Hello, Starfinders! This month we embark on a rescue mission to find an old friend: Envar Tamm! Another year has passed and Ilia Tamm, CEO of Arch Energy Consortium, has been unable to locate her wayward son. Now an extreme travel vlogger and a thrill-seeking social media influencer, Envar has been gallivanting across the galaxy, seeing the sights and stirring up trouble. Armed with knowledge of his travels, a team of Starfinders heads out to track down Envar and bring him home—or at least bring a message back to his mother!

Ilustration by Luiz Lanzarin

Starfinder Society Scenario #5-12: Envar’s Expeditions is a repeatable adventure for 3rd- through 6th-level characters written by Kendra Leigh Speedling. Set in Near Space, the Starfinders visit four of six destinations during each playthrough, including the colossi-racked planet of Daimalko, the stormy island of Prozbyra on Gaskar III, the lightless world of Nemenar, the beaches of volcanic Pakahano, Vesk-4’s notorious Spinebreaker, and my personal favorite: the seaside town of Gruddonar on Varturan! So pack your bags and get ready for adventure!

Enjoy your travels!

Jessica Catalan
Starfinder Society Developer

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Hello there, Pathfinders!

This month we’re heading to the Grand Bazaar in Absalom to help sort some of the many magical objects we received from the Onyx Alliance! With help from our wonderful friends, Biglock and Mr. Glovely, we launch into an adventure to interact with some of the most interesting shopkeepers in the Grand Bazaar and bring about some of the strangest objects we’ve interacted with yet!

Illustration by Wassim Adkhal

Pathfinder Society Scenario #4-07: A Most Wondrous Exchange! is a repeatable adventure for 5th- through 8-8th level characters, written by Kendra Leigh Speedling. Set in Absalom’s Grand Bazaar, the Pathfinders must work together to seek the origins of four out of six treasures, ensure that their mysteries are solved and guarantee that they end up in the hands of the bazaar’s most capable shop owners. It’s certain to be a most exciting adventure!

Josh Foster
Pathfinder Society Developer

Shay Snow
Pathfinder Society Developer

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This blog is our last of the year – not just for the Organized Play team, but for all of us here at Paizo. Thank you all so much for a wonderful 2022! We hope the holiday season leads to joy, laughter and dice rolling for each and every one of you.

For all of us here at Paizo, thank you and we’ll see you in 2023!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

Our first marathon is in the books, and it’s time to report out! We knew when we started this project that it wasn’t going to go down like a typical dungeon crawl—or megadungeon for that matter. Instead, this campaign shot off with an excessively violent bang (series of them, actually) that left a character dead and a level full of face-down mitflits. We’ve played a lot of dungeons over the years, but we’ve never riddled one with ricochet marks. In short: Gunslingers are a great time, everyone should try four!

When you sign up for an OAD marathon, you agree to live in a house with us for a few days, playing about twelve to fourteen session hours a day. We take our time, roleplay as much as we can, and take advantage of almost every side quest and NPC errand that comes along. Throughout the marathon, other members of the Order might show up to cameo as NPCs or fellow gunslingers. Rack up enough session hours with us, and you’ll become the newest member of OAD. With that, we want to wish a warm welcome to Karee Vogrin, who reached 100 session hours and membership during this marathon!

• Adventure: Ruins of Gauntlight
• Marathon Length: 60 hours, 45min
• Session Hours: 35hrs, 30min

Our GM started the story on the path to the Gauntlight ruins, as we were already well prepped with a session zero and the material we had in our campaign’s Google Classroom. We found the top level of the ruins occupied, but the Black Powder Cadre was in need of cash, so the room-clearing began—right after we picked two of our characters up out of the mud. Yup, the Amber Die itself was hot from the start, and Adam opened this campaign with three crits from a slurk in the first encounter!

Highlights from Ruins of Gauntlight:

□ The Black Powder Cadre isn’t a group known for tact, and we managed to get kicked out of two of Otari’s prominent taverns: The Rowdy Rockfish and the Crook’s Nook. At the Rockfish we botched (a light term) an attempt to empathize with the proprietor whose son disappeared a year ago. At the Crook’s Nook, we ran up a sizeable tab with the local thieves’ guild. Solving this issue isn’t as simple as merely avoiding the tavern, so we’ll keep you updated as our debt looms. At least they know we’re heavily armed!

□ When you have a party consisting entirely of gunslingers, adventuring tactics can change a bit. We approached almost every room in the ruins through its collapsed ceiling. If we saw opposition on the floor below, we rained down lead as they scampered for the doors. Let the gods sort ’em out!

□ Hands-down one of the best battles of the adventure took place in the Otari graveyard. We raced past the cemetery gates as the Gauntlight shone down its eerie beam, bringing the deceased back to life! Things got loud real quick, and not since our years of playing Call of Duty: Zombies have we unloaded that much firepower into the walking dead. Worse yet, the Gauntlight brought to life our former companion, Rome, whose body was wrapped and prepared for a funeral the next morning. His massive frame lumbered toward us—and went down like the rest.

□ Just because we are the only ones with guns does not mean there aren’t some close shootouts. What, you thought you would automatically win a ranged battle because you’re packing heat? A morlock with a junk launcher might just have better aim.

□ Over the years, our GM has been known for rendering maps from Pathfinder adventures in his signature style. This time he drew with one eye—not by choice. It’s a long story, but Adam even GMed this project launch in sunglasses the whole time. Many thanks to the docs at Wills Eye in Philly for helping us pull off this marathon!

The Arsenal

As expected, with a party consisting completely of gunslingers, we saw quite a few extremes play out during the first marathon. Foremost, there is little that compares to round one of most combats: fire, reload, fire. Round two is rough though, when we all usually reload, fire, and reload. Another concern is money, as guns and ammo are expensive for an entire adventuring party. That fancy gem we found in the back of the soulbound doll? Sold—pass me a cartridge. Additionally, healing is an issue for us. Battle Medicine is a key reason we’re still here, and we’re thinking that eventually all characters will have to take it. Since we are all playing the same class, we’ve been overpowered in some encounters, and barely equipped to handle others; most importantly, this campaign is unlike any other, and that’s what we were striving for. Like all OAD projects, we’re also tracking data on how the characters interact with the Adventure Path, and we’ll present it at the end.

Character Deaths:

□ Anyone who is familiar with the Abomination Vaults has probably heard of Mister Beak, the soulbound doll responsible for so many TPKs that it earned a nerf in the hardcover version of the Adventure Path. Rome, a gunslinger following the Way of the Drifter, failed his save vs. the doll’s phantom pain. We shot Mister Beak up easier than a clay pigeon, but the persistent damage demanded some flat checks for Rome to survive. While he did manage to get rid of the persistent damage, he was still dying and needed to make recovery checks to stabilize. Our party’s inability to heal our fellow gunslinger left us watching in frozen fear: Rome had fallen. Yes, we used the nerfed version of the doll. Sorry for putting you out there, Erick!

Best Quote From Marathon 1:

(with smoke hovering after two-dozen rounds fired)

Breen: "Clear?"
Vlai: (kicks a dead gremlin) "Clear!"
Rome: “They shouldn’t have brought darts to a gunfight.”

Current Situation:

Gotta be honest, we loved the town of Otari as much as we did the first two levels of the Abomination Vaults. We had dinner with the mayor, read suggested selections at the Dawnflower Library, and even acquired the deed for the ruins of The Thirsty Alpaca. As of now, a crooked sign stands in front of the old alpaca that reads “Coming soon: Maloika’s Mercantile.” We’ve mourned our single character death, and Rome has been replaced by a rookie gunslinger from Arcadia practicing the Way of the Spellshot. We also explored level one and part of level two of the megadungeon, found Otari’s ghost, and followed it as best we could to level three. We’re currently in a hallway that presents a bit of option-anxiety: two stairways headed up, an open room with mist to the left, and a door at the other end of the corridor. Lock and load!

More Content:

Our table was brought to life with the help of Blue Table Painting for the miniatures, and Black Bard Studios for custom adventure-specific miniatures/terrain.

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Hey Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite fans! This month we’re looking at the top performers from November across both platforms, as well as a look at what’s new in December.

November’s Top Performers

Titles are ranked by an average of units sold and revenue earned and presented in alphabetical order. Asterisks indicate titles that are appearing on this list for the first time. Congratulations to all the top performers, especially “Team+” and “Team Index” (I made up that second one), whose products absolutely swept the competition this month! Keep up the great work.

Abomination Vaults GM’s Guide (P2)
The Abomination Vaults Adventure Path is an extensive campaign in a sprawling megadungeon. Your players need the right tools to navigate its dangers, and you need the tools in this GM’s Guide to keep the action moving! Inside, you’ll find new mini adventures that connect to the dungeon, new wandering factions, a checklist of all the side quests the campaign offers, and full stat blocks for every single monster on every single level!

Clerics+ (P2)*
Guided by the holiest (or most infernal) of powers, Clerics+ is an expansion to the cleric class that adds new ways to play a scholar of the divine in Pathfinder Second Edition! However you praise the gods, be it through steel, service, or secrets, Clerics+ is your ticket to playing the priests of Golarion in unbelievable new ways! Pick up this balanced, vanilla+ expansion to Pathfinder Second Edition today, and PRAISE BE TO THE GODS! Foundry VTT and Pathbuilder support coming soon.

Everything Shields (P2)
Take your shields to the next level! With the Everything Shields Pathfinder Second Edition supplement, you can create hundreds of customized shields and shield-focused characters. Do you want to play a swashbuckling, targe-wielding duelist whose shield can exude darkness on command when you get in a pinch? Or a mobile warrior who throws a mithral hoplon that returns after each attack? How about a witch who has etched a hex onto the face of their shield to make enemies falter when they attack? All of these options and many more are possible with Everything Shields!

Impossible Lands+ (P2)*
Where magic is mundane, where mutants roam, where the fey walk among men… the Impossible Lands are a region ripe with adventure. In this book, you’ll be able to choose dozens of new options to create the perfect character for these amazing settings, expanding on the stories told in Pathfinder Lost Omens Impossible Lands! Dare to do the impossible in this vanilla+ rulebook with more mechanics, more adventures, and more tales to be told by the creators of the Classes+ series. Push beyond the limits of reality and do something incredible today! Foundry VTT and Pathbuilder support coming soon.

NPC Index: Spellcasters (P2)
Want to save yourself hours of prep time for your Pathfinder Second Edition game? This is where NPC Index: Spellcasters shines. Here you’ll find more than 100 ready-made stat blocks for spellcasting NPCs of every level, from a lowly apprentice to the most awe-inspiring archdruid. Whether you’re planning out future adventures, converting First Edition adventures to Second Edition, or throwing together interesting magical encounters on the fly, this book does the hard work so you can play more! Foundry VTT support also available.

NPC Index: Undead Templates (P2)*
The undead are on the rise! This expansion to the NPC Index line features 20 simplified templates that can be added to any NPC from the Index line or monster from the Pathfinder Bestiary volumes to create a new, undead version. You’ll retain the essence of the base creature but flavor it with undead goodness—which means a zombie fighter is going to be very different from a zombie owlbear, but both are equally and easily possible using these templates. Includes Foundry VTT support.

NPC Index: Warriors (P2)
Saving prep time for your Pathfinder Second Edition game is where NPC Index: Warriors shines. Here you’ll find more than 100 ready-made stat blocks for martial NPCs of every level, from a lowly squire to the most terrifying barbarian chieftain. Whether you’re planning out future adventures, converting First Edition adventures to Second Edition, or throwing together interesting martial encounters on the fly, this book does the hard work, so you don’t have to! Foundry VTT support also available.

Oracles+ (P2)
From the authors of the bestselling Witches+, Oracles+ provides new mysteries, such as beast, fate, and song; new oracle feats, including trance, relic, and mystery cult feats; and suggested errata to help balance existing mysteries! It also includes the Awakened Oracle class archetype, where your minor curse is always active, but you gain an additional boost when you’re overwhelmed by your curse! Includes Foundry VTT and Pathbuilder support.

Smoke and Sail: A Pathfinder 2E Naval Warfare Sourcebook (P2)
An invaluable sourcebook for your next nautical campaign, Smoke and Sail presents a comprehensive rules set for intuitive ship-based combat encounters, giving your party special crew actions during combat, as well as new skill feats, underwater hazards, ships, and more! Foundry VTT support also available.

Witches+ (P2)
Witches+ offers new lessons, feats, class updates, and patrons, including streets, time, and spirits! The book even has new final lessons and suggested errata that helps balance existing patrons with adjustments to existing hexes! Includes Foundry VTT and Pathbuilder support.

New And On Sale In December

New releases continue this month, including new Impossible Lands content like Born of Impossibility: Seedborn, the Ghost Eater Bundle, Impossible Ancestries: Ratajin, and Impossible Experiments 1–3, and new end-of-year holiday content like Shirranukkah: A HoloDays Adventure Toolkit. And it wouldn’t be the holiday season without holiday sales! Check out some of the sales and special year-end bundles on offer:

• Lion’s Brain Media Year End Sale (P2)
• Novel Bundle (P2 & SF)
• All NPC Index (P2) PDFs are currently on sale
• Team+ Holiday Bundle (P2)

Be sure to check out all the Infinite Masters releases here and have a wonderful holiday season. We’ll see you in the new year!

Mark Moreland
Director of Brand Strategy

The Foundry Virtual Tabletop team recently released a new project in partnership with Paizo: a comprehensive artwork and token pack that covers every creature in the Pathfinder Bestiary, Bestiary 2, and Bestiary 3 for Pathfinder Second Edition.

In the last few days we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to this release, and we couldn’t be more pleased to see people enjoying our hard work. We’ve also been flooded with questions about our process, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to pull back the curtain a little bit and share something about how this product was made and the team that brought it to life.

Nath (Anathema)

For those who don't know me, I'm Anathema or Nath—or Shane if we want to use real names—the Project Coordinator for Foundry VTT and one of the people responsible for helping to bring premium content for Pathfinder to the Foundry VTT community. I'm often joined in matters like this by Viviane, who works in content production, most notably on our Pathfinder releases. A little later in this article we’ll also hear from Ian, who subcontracted with us to actually do the work of converting more than a thousand pieces of artwork into the tokens so many of you have purchased and are enjoying.

I'd like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the Pathfinder community for all the support for the Foundry VTT premium content projects. Without the awesome community surrounding Pathfinder Second Edition for Foundry VTT, I’m not sure we would be nearly as successful as we have been at bringing this content to you!

It probably won't be a surprise for you to read that the "token pack project" came about as a result of feedback from the community. For months—perhaps even years—people had been asking for a token pack for use in their Pathfinder games. When we were deciding early on which Paizo projects to offer first, it came up then, but for several reasons we didn't want it to be the very first product we brought to the community. Tackling the Pathfinder Beginner Box and Abomination Vaults Adventure Path made a much bigger splash and, I feel strongly, got exactly the right kind of attention. Once we had those successes under our belt, producing a token pack was an obvious next step, but with such a rich setting as Golarion there are a lot of questions about where to start:

• What does the community most want to see in a token pack?
• Where are the logical boundaries for the creatures and characters the token packs should contain?
• What would provide the best experience for users without an unnecessary maintenance burden?
• Is there a way we can provide some benefit to Pathfinder First Edition players and GMs?
• Is there any way to offer token packs that better support Pathfinder Society?
• Should make a token pack per book?
• Should we try to group them based on theme instead?
• Is there a way we can make this beneficial for a wider audience outside of the mainstream Pathfinder Second Edition players?

…and so many more.

When it came down to it, the bestiaries were the obvious choice. The community has been very vocal about wanting tokens for all the creatures in the bestiaries, and it solved a lot of questions about whether we should group by book or not. It also provided the best opportunity to provide some support to players and GMs who still lean on Pathfinder First Edition, or those participating in Organized Play events, as both groups have a lot of overlapping demand for bestiary creatures.

However, those of you who have been following the content Foundry VTT produces will know by now: we don't do things small. As we see it, if we're going to tackle creating tokens for the bestiaries, we aren't going to only do one book at a time. The project is already going to require a lot of time for organization, and if we're going to organize art for 400 creatures, why not make it 1,200? Besides, there aren't many cases out there where you can buy more than a thousand tokens and portraits to use in your game at a single price point.

One thing we all agreed on very early was the importance of including a blank copy of the token ring, so that players and GMs would be able to have their own tokens match the style of the token pack. While Ian will give some tips and tricks on getting your tokens to look consistent, for those who really want to understand the exact techniques we used: The Pathfinder Second Edition Volunteer Development Team has been raising money for Extra Life. If they raise $10,000 or more (at the time of writing, they have already raised a staggering $9,683), I have previously offered to record and release a detailed instructional video that will cover every aspect of our token production process.

Once we knew what the scope of the project was going to be (approximately 1,200 creatures’ worth of art, twice) and it was approved by Paizo, Cora began to tackle the monumental effort of organizing all the different parts of the project into a sensible and usable state.

Viviane (Cora)

I’m Viviane, and I’m a content developer at Foundry VTT as well as a project manager for the Pathfinder Token Pack: Bestiaries. I worked extensively on our Abomination Vaults and Beginner Box releases, and you might also know me as the community manager of the all-volunteer team that develops the Pathfinder Second Edition system on Foundry VTT. I’m currently running the Strength of Thousands Adventure Path for my own group, who’re just into book 3 of the adventure.

One of the main things that we committed to very early on was that, in one form or another, every single creature should have artwork. At times, that can be trickier than it sounds; only a fraction of Paizo’s excellent creature artwork is inside the bestiaries themselves. So, when we decided to tackle this project, my first job was to create a definitive list of what we had, what we needed, and how we were going to fill the gaps.

I started by creating a list of every single creature that appears in these three publications—not just names, but also their ID in the system database, their size, and any other relevant data about them that might be needed later down the line.

Once I had my shopping list in hand, I dug through the bestiaries, the pawn boxes, and the battlecards before looking a little further afield. For instance, we found a portrait for the kapoacinth (a swimming variant of the gargoyle) in the Blood Lords Adventure Path, and our eagle is from the Strange Aeons Adventure Path in Pathfinder First Edition. I was very lucky to have Ian’s help here—he has a truly uncanny ability to spout off the source book and page number for just about any artwork you can think of, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

In a couple of places, we filled our gaps by making minor edits to existing artwork, like carefully recoloring the chimera and dracolisk so there would be options for individuals of every draconic exemplar. When that wasn’t enough, I ceded the stage to Anathema, whose compositing work is what gave us a complete set of petitioners, the living graffiti, and plenty of other incredible pieces.

The help we got from Paizo in this process was, of course, invaluable, and we couldn’t have done it without support from them, especially Andrew White and Luis Loza, who helped to ensure we had every piece of artwork we needed, and offered advice and input when needed to make sure our composites fit with the lore of the Pathfinder universe.

Once we had all of the artwork formatted, renamed, and entered into the spreadsheet (and we’d ensured nothing was left out), I passed over my collection to Ian for the token creation process and started packaging the module for release. That included deciding on a folder structure for our assets, so that it’d be easy for people to find the artwork they were looking for. It also meant setting up the image mapping functionality, so that all of the artwork would seamlessly be inserted into your Foundry compendiums as soon as you enabled the module. As we got closer to release, I also took some demo screenshots for the store page, created banner images, joined my colleagues on a livestream to talk about the impending release, and just generally continued to try to make everything go as smoothly as possible.

Ian (SpartanCPA)

Hello everyone! I’m Ian, better known among the Foundry VTT community as SpartanCPA. I am one of the two lead data coordinators for the volunteer development team for the Pathfinder Second Edition game system, and generally speaking, I’m the one “in charge” of the NPC stat blocks. I joined the team on a whim a few years ago and decided that a good use of my free time was auditing the NPC stat blocks for Bestiary 2, and around a month later, the format I had worked out became our go-to format for all of the monsters. As far as games I’m currently a part of, I run a homebrew story centered around Alkenstar, a conversion of Rise of the Runelords, and I’m playing in a Fists of the Ruby Phoenix campaign. It’s hard to find any free time I don’t devote to Pathfinder these days.

I'm very particular when it comes to the art that I show my players during a game, which is one of the reasons I gravitated to Paizo games in the first place. The first time I opened the system on Foundry VTT, I was initially amazed that every single stat block is just there to be used—just drag and drop and you are good to go. (Provided you had your own art…) My second thought, after seeing the “Mystery Man” picture on all of the compendiums was, "I'm going to have to fix this."

I meticulously sorted artwork from all Paizo sourcebooks I own, for both editions of Pathfinder, and tagged each piece with my own naming scheme to easily find and create my own tokens to get as much coverage in the compendium as I possibly could. Viviane said above that I have an uncanny track of the Paizo art—I can definitely say I've put in the time to get there.

When I started on this project, I was given the raw art files from Nath and Cora, as well as a template token ring file chosen by Foundry VTT, and was essentially set free to complete the tokens as I saw fit. I was asked to take special advantage of some of the features available on Foundry, such as the extended pop-outs where possible, and I think they came out extremely well. Some of the tokens I’m especially proud of are the elder wyrmwraith, the mist stalker, and the storm giant. These tokens show a number of little enhancements we were able to make, such as the transparent wing membranes on the wyrmwraith, and the glowing eye in the center of the fog of the mist stalker. These little effects aren’t available anywhere else besides this token pack, and I believe they really make it stand out. That said, while I think I was able to make the tokens pop, I would also like to say that the underlying artwork itself was stellar, and I give first kudos to the artists who made the originals.

The token-making process itself was purposely made to be flexible, so that the ring chosen could work with any orientation of art or creature body type. (Which is more important than you’d expect—we did have 1,200+ tokens to make, after all.) We included the token rings in the module as well, so you can make tokens for your player characters, or other monsters, in the same style! Quick tip: If there is smoke approaching the edges of the token frame, such as with the adamantine golem, or especially the mist stalker from before, be very careful to not have a hard line at the token edge. It’s generally a good idea to make that token a bit bigger to allow the smoke to billow out naturally. There are more tips I could give to really make your tokens pop, but if you want all the secrets, you’ll have to take Nath up on his offer and push the Extra Life donations past $10,000 raised. It’s a good cause, and we are almost there!

I’m immensely happy to have had a part in this project with Foundry and Paizo. Each company was extremely flexible with any requests I had, and I was able to put some of my own touches on some of the iconic monsters that many people get to use in their own games going forward.

What’s Next?

With the release of Pathfinder Token Pack: Bestiaries, we can turn our thoughts to planning the next release in this product line. We've been happy to see such a positive outpouring of support from the community, and we feel confident we can continue this trend for quite some time. Thankfully, we’re at no risk of running out of material to work with! Paizo has several decades’ worth of top-quality artwork in their vaults, and we’ve already got some ideas about what to tackle next, as well as plenty of great suggestions from the community. Working with Paizo has helped us create a product that we’re immensely proud of, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy it the way we do.

– The team at Foundry VTT

Greetings, Pathfinders and Starfinders!

For over a year, we’ve watched Pathfinder Infinite evolve in both style and substance as more and more community creators have brought (and continue to bring!) their many talents to the worlds of Pathfinder and Starfinder. From rulebooks and adventures to accessories and magic items, the rich fabric of Golarion and the Pact Worlds continues to spin out in wondrous new patterns.

Now, we’re thrilled to further enhance our community by bringing Pathfinder Infinite content officially to the Roll20 virtual tabletop. Come February, community creators will be able to convert or create content for play on Roll20 and sell that content via the Pathfinder Infinite site so that it unlocks for users on Roll20.

Every hero needs a place to adventure, along with the occasional upgrade to their gear. Just so, every content creator wants a place where their designs can come to life. Roll20 will soon be that place! Creators can begin designing new content on Roll20 now in anticipation of the February launch. And Pathfinder and Starfinder fans will soon have a whole new runway on which to showcase their unique creations via the virtual tabletop.

Greetings, players! I’m pleased to let you know that the wheels have already begun to spin up for 2023’s convention season.

For our major shows (such as PaizoCon and Gen Con), we have a volunteer organizing committee that runs our organized play space. This group works closely with me, as the Organized Play Coordinator, to determine the schedule, recruit GMs, and get them everything they need to make the show a success!

Illustration by Lucas Villalva Machado

While we’re still finalizing what our presence looks like for Gen Con, we know we’re going to need a few new members of our leadership team. Applications for these positions are open until January 1, 2023. After that, I’ll anonymize the submissions and discuss them with our existing Gen Con Committee.

Please note that joining a leadership team is a significant commitment, as there is a lot of preparation work to do to get ready for a show. More information about the leadership team’s responsibilities and rewards are available in this document. If you’re not already a Venture Officer, we’ll be asking you to sign a volunteer agreement stating that you agree to these commitments. Note that anybody is free to apply for a committee; we welcome those who are not already Venture Officers!

Gen Con 2023 is seeking applicants for the following positions:

Online Committee Member

We’re looking to add one member whose sole responsibility will be to focus on Gen Con Online. This position is not required to attend the show in Indianapolis (and in fact, it will be much easier if they don’t). We’re asking them to oversee operations via our Discord during the show: coordinating with HQ, ensuring GMs have what they need, and taking responsibility for the Organized Play-related activities. It’s a tall order, so we’re looking for someone experienced with online conventions.

Academy Assistant

The Pathfinder and Starfinder Academies are our programs designed to teach young players (under the age of 18) about our games in a safe, family-friendly environment. We’re looking for someone who wants to learn about this program this year, with the goal of training them to take over next year. As a result, we’re looking for applicants willing to take on a multi-year commitment for this position. The ideal candidate enjoys working with children and families and can mentor GMs on playing with young children. A background check is required for this position at the applicant’s expense; this is only required once the position is offered and accepted, and previous checks (such as from a teaching or youth group) will be accepted.

Headquarters Department Head

At major conventions, we have a team of HQ volunteers whose task is to support GMs, answer questions from players, and muster players to tables. The HQ staff is the backbone of our conventions, and we can’t run a show without them. We’re looking for someone to serve as our Department Head for this team. They’ll work to train our in-person HQ staff on best practices, serve as backup for the team in the event of issues, and document methods for future conventions. The ideal candidate has experience with running HQ at larger conventions and is able to train new staffers quickly.

If you’re interested in any of these positions, please fill out the form below! If necessary, we’ll contact applicants with follow-up questions and notify all applicants of their status before the end of January. We’re looking forward to working with you at the Best Four Days in Gaming!

APPLICATION LINK

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

We know you will love what we got you—a fearsome foe or two, maybe even a troop or swarm, in every encounter. Happy Holidays!

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Starfinder Roleplaying Game

Starfinder Adventure Path #49: A Light in the Dark (Drift Hackers 1 of 3)

Author: Jessica Catalan
Cover Artist: Rodrigo Gonzalez Toledo

GLOOM AND DOOM
As the Drift Crisis continues, the heroes arrive at the Drift city of Alluvion only to find it dangerously unstable, both physically and politically. By agreeing to aid a desperate android priest of Casandalee, the heroes can help heal these divides. To do so, they must venture into a cursed part of the city where technology fails in order to restore light and power to the area.

This Starfinder Adventure Path volume begins the Drift Hackers Adventure Path and includes:

• “A Light in the Dark,” a Starfinder adventure for 7th-level characters, by Jessica Catalan.
• A player’s guide for this Adventure Path, with advice on making characters perfect for bringing an end to the Drift Crisis, by Joseph Blomquist.
• A toolbox featuring a look at Alluvion during the Drift Crisis, a treatise on cybernetic enhancements that includes new augmentations and feats for those who use them, a collection of interesting creatures, and a travelling satellite that helps androids live again, by Joseph Blomquist, Jessica Catalan, Alison Cybe, Andrew Geels, and Shan Wolf.
• Statistics and deck plans for a reliable exploratory starship, by Jessica Catalan.

Stay up to date, get a complimentary PDF, and help qualify for the Paizo Advantage discount with the Starfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

Learn more in the free Drift Hackers Player’s Guide.

Learn more about the Drift Crisis in which faster-than-light travel breaks down and the galaxy is thrown into chaos.

Starfinder Bounty #6: Songbird Rescue

A Starfinder Bounty designed for 1st-level characters written by Nicole Heits. Art by Alecksander Ribeiro.

Among the hand-built altars to forgotten and dead deities that cover the surface of the airless moon of Yashu-Indiri, a servant of a murderous god turns shrines into deathtraps and harnesses fell magic to drag down passing starships. When these engineered accidents cause a priestess of Shelyn—vanished goddess of art, love, and beauty—to go missing on a trip to Yashu-Indiri, a team of heroes is sent to locate and rescue her. If these heroes aren’t careful, they’ll be the next lives claimed in this grim harvest.

Starfinder Bounties are a limited run of short, entry-level, PDF-only adventures designed to get you playing Starfinder quickly. They are easily dropped into existing campaigns. While the content is sanctioned for use in the Starfinder Society Organized Play program, you don’t have to be in the program to enjoy them!

Starfinder Society Scenario #5-12: Envar's Expeditions

A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for 3rd- through 6th-level characters written by Kendra Leigh Speedling. Art by Luiz Lanzarin.

Take a tour of Near Space on the trail of Envar Tamm, star of the extreme travel v-log series Envar’s Expeditions. Ordered to save Envar and bring him home to his mother, the Starfinders track Envar’s digital data tags to exciting, over-the-top travel destinations to find and assist the thrill-seeking influencer. Survive a colossi-safari on Daimalko, outrace a storm on Gaskar III, mingle with the local brenneri on picturesque Varturan, and more! This is one vacation you’ll never forget!

Stay up to date with the Starfinder Society Scenario Subscription.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

Pathfinder Lost Omens: Pathfinder Society Guide Special Edition

THE NAME OF THE GAME!
Founded over 400 years ago, the Pathfinder Society has witnessed—and influenced—some of the most pivotal events for the Inner Sea region and beyond. Throughout it all, Pathfinder agents have held to their iconic adventuring creed: Explore, Report, Cooperate!
The Pathfinder Society Guide throws open the gates on one of the biggest adventuring associations on the world of Golarion. Ally with these intrepid scholars, oppose them with the help of their many foes, or join them to seek the heights of fame and glory within the pages of the Pathfinder Chronicles!

This deluxe special edition is bound in faux leather with metallic deboss cover elements and a bound-in ribbon bookmark.

Stay up to date, get a complimentary PDF, and help qualify for the Paizo Advantage discount with the Pathfinder Lost Omens Special Edition Subscription.

Also available at Pathfinder Nexus.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #186: Ghost King’s Rage (Blood Lords 6 of 6)

Author: Jessica Catalan
Cover Artist: Natasha Nanook

RAGE AGAINST SHADOW
The newest Blood Lords have discovered who’s behind the conspiracy that threatens the nation. The ghost king Geb wants this traitor destroyed. The player characters must venture to the Boneyard to discover the location of the traitor’s realm, a place of shadowy horror and mind-bending reality! The Blood Lords Adventure Path concludes with “Ghost King’s Rage,” a complete adventure for 18th- to 20th-level characters.

Stay up to date, get a complimentary PDF, and help qualify for the Paizo Advantage discount with the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

Learn more in the Blood Lords Player’s Guide.

Also available at Pathfinder Nexus and Foundry VTT.

Pathfinder Abomination Vaults Battle Cards

Delve Deep!
What untold horrors await in the sprawling megadungeon of the Abomination Vaults Adventure Path? This box contains 200 cards detailing every creepy aberration, sneaky hunter, and subterranean horror. Each card features a beautiful, full-color image on one side and that creature’s statistics on the other for quick and easy reference. Show your heroes what they’re facing while keeping the stats you need close at hand!

Stay up to date, get a complimentary PDF, and help qualify for the Paizo Advantage discount with the Pathfinder Accessories Subscription.

Pathfinder Bounty #21: Against the Unliving

A Pathfinder Bounty designed for 3rd-level characters written by Sen H.H.S. Art by Sebastian Rodriguez.

The squire of a long-dead knight asks for the help of heroes in investigating the site of their master’s death. A bleak island awaits the heroes, now inhabited by the dead and undead alike. It’s up to the PCs to retrieve mementos of lost knights and lay to rest any lingering spirits on the island.

Pathfinder Bounties are a limited run of short, entry-level, PDF-only adventures designed to get you playing Pathfinder quickly. They are easily dropped into existing campaigns. While the content sanctioned for use in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play program, you don’t have to be in the program to enjoy them!

Pathfinder Society Scenario #4-07: A Most Wondrous Exchange!

A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 5th- through 8th-level characters written by Kendra Leigh Speedling. Art by Wassim Adkhal.

It's time for a trip to the Grand Bazaar of Absalom! This thriving market hosts wondrous shops of all sorts, whose proprietors are experts in a variety of wares. Having recently acquired a vast number of strange magic items, the Pathfinder Society needs groups of agents to visit the Grand Bazaar and exchange favors with these interesting shopkeepers in order to better understand some of the treasures that have fallen into the Society's hands. Thankfully, the Society's new ally, Biglock, has a good idea of where to start!

Stay up to date with the Pathfinder Society Scenario Subscription.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Swamp Ruins

LOST IN THE SWAMP!
Testaments to both the stubbornness of architects and the power of nature, swampland ruins fall quickly but linger long. Be they abandoned and slowly sinking villages or remote, deteriorating fortresses in the wetlands, the ruins featured on this Flip-Mat no longer serve as castles or citadels. Now, only monsters dwell within! Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Swamp Ruins measures 24" × 30" unfolded, and 8" × 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!

Stay up to date, get a complimentary PDF, and help qualify for the Paizo Advantage discount with the Pathfinder Maps Subscription.

Featured Partner Products

Pathfinder Tokens: Bestiaries (Foundry VTT)

Every creature, every variant, every portrait—tokenized and ready for use.

A truly comprehensive collection of portrait and token artwork for more than 1,200 creatures including their variants. This all-in-one package exclusive to Foundry VTT combines all of the artwork from the Pathfinder Bestiary, Bestiary 2, and Bestiary 3 for Pathfinder Second Edition into a single collection. Clockwork constructs, dangerous devils, deadly dragons, nightmarish niliths, ominous orcs, slithering serpentfolk, plaintive petitioners, and untamable undead—no creature goes unrepresented.

View all the Foundry VTT products.

Pathfinder Battles: Goblin Vanguard

Pathfinder Battles: Goblin Vanguard contains six types of the iconic Pathfinder foe for your adventurers to battle or use as their own goblin heroes! Game Masters can quickly build new encounters for their players with the awesome mix of goblins to keep play sessions exciting over multiple campaigns. With the product’s see-through packaging, building a goblin army is quick and simple!

Goblins have never been easier to bring to the tabletop, with the all-new Vanguards!

• Goblin Champion
• Goblin Cleric
• Goblin Investigator
• Goblin Wizard
• Goblin Rogue
• Mutant Goblin

Paizo Product Schedule

January products release on Wednesday, the 25th. The highlights include Pathfinder Adventure Path #187: The Seventh Arch (Gatewalkers 1 of 3), Pathfinder Lost Omens: Ancestry Guide Special Edition, Pathfinder Adventure Path: Fists of the Ruby Phoenix and Battle Cards. Don’t miss them, subscribe today!

Thank you for playing Starfinder and Pathfinder!

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

Our 20th Anniversary Year is coming to a close and we want to say: thank you and Happy Holidays!

Illustration by Kent Hamilton

From now through January 18, take 15% off a single order* on Pathfinder, Starfinder and Kobold Press print products at the Paizo Store using the code holiday23 at checkout.

It is not too late to treat yourself and the gamers in your life to our biggest releases of the year, including:

Starfinder Galactic Magic

Starfinder Drift Crisis Suite

Starfinder Drift Crisis Adventure Path

Starfinder Drift Hackers Adventure Path

Starfinder Interstellar Species

Pathfinder Book of the Dead

Pathfinder Dark Archive

Pathfinder Quest for the Frozen Flame Adventure Path

Pathfinder Outlaws of Alkenstar Adventure Path

Pathfinder Blood Lords Adventure Path

Pathfinder Kingmaker Adventure Path Suite

Pathfinder Lost Omens: Travel Guide

Pathfinder Lost Omens: Knights of Lastwall

Pathfinder Lost Omens: Impossible Lands

All our goblins, gnomes, halflings, fetchling wisps, ant gnolls, grippli, kobolds, leshies, ratfolk, kashrishi, poppets, shoonies and compact skeletons—and a galaxy of less than human-sized aliens—want to ensure you don't overlook our small releases, so you can make your perfect bundle!

Starfinder Adventures including Redshift Rally and To Defy the Dragon

Starfinder Accessories including Starfinder Spell Cards

Starfinder Society including Season 5: Year of Redemption's Rise

Pathfinder Adventures including Shadows at Sundown and Crown of the Kobold King

Pathfinder Accessories including the Deck of Endless NPCs

Pathfinder Society including Season 4: Year of Boundless Wonder

Board and Card Games including Pathfinder Goblin Firework Fight

Kobold Press, including Tome of Beasts 3, Vault of Magic, and other great 5E content

Don't forget to subscribe so that you don't miss a product in 2023!

Paizo will be closed Friday, December 23, Monday, December 26, and Monday, January 2. The warehouse will be closed the first week of January for inventory.

Once again, and we can't say it enough, thank you for playing Starfinder and Pathfinder! We wish you all safe travels, critical hits, and all the adventure that the holiday season brings!

Best wishes and happy gaming,
The Paizo Staff

*The holiday23 code stacks with Pathfinder Advantage. Discount stacks with Paizo Advantage, but not other discounts. Not valid on subscriptions, preorders, Foundry VTT products, or Non-Paizo downloads. Code ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on January 18.

Greetings from the future! As mentioned in our Introducing the Narrative Team blog, there have been some changes to Paizo’s teams, and perhaps none have seen more of a shake-up than the Starfinder Team!

With the restructure of the editorial department, you’ve already heard about changes to the Narrative Team under Linda Zayas-Palmer and will be hearing more about the Rules and Lore Team under Michael Sayre in the coming weeks. Today is your chance to learn about the Starfinder Team and some of the exciting changes we’ve got coming down our futuristic pipeline.

The Starfinder Team is responsible for everything Starfinder. That includes Starfinder Adventure Paths, Starfinder modules, Starfinder hardcovers, Starfinder the flamethrower… oh wait, ignore that last one! The team handles all aspects of Starfinder except for Starfinder Society, which remains under the Narrative Team due to its close connections to Pathfinder Society through Paizo’s Organized Play programs—though we keep in regular contact with our SFS developer for scheming purposes.

All right, let’s introduce the team!

Dustin Knight

Greetings Starfinders! I’m Dustin Knight, the newest developer for Starfinder! I’m taking the lead on the development of future Starfinder hardcover books. Working at Paizo is a dream come true, and I’m so excited to bring smiles to our fans around the world. I’m also elated to be able to work with the most creative and skilled artists, designers, developers, editors, and writers in the industry; my only regret is not contacting Paizo years sooner to ask for work (hint, hint). Being able to develop player-facing options is especially exciting for me given my experiences both writing new content and evaluating existing content for Organized Play—where I hope my additions to our awesome game will facilitate memorable stories for years to come.

You may have already met me lurking around various Starfinder & Pathfinder Discords, hanging with the crew on Know Direction: Beyond, and releasing my own line of Pathfinder Infinite products. When I’m not developing or writing new RPG books, I’m still finding time to play TCGs, experience the culinary cross-roads of the Seattle area, and enjoy every minute of my precious boyfriend’s incredible Starfinder campaign!

If you’re interested in working with us, please feel free to contact me at dustin.knight@paizo.com. Don’t be shy about including your availability, interests, and experiences, whether RPG related or otherwise, as it can greatly help us assign exciting content that plays to your strengths as an author! Feel free to chat me up on the Infinite Possibilities Discord.

Jenny Jarzabski

Hi, I’m Jenny Jarzabski, and I’m super hyped to keep bringing that extra sparkle to Starfinder’s Adventure Path line. I’ll be outlining and assigning Adventure Paths and modules, plus working with the rest of the team to dig deeper into Starfinder’s lore and shape the future of Starfinder as a game and brand!

My Paizo career began in Organized Play. There, I helmed the Starfinder Society’s Year of the Data Scourge before joining the Adventure Path team. Recently, I’ve stepped into my new role as Queen of Adventures—note that my actual title is Senior Developer—a role that encompasses my old job responsibilities with an added layer of creative influence and mentorship.

Besides my on-the-clock work, I’m a longtime Paizo freelancer, but adventures are my specialty. My latest published work is recently released Drift Crashers 2: Nightmare Scenario, but I have so many ‘Finder credits at this point that it’s hard to keep track. Before I became a freelance writer I worked as a teacher, bartender and certified sommelier, and event planner. I still enjoy talking about wine and, of course, tasting it! I love the outdoors, playing video games (Drakengard/NieR and Final Fantasy XIV are my favorites), watching anime, cosplay, performing, and music. I love mechs, magical girls, and tragic androids; you can expect more of this holy trinity (and many more fun surprises) in future Starfinder releases. I’m not into social media these days, but I’m active on Discord and my digital mailbox at jenny.jarzabski@paizo.com is always open! Forgive me for the Drift delay in responding.

Thurston Hillman

Hello! I’m Thurston Hillman, the managing creative director for the Starfinder Team. This is a bit of a unique title in our company as it combines the elements of manager and creative director to balance out the fact that Starfinder is a smaller team. My role comprises the usual logistical scheduling tasks as well as the oversight and guidance provided by a creative director. I work side-by-side with my co-workers and other departments to make sure that Starfinder is the best brand it can be, and to bring all the content that our fans want.

I’ve been GMing Starfinder campaigns off and on since the game came out, including some hosted on Paizo’s Twitch Channel. (Check for Pungeon Crawl!) Along with my obvious love of Starfinder, I’m a huge fan of Pathfinder, and I even GM a show as part of the Narrative Declaration team (https://www.narrativedeclaration.com) in our custom Rotgrind setting. I also run a home PF2 campaign set in the nation of Druma, for which I co-wrote the actual book back at the end of Pathfinder 1st Edition, and we’re now entering the fourth adventure in my homebrew Adventure Path that has the PCs battling against corrupt Prophets of Kalistrade and the forces of Abaddon. Yeah, that’s right, I’m using this space to TELL YOU ABOUT MY CAMPAIGN!! *insidious laughter follows*

I’ve been working with Paizo since Starfinder’s launch, where I was the Starfinder Society developer. I later helped the Pathfinder Society for a brief stint before moving into digital adventures and then back onto Starfinder in my current title. In all those roles, I’ve worked on too many products to name, and most recently I’m wrapping up work on the Scoured Stars Adventure Path, which is a dream-come-true project. Also, I tossed a never-before-seen Scoured Stars art piece into this blog, because I am ABUSING MY NEW AUTHORITY *more insidious laughter ensues*

On official channels, you can contact me at thurston.hillman@paizo.com. For the foreseeable future, I’m hands-on when it comes to outlining and assigning our current slate of projects, so while Dustin and Jenny are using their stable of freelancers and contacts, I’ll still be involved in the process for a bit. I’ll be primarily focused on supporting Adventure Paths and charting the vision for our hardback lines, but don’t be surprised if I have a special project or two that you one day hear about.

You can find me on pretty much all the socials as @OnCallGM, and I tend to answer when summoned on several Discord channels. Outside of TTRPGs, I have a stack of miniatures I need to get back to painting… so many miniatures…

Dustin Knight
Developer

Jenny Jarzabski
Senior Developer

Thurston Hillman
Managing Creative Director (Starfinder)

Hi! Those of you who have been watching the credits of recent products or the discourse on social media may have noticed some shake-ups in Paizo’s staff recently.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve done some restructuring on the editorial team, and we’ve also welcomed many new faces. This restructuring includes reorganizing the designers, developers, and creative directors into three broad teams: the Narrative Team, led by me (Linda); the Rules and Lore team, led by Michael Sayre; and the Starfinder Team, led by Thurston Hillman.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to the narrative team. The narrative team is responsible for all Pathfinder adventures, including Adventure Paths, standalone Pathfinder Adventures, and Pathfinder Society. The team also includes Starfinder Society due to its close connections to Pathfinder Society through our Organized Play programs.

And without further ado, here’s who’s who in their own words, as well as how to contact each of us.

Jessica Catalan

Hi everyone! I’m Jessica Catalan and I’m the Starfinder Society Developer! I’m thrilled to be in charge of planning, outlining, assigning, and developing our Starfinder Society Scenarios, Starfinder Bounties, and our upcoming Starfinder Society Specials. In addition to working at Paizo full-time, I’m a frequent freelance author for the Pathfinder and Starfinder RPGs. Outside of writing, I love reading and playing board games. I live in wonderful Winnipeg, Canada with my husband, two kids, and pet rabbit. You can follow me on twitter @d20diaries. If you’re interested in writing a Starfinder Bounty or Starfinder Society Scenario, reach out to me at jessica.catalan@paizo.com.

Take care, folks!

John Compton

I’m John Compton, a senior developer currently working on Pathfinder’s Adventure Paths. Previously, I’ve overseen various organized play programs’ creative content and most recently co-led Starfinder’s hardcover book production, and it’s great to be revisiting adventure design on the narrative team (starting with the recently announced Sky King’s Tomb adventures). I love a good intrigue, heist, investigation, or adventure sandbox, and I’m excited about the to-be-announced stories we have in the works. While my assignments are few and far between, I’m always interested in meeting and training up our game’s next authors. You can contact me at john.compton@paizo.com.

When I’m not playing or creating RPG content in the Seattle area, I’m usually gardening, spoiling my friends’ various pets, socializing on Discord (I’m in the Pathfinder RPG and Starfinder RPG servers), dissecting whatever narrative media I consume, or learning eclectic trivia that then seeps into my professional writing.

Josh Foster

Greetings Pathfinders and Starfinders! I’m Josh Foster, a Pathfinder Society Developer. I’m full of ideas for short adventures and can’t wait to get them on the page. I’ll be the one outlining, assigning, and developing new Pathfinder Quests—and I’m extremely excited that Quests are coming back. I’ll also be working on non-metaplot scenarios for both Pathfinder and Starfinder Societies (though mainly Pathfinder), as well as helping the narrative team with the metaplot whenever they need my overly-caffeinated input.

I’ve been a mainstay of Pathfinder Society play since way back toward the launch of the campaign. I’m a five-star GM, have helped run the Pathfinder Society programs at several stores, and served as a Venture-Lieutenant in Georgia. When not playing tabletop RPGs, I spend way too much time playing Final Fantasy XIV. I’m now living in downtown Seattle with my amazing wife and our adorable dog.

If you’re interested in writing a quest or scenario, you can contact me at joshua.foster@paizo.com.
Good gaming everyone!

Vanessa Hoskins

I’m Vanessa Hoskins, a Developer on the Narrative Team, and I get to assign talented freelancers to help shape the stories we tell on Golarion (and beyond?). I’ll be outlining, assigning, and developing long-form adventures and their backmatter. This includes Adventure Paths and standalone adventures.

In addition to serving on the board of directors at the Know Direction Network, I’m a cast member on the Adventurous! actual play. I also co-author Vellum & Lace, the first piece of serialized Pathfinder fiction on Pathfinder Infinite, with Helen Savore. Finally, I recently started Ninja Cat Games, an indie video game studio. I do all of this while living in Indiana with my brilliant wife and our adorable dog.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinjaCatVanessa
Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ninjacatvanessa
Contact me about work here: vanessa.hoskins@paizo.com

James Jacobs

Ahoy! I’m James Jacobs, Creative Director for the Pathfinder narrative team. I’ve been with Paizo for about a year less than Paizo’s been a thing, and over the past 19 and a half years have worn enough hats in the editorial department to make a whole family of ettins with chimera pets proud! Going forward, my focus will be on guiding the stories for all of the Pathfinder adventures Paizo will be producing, along with actually developing adventures for both the standalone line and the Adventure Path line. I’m hoping to be able to chat soon about some fun things we’ve got planned as the Adventure Path nears its 200th volume, and some new and exciting stuff we’ll be doing on the standalone adventure side. I’m also involved in other narrative-based things you’ll see coming from Paizo or our partners when it comes to stories beyond adventures.

As for myself? I’m from a small town, Point Arena, on the remote coast of northern California, but for the past half of my life I’ve been living up north in the Seattle hinterlands. (And yes, there’s a fair amount about the town of Sandpoint that’s inspired from my hometown… although we do have fewer goblins living there, especially since I moved up north!) I’m sort of a social media recluse, but I’m pretty active here on our message boards, and have started to de-lurk over on Reddit’s 2nd Edition Pathfinder page as well. Feel free to drop me a message anytime in either place, or shoot me an email at james.jacobs@paizo.com. I try to answer quickly, because who knows if I’ll get distracted chasing a bigfoot or chupacabra or mothman ten minutes from now and… wait… WHAT’S THAT NOISE! THAT HAND AT THE WINDOW……

Shay Snow

Hello, friends! I’m Shay Snow, one of the new developers for Pathfinder Society! You’ve probably seen my writing floating around, as I’ve been freelancing with Paizo since 2020 and was previously a member of Paizo’s fantastic editing team since October 2021!

While I’ve written two Starfinder Society scenarios, I’m quite new to Organized Play. However, the Emerald City Lodge has been extremely welcoming and willing to show me the ropes! I’ve enjoyed running and attending games, and I love the chance to interact with Paizo fans on the ground and get their opinions on the game and the Society. (Yes, you can tell me about your level 12 champion of Shelyn! But in exchange you must listen to me talk about my level 4 rogue!)

I’m from Watauga, Texas, a suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth, and I moved to Washington in February of 2022. I’m Native American, mixed Caddo and Swampy Cree. When not centered on tabletop games, I’m usually consuming horror content and spending time with my spouse and two cats, Beans and Sweet Corn. The best place to find me outside of my home office is on Twitter @spellsinsugar, or you can email me at shay.snow@paizo.com!

Linda Zayas-Palmer

Hi, I’m Linda Zayas-Palmer, the manager of the narrative team. My job mostly involves logistical tasks like scheduling, training, and reviewing text from developers.

I’ve been a fan of Paizo’s adventures since Pathfinder First Edition came out. The story of Rise of the Runelords inspired my home group to make the jump to Golarion, and Council of Thieves was my first-ever campaign as a GM. As for Organized Play, after positive experiences with the community at my first GenCon, I wound up joining the Boston Lodge as a player, GM, and eventually Venture-Lieutenant. Paizo’s adventures and the community around them have brought so much joy and togetherness to my life, and it’s a privilege to be part of the team that brings those kinds of experiences to the world.

In addition to my day job, I also do freelance writing for Pathfinder and Starfinder. Some of my recent projects include the raxilite section of Starfinder Interstellar Species and the final part of Roll for Combat’s Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure Path. Every Tuesday at 7pm Pacific and Saturday at 10am Pacific, I stream on Twitch together with former Paizo design manager Mark Seifter, under Arcane Mark (twitch.tv/arcanemark). Outside of Paizo and its products, I enjoy reading, math, teaching, solving puzzles, playing video games, watching anime, and singing.

I don’t engage much with social media, but if you’d like to reach out to me, you can email me at linda.zayas-palmer@paizo.com, or join Arcane Mark’s discord server at tiny.cc/arcanemark.

Jessica Catalan
Developer

John Compton
Senior Developer

Josh Foster
Developer

Vanessa Hoskins
Developer

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Shay Snow
Developer

Linda Zayas-Palmer
Development Manager

Greetings Pathfinders!

I’m excited to announce that we’ve decided to bring back a bit of a blast from the past: Pathfinder Quests!

Illustration by Lucas Villalva Machado

Our Pathfinder Bounties have served the purpose of short, standalone adventures since 2020. With 2023 on the horizon, however, we’ve decided that a product with a bit more length would give you all more of what you want. What that means for all of you is that, rather than new Pathfinder Bounties, you’ll soon be getting new Quests, each designed to take around two hours. (Intrepid Starfinders, you’ll still get new Starfinder Bounties, though). This will allow us to give the adventures more in-depth stories while still giving you something that can be played under strict time constraints.

The biggest difference is that Quests will be tied more deeply into Pathfinder Society than Bounties, and much like Pathfinder Society Scenarios will assume your PCs are all Pathfinders. They will reward half as much credit as a scenario—2 XP, 5 treasure bundles, and 2 reputation. Quests will have level ranges similar to scenarios. For example, the first one we’re working on is for levels 1–4. It’s set to come out in April (and might involve an Aldori swordlord). In addition to that quest, we’re aiming to have two others out by the end of 2023.

I can’t wait to show you some of the ideas we’ve got in the works for these, and I hope you enjoy playing them as much as we enjoy working on them!

Wishing you all a great holiday season!

Josh Foster
Pathfinder Society Developer

...I and Wes Schneider took over the big conference room at Paizo and began to work out what Pathfinder Adventure Path was going to do to follow up its first official campaign for the Pathfinder Roleplaying game. We knew we wanted to do a sandbox-based Adventure Path (in part because we were excited by the challenge, and in part because there was a lot of call and request for something like that from Pathfinder gamers at large), and by the end of an afternoon-suddenly-become-evening-without-us-noticing, we’d sketched out Kingmaker, the idea for building a kingdom, the grid-based settlement-construction concept, and the basic ideas for the region in which the campaign would take place. I went on to craft the outline for the Adventure Path and started hiring authors, while Wes focused on writing a detailed gazetteer for the Stolen Lands that would appear in the Guide to the River Kingdoms alongside the launch of Kingmaker itself.

Kingmaker would go on to become one of our most successful Adventure Paths, inspiring not only a novel, but two different video games and eventually the core of an entire rulebook, Ultimate Campaign. Going back to revise it all was a huge lift, but at the same time, there was a sense of comfort and nostalgia as I returned to the original adventures. Memories of the scramble to get the first volume, Stolen Lands, done in time to get it to the printer returned as well—I had the help of author Tim Hitchcock to create the central encounters for this adventure on a VERY tight schedule but wrote a fair-sized chunk of the framing and “connective tissue” to bring together the Stag Lord’s Fort, the Sootscale Kobolds, and more into one sandbox to explore. Beyond this, though, the task of finishing off the remaining five adventures fell to other amazing authors.

So, without further ado, let me share some of the memories several of the original Kingmaker Adventure Path’s authors had when they looked back on their time helping to create one of Paizo’s most beloved campaigns!

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Creative Director

Rob McCreary

Rivers Run Red
Working on Kingmaker happened at a time of some major changes in my life, so I have some strong memories associated with it. Rivers Run Red was the second Adventure Path volume I wrote for Paizo, and I loved having the opportunity to put in homages to some classic wilderness adventures I had played when I was younger. I was also writing the adventure just before my wedding, and to top everything off, I was on my honeymoon when Paizo offered me a job!

A few months later, following a move from Europe back to the USA that was longer than a trek through the Stolen Lands, I found myself working on Kingmaker as an editor. I felt privileged to contribute to the AP not only as an adventure author, but also as an editor, helping to craft and polish what I still believe is one of the best sandbox wilderness adventure campaigns out there. I’m super pleased to see it updated to Pathfinder Second Edition, giving gamers a whole new chance to chart their destinies and build kingdoms of their own!

Jason Nelson

War of the River Kings
Kingmaker was a ton of fun to work on, blending PC-level adventure with kingdom-level threats and high-level skullduggery. I started with the tournament, building out not just standard medieval events but also adding some wahoo flair suited to high-level characters in a magical world. The villain was different, too, with Irovetti as a bombastic foil for the PCs, a braggart and pretender but treacherous and dangerous, putting himself forward as this gracious neighbor and really showing them a good time while working to stab them in the back. I never even really saw him as evil, just a rival who had his own ambitions and saw the PCs were in the way. The warfare was a challenge because while we had all the basics of the kingdom rules, we really didn't have the specifics of mass combat done yet, so the original version was more event-based, I think with the villains using fey magic to flood the heroes' capital city. My lasting memory of writing my adventure, though, was somewhat bittersweet, as my brother Brian passed away shortly before I finished it. He and I had picked up the hobby together as kids, and even in his final months, we got together with my kids and played a few more times. I appreciated Paizo including a dedication to him in the original adventure.

Richard Pett

Sound of a Thousand Screams I’m beyond excited about seeing Kingmaker released as another fabulous Paizo super-tome and updated to fit Pathfinder Second Edition. What a fantastic adventure path to work on with such talented folks.

One of the things I particularly recall about those days was the Adventure Path segment outlines were much more raw, just over a paragraph of backstory for my section with, “A great menace coming over the PCs’ realm and the nymph’s followers harassing the PCs. With First World blooms heralding the arrival of the nymph.”

My first draft synopsis was a long way from the finished article. I did like that title though.

The line that really strikes me as joyful in looking over the old emails from the wonderful Wes was, “You’ve got a TON of flexibility here, so make it cool.”

Well, I hope the Sound of a Thousand Screams is cool, the sparking ideas back and forth—throwing in the jabberwock for example—was such great fun, and whilst this adventure sticks out as one of the hardest to complete (writing Wormwood Mutiny was slightly trickier with so many untouchable NPCs in a low-level adventure), it was certainly the most rewarding.

The really wonderful thing about working with such talented folks was seeing how the adventure developed and how James performed his incredible magic on my final draft—soaking the adventure with Bestiary 2 monsters and dragons to name but two things.

It was such a great honor to be a part of this wonderful AP and the Paizo family. Thank you, James, and thank you, Wes.

Huzzah!

Neil Spicer

Blood for Blood
Writing for Kingmaker felt like the culmination of a long-held dream and a trial by fire. It was a banner year for me in 2009. I’d won RPG Superstar. I’d finished my turnover for Realm of the Fellnight Queen. And, like every other freelancer, I hoped to someday write for the flagship product line, but fully expected I’d have to work my way up to it over many months or years. Then, out of the blue, Wes Schneider asked if I could take on 30,000 words in two months because Kingmakerhad fallen behind. My exact words to him were: “HOLY CRAP!!! Are you freakin’ serious!?!?!? Yes! YES! A thousand times YES!” I know, because I kept the email. That’s how much it meant to me. I gave everything I could to it, thundering into my word count like a raging barbarian, knowing I couldn’t let Paizo down. It was my first BIG assignment. It tested me in all the right ways. I learned so much from it, and I’ll always be grateful for that opportunity.

Greg A. Vaughan

The Varnhold Vanishing
What to say about designing The Varnhold Vanishing? It came at a perfect time when I was wanting to explore several very different ideas in an adventure or adventures: I was interested in doing something Roanoke-ish... check. And I really liked the idea of a settlement/fortress less well-established than the usual stone keep that had become sort of the adventure standard, something with more of a colonial America feel to it like the blockhouse and stockade at Varnhold... check, check. I had recently read Pressfield’s Last of the Amazons, and the chance to do something with steppes horsefolk really appealed to me as well, not to mention his description of the “Gate to Hell” giving the perfect entry to Vordakai’s tomb... check, check, check! The growing setting that was Golarion and its first foray into a sandbox-style world exploration with Kingmaker gave me the opportunity to do it all at once, and with a powerful undead cyclops to boot. What more could you ask for?

OPC Musings

Happy Kuthona, players! Whether you celebrate Winter Week, First Choices, Crystalhue, Renewal or any other holiday, this time of year is one to gather with friends and family (safely) and enjoy the holidays. I hope you’re all looking forward to your favorite holiday traditions!

This month’s update may be a quiet one, but I assure you that we’re anything but quiet behind the scenes. We’ve started planning for 2023 conventions and over the past couple of weeks, I’ve also heard the pitches for the new seasons of Pathfinder and Starfinder Society. I think you’re all really going to like what we have planned for next year!

I don’t think I have another blog where I get to talk to you all directly before the holiday break, so before I go, let me just say: thank you all so much for your support of our games. We love what we do, each and every one of us, and I’m so lucky that my job puts me in such close contact with our community. I get to hear stories from your tables and experience firsthand the joy that gaming brings. I hope you all have wonderful gaming plans for the holidays, and that your cup runneth over in the new year.

Digital Adventure Releases

These adventures will be available on December 14, 2022. Note the early date due to the holidays!

Pathfinder Society

Pathfinder Society Scenario #4-07: A Most Wondrous Exchange!*

Pathfinder Bounty #21: Against the Unliving

Starfinder Society

Starfinder Society Scenario #5-12: Envar’s Expeditions*

Starfinder Bounty #6: Songbird Rescue

*part of a subscription

The Replacement of Ehu Hadif

For those of you with Starfinder Society characters interested in becoming the new First Seeker, time is running out! The deadline to purchase the First Seeker Candidate boon and send in your information is January 16, 2023.

We’ve got quite a few candidates already, but the more the merrier! We welcome all entries and look forward to hearing about your characters.

PaizoCon Online 2023

Prior to Thanksgiving, we announced that PaizoCon 2023 will be an online-only event. We’re already hard at work planning the show, but we’re looking for attendee feedback on what you’d like to see next year! Please head over to last week’s blog post and drop your thoughts in the comments.

I can already tell you that we’ll be premiering our new Starfinder Society season and interactive special, as well as launching some new Pathfinder Society content as well. We’re looking forward to Memorial Day weekend!

Sanctioning Update

November was a very busy month for us, with major releases across both our product lines.

For Pathfinder Society, Pathfinder Lost Omens Impossible Lands is now sanctioned for play! The new ancestries are available in the boon store and the options are listed on the Character Options page. Next on our radar is reviewing the character options from the Blood Lords Adventure Path, which we hope to add via boons in the boon store. We’re also starting the process of sanctioning Pathfinder Treasure Vault, which has set a record for “most individual character options in a single book” for this edition.

One note on the Impossible Lands sanctioning: we initially listed the kashrishi’s Community Knowledge feat as Restricted. However, the community pointed out that it’s identical to the android’s Nanite Surge feat, which is legal, so we’re changing Community Knowledge to be legal as well.

Over in the Pact Worlds, Starfinder Interstellar Species is now sanctioned for use in Starfinder Society play! Enjoy the new evolutionist class as well as new options themed around 25 fan-favorite species with the sanctioning on the Character Options page. Additionally, Starfinder Adventure To Defy the Dragon is now sanctioned for credit! Players and GMs earn one level of credit for playing this adventure.

GM Recognition

GM Ranks

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 earn their 5th Glyph for PFS2.

5th Glyph (PFS2): Emese Kollár

Until next time, Explore! Report! Cooperate! And stay warm out there!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator