Hispanic Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Month, but when I started looking into my family history—closer than I ever have before—I had to take some time for myself. The facts were not very pretty, and history was not kind to my family as early as either grandparent on my father’s side.

I also grew up in a white household. My mother's family comes from a variety of European countries, and even a little Cherokee as history also likes to dictate. There are other idiosyncrasies there as well, but I recognize that my upbringing comes with a certain amount of privilege. Earlier this year, I wrote to the Mescalero Apache Reservation to see if my family had any affiliation. My relief when I discovered they were not was short-lived. The facts of how my family avoided that were not any prettier.

I think that is why I pledged a copy of the Coyote & Crow RPG to the reservation and continue to write to this day. I hope it inspires someone to either get into games or go on their own grand adventure, even if they don't have the luxury of walking out their front door like I did. Maybe one day I can even pay them. I think that would be my American Dream.

Miiyu, from Starfinder Society #4-06: Combatants' Concerto: Prelude to Revolution by Shay Snow

Shay Snow, Paizo Editor (they/them)

Kúha’ahat, táy:sha’! I’m Shay Snow and I’m mixed Native American. My family stems from two separate tribes—my mother’s tribe is Caddo and my father’s tribe is Swampy Cree. Both tribes have strong matriarchal ties, so when introducing myself I lead with my mother’s tribe and then follow-up with my father’s tribe. I can’t speak on being just a Native TTRPG creator, but I can speak on being a Caddo and Swampy Cree creator.

Being a Caddo creator means crafting your words carefully, knowing that your language is dying. Being a Caddo creator means trying to take all of the nuance of your language, the humor, the care, the cadence that warms your heart and makes you want to move when it’s spoken, and trying to put it into a language that your family was forced to adopt and speak. Being a Caddo creator means trying to find rhythm and when you can’t find it, forcing that rhythm into your work so that hopefully your words make other people want to move and dance.

Being a Swampy Cree creator means moving slowly through the minefield that is your history and trying to pluck the safe bits out so that your heritage doesn’t accidentally cause you pain. Being a Swampy Cree creator means knowing that some parts of your culture have been taken and commodified and it’s now on your shoulders to look at those spirits and offer your respect as you try to carefully tell their stories without causing danger or harm.

Being a Native creator in 2021 has meant creating and crafting with careful words and tools while also being painfully aware of everything pouring into the news and media over the past year. It means writing and trying to bring joy while burning sweetgrass and mourning over loved ones lost recently and loved ones lost long ago and recently found.

My name is Shay Snow, I live on unceded Caddo and Wichita land, and my family calls me Little Jay.

To all members of our community with indigenous heritage: thank you for all you do as creators, GMs, players, and people.

Look, the plan couldn’t be simpler. Just rappel onto the roof of a speeding train filled with armed gangsters, somehow get inside, get the passcode that opens the cargo car off the chief of security without alerting their army of goons, locate and grab that artifact everyone’s after, and then call your getaway pilot for an extraction before the train reaches its destination. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Starfinder One-Shot: The Great Grav-Train Robbery, written by Andrew White, can be completed in a single 3- to 4-hour session and includes four 6th-level pregenerated antiheroes whose stories and motivations tie into the plot of the adventure. (Pregenerated characters for this adventure are also available as a free download.) If players create their own characters, they can use the adventure background to customize their characters to the adventure. This adventure can be easily used on virtual tabletops, run off digital devices, or printed out and played at a table.

Author: Andrew White
Andrew White (he/him) is the lead front-end developer on paizo.com and a Pathfinder and Starfinder freelance contributor who has written for projects including the Advanced Player's Guide, Bestiary 3, Secrets of Magic, Guns & Gears, Tech Revolution, Drift Crisis, and Book of the Dead. He also recently wrote a piece of web fiction about a bunch of goblins heroically burning down a village with assistance from a giant pig. He has a Twitter where he mostly just retweets his more eloquent colleagues at @plaguecontrol.

About the Pregenerated Characters

The boss recruited a ragtag band of miscreants for this job, all of them active players in Pan’s criminal underworld for some time. They consider themselves independent contractors and are already familiar with each other by reputation, if not by personal experience. While each has their own reasons for taking up a life of crime, they all share one thing in common: animosity toward the Ixo Syndicate, which means the opportunity to rob them is almost as tempting as the payday.

The Face: Aramesh Maageri

Species: spathinae
Theme: grifter
Class: envoy

The Muscle: Barat Oza

Species: ijtikri
Theme: mercenary
Class vanguard

The Hacker: Kevan Bokoloff

Species: uplifted bear
Theme: scholar
Class: technomancer

The Thief: LNA-464

Species: SRO
Theme: space pirate
Class: operative

Announcing the Liveplay Cast

Watch the live-play premiere on Wednesday, November 10 at 6 PM Pacific on @OfficialPaizo on Twitch!

Michelle Nguyen Bradley

Pathfinder Beginner Box: Troubles in Otari
Starfinder: Scoured Stars
Pathfinder One-Shot: Sundered Waves at Gen Con
Starfinder One-Shot: Band on the Run

Michelle Nguyen Bradley is a show host, voice actor, writer, and professional TTRPG player, and is passionate about fostering community and equality in the geek space. She's played characters like Hoa Sen on Critical Role’s "The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood," a butterfly alien on Paizo's "Starfinder: Scoured Stars" campaign, Betty on the official Rat Queen's RPG from Hyper RPG, a huntress wizard on "The Department of Mysteries" from Dragons and Things, and many more personas through her work on RPG shows. She's hosted geek content like Anime Expo Lite, "Manga Book Club" for Viz Media, and "Button Mash" on the Total Nerd Network. Michelle currently appears as a regular cast member for Paizo and Hunters Entertainment's weekly TTRPG shows on Twitch. Find her work at michellenguyenbradley.com and follow her on all socials at @iamchubbybunny.

Jim Rodehaver

Pathfinder Beginner Box: Troubles in Otari
Starfinder: Scoured Stars
Pathfinder One-Shot: Sundered Waves at Gen Con
Starfinder One-Shot: Band on the Run

Jim Rodehaver writes and plays TTRPGs, sometimes during live-streams on The Dragons and Things Network (twitch.tv/thedatnetwork). He’s written content for Starfinder and Dungeon Crate, as well as all the home-brewed adventures for his streamed games. Having GM'd over 200 live actual-play games of Pathfinder and the Starfinder Scoured Stars liveplay, Jim brings his experience to the Paizo community firsthand.

Diana Restrepo

Starfinder: Scoured Stars

Diana Restrepo is an actress, sword fighter, and TTRPG stream player. She has done many short films and web series along with her most recent award-winning series Carpool. She has been part of the DaT Network since the beginning of “Walking in Circles,” “Dragons and Stuff,” and “Dragons and Things.” Recently she was part of the new Pathfinder for Savage Worlds series, “Hollow’s Last Hope.” Currently, she joins the Norse Foundry channel on their show “Fenrir Rising.” When she’s not acting, she’s perfecting her sword fighting and motion capture skills. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @dianares3.

Jenny Jarzabski

Jenny Jarzabski is a Developer at Paizo. She’s also a prolific freelance writer creating adventures, rules, and setting content for Pathfinder, Starfinder, and more. Jenny is passionate about anime, games, mechs, and all things sci-fi. Growing up, she was the weird kid who made up stories and created her own imaginary world. She never grew out of it. When Jenny isn’t developing or writing adventures, she builds models, plays outdoors, and sometimes streams on Twitch. She appeared in Paizo’s “Pungeon Crawl: Worlds Beyond” and “Mind the Gap” as Z, an astrazoan operative and vidgame addict. Starting this week, she’s joining Thurston Hillman to play Modiphius Entertainment’s Dune TTRPG (hosted on twitch.tv/oncallgm) and plans to launch her own Starfinder live play in 2022. Rumors that Jenny is an alien life form are still unconfirmed. Find out for sure by following her on Twitter @spaceprincess_j and stopping by twitch.tv/spaceprincessj.

GM: Thurston Hillman

Thurston Hillman hails from the frozen hinterlands of Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he constantly churns out words and runs tabletop games. In addition to being Paizo's Digital Developer, he was active in the creation of the Starfinder Society Organized Play program and outlined its first two seasons (including the well-received Scoured Stars storyline). Thurston has written countless products for Paizo and other companies as a freelance writer. He is the Gamemaster for the popular "Warhams" TTRPG comedy show on Twitch. You can find him on social media @oncallgm and over at twitch.tv/oncallgm where he sometimes streams his RPG sessions and talks about game design and narrative in games. Also, he apologizes for any Organized Play scenarios he developed that killed your character (seriously, he means it!)

Download your copy then watch the live-play on twitch.tv/officialpaizo on November 10 at 6 PM Pacific!

Extra Life 2021, supporting the Children’s Hospital Network, runs on November 5th, and Paizo is supporting their fundraising efforts! This year, Paizo is a community partner, or super team, and we’re inviting our community to join us, whether as a team or as an individual. Check out our team page!

So far, we’ve joined with our Pathfinder and Starfinder Community Creators, including WafflesMapleSyrup, We Run the Stars, Nat20 Productions, and Pod Against the Machine for some live-plays, podcasts, and other streaming events, and we will be hosting as many as possible on Paizo’s Twitch channel. Look to social media for more schedule announcements.

Organized Play is also hosting a double points weekend for games running that weekend.

Extra Life Resources:

Download Extra Life Mobile App

Extra Life Discord Server

Extra Life Media Kit

How to set up Facebook Fundraiser on DonorDrive for Extra Life:

Use the Facebook Fundraiser feature to help increase their fundraising efforts!

• Those who use Facebook fundraisers are raising $300 more on average than those who are not.
• Pro Tip: Invite your Facebook friends to your fundraiser and post photos/updates on your fundraiser wall!
• Our Extra Life team is encouraging Extra Lifers in Discord and on social platforms. With your help, we can continue to reach a larger audience to use this wonderful feature to increase $$$ raised!
• Check out this how-to video for setting up a Facebook fundraiser that you can share with your gamers!

We invite anyone who wishes to join us to register on the Extra Life website, then join us on November 6th as we raise money for Children’s Network Hospitals!

Greetings, Starfinders! Earlier this year we announced that Fame would be going away, and this naturally prompted a number of questions. We’ve combed through the ensuing discussions and we’re here today to present answers! Many of these will be added to the Starfinder Society FAQ pages or other locations as appropriate, but I wanted to consolidate them all in one place as a reference.

Conversion of Fame to AcP

Let’s start with the big one. When we announced this transition, we promised we’d get a way to convert your unspent fame to Achievement Points.

We’re not doing that.

Instead, we are outright stealing adopting what I refer to as “The HMM Proposal.” Every Starfinder session played prior to May 31, 2021 will retroactively award 2 Achievement Points to both players and GMs. This is the simplest way to handle this, as well as the fairest. It prevents headaches, having to dig out old Chronicle Sheets, and look, it’s just a really clean system, why mess with a great idea?

Yes, it technically rewards the players who spent all their Fame, but those players are also our most invested players. Personally, I’m cool with them getting a little extra.

These points should be awarded no later than next Friday, the 12th. If you notice old SFS sessions that aren’t awarding Achievement Points after that, please email orgplayreportingerrors@paizo.com and I’ll take a look!

Other General Questions

Changing Quest Pack Reporting

One weird wrinkle we came across was because quest packs can be completed across multiple sessions, a player could end up with more Achievement Points than anticipated. As a result, I’m going to add some extra reporting options for Starfinder Quests.

If you complete all four parts of a quest pack in one session, reporting won’t change for that. However, if you only complete some of the quests, you will now be able to report each segment individually and it will award the correct amount of Achievement Points. Again, this will be in place by next Friday; there’s no need to retroactively correct old sessions, but if you see any issues, email orgplayreportingerrors@paizo.com!

Unapplied Fame

Any Fame that has been earned but not yet applied (e.g., from an Adventure or playing a pregen at a higher level) must be applied and spent by December 31. As Fame cannot be spent after that date, any unapplied and unspent Fame will be lost.

Boon-Specific Questions

In addition to general questions, there were a few questions that came up about specific boons that required Fame to function. Be aware there are some scenario spoilers in this section!

Inequity in Faction Boons

Currently, some Factions have more boons available for purchase in the online boon store than others; in particular, the Second Seeker factions are a little light. It is our intention to fill in the gaps in the matrix as the developers have time to create new boons.

Starfinder of Note

The Starfinder of Note boon has not yet been added to the Achievement Points system. At this time, we will not be adding the boon back, simply because we do not currently have any definite plans to use the submissions in future products. If and when we decide to bring back fan submissions (e.g., if we need a new First Seeker or similar), we’ll look at bringing back the boon. Any past submissions are still on file, and should the boon make a return, those submissions will also be considered.

Instructor Boon (Luwazi Elsebo/Ehu Hadif)

The current text of the Instructor boon for Ehu Hadif in the Achievement Points system is as follows:

You dedicate some of your time off to training an up-and-coming Starfinder recruit. This boon represents time spent outside of adventuring that you’re taking to train a potential new Starfinder. At the end of every adventure you have this boon slotted, record the total amount of Reputation you earned with the Second Seekers (Ehu Hadif). You can expend your Downtime at the end of an adventure to increase the boxes marked off for this boon by 1. Once you have accrued 40 marked boxes with this boon, your student has come into their own and is ready to become a full-fledged Starfinder (a new character). Have your GM mark the Chronicle Sheet where you accomplished this, and keep a copy of this boon with your new character. When your new character reaches 5th level, instead of choosing four ability scores to increase, you can choose five. Otherwise you follow all other rules for leveling up. This bonus applies only at 5th level.

Special: You can apply this boon only to one new character, and only once the objectives have been completed.

The same text should be used for the Luwazi Elsebo iteration going forward.

Lone Agent

The Lone Agent boon was a convention reward that allowed you to convert Reputation earned into an immediate discount on a Fame boon purchase. After December 31, 2021, this boon will no longer function. We tried to keep the list of boons that outright would not work small, and in this case converting it would require a full rewrite. Our apologies to Lone Agent fans.

SFS 1-01: The Commencement

Change the text of the Faction’s Friend boon to the following:

By assisting various factions of the Starfinder Society, you have proven yourself as a dependable asset. By slotting this boon, if you would fail to earn Reputation at the end of an adventure by failing to fulfill a success condition, you can check one of the boxes on this boon. Doing so reminds your current championed faction of your past exploits, and you still earn 1 Reputation with that faction as if you had successfully fulfilled the condition. You can use this boon only if you would also gain at least 1 XP for completing the adventure.

SFS 1-14: Star Sugar Heartlove!

Change the Scoured Stars Memorial boon’s text to the following:

Thanks to your efforts on Songbird Station, the Starfinder Society earned immense publicity from the Strawberry Machine Cake concert. Organizations and people across the Pact Worlds now go out of their way to assist the Starfinder Society. You can check the box next to this boon to do one of the following:

• Ignore the Achievement Point cost of having your body recovered.
• Ignore the Achievement Point cost of purchasing the Starship Towing boon.

Checking this box does not require purchase of the relevant boon via the Achievement Points system.

SFS 1-38: The Many Minds of Historia

The Steadfast Protector boon will be added to the Chronicle Boons section of the online boon store. It will require completion of SFS 1-38, as well as Tier 3 Reputation (25+ Reputation) with the Exo-Guardians and will cost 8 Achievement Points. The version listed on this Chronicle Sheet will cease to be purchasable as of December 31, 2021, though its benefits may still be used by characters that have already spent the required Fame.

SFS 2-16: A Scoured Home

Change the last sentence of the Nuclear Tools boon to the following:

If you are not an izalguun, you may perform the same upgrade by spending an additional 10% of the cost of the upgrade (1,650 UPBs) to work with an izalguun Starfinder.

We hope this answers all the outstanding questions about the transition away from Fame for Starfinder Society! If you have any questions about these changes or any other topics we missed, please let us know in the comments.

Until next time - Explore! Report! Cooperate! And go spend your new Achievement Points!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

Linda Zayas-Palmer
Digital Adventures Development Manager

OPC Musings

By the time you read this, I will have returned from my first physical convention as a Paizo employee! I’ll be flying to Minneapolis with Tonya to attend SkålCon and I’m very excited about it. I’m writing this blog before the trip, so I don’t have any stories to tell, but ask future Alex (which, again, will be present Alex once you read this) about it!

Back when I was hired, which the calendar insists was only 20 months ago, I expected to be traveling a lot more than I have so far. I will admit the introverted, awkward part of me (that’s all of me) is glad I met the community online, where I’m much funnier and able to log off when I need to. Still, there’s something about physical gaming that I’ve missed, the energy is different online (but the prep’s a lot easier, so it’s a trade-off)!

Hopefully in 2022 I’ll be able to attend more shows and meet more people in-person, but I suspect the landscape has changed in ways we can’t expect. Until then, I look forward to more online games with all of you!

Digital Adventure Releases

Here are this month’s digital releases, available November 19, 2021:

Pathfinder

Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-05: Inheritor's Rite*
Pathfinder Bounty #16: Boom Town Betrayal

Starfinder

Starfinder Society Scenario #4-11: A World's Ambition*

*part of a subscription

Starfinder Society Fame Updates

Earlier this year, we announced that Starfinder Society would be transitioning to the Achievement Points system, and that Fame would be disappearing. This sparked several questions to which we promised answers.

Good news, I have answers for you! But you’ll have to wait a little longer for them. There’s a second blog scheduled later today that’s dedicated entirely to that topic, to keep everything in one place. So, hang tight and we’ll circle back to this topic later!

Sanctioning

First, the bad news: I have no new rulebook content to share with you at this time. I know everybody is eager to get their hands on guns, gears, and everything for sale in the Grand Bazaar, but we simply haven’t had the time to take a look at it yet. It’s the top of our priority list once the schedule crunch lets up, we promise.

Now, while we don’t have rules content for you, we do have some newly sanctioned adventures! For Pathfinder (second edition), Night of the Gray Death and Head-Shot the Rot are both sanctioned for play. You can find the sanctioning documents on their product pages. For Starfinder, we’ll have the next one-shot, The Great Grav-Train Robbery, sanctioned by the time it releases.

And finally, for our Pathfinder (first edition) players, the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path is now sanctioned for play! We know it’s been a long time coming; we tried to get it out at the same time the Owlcat game released, but the best laid plans of ysoki and men, etc, etc. The chronicles for this AP can be applied to a character of any level as well!

My goal is that by this time next month, we’ll have Guns & Gears and Lost Omens: Grand Bazaar sanctioned... just in time for the December releases! Hooray!

GM Recognition

Whether stars, novas, or glyphs, achieving a 5 ranking in any program involves a substantial amount of time. To achieve the 5th milestone, a GM must run 150 games, of which at least 50 must be unique scenarios and 10 special scenarios, as well as run between one and three games for venture-captains (program dependent). A conservative estimate of the time needed to reach the 5th milestone is 650 hours!

This month, we had one GM reach their fifth star for Pathfinder Society (first edition) and one reach their fifth nova for Starfinder Society.

5th Star: Jason Thuel
5th Nova Stephan V

Congratulations to our new 5-rank GMs and thank you for your dedication! If you believe you have achieved your 5th rank but haven’t been announced, email us at organizedplay@paizo.com.

Upcoming Conventions

Winter tends to be our quiet time for conventions, but that doesn’t mean our schedule is entirely silent! We’ve still got plenty of great events, both online and in-person. Check out the conventions calendar for a full list and be sure to click on the events for more details.

Until next time—Explore! Report! Cooperate!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

CEO Lisa Stevens recently expanded the Paizo Leadership Team to include industry veterans Mike Webb and Jim Butler. Mike and Jim join Jeff Alvarez, Erik Mona, Lisa Stevens, and David Reuland as they work together to drive Paizo into the future.

“With me stepping back from day-to-day operations of Paizo, it’s been important for me to find leaders that can guide the company into the future,” said Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo.

Jim Butler began working in the industry as an editor and game designer for TSR, eventually moving to Seattle with Wizards of the Coast where he worked alongside Lisa Stevens on the brand team for Dungeons & Dragons. Jim founded Bastion Press before working for Turbine/WB Games on Dungeons & Dragons Online and The Lord of the Rings Online. He then worked for Trion Worlds as Director of Global Marketing for RIFT and other MMOs.He completed the circle in 2017 when he returned to Seattle to work for Paizo as Vice President of Marketing and Licensing. He lives in Redmond with his husband Matthew and their furkids (Toker, Stella, and Skylar).

“I’m excited to bring my experiences and expertise to help shape the future of Paizo,” said Jim Butler. “Gaming is an integral part of my life, and I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the leadership team to grow the Pathfinder and Starfinder brands for many years to come!”

Mike Webb has been a role player since 1980, and made his living in the industry since 1997, when he joined Zocchi Distributing as Vice President and General Manager. In 2000, he joined the crew of Alliance Game Distributors as Vice President of Customer Service and Marketing, where he led innovative and national award winning in-store promotions and marketing programs. He has been active in the community, serving 14 years on the Game Manufacturers Association Board of Directors, and running miniature games and rpgs at local and nationwide conventions. An avid fan of Pathfinder from the beginning, Mike joined the Paizo team in July 2021. Mike lives in Decatur, Indiana where he runs a weekly Pathfinder game for his high school son.

"I've long found Paizo to epitomize what's great about our business. Bringing people to the table to tell epic stories together, providing truly mythic campaigns and Adventure Paths, and providing GMs and players tools that expand that experience - these are the things that made me a fan,” said Mike Webb, Vice President of Sales and E-Commerce. “Having the chance to join a team I've admired for years is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

You can reach Jim and Mike via email at jim.butler@paizo.com and mike.webb@paizo.com.

Nhalmika Ironsight ran through the fresh snow. It wasn’t that much snow—it wouldn’t reach higher than mid-shin on a human—but it was higher than Nhalmika’s knees. And there’s a big difference, she now knew, between running through snow below your knees and running through snow above them. But she nevertheless ran on, hefting her scattergun to keep it free of moisture that might foul the firing mechanism. Most humans would find the large gun to be far too heavy, but Nhalmika carried it with practiced ease. So perhaps there was a fair tradeoff somehow.

Yesterday, she’d come into the village of Ivlanton to the sound of cheers. The village was deep in Irrisen, the land of perpetual winter. Frostbite and privation were as omnipresent as the snow. Ivlanton sorely needed blankets, firewood, and medicine.

A caravan master in Lod had sent a cartload of these goods to Ivlanton. When it didn’t return, he asked Nhalmika to investigate. At first, the master had praised Nhalmika’s son, an upright merchant with whom he’d done business, but Nhalmika wouldn’t venture deeper into Irrisen on familial pride alone. The master then offered a generous payment, but Nhalmika still refused. She was from the far south, and this wintry land was unfamiliar to her. She’d intended to move on quickly to warmer Varisia. But when the master talked about the difficulties the villagers would face if the goods hadn’t reached them, Nhalmika agreed to go. She couldn’t let innocent people suffer just because she didn’t like snow. She took the offered coin, too, and spent it on a hand-pulled wagon with still more blankets and medicine. If she couldn’t find the missing goods, she didn’t want to reach Ivlanton empty-handed.

It turned out she needn’t have worried. She found the cart a few miles from Ivlanton, pulled off the road. Anyone else might have missed it, but the dead teamster’s baldric buckle gleamed in the deep shadows of the snowy hedge, bright as a beacon to Nhalmika’s keen eyes. The horses were nowhere to be seen. She saw that bandits had plainly pawed through the wagon, but they’d left the blankets and firewood behind. “Disappointed in their mundane haul, no doubt,” she muttered. Nhalmika prepared a hasty cairn for the unfortunate teamster and doubled up the load in her wagon to bring the lot to Ivlanton.

The villagers were pleased, to be sure, but the village seer, an elderly and kind woman named Gerthanna, told Nhalmika that something had been stolen from the wagon after all: a small, magical flask that produced an endless stream of fresh water. In a land where water froze solid all year round, ready access to fresh water was vital.

“I know bandits,” Nhalmika said assuredly, “and I know how to put them into the dirt…that is, the snow, I suppose,” she finished with faltering confidence. She paused to consider, but only for a moment. “I’ll go after them, and I’ll bring back your magic flask.”

Nhalmika backtracked to the ransacked cart to look for tracks. Amid her own boot prints and the hoofprints of the departed horses, she discovered several heavy footprints, each a cross between an animal’s paw and an unshod human foot. Snowfall largely concealed the tracks, but Nhalmika was a little disappointed in herself to have missed them the first time. Even good eyes get old, she thought.

The tracks led away from the trail and up a nearby hill. That’s where she found the remains of the horses, brutally torn to pieces. Clearly, something had feasted on great chunks of their meat. “Well, at least a well-fed enemy is a sluggish enemy,” Nhalmika mused, following the tracks as the hills led into a series of steep canyons. They looked like the box canyons of home: winding, dangerous, and the perfect place for an ambush. She readied her scattergun and shifted her cloak to access her powder and shot more easily. Then she stopped to think.

The paw-footed bandits entered this canyon but didn’t leave it. That meant they’d either gone to hide inside or they were waiting in ambush. Either way, she could get a better look from above. Nhalmika scrambled up the canyon wall and made her way around its lip, crouching low

Near the end of the box canyon, Nhalmika spied an elaborate ice sculpture, resembling a cresting wave with spines like icicles jutting every which way. It looked like some sort of symbol, but one that twisted away from her scrutiny as if she weren’t welcome to understand it. She recognized it as a fiendish rune—and a powerful one at that—wrought entirely from ice. An open metal flask resting atop the sculpture spouted a stream of water that quickly froze to slush and then to ice.

Six hulking bandits worked around the ice sculpture, shaping the water as it froze to form the enormous rune. At first, Nhalmika thought they were dressed in ragged hides, but she soon observed that the patchy hides grew from their skin and claws sprouted from their hands and bare feet. They wore nothing other than blood-stained rags. The burly animal people were working with a definite purpose, and fear struck somewhere deep in Nhalmika’s soul.

A low growl behind her made Nhalmika gasp in surprise. She’d been so focused on the rune-shaping bandits that she’d forgotten her earliest training: “a vanguard must look in all directions at once.” She glanced behind her.

An enormous bear glared at Nhalmika from only a dozen yards away. Yet it wasn’t the bear’s hostile stare or aggressive posture that drew her gaze. The bear wore a harness of iron chains supporting a massive mirror atop its back. The mirror stood upright, reflecting Nhalmika’s puzzled expression as she perched at the canyon’s edge.

“I am never going to understand Irrisen,” Nhalmika sighed as she swung her scattergun around to point at the bear. Before she could scare the bear off, the mirror blazed with bright inner light. The light coalesced into a beam of energy that lanced out toward Nhalmika. She sidestepped the blast, but the mirror immediately started to glow again, as though preparing for another beam. The bear howled in anger, and the roar was answered by the bandits in the chasm. Even as distracted as they were, they couldn’t have missed the bright beam.

“Well, you shot first. My turn now.” Nhalmika fired at the bear’s head. Her shot might as well have struck stone. The bear hardly flinched, then took two paces, closing in on her. Nhalmika’s hands worked automatically as the scattergun recoiled, loading another round as she used the gun’s momentum to swing it back around in an arc to fire again. The bear ignored the second hit, and its mirror glowed even brighter. While her practiced fingers reloaded again, Nhalmika glanced around for options.

“That flashy weapon’s the trouble, my furry friend. I can’t let you keep it.” She fired her third round at the mirror, expecting an explosion of glass and metal, but the shot rebounded from the mirror’s surface without a scratch. The scattergun was growing hot in Nhalmika’s hands, but she smoothly loaded it once again.

“I guess this is hurting me more than it’s hurting you. I don’t have any more time for this.” Nhalmika aimed her scattergun at the snow and leapt from the top of the cliff. She pulled the trigger and the recoil propelled her even higher. Another energy blast shot across the snow where she’d been only a second ago. She had to admit the bear’s aim was good. Especially for a bear.

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru from Pathfinder Guns & Gears.

Nhalmika could see the beast bandits looking up at her. She reached the top of her arc and descended into the canyon. Her trajectory was taking her down to the wicked ice sculpture, where its prongs and spikes would impale her before she ever got close to the howling bandits’ claws. She swung her scattergun around as she fell and pulled the trigger.

For a split second, she wasn’t certain she’d reloaded after launching herself from the cliff. But her fingers knew their work and had reloaded in mid-air without any conscious direction. The round exploded from the barrel and slammed into the sculpture, shattering the frozen rune into a spray of icicles. Nhalmika reached out and snatched the flask as she completed her fall.

The bandits were bloodied from the ice fragments but didn’t seem to notice in their rage. Nhalmika could now see their faces up close, and she wished she couldn’t; they were twisted masses of animalistic snouts and snaggled teeth beneath hate-filled red eyes. Nhalmika hit the snow, rolled, and sprung to her feet. Having survived the fall, she had to grudgingly admit that maybe snow was good for something after all.

Seriously outnumbered and worried she’d see that strange energy-mirror bear lean over the canyon rim, Nhalmika ran. Her legs pumped furiously, but the snow was too deep for her to traverse quickly. Her benevolent thoughts toward snow only a few moments ago evaporated quickly and entirely.

The bandits—being significantly taller than she was—were having much less trouble. They roared and howled as they ran after her, closing in as Nhalmika reached the opening to the canyon. The wounds the bandits had suffered from the explosion were already almost completely healed. Nhalmika still didn’t know what they were, but right now she would have traded them for a whole pack of Mana Waste mutants. Preferably slower ones.

At the mouth of the canyon, Nhalmika stopped and turned. She wasn’t going to escape, and she wasn’t going to survive, but she might take a couple of the monstrous bandits down before they overwhelmed her. At least some of these brutes would have eaten their last horse! She aimed at the bandit in the middle of the pack and fired.

Nhalmika’s scattergun emitted a strange clunk and a gout of fire from the barrel. In a horrifying second, she’d realized what had happened. She’d reloaded by instinct again, but this time she’d had the small magical flask in her other hand. She hadn’t put a round in the gun; she’d loaded the flask in there instead, without realizing it until now.

But now was too late. The flask rocketed from the scattergun’s barrel and struck the central bandit in the face. The impact caused a geyser of water to drench all the bandits at once. Before Nhalmika could even lower her gun, the water became slush, then froze solid. The bandits were trapped.

Nhalmika took a few cautious steps forward. When she saw the bandits couldn’t burst free of their icy prison, she took a few more steps, then quickly scooped up the flask from the snow. To her surprise, it was still intact. And it wasn’t even cold!

“You’ve been a lot of trouble,” she said to the flask in a gentle, chiding tone. “I’m getting you to Ivlanton, then I’m walking south, and I’m not stopping until I can’t see a single snowflake.”

About The Author

Ron Lundeen lives in the rural hinterlands outside of Seattle, Washington, where he finds the climate a pleasant change from his native Illinois. After a career as a corporate attorney, Ron took a full-time position with Paizo, Inc. as a developer, working with freelancers to create fabulous worlds and monstrous threats for the Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games. He now serves as development manager overseeing the Pathfinder development team. He also designs games in his free time, creating a dizzying variety of perils, plots, and legends. Ron’s favorite RPG design work is adventure writing, to help others share exciting stories with their friends. Although his first game design credit came back in 1993, Ron has recently written for Paizo, Wizards of the Coast, Ulisses Spiele, and many others. Ron also runs a gaming company and RPG writer advice blog, which you can visit at www.runamokgames.com.

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.