Paizo and Gale Force Nine have agreed on a multi-game partnership to publish original Pathfinder and Starfinder board games.

Gale Force Nine (GF9), known for producing games such as “Firefly: The Game” and “Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy”, have teamed up with Paizo to publish original board and card games drawing from the worlds of Pathfinder and Starfinder. The multi-year partnership will see GF9 exploring the rich settings of Golarion, the Pact Worlds, and beyond to bring the heroes, villains, locations, and monsters from the roleplaying systems into several new boardgames.

Starting in Q2 2022, Gale Force Nine will release two board games and one card game over the first year of the partnership, with more following over the course of the relationship. The first three titles are:

• Pathfinder: Level 20 (Q2 2022)
• Starfinder: Pirates of Skydock (Q3 2022)
• Pathfinder: Tall Tales (Q4 2022)

“The worlds of Pathfinder and Starfinder are fun, diverse, and full of character,” says John-Paul Brisigotti, CEO of GF9. “We are excited to explore them further and offer fans of these games an opportunity to interact with the worlds in a new way.”

We look forward to partnering with Gale Force Nine in bringing the Pathfinder and Starfinder worlds to life as board games,” says Paizo President, Jeff Alvarez.

Pathfinder: Level 20

The first game of this partnership, releasing in Q2 2022, is Pathfinder: Level 20, a game where players take on the role of kobolds in their warren, scampering away from a 19th-level fighter who only needs five XP to hit level 20.

Will you make the heroes scamper away in embarrassment, thus being crowned the kobold champion? Or will you be the last survivor among your friends, a victory in its own right!

Pathfinder: Level 20 is a game for 2–6 players and will be available in April with an MSRP of $30. Visit www.gf9games.com/pathfinder for more information.

Matt Vaughan
Studio Manager
Gale Force Nine
Twitter: @galeforcenine

We are thrilled to welcome Maggie Gallagher as our new Director of People and Culture. Maggie’s experience and skillset are a perfect fit for Paizo, and we think that her personality; her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; and her passion for strong relationships truly make her the right person for our company today.

So, let’s let Maggie introduce herself.

“I come to Paizo with over 20 years of HR experience in fields including biomedical repair, software engineering, and various theaters and operas,” “While a true HR generalist, my passions are in diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have worked with numerous organizations in helping them implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives that advance organizational and cultural change by ensuring DEI considerations are incorporated in all aspects of the decision-making process.”

Maggie has also served as an instructor, volunteer, and presenter for several LGBTQ+ organizations. For the past five years, she has focused on groups and organizations that actively advocate for the rights of transgender individuals.

“Outside of work, I enjoy wandering the wilderness, fishing, and canoeing. As much as I love the outdoors, I am a true nerd at heart. I have been playing RPGs and Tabletop games for over 30 years, so I am very excited to be joining the Paizo team.”

Maggie can be reached via email at maggie.gallagher@paizo.com.

Hello, Pathfinders! With the release of two more Year 3 metaplot scenarios yesterday, the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries is in full swing. This blog introduces the concept of the “metaplot” for those who may not be familiar. I’ll also be providing a rundown of the Year 3 metaplot stories so you have all the information in one place. Let’s get to it!

Each year of Pathfinder Society adventures includes “metaplot scenarios,” which tell a linked story. You can think of the metaplot like the “main plot” of a TV series. There are non-metaplot scenarios as well, which typically have fewer connections to the major plot events.

Year 3 Metaplot

Pathfinder Society Year 3 Logo, artist Maurice Risulmi

The Year 3 metaplot includes 14 adventures. One of the challenges of creating a metaplot is that many players will play the adventures in a different order, sometimes based on which characters they have at different levels, or which adventures are being offered at their preferred venues. Asking everyone to play 14 adventures in the same order wouldn’t work too well! So, we broke Year 3 up into six “metaplot arcs.” Each arc tells a small part of the overall Year 3 story. You can play some of the arcs, or all of them, as you like. Each arc tells a contained story which fits into a broader narrative. In the case of Year 3, each of these arcs tells the story of a strange disaster befalling a Pathfinder Society lodge in one of six nations in the Inner Sea: Absalom, Andoran, Cheliax, Osirion, Qadira, and Taldor.

Within the Year 3 metaplot, you can think of the Absalom storyline as the “A plot,” and the other storylines as side plots. The Absalom arc contains both the introduction and conclusion of the metaplot as a whole.

Year 3 Metaplot Arcs

Scenarios marked with an asterisk (*) are future releases. Titles and release dates are subject to change.

Absalom
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Shattered Sanctuaries (Levels 1–4)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-06: Struck by Shadows (Levels 3–6)
Part 3: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-17: Dreams of a Dustbound Isle* (Levels 5–8; June 2022)
Part 4: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-19: Mean Streets of Shadow Absalom* (Levels 7–10; July 2022)

Andoran
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-02: The East Hill Haunting (Levels 1–4)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-05: Inheritor's Rite (Levels 1–4)

Cheliax
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-04: The Devil-Wrought Disappearance (Levels 3–6)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-07: The Locked Lodge (Levels 3–6)

Osirion
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege (Levels 5–8)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-14: The Tomb Between Worlds* (Levels 5–8; April 2022)

Qadira
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation's Price (Levels 1–4)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-12: Fury's Toll* (Levels 1–4; March 2022)

Taldor
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-11: No Time for Treason* (Levels 3–6; February 2022)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-16: Escape from Oppara* (Levels 3–6; June 2022)

Enjoy the arcs in any order!

You can play these metaplot arcs in any order. For example, you could start with the Qadira arc (the first scenario came out yesterday!) and then go back to the Andoran arc, the Cheliax arc, or even the intro scenario. This means there are several possible entry points into the Year 3 story. Every single scenario in the metaplot is playable with our Pathfinder Society pregenerated characters (available at levels 1, 3, and 5), with one exception: the final scenario in the Absalom arc is level 7–10, so you’ll need your own character in that level range if you’re playing for Pathfinder Society credit.

Final Recommendations

Though you can play the arcs in any order (Qadira before Andoran, or the other way around), when you’re looking at the individual adventures within a given arc, I recommend that you play them in the order they were released. The above list shows the intended order within each arc. There is no “rule” which requires you to play Part 1 before Part 2, but the story within each arc is going to make more sense if you do.

There is no “right” or “wrong” approach to the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries. Pick an arc, or any scenario that sounds fun, and dive into the story!

As always, please keep your hands and arms inside the sanctuaries while you explore, report, and cooperate your way through Year 3!

Mike Kimmel
Pathfinder Society Developer

Get ready to reboot your spell caches with Starfinder Galactic Magic! This exciting new supplement dives into the most magical parts of the science-fantasy Starfinder setting, with a new class, a wealth of class options, dozens of new spells, and articles on how magic and religion affect day-to-day living in the Pact Worlds and beyond. Of course, none of this would be possible without our talented authors! Let’s learn a little more about some of them and what they worked on for this book in their own words. And if you’re a new (or returning) fan of any of these authors, be sure to check out their other projects, websites, livestreams, and more!

Jason Keeley (he/him)
Starfinder Development Manager

Illustration by Arturo Gutierrez

James Jacobs (he/him)
Creative Director

I’ve had the good fortune to write a lot for Pathfinder and helped to invent a fair portion of its deities, but always in the context of the fantasy genre. The chance to revisit some of these elements in a different genre is exciting and liberating. after spending decades with deities like Desna and Sarenrae flitting around in my head as divinities first in my homebrew game and then more recently in Golarion. Alas, there was only so much room to talk about Desnan dream stations or to explore the implications of what worshiping the goddess of the sun might entail when you’re in outer space, but hopefully the entries in this book will help spark new ideas for how to use these deities in your game! And of course, on the opposite side of the “friendliness scale,” being able to lean into the science-fiction tropes of the classic pulps and explore how Nyarlathotep and the Elder Mythos functions in Starfinder was equally delightful. But the thing I’m most excited to see once this book’s out is all the amazing content created by all the other authors in this book!

Jessica Catalan (she/her)
Starfinder Society Developer

Hello! My name is Jessica Catalan and I’m the Starfinder Society Developer. I’m also a mother, gamer, blogger, and freelance author who primarily writes for Paizo’s Starfinder and Pathfinder RPGs. You can find a list of my currently announced writing credits on my Paizo profile (meloriel). Some recently released highlights include Secrets of Magic, Guns & Gears, Lost Omens Grand Bazaar, Galaxy Exploration Manual, and Tech Revolution.

For Galactic Magic, I wrote the mystic and witchwarper class options, twenty spells, and numerous deities, including Kadrical, Lamashtu, and all the ancestral deities. Galactic Magic also marks two big firsts for me. This is the first time I was hired to create entirely new deities of my own design (Dagosarn, Flux, Isvith, Jalvari, Meyel, Romgul, Uvonn, and the Vesk Saints). Galactic Magic is also the first time I was hired for freelance development work, making this my very first developer credit.

I’m beyond thrilled to have been a part of this book and I look forward to seeing it hit gaming tables! Enjoy!

Rigby Bendele (they/them or xe/xem)

I'm a sometimes-poet, sometimes-game designer doing my best to make engaging, inclusive tabletop games. In Galactic Magic, you'll find my work in the technomancer and Oras section. When I was writing the Oras section, I thought quite a bit about Donna Haraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto" and the way in which cyborgs offer a rejection of the separations between animal, human and machine. This should probably tell you that I'm a queer theory nerd (which is the crux of my academic background) and that I love thinking about alternative ways of being through TTRPGs. While Galactic Magic is my first hardcover with Paizo, you'll find my name on more books soon and can enjoy more of my Starfinder work with SFS #3-07: Strike at Zone 78 and SFS #4-04: Mission Not Found.

You can find me on Twitter @slothscout.

Kendra Leigh Speedling (she/her)

Hello, all! I’m Kendra Leigh Speedling, and I’ve been freelancing for Pathfinder and Starfinder for about six years. You might remember me from this year’s Starfinder GenCon special, #3-99: Perils of the Past. I’m delighted to have been a part of Galactic Magic, helping give the “fantasy” side of “science-fantasy” some love. I did several sections for the book, including the faith introduction, the Besmara and Weydan entries, the Parallel Truths, and the new operative class options. I’ve always been fond of exploring how magic and faith interact with a highly technologically advanced setting, so this assignment was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed crafting the operative options, which hopefully add a little magical flair to your operative of choice!

I’ve got a few more Pathfinder and Starfinder projects in the works currently, though most of them are still Forbidden Knowledge at this point. I can confirm, though, that I got my grabby hands involved in Pathfinder’s upcoming Book of the Dead! In my non-freelancing downtime, I can be found hanging out with a book or video game—usually Animal Crossing these days—or pretending I know how to bake. You can find a full list of my writing credits at klspeedling.com and I’m on Twitter as @KendraLS, where I sporadically post cat pictures.

Besmara: illustration by Guilherme Olivieri

Sen.H.H.S. (she/her)

Hello, readers! Sen.H.H.S. here. You might have seen my name before in some Pathfinder Second Edition products such as Bestiary 3, Secrets of Magic, and many others. (See my carrd for the full list: https://senhhs.carrd.co/#portfolio) With Galactic Magic, it looks like I've made the jump over to write even more magic in a different(?) universe. This book has been a long time coming, and I hope you'll get to experience the magic (pun intended) within its pages soon. You can always find out what I'm up to on my Twitter @SenHHS. If my calculations are correct, you might get to witness me tweeting about "trace analysis in Golarion" in the next little while, for every reason whatsoever.

Shay Snow (they/them)

Hi, I'm Shay Snow, I'm an editor at Paizo, and I wrote up a bunch of species-specific spells and the entry on Zon-Kuthon, surprising exactly... no one! As my mutuals on Twitter know I'm a pretty big Zon-Kuthon fan so I joyfully jumped when offered the chance to give the pain man a new write up for Galactic Magic. You may have seen me in a few Starfinder scenarios, Pathfinder’s Lost Omens Grand Bazaar and Tech Revolution and I have a few things coming out in Lost Omens Monsters of Myth. Additionally, you can find my name on a few Coyote & Crow projects!

When not writing, I’m usually discussing Native issues and rights over on my Twitter @SpellsInSugar, where you can also sometimes catch me talking about video games and horror media. You can keep up with my work, or even contact me for hire, through my website https://shayjay.carrd.co/!

Jessica Redekop (she/they/he)

Hi! I'm Jess, and I wrote about some fabulous outsider deities in Galactic Magic ! Even though it's a smaller section, I'm particularly proud of my work in this book. It gave me an opportunity to introduce a lot of cool content into Starfinder, and there are some lines scattered through the section that are quite personal to me. I won't spoil which gods are included, but if you're familiar with my past work for PF and SF, some of them are very "me." :) I hope you like Starfinder's new and returning outsider deities as much as I do!

For more of my content check out Valiant, an actual play Pathfinder podcast on the Know Direction network, where I play Xiadani the aasimar druid. You can also find me @tectonomancer on Twitter.

Mikhail Rekun (he/him)

дравствуйте, уважаемые читатели! My name is Mikhail Sergeyevich Rekun, and you may recognize me from previous Starfinder products such as the Galaxy Exploration Manual (where I wrote about Accord and created the Starship Toolbox) and Starfinder Adventure Path #31: Waking the Worldseed (where I wrote the Hibb article), along with plenty of Pathfinder stuff. In my more mundane life, I’m a Russian-American historian, educator, and author.

Galactic Magic was a bit of a weird project for me. John Compton contacted me and said ‘we need magical nanomachines and we need them as soon as humanly possible.’ Well, I’m never one to shirk from a challenge, and produced the magical options for the nanocyte in basically a weekend. I’m reasonably pleased with the results, especially the ability to make fancy nano-runes and sigils like a proper anime protagonist. (That was what John wanted, right?)

Nanites are also of some interest to me for other reasons, as when not writing for Paizo, I’m working on Ourichor: Fulcrum of the Luminant Age alongside the inimitable Andrew Mullen and Isabelle Thorne (follow us at https://twitter.com/LuminantA). I shan’t share too much in the way of details, but let’s just say that fans of microscopic shenanigans may find our upcoming release, Armaments of the Luminant Age, of some interest to them.

John Godek III (he/him)

Hi everyone! My name is John Godek and I am an avid Starfinder GM, player, freelance author, and podcaster. I had the opportunity to write several sections of Galactic Magic and I can’t wait for you to see them! I created two brand new soldier fighting styles—the spellbrawler and the archer—along with new weapons, gear boosts, fusions, and armor upgrades that synergize with these styles as well as offer cool options for other styles and classes. In addition, I formulated nearly three dozen new magic spells, including spells that provide basic utility, create different types of barriers, and are related to or originated in the Vast. Finally, I crafted three new legendary artifacts of tremendous power, each steeped in ancient lore. Other Paizo projects I have forthcoming include work on the Drift Crisis hardcover, backmatter in Starfinder Adventure Path #44, and my very first adventure—Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job!

You can find me playing with the Emerald City Lodge in Seattle, or you can listen to my podcasts on the Know Direction Network, including: Digital Divination with Ron Lundeen, Intrepid Heroes, a Stafinder actual play, and Presenting, a podcast where I interview game designers, developers, artists, and writers.

Worlanisi: Illustration by Addison Rankin

Nate Wright (he/him)

Evening, everyone. I’m Nate Wright, a blogger on the Know Direction Network and a freelancer who has contributed to multiple works from Paizo. Some of my favorites include the anadi ancestry from Lost Omens The Mwangi Expanse and the memetic zenith from Starfinder Adventure Path #24: The God-Host Ascends. The best part about writing for this book has been visualizing the awesome abilities I’ve always wished my character could have and getting the opportunity to share that vision with the rest of the community.

If you want to see my most recent work, you’re in need of a freelancer, or you just want to watch me share cool art I found, you can find me on @RoscMan on the cursed bird app.

Dennis Muldoon (he/him)

Hi folks! My name is Dennis Muldoon, and I've been freelancing for Paizo for a few years now. I've contributed to almost every line Paizo publishes, now, most recently SFS #4-10: The Way In, the Azlanti Space Age material in the toolbox of Starfinder Adventure Path #42: Whispers of the Eclipse, and the ssumzili and golgopo monsters in Pathfinder Adventure Path #171: Hurricane's Howl. For Galactic Magic, I wrote the experimental apparatus mechanic alternate class feature for all your magically inclined mechanic needs, along with magic-themed mechanic tricks for mechanics of all types. I'm also extremely excited to bring the Lucky Drunk himself into Starfinder with a section on Cayden Cailean! My full list of credits is on my Paizo profile, and you can find me on Twitter @dkmuldoon.

Kate Baker (she/her)

Hey, Starfinder fans! I’m Kate, and I’ve been writing for Starfinder and Pathfinder for about five years. I was delighted to get to write the sections on Hylax and Talavet for this book. Hylax is near and dear to my heart after writing one of the Attack of the Swarm volumes, and I even have a tattoo of the Crown of Hylax! Talavet speaks to me equally, with such a strong focus on the importance of stories, something I’ve never appreciated more than in the last year and a half. I hope you enjoy reading about their role in the galaxy, along with the many other deities featured in this book.

Follow me at @KateBakerGM on Twitter to hear more about what I’m working on, including some upcoming projects for Starfinder Infinite!

THE WIND BENEATH THE PEAKS

The sky was scabbed over with ominous looking clouds, but Amiri refused to take them as an ill omen. Just being back here in these mountains was all the bad luck she needed.

Amiri hadn’t yet decided just how much of a fool she was for coming back to the lands of her birth. Just on the other side of these peaks lay the place where she’d stood drenched in the blood of her kin: the finest warriors of the Six Bears. Men she had called her brothers. Her friends. She had felt the heat of their blood fading from her skin and known she could never go home again.

She’d told herself she never wanted to.

And in the time since, she never had. Until now. Following a witch-woman’s words of warning and promise. Because though in all that time she’d never wanted to return these lands had never fully loosed their hold on her.

Amiri gritted her teeth as she hauled herself over the sheer flank of a boulder. From here she could see down the slope toward the overgrown valley below and peer up toward the snow-crusted peaks. Not a single crow cawed. No mice scuttled among the rocks and scree.

More bad omens, maybe. Or they’d been scared off by a lumbering warrior who’d forgotten the way of navigating easily through this landscape, she thought, and spat.

“Told you it was a bad idea.” she muttered, though there was no one else to hear. She’d told herself it was a bad idea just about every step of the way, but she couldn’t get the witch-woman’s words out of her head.

The town was nothing special. Just a cluster of unremarkable houses, preyed on by unremarkable bandits who were foolish enough to mistake Amiri for an easy target. She hadn’t even known the town was there until the residents greeted her cheering, at the gates. They’d insisted on a feast, and who was Amiri to turn down free food?

The witch-woman’s gift had been less welcome.

“I don’t have any gold to offer, but I have a fortune,” she'd said.

“Knowing the future only ever causes trouble.” Amiri replied with a grunt, starting to turn away, but the woman had held on with a surprisingly firm grip.

“You hear the whispers. The wind among the peaks. When you wake, when you sleep. You hear their voices. The men you killed. You hear them mocking you. You hear them cursing you.”

“Leave me be.” Amiri had growled, but the woman was relentless.

“I see you returning to the land of your birth. I see two stray cubs, a broken blade. I see your heart torn from your chest,” the woman intoned.

“My heart torn from my chest?” Amiri echoed, skeptical. “Doesn’t sound like something I ought to go looking for.”

The old woman shrugged. “Could be a metaphor. Can’t always tell with these things. But I hear the splintering of bones.” The smoke from the cookfire twined around them, strangely thick.

“You’re telling me if I go back there... what? I find some kind of peace?” Amiri had asked, voice sharp with scorn. She was a creature of battle and bloodshed, not peace.

Though maybe sometimes she did hear the wind howling in the peaks. Maybe sometimes she even thought she imagined voices in that wind, and felt—what? Not guilt or regret, exactly.

More the sense of something unfinished.

“Peace? No. A kind of silence, maybe.” the witch said.

That night Amiri dreamed of howling wind and when she set out in the morning, her path bent northward.

Part of her had almost expected spirits of vengeance to come screaming out of the sky the moment she entered the Six Bears’ territory but so far, her journey had been uneventful. She was skirting the edge of it now, just at the border of her old clan’s hunting grounds. If everything was as barren as this, it must have been a lean winter.

A skittering of rock drew her attention up the slope. She almost missed it—a flash of gray against gray, something ducking behind a stone. Then came a tiny yip and a growl. She wasn’t entirely alone here, then.

Two stray cubs, she thought.

“Bad idea.” She reminded herself. But, shaking her head, she started up the slope. The footing was unstable and twice she slid back down a foot or two, almost losing her grip on the mountainside. But finally, she hauled herself up to where the small form had vanished. There was a cleft in the rock—a cave, too small for a human, but large enough for an animal’s den, perhaps. Amiri crouched, peering into the darkness.

In her experience, fortune telling and prophecy were infuriatingly vague or uselessly symbolic. Irony and prophecy were for bards as far as she was concerned. Just tell her what a thing was plainly—and how to kill it. So she wasn’t really expecting to find two stray cubs in this den. That would be too easy. Too literal.

Amiri took a strip of jerky from her pack and held it out. “Come on. Be simple for once,” she muttered, and tossed it on the ground just outside the den.

Two glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. A second set blinked just behind. Wolves’ eyes, Amiri thought, and for one bright moment let herself believe that she might find her “stray cubs” and be done with this whole business.

The nearer beast sprang forward. Amiri leapt back with a wordless sound of surprise. She’d been mistaken—that hadn’t been the click of claws she heard, but of hooves and talons.

The cub was a hideously proportioned thing—a fawn’s spindly front legs, an oversized wolf cub’s head, the nubs of antlers pushing up from its blunt and blood-speckled brow. Ragged wings, pinfeathers not yet grown in, sprouted from its back, and its hind end sported the wicked talons of a bird of prey at the end of each scaly foot.

The peryton cub snarled at her, hunching over the piece of jerky. The second cub scrambled out, diving for the meat, and the two snapped and tore at each other, their antics almost sending them rolling down the side of the mountain.

Amiri grimaced, putting a hand to the dagger at her belt. The beasts were the size of small dogs now—not much of a threat. But they’d grow fast, and perytons were vicious, evil things. Fully grown, they delighted in tearing the hearts from men’s chests. Just like the witch had seen.

Was this all the witch wanted from her? Come here, kill a couple of perytons before they could grow up and threaten the Six Bears? Penance for her crimes.

As if that would wipe away the past.

She drew the dagger. The witch said find the cubs. She’d found them. She’d put them down and leave and forget she was ever foolish enough to listen to an old woman’s rambling fortunes.

The cubs seemed to notice her at last. They looked up, their muzzles and faces plastered with blood. No wonder the slopes were so quiet. Even fledglings would go after anything with a heart they could pry from its chest. The two growled at her, advancing. Utterly fearless. Like they completely believed the combined fifty pounds of them could take out a full-grown warrior.

Wind stirred Amiri’s hair.

Or maybe they were fearless for another reason.

Amiri threw herself to the side the second before a massive beast slammed into the rock where she’d been standing. It whirled in a storm of fur and feathers and flashing claws, a howl of rage in its throat.

Peryton by Firat Solhan

She let out an oath. The thing was massive, bigger than any peryton she'd seen—or heard of. Its ragged gray fur was striped with scars and liberally stained with blood. Bits of dried gore hung like macabre ornaments from its broad antlers, and when it spread its wings, they blocked out the sky, casting Amiri in shadow.

Amiri grinned. This was more like it. She sheathed her dagger. Planted her feet. And gripped the hilt of her massive sword. Its weight strained her shoulders, pulled at her arms. But she could feel the familiar, welcome heat uncoiling through her veins. That bitter taste was on her tongue and her heart raced with that mix of danger and eagerness and fury—fury that this creature would dare to face her. Fury it would think it could stand against her strength and blade. That it would think her prey.

“Come on, then!” she screamed at the beast. It rose on its hind legs, beating its great wings and sending blasts of wind that tore the loose rocks and pebbles from the hillside, sending them tumbling.

An arrow hissed through the air. It struck the peryton’s flank with a dull, meaty thud. It howled in rage and pain, its attention twisting away from Amiri. Toward the young woman standing a hundred feet away, feet braced, setting another arrow to her quiver. A young man crouched next to her. They wore hunters’ leathers, and by the matching red-gold shade of their hair and their angular features, they looked to be brother and sister.

The peryton leapt for the young woman. Amiri screamed out a curse and threw herself after. The girl loosed another arrow, but the peryton’s leap had startled her, and it went wide.

Amiri knew she wouldn’t make it to the pair in time. Knew the girl’s hands, quick and sure as they were, weren’t quick enough to nock another arrow. Nothing would stop the creature’s murderous dive. Unless—

The man lifted his hands. The air seemed to bend and fold in front of his palms and a crack like thunder boomed out. The peryton’s charge broke. It slewed away in the air, snarling in pain and shock. The edge of the blast of sound tore past Amiri, slamming into her shoulder, leaving her ears ringing.

The peryton climbed into the air with powerful beats of its wings. Amiri leapt the last few feet to the rock where the two youths stood.

“It’s coming back around,” she warned.

“I can see that.” the young woman snapped, her gaze tracking the beast as it rose, as it turned.

It seemed to hesitate. Its gaze shifted away from the trio, tracking higher up the mountain slope.

Then Amiri heard it. Not the scrape and skitter of a few dislodged stones, but a deep, desultory rumbling. She looked up just as, high above, the mountainside gave way.

“Rockslide!” the young man cried. The peryton let out a warbling howl and dove, but not at the three of them this time—toward its cubs, their half-feathered wings useless to take them out of the path of the rapidly growing avalanche of stone. It swept them up in its hind talons and angled away in seconds as Amiri and the other two sprinted down the slope.

“Don’t suppose that magic of yours can stop a rockslide?” Amiri shouted over the growing din.

“Just start them, apparently.” he tossed back with a reckless grin, and Amiri couldn’t help but answer it.

Over his shoulder she spotted it: a blot of darkness—a cave entrance.

“There.” she said, pointing. The two didn’t need her to explain. The sister got there first but she stopped, waited as her brother reached her and dove past before she flitted in after him.

The dust cloud riding the front edge of the avalanche swept over Amiri, blotting out her vision and swallowing the light. She threw herself toward the cave opening just as the rockslide hit.

There was no light, only darkness and furious sound, as if the whole mountain was coming apart overhead. Amiri scrambled back from the entrance. Stones rained down. Above her sounded a horrible grinding and groaning—then a crack. The cave entrance was giving way. Amiri roared, bracing herself beneath her sword, as if she could hold the whole mountain up.

The roof of the cave collapsed over her.

About the Author

Kate Alice Marshall is the author of young adult and middle grade novels, including I AM STILL ALIVE, RULES FOR VANISHING, and THIRTEENS. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband, two dogs named Vonnegut and Octavia, and two kids. They all conspire to keep her on her toes. See katemarshallbooks.com for more information.

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.

From the new Starfinder Galactic Magic hardcover to the first volume of the Quest for the Frozen Flame Adventure Path, Broken Tusk Moon, to the first Starfinder Bounty, here are some innovative and exciting new Starfinder and Pathfinder products to enhance your favorite games at paizo.com and your local game store!

Starfinder Galactic Magic

UNLEASH COSMIC POWER
Unravel the eldritch mysteries of the galaxy with Starfinder Galactic Magic! This book explores Starfinder’s magical possibilities, providing your characters fantastic abilities to overcome any challenge. Whether you master the secrets of arcane academies, steal spells with supernatural finesse, or draw power from the gods themselves, Galactic Magic redefines what you thought possible with:

• The new precog character class! They can bend time to their will and outwit foes with combat predictions!
• Exciting ways to channel magical might, with reality-warping rituals and over 100 new spells!
• New player options, from magical variants for every character class to legendary artifacts and magic items.
• Discoveries about the galaxy’s most powerful mystical forces, from alignment singularities and metastars to deities and the boons they offer!
• A study of eldritch secrets and everyday arcana, including how a magic user navigates society and the organizations that might support and oppose them.

CHAPTER 1: CLASSES

PRECOG
Through some cosmic event, you have come to understand the ebb and flow of time to a degree that only a select few can. You manipulate time dexterously—accelerating, slowing, or even reshaping chronologies to suit your needs. The skeins of time are yours to see, and you know how to apply enough pressure to adjust their threads ever so subtly. Your ability to understand the infinite possibilities of time also shaped you into someone capable of altering the material universe through powerful spellcasting, and you can harness temporal paradoxes to foresee the future—and dictate the present—in powerful ways.

And new options for every class!

Read Meet the Iconics: Ciravel and Iconic Encounter: The Taste of Time by Jennifer Kretchmer!

CHAPTER 2: GEAR

HYBRID ITEMS
Blends of magic and technology achieve results that neither alone could ever imagine, creating the likes of null-space storage, miniaturized vehicles, subwoofers able to inspire supernatural fear, artificial lifeforms that require virtually no sustenance, and more. These devices often resist strictly antimagical or anti-technological countermeasures.

MAGIC ITEMS
Traditional magic items translate mystical energies into a portable format that nearly anyone can use. Part of the appeal comes from unshakable nostalgia, yet far more often it’s magic items’ total disregard for scientific principles—their ability to translate their maker’s will into reality—that makes them so unique and valuable.

WEAPON FUSIONS AND ARMOR UPGRADES
Survival often means eking out maximum performance from an adventurer’s gear, and a magical upgrade provides an easy edge. These weapon fusions and armor upgrades concentrate eldritch energy into functional, long-lasting forms, and these latest models lend even the most technologically outfitted explorer an arcane advantage.

ARTIFACTS
Artifacts are exceedingly rare—often unique—items beyond the ability of any but the most accomplished artisans to create, and they’re almost as difficult to destroy. These legendary items combine tremendous power with the intrinsic lore that shapes their abilities. Adventurers might dedicate their entire lives to finding a specific artifact, and recovering an artifact might spur countless high-stakes exploits.

CHAPTER 3: SPELLS

Explore new spell lists and descriptions, variant spellcasting, and rituals!

Read Iconic Encounter: Pitstop Eclipse by Patrick Hurley, featuring the iconic witchwarper and technomancer, Zemir and Raia.

CHAPTER 4: FAITHS

FAITHS IN THE UNIVERSE
The galaxy’s faiths manifest in countless forms, from tiny cults to interplanetary religions with billions of followers. Although deities almost never intervene directly in mortal affairs, their influence is very present in lay worshippers and devoted priests alike. Faith is alive throughout the galaxy, whether used for good or ill.

CHAPTER 5: THE MAGICAL GALAXY

OVERVIEW
Magic can be measured, manipulated, and predicted, or else it never could’ve been integrated with technology. Even so, cultures perceive magic in wildly different ways, and a lot of magical phenomena remains associated with myth, antiquity, physical impossibilities, and secrets perhaps better left alone. In short, despite being integrated into everyday society, magic remains... magical

Pathfinder Adventure Path #175: Broken Tusk Moon (Quest for the Frozen Flame 1 of 3)

The Hunt Begins!
If the Broken Tusk following is to survive the coming year, their bravest scouts must carve a path through a harsh wilderness. Brutal beasts, wicked rivals, and an inhospitable landscape challenge the trailblazers to withstand their enemies and the elements. But mere survival is not enough. To forge their legacies as Mammoth Lords, the scouts search for an ancient artifact to light the way forward—the Primordial Flame! The Quest for the Frozen Flame Adventure Path begins with “Broken Tusk Moon,” a complete adventure for 1st- to 3rd-level characters.

Read Quest for the Frozen Flame: Eiwa's Lesson, prologue fiction written by Rachael Cruz!

Don’t miss the free Pathfinder Adventure Path: Quest for the Frozen Flame Player's Guide PDF!

NEW PRODUCT LINE!

Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job

A Starfinder Bounty designed for Level 1.

A scam artist is prowling the bars around Drifter’s End, fleecing the Absalom Station tourists and starship crews out of hard-earned credits with a chunk of fake horacalcum and the chance to invest in their newly discovered starmetal vein. It’s up to the PCs to track down this fake miner and haul them back to pay their dues!

Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation’s Price

A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1-4.

Following their recent successes in aiding the government of Qadira with apprehending an errant genie-binder, the Pathfinder Society earned the right to establish a new lodge in the port city of Sedeq! With the construction of the site complete, the Society sent a group to formally begin operations from the new edifice.

They never arrived.

With city officials threatening to auction off the new building should the Pathfinder Society neglect to occupy it, the Society sends another group of Pathfinders to investigate the lodge. Finding the brand new structure in a state of alarming disrepair, the Pathfinders have little time to search for answers before a booming voice greets them. If they wish to occupy the lodge, they’ll have to complete three tasks...

“Foundation’s Price” is part of the ongoing story of the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries. It’s the first scenario in a two-part arc detailing the events befalling a Pathfinder Society lodge in the nation of Qadira. Other arcs explore other locations across the Inner Sea. While these arcs can be played in any order, it’s recommended that players experience the scenarios within each individual arc in order.

Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege

A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 5-8.

The Pathfinder Society has had a tenuous relationship with the government of the ancient nation of Osirion ever since the Ruby Prince increased restrictions on the activities of foreign-based explorers. Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir has worked hard to restore the Society’s reputation in the nation, and to guide the Sandswept Hall, the Pathfinder lodge in Osirion’s capital, away from its dark past.

Recently, hordes of undead have been surging up from the depths of the Sandswept Hall. Norden Balentiir fears that should this threat become widely known, it would compel the Ruby Prince to permanently shut down Pathfinder operations in Osirion. The lodge’s forces are locked in constant battle with the undead, and they need an experienced strike team to descend into the Hall’s lower levels and find the source of the undead menace!

“The Secluded Siege” is part of the ongoing story of the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries. It’s the first scenario in a two-part arc detailing the events befalling a Pathfinder Society lodge in the nation of Osirion. Other arcs explore other locations across the Inner Sea. While these arcs can be played in any order, it’s recommended that players experience the scenarios within each individual arc in order.

Starfinder Society Scenario #4-13: Hard Reset

A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1-4.

When a simulated training mission goes wrong, a team of novice Starfinders find themselves trapped in a corrupted version of the virtual reality training program. After meeting a mysterious stranger within the system, they face an important choice: exit the program, or stay and fight to save Guidance from the Data Scourge. If they choose to fight, they experience strange revelations and battle dangerous glitches—all leading to the truth behind the Data Scourge attacks.

Pathfinder Lost Omens: City of Lost Omens Poster Map Folio

You Are Here!
Explore the streets and scenes of the City at the Center of the World with the City of Lost Omens Poster Map Folio. Four folded 21.25" × 32.5" maps combine to create the largest city map ever published by Pathfinder, a wall-dominating work of art that immerses players within the intrigues and dangers of Absalom, Golarion’s most prominent metropolis.

Inspired by the Absalom: City of Lost Omens hardcover sourcebook, the City of Lost Omens Poster Map Folio presents finer detail than ever before for a city map. Whether playing the Agents of Edgewatch Adventure Path, a Pathfinder Society Organized Play scenario, or a game of your own creation, this map serves as the perfect accompaniment to a campaign set in Absalom.

A million fates await the heroes of Absalom, along with approximately the same number of castles, monuments, temples, and taverns. Chart them all in meticulous detail with these gorgeous and gigantic poster maps!

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Enormous Forest

LOST IN THE WOODS!
The biggest Flip-Mats in history just got bigger! This gigantic map presents a sprawling section of forest on each side— one side dense and primeval with plenty of places for monsters to hide, and the other cut through with a shaded road just perfect for ambushing player characters. Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Enormous Forest measures 30" × 46" 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!

Pathfinder Spell Cards: Secrets of Magic

Harness the untold potential of magic in your hands! This must-have accessory for all spellcasters includes over 200 spell reference cards, covering spells from every tradition and all focus spells from Pathfinder Secrets of Magic. These easy-to-use cards give GMs and players all the information they need to unleash arcane devastation upon their foes!

Starfinder Spell Cards Supplemental

Just like the galaxy, the magic of Starfinder is infinite! Starfinder Spell Cards Supplemental is the must-have accessory for those spellcasting science-fantasy heroes whose knowledge has no bounds. More than 200 spell reference cards, covering a multitude of unique spells found in Starfinder’s hardcovers and Adventure Path volumes, give players instant access to key game details at a glance!

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

I remember the years of struggle. Long, stretching seasons where sunlight was sparse, and the hungry night arrived all too quickly. I remember the rites and songs as we laid follower after follower to rest, forced to move ever onward. Parent and child, animals, friends: none were safe as we carved our new paths and founded our new lives.

Tonight, in the shadow of these great mountains, I share with you a story from another time. In this time, your grandparents were small, squalling babes—some of whom I sang lullabies to, heh!—and instead of a seer’s sharp mind, I had the strength and skill of a hunter.

I was a young man back then, instead of Grandfather Eiwa. Oh yes, and I was a skilled archer! With the silence of a great cat I stalked prey. With the sharpness of eye to rival a falcon’s, I watched over our following. With the patience of a mammoth, I knew when to lay still and when to strike with all the strength I had.

What I did not know was when to use each. Sometimes, a well-meaning action creates more trouble than anything.

Take this journey with me, and see things as they were. The time of the year was close to the very season we enjoy now, when daylight just begins to stretch further than the darkness, and the snow finally begins to melt. Around our feet, the trails grew slushy and difficult to traverse, but the days began to grow brighter, and with them came hope.

These were my favorite times of the year. The crispness of the blue sky was a welcome friend. Have you noticed that the sky never seems so bright, so vivid, as during the melts? Perhaps these days I am more comfortable in the warmer seasons, but I will always love the newness of the daylight, reborn and glorious, as it chases the hard winter away.

During this time, we were only a few years into establishing the routes we now use every year. Both our herd and our numbers were still small; we had only recently started recruiting others into our following and teaching them the ways of the Broken Tusk. I was a young man, perhaps only a little older than some of you are now. Still an adult in the eyes of the following, but young enough to be over-eager to prove myself.

My day’s task was to scout ahead. I was to learn which creatures had awakened from slumber, which patches of grass had revealed themselves from beneath the snow, and to ensure the herd’s next resting spot would be free of predators and other dangers.

I took no partner with me save for Isul, my beloved friend, my air-rider. Such a magnificent falcon. He, too, was eager to explore the way ahead, and so I encouraged him to go. It was exhilarating to be exploring by myself, knowing Isul was not too far away.

Stepping carefully along the sprouting grasses and dotted pools of melted snow, I came upon a spot that led to a shallow riverbed. I was stirred by its beauty and felt a swell of pride; this would be a fantastic resting spot for the herd.

In my excitement, I did not pay close enough attention. For by the time I had approached, too late did I see the giant creature already exploring the waters.

I froze in place, watching and waiting. Hoping the massive bear would be more interested in the potential fishing spot than in me. For now, it seemed oblivious to my presence.

I should have let it be and reported back to the others. But a thought crossed my mind: how fantastic would it be, not just to return to the following with news of this beautiful resting site, but to crown that achievement with another: a grizzled bear already brought down to feed our people?

I see some of you already shaking your heads at the thought. And you are right to do so. Well you know by now that you should never hunt bear by yourself.

Only, I was convinced I was not alone. I could call for Isul, and together we could handle anything. And the longer I thought about it, the more I persuaded myself it was the best choice. Food was in short supply, after all, and the great creature could provide much.

I crouched low in the muddy bank and began readying my bow. But when I looked up, I was not ready to see the great beast charging me!

It had seen me; my presence startled it, and I suddenly understood how alone I really was. In the space of a few seconds, many thoughts ran through my mind: where is Isul? I cannot outrun the bear. I don’t have time to make more than one shot. I should have waited. Ancestors, let me live through this and I shall not make this mistake again!

The brown bear bounded toward me, then stopped short with a mighty thump of its front paws. It growled at me, teeth clacking. I began backing away from it slowly, hoping this was the only charge the creature would make.

It was not. It surged forward again with similar body language, only this time it connected, knocking me back into the mud. Panic surging, I knew my greatest chance of living right now was to feign death. I rolled instantly to my stomach and cradled my head and neck with my arms. Already my hip was stinging from where the bear had made contact, but at least my instinct was correct. With a mighty thump that shook the mud, he stomped once more, but not on me.

I could not see him, but in my mind’s eye, he was only a few scant feet away. Let him be content, I prayed. Let him go away…

He was not content. He did not go away.

I felt the air leave my lungs as his snout dug under my side, trying to flip me over. Every last bit of me wanted to yelp, to flee. No, do not flee, for you will make him chase you! It took all my strength to keep my stomach to the ground, keep my arms shielding my head and neck.

He must have been as frustrated as I, for the next thing I knew, I felt his snout at my hip again, strong claws burning into my leg. I felt a moment of weightlessness, soon followed by flattening, encompassing pain along the front of my body and an icy splash of water above my shoulders. I barely had enough time to lift my head and take a breath before continuing to feign death. He tossed me into the water!

Through the panic and the loud rush of water over my ears, it took me a moment before I realized two important things: first, despite the pain, I was still alive, and second: my hips were still connected to solid ground. I was not too far under the water.

But there was still the bear! I held my breath, feeling another tap, this time at my ankle. Leave me be, I begged, remaining still as possible, half in the water and my lungs burning with need. Go find something else, before playing dead becomes being dead!

I felt nothing else. I knew I shouldn’t move until the bear was long gone. But my lungs were done recycling my one breath; I had no more. My body ached from claw and earth. Moving was my only chance at life, and yet if I moved while the bear was still near, it was certain death.

I waited. And waited.

I felt no more contact.

Must…wait.

Wait.

Wait.

I NEED AIR.

I turned my head just enough to take in a breath and open one eye and was rewarded. For the bear had reared up, swiping at a blur of speed, dark feathers surrounding sharp eyes. Isul had returned! My beloved friend dove at the bear, distracting him, leading him away from me!

I sat up gasping and, in frenzied haste, looked around for my bow. There! At the water’s edge! I dove for it despite my pain and saw more than felt my hand close around its haft. My other hand fumbled to draw an arrow from my quiver, and with horror, I realized only one remained! The others had tumbled out as the bear tossed me around.

I had to make my shot count. I whistled sharply—a signal to Isul. My falcon friend responded immediately, as I knew he would. He circled up around the bear’s head once, leading the great creature just far enough away. In a moment, he would circle again and expose the bear’s chest and shoulder to me.

Illustration by Kent Hamilton

It is very hard to get an exact shot at a bear’s heart, especially when it’s already aggravated. But Isul was well-practiced, and we had hunted together many times. This, at least, was a perfect moment in an otherwise-messy situation. Isul wheeled. The bear turned. For one frozen moment, our eyes met, the bear and me. And then, with more precision than I’d ever had, I loosed the arrow.

The missile flew true, and I was rewarded with the telltale spray of blood, the muscular spasm as the animal decided whether to flee or fight . . . and then it slumped over.

It took me a long moment to work up the nerve to ensure the bear was finished. But finished it was. I sent Isul back to the following with a message asking for assistance. It wasn’t precisely as I’d imagined; the following had to help me as much as help with the bear.

And truly, my following, this is the most important lesson I can give from the tale tonight: we are best when we work together. We must learn to ask for—and accept!—help when needed. My intentions were good, but it was a foolish choice that nearly cost me my life, and nearly cost the following one of its hunters. We are made weaker with each loss of life, just as we are made stronger with each new addition to the following.

This night, I see you all here with me, listening and learning our ways, honoring each other and those who came before. I see you gathered, people of all shapes, all sizes, and my heart is happy. We are stronger for having you.

I celebrate you this night, Broken Tusks. And I know you will face bravely whatever challenges come your way.

About the Author

Rachael Cruz is an award-winning writer / game designer. Her TRPG work can be found in numerous properties, including but not limited to Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed-Of, Corvus Belli’s Infinity RPG, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, Fantasy Age, RuneQuest, and Star Trek Adventures. She has been helping people play pretend before it was cool. She also believes in you. Yes, you. Follow her on Twitter at @Witchwater!

About Quest for the Frozen Flame

In the Quest for the Frozen Flame Adventure Path, Paizo’s newest three-part monthly campaign, the heroes lead a band of nomadic hunter-gatherers across the brutal primordial landscape of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. Members of the Broken Tusk following, these brave adventurers must secure a safe route through the wilds, lest saber-toothed beasts, warmongering rivals, and the ever-looming possibility of natural disaster all threaten to end an ancient people’s legacy. Will the Broken Tusks succumb to the elements and surrender to their rivals? Or will you guide your following to glory and reclaim a stolen birthright?

There’s just something about an epic horde of enemies on the table that brings the sense of danger to the scene. For over a decade, Paizo has partnered with the hobby leader WizKids/NECA in bringing characters and foes to life in three dimensions. With iconic sets of heroes and villains, the Builder Set series of Goblins and Undead, and sets tied to key Adventure Paths and regions of Golarion, the Pathfinder Battles line of prepainted collectible miniatures are a fast way for Game Masters to being the world to life on the tabletop.

Paizo maintains a stock of available sets in their booster format, each containing a randomized selection of figures tied to a theme or adventure. GMs and players alike can also subscribe to highly anticipated upcoming sets such as The Mwangi Expanse, with its premium figures: the inquisitive yet enigmatic Adult Cloud Dragon; Dimari-Diji, the Final Tree of the Elder World who remembers the fall of the Starstone; and the dread river predator and devourer of heroes, the Mamlambo.

For those times that you need the perfect figure to challenge your party in your own homebrew adventure, we also offer an extensive selection of single miniatures. Whether you’re looking for Knights of Lastwall soldiers to round out that epic defense, hordes of goblins or kobolds to harass your players, or the perfect animal companion or form for your druid’s wild shape, you’ll find the best selection here.

Whether you’re looking to expand your already-legendary selection of figures for the next epic encounter or looking to start a collection of figures to supplement your play, The Golem’s Got It!

Paizo LIVE is our near-monthly, 2-hour live Twitch show featuring the Paizo staff and guests talking about upcoming Pathfinder and Starfinder releases. Join us for Episode 8 of Paizo LIVE today from 4 to 6 p.m. Pacific. Catch past episodes on YouTube.

Join us as we proudly present… your dinner. No, wait, that’s another show. I mean our January Releases!

Here are the featured products and scheduled guests:

• Developer Thurston Hillman, Developer Mike Kimmel, and Editor K. Tessa Newton: Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job, Starfinder Society Scenario #4-13: Hard Reset, Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege, and Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation's Price
• Developer Patrick Renie, Development Manager Ron Lundeen, Author Stephanie Lundeen, and Editor K. Tessa Newton: Pathfinder Adventure Path #175: Broken Tusk Moon (Quest for the Frozen Flame 1 of 3)
• Senior Developer John Compton, Thurston Hillman, and Ron Lundeen: Starfinder Galactic Magic






We’ve a lot of art to show. And don’t miss those Paizo LIVE Spoilers!

Have questions for the guests? Ask them here! Then we’ll see you on today for Paizo LIVE!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks,
Marketing and Media Manager

twitch.tv/officialpaizo!

Hello, Starfinders!

It’s January, and that means it’s a new month, a new year, and new… lessons? That’s right! We’re sending a team of rookie Starfinders back for more training in our next scenario!

When a simulated training mission becomes infected by the Data Scourge, the PCs are trapped in Guidance’s corrupted, rapidly deteriorating systems. To save Guidance, the PCs must counter the virus from inside the digital realm and escape before the system shuts down completely. Starfinder Society Scenario #4-13: Hard Reset is a scenario for levels 1–4, written by Joseph Blomquist.

Want to unravel the mystery of the Data Scourge? This is the adventure for you!

Stay safe in there, Starfinders! I’m not sure how long we’ve got until… Wait, is that howling I hear...?

(I’m sure it will be fine…)

Jessica Catalan
Starfinder Society Developer

Illustration by Alexander Ngo, A snarling green fragmenting digital hound.

This month is quite a perilous one for Pathfinder Society’s Inner Sea lodges! You might say we’re looking to shatter a sanctuary or two. In other words, both of our new Pathfinder Society scenarios this month are part of the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries metaplot!

Our first adventure takes the PCs to the port city of Sedeq in southern Qadira. The Pathfinder Society had previously sent a group of agents to take up residence in their brand new Sedeq lodge, but the agents never arrived!

I’m extremely excited for you to learn what awaits the PCs when they go to investigate the lodge. I think GMs and players alike are going to enjoy the excellent mix of roleplaying, combat, puzzles, and memorable characters in this adventure.

I hope you enjoy Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation’s Price, written by Letterio Mammoliti. This adventure for levels 1–4 is the first scenario in a two-part metaplot arc taking place in Qadira.

Left to right: Safa a djinni vizier by Felipe Fornitani and Po’ogaat a grippli monk by Tom Ventre

In our second adventure for January, the PCs are part of an elite task force sent to the beleaguered and besieged Pathfinder lodge in Sothis, Osirion, known as the Sandswept Hall. Undead have been surging up from somewhere in the lodge’s basement, and it’s up to the PCs to undertake dangerous missions and strike back at the army of the dead. Seriously, if you asked me how many undead are in this adventure, I’d be hard pressed to come up with an answer. I lost count.

There are so many undead in Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege, written by Lysle Kapp. This adventure for levels 5–8 is the first scenario in a two-part metaplot arc taking place in Osirion.

Explore! Report! Cooperate! Have fun stopping the castle from being stormed!

Mike Kimmel
Pathfinder Society Developer

Paizo LIVE is our near-monthly, 2-hour live Twitch show featuring the Paizo staff and guests talking about upcoming Pathfinder and Starfinder releases. Join us for Episode 8 of Paizo LIVE from 4 to 6 p.m. Pacific next Friday, January 21. Catch past episodes on YouTube.

I’ll show off all our January Releases! Here are the featured products and scheduled guests:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #175: Broken Tusk Moon (Quest for the Frozen Flame 1 of 3): Patrick Renie, Ron Lundeen, Stephanie Lundeen, and Ianara Natividad
• Starfinder Galactic Magic: John Compton, Ianara Natividad, Thurston Hillman, and Ron Lundeen
• Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job: Thurston Hillman
• Starfinder Society Scenario #4-13: Hard Reset, Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege, and Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation's Price: Mike Kimmel

This episode, the three questions I will ask are:

1. What story does this product help tell?
2. What rules does this product use most or what innovations does it bring to Pathfinder or Starfinder?
3. Is there an insider or behind-the-scenes story of the product’s creation you would like to share? A challenge or joy you found?

And then the conversation will unfold from there. In terms of images, we will showcase the final covers, tables of contents, and chapter header art. Finally, when signing off, I will ask each guest for a Paizo LIVE Spoiler. This can be about any announced future product!

Have questions for the guests? Ask them here! Then we’ll see you on Friday, January 21, for Paizo LIVE at twitch.tv/officialpaizo!

Have questions? Ask them here! Then we’ll see you on Friday, December 10, for Paizo LIVE at twitch.tv/officialpaizo!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks,
Marketing and Media Manager

For the second time today, Ciravel found herself exceedingly grateful for seatbelts and stabilizers.

The first moment of gratitude was during Iseph's dizzying, looping, headlong dash toward Daimalko's surface—a flight where they showed both their skill at threading the space between the enormous meteoroids that surrounded the planet and their delight at making Ciravel shut her eyes despite herself. Ciravel ran and reran the possibilities in her mind, certain that this was the course that resulted in a safe arrival to a canyon on the planet's surface, and yet she still found herself clutching her armrests and putting just enough tension against the straps holding her in to make sure that they would, in fact, hold.

The second moment came thanks to the radiation drake who clamped its crystalline jaws around her hoverchair and shook its head back and forth as if in virulent disagreement with Ciravel's very existence—an action which, without the negation of the stabilizers, would be excruciating, since the surface of this portion of Daimalko unexpectedly lacked many things, including plant life, water, and, much to the chagrin of Ciravel's various joints, consistent gravity. Iseph had anchored themself to one of the rocks which floated above the planet's surface and was locked in combat with a second drake.

"You could have warned me—"

"—about the radiation? The drakes? The battlefield ruins? The asteroids? Did you—oof!—notice the radiation buffers that you were so reluctant to—ow!—pick up this morning? 'But I don't breathe!' Honestly—your head would fall off if I didn't remind you to bring a wrench! YOU could have warned me that you fly like a drunken moldstorm!"

"Can we discuss this when we're not—" Iseph ducked as their drake snapped its jaws shut, barely missing the android and a sending a soft crystalline ring echoing through the canyon, "—about to be turned into scrapyard bits?"

Ciravel closed her eyes and focused her power, channeling it through her extended hand. The possibilities for the drake's next action unfolded before her like cards laid out on a table. She knew what she had to do.

"Iseph, count to ten."

Wait for it…

"Ciravel, this hardly seems the ideal time for numerical calculation—"

Ciravel shifted her weight, angling her chair slightly as the drake clamped its jaws higher, sending the pistol in her side holster careening toward the rocky ruins below. One more good bite and it would have her.

…Wait…

"…Make that seven."

Illustration by Michele Giorgi from Starfinder Galactic Magic

The drake's jaws opened momentarily as it repositioned its bite once more. In the precise moment where the drake's gullet was perfectly aligned, Ciravel turned her thrusters on full-force—right down the drake's throat. Its spine glowed with the intense blue flame before it gasped in pain and tumbled to the ground, releasing Ciravel's chair. Moments later, a rocky thud echoed through the canyon.

Thank goodness for seat belts, Ciravel thought once again as her chair careened wildly until the thrusters reoriented it.

"Three…two…"

She could see the drake's spine begin to glow again as it readied another beam. She was too far away. She needed more time.

Ciravel blinked her eyes, holding the battlefield in stasis as she bolted toward Iseph.

"…one."

Iseph startled slightly at the voice that was suddenly right next to them. Ciravel grabbed the blaster pistol from Iseph's belt and winked. She lifted her chair up and away from Iseph, aiming the pistol directly at the drake, trying to catch its attention and spin it away from Iseph, exposing a heavily wounded flank to their blade. The drake turned, lifting its wing, preparing to follow Ciravel. This time, she looped time into a knot, immediately making the drake forget her presence and leaving it distracted long enough for Iseph to drive their searing blade directly into its wounded gut.

She knew it would cost her later—the exhaustion from this last effort would be brutal—but Ciravel dug deep and twisted time once more, calibrating the trajectory and moment that Iseph's blade entered the drake's thorax, ensuring that it hit every vital organ it could on the way in. The drake collapsed and tumbled to the ground below.

"My pistol?" Iseph outstretched their arm.

"Ah, the 'thanks for saving my circuits, Ciravel' must be a different time thread…" Ciravel maneuvered back toward the rock where Iseph had themselves anchored and winced slightly in pain as she handed back the weapon, stretching her neck. "I think maybe I'll drive home? But let's get our repairs done quickly…I'm sure the Recollectors aren't too far behind us, if they aren't already here."

"Ciravel, perhaps we have sailed the canal that was left."

"The left canal, Iseph. The saying is that you've sailed down the right canal when things go to plan, or the left canal when you cannot locate what you need. But yes, it certainly looks like we might have sailed quite far down the left canal, unfortunately."

---

She reached into one of the bags attached to the side of her hoverchair and pulled out a handle—which extended into a cane with a press of a button—and a tool kit, then released the safety belts attaching her to the chair. Activating the grav anchors on her boots and retracting the stabilizers, Ciravel stepped onto the hovering rock, and, leaning heavily on her cane, surveyed the damage to the chair. Not too bad, considering the jaws…

Iseph pulled a medical kit from a belt pouch and began doing their own repairs to patch up their wounds—a cut here, a re-soldered circuit there. As Ciravel tightened bolts and reattached anything that had come loose from her chair in the fight, something gnawed at the back of her mind, but she brushed it away. The Recollectors were on their trail and they hadn't found any real clues to the cause of The Awakening, the cataclysm that decimated life on Daimalko. No hint to whether it was a natural event or an apocalyptic weapon used in the bitter war that used to rage on the planet. All Ciravel knew was that when she last held a fragment of rock that originated here, a specimen back in the xenobiology lab in Sovyrian, she tasted time—the only way she could describe the strange way that she suddenly smelled salt and citrus and tasted spiced honey whenever she encountered items from far in the past—a strange sensory activation that tied to her only childhood memory. A memory from the Gap.

There hadn't been a whiff of anything other than sulfur and ozone since they arrived on Daimalko. But the way that rock had hummed in her ears…the song she had heard…what she'd heard…what didn't I hear?

"…Iseph, did you hear the impact of the second drake landing in the canyon?"

"An impact? No…I heard an echo of jaws clashing and ringing, your weapon falling, the flames of your chair, the pistol firing, the screams…everything echoed back. But I did not hear a second impact of a drake on the canyon floor."

In that moment, time unfolded for Ciravel as she registered three things. First: the air, which had reeked only of sulfur and centuries of decay, suddenly smelled of salt and citrus. The smell of Time, of the Gap. Second: the sudden darkness that fell when it had, only moments before, been glaringly bright. Night should have been nearly 30 hours away. And finally: the meaning of the absent sound of the drake's impact. Ciravel ran through the possibilities in a split second, and realization made her eyes go wide.

"Um…Iseph?"

"When I have finished repairing, Ciravel, I will assist you. It is already nightfall? We cannot waste our time tonight."

"Iseph…look up. We'll make some extra time."

The android glanced up from the wire they were reconnecting and then continued looking up, and up, and up the exoskeleton, watching in near-wonder as tendrils passed the drake corpse up…and up…and up…far higher than Ciravel's chair could reach on a day when it hadn't been rattled around in the jaws of a drake, past gargantuan claws and tusks.

As her own eyes met the four beady ones of the Kyokor, Ciravel tasted spiced honey.

She stared at the colossus, steadied herself back into her hoverchair, and activated the thrusters. She glided next to Iseph and looked over at them from beneath the creature's shadow, smiling.

"Well, what do you know? Perhaps we sailed the right canal after all."

About the Author

Jennifer Kretchmer is a Diana Jones Emerging Game Designer Award finalist, TV produce and performer, author (D&D's Candlekeep Mysteries, Haunted West), streamer, and disability consultant (Skybound Games: The Walking Dead, MCDM) who has been playing TTRPGs for more than 20 years. She appears on several actual play streams including Vampire: The Nightlife (Renegade) and Heroes of the Planes (Demiplane), where her character, Alyndra, is a playable champion in Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. Jen is a Jasper's Game Day Ambassador and is the creator of the Accessibility in Gaming Resource Guide.

Twitter/Instagram: @dreamwisp
Twitch: twitch.tv/dreamwispjen
Linktree: linktr.ee/dreamwisp

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.

Last month, we launched the Pathfinder Second Edition Beginners Bundle to support The Trevor Project and Tabletop Gaymers. At the time of writing, it’s sold over 6,000 bundles, raising over $30,000 for the charities. Read all the details in our announcement blog. This deal on an epic collection of Pathfinder Second Edition essentials ends Saturday!

This bundle is filled with the books new explorers need to create heroes and set out on their journey in the legendary Pathfinder tabletop RPG universe, including the Core Rulebook, monster-filled Bestiary, and ready-to-play adventures—along with the physical Beginner’s Box at the $50 or more tier. Plus, you choose how much of your purchase supports The Trevor Project and Tabletop Gaymers!

Humble Bundles offer great deals and support great causes. Purchasers can decide how much of their donation goes to each participant in the bundle by expanding the “Adjust Donation” section on the right-hand side of the page, just below the Checkout button.

Thank you for supporting Paizo, The Trevor Project, and Tabletop Gaymers!

About The Trevor Project
The mission of The Trevor Project is to end suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people.

About Tabletop Gaymers
Tabletop Gaymers Inc is a nonprofit organization whose mission is championing the visibility and inclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, and others (LGBTQIA+) community through tabletop gaming. We organize events, educational panels, information booths, and distribute pride swag at gaming conventions like Gen Con, Origins, and PAX Unplugged.

OPC Musings

I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions. That’s not because I’m perfect—far from it!—but because inevitably I will forget about them in a couple of weeks without someone to hold me accountable. However, it occurred to me that this space is an excellent place to set out some goals for this year, which I hope you’ll all help me complete. So here are some of my New Year’s resolutions for Organized Play in 2022:

1. Work with our tech department to roll out some exciting new improvements to the Achievement Points system
2. Have a successful 2022 convention season
3. Earn my third nova for Starfinder Society—and maybe my second glyph for Pathfinder Society?

What are some of your resolutions for this year? Let me know in the comments!

Digital Adventure Releases

Here are this month’s digital releases, available January 26, 2022:

Pathfinder

Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation's Price*
Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege*

Starfinder

Starfinder Society Scenario #4-13: Hard Reset*
Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job

*part of a subscription

Convention Organizing Committees

As we begin to plan our 2022 conventions, we’re seeking individuals interested in joining the organizing committees for our major shows! If you’re interested in helping to plan PaizoCon, Gen Con, or PaizoCon Europe, head over to last week’s blog post and submit an application. Applications close tomorrow (Friday, January 7), so don’t delay! We hope to release information soon about our plans for these shows and how to volunteer as a GM.

Starfinder Fame Update

As of last Friday, Starfinder Fame has officially expired. Any lingering Fame you haven’t spent yet is space dust in the wind; be sure to record your final purchases in your records.

All boon conversion tasks should be completed at this time as well. The Starfinder Society FAQ has been updated with the information on converting certain boons to Fame; please refer players to that page if they have questions.

Starfinder Nova Update

Last month, we announced that we would be adding SFS #4-09: Through Sea and Storm to the Nova qualification list; however, a paragraph was inadvertently omitted from the blog post. Rather than sneak it in, I decided to save it for this post and announce that SFS #1-39: The Herald’s War will be retired from Nova qualification. As of March 1, 2022, any future runs of that scenario will not count as Specials for the purpose of Nova qualification. This grace period is intended to allow any GMs who had already been planning to run the scenario for credit to do so before we close the door. We don’t intend to retire any future scenarios from Nova qualification—this scenario was always a stopgap until we had enough scenarios in the requisite level ranges.

Sanctioning

With the office quiet for the holidays, we were able to take advantage of our lighter workloads and really blast through the outstanding sanctioning tasks! The following rulebooks and adventures have been sanctioned for play since last month: Lost Omens Monsters of Myth, Absalom, City of Lost Omens, the Strength of Thousands Adventure Path, and rules options from the Agents of Edgewatch Adventure Path (via the Achievement Points system). For Starfinder, we harnessed the power of the precog, and can announce that we have Galactic Magic ready to go for its street date!

We’ve also got some sanctioning in the pipeline that’s not quite ready yet, but watch the @PaizoOrgPlay Twitter feed for sanctioning announcements, or check back here next month.

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 earn their 5th Glyph for Pathfinder Society (second edition)!

5th Glyph - Tim Ayers

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

Until next time - Explore! Report! Cooperate! And enjoy the new year!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

“You stand defeated, Voradni Voon!” Melika shouted, brandishing her tin sword at Elophos. The older actor bellowed, throwing his hands up in a defiant gesture meant to cover a quick tightening of the straps holding on his minotaur horns, which had begun to slide dangerously sideways.

“Never!” Elophos cried, trotting back a few showy steps as he finished steadying his headgear. Horns secured, he charged forward again, thrusting his sword at Melika. “So long as he stands, Voradni Voon is not defeated!”

“The earth has swallowed your army. Your centaurs are dead, your harpies scattered like frightened pigeons. Surrender!” Melika jabbed at Elophos’s midsection. The thrust was absurdly slow and clumsy—old Halvorash would have boxed her ears for signaling the lunge with her eyes and feet so long before she struck—but the flaws that would have doomed her in an alley fight were virtues on the stage. An audience wasn’t a footpad with a shank; you were supposed to help them see what was coming.

“Voradni Voon will devour your heart and claim your godhood, puny human!” Elophos roared, swinging his stubby sword in broad arcs. Both actors’ weapons were shortened, letting them maximize the number of swings they could make before reaching each other onstage. Melika was impressed that Elophos managed to fit six full arcs in before he closed on her. He must have tweaked his pacing; he’d only ever managed five before.

She dropped to one knee, exaggerating the height difference between them, and thrust upward, gripping her abbreviated sword’s hilt with both hands like a spear. Another absurdity for the stage, but it roused an anticipatory cheer from the audience, and then an expectant hush.

Elophos didn’t disappoint them. Menacingly he stalked forward, having backed away in mock apprehension as Melika crouched. He charged straight onto the up-thrust point, then staggered back with a thunderous gasp, his sword arm pinwheeling in feigned death agonies. “Nooo!”

“You would not stand defeated, Voradni Voon, so you must fall,” Melika intoned, striking a heroic pose, as Elophos crumpled slowly to the stage boards, clutching the blade “impaled” into his chest to keep it from falling.

Illustration by Mirco Paganessi from Pathfinder Lost Omens Absalom, City of Lost Omens

The audience burst into cheers. Elophos skipped back to his feet, handed Melika her sword, and shared a bow as the curtains came down. No sooner had the gold-fringed cloth dropped over them than they hopped down the back stairs, moving aside so the stage crew could clear their painted scenery and set up the next troupe’s props.

Already, the painted wooden harpies and centaurs from The Defeat of Voradni Voon were being loaded onto wagons to be carted away for storage. They’d performed the act six times today, moving from stage to stage across Absalom, and now they were done. The sun was sinking westward, and night was soon to drop a final curtain on Foundation Day.

It had been glorious—but now, already, Melika felt the warmth of the crowds and her own joy stealing away from her as swiftly as the fading light.

Melika sighed. She pulled off the papier-mache crown and false mustache she’d worn as Aroden, unhooked the gaudy, gold-lined cape that she’d swirled through six victories over Voradni Voon, and folded them up, along with her dreams, inside the box that Elophos’s troupe would soon pack away.

She wasn’t an actor, not really, not like the rest of them. Melika was just a serving girl. That morning, she’d been carrying a pitcher of wash water through the commons, just as the visiting troupe learned that their original Aroden was chained to her chamber pot following an encounter with a bad eel pie.

As the actors were absorbing the bad news, one of the inn’s cats ran under Melika’s feet. She’d jumped, side-stepped, and recovered without spilling a drop. This impromptu demonstration led Elophos to conclude that she was strong and nimble enough to handle the fight choreography, about the right size to fit into Aroden’s costume, and therefore an adequate substitute for the show that they were contractually obligated to put onstage in two hours.

“You’ll have ten lines,” he’d told her as he buckled the green-gold cape around her shoulders and pasted the horsehair mustache onto her face. “You can do it. Ten lines, and it doesn’t even matter if you get them wrong.”

She hadn’t gotten them wrong. Six times she’d performed, each better than the last, as she learned to draw out the crowd and channel its energy into joy.

And now it was over. Playing at the actor’s life had been fun, but Melika had siblings to feed and a sickly mother to tend. That painted crown wasn’t real gold, and it wouldn’t keep her family clothed.

Heroism seemed so simple on stage. Maybe that was what people really liked to cheer, more than Aroden: the uncomplicated surety of right and wrong. The odds were stacked, the lines were scripted, and the heroes of legend never had anyone but themselves to think about. Their families were always conveniently faraway or dead—or at the very least, dependent on the same dramatic acts that the hero was already poised to commit.

Heroes on a stage didn’t have to be quietly reliable for those they loved. Their bravado was just like their fighting: showy and false, with none of the dirt or desperation that grimed real struggle.

Melika sighed. Though false, the dream was tempting. It surely was a pretty crown. And she’d probably never again touch cloth as fine as that cloak’s, stained and threadbare though it was.

“You alright?” Elophos asked, vigorously toweling his sweat-matted hair. Six mock fights under the heavy, horned pelt of Voradni Voon had left him soaked.

“I need to get back to work,” Melika told him.

He counted out the money, then paused. “It’s Foundation Day. You don’t have the day off to celebrate?”

“Someone has to work for other people to celebrate,” Melika pointed out, dryly, but only after she’d pocketed the coin. You didn’t talk back before you got their money. “You didn’t think all those mugs of beer poured or washed themselves, did you?” It occurred to her that maybe he did think that. Nobody had ever said that actors were overburdened with good sense.

Elophos just shrugged. “But it’s Foundation Day.”

“It is. So I should get back. They’ll need me.”

“You could stay with us. Be an actor. You’re a natural on stage.”

“For less than what I earn now?” Melika snorted. She’d worked hard for that inn job. Decent pay, extra food, sometimes clothes or even boots that drunk patrons left behind. If Elophos had ever been half as cold and hungry as she’d been before the inn, he would know what it meant to give that up.

“It might not be less. Not for long.” His speculative look was greedy enough that she almost believed him. “You’ve got talent.”

“Talent and a houseful of hungry siblings. Guess which one yells louder.”

“Well, think about it.” Elophos tossed the towel over his shoulder. “A lot of us will be headed to the Wounded Wisp after sundown, if you think you can get away from washing those beer mugs for a bit. Talk to some people. Make some friends. Perhaps you’ll see that the stage pays well enough to keep a houseful of hungry siblings fed.”

“Maybe.” Melika walked away, through the thronging crowds of revelers, other people’s joy and laughter scattered around her like flower petals. She didn’t begrudge their happiness. It meant good tips.

And as she walked, she turned Elophos’s suggestion around and around, like a coin in her pocket she was debating how to spend. Maybe she did have talent. Maybe she could feed her family that way. Maybe it wasn’t stupid to spend an hour finding out.

The Wounded Wisp...

About The Author

Liane Merciel is the author of the Pathfinder Tales novels Nightglass, Nightblade, and Hellknight, and a contributor to other books including Nidal: Land of Shadows, Faiths of Golarion, and the Lost Omens World Guide. She has also written for Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and Bioware’s Dragon Age franchise. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, two dogs, and a small child who is extremely into baking projects.

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.

They’d landed on a port moon to rehaul their ship before rendezvousing with the rest of the Pact World diplomatic team on a newly discovered world called Sigerro. A routine enough stop, but then, even in Near Space, the routine could quickly turn to excitement.

Zemir and Raia, part of the command team, were sent to find upgraded Drift drives for their ship. The thought was that Raia’s eye for tech would aid in finding the best equipment and Zemir’s tendency to bend chance might allow them to purchase it at a low price.

The technomancer and witchwarper debated the differences between their respective talents while perusing the port’s open-air markets.

“Our methods differ only in scope. You use your gifts to push technology,” said Zemir, tossing another faulty circuit board into a display case, “whereas I use mine to push reality.”

“Your scope may be wider,” said Raia, examining some drive schematics absently. “But my tech produces more reliable results.”

“Reliability is irrelevant. In the end, we seek the same thing—the new, impossible, the interesting. Is how we do it so important?”

“Some would say the ‘how’ is the most important part of all,” Raia answered, smiling. It was an old debate between friends, one they’d cheerfully had over drinks in many a space port.

“Perhaps you’re right,” said Zemir quietly. Raia recognized that faraway look. One day she’d learn the cause of Zemir’s periodic melancholy.

Before Zemir could say more, the market fell eerily silent. Everyone around them stared upward. Zemir and Raia joined them, and watched as the moon eclipsed the sun, and all went dark.

Soon after, the chittering squeaks and clicks began.

“I recognize those sounds,” said Raia. “Grioths.”

“What, this far in Near Space?” asked Zemir.

“They get closer every year,” said Raia sadly. She found grioths a fascinating formation of life. It’s too bad so many of them were in the monstrous grip of Nyarlathotep, for their voidglass technology and biology was quite interesting and could be put to great use in the Pact Worlds.

Her thoughts were interrupted by holes opening in the moon-eclipsed sky. From these shadowy portals descended a wave of winged terrors. The grioths’ silhouettes looked like thousands of bats with arms and legs—all of which held glittering weaponry.

The technomancer and the witchwarper watched the marketgoers flee. In silent agreement, both stood still amid the chaos, knowing they could hold off the grioths and allow these citizens to get to safety.

Several grioth raiders noticed the two holding their ground and broke off to attack them. Raia picked off one with a single blaster pulse while Zemir stared at another and muttered. Suddenly, the grioth’s wing seized and it plummeted to the ground. That left three more, who charged in a whirl of chittering squeaks and gleaming, deadly glass.

A fourth landed in front of Raia and swiped at her with its giant, clawed hand.

“No,” said Raia calmly, stepping back and raising her hands. She felt composed, as though in a simulation. She had spent the better part of the afternoon familiarizing herself with the tech around her, and now she simply had to put it to work, albeit for a new purpose.

As the grioth tried to grasp her again, she cast a spell with a word and a gesture. Behind her, the vast engine powering the veranda block rumbled and cracked. Suddenly, as though it were a puppet pulled by the technomancer’s strings, it unleashed from its casing and wrapped the grioth in an unbreakable embrace of steel and coiled wire.

Zemir watched his friend fight and wondered how best to aid her in the dance. He was no slouch with a blade, but with so many opponents, more help was needed.

What if, perhaps, another portal opened? One to a world filled with bright sunlight? Zemir pondered the possibilities and adjusted probabilities as though inputting calculations into the ultimately unknowable machine that was the universe. Calculations that, due to his training at the institute, he sometimes knew the outcomes for.

A bright portal to a sun-filled world opened, a world with—yes, perfect—a swarm of apari constituents, who poured from the portal, angry and hungry. The grioths shrieked at the light, some clutching their faces as its very photons pierced their psychic defenses. At Zemir’s direction, the apari swarm crashed against the grioths like a wave, instinctively trying to strike back against invaders who would darken a world.

Illustration by Mirco Paganessi from Starfinder Galactic Magic

“You will all perish for the glory of our dark master,” whispered one of grioth invaders with a harsh rasp. Before he could say more, he was overwhelmed by the swarm of apari.

He could have run—but he wouldn’t. Helping Raia made it worth it; knowing that, in some small way, Zemir had adjusted his account, paying back what he’d done wrong. He might never be able to atone for leaving his friends in that other reality, might never be able to get them back (though another part of him still wondered about this) but here, now, at least he and his friend Raia could save each other.

Together, weaving reality and technology with threads of magic, the technomancer and witchwarper beat back the remaining two grioth attackers, their martial prowess no match for the pair’s magical mastery.

“We have to get to the ship,” said Zemir once they had a moment to catch their breath. “I can open a gateway there, but I’ve expended a lot of power and can only take myself.”

“Go. I know you won’t leave me behind,” said Raia. For some reason, Zemir looked inexplicably sad at that.

“I will come back for you,” Zemir promised gravely. He stepped through the portal and was gone.

Raia waited, holding glowing sigils and technical weapons in the dark marketplace. From the chittering and squeaks, she knew another squad of grioths was inbound. With all the tech around her, Raia knew she could hold them off, but not indefinitely. She just hoped that Zemir would get back with the ship in time.

About The Author

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

About 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.

Today is National Science Fiction Day in the U.S., so it feels a bit like a communal unbirthday for every author who writes weird fiction speculating about what might happen. I took a stroll around the virtual office to talk with some of my colleagues, who are science fiction authors and game designers themselves, and asked them to talk about their personal connections to sci-fi, their inspirations, and what kind of stories interest them.

Alien Mascot, art by Milos Rocenovic

It will probably come as a surprise to no one that my biggest sci-fi influences are largely comedic. I mean, when faced with yawning infinite void of space, you just have to laugh, right? For me, it probably started with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in all its forms: books, radio play, text adventure, BBC series, and eventually, major motion picture. There’s something so relatable about a hapless Earthling being thrust into a galactic adventure of stolen spaceships, time travel, and bureaucracy. From there, I would find Space Quest (featuring the first space janitor?), Red Dwarf (“Everybody’s. Dead. Dave.”), Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon (though that series is more a vehicle for puns than anything else), and Futurama (best math jokes in the biz!). The goofier episodes of The X-Files and Farscape are among my favorite. More recently, Galaxy Quest and Lower Decks have taken their shots at that most venerable of sci-fi institutions, Star Trek. Much of comedic sci-fi lovingly pokes fun at its own genre or points at the foibles of the present through a sci-fi lens. And that’s the kind of influence I try to bring to Starfinder when appropriate. Our iconic biohacker hosts a family-friendly science-oriented vidshow that often leads to more danger than it should. A group of skittermanders rescue their vesk boss from a dangerous massage machine. I love adding those sorts of touches, and I hope you enjoy them too! I can’t wait for you to see what’s next!

Jason Keeley
Starfinder Development Manager

Android, art by Mark Molnar

My dad got me into science fiction at an early age, with Heinlein’s Rocket Ship Galileo. Heinlein wrote a YA science fiction novel every year, just in time for Christmas. It was a smart strategy. I don’t know how many of those books I read: Have Spacesuit Will Travel, The Star Beast, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. In high school, I had my first actual class on science fiction, which introduced me to everything from Asimov and John Carter to Riverworld and Chalker’s Well of Souls; predictably, my final project was a Well of Souls wargame I designed myself. In fact, by this point, my science fiction intake was starting to be determined as much by games as by novels; I spent my rainy days pouring over Traveler’s Imperium, rolling random mutations in Gamma World, and playing Star Fleet Battles. When I got to college, I wandered the campus bookstore looking for stuff I’d never heard of before, and that got me to Phil Dick’s Man in the High Castle and the Mirrorshades anthology, which broke open the cyberpunk genre. It took me a couple of tries to figure out Dune. As a graduate student, I studied science fiction under the great and much-missed Dr. George Slusser, curator of the University of California Riverside’s Eaton Collection, one of the largest collections of SF in the world. One day, on my way out of class, I told Slusser, “You know, I want your job.” He said to me, “Stick around here long enough, you might get it.” When he passed in 2014, I applied for that gig. I didn’t get it, but no regrets. Now, I get to make science fiction instead of curate it, and some of the things I’ve made are on the shelves of the Eaton Collection. I’ll take that deal.

Jason Tondro
Senior Developer

We’re standing next to each other at a convention. It’s loud and crowded here in the dealer hall, but we’ve identified one another as fellow sci-fi nerds; the awkward serendipity when two weirdos recognize each other in the wild. We’ve been existing in a pandemic for two years at this point so we desperately want to chat with someone new, so we’re eager to start a conversation. Our hobby is our common ground, so we start talking about favorite works of sci-fi. You list the various novels, video games, and films that first connected you to a network of other minds imagining extraordinary realities. I tell you I’m inspired by the works of Yoko Taro, Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison, Tade Thompson, and the Strugatsky brothers. Then you ask one of those classic icebreaker questions: Which Star Trek is your favorite?

Cleo Striker, art by Raphael Madureira

I shrug. I’m not really into Star Trek, but I watched some with my parents growing up. (Star Wars’ western vibe was always more my jam, but my dad’s a certified trekkie.) So I tell you that my favorite is Voyager. Why? You ask. You’re correctly assuming Captain Janeway has something to do with it. We rewind to my childhood. When my parents began watching Voyager, I was an awkward girl with scabbed knees and an unflattering bowl cut. During the show’s run, I transformed from invisible tomboy to sullen preteen. I hated my body and wasn’t comfortable with the changes puberty was enforcing on it. I didn’t agree with everything I saw in the world around me. I was powerless to change anything and waiting for my real life to begin. Enter Seven of Nine, a badass with a crisp Federation uniform and stylish pixie cut. She was everything I dreamed of becoming. In her, I saw the future.

But she was more than a childhood role model for me. Even though I never watched the entire series, Seven’s narrative first sparked my interest in telling stories that explore the definition of humanity and the nature of the soul. She was concrete evidence of a feminine person driving her own narrative. And there were others like her. Ripley, Sarah Connor, General Leia, and (much later) Furiosa became favorite characters and visions of powerful femininity, canonized as goddesses in a new pantheon. I expect that of all my space heroines, Seven of Nine had the deepest influence on me.

Now, imagine yourself back in the convention hall. You listen politely to my explanation and we gush about our favorite sci-fi characters for few more minutes. I ask you another question, maybe about video games, and the ice is broken. We chat for a while. We say goodbye and head off to our next destinations, happy to have met and befriended a fellow nerd.

But, I digress. This is a blog about sci-fi in general, not “POV: you meet me at a convention.” Sci-fi works have had such an influence on my life, and it’s pretty amazing to be able to call myself a sci-fi creator now. When experiencing sci-fi, we can dream of other worlds near and far. We can hope for a bright solarpunk future and try to write it into being, or examine the great conflicts of our own lives, our fears, our struggles, through a lens that allows others to understand us better. Thanks to all of you for your interest in other worlds, and expect the aliens, philosophical machines, mechs, and space shenanigans to continue.

Jenny Jarzabski
Starfinder Developer

You heard from some of us. What’s your favorite work of science fiction? What inspires your own Starfinder games? We’d love to hear from you!