Monthly Roundup!

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

30 Arodus 4717

Back in the office after an exciting Gen Con 50! We came, we saw, and played lots of Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society. The demo tables of Starfinder kept busy, with lines out the door. Pathfinder Society packed the Sagamore Ballroom on Friday night to see the debut of Pathfinder Society Scenario #9-00: Assault on Absalom. We even added a few extra tables to seat more players! Thanks to the Venture Officers, GMs and HQ volunteers that made the event possible. We could not deliver the high level of programming without your assistance.

If you attended Gen Con and want to leave us feedback as we start planning 2018, please post in the official feedback threads on the messageboards by September 14th. If you prefer to give your feedback privately, please email genconpfsvolunteers@paizo.com. The org play team, leads, and I are processing all the information received to see where we can adjust processes and improve the Gen Con 2018 attendee and volunteer experience.

Quests

As we did with the Silverhex Chronicles and Phantom Phenomena in July 2016, from here on out, the requirement to the Pathfinder Society Quest series Honor's Echo with pregenerated iconic characters is rescinded. Any 1st level character may be used to complete this arc. At this time, Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-16: House of Harmonious Wisdom is considered both a scenario and a series of Quests. If using as Quests to introduce players to the Pathfinder Society, pregenerated iconic character use is highly suggested, as this gets new players to the table and immersed in the game faster and easier.

Website Updates

We updated the Faction Journal Cards for the Year of Faction's Favor and they are now available for download. Our content management liaison is still working on getting other items up on paizo.com, such as the Starfinder Society pages. Until this happens, we've stickied several posts in the Organized Play messageboards with links and updated policies, to keep the org play machine running smoothly.

Campaign Coin Recipients

During my travels, I've had the opportunity to give out campaign coins at events other than PaizoCon and Gen Con. This led to my only awarding one at Gen Con. Please congratulate Glen Shackleton on his long service to our community. He is now Org Play number 783.

5* GM Recognition

With so many special scenarios running at Gen Con, many GMs ran the last of their required 10 special games and achieved their 5th star. Besides 10 special events, they need to 150 games, including at least 50 unique scenarios. Our dedicated GMs spend hours and hours preparing to deliver a quality experience to the players. To those listed below, who earned their 5th star in the past few weeks, welcome to the club and thank you for your dedication to our Society.

Hunter Balduf
Danny Braddock
William Cleveland
Joe Ducey
Doug Edwards
Matthew Hudson
Tom Mcqueen
Zack Nagel
Jeffrey Reed
Glen Shackleton
Roger Sidebotham

Conventions

Over the past few months, we feature the upcoming conventions with organized play activities. This list generates from the convention organizers' requesting support from Paizo and may not be complete. Especially when a flood of requests arrives in my inbox or when I am travelling.

The question I have for our player base—does this list help? Do you want me to continue posting events? If you would prefer to have it in a different format, or at a different time, please let me know. Constructive feedback is always appreciated!

PacifiCon 2017	Santa Clara, CA	9/1/17
SacAnime Summer 2017	Sacramento, CA	9/1/17
B-Con 2017	Aurora, CO	9/1/17
DragonCon 2017	Atlanta, GA	9/1/17
Gateway 2017	Los Angeles, CA	9/1/17
Gateway to Golarion II (2017)	Kutztown, PA	9/1/17
Portsmouth PFS Summer-Con 2017	Portsmouth, VA	9/1/17
Tracon 2017	Tampere, Finland	9/7/17
SibCon 2017	Butler, PA	9/8/17
Phantasm 2017	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada	9/9/17
San Diego Pathfinder Miramar MCAS Charity Play	San Diego, CA	9/9/17
Traveling Pathfinder's Convocation	Houston, TX	9/9/17
CogCon 2017	Rolla, MO	9/15/17
CoNfUsIoN 2017	Gouda, Netherlands	9/15/17
GrandCon 2017	Grand Rapids, MI	9/15/17
Skål Con 2017	Roseville, MN	9/15/17
Granite State Comic Con 2017	Manchester, NH	9/16/17
AB-Con Winter 2017	Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany	9/22/17
Viking Summer Lodge 2017	Taastrup, Denmark	9/22/17
HMGS-South Hurricon 2017	Kissimmee, FL	9/28/17
RinCon Games 2017	Tucson, AZ	9/29/17
BrisCon 2017	Brisbane, QLD, Australia	9/30/17
DBQ Con 2017	Dubuque, IA	9/30/17
SPSX 2017	Glasgow, Scotland, UK	9/30/17
SydCon 2017	Sydney, NSW, Australia	9/30/17
Cincitycon 2017	Cincinnati, OH	10/6/17
AtomiCon Mini I (2017)	Durham, NC	10/7/17
Pathcon 4.0	Salt Lake City, UT	10/13/17
Asheville Scarefest 2017	Montreat, NC	10/19/17
Skycon 2017	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada	10/28/17

Contests

Today is the deadline for the Leaders in Liberty contest. All entries must reach us by midnight Pacific Time. For more information, check out the contest criteria blog.

In August, we noted that our next competition would be for best terrain. So dig through your photos and get ready to send us your best one. We'll start accepting them September 1st and stop on September 21st. So if you haven't built something yet, you still have time.

The contest requirements are that the photo be of a piece of 3D terrain made by the submitter in the last 6 months. Once submissions are closed, we will review the photos, pick the top contenders, and post them on paizo.com for a community vote. The winner will receive $30 in store credit. The number and value of prizes for runners up will be based on the number of submissions received and will be posted at the time of voting.

The next few weeks should be a flurry of Venture-Officer additions, convention support processing, and planning meetings for Seasons 10/5/2. Three programs mean triple the planning and lots of coordination. I am not travelling again, until October, so now's the time to pull things together.

The next Paizo attended show is PAX Unplugged in November. We should have more information in the next few weeks regarding our presence at the show.

Until next week—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Cheers, Contests, and Conventions

Friday, August 4, 2017

As Season 8 of the Pathfinder Society winds down and we prepare to launch three new seasons of organized play at Gen Con 50, it's time to say thank you to some of the folks who make our games and programs fantastic. Whether you are a dedicated GM, running games in your community every week, or a convention organizer, who puts together the large shows, your efforts are seen and appreciated. We cannot have a community our size (84,000 players and growing) without having the volunteers to support it. To all of you, our team sends kudos and thanks.

5 Star GMs

For some of our GMs, they hit the milestone of running 150 games, with 10 of them being specials. These 150 games must be include at least 50 unique scenarios, so they cannot just run the same thing over and over. They spend countless hours in preparation and deliver a gaming to their needs. I wish to recognize the following individuals for achieving the top goal in the GM recognition program.

Joseph Blomquist
Janice Piette
Daniel Pink
Hjal Nelson
Carol Tierney
Tom Mannering
Zrinka Znidarcic

Campaign Service Coins

Some of our volunteers go above and beyond the expectations of the role they fill. These volunteers usually organize some portion of organized play. A common belief is that recipients must be part of the Venture-Officer team. This is not the case, though many of those achieving the campaign coin recognition do belong to the venture corps. If you know an individual deserving of acknowledgement for their efforts in promoting organized play in your area, please email me and tell me why.

Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to award campaign coins to the following individuals. I've listed their new Organized Play number as well as the convention they received their recognition at. There are two redacted names on the list. We announced them at PaizoCon and their Regional Venture-Coordinator will award the coins to them in person. I don't want to spoil the surprise their receipt will bring, so I'm holding off on announcing the names until the recipient receives the coin.

Alison Ooms—777—Who's Yer Con
Chad Newman—778—Origins
[Reacted]—779—PaizoCon UK
[Redacted]—780—PaizoCon UK
Nils Janson—781—PaizoCon UK
Ian Hawthorne—782—PaizoCon UK

Three cheers for these hardworking individuals. Hip, hip, huzzah!!!

Conventions

Though the summer convention season reaches the peak at Gen Con, that doesn't mean the end of conventions to attend. Starting with GardenCon and MegaMoose this weekend, we never truly slow down. Those conventions after August 17th may contain a Starfinder component as well as Pathfinder Society RPG and ACG, as we launch the newest organized play campaign.

GardenCon 2017	Geneva, Switzerland	8/3/17
MegaMooseCon 2017	Richburg, SC	8/4/17
2D Con 2017	Bloomington, MN	8/11/17
Pre-GenCon Scotties	Indianapolis, IN	8/16/17
Gen Con 50	Indianapolis, IN	8/17/17
Convocation 2017	Winnipeg, MB, Canada	8/25/17
Coulee Con 2017	La Crosse, WI	8/25/17
Dragonflight 38 (2017)	Bellevue, WA	8/25/17
Play-by-Post Gameday VI	Online Region	8/25/17
Québec PFS Mini-Con 2017	Québec City,Québec, Canada	8/25/17
Shadowcon UK 2017	London, UK	8/26/17
PacifiCon 2017	Santa Clara, CA	9/1/17
SacAnime Summer 2017	Sacramento, CA	9/1/17
Granite State Comic Con 2017	Manchester, NH	9/16/17
Traveling Pathfinder's Convocation	Houston, TX	9/9/17
SydCon 2017	Sydney, NSW, Australia	9/30/17
Gateway to Golarion II (2017)	Kutztown, PA	9/1/17
San Diego Pathfinder Miramar MCAS Charity Play	San Diego, CA	9/9/17
Gateway 2017	Los Angeles, CA	9/1/17
DragonCon 2017	Atlanta, GA	9/1/17
Tracon 2017	Tampere, Finland	9/7/17

For those of you wanting to attend Gen Con, we STILL HAVE SPACE for all Tiers of GMs, including those that provide hotel space. To join us, check out the volunteer call blog and complete the questionnaire linked at the bottom.

Contests

Currently, the team requested community participation in the "Leaders in Liberty" contest. Deadline for submissions is August 30, 2017. For more information, check out the contest criteria blog.

When the "Leader's in Liberty" contest closes, we are opening one for the Best Terrain. We'll spill the details in next week's blog, but we wanted to give those preparing for their conventions as much time as possible to make terrain and get photos. Basic requirement is a piece of 3D terrain made in the last 6 months. So pull out the foam, glue, and flocking and let's see some fabulous creations!

The team remains hard at work pulling the edges together for Gen Con. For those of you attending, stop by and say hi!

Until next week—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Adventures Worth Holding Your Breath For

Monday, April 24, 2017

Before we jump into John's preview of this month's Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Scenarios, I'd like to announce the results of the "OPC Needs a New Character" contest. Drumroll, please...

The winner is... *dramatic pause*

Gwinn Jeggare, phantom thief! The author of my new character is Michael Eshleman (greysector)—Congratulations to Michael on the success of his entry!

Kudos to our two finalists, Douglas MacIntyre (for Brenda "Brackish" Hardy, the undine shaman of the deep) and Brent Strom (for Perth)! Hip, hip huzzah!

—Tonya Woldridge, Organized Play Coordinator

Illustration by Jeffrey Lai

Just as the Seattle area transitions from chilly and wet to "sunny yet inexplicably still raining," so too is the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild team eager to get outside and explore some exciting locations. We're also pleased to have an exciting Season 9 schedule in place along with the name and logo, much of which we'll announce at PaizoCon 2017, so be sure to attend the PaizoCon Preview Banquet and the organized play panel the following day to ask any questions you have. In the meantime, let me share a few more secrets about this month's scenarios—both of which lead into our PaizoCon releases!

We kick off the race into convention season with an infamous race in Garund: the famous Sargava Chalice, a survival footrace through the unforgiving wilderness just south of the Mwangi Expanse. In recent years, the race has become increasingly deadly, and the Pathfinder Society has proposed allowing teams to compete as a way to revitalize the contest. The PCs are representing the Pathfinder Society in the race, and if they can brave the traceless frontier while fending off both beasts and rival competitors, they might walk away with the chalice itself—a relic with which the Society can unlock a cyclops ruin from antiquity. Lace up your racing shoes in Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-18: Champion's Chalice, Part 1: Blazing Dangerous Trails by Benjamin Bruck, bravely treaded new ground by adapting a simplified version of Ultimate Intrigue's pursuit rules to track the PCs' progress. Just be warned that one rule hasn't changed: contestants begin the race with nothing but themselves and the cloths on their backs. Time is of the essence in this Tier 1-5 adventure!

Illustrations by Dion Harris and Tom Ventre

Thus far the Pathfinder Society has traveled the elemental planes, compiling what it needs to shatter the Untouchable Opal. We're yet to visit the Plane of Water, and that ends this month as the Society is in pursuit of a crucial tool to realize its goal. Many years ago, the ingenious Pathfinder Zahra was investigating the unforgiving ruins of Koor, and she has since shifted her sights to the magnificent metropolis of Vialesk, a hub for visitors to the Plane of Water. Tragic circumstances ruined the first expedition and tarnished her reputation, but she suspects foul play and has recruited the PCs to find out what really happened. Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-19: Treacherous Waters is an exciting urban adventure set in the underwater city of Vialesk, full of strange environments and even stranger characters. Its author, Eleanor Ferron, not only contributed to Pathfinder Quests: Honor's Echo, but she also made the Plane of Water come alive in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Planes of Power, making this Tier 3-7 adventure a real testament to her abilities and knowledge of the setting.

As a note for Treacherous Waters, keep in mind that its events tie closely to Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-20: Torrent's Last Will, a Tier 7-11 adventure coming out next month. It's not necessary to play these with the same character, though I do recommend playing them in order.

John Compton
Organized Play Lead Developer

Great Things Come in Threes!

Monday, March 13, 2017

The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Trade Show in Las Vegas has wrapped up and I'm headed back to Seattle early next week. GAMA brings retailers and industry professionals together once a year at their trade show, as well as sponsors the Origins Gaming Convention every June in Columbus, Ohio. The Paizo team was busy this year! The Jasons (Keely and Bulmahn) ran lots of Starfinder ship combat demos, Erik Mona talked to loads of attendees about upcoming Paizo products, including the Starfinder line, Jeff/Cosmo/Pierce/Jenny spent lots of time in meetings, and I gave presentations on Paizo Organized Play. By the way, how many of you caught our live tweets from the presentations? That was the brainchild of our new Outreach Manager, Dan Tharp. You should see his fingers fly on a phone keyboard.

Between meetings and presentations, we all took a spin in the booth talking to retailers and other industry folks about our awesome games. Loads of drool over Starfinder, including the Free RPG Day offering, Starfinder: First Contact, a sleek book filled with monsters that work well in both the Pathfinder and Starfinder settings, and the shiny Buyer's Guide, listing the upcoming Starfinder products. Equally exciting to attendees, the news that Ninja Division will produce pre-painted miniatures for the Starfinder line. While at the show, I handed out over 150 Organized Play packets to stores looking to start organized play or expand their offerings. If you don't currently have Pathfinder Society in a location near you, one may be coming soon. Otherwise, email me at organizedplay@paizo.com and we can work together to get something started.

Starfinder Society and Know Direction

This Wednesday, March 22 at 8:30 PM Eastern time, the Starfinder Society team (John Compton, Thurston Hillman, and myself) will join Know Direction hosts Ryan & Perram for an evening of questions and answers. While focused mostly on the newly announced Starfinder Society Organized Play program, we can field some questions about Pathfinder Society as well. If you have a question you really want answered, put it in the comments and we will add it to our growing list. But be warned, some answers must stay under wraps until closer to the launch in August. In the words of the great River Song, "Spoilers!"

You can find the feed, and other Know Direction podcasts and interviews on their website. We'll see you there on Wednesday!

The OPC Needs a New Character

In my recent travels, I've gotten to play more than I've GMed or organized. Crazy, right? But it means all my characters leveled up and are now in the Tier 5+ range. So I need new characters to take on my great con tour this summer.

I've been trying to come up with ideas, but nothing really tickled my fancy, so I'm asking Pathfinder Society players to help me out. I'm actually making a contest out of it. Character concepts must fit the criteria below. Include a backstory of between 280 and 300 words that provides insight into the character and their motivations. Submit your entry as email text (no attachments!) to pathfindersociety@paizo.com (Subject: OPC Needs A New Character Contest) along with your Pathfinder Society number. Entries must be received by April 3, 2017 for consideration for the contest.

I've asked the Organized Play team (and maybe a few other staffers) to help me narrow down the options. We will put our top choices in a blog on Monday, April 10 for the community to vote on. The concept with the highest votes becomes my 23rd character. The winner receives $20 paizo.com store credit, as well as bragging rights and a named acknowledgement every time I play the character.

Criteria

• Race: Any legal without a boon
• Class: Any
• Gender: Any
• Name: No puns and suitable for playing with younger players
• Stats: Balanced (nothing lower than an 8)
• Resources: Any
• Format: Paizo stat block
• Play Style: I like to participate in all aspects of an adventure, so a mix of skills and combat, don't mind being a "face" but prefer not to be the front line fighter, and prefer cool concepts to min-maxed abilities
• Level progression: 5th for feats, skills, and selectable class features

I look forward to seeing what you all come up with for me to play!

Next week is John's scenario introductions, so I'll see you in two weeks with a wrap up of Who's Yer Con, which I'm attending March 31 to April 2 in Indianapolis, IN.

Until then—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

Vote for Your Favorite Pathfinder Society Character Sketch!

Sunday, January 19, 2016

A while back, we opened up submissions to our Pathfinder Society Character Sketch Competition, and while PaizoCon swept through the office and knocked us prone, we're back and ready to show off the entries! We hope to continue to open up similar contests to give artists within the Pathfinder Society community to show off their characters and creations, so don't despair if you didn't get a chance to enter this time! I'd also like to extend a big "Thank You!" to our contestants for their patience over the last two weeks while we ramp back up to normal.

Voting opens now and continues until Friday, June 24 at 12:00 PM Pacific time. We'll be announcing the winners in the Pathfinder Society blog the following Monday.

"Celan Silverwing" by arcaneArtist	"Fang Gul" by Belabras	"Erundyl" by Crescentmoon	"Kaikarah Defies-the-Tide" by Derek Schubert
"Phaedra Lingalare" by Femme Fatale d'Avignon	"Edda Asketillsdottir Nyrkiö, aka Chaos Paw" by Gomis	"Dendro Bates" by LackofFocus	"Knight Captain Sir Kalebh Ironswift" by Redwald
"Josei Kilojarrah Blakros" by Rei	"Leuphira Razin" by thistledown	"Bloodspeaker Mea" by zefig

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

OPC Log—16 Desnus 4716

Monday, May 16, 2016

While writing last Moonday's blog, I realized there was way too much information I wanted to share and including it all would lead to reader overload. So I saved some of the Gen Con information for this week. It's also time to start the next Pathfinder Society Competition!

More Gen Con Info

There is no way to do everything at Gen Con by myself; there are just too many tasks and too many places to be. So every year a team of Lead Volunteers is named to help out. While I coordinate things between Gen Con and PFS, they do the same for all the volunteers. Months before the convention starts, just weeks after Gen Con 2015 ended, they started talking about Gen Con 2016. Through months of planning, generating schedules, corresponding with volunteers, compiling lists of supplies, they work closely with me to deliver a quality show. They arrive at Gen Con early and help me set up the Sagamore. Setup is a HUGE endeavor, involving unpacking pallets, building shelving, assembling table stands, folding papers, stuffing envelopes, sorting shirts... an almost endless list of tasks that all need to occur before Wednesday afternoon when our volunteers arrive. After four days of very little sleep, they help tear down the Sagamore, disassembling everything we built days before, packing up the pallets, rolling banners, and compiling a list of GM feedback. Only when everything is torn down and ready to return to Seattle do they take a breather and stop thinking Gen Con 2016. Then, a few weeks later, they review the feedback, read through the many post-Gen Con forum threads, and start thinking about Gen Con 50. The amount of time these volunteers spend putting the show together is immense and I cannot say thank you enough to them for all they do!

Without further ado—your leads!

Jon Cary—Jon started volunteering for Paizo at Gen Con in 2011. The next year, he was appointed Lead. This is Jon's sixth Gen Con with the Pathfinder Society. In addition, he was the Venture-Captain of the Dallas-Fort Worth area from September 2011 to December 2014. Jon is our tech guru, the master of the database, and wrangler of the HQ volunteers. Most importantly, he keeps an eye on Bob and Todd and preserves the OPC's sanity.

Bob Jonquet—GM herder extraordinaire, 2016 marks Bob's third year as Gen Con Co-Lead. He joined the Pathfinder Society at the outset and was a Tier 1 Gen Con GM in 2010, the first of many years of volunteering for Society events. Bob also leads the volunteer brigade at PaizoCon. When asked for a blurb, Bob wrote, "In his spare time Bob likes long walks on the beach, eating ice cream, and protecting the citizens of Gotham from evil".

Todd Morgan—The quite one, Todd shoulders the daunting task of organizing the data entry crew and is keeper of the reporting sheets. At 180 tables a slot and 10 slots, that is over 1800 pieces of paper to track. As a result of being holder of the paper, Todd shoulders the responsibility of fixing any reporting errors. This is Todd's third year of leading Gen Con volunteers. Todd is also one of two co-leads for PaizoCon. In his spare time, he plays in a band.

New for this year, we are adding Department Heads to the Gen Con leadership. They are responsible for coordinating tasks within their areas, getting volunteers breaks, handling on-site issues, and making sure players have a fantastic experience.

GMs—Venture-Captain Bobby Harring
Marshals—Venture-Captain Seth Brummond
Non-Marshal HQ Volunteers—Venture-Captain Walter Sheppard
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Demonstrators—Venture-Captain Dominick Trascritti
Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild—Venture-Captain Micah Daniels
Pathfinder Society Academy—Venture-Captain Lucas Servideo

At this time, every volunteer should have received their schedule and replied to their appropriate Lead—Bob for GMs and Jon for HQ. Badges have been placed in Gen Con accounts. If you don't see a badge under your "my packet" category on the Gen Con website, please email me and I will look into the issue. I will start looking at room assignments After PaizoCon and will send another email with roommate information to those that qualified for a Paizo room.

As a result of planning months out, there are always cancellations. We are still taking applications for volunteers as a "wait list" to fill the inevitable holes in our schedule. Check out the Gen Con 2016 Call for Volunteers blog if you are interested in being on the wait list.

Finally, a GIGANTIC thank you to all the volunteers! Without you, the Pathfinder Society would not have the capacity to offer all the wonderful games and experiences to the attendees of Gen Con. Raise your glass high and toast your efforts! Huzzah!

Character Sketch Competition

Switching gears—it's time for another competition. For this one, break out your crayons, pencils, pens, paints, pastels, inks, or markers and a clean sheet of paper. The theme of this competition is Character Portrait. We are looking for either headshot or full body pieces of your Pathfinder Society characters.

As with past competitions, there are a few rules:

• You may only enter once
• Only the artist may submit their work
• Entries must be submitted to contest@paizo.com
• Include your portrait and a name for the character portrayed (NOTE: Images may be resized or cropped to better show off the artwork for voting. Any image format is acceptable!)
• Include your paizo.com username

Entries will be accepted until 12:00 PM Pacific time on June 3, 2016. We plan to open voting on Monday, June 6.

The rewards? Gift Certificates to paizo.com! Value will be determined based on the number of applicants.

Until next time—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

Pathfinder Society at PaizoCon 2016

Monday, April 18, 2016

PaizoCon 2016 is fast approaching, and we're expecting the sign-ups and lottery to go up in the near future. I know a bunch of you are wondering how to allot your lottery priorities, so let me help by tempting you with even more fun options. After all, we love making PaizoCon special by running unique games and providing other great content to make your trip to Seattle as fun as possible.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Adventure Card Game Open Playtest (Lottery Event): Last year, Adventure Card Game Designer Tanis O'Conner masterminded a way to play the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game competitively, working as a team to outclass the other groups playing the same adventure. She'll be running playtests of this year's adventure (set to debut at Gen Con 2016), and this is your chance to be her nefarious guinea pigs. Your infernal insights disqualify you from participating in the Open at Gen Con, but you will have the diabolical satisfaction of watching the competitors brave the challenges you helped shape.

Adventure Card Game: We Be Goblins! (Lottery Event): ACG enthusiast Tyler Beck has worked with Tanis to create a three-part adaptation of the wildly popular We Be Goblins! series of adventures, complete with new characters and custom cards printed through DriveThruCards. There will be several rounds of this 4-hour PaizoCon exclusive, but seats are sure to go quickly!

Pathfinder Society Special #7-98: Serpents' Ire (Lottery Event with 35 tables): At PaizoCon 2015 players portrayed Aspis agents bent on wrecking the Grand Lodge. This year we're getting half the team back together—and adding some devious new faces—in order to infiltrate and destroy a new target: the Korholm Agenda. Step into the role of an 8th-level pregenerated scoundrel on Sunday evening.

PaizoCon Banquet (Ticketed Event): Following PaizoCon tradition, Paizo employees join fans for a great meal, and then we gather ‘round to hear what products are coming up over the next year. Expect some big news from the Pathfinder Society team, including the announcement of the next Roleplaying Guild season.

Pathfinder Society Q&A Seminar (Open Event): No doubt you have burning questions from the banquet, so the following day Tonya, Linda, and I will take your questions during the Pathfinder Society Q&A panel.

Out of Retirement / Season 0 Reborn (Lottery Events): The Out of Retirement tradition continues, giving a select group of players the chance to experience one of the retired Season 0 adventure renovated with full Pathfinder RPG stats and updated Chronicle sheets for full organized play credit. This year I'm running a slight variation on this event called Season 0 Reborn, in which I update one of the other Season 0 scenarios with all the extra goodies. As an added benefit, you can get organized play credit for these revised scenarios at PaizoCon, even if you already played the original versions.

We also know that GMs appreciate as much warning as possible about what maps to expect—especially when preparing for big events like PaizoCon. I've provided a list below of the published maps expected to appear in the April and May scenarios. As a note, the map list for Pathfinder Society Special: #7-98: Serpents' Ire is still being finalized, and I'll post that information in its product page once that's settled.

Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-20: All for Immortality, Part 1: First Taste of Eternity

• Flip-Mat: Desert Ruins
• Map Pack: Extradimensional Spaces

Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-21: The Sun Orchid Scheme

• Flip-Mat: Desert Ruins
• Flip-Mat Classic: Prison

Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-22: Bid for Alabastrine

• This adventure uses only custom maps.

Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-23: Abducted in Aether

• Map Pack: Evil Ruins

We'd also like to thank everyone who voted in our best Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild Accessory contest! The winner of the Best Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Accessory contest is...

Drumroll please...

Calthaer! His excellent revolving game board has won first place, and he will receive $30 credit to paizo.com. The two runners up, lackoffocus and Hawkmoon269, each receive $10 paizo.com credit for their fine work!

For our next contest, we want to see your sketches of your Pathfinder Society characters! More details and submission information will be available on May 17th—until then, get sketching!

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

OPC Log—11 Gozren 4716

Monday, April 11, 2016

Photo courtesy of Nathan Peever.

This past weekend I attended Emerald City Comic Con with over 80,000 other people! While not the largest convention I've participated in, it is in the top three (among Fan Expo Canada with 127,000 and Gen Con at 197,695 attendees). All three are huge conventions with a varied fan base!

This weekend volunteers and Paizo staff came together to run Pathfinder Society events in the Sheraton Grand Ballroom. Except for the early morning hours, we consistently filled our tables and worked hard to get games going quickly. Some of our attendees enjoyed the Adventure Card Game so much they came back the next day to play through the Season of the Runelords Adventure 1. Several other groups went directly from our tables to on-site retailers and bought the Rise of the Runelords Base Set with the intent to start playing back home.

Over the weekend, I managed a couple of breaks and visited other areas of the convention. While I didn't see any of the Pathfinder iconics running around, there was plenty of other great cosplay abound! Pockets of people formed as people took photos of some truly awesome concoctions of fabric, foam, and makeup. Seas of people filled the dealers hall and artist alley. Their talent amazes me and I could stand for hours looking at their work.

But Emerald City Comic Con is just one topic for this week. Let's shift gears to a topic that's been cropping up on the forums: the expense and difficulty of attending conventions. Some Pathfinders desire the rewards of attending conventions, namely boons, but couldn't see a way past the barriers blocking their path. On the organizational side, we receive requests for convention support from events that don't meet the requirements for venue or size. We don't like saying "no" to these events, so we put our heads together, and developed a "Game Day" program to augment our convention support program.

It took a few months to get the details hammered out on who qualifies, what they receive, and support distribution methods. We came up with a flexible program that allows us to tailor our response based on the region and needs of the community. The Game Day program supports three non-convention venues—the venue that is a consistently strong performer that needs recognition for its accomplishments, the venue that is new and could use support to establish itself, and those events that are not quite conventions because they occur in retail establishments or are just under the table requirements. All Game Days still must follow the requirement of being open to the public, registered on paizo.com, and having some form of online advertisement.

We decided the Regional Venture-Coordinators (RVC) know their areas best, so they should choose Game Days under the new program. Each RVC gets 10 such events a quarter. We chose 10 as a baseline number until we can see the reach of the program and identify the regional needs. The RVC works with the event organizer in establishing goals based off of attendance, event offerings, and community needs. Each Game Day should have a basic, stretch, and super stretch goal. Rewards in the form of player and GM boons scale with the goals, with all Game Days getting the basic Tier 3 rewards. If a Game Day meets its stretch goals, then they earn Tier 2 rewards, just as super stretch equals Tier 1.

It is my pleasure to introduce the first of our game days. For the second quarter of 2016, the Southeastern region named Cool Kids Excelsior 2nd Anniversary Bash from April 29-May 1 in Hoover, Alabama, as one of their not-quite-a-con Game Days, as it is held in a retail location. Point of contact is Venture-Captain Mike Seales. The second Southeastern Game Day is TriCon from April 23-24, 2016, in High Point, North Carolina. Once again, it is an event in a retail location. Venture-Lieutenant Landon Hatfield is leading this event. Both of these Game Days are on the event locator here on the website; if you want more details check them out! The Western-Europe/Middle East region named one Game Day: Madrid, Spain, is hosting reoccurring game day. The first was April 2-3 and saw 10 tables of Siege of Serpents and a few other games. The next occurrence is April 30, when they plan to run introduction events in four different locations across Madrid. For more information, contact Venture-Captain Tesifonte Negro Gonzalez. Venture-Officer emails are on the Regional Coordinators page. I look forward to announcing more Game Days as the program grows!

Finally, I would like to apologize to the three individuals who entered the Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild accessory contest. I didn't take my travel schedule into account when I set the submission deadline, and was out of the office when the deadline occurred. But, late is better than never! We had three submissions of three unique accessories. Voting opens today and closes it on Friday, April 15th. Winners will be announced in the blog on Monday, April 18th! Please take a moment and vote for your favorite!

Submissions by Calthaer, Hawkmoon269, and lackoffocus.

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

OPC Log—8 Pharast 4716

Monday, March 7, 2016

Last Friday marked two important occasions for many gamers—International GM's Day and the anniversary of the passing of game designer Gary Gygax. I began to reflect on my first games and how much they shaped my gaming experience, where I thought about the experiences that encourage players to return to the table. I would love to hear of your first encounters with the world of gaming and what made them so memorable—leave your stories in the comments!

Of course, we don't need an International GM's Day to say thank you to all the GMs out there that spend large amounts of their free time preparing and running games for their players! The Pathfinder Society team would especially like to recognize those GMs achieving their 5th star over the past six weeks. To reach 150 games, a GM dedicates more than 750 hours to their craft, and that's just the time it takes to run games. There are many more hours of preparation and planning involved. Please join in a big round of applause for our newest 5-star GMs!

Carlos Danao
Kjersten Gibson (Kitty)
Nathan Littlefield
Chris Marsh
Nate Myers
Matt Polkowsky
Chris Rathunde
Santeri Riikonen
Michael Thompson

Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild Accessory Contest

Last month I hinted at our next Pathfinder Society contest, and this month the focus will beon the Adventure Card Guild. This time around, we want to see your table accessories that add pizazz or pow to the game. The rules for entry are below:

• You may only enter once, with one accessory
• Entries must be submitted to contest@paizo.com
• Include a photo of your accessory and a description of its use (NOTE: Photos may be resized or cropped to better show off the mini for voting. We suggest trying to send the biggest possible resolution to retain details for resizing. Any image format is acceptable!)
• Include your paizo.com username

Of course, a contest means prizes! First place will win $25 paizo.com store credit and three runners up will each receive $15 store credit. Entries will be accepted until 12:00 PM Pacific time on March 25, 2016. Voting will open on March 28, 2016 and continue until April 8.

Convention Updates

This weekend I compiled the list of PaizoCon volunteers, worked on finalizing the schedule, and sending responses to volunteer submissions. I have received some withdrawals from the Gen Con volunteer pool and will be contacting other GMs to fill those positions. If you are waiting to hear on either of those conventions, expect an email by the end of the week.

Looking forward, I will be traveling the rest of the month. First to GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I meet with retailers to discuss Pathfinder Society in their stores. Then I am off to Florida, where I'll hold a meet & greet in Tampa and spend some vacation time with my family. While I'm away, John will be writing the Pathfinder Society blogs, so I will wish everyone a fun and happy Pharast and see everyone in Gozran!

Until then—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

OPC Log—8 Calistril 4716

Monday, February 8, 2016

Hi friends! I spent the past five days in Fort Wayne, Indiana, attending the Winter Fantasy Convention hosted by Baldman Games. What a blast! With a small but dedicated Pathfinder presence, we played lots, laughed lots, and rolled quite a few dice. I enjoyed introducing new players to the Pathfinder Society. The offerings included all three evergreen scenarios, #6-98: "Serpents Rise", #6-99: "True Dragons of Absalom", and most of Season 7's scenarios. The Adventure Card Guild launched the Season of the Runelords with resounding success—one group even came back three days in a row to work their way through the first adventure. I took Gronk the Druid through the entire adventure as well, avoiding death and leveling him to Tier 2.

Next weekend, I’m off to Con of the North in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. As Con of the North features both the Roleplaying Guild and Adventure Card Guild, I will offer Adventure 1 for Adventure Card Game players and preview the soon-to-be-released Barbarian Deck. Ostog, you’re my only hope! The Con also features a full slate of Season 7 offerings, as well as #7-00: "The Sky Key Solution."

And on another note, judging for the Miniature Painting Contest closed last Friday, and what a fantastic display of Pathfinder Society members' art! I saw so many great pieces to choose from. Thank you to everyone who entered and to all those Pathfinders who voted for their favorite miniature. In the end though, our voters couldn’t make up their minds, resulting in a three-way tie. So instead of a first prize and three runners-up, I am adding a bit to the prize pot so each winner tied for first receives $25 in paizo.com store credit and the runner-up receives $15.

Without further ado, the three winners tied for first are—drumroll please:

• "Dolgar" by Christine Brockley-Blatt, Venture Captain
• "Prunette" by Lady Gragra
• "Mortimer Raven" by Quadstriker

And the runner up is—more drumrolls please:

• "Goblin Chief Effigy" by Fomsie

Our next contest kicks off mid-March! There’s just about a month of preparation time in case the category gets your creative synapses firing. Really excited since I know our group makes cool stuff! The theme of the second competition is: Best Handmade Adventure Card Guild Accessory. The category includes, but is not limited to: dice rolling devices, play mats, dice trays, or character deck bling. Pretty much anything that improves the atmosphere of your Adventure Card Guild playing experience will qualify.

The prize? Gift certificates to paizo.com! First place will win $25 and three runners up will get $15 each. The crunchy bits for entering:

• You may only enter once
• All submissions must be by the item’s owner.
• Entries must be submitted to contest@paizo.com
• Include a photo of your accessory. Photos may be resized or cropped to better show off the mini for voting. We suggest trying to send the biggest possible resolution to retain details for resizing. Any image format is acceptable!
• Include your paizo.com username

Do not send your entries yet!. Anything received before the official entry opening date in March won’t count—think of this as a bit of free divinatory magic on your behalf.

Off now to catch a plane back to Seattle. Take care and remember:

Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

Vote for Your Favorite Pathfinder Society Mini!

Thursday, January 14, 2016

A few weeks ago, I announced the first in a series of competitions aimed toward Pathfinder Society members. The response illustrates the fantastic talents our players possess. While their creations graced tables, it took being in the right place at the right time to admire them. On that note, thank you to the artists for sharing your creations. Submitting items for public perusal can be daunting and I appreciate your willingness to let us look.

But enough of me typing, let's get to the fun part—looking at all the images and choosing your favorite. Voting opens now and continues until Friday, February 5 at 12:00 PM Pacific time. I'll announce the winners in the Pathfinder Society blog the following Monday, along with the next competition category.

"Alestar Florent" by Scharlata	"Amaranti" by -Karma-	"Arnim Thayer" by Michael VonHasseln, Venture-Captain	"Assyra" by Simon Kort, Venture-Lieutenant	"Benediccio" by Doctor Mono
"Daelyn" by Tamago	"Desh Silversun" by Bryan Moore	"Dolgar" by Christine Brockley-Blatt, Venture Captain	"Galdur XXI and Schüler'De" by Curaigh	"Glacial Rose" by Terminalmancer
"Goblin Cheif Effigy" by Fomsie	"Grumphir" by el_comrade	"Jak" by Dancingweasel	"Jarl Rukk" by Walter Sheppard, Venture-Captain	"Jasmine Henderthane" by Kigvan
"Karst Fireaxe" by Curt Ward, Venture-Agent	"Karzoug" by Jeremy Mayr	"Kristoff Kringle and Blitzen" by jcg	"Maliq" by Alex Blaes, Venture-Agent	"Mortimer Raven" by Quadstriker
"Posey Bitterleaf" by lgpolak	"Prunette" by Lady Gragra	"Quintin DeLur" by Brian Lefebvre, Venture Lieutenant	"Ralore 'Ral' Finn" by Lucas Servideo, Venture-Captain	"Red Rumboldt" by Captain Phoenix
"Seelah" by Teraptus	"Shivara" by sanwah68	"Stela Tamna-Kosa's Animal Companion" by Tony Wilkinson	"Szilvais" by Mike Bramnik, Venture-Captain	"Tiek Geras" by Engineremy

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

OPC Log—21 Kuthona 4715

Monday, December 21, 2015

With just ten days left in 2015, this will be my last blog for the year. Next week John will give us some insight on our upcoming scenarios, and then it's on to the new year. Last week, I hinted that you should get out your paintbrushes and arm your glue guns—I hope you did, as I am pleased to announce the first in a series of Pathfinder Society contests!

Over my years in PFS, no matter where I traveled, I met fantastic artists. Their creations enhanced their tables and brought an added layer of "WOW" to their games. Unfortunately, most of these creations stay in their local areas and unless you're fortunate enough to live close by, you don't get to share in the fun. I intend this contest as way for our global community to share their creations and see what people are up to in other areas of the world.

The theme this time is a hand-painted Pathfinder Society mini. Whether a favorite player character or a beloved NPC, as long as it is from the Pathfinder Society and your creation it counts.

The prize? Gift certificates to paizo.com! First place will win $25 and three runners up will get $15 each.

The crunchy bits for entering:

• You may only enter once
• Entries must be submitted to contest@paizo.com
• Include a photo of your mini and a name for the character portrayed (NOTE: Photos may be resized or cropped to better show off the mini for voting. We suggest trying to send the biggest possible resolution to retain details for resizing. Any image format is acceptable!)
• Include your paizo.com username

Entries will be accepted until 12:00 PM Pacific time on January 11, 2016. Voting will open on January 14, 2016 and continue until February 5.

Our global community spans many cultures—no matter when and where your celebration, the Pathfinder Society team wishes you an enjoyable and joyful time. Stay safe and remember to set your calendars forward to 4716!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

Do You Think Flattery Will Keep You Alive?

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Only one creature could be the winner in this Bestiary 5 throwdown, and with it, five winners of our latest Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover!

Dominating against the Pakalchi Sahkil, the Wyrmwraith emerged the victor in our battle royale! This CR 17 incorporeal undead has a terrifying array of powers at its command, making you long for the days of "just" fighting a dragon for its wealth. Not even dragons are safe from the wyrmwraith, for as much as this undead hates the living, it hates those that remind it of what it lost the most.

Many of you voted in our elimination contest, leading the Wyrmwraith to victory, and for your votes, we promised a signed copy of Bestiary 5, and I'm happy to announce that Thyrion is the winner! We'll be contacting you shortly, and the four winners of the PDF copy are: BelkarBitterleaf, fuzbuckle, Paladinosaur, and Drexer!

And following tradition, here's the complete table of contents for Bestiary 5!

Aatheriexa 7 Abrikandilu (demon) 74 Aerial servant 11 Aether elemental 106–107 Aether wysp 282 Ahkhat 14 Ahool 15 Air veela 264 Air wysp 282 Akaname 16 Amarok 17 Amphiptere 18 Android 19 Anemos 20–21 Animate hair 26 Annihilator (robot) 206 Anunnaki 28–29 Apallie 30 Apkallu 32–33 Apostate devil 78–79 Astomoi 37 Astral dragon 88–89 Bagiennik 40 Balisse (angel) 22 Bat plague swarm 193 Bisha ga tsuku 42 Blightspawn 43 Blood caterpillar 51 Blue whale 276 Bone ship 44–45 Boroboroton (tsukumogami) 252 Brain mole 46 Brain mole monarch 47 Caligni (dark folk) 66 Caller in darkness 48 Cambion (demon) 75 Cameroceras 49 Capramace 50 Celedon 52 Ceratosaurus (dinosaur) 83 Cervinal (agathion) 12 Cerynitis 53 Cetus 54 Chalicotherium (megafauna) 170 Cherufe 55 Chicken (familiar) 112 Choral (angel) 23 Chuspiki 56 Clockwork familiar 57 Corpse lotus 60 Crone queen 61 Crystal golem 126 Cuero 62 Cursed king 63 Cytillipede 65 Danava (titan) 246–247 Death coach 67 Deep merfolk 172 Deep one 68 Deep one hybrid 70 Delgeth 71 Devastator 77 Digmaul 82 Dire polar bear 41 Domovoi (house spirit) 142 Doppeldrek 85 Dragonkin 98 Dream dragon 90–91 Duppy 101 Dvorovoi (house spirit) 142 Dwiergeth 102 Earth veela 264 Earth wysp 282 Echeneis 103 Eclipse giant 121 Egregore 104–105 Elder deep one 69 Emotion ooze 108–109 Empyrean (angel) 24–25 Encantado 110 Esipil (sahkil) 213 Ether drake 99 Etheric dragon 92–93 Etiainen 111 Exscinder (archon) 34 Fastachee 114 Fext 115 Firbolg 116 Fire veela 265 Fire wysp 283 Flying fox (familiar) 112

Flytrap leshy 156 Frog father 117 Gancanagh (azata) 38 Gate archon 35 Gearsman (robot) 207 Gegenees 118 Ghoran 119 Giant assassin bug 36 Giant mantis shrimp 232 Giant muckdweller 175 Giant scarab 221 Giant termite 242 Glaistig 124–125 Goliath frog 117 Gravebound 128 Gray 129 Gray goo 130 Great assassin bug 36 Griefgall 133 Grim reaper 134–135 Grimslake 136 Grioth 137 Gristly demodand 72 Guardian scroll 138 Gunpowder ooze 139 Hag eye ooze 140 Heikegani 141 Heresy devil 80 Hobkins (gremlin) 131 Horn caterpillar 51 Hundun 144–145 Hunter urchin (sea urchin) 223 Ichthyocentaur 146 Isonade 147 Jungle drake 100 Kabandha (cyclops) 64 Kaprosuchus (megafauna) 170 Karkadann 148 Kasa-obake (tsukumogami) 252 Kawa akago 149 Ketesthius 150 Khala 151 Kikimora 152 Kimenhul (sahkil) 214–215 Knight ant 27 Koto-furunishi (tsukumogami) 252 Kurobozu 153 Lamhigyn 154 Lead golem 127 Leechroot 155 Leng ghoul 120 Lesser death (grim reaper) 134 Liminal sprite 158 Lipika (aeon) 8–9 Living mirage 159 Locust plague swarm 192 Lotus leshy 157 Lotus tree 160 Lusca 161 Maharishi manu (manasaputra) 164 Makara (vahana) 262 Manu (manasaputra) 163 Megapon ant 27 Megaprimatus (ape) 31 Mngwa 173 Moa (megafauna) 171 Moon dog 174 Moon giant 122 Muckdweller 175 Mummy lord 176–177 Muse 179 Mutant 180–181 Myrmidon (robot) 208 Narwhal (whale) 276 Nemhain 182 Nightmare dragon 94–95 Ningen 183 Nulmind 184 Nuno (gremlin) 132 Occult dragon 96–97 Ophiotaurus 185 Orang-pendak 186 Ostovite 187 Othaos (aeon) 10 Ovinnik (house spirit) 143 Pakalchi (sahkil) 216 Papinijuwari 188 Penguin (familiar) 112 Peuchen 189 Pharaonic guardian 191 Plagued beast 194

Plankta 195 Plesiosaurus (dinosaur) 83 Polar bear 41 Polong 196 Psychemental 197 Psychepore 198 Putrid ooze 199 Pyrausta 200 Qolok (sahkil) 217 Raelis (azata) 39 Ramidreju 201 Rat plague swarm 192 Red panda (familiar) 112 Reptial (agathion) 13 Reptoid 202 Rhu-chalik 203 Riftcreeper 204 Rishi manu (manasaputra) 165 Roiling oil 210 Rope dragon 211 Sangoi 219 Saxra 220 Scarab swarm 221 Scitalis 222 Seal (familiar) 113 Seilenos 224–225 Seraptis (demon) 76 Sha 226 Shabti 227 Shadow collector 228 Shasalqu 229 Shen 230–231 Skinwalker 233 Solar pitri (manasaputra) 166–167 Somalcygot 234 Spear urchin (sea urchin) 223 Sphinx colossus 58 Storm hag 235 Stormghost 236 Stranglereed 237 Stringy demodand 73 Su 238 Sun giant 123 Swamp mummy 178 Syricta 239 Taxidermic creature 240–241 Termite swarm 242 Terraformer (robot) 209 Therizinosaurus (dinosaur) 84 Thought eater 243 Thriae constructor 244 Thriae dancer 245 Tiyanak 248 Tizheruk 249 Trench mist 250 Trilobite (familiar) 113 Troodon (dinosaur) 84 Tsaalgrend 251 Tulpa 254–255 Turul 256–257 Twilight pitri (manasaputra) 168–169 Uintatherium (megafauna) 171 Undigested 258 Undigested swarm 258 Unfettered phantom 190 Uraeus 259 Urannag 260 Ursikka 261 Vahana 262 Ved 263 Vescavor queen 266 Vescavor swarm 267 Vilderavn 268–269 Vishap 270–271 Vukodlak 272 Wakandagi 273 Warmonger devil 81 Warmonger wasp 274 Water leaper 275 Water veela 265 Water wysp 283 Wihsaak (sahkil) 218 Witchcrow 277 Wizard's shackle 278 Wolliped 279 Wood colossus 59 Wyrmwraith 280–281 Xiao 284 Yangethe 285 Zygomind 286–287

Of course, we won't stop—can't stop—with previewing the amazing art in Bestiary 5!

Illustrations by Wayne England, Ben Wootten, Kent Hamilton, and Jorge Fares

Thank you to everybody who participated in the contest, and until we meet again...

Liz Courts
Community Manager

You Only Die Twice!

Thursday, November 12th, 2015

This is it folks—the final matchup round for our Bestiary 5 previews, and your final chance to get in your votes and a chance to win a copy of Bestiary 5!

Illustrations by Ben Wootten and Jose Parodi

Wyrmwraith CR ??

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now something far less noble.

CE Gargantuan undead (incorporeal)

Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +38

Aura unnatural aura

Defense

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, positive energy transference; Immune undead traits

Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness

Offense

Special Attacks breath weapon (60-ft. cone, ?d? negative energy and 1 negative level), create spawn, ectoplasmic shift, energy drain (? levels, DC ??)

Statistics

SQ phase lurch

Ecology

Ecology any

Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2–4 dread wraiths)

Treasure double

Special Abilities

Create Spawn (Su) Any humanoids slain by a wyrmwraith become dread wraiths (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 281) in 1d4 rounds. Spawn are under the command of the wyrmwraith that created them and remain enslaved until its death, at which point they become free-willed dread wraiths. They don’t possess any of the abilities they had in life.

Divine Dispelling (Su) When a wyrmwraith strikes a creature with one of its claws, that creature is also affected by a targeted greater dispel magic (CL ??th) that can dispel only divine spells.

Ectoplasmic Shift (Su) A wyrmwraith can push through the ectoplasmic veil to temporarily assume a physical form made of ectoplasm. As a swift action, the wyrmwraith can become corporeal for ?d? rounds. It can return to its incorporeal form as a free action. Once its ectoplasmic form’s duration ends, the wyrmwraith can’t assume that form again for ?d? rounds. While in ectoplasmic form, the wyrmwraith loses the incorporeal ability (including its deflection bonus to AC) and gains a +?? natural armor bonus to AC, DR ??/—, a Strength score equal to its Dexterity score, and the phase lurch ability. The AC for a typical wyrmwraith in ectoplasmic form is ??. When in ectoplasmic form, its attacks are Melee bite +?? (?d?+?? plus energy drain), 2 claws +?? (?d?+?? plus divine dispelling), 2 wings +?? (?d?+?), tail slap +?? (?d?+??).

Phase Lurch (Su) A wyrmwraith in ectoplasmic form can pass through walls or material obstacles. It must begin and end its turn outside whatever wall or obstacle it’s moving through. It can’t move through corporeal creatures with this ability, and its movement speed is halved while moving through a wall or obstacle. Any surface it moves through is coated with a thin, silvery mucus that lingers for 1 minute.

Positive Energy Transference (Su) Whenever a wyrmwraith succeeds at a saving throw to resist positive energy damage but still suffers damage, the wyrmwraith can immediately transfer that damage to any dread wraith spawn of its choice with ?? feet that it controls. The wyrmwraith takes any excess damage beyond the spawn’s hit points. Even if the wyrmwraith has no spawn under its control, when it succeeds at its save against a positive energy effect that normally deals half damage on a successful save, it instead takes one quarter damage.

The Wyrmwraith tore through the Deep Merfolk like me at a sushi bar, crushing it by a 2-to-1 margin to win. With a veritable host of abilities at its disposal, not to mention the ability to phase through solid objects, the Wyrmwraith is a mighty opponent, and not one to trifle with.

Pakalchi Sahkil CR ??

Thorny vines with tiny red flowers grow from this emaciated woman and flow like a train behind her.

NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, sahkil)

Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +13

Defense

DR 10/good; Immune death effects, disease, fear effects, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 20

Offense

Special Attacks bleed (?d?), entangling train, look of fear (?? ft., DC ??), spirit touch, sudden strike, thorns

Statistics

SQ easy to call, emotional focus, skip between

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal Plane)

Organization solitary, pair, or plot (3–7)

Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Easy to Call (Ex) Sahkils count as having 4 fewer Hit Dice (minimum 2) for purposes of spells or effects that call outsiders, such as planar binding. However, they receive a racial bonus equal to 1/2 their Hit Dice on Charisma checks to break free of planar binding spells and similar effects, and their spell resistance counts as if it were 5 higher for the purpose of breaking free of planar binding spells and similar effects.

Emotional Focus (Ex) Whenever a sahkil casts a spell or uses a spell-like ability or effect with the emotion^UM or fear descriptors that allows a saving throw, the DC is increased by 2.

Entangling Train (Su) Creatures adjacent to a pakalchi must succeed at a DC ?? Reflex save or become entangled in its vines for ? rounds, and count as tethered. Entangled creatures take vine damage automatically each round they’re entangled. Creatures are no longer entangled if the pakalchi moves away. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Look of Fear (Su) A creature affected by a pakalchi’s gaze is panicked for ? rounds and shaken for ?d? rounds thereafter. A creature that successfully saves against this effect is only shaken for ? rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Poison (Ex) Thorns—injury; save Fort DC ??; frequency ?/round for ? rounds; effect ?d? Wis damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. A creature with Wisdom damage from a pakalchi’s poison hears paranoid whispers warning of betrayal. It can’t treat any other creature as an ally or be a willing target for a spell or effect. This is an emotion^UM effect.

Skip Between (Su) Many sahkils can shift between the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane as a move action. This ability is otherwise identical to ethereal jaunt (CL ??th).

Spirit Touch (Ex) A sahkil’s natural weapons, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as though they had the ghost touch weapon special ability.

Sudden Strike (Ex) Once per round, a pakalchi can extend the reach of one claw or thorned vine by ? feet as part of a single attack. It can use this ability to threaten additional squares to cause an enemy to provoke an attack of opportunity.

Thorns (Ex) A pakalchi can fling a volley of poisonous thorns as a standard action (make an attack roll for each thorn). This attack has a range of ??? feet with no range increment.

The power of cute was not strong enough to save the Lotus Leshy, and the Pakalchi Sahkil crushed it with the power of its floral arrangement. Against the Wyrmwraith, the Pakalchi's spirit touch will be a great aid against the incorporeal Wyrmwraith—but will it be enough?

Customer Service Representative Diego Valdez: "No contest, the Wyrmwraith wins. The Pakalchi may not be afraid of the undead, incorporeal, dragon because it is immune to fear, but it should be. It should be. A bit of damage resistance barely slows down a dragons jaws."

Designer Mark Seifter: "The pakalchi might have barely knocked off the lotus leshy, but she’s bitten off more than she can chew with the wyrmwraith. As she unloads her attacks against her foe, she finds that it’s basically immune to her entire repertoire, from fear, to mind control, to poison. Bet she wishes she hadn’t given up on that whole psychopomp thing now; she might once have been a morrigna, and then she would have stood a better chance against undead. The best thing she can do here is step between to run away and forfeit the match. Meanwhile, the wyrmwraith’s first breath attack has left her enervated and badly hurt. There’s no chance she’ll survive the wyrmwraith's full attack!"

Now that you've seen the entrants for the Final Round, head on over to the Voting Booth to place your bets! If you vote on a winning creature, you'll increase your chances to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5, or be one of four winners of a digital version! The third round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on November 18th, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

After a late night of journeying in the Wastelands, I'm gonna need a quad-shot, so here's a quad-shot of monster previews!

Illustrations by Wayne England, Jim Nelson, and Dave Allsop

Until we meet again,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Remember Remember, It's Bestiary 5 This November!

Thursday, November 5th, 2015

With the Round 2 votes in, we're down to the final four in our Bestiary 5 previews! Without further ado, let's get them in our lineup and presented for you to win a copy of Bestiary 5 with your winning votes!

Illustrations by Ben Wootten and Tomasz Chistowski

Wyrmwraith CR ??

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now something far less noble.

CE Gargantuan undead (incorporeal)

Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +38

Aura unnatural aura

Defense

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, positive energy transference; Immune undead traits

Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness

Statistics

SQ phase lurch

Ecology

Ecology any

Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2–4 dread wraiths)

Treasure double

A clear winner with over a two-to-one margin, the Wyrmwraith crushed the Thought Eater out of the competition—and given its options, I can only imagine the manner in which it did so... Wait, what is this "phase lurch" ability?

Deep Merfolk CR ??

This gaunt mermaid has a long, semitransparent tail with a vivid red crest and caudal fin.

N Medium humanoid (aquatic)

Init +9; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2

Defense

Defensive Abilities deep dweller, semitransparent; Resist cold 5

Weaknesses light sensitivity

Ecology

Ecology any oceans (trenches)

Organization solitary, family (2–4), or tribe (10–15)

Treasure standard (spear, other treasure)

Mortal flesh meant immortal doom for the Twilight Pitri Manasaputra, and the Deep Merfolk triumphed, though not as overwhelmingly so. The outcome of this match-up between the Wyrmwraith and the Deep Merfolk is going to be in the dark—after all, they are rather sensitive to the light...

Accountant Ashley Kaprielian: "Two creatures of darkness enter this battle. Will the Wyrmwraith’s hate light the way to the merfolk’s demise? Or will the merfolk lead the Wyrmwraith down a false path and give it what it needs the most—the end of its undead existence."

Customer Service Representative Diego Valdez: "A giant green, glowing, skeleton dragon!? Good thing merfolk are good swimmers! I bet undead dragons aren’t bad swimmers themselves though, what with the being undead and not needing to breathe. Goodbye Deep Merfolk!"

Designer Mark Seifter: "It looks like the Deep Merfolk is trying to use its semitransparency ability to hide, but the Wyrmwraith’s lifesense gives it the advantage. While the Deep Merfolk might still manage to get in a lucky sneak attack, all the Wyrmwraith has to do is change from ectoplasmic to incorporeal form for a sure victory."

Illustrations by Jose Parodi and Daniel López

Pakalchi Sahkil CR ??

Thorny vines with tiny red flowers grow from this emaciated woman and flow like a train behind her.

NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, sahkil)

Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +13

Defense

DR 10/good; Immune death effects, disease, fear effects, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 20

Statistics

SQ ???, ???, skip between

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal Plane)

Organization solitary, pair, or plot (3–7)

Treasure standard

As Mark predicted, the Su and its whelps were no match for the Pakalchi Sahkil, who tore apart their familial bonds with a whisper. Make no mistake, the Pakalchi Sahkil is poison!

Lotus Leshy CR ??

A plant whose body resembles a blooming lotus flower exudes an air of serenity.

N Small plant (leshy, shapechanger)

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +14

Aura tranquility (20 ft., DC ??, 10 rounds)

Defense

Immune electricity, plant traits, sonic

Statistics

SQ ???, verdant burst

Ecology

Ecology warm lakes or ponds

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

The Lotus Leshy won out against the Roiling Oil, and is now head to head against the Pakalchi Sahkil—it's a Battle of the Flowers! The sahkil's poison won't affect the leshy, but will the leshy's aura be enough to deny the sahkil?

Ashley: "This leshy might be small, but it could be the only thing able to sooth the nightmare of this Pakalchi into a sweet dream. The Pakalchi’s thorny vines might squeeze all of the hope out of our little leshy before that’s possible though. This will be a knock-down, drag-out fight between the breaker and the unbroken!"

Diego: "The Pakalchi has those terrifying vines with all the thorns, but really, look at the Leshy. Can even an NE creature bring itself to tear apart something that adorable!? While the Pakalchi is cooing at the cuteness, the Leshy will serenely tear it to bits."

Mark: "The pakalchi is a terror in more ways than one, but the leshy is proving a thorn in her side. The cute contemplative is immune to her fear aura and dominate power, and so it's keeping its distance from her entangling train, dealing with the minor damage from her ranged thorns and pelting her with dream pollen. Eventually she’s going to fall asleep, so I’m tentatively calling this one for the leshy!”

Now that you've seen the entrants for Round 3, head on over to the Voting Booth to place your bets! If you vote on a winning creature, you'll increase your chances to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5, or be one of four winners of a digital version! The third round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on November 12th, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

And here's another trio of monster previews: an aberration, fey, magical beast, and an outsider!

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti, Alexandru Sabo, Dave Allsop, and Tomasz Chistowski

Until we meet again,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Let (Im)mortal Combat Continue!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

We've got the results in from Round 1, and we're ready to show off Round 2 of our Bestiary 5 previews—not to mention a chance for you to win a copy of Bestiary 5!

Without further ado, let's show off our winners from Round 1!

Illustrations by Bryan Sola and Ben Wootten

Thought Eater CR ??

A nimbus of glowing, intangible matter envelops this strange skeletal creature with a birdlike beak.

N ??? aberration (extraplanar)

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal plane)

Organization solitary or group (1–3)

Treasure none

With your votes, the Thought Eater beat out the Monstrous Humanoid it was paired against! Back into the ocean with you, Monstrous Humanoid! The Though Eater might have some problems with its new opponent, though...

Wyrmwraith CR ??

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now something far less noble.

CE ??? undead (incorporeal)

Ecology

Ecology any

Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2–4 dread wraiths)

Treasure double

The Wyrmwraith crushed the Fey by one of the wider margins in the contest. Sharp-eyed fans may have noticed a glowing green dragon on the cover of the Advanced Class Guide, but now it has stats (and if it has a statblock, you can kill it...right? Guys, where did you go?)

Adam Daigle (Developer): "Dwarfed by the wyrmwraith, the thought eater is going to have to be clever to win this battle of the strange skeletons!"

Mark Seifter (Designer): "A lot of people have been saying that the wyrmwraith's phenomenally greater power level will cinch this fight, and it does have the ACG cover on its side, but fundamentally, this is a creature that detests its own existence, whereas the thought eater, while humble, has a go-getter attitude and isn't afraid to team up with adventurers."

Illustrations by Tomasz Chistowski and Subroto Bhaumik

Deep Merfolk CR ??

This gaunt mermaid has a long, semitransparent tail with a vivid red crest and caudal fin.

N ??? humanoid (aquatic)

Ecology

Ecology any oceans (trenches)

Organization solitary, family (2–4), or tribe (10–15)

Treasure standard (spear, other treasure)

Orthos correctly guessed that the humanoid was an "eel-humanoid mermaid-like thing", and the Deep Merfolk won against Outsider C. No love for creatures of the heavens, it seems—mortalkind wins again! But can it win a second time?

Twilight Pitri (Barhisad) Manasaputra CR ??

Cerulean light surrounds this towering four-armed figure in a vibrant corona.

LG ??? outsider (extraplanar, good, lawful, manasaputra)

Ecology

Ecology any (Positive Energy Plane)

Organization solitary

Treasure none

The Twilight Pitri Manasaputra is not the only manasaputra in Bestiary 5, and many of her abilities tie heavily into elements from Occult Adventures—but to see which ones, she'll have to make it to future rounds!

Ashley Kaprielian (Accountant): "Let's hope that the Twilight Pitri can slap some enlightenment into this Deep Merfolk before she's unmade. The Deep Merfolk is cool, calm, and elusive under pressure though, so this will be an epic battle between these paragons of light and darkness!"

Mark: "Let's face it, I have to give the twilight pitri credit for surviving the destruction of the previous Multiverse, and it could deep freeze the deep merfolk in an instant, but the deep merfolk is a mortal humanoid, so I think she's got this by just exploiting the pitri's aversion to meddling in mortal affairs. The pitri would have done better against the wyrmwraith or pakalchi."

Illustrations by Brynn Metheney and Jose Parodi

Su CR ??

This emaciated quadruped has a mouth full of jagged teeth and a cluster of bald, mewling offspring clinging to its back.

CE ??? magical beast

Ecology

Ecology any forests

Organization solitary, pair, or troop (3–6)

Treasure incidental

Alas, John, the Su stomped Magical Beast A by nearly twice the votes, offering no quarter and certainly no mercy. The fight between "who's art is creepier" is gonna be a tough one with its next opponent...

Pakalchi Sahkil CR ??

Thorny vines with tiny red flowers grow from this emaciated woman and flow like a train behind her.

NE ??? outsider (evil, extraplanar, sahkil)

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal Plane)

Organization solitary, pair, or plot (3–7)

Treasure standard

DeciusNero was the first to identify Outsider B as a sahkil fiend, and this particular variant is the pakalchi! I would say this creature is spooky good...but there is nothing "good" about any sahkil!

Adam: "Dragons are always tough contenders, so I'm glad that my pakalchi sahkil beat it in the silhouette round. Now that she's squaring off against the su, a beast one of my PCs squared off against recently, she has to bring it to make it to the next round. I'm confident she'll strike fear into her opponent and pull off a win."

Ashley: "It's a good thing the Pakalchi Sahkil can fight blind, because those whelps have a face only their mother could love. I would be angry all the time too if I had six kids clinging to me. The level of malice in this ring is enough to make even Zon-Kuthon take notice."

Mark: "This one's a slam dunk: The su brings its whole family to bear, using its young as psychic batteries for its magic, but the pakalchi specializes in breaking the bonds between loved ones, so this is the perfect match-up for her."

Illustration by Joshua Meehan and Daniel López

Roiling Oil CR ??

This viscous heap slides like an inky spill. It's the color of a starless night sky, and a thick odor permeates the air around it.

N ??? ooze

Ecology

Ecology any underground

Organization solitary

Treasure none

No tempura for me, alas! The Vermin gets to scuttle back to the ocean in peace and comfort, while the Roiling Oil will slither along to face its next victim!

Lotus Leshy CR ??

A plant whose body resembles a blooming lotus flower exudes an air of serenity.

N ??? plant (leshy, shapechanger)

Ecology

Ecology warm lakes or ponds

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

Dragon78 also correctly identified the Lotus Leshy as our representative flora of Bestiary 5! It's definitely winning in the cute department, but will it be enough?

Mark: "Roiling Oil is an unintelligent ooze and lotus leshy is an adorable plant possessed of mystical wisdom. The ooze might be able to resist the leshy's dream pollen attack, but the leshy is smart enough to keep out of the slower ooze's way and find something to slash it with from afar."

Now that you've seen the entrants for Round 2, head on over to the Voting Booth to place your bets! If you vote on a winning creature, you'll increase your chances to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5, or be one of four winners of a digital version! The second round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on November 4th, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

What's that? You want more creatures in this feature? Well, alright then! Here's a few representatives from the creature types that didn't make it into Round 2.

Illustrations by Ertaç Altınöz, Aleksey Bayura, and Jose Parodi

Until we meet again,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Hunters of the Dead, Assemble!

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Just in time for Halloween, GoodReads.com has your free ticket to a holiday in Ustalav, Pathfinder's land of gothic terror. GoodReads has 10 copies of Pathfinder Tales: Bloodbound and is giving them away through November 2nd. All you have to do is visit GoodReads and let them know you want one, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free copy. It couldn't be easier.

Bloodbound follows Larsa, a dhampir and one of Ustalav's mysterious Royal Accusers, as she hunts an undead outlaw who threatens the nation's people—both the living and the dead. Along the way, she's joined by Jadain, a priestess of Pharasma, who some fear might not be cut out for the harsh, life-or-death realities of the priesthood. Their journey takes them from the streets of Caliphas to the slums of Ardis, where their path intersects with famed author and former Pathfinder Society member, Ailson Kindler. Together with an Osirian swordsman and a deathless dandy, they'll have to unlock a secret from Kindler's past if they're to prevent the rise of a new vampire tyrant.

If you've been waiting for more dark fantasy, vampiric intrigue, and mist-bound dread in your Pathfinder Tales reading, Bloodbound has you covered. And even if you don't win the GoodReads give away, you can pick up Bloodbound once it releases in December, available from paizo.com, your local bookstore, or in digital formats (include Audible audiobook!) from a variety of retailers. Hope you'll all check it out!

F. Wesley Schneider
Contributing Author & Editor-in-Chief

It's a Fight to the Finish!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Bestiary 5 is creeping, crawling, slithering, and sneaking its way to you soon—it's time for some previews! But we're gonna shake things up a bit, and give you the opportunity to choose what you want to see, not to mention a chance to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5 when it releases!

If any of you have been to PaizoCon and had a chance to play "Green Blood on a Black Rock", you'll have a great idea of what to expect in this elimination-style event. All of these creatures are brand new, unseen in any of our other books—but this time, we're leaving the choice of which ones you'll get the details on to you! As each round progresses, we'll reveal more information, starting with their name and a full picture.

With that out of the way, let's get ready to rumble, and meet our contestants!

Aberration vs. Monstrous Humanoid, Animal vs. Plant

Our Aberration would love to sit down and think about deep, meaningful topics with you, and our Monstrous Humanoid would love to have a long shuffle on the ocean beach, and it's flora and fauna puttin' up their dukes, and who's gonna win this one: small and fierce, or cute and cuddly?

Construct vs. Outsider A, Dragon vs. Outsider B

Will this crafted being be able to conquer a creature formed from the very fabric of existence, and this is no ordinary Dragon that the Outsider will be facing—but this Outsider has powers at its command that even dragons should fear!

Fey vs. Undead, Humanoid vs. Outsider C

Clearly our Fey might just like to have a good time—will they set the glass down long enough to face against this ferocious four-legged Undead? Mortal pit against immortal: who will win? The candle that burns twice as bright, but half as long, or the embodiment of endless and immutable forces?

Magical Beast A vs. Magical Beast B, Ooze vs. Vermin

We're pitting these two Magical Beasts against each other—time to see who really can conquer mind over matter! I'm pretty sure if you dipped our Vermin in the Ooze, it might make a tasty tempura treat...but I don't think they'd like that much!

What are you waiting for? Place your bets in the voting booth and give yourself a chance to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5—as well as a chance to receive one of four Bestiary 5 PDFs! The first round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on October 28, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

Illustrations by Rogier van de Beek, Alexandru Sabo, and Daniel López

And because I know you've all been super-patient for some art, I'm gonna whet your appetites with a trio of goodies that caught my attention (I blame Diablo III).

Until next week,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Announcing the Gen Con 2015 Cosplay Contest Winner!

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Every year we run a Pathfinder themed costume contest for Gen Con attendees! This year we saw loads of fantastic costumes, props, and more. We're happy to announce that our grand prize winner truly impressed us with her detailed interpretation of the iconic barbarian, Amiri. Congratulations goes to Torie!

Let's also give a shout out to our next two contestants, who will each be receiving a runner up prize: Absolut-Aegis as Sajan the iconic monk and Phea as Lini the iconic druid!

Thank you to everyone who voted and stopped by the Paizo booth at Gen Con! We can't wait to see you all next year!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

8th Annual Gen Con Costume Contest Voting!

Thursday, August 13th, 2015

Time to flex your voting muscles with our annual Gen Con costume contest—are you ready to look at some amazing cosplay and help pick our winners?

Gen Con 2015 is only two weeks past, but we witnessed a lot of excellent cosplay (and yes, some were shiny and chrome), but more importantly, we also collected a handful of entries for our annual costume contest! Seeing art turned into real things is always an amazing experience, and this year, some entrants got to show off their costumes with artist Wayne Reynolds (who designed all of our Pathfinder iconic characters)!

Without further ado, here are our contestants!

Torie as Amiri the Iconic Barbarian	Kaitlynn as a follower of Calistria	cronjewel08 as Damiel the Iconic Alchemist	Romulan Sith as D'Cat the Ranger
Phea as Lini the Iconic Druid	JamesShade as a Red Mantis Assassin	Absolut-Aegis as Sajan the Iconic Monk

As a voter, your job is to simply pick which one you think is best, and the first place winner will get $75 in Paizo.com store credit! Two runner ups will also be selected, and they will be rewarded with $50 each! You can vote until noon on August 21st, 2015, and we'll be announcing the winners on August 22nd!

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Special thank you to Adam Daigle, Brandon Hodge, Erik Mona, and James Sutter for photos!

The Superstar Season Begins!

August 7, 2015

As we announced last week, RPG Superstar has come early this year! The Open Call will run until 11:59 PM Pacific time on August 16, 2015. Public voting and judging then has until the 31st of August to determine the top 32 items.

To ensure the bottom ranked items aren't showing up over and over (which both annoys champion voters and reduces the useful information we can get about how better items compare to each other), we hope to cull the bottom 10-20% of vote-getters more often. We may have to adjust the frequency based on how many entries we get and for internal scheduling, but the idea is to make sure we're constantly filtering out the least popular items. This means voter input is crucial at every step, as we refine what items are pitted against one another.

At the end of the Open Call, the top 32 remaining items become our Top 32, and the next 4 become out alternates. The remaining items in the top 100 will be presented in alphabetical order. Our Open Call judges will work on getting feedback up for our Top 32 within a few days of the reveal, since we know contestants and watchers alike enjoy seeing their commentary.

Before Round 2 begins we'll outline the full rules for the map round (short form—you'll fill in a Flip-Mat-sized grid and have 50 words to give judges and voters an idea what your map represents). From Round 2 onward the process will be much as it has been previous years, with judges giving feedback and recommendations to voters. We have an amazing line up of judges, including winner and longtime community member Neil Spicer, who is going to be judging every round this year.

So settle in, get your magic items crafted and your voting buttons limber. It's time for another season of RPG Superstar!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Announcing RPG Superstar Season 9!

Friday, July 31, 2015

Hi, I'm Owen K.C. Stephens, the host of RPG Superstar. Welcome to the beginning of Season 9!

You probably already have some questions!

Once again, we'll be doing things a little differently for RPG Superstar. First, as you may have guessed, the next contest is happening MUCH earlier in the calendar year than before. This time we are starting the Open Call round next Friday, August 7th. We'll run five rounds total to find our winner, who will be announced October 30th. There are lots of reasons for the scheduling changes, not the least of which is that fans, potential contestants, and judges can't participate when we hold it over the holidays.

Every year there are some folks who would like to be involved, but don't hear about the contest until after it's gotten started, so we're announcing it early! The hope is that by announcing the schedule in advance, we can encourage fans to help get the word out and increase the chances that everyone who wants to be part of this event can do so. We also announced the new schedule at the "Be the Next RPG Superstar" panel yesterday at Gen Con.

It's also worth noting that we've switched to "Seasons" of the contest, rather than attributing each to a year. Since this is the ninth RPG Superstar contest, we're calling it "Season 9." That's a change in name only, since we've already crowned Monica Marlowe as Superstar 2015. We thought it was important for the folks involved in the both 2015 and Season 9 to know they don't have to “share" Superstar titles and achievements.

The above are only a few of the things that we've changed up this time. How we determine the Top 32 and our 4 alternates is now going to be decided exclusively by the popular vote. We'll have the same comparison voting we've done for the past several years, but the bottom few percentages of vote-getters will be culled out every few days. Once voting closes, we'll also provide a list of the items that fell short of this mark, but landed in our top 100 entries in alphabetical order. For the first time, all the voting for the Open Call is entirely in the hands of the fans. Our Open Call judges will give feedback about the Top 32 because we know how important that feedback is to a lot of people, but not until after voting is over.

Here are a few more Season 9 details:

• The Open Call round has changed to: design a wondrous item, magic armor, or magic weapon
• We're allowing 50 words of description for the maps in Round 2
• We're going to have some pre-generated maps contestants must use for their encounter design in Round 4.

Exact rules for later rounds will be available as the contest progresses. The main thing to know for Open Call is the category of items to submit, that we aren't allowing siege weapons, intelligent items, or cursed items, and that the only rules contestants should reference are those available on the PRD.

We also have a wonderful line of judges lined up including two return RPG Superstar winners, some interesting challenges, and many fewer last-second twists than last year. Which isn't to say we may not have more twists in the future! I believe making sure we don't get into a rut is important, but for now, the earlier contest schedule and revisions to Open Call are plenty of change.

So get your calculators and graph paper ready, warm up your playtesting dice, and spread the word for everyone to prepare for RPG Superstar Season 9! You can find more information on the main RPG Superstar page.

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Another Year, Another Costume Contest!

Monday, July 13, 2015

We've made our Perception checks, and we see Gen Con sneaking up to us in just a few short weeks, and that means our 8th annual Gen Con cosplay contest is nearly upon us! Time to show off your Craft skills!

Every contest needs rules (or so our Friendly NPC with ranks in Profession [lawyer] tells us), and the rules this year are much the same as in previous years. In order to qualify for some super-sweet prizes, your costume has to be sourced and identifiable as from Pathfinder or the world of Golarion. Dressing up as an iconic? Sweet! Dare to be Squealy Nord? Fantastic—I hope there are no goblins around and you don't get pulled into a We Be Goblins! LARP!

Previous winners from 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2010!

Swing by the Paizo booth and seek me out (don't worry, my Stealth isn't that great), and we'll take a picture of you in your cosplay and share it on the Paizo blog! After Gen Con, we'll collect all of our photos and put them to the test by opening up voting to our fans, where they will select a first place winner and two runner-ups! The first place winner will receive $75 in store credit, and two runner ups will receive $50, which they can use on such new goodies like Occult Adventures and Hell Unleashed, or save up for upcoming releases like "In Hell's Bright Shadow" and Bestiary 5!

See you in Indianapolis!

Liz Courts
Community Manager

This Year the Winner is Bringing the Axe!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The winner of RPG Superstar 2015 is Monica Marlowe! She will be writing an adventure for our Pathfinder Modules using her winning adventure pitch for Down the Blighted Path, which will release next January!

Monica first won over judges and voters with a magic weapon that helps a cleric aid her party members when they face off against incorporeal undead, an idea drawn from her own experience as a player. She followed that up with the map for a dwarven lady’s stronghold, a new take on a classic "headless" monster, a battle in a vile "hanging garden" of trapped cages and undead, and finally an adventure that brought many of those elements together into a tale of vengeance, undeath, and duty. At each stage she came up with an interesting and unexpected idea and left the voting public wanting to see more. We’re very excited to begin working with her to develop her vision for a Darklands adventure, and congratulate her on winning RPG Superstar!

Thanks and congratulations also go out to all the contestants, staff, judges, and especially the voters who picked an awesome set of finalists! RPG Superstar wouldn't be possible without the community's participation, and we're grateful for the ongoing support the contest receives.

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

What Time Is It?

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

It's adventure pitch time! It's been a long, strange road, but the last round of RPG Superstar 2015 is finally open to voting and participants can see the adventure pitches of our Top 4 contestants! One of those contestants is going to earn the voter's confidence and support, and go on to write their adventure pitch into a full adventure for the Pathfinder Modules line!

RPG Superstar™ 2015 Top 4

Brian J. Fruzen — Milwaukee, Wisconsin Round 5 Journey into Midnight Round 4 The Gloomsworn Path Round 3 Geomaw Round 2 Salvation's End Round 1 Pyrolastic Spike Monica Marlowe — Cincinnati, Ohio Round 5 Down the Blighted Path Round 4 The Hanging Gardens of Karexin Round 3 Narrick Round 2 Firebrand's Redoubt: Stronghold of Lady Delbera Axebringer Round 1 Spectre Blight

Kalervo Oikarinen — Helsinki, Finland Round 5 Bellflower in the Dark Round 4 Fellforge Chapel Round 3 Dread Glutton Round 2 Ancient Cyclops Stronghold in the Icerime Peaks Round 1 Fate-binder Christopher Wasko — Connecticut Round 5 The Hollowheart Conquest Round 4 Darkblight Fallow Round 3 Deeplit Round 2 The Drowning Temple Round 1 Windstrider Mail

So, what's it going to be? "Journey into Midnight" by Brian J. Fruzen? "Down the Blighted Path" by Monica Marlowe? "Bellflower in the Dark" by Kalervo Oikarinen? Or "The Hollowheart Conquest" by Christopher Wasko?

One of these new authors is going to get to add something to Golarion forever. It's up to you, the Paizo fan community, to decide which one!

So go read the entries, give it some thought, and vote for your favorite adventure pitch!

Vote now!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

The Final Four!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Behold, our four finalists! They have navigated the surprise of creating a new category of magic item, diligently labored to create stand-alone maps, wrought creatures of the Darklands, and braved the travails of creating new and interesting encounters! Hundreds began this exhausting and arduous path, and now four have proven themselves the best of the year. As a benefit of being among the last group of finalists, each of our final four will have the opportunity to write for Paizo—Pathfinder Society Scenarios for the three runners-up, and an adventure for our Pathfinder Modules line for this year's RPG Superstar. Learn more about our Top 4 here!

RPG Superstar™ 2015 Top 4

Brian J. Fruzen Round 4 The Gloomsworn Path Round 3 Geomaw Round 2 Salvation's End Round 1 Pyrolastic Spike Monica Marlowe Round 4 The Hanging Gardens of Karexin Round 3 Narrick Round 2 Firebrand's Redoubt: Stronghold of Lady Delbera Axebringer Round 1 Spectre Blight

Kalervo Oikarinen Round 4 Fellforge Chapel Round 3 Dread Glutton Round 2 Ancient Cyclops Stronghold in the Icerime Peaks Round 1 Fate-binder Christopher Wasko Round 4 Darkblight Fallow Round 3 Deeplit Round 2 The Drowning Temple Round 1 Windstrider Mail

One more challenge remains to determine which of our finalists shall claim that grand prize, and it comes in two parts. First, each contestant must send a short pitch for their adventure idea to James Jacobs and myself to ensure the basic concept is something Paizo can publish. Once their pitches are approved, they must create a full adventure proposal, up to 3,000 words, to be judged and voted on.

Because this is the largest challenge of the contest, and they have to get approval before proceeding, we're giving our final four a bit more time than previous rounds. They have until 2:00 PM Pacific time on Friday, March 13th, to turn in their proposals. Each must be for a 32-40 page adventure for 5th level characters, set in Nar-Voth. Hopefully that allows the contestants to use the research they've done for rounds 3 and 4, so they can take the entire time from now until March 13th to craft and hone their perfect proposals.

Also, if you didn't have a chance to catch it this past Saturday, our Top 8 were featured in a Know Direction podcast. Check out their interviews here!

It's been a great contest so far, and I hope everyone will join me in congratulating the final four on their success making it to the final round, and thank all our contestants for the fabulous work and ideas they've provided us throughout the previous challenges.

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Encounters in the Darklands

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Voting for Round 4 has begun! You can now go check out the RPG Superstar Top 8's entries and vote for your favorites. This round will determine our Top 4, who will submit their own adventure pitches for the final round. The ultimate winner and RPG Superstar will be determined out of these Top 4, who will earn a contract to write their own adventure for our Pathfinder Modules line!

As with every round this year, we set the bar just a little higher with the Round 4 requirements. The contestants had to manage to provide an encounter with our tightest word count restrictions ever, along with using a monster from a previous round and adding a trap, and then setting the whole thing in Nar-Voth. They also had to produce their second map for the contest, placing an additional set of design requirements into the same deadline as their writing. All the contestants did a great job creating interesting and creative encounters that fit the bill, and now it's up to the community to decide who did it the best!

The contestants that move on to the last round have just one more design challenge to face, so I encourage everyone to take the time to look at their entries this round and decide who you think will write the best adventure to enter the canon of Golarion. To help make that as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as possible, I'll preview a little of the rules for the upcoming last round:

The contestants' final challenge will be to create pitches for an adventure set in Nar-Voth for 5th level characters. This will allow the Final 4 to get the greatest benefit of the research and design they've already done for the last 2 rounds, freeing them to take their time and focus on their writing.

Also, we are very excited to announce that some of our Top 8 will be featured in a Know Direction podcast this weekend! Be sure to mark your calendar for this Saturday, February 28, at 5:30 PM Pacific time.

The community is a huge part of what makes this contest such a big success and we thank you! Go ahead and vote and help us determine our next RPG Superstar!

Vote now!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

PS: Our regularly scheduled Adventure Card Game blog will be up tomorrow afternoon, following our weekly Web Fiction!

Superstar Monsters Revealed!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

We just unveiled the Round 3 entries of the Top 16 RPG Superstar contestants, making them available for everyone to check out and vote on! These competitors have gone through some of the toughest challenges we've ever had in this contest, including having the first round undergo a major rules change with no advance warning, making a full-page map in just three days, and now having to create a Bestiary-style Golarion monster native to Nar-Voth, including a physical description, stat block, and general monster description, in 550 to 600 words.

I encourage everyone to take a look and then vote on your favorites. This is an especially crucial stage of the Superstar contest. The contestants who move on to the next round become the Top 8, a level of success so high it disqualifies them from entering in future years. The Top 8 are also all competing for important opportunities, since the Top 4 finalists each have a chance to write official material for Paizo. The winner obviously gets to write for the Pathfinder Modules line, but the other three finalists also gain the opportunity for a paid commission to write a 16-page Pathfinder Society Scenario.

We've had amazing community feedback and participation this year, and we very much appreciate your involvement. The forum members who voted hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of times in Round 1 made it possible for the judges to go through hundreds of entries of new magic items, and I thank them all for their massive help. Everyone who comments, critiques, and discusses the submissions in every round helps the competitors grow, and shows everyone know what kinds of things the Pathfinder fan base enjoys. And, of course, community voting determines the winners of each round from here on out. So go take a look, see what creative monstrosities our newest Superstars-in-Training have produced, and use your votes to help determine which of them are going to earn the chance to help shape the Pathfinder RPG in years to come.

Vote now!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Top 32 Announced!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

We are thrilled to announce the RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32 finalists! The community has cast thousands of votes for the submitted magic items in our Open Call round and helped our judges, Liz Courts, Mark Seifter and myself narrow down the final entries. They are, in alphabetical order:

RPG Superstar™ 2015 Top 32

Gabriel Almer Staff of the Prime Mover Charlie Bell Crook of Unseen Forces Charlie Brooks The Hero's Breath Russ Brown Ice Fang Christopher Donnangelo Staff of the Vanara King Brian Fruzen Pyrolastic Spike Mark Hart Venom's Kiss Jeff Heikkinen Flowing Fortress Armour David Higaki Earthcracker Dana Huber Ophidian Coil Taylor Hubler Fist of Havoc Ben Iglauer Fool's Scepter Jason Keeley Rod of Exorcism Jacob Kellogg Soulshifter Staff Patrick Kilcullen Swarm-strike Caster Scott LaBarge Keyhole Stiletto

John Laffan Staff of the Thieving Magpie Monica Marlowe Spectre Blight Matthew Morris Psychopomp's Crosier Kalervo Oikarinen Fate-binder Ben Parkin Magrim's Mountain Crusher Anthony Pennington Depth Charger Newton Philis Breach Barrier R Pickard Harvestweal Olivier Rayé-Lalonde Ring of the Investigator Justin Riddler Mountain Stance Armor Matt Roth Rimewinder Chris Shaeffer Hide of the Vibrant Frog Maria Smolina Shield of Stormwall Frankie Trombetta Interrogator's Ally Christopher Wasko Windstrider Mail Benjamin Wilkins Staff of the Trusted Phsyician

Alternates

Jeff Hazuka Fellbough Hookhammer R D Ramsey Tunnel Fighter's Ring

Allana Sliwinski Harlequin's Hurlbat Jensen Toperzer Rod of the Iron Rose

This contest is an important part of Paizo's efforts to find new talent and give fans the opportunity to prove they have what it takes to join our stable of freelance writers. Thank you to everyone who voted in the Open Call! And to our Top 32, good luck in Round 2!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Round 2 is Coming

Saturday, January 17, 2015

As I suggested I might, I'm going to give you the general guidelines for the mysterious "Create a Map" round the Top 32 will face starting Tuesday. This isn't official (the official rules will be posted Tuesday), but it's not a trick either—this is just a casual discussion of what we're looking for, and what we expect.

For Round 2, contestants will be asked to provide a full-page map, or a previously unmapped fantasy-themed location in Golarion. Submissions will need to be sent by email before the deadline. It needs to be 8.5" x 11", and approximately 150 dpi when submitted. Your map may be color, grayscale, or black and white, and may be hand-drawn or computer-generated.

The map itself is the entry, so it is important to make it interesting and creative. Above and beyond all the tips on making your map legible and having enough information for a cartographer to be able to create a publishable map from your entry, it's crucial you make sure you map something that really needs a map. If the map isn't needed to understanding what the area is like and how characters may move around in it, then it's a waste of space that could be used for something else. If the map is boring, no one will care about the location it represents.

No one needs a map of a 20-foot by 20-foot room with a door centered in the north and west walls, or of a forest that's six miles long and three miles deep with a single road and one town in the middle. Your map should be something that sparks the imagination, and leads to interesting encounters. It should also use the 8.5" x 11" space well. A map that clearly ignores half or more of the page will be disqualified.

Your submission need not be something that could be published, but it must be something that could be used by a GM to run a game set in the mapped location, and it must have all the information a cartographer needs to make the final map. Voters are asked to vote not on artistic talent, but on clarity, imagination, and usefulness.

Maps are incredibly important, and they are a skill we simply haven't emphasized enough in the past. A good map can get a GM or players excited about a location before they have read a single word, while a bad map wastes space and may even confuse people. Even very good adventure writers can produce maps that have to be entirely redrawn by our developers or (worse) be so incomprehensible we have to abandon them and rewrite an adventure to use a map we can create ourselves.

Freelancers able to create clear and imaginative maps that don't need us to do anything but send them to a cartographer have a huge advantage over those who can't (and may even get work to create sketches of maps we then hand to adventure writers).

It's a big challenge, but it's also part of what I was talking about when I said if you are a finalist this year, I want you to be confident you have the skills it takes to become a successful RPG freelance adventure writer.

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Keep Your Eyes on the Stars!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

All of the Round 1 RPG Superstar 2015 entries are in! Go get voting and help us find our Top 32! If you have any questions about voting, check out our Voting FAQ, or email us at contest@paizo.com.

Vote Now!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Keep Your Eyes on the Stars!

Monday, December 15, 2014

The deadline for Round 1 of RPG Superstar 2015 is tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16 at 2:00 PM Pacific time! We've had a number of lively discussions and great advice, but in the end it’s all about the item. Don't miss the chance to be part of the Superstar experience, be sure to get your submission in well before the cut-off!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

Get Ready to See Stars!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

It's that time of year again, we're beginnig to announce details for the next RPG Superstar™ contest! Every year, Paizo holds an annual open-call RPG design competition to give the best and brightest aspiring game designers a chance to show the world their talent. This year, we're going to be shaking things up a bit.

For starters, I'll be acting as your host throughout the contest. For those of you who have no idea who I am, my name is Owen K.C. Stephens and I was brought on as a developer by Paizo earlier this year. I work primarily on the Pathfinder Modules and Pathfinder Player Companion lines, and I have a long history of writing for Paizo on a number of products. Since the prize for winning RPG Superstar™ is an adventure we'll publish in one of our RPG Modules, I'm getting involved in the contest early and will be helping oversee it this year.

The contest itself is going to be ramping up the degree of difficulty in several rounds as a result of how consistently amazing the entries have been year after year. We're convinced the talent pool exists to make several of the stages tougher than previous years, and that the best contestants are going to thrive under the pressure. That shouldn't discourage anyone from entering! Instead, think of this as an even better test of your skills. Anyone who makes it to the last few rounds of this year's contest should be confident they have what it takes to get work in the tabletop RPG industry.

What won't change is the core concept and processes we've developed over several years of RPG Superstar™. We have some surprises for you, and some rounds will have new challenges, but things will seem very familiar to fans who have followed the contest for several years. Where things significantly change from previous contests, I'll provide extra guidance on how we envision the round going, and why we made the change.

The first big change: entries for Open Call are not wondrous items, as they have been in every other year of the contest. Instead we're asking contestants to create a magic item from one of the following categories: armor, shield, weapon, staff, ring, or rod. As always, the magic item should conform to the rules and format given in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook for items of that type. In the case of a magic suit of armor, shield, or weapon, it should be an example of a specific armor, shield, or weapon, rather than one created by adding magic special abilities. Think breastplate of command and life-drinker, rather than a +1 ghost touch chain shirt or +1 keen flaming bastard sword. Further if you decide to do a magic staff make sure you have a concept that elevates it above a "spell-in-a-can" with multiple spells. We are, after all, looking for Superstars!

We're making this change to the first round for a number of reasons. First, we want to strongly encourage contestants to create something new, rather than re-submitting an item they've used in previous years (even if they've modified it since then). Secondly, we want to see how well people can do with a surprise and a tight deadline. Writing in the RPG industry is often done with short schedules and sometimes the needs of a project change after you've already started working on it. By shaking things up in the first round, we'll get finalists who know they can handle the chaos and pressure of writing for RPG projects in real-world conditions.

Open Call is otherwise very much as past years. The open call begins today, and you need to have your entry in by December 16 at 2:00 PM Pacific time. We'll be maintaining public voting for these initial entries as we've done for the past 2 years. So your magic item will initially be judged by being presented to voters along with another randomly determined item. That means if you submit a magic ring it'll be compared to many items that aren't rings, so be sure you present something that can stand up to competition in any form. The top 32 items will be determined by the community along with feedback and oversight from our judges for this round, and those 32 competitors will face other game design challenges in the remaining rounds of the competition!

So loosen up your creative muscles, start crafting a magic item, and get ready to be the next RPG Superstar™!

Owen K. C. Stephens
Developer and RPG Superstar Host

2014 Cosplay Contest Champions!

Friday, September 19, 2014

This years Gen Con cosplay turnout was the best we've seen yet, and its my great pleasure to announce this years contest winners!

Carly took a 5-foot step into first place with her iteration of Imrijka, truly bringing the half-orc heroine to life with her steadfast dedication to details.

Dustin's representation of Sajan received a flurry of commendations, earning him a solid second place in this years votes.

Levi's devotion to his work blessed him with third place in the contest, praise the sun goddess!

Thanks to everyone who swung by the booth to participate this year, your hard work is always one of the highlights my coworkers talk about when they get back from the convention. We hope to see you all next PaizoCon or Gen Con!

Erik Keith
Software Test Engineer

Gen Con 2014 Cosplay Contest!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

This year has truly proven to be the biggest turn out yet for Pathfinder cosplay, with an exceptional cast of exception cosplayers. There are plenty of faces both familiar and new in this years participants, and it is my pleasure to introduce the fine folks that make up this years contest.

Without further ado:

Ashley as Feiya, her attention to details is quite hexing!

Alex as Imrijka. She may be Half-Orc, but her costume is all awesome.

Angela as Seoni. Angela was one of the first cosplayers we saw at GenCon this year, amazing job!

Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine visited us at the booth as well!
Mark did an exceptional job of bringing the elven eccentric to life, we're just glad he didn't get *too* in character.

Lyz as Seoni. The attention to the tattoos from both Lyz and Angela are exceptional.
You could even say some of the runes on their arms look... familiar.

It's clear that Jessica's costume is not to be outfoxed. Knowing better than to split the party, the two arrived together in style.

Levi as Kyra. Many of you may recognize Levi's costume from a previous blog post earlier this year, Sarenrae would be proud!

Robert makes for a dead accurate Champion of Urgathoa.

Amy as a cleric of Pharasma. It's probably best that Robert didn't run into her.

Lauren as Pharasma. While Pharasma may be a true neutral deity, Lauren's representation is most certainly good!

Dustin holds no punches with his Sajan cosplay.

Steve as High Shieldmarshal Armand, the best Shieldmarshal in all the land.

Here we have Carly as Imrijka, who's pursuit of the truth has brought her to GenCon.
If you're feeling inquisitive about her attention to detail just checkout the prosthetics and contacts she used!

Here we have Christine as a decapitating barbarian. In front of her is the most dedicated Ned Stark method actor to grace the convention.

Emmanuelle as Kyra. Who needs a buckler or scutum when your faith is your shield!

And for our honorable mention, Paizo's very own Ryan as... Ryan.

Due to the number of participants this year we're going to be using a tally system, and the voting thread can be found here. You can vote on any one person you'd like, so make sure your vote counts! We'll tally the results at 2:00 PM Pacific time on Wednesday, September 17th and declare this years fan favorites shortly afterwards.

Great work everyone!

Erik Keith
Software Test Engineer

Getting in Character at Gen Con

Sunday, August 10, 2014

As is yearly tradition, I'm happy to announce that Paizo's 7th annual Gen Con cosplay contest is nearly upon us! I'm always amazed to see what everyone is able to fabricate each year, and I know the rest of the staff absolutely adores seeing what everyone manages to surprise us with as well.

This years costume contest runs the same rules as previous years. In order to qualify for one of the prizes your costume has to be identifiably from Pathfinder or Golarion, so dressing up as one of the iconics or Squeely Nord would have you be eligible, while dressing up as a White Mage wouldn't. Wait—White Mages are a playable archetype now? Oh my!

Previous contestants from our 2010, 2012 and 2013 Gen Con contests!

Swing by the Paizo booth and have one of our staff members get a picture of you in your fine finery, and make sure to let us know who you are on the Paizo website so we can give credit where credit is due.

This years 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best received costumers will find $50.00, $25.00, or $10.00 in store credit waiting for them on their account after our community determines who their favorite Pathfinder personifiers are.

Gen Con is less than a week away, we look forward to seeing you all there!

Erik Keith
Customer Service

6th Annual GenCon Costume Contest Winners

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The winners of this years Costume Contest have been tallied, with the fate of this years contest coming down to a matter of only a few votes between the top three contestants. Without further ado, I present this years top 3 rankings.

Temmith & Jay ranked in first place. Jay's work is golden while Temmith's costume looks good enough that one may question if sorcery was involved.

Seoni & Valeros (Temmith & Jay)

MetalMaiden ranked 2nd in the polls, doing a godly job of portraying Shelyn.

Shelyn (MetalMaiden)

Helene ranked in 3rd as Sheila Heidmarch. Her costume came out wonderfully, and I can only venture a guess as to how much time she spent on it.

Shiela Heidmarch (Helene)

Congratulations to Temmith and Jay on their $50.00 in Paizo Store Credit, and to everyone else thank you for dropping by the booth. Regardless to if you were in a costume or just your GenCon finest we loved seeing everyone!

Erik Keith
Customer Service Representative

6th Annual Gen Con Costume Contest Voting!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Over the course of the last two weeks most of the staff have trickled back into the offices from Ge Con, sharing tales of great times, great people, and in some cases also sharing the con crud. As an avid cosplayer I have a soft spot for the stories my coworkers tell of the cosplayers they meet at conventions, especially at Gen Con. Don't hesitate in knowing that we love the work you do as much as you love ours. Your costumes this year were incredible, and you'd be proud to hear just how excited some of the Paizo staff were when talking about meeting you.

For anyone who hasn't voted in the costume contest before, the rules are simple. We have pictures of the Pathfinder cosplayers who dropped by our booth presented below and its up to you, our fans, to decide a crowd favorite. Once you determine your favorite Pathfinder portrayal select them on the poll and click submit. Voting ends Tuesday at 1:00 PM Pacific time. At that point we'll tally up the results and determine this years winner and recipient of $50.00 in Paizo store credit!

We present to you this years participants!

Amiri (RedRoseNeko)

Cleric of Sarenrae, Evocation Wizard, Bard & Witch (Karmada, Rajamitsu & Aris)

Goblin (Art)	Seoni & Valeros (Temmith & Jay)	Shalelu Andosana (Kristen)
Shelyn (MetalMaiden)	Shiela Heidmarch (Helene)	Well Rounded Adventuring Party

And while he is not participating in this years contest, here is Kyle Elliot, Seattle Venture Captain and PaizoCon 2013 Volunteer of the Year as Hayato, our iconic samurai!

Congratulations to everyone participating, I really hope to see you all next year!

Erik Keith
Customer Service Representative

Tell Me About My Characters

Thursday, January 10, 2013

I've been told, all right.

A few weeks ago we ran a contest, in which people competed to stat up characters from my Pathfinder Tales fiction. Choosing only three favorites from these entries was incredibly hard. There wasn't a dog among them—no offense, Arni—and of course almost everyone who built an entry (or five) did something unique.

With a little help from "Mean" Russ Taylor, I narrowed the field to five favorites. That made things even harder, because every one of them had something different to recommend it. Some were elegant in their simplicity, others demonstrated exacting (and rather flattering) attention to detail. Others just plain put me to shame, because you folks know the rules so much better than I do.

What won me over in the end was a combination of authenticity to the characters coupled with innovative or surprising design choices. My three favorite entries gave me a new way of looking at how those characters do what they do.

My Favorites (in no particular order)

Xellos (Jeggare)—This one is both highly faithful to the novels and a very innovative build, since the magus didn't exist when I first imagined the count. Excellent explanations. Just outstanding all around.

havoc xiii (Radovan)—While I originally thought of monk levels for Radovan, the cad works out really well. This is another innovative build that challenged my preconceptions even as it was faithful to what we see Radovan doing in the books.

Rosgakori (Kemeili)—Really excellent, a trifle more powerful than I'd imagined her, but in ways that fit. Spell selection a little different from what I'd sketched out for the book, but since I didn't show her casting every spell she knew, that's not a problem.

Very Honorable Mentions (also in no particular order)

Jesse Benner (Jeggare/Radovan)—Extremely faithful to the books, these straight-up builds are pretty close to what I'd jotted down in my notes. Although I hadn't given Radovan any fighter levels, they certainly make sense.

Yumeko (Goblin Who Swallowed the Wind)—A beautifully simple presentation of one of my favorite secondary characters. This one would have my "less is more" prize if I had a bag full of special awards.

Beek383 (Jeggare, Arnisant, Zandros, Mon Choi, Radovan)—Together, these were easily the most comprehensive survey of characters, nice and straightforward. I like to think this is how others are using some of the novel characters in their games.

LoreKeeper (Radovan)—A good basic build for Radovan, a little lower-level than I'd imagined but with all of the essentials. I love the explanation. That makes the entry—and those that followed its example—that much more interesting.

Tangaroa (Azra)—I actually like the "ugly little girl" take on Azra, and this version definitely pays attention to her abilities from the book. Azra's the character whose "build" I've most questioned since her first appearance, since the oracle class came out soon after.

Blue_Hill (Caladrel)—A very good interpretation of the character, and surprisingly close to what I statted up in Hero Lab. Well done!

Kevin Andrew Murphy (Iolanda)—I never gave Iolanda's game stats this much thought, but if I had, I hope I'd have come up with something this good. The skill and spell selection make perfect sense. In this version, she's even deadlier than I'd imagined.

Dave Gross
Pathfinder Tales Author

In the Seattle area this month? Join Dave Gross at University Books in Seattle on January 25 at 7:00 PM! Dave read from Queen of Thorns and preview an upcoming novel. Afterward he'll sign copies of all his Pathfinder Tales novels, including Elaine Cunningham's Winter Witch, for which Elaine has kindly provided book plates, so you can have both authors' signatures at once.

Dave Gross: Stat Up My Characters!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Illustrations by Eric Belisle

We joke about gamers at conventions who want to tell you about their characters. Most of the time it's perfectly okay, but there's always that one guy who follows you into the bathroom talking about his +5 Holy Avenger. Dude. It's not all right.

As a long-time gamer, I sympathize with the desire to tell others about your paladin. Hell, in the Pathfinder Tales novels I'm basically telling you about my characters. Maybe it's time to turn the tables... with a twist.

When Prince of Wolves came out in 2010, James Sutter wrote a good article describing Radovan for Kobold Quarterly. I tease him that Charisma shouldn't be Radovan's dump stat, but I can't complain unless I stat him out myself.

But I won't. Or at least, I won't show those stats.

My secret is that with Hero Lab I have created character sheets for the important characters for all of my Pathfinder Tales novels. They're a big help when I deal with spell battles, but they also provide inspiration for action scenes. Can the game version of Radovan catch a knife thrown at him? I looked it up. Totally legit!

While I don't want to reveal any "official" stats to preserve the mystery of the characters, there's no reason you can't show us your version.

How would you stat up Radovan and Jeggare? How about Azra or Malena from Prince of Wolves? Burning Cloud Devil would be a challenge, as would Jade Tiger and all of the kami Arnisant meets in Master of Devils. Perhaps the most fun would be statting out Caladrel, Fimbulthicket, Kemeili, and Oparal from Queen of Thorns. And don't forget Ellasif and Declan from Winter Witch! I'm not sure Elaine or I ever did stats for them.

Post your character stats for any of my Pathfinder Tales characters in this blog's comments by January 2, 2013. With a little help from the Paizo editorial team, I'll choose three favorites to receive a signed copy of Queen of Thorns and a Radovan miniature.

What do you say? You've got my full attention. Tell me about my characters.

UPDATE: Additionally, each of the three winners will receive a free copy of Hero Lab from Lone Wolf Development. If the winner already owns Hero Lab, you’ll be able to select up to $20 worth of add-on packages for Hero Lab. The contest has also been extended to January 2, 2013.

Dave Gross
Pathfinder Tales Author

Costume Contest Winner!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Admittedly casting a vote in this year's Gen Con Pathfinder Cosplay Contest made for a tough call, but I don't think any of us expected a tie! That's right, after tallying up the votes, we're pleased to announce that Rita as the Master Spy Prestige Class and Zach as Ezren can both be declared winners, and each will be awarded $50 in paizo.com store credit. Congrats, guys, and a big thank you to everyone who participated and voted! The costumes were all awesome this year, and we hope to see you in next year's contest!

Rita as the Master Spy Prestige Class.

Zach as Ezren.

Christopher Carey
Editor

Gen Con Costume Contest Voting!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Gen Con has come and gone, and with it the chance to enter the annual Gen Con Pathfinder Cosplay Contest! There were a number of fine entrants this year, so take a look at the photos below and then vote for who YOU think should win $50 in paizo.com store credit!

The clock's ticking, and voting will officially close as of 11pm next Tuesday. Cast your vote now!

Rita as the Master Spy Prestige Class.

Zach as Ezren.

Audrey and Emery as alchemist and rogue gnome sisters from their Jade Regent game. Check out the awesome starknife!

The three adventurers: Amy as a half-orc bard/Pathfinder Chronicler, Nicole as a human alchemist, and Natalie as a human paladin.

Vote now!

James L. Sutter
Senior Editor

The Gen Con Costume Contest is Coming!

Check out these awesome costumes from last year!

Heads up, everyone! It's time to dust off those sewing machines and fabric paints and start getting ready for the Fifth Annual Gen Con Pathfinder Cosplay Contest!

It's hard to believe that it's been five whole years since a priestess of Desna first showed us just how crafty our community could be (pun intended). In the years since, we've seen Pactmasters and witches, alchemists and Gray Maidens. But we know that there are more of you cosplayers out there, and we want to see you!

Here's the deal: At some point during Gen Con Indy this August, you show up to the Paizo booth dressed in your best Pathfinder costume—any monster, character, faction member, deity, or other figure from our world. In order to be eligible, your costume needs to be identifiably Pathfinder-related, not just generic fantasy—a knight isn't enough, but an Eagle Knight of Andoran is.

In addition to drawing a crowd of happy gawkers, you'll have your picture taken by a member of the Paizo staff. The best costumes—as decided by us—will end up on the Paizo blog once we return from Gen Con, at which point we'll allow the paizo.com messageboard community to pick their favorite. What criteria that mad and merry crew will use is anybody's guess, but whoever they select as the best Pathfinder cosplayer will walk away with 50 dollars in store credit! Even more importantly, the winner will go home knowing that he or she (or they—I'm still waiting for a life-sized Sandpoint Devil puppet) have entered the exclusive cadre of the Paizo Cosplay Winner's Circle.

The clock's ticking—will you be ready in time?

James Sutter
Senior Editor

Pathfinder Fan Fiction Contest Winners!

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

It’s that time again! After many sleepless nights combing through huge snowdrifts of printouts, the good folks over at Pathfinder Chronicler were able to whittle down this year’s entries into the Second Annual Pathfinder Fanfiction Contest to the final five—or rather, due to a tie, the final six:

“Gozreh Provides” by Laura Bowlby
“Bend as the Willow” by Dawn Fischer
“Politics of Hell” by B. R. Bearden
“The Grey Tern” by Andrew Crossett
“Completing the Circle” by Todd Stewart
“Luck's Allegiance” by Alex Lindsay

As has now become tradition, the judges were kind enough to invite me to step in as a guest judge for the last round and cast the deciding vote. All of the candidates did an excellent job—the caliber was truly top-notch, and all six do the fanfic genre proud—but ultimately, only three people could take home the fabulous prizes of $100 in store credit for first place, and $50 each for second and third. And this year’s winners are:

First Place: Andrew Crossett for “The Grey Tern”

Second Place: Todd Stewart for “Completing the Circle”

Third Place: Dawn Fischer for “Bend as the Willow”

Honorable Mention: Though there’s no actual honorable mention prize, I wanted to call out “Luck’s Allegiance” by Alex Lindsay. While the other stories ultimately won on the strength of their writing, Alex really blew me away with his snappy dialogue and sense of adventure.

For a complete list of the Top 20, as well as many more awesome Pathfinder stories, head over to Pathfinder Chronicler. And while we’re on the subject, I want to note that each of the finalists will be appearing in the second Pathfinder Chronicler print anthology. Ted Thompson and the rest of the Chronicler folks really knocked us out last year with their lovingly crafted and high-quality anthology, which included a gorgeous cover by Pathfinder artist Eva Widermann. Well, this year they’ve decided to keep the tradition going with an equally stellar cover from Pathfinder artist Carolina Eade, previewed here for the first time! Both covers are beautiful, and I think I speak for all of us here at Paizo when I say that these are the sorts of things that make us so unbelievably proud of the Pathfinder community. (What’s more, I hear rumors that Ms. Eade will also be providing interior illustrations this year...)

Congratulations to everyone who competed, and I look forward to seeing you all again next year!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor