Today marks the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Month here in the U.S., and Paizo is proud to celebrate with the launch of the Pathfinder Second Edition Asian Fantasy Bundle, available now. This bundle benefits Stop AAPI Hate, a U.S.-based coalition dedicated to fighting racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, striving to advance the multiracial movement for equity and justice by raising awareness about anti-AAPI hate, working in solidarity with allied communities, and advocating for comprehensive solutions that tackle the root causes of race-based hate. You can learn more about Stop AAPI Hate at stopaapihate.org.

At the base level of a $5 donation, you’ll receive a $75 value in entry-level Pathfinder Second Edition PDFs, including PathfinderCore GM Screen, Pathfinder Remaster Iconics Pregenerated Characters, Pathfinder Character Sheet Pack,Pathfinder Second Edition Beginner Box: Remastered Edition, the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Player’s Guide, Pathfinder Society Scenario #1–06: Lost on the Spirit Road, Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Village Square, Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Forest Starter Set, and Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Forest Perils Expansion!

For $15 or more, you’ll get everything in the $5 tier, plus PDFs of Pathfinder Player Core; Pathfinder GM Core; Pathfinder Bestiary, Bestiary 2,and Bestiary 3; Lost Omens Legends; Lost Omens Monsters of Myth; the Tian Xia-set Pathfinder Tales novel; Master of Devils and its prequel novella, Husks; all four Pathfinder Society Scenarios in the “Equal Exchanges” series (#5–04, #5–09, #5–11, and #5–18); and six Pathfinder Flip-Mats to aid you in running those adventures (Ancient Dungeon, Jungle Multi-Pack, Alien Ruins, Hospital, Twisted Caverns, and Underground City Multi-Pack)—an additional $267 value.

For $30 or more, you get everything above plus another $288 in value, including PDFs of the entire Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path (both the individual installments from the pages of Pathfinder Adventure Path and the single-volume omnibus), as well as the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Battle Cards and Pawn Collection; Pathfinder Monster Core; Pathfinder Dark Archive; Lost Omens Travel Guide; Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide; Lost Omens Tian Xia Character Guide; Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–05: Silver Bark; Golden Blades; and two Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics (Falls & Rapids and Thieves’ Guild). That’s a total of more than $630 in PDFs, but the deal doesn’t end there!

For an additional $15 (for a total of $45) we’ll throw in the sketch hardcover variant of Pathfinder Player Core, while supplies last. Redemption of the code on paizo.com will add the book to your cart at no cost, and you’ll just need to pay shipping and handling on checkout.

The Pathfinder Second Edition Asian Fantasy Bundle runs from now through 11 a.m. (PDT) on Thursday, May 22. Don’t miss this opportunity to get nearly every piece of Asian-inspired fantasy released for Pathfinder Second Edition, all while helping a great cause!

Back the Pathfinder Second Edition Asian Fantasy Bundle today!

The PaizoCon Online 2021 panels are going up on Youtube, so you can watch them again or see what you missed. You can already watch the Keynote Revelations, Starfinder Galaxy Exploration Manual panels, and PaizoCon Liveplays. Now dive into the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path and an interview with its Development Lead, Patrick Renie!

Tales of Lore: Tournament of Champions!

Step into the ring with the creators of the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path! In this no-holds-barred panel, writers and editors share stories about working on the latest chapter in the Ruby Phoenix’s epic saga before answering all your burning questions about Golarion’s greatest tournament.

Tales from the Page: Know Direction Interview with Pathfinder Developer Patrick Renie

Know Direction staff Ryan Costello and Jefferson “Perram” Thacker interview Pathfinder Developer Patrick Renie.

“Annnd with a terrifying tail whip to the jaw, the Taiga Tyrant is down! She’ll be feeling that in the morning! Our winner is the Summer Swordsman of Ekkeshikaar!”

Cheers resounded through the stadium as the announcer floated high above, her voice booming. Triangular pennants lowered in defeat from one corner of the arena, as triumphant sunflower bouquets showered down from another.

Lei took in the sights and sounds as she walked the arena, steaming basket in both hands. Usually, she parked the cart outside to cook buns while her daughter worked the crowd, but the scamp had run off to “scope out the competition at the exhibition matches.” She’d suspiciously taken enough to feed both her and her two friends, and she’d been gone for hours. Now, Lei was selling buns herself, but to be honest, it was a welcome change to be inside the arena even if the stairs were doing a number on her knees.

“Speaking of, if you want to not feel that in the morning, that last match was sponsored by Plum Rain’s plum wine! For a deluge of flavor and a clear-sky taste, try Plum Rain today!” the announcer chirped as attendants ran out to sweep the arena and recover the few remaining non-vaporized pieces of the Taiga Tyrant’s spear.

“Auntie! Two char siu, two black sugar! Make it fast!” a young man in a feathered hat, clearly a merchant, called from a small throng around a nearby railing. As Lei ambled over, her eye caught on a pile of coins, and next to it, a bespectacled priest with a ledger and slate. Wagers on the tournament, then. She opened her basket and passed out the orders, collecting a few blade-shaped coins in payment.

“Fancy a bet?” the young merchant asked.

Lei didn’t usually indulge, but she caught a glance of the next two contestants readying themselves. In one corner a lean Vudrani monk in blue performed a series of warm-up stretches, and in the other, a young green-clad warrior paced back and forth. Lei took a closer look and played the match out in her mind. Why not? “Blue holds upper hand for seven moves, then Green wins in three.” Lei put down the coins she’d just collected on the railing.

The merchant laughed into his bun. “Maybe you’ve been too busy baking to actually catch the fights, but that guy’s been trouncing his competition all day. The girl’s just some initiate out of Indapatta, not even fully graduated. I couldn’t possibly take such a bet from someone of your...” He looked at Lei’s stained apron, “...means.”

Well, no mercy then. The baker dumped her earnings for the day out onto the railing. “Three consecutive.”

The merchant closed his mouth, opened it, and elected to take a bite instead. “You know what, it’s your coin. I meet and accept whatever odds the Ministry sees suitable. Witness?”

The priest nodded. “The Ministry of Numbers and Fortune recognizes this wager and sets eight-to-one odds for the skilled baker, pursuant Article 3.51.01 of the Gambling Code. By Abadar’s gaze, the deal is sealed.” The Ministry’s judgement was as impartial as it was absolute.

The peppy human megaphone floating above the arena clapped her hands. “Ladies and gentlemen, now that the staff has finished disarming the ice snares from that last match—at least, most of them, I think—it’s about time to make like a sky chariot and get this show on the air! Contestants, take your places, and let fate guide your fists!”

“Ready?”

Lei smiled. By the end of the day, she’d be sitting in a fine hotel room overlooking the bay, with one of those luxurious balcony baths to soak her knee in.

“Fight!”

Illustration by Kent Hamilton

The man let out a roar and opened his fingers into a clawlike form before leaping forward.

“Southern Panther,” Lei and the merchant muttered in unison, before their eyes met with a smile. It was always nice when the competition knew their stuff. The monk blazed his way across the ground, and the other warrior barely blocked the strike, catching a slash across the cheekbone. He followed up with a swift flurry of attacks, and the initiate didn’t fare much better, barely turning away each.

“Two moves to Blue.”

“He has the advantage in speed,” the merchant said, and Lei didn’t argue—the girl was outclassed. She tried some sort of spinning backhand, but her opponent ducked easily and whirled around before delivering a series of palm strikes that shone with silver light.

“Moves three and four to Blue.”

“Good qi control as well,” the merchant observed.

“Coating his strikes for extra impact,” Lei agreed.

The girl leapt in the air to try a kick, but the monk brought his silvered fists together, releasing the energy in a ripple that blasted upward and caught the initiate in the jaw. Her momentum halted, he sent her reeling back with an uppercut. From there, it was simple for him to knock her to the ground with a sweeping kick of his own.

“Five, six, and seven to Blue.”

Rather than pressing the attack on a downed opponent, though, he waited. One of those warriors’ codes, no doubt. The initiate’s chest rose and fell once, and Lei felt like she could hear it even over the crowd’s roar.

“He shouldn’t have let her catch her breath,” Lei said, leaning forward in her seat.

“What’s the harm?”

The girl in green leapt up, full of energy once more, like she hadn’t just spent the last minute knocked about by one of the top fighters on the continent. She swung, and though the monk brought his arm up, her fist accelerated mid-hook, snaking around his guard like a leaf on the wind. She connected with his jaw, driving him twenty paces back, to wild cheers.

“You said some school in Indapatta? That uniform’s the Academy of Golden Arms, and that’s their signature technique—cycling their breath through their organs to generate elemental energy. Air brings… speed and flexibility, I believe.” Lei suppressed a smile. “You’re probably too young to remember the last time there was Golden Arm in the tournament.”

“After seven moves in Blue’s favor, one to Green.”

The monk had regained his footing, but the other warrior raised her fist and wind spiraled. Another exhalation brought an eruption of lightning, crackling and splitting into four strands that shot in each cardinal direction. The electricity speared toward the audience, but it crashed against transparent walls of power cast by the Grand Judge herself, Hao Jin. The audience gasped, and for one great moment, tens of thousands in the Grand Arena—young and old, from all across Golarion, many not even sharing a language—were united as their attention hung in this one moment.

This… this was why Lei loved the Ruby Phoenix Tournament. Not for the fights, not for the fun, not even for the business it brought her little food cart. This.

The lightning spears converged into a single great lance pointed at the monk, who crossed his bracers and met the attack valiantly. Sparks splashed about him, and the glow around his wrists betrayed that his focus was now solely on defense. The blast pushed him back even as he defended, and his foot slipped ever so slightly on the sand. His center of balance tipped.

“Two to Green.” The merchant wiped his brow.

As the storm abated and the monk moved to correct his footing and resume his attack, his opponent snapped her hand back with a gasp of power. A pulse, and the monk’s arms—or rather, his bracers—jerked toward her, and with no grounded stance, there was precious little to stop him from flying forward.

“Our initiate’s lightning technique has magnetized the bracers on our silent, handsomely chiseled fighter, and she’s drawing him closer at extreme speed!” the announcer blathered. “I wonder if she’ll teach me that in time for ballroom season!”

The girl planted her feet, twisted her hips, and drove her fist forward with all her might, delivering a single punch to the monk’s sternum as he flew into her at breakneck speed.

The match was over.

“Seven moves at Blue’s advantage, followed by victory in three consecutive by Green. The baker has it.” The magistrate’s fingers moved on an imaginary abacus before he swiftly divided out all but a tiny portion of the coins and passed them to Lei. The merchant stared slack-jawed. Lei opened her basket, and seeing there was only one bun left, she put it in the merchant’s mouth before scooping his money in—it was the least she could do.

She turned out of the arena. She’d close up a bit early today, and tomorrow, she and her daughter would take the day off to catch some matches from a proper arena seat.

Now, to see about that hotel room, the one with the balcony bath.

About the Author

James Case is a designer at Paizo. James has also edited manuscripts for scientific researchers, translated materials for music labels, and written for various RPG products, including the Pathfinder and Starfinder game systems. You can find him (and his thoughts on comma usage) on The Twitter at @toriariaria.

About Fists of the Ruby Phoenix

The time has come again for the Ruby Phoenix Tournament! The sorcerer Hao Jin has invited only the strongest martial artists, adventurers, and fortune seekers to her world-famous fighting competition. The motley roster of contenders must compete for this decade's champion title and the choice of one of the Ruby Phoenix's grand treasures. Who will come out on top, and who will be left in the dust? There's only one way to find out! The Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path is a three-part monthly series of connected adventures that compose a complete Pathfinder campaign.

By Vanessa Hoskins

Zhang Yong, Spirit Tender

In the great fighting tournaments across Tian Xia, a competitor will occasionally perish in the heat of battle. Sometimes their lust for battle, desire to win, or enduring competitive spirit lingers, often resulting in a haunting. When this happens, it’s up to a ghost eater to defeat the lingering soul to send it to the afterlife.

Ten years ago, during the previous Ruby Phoenix Tournament, Yong was a boy of 13 years working as a water carrier, though he dreamed of one day fighting in the tournament and making a name for himself, especially to set him apart from his many accomplished human, orc, and half-orc cousins. Yong imagined showing the world his skill, determination, and fierce grasp on life and excelling at something all his own. That very grasp saved his life when an errant undead specter disrupted a match, tearing through the ringside where Yong was carrying water. Though he was gravely injured in the incident, Yong was brought into the care of the tournament’s resident ghost eater and, from her, learned how to fight the corruption of lingering souls.

Now, Yong is one of the tournament’s most renown ghost eaters, tasked with cleansing any haunts, ghosts, or spiritual phenomena that remain after a particularly grueling battle. Though he sometimes shudders at the memory of that terrifying day ten years ago, through sheer determination, he carries on, finding that in guiding these souls to rest, he’s found not just a way to purge the ghosts of his own past, but a rare talent as a spirit tender, one all his own.

Ghost eater archetype illustration by Gislaine Avila from Pathfinder Adventure Path #166: Despair on Danger Island.

Zhang Yong — Creature 14

UNIQUE LN MEDIUM HUMANOID HALF-ORC HUMAN ORC
Male half-orc ghost sentinel

Perception +23; low-light vision
Languages Common, Tien, Necril, Undercommon
Skills Acrobatics +28, Athletics +23, Diplomacy +20, Medicine +23, Occultism +23, Religion +25, Society +19, Haunt Lore +23
Str +4, Dex +8, Con +5, Int +3, Wis +5, Cha +2
Items +2 axiomatic striking handwraps of mighty blows, bracers of armor I, greater ghost chargeAPG (2), rare incense

AC 37; Fort +25, Ref +29, Will +22
HP 251; Weakness Mental 10
Grit Teeth [reaction] (emotion, mental, pain)
Trigger Yong fails or critically fails a saving throw against an enchantment or fear effect
Effect Yong succeeds on the saving throw instead and takes 2d6 mental damage. If he critically failed on the triggering saving throw, he also takes 2d6 persistent mental damage and cannot use this ability again while taking persistent mental damage.

Speed 45

Melee [one-action] soul strike +23 (agile, finesse, nonlethal, unarmed), Damage 2d8+14 bludgeoning (plus 1d6 lawful against chaotic targets)

Ranged [one-action] greater ghost charge +23 (range 10 feet, thrown), Damage 3d8 positive plus 3 positive splash damage

Disrupting Strikes [one-action] Yong calls forth positive energy from within to help him destroy undead. His weapons and unarmed Strikes gain the effects of a greater disrupting property rune until the start of his next turn (DC 31).

Reach Beyond Yong has learned to move his spiritual energy past himself to attack spirits where others can’t. He can make melee Strikes against incorporeal creatures that are inside solid objects as long as the object is within his reach. An incorporeal creature inside of a solid object is hidden, requiring him to succeed at a DC 11 flat check when he targets it. He can spend an action, which has the concentrate trait, to focus on a creature inside of a solid object. If he does, the next melee Strike he makes this turn requires him to succeed at only a DC 6 flat check to affect the creature.

Soul Dance Stance [one-action] Yong begins a stance that aligns him with the River of Souls, allowing him to make soul strike attacks that seem almost incorporeal. These deal 1d8 bludgeoning damage; are in the brawling group; and have the agile, finesse, nonlethal, and unarmed traits. Soul strikes treat cover against living and incorporeal undead targets as degree less severe (greater cover becomes standard cover, standard cover becomes lesser cover, and lesser cover is ignored).

Plot Hooks

Game Masters can use the following plot hooks to integrate Zhang Yong into their ongoing Pathfinder campaigns.

• The players’ competitors could be having trouble with a particularly powerful haunt or ghost disrupting a practice space and wish to seek Yong’s aid to purge it.
• The competitors hear of Yong’s childhood trauma, and how those memories cause him distress today. They may wish to help the young man face those fears and move past the pain.
• The ghost of Yong’s former master has risen for this decade’s Ruby Phoenix Tournament, thinking she is still the head ghost eater. Yong is having trouble facing his old master alone and seeks the players’ competitors for guidance and assistance sending his old master safely to Pharasma’s court.

Join us for Episode 3 of Paizo LIVE from 4 to 6 p.m. Pacific next Friday, April 23. Paizo LIVE is our monthly two-hour live Twitch show featuring the Paizo staff and occasional guests talking about all things Pathfinder and Starfinder. Paizo LIVE is also archived on YouTube.

Scheduled guests include:

• Avi Kool, Senior Editor
• James Jacobs, Creative Director
• Jason Tondro, Developer
• Jessica Catalan, Freelance Author
• Luis Loza, Developer
• Tonya Woldridge, Organized Play Manager

Scheduled topics include The Starfinder Fly Free or Die Adventure Path, The Pathfinder Adventure: Malevolence, The Pathfinder Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path, and more!

We will take your questions before the show and answer a few on the show. The categories are Pathfinder Adventures, Lost Omens World Guides, Starfinder Adventures, Paizo Organized Play, and PaizoCon. Ask your questions here or comment on our social media posts and we’ll pick our favorites.

I’ll see you at Paizo LIVE!

Adventures Ahead!

Aaron Shanks,
Marketing and Media Manager

The powerful sorcerer Hao Jin has returned to the Material Plane to preside as grand judge over her world-famous fighting competition, the Ruby Phoenix Tournament. Contenders from around Golarion flock to the tournament to compete for a prize from Hao Jin’s legendary treasure vault. Does your team have what it takes to become this year’s Ruby Phoenix Champions?

Inside the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Player’s Guide, you’ll discover spoiler-free details on:

The Ruby Phoenix Tournament, including a brief history of the Hao Jin Tapestry and how the tournament has changed since Hao Jin’s return to the Material Plane.

Adventuring in the Dragon Empires, including descriptions of the archipelago nation of Minata and Goka, the City of Wonders.

Your Player Character, including suggestions for creating new characters or using existing characters, plus new character backgrounds specifically for this Adventure Path such as Attention Addict, Newcomer in Need, and Second Chance Champion.

Forming a Fighting Team, including inspiring tables to help you randomly or deliberately choose your team’s theme, motivations, strengths and weaknesses, quirks, and more.

A full-page map of Tian Xia, including nations, borders, and terrain.

Tournament Rules, including a handy summary of the rules for the pre-qualifier event and for the Ruby Phoenix Tournament itself.

Download the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Player’s Guide.

Order Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path: Despair on Danger Island.