Dynamite Announces Limited-Edition Seoni Statue!

Friday, October 19, 2018

Our friends at Dynamite have announced a Kickstarter to produce a resin statue for everyone's favorite sorcerer, Seoni. But this campaign isn't just for one statue... they're offering THREE limited-edition variants to add to your Pathfinder collection! Will you choose the Spellcasting Edition, which shows Seoni preparing to unleash a devastating spell? Maybe the Battle-Ready Edition, complete with dagger and staff at the ready, is more your style. For even more customization, there's a Kickstarter-exclusive, unpainted version that allows you to create your own unique look.

From the intricate tattoo designs to the hand-painted accessories, this highly detailed status is a fitting tribute to one of Pathfinder's most celebrated iconic characters.

View Rotating GIF

For those looking to complete their collection of Pathfinder graphic novels, Dynamite has included add-ons for both digital and print copies at a great value. They're even offering backers a chance to get the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast signed by Pathfinder Creative Director James Jacobs.

Dynamite's Kickstarter for this limited-edition masterpiece is going on now, so don't delay!

Dan Tharp
Marketing Manager

Sorcerer Class Preview

Monday, July 9, 2018

Their magical blood gives sorcerers their spellcasting power, and it's been a major part of the class since Pathfinder's inception. So for the Pathfinder Playtest, we're going all in: your character's bloodline determines her spell list!

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Bloodlines

You pick your bloodline at 1st level, which tells you which spell list you use: arcane, divine, primal, or occult (the last of the four magical traditions, which we'll cover in a future blog!). It also defines some of the spells you know. For instance, the demonic bloodline gives you the divine spell list and the fear spell at 1st level, in addition to two other spells that you choose yourself from the divine list. In some cases, the special spells from your bloodline come from other lists. For example, the demonic bloodline gives you slow when you learn 3rd-level spells (for the sin of sloth) and disintegrate when you learn 6th-level spells. There are a couple more. How about we look at that whole bloodline entry and you can make your own guesses about which ones are from other lists?

Demonic

The demons of the Abyss debase all they touch, and one of your ancestors fell victim to their corruption. You're burdened with dark thoughts and the desire for destruction. This urge can be overcome if you choose to fight it, but the beauty of sin calls to you always.

Spell List divine (Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook 200)

Signature Skills Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, Religion

Granted Spells Cantrip: detect magic; 1st: fear; 2nd: resist energy; 3rd: slow; 4th: divine wrath; 5th: banishment; 6th: disintegrate; 7th: divine decree; 8th: power word stun; 9th: meteor swarm

Bloodline Powers Initial Power: glutton's jaws; Advanced Power: swamp of sloth (2); Greater Power: abyssal wrath (2)

You can see that the bloodline also determines your most important skills and gives you some bloodline powers. We've talked about powers before (see the cleric preview. These are special spells you can get only from specific classes, and they are cast using Spell Points rather than spell slots. They also automatically heighten to the highest level of spell you can cast. You start out with a number of Spell Points per day equal to your Charisma modifier, and if you have the demonic bloodline, you gain the glutton's jaws power, which you can cast at a cost of 1 Spell Point.

Glutton's Jaws Power 1

Necromancy

Casting [[A]] Somatic Casting, [[A]] Verbal Casting

Duration 1 minute

---

Your mouth transforms into a shadowy maw bristling with pointed teeth. These jaws grant you an unarmed attack you're trained in, dealing 1d6 piercing damage. They have the finesse trait.

Attacks with your jaws have the following enhancement.

Enhancement If the target was living, gain 1d4 temporary HP.

Heightened (2nd) Your jaws gain the effects of a +1 weapon potency rune (a +1 item bonus to attack rolls and an additional damage die) and the temporary Hit Points increase to 2d4.

Heightened (4th) The jaws gain the effects of a +2 weapon potency rune and the temporary Hit Points increase to 3d4.

Heightened (6th) The jaws gain the effects of a +3 weapon potency rune and the temporary Hit Points increase to 4d4.

Heightened (8th) The jaws gain the effects of a +4 weapon potency rune and the temporary Hit Points increase to 5d4.

At higher levels, you'll get to make a swampy morass that makes creatures slothful or call forth the dangers of an Abyssal realm.

The number of bloodlines in the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook is fairly small, since we want to see how people react to the new style of the class with just a subset of the bloodlines. In the book, you'll see the following bloodlines: aberrant (occult), angelic (divine), demonic (divine), draconic (arcane), fey (primal) and imperial (arcane). That last one comes from the magical traditions of ancient mortals and matches our iconic sorcerer, Seoni!

Spontaneous Spellcasting

This is our first preview of a spontaneous spellcaster! The sorcerer gets the same number of spells per day as a wizard, but she has a number of spells she knows permanently instead of preparing them from a spellbook every day. The spells she knows make up her spell repertoire. That means she can choose which spell to cast each time she casts a spell instead of needing to plan ahead. It's worth noting that the sorcerer now learns spells at the same character level as the wizard: 2nd-level spells at 3rd level, 3rd-level spells at 5th level, and so on.

As you level up, you learn new spells and can replace some of the spells you previously had with new ones. This lets you get rid of some spells that were great options when they were at your highest level but maybe aren't worth casting anymore.

The sorcerer's spellcasting is based on her inborn magical potency, so she uses her Charisma for her spell rolls and spell DCs. Because Charisma also adds to Resonance Points, the sorcerer can make up for some of her limited spell choice compared to the wizard's spellbook by supplementing her spell selection with more scrolls, staves, and wands.

Sorcerer Features

Many of the sorcerer's class features were explained under bloodline, as most of them tie back to that choice. The sorcerer gains her advanced power at 6th level and her greater bloodline power at 10th level. As with other spellcasters, her proficiency with spell rolls and spell DCs increases to expert at 12th level, master at 16th, and legendary at 19th.

The sorcerer gets one other class feature, called spontaneous heightening. As mentioned before, some spells in your lower-level spell slots get less useful as you go up in level. However, there are some spells you might want to cast with any of your slots. The spontaneous heightening feature lets you choose two spells at the start of each day that you can cast as their heightened versions using any of your spell slots. That means that if you want your angelic sorcerer to be able to cast 1st-level heal, 2nd-level heal, and 3rd-level heal, you can choose your 1st-level heal spell with spontaneous heightening rather than needing to learn the spell in your spell repertoire at all three spell levels. Then you can cast a 1st-level heal to top off someone's Hit Points when they're almost at full and still cast a 3rd-level heal in the middle of a fight to really save someone from the brink!

Sorcerer Feats

The sorcerer's feats primarily deal with her spells. Sorcerers get metamagic feats, many of which they share with other casters. One we haven't shown off yet is Overwhelming Spell at 8th level, which lets a spell that deals acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage ignore the first 10 points of a target's resistance.

If you want to make a blaster, you can pick up Dangerous Sorcery, which increases the damage of your spells by their spell level (with the exception of cantrips). You can also take Blood Magic at 8th level, which uses the magical potential in your blood to grant temporary Hit Points to you or a target of your spell if you're bleeding when you cast it.

One of my favorite cycles of feats are the evolution feats, which reinforce the themes of each magical tradition. Arcane Evolution makes your arcane sorcerer trained in a skill and lets you add a spell from a scroll to your spell repertoire for the day when you prepare each morning. Divine Evolution lets you channel energy like a cleric. Occult Evolution gives you a skill and lets you pick a spell with the mental trait to add to your repertoire each day. Finally, Primal Evolution lets you cast summon nature's ally as an innate spell once per day at the highest spell level you can cast.

How about a 20th-level feat? Sorcerers can take a feat to gain 10th-level spells of their tradition, but you might want to look at other options, like Wellspring Spell. This metamagic feat lets you cast a 5th-level or lower spell once per minute without expending the spell slot!

What sort of predictions do you have for the bloodlines? What spells will they get? Does this new scheme make you more or less likely to play a sorcerer? Do you want to try out a gnome fey sorcerer? How about an angelic sorcerer with the heal spell? Let us know in the comments, and start preparing for when you get the book!

Logan Bonner
Designer

The Origins of Origins

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Of the many pleasant surprises we at Paizo have run into since Pathfinder's inception, one of the biggest remains the popularity of our iconic characters. Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised—after all, when Wayne Reynolds is doing the art, it's hard to not fall in love with whoever's getting painted. But when you get right down to it, the iconics were created to be tools. (And one might argue that some of them still are—we're looking at you, Alain!) The whole reason for their existence was to keep us from having to explain to each new artist what made a ranger a ranger and a rogue a rogue—we could just hold up Merisiel and say "draw her." But people started asking questions about the backstories, and before long we were writing Meet the Iconics blogs and seeding little bits of iconic fiction in the hardcover chapter introductions. Yet we held off on doing more, always feeling like the time wasn't yet right.

Then came Pathfinder comics. Before the contract with Dynamite even hit the table, we knew that we'd found our chance to bring the iconics to life. With Jim Zub as our writer, we knew the iconics were in good hands, and it was a thrill to sit back for a change and watch them go.

But we still had far more iconics than just that core team, and after several story arcs, we really wanted to tell more tales from the main series characters' early lives. So Erik Mona came up with the idea of Pathfinder Origins, a place for us to explore how our heroes got to be who and where they are, as well as introduce some of our other favorite iconics. With Jim busy on other projects, it was up to three of us Paizo staffers—Publisher Erik Mona, Editor-in-Chief F. Wesley Schneider, and Executive Editor James L. Sutter—to chart the course.

Since Erik's already spoken at length about the first issue, we brought in Wes and James to talk about issues two and three, both available now!

Pathfinder Origins #2

I think it's no secret that getting to write for comics is something of a dream come true for all three of us. While we'd all written our share of art orders, to be able to see an entire story come to life in the hands of a talented artist is a special kind of thrill, and it still hasn't worn off. (As everyone who sits near me in the office can attest, I still can't help but crack up every time I look at Vint the ratfolk from issue #2.)

For me, there was never any question of which characters I most wanted to write—a Kyra and Seelah team-up was simply too good to pass up, for a number of reasons. It's well established that I like writing about religion in Pathfinder, and here was an opportunity to show interactions between two characters of different good-aligned faiths. I wanted to show that paladins don't have to be gruff hard-liners or sticks-in-the-mud, and to explore that interplay between righteousness and redemption. And most of all, I wanted a cover that was two badass women-of-color warriors in sensible armor—which Stjepan Sejic (of Rat Queens, Witchblade, and more) delivered and then some.

Many thanks to everyone who's already picked up the issue (and double thanks to anyone who's reviewed it!). I can't wait to come back and show you all issue #4, in which the torturers of Nidal learn why locking up Merisiel causes more problems than it solves...

James Sutter
Executive Editor

Pathfinder Origins #3

Seoni got short shrift. Being the second character to get a Meet the Iconics blog in Pathfinder's earliest days, her write-up lacks much of the in-world detail of those that came later. While we got a bit more on Seoni's background in scattered pre-generated character write-ups and in the NPC Codex, details on her remained pretty thin for a long time. That changed a bit with issue 5 of Pathfinder Dark Waters Rising. In there, Jim Zub presented a grim flashback to Seoni's youth—the manifestation of her magic, getting her tattoos, and interactions with other Varisians. It was more than we'd seen before, but also raised several even more tantalizing questions.

Hazy details weren't the only complexity we had with Seoni, though. Over the years, we heavily detailed the Varisian people and their culture—Seoni's culture. Gradually, a bit of a gulf formed between Seoni's appearance and what we'd defined as the Varisians' traditional look. So what's the deal?

Then, atop that heap of quandaries, there was the ever-popular question: Why's Seoni dress like that?

Mysterious history, atypical appearance, distinctive dress—oh, and did I mention she's lawful neutral too? Despite being one of our most popular iconics, Seoni sure seemed to present more questions than answers. So, when the chance to work on the Pathfinder Origins series came up, I knew I wanted a crack at figuring some of those mysteries out!

As a result, Pathfinder Origins #3 reveals more about Seoni than we've ever seen before. Want to know about her life exploring Varisia? There's a good bit of that. Want to know about her family? Turns out Seoni looks a lot like her mom and has a little brother. How'd she wind up with her robes? Well, they didn't look like that to begin with. What's the real story with her tattoos? That's exactly what she's trying to find out.

For all the details about Seoni's past, though, the real story's about her early days learning what it means to be an adventurer and a leader. She's not taking the easy road either, navigating the rigid city of Korvosa, dealing with Hellknights, and reawaking ancient Thassilonian magic. Fortunately, in the course of things, she learns something her magic's really good for and that her strength comes from more than just slinging spells. The comic presents the perfect medium not just to show off more of Varisia, but also to highlight Seoni's personal brand of explosive problem solving. Overall, I think folks are really going to dig learning about one of Pathfinder's most dynamic characters, while still wanting to know more about the leader of the iconic team.

Oh, and my personal favorite iconic, Seltyiel, shows up. I figured that if we're showing some skin, we'd better make sure there's something for everyone.

F. Wesley Scheider
Editor-in-Chief

There's still time to get in on the action! Be sure to pick up the first three issues of Pathfinder Origins, available right here on paizo.com or in comic shops everywhere. Also, check out the awesome Paizo Exclusive covers for issues Origins #1: Valeros, Origins #2: Kyra, and Origins #3: Seoni, only available here on paizo.com!

Iconic Heroes Set #1 Final Photos!

Friday, November 21, 2014

It's a rainy Friday here in Washington state, but my spirits are high above the darkened clouds thanks to a very special package that arrived from our partners at WizKids this week. The simple cardboard box contained a single "final" version of Pathfinder Battles Iconic Heroes Set #1, the first in a series of monthly non-random iconic character sets that hit stores in January 2015.

The Iconic Heroes sets are a response to fan demand for several different products.

1. Customers always—always—want nonrandom prepainted figures. The expense and nature of the prepainted plastic figure business usually precludes this, but the strong popularity of our iconic characters pushed WizKids over the line in wanting to give it a try.
2. Players of the popular Pathfinder Adventure Card Game have long been asking for an easy way to collect iconic character figures for use as pawns in the card game.
3. Many of the iconic heroes released in previous Pathfinder Battles sets are sold out and starting to fetch crazy prices on the secondary market. I just noticed that someone paid more than $40 for a single Amiri figure, which is absolutely nuts. Gamers want a way to get our cool iconic heroes at an affordable price.

So, in January, we'll begin releasing six-figure Iconic Heroes sets to address all of the above requests. Even better, each set include six unique Pathfinder Adventure Card Game cards that won't be available anywhere else, each associated with one of the characters featured in the set.

WizKids promised "premium quality" sculpts and paint application for the Iconic Heroes sets, which are also the first to benefit from the new digital sculpting process we're now using across the entire Pathfinder Battles line. Here at Paizo, we took those words to heart, and did everything we could over successive rounds of approvals to make these the most detailed, gorgeous prepainted versions of these figures ever made. I think all of us also had some ambitions to raise the bar across the board with prepainted miniatures. With the right reference art, approval team, and with concerted effort from everyone at WizKids, we knew the stars could be right for a paradigm-shifting series of figures.

I am pleased to report, my friends, that it appears that everything has gone right with Pathfinder Battles Iconic Heroes Set #1, which I now hold in my hands. I'm currently comparing several of the figures to previously released versions of the same character for previous Pathfinder Battles sets. In all cases the new version is not just superior, but plainly superior. And we're talking about some of the better figures we've produced to date!

I couldn't be happier with the way these figures turned out. It is my strongest hope that you guys will buy enough of them that WizKids considers the experiment a success and slates several new releases in this format above and beyond the already-announced characters. Because, really, at this stage I think we've done everything we can to make sure the product stands tall. It's all down to sales.

But enough of my talking, let's let the miniatures speak for themselves!

Here we have Valeros, our very first iconic character who appeared on the cover of Pathfinder Adventure Path #1, and he also has the distinction of being the very first Pathfinder Battles figure from our initial Beginner Box Heroes set. Good old Val is still figure #1 in this new line, and I think he looks better than ever before.

Virtually everything about this new figure is an improvement over the existing version (which I also really liked). Sculpt wise, there are lots of new details, including a bedroll on Val's back, more accurate hair, and a cool new facial expression. A huge improvement all around.

Seoni the sorcerer first appeared as a rare figure in the Rise of the Runelords set, where she swiftly sold out and became one of the most popular figures we've ever released. This was due not just to the fact that Seoni has always been one of our most popular iconics, but also because WizKids delivered with a fantastic sculpt and an excellent paint job.

The new one is even better. The new sculpt is much more "three dimensional," in that her ponytails are uniquely sculpted elements (as opposed to running flat down the back of the sculpt). The same is also true of her ribbons. The main difference here is on tampo application, "stamped on" details for fine work like script and design. On Seoni these details appear on her tattoos, on the script on her ribbons, and on her girdle. Theres no way this detail will be visible in photographs, but on the new figure the amount of design detail on Seoni's girdle is INSANE. As in, so detailed my naked eye can't even fully make it out.

The old version of the girdle was flat black, with no detail. Again, a huge improvement.

Last up today is our iconic monk Sajan, who first appeared in the Legends of Golarion set. Again, as an iconic character, the original Sajan figure looked pretty good in the first place. There were some complaints that the ties for his sleeves drooped down over his chest, making it look a bit like a bra, but other than that, he has a cool pose and looks very much like the art that inspired him.

It won't surprise you to learn that I think the new figure is better. Much better. The pose is far more three-dimensional, and I'm pleased to report that the sleeve tie tassels are no longer an issue, and the new Sajan is bare-breasted, just like God (and Wayne Reynolds) intended.

So far, Pathfinder Battles Iconic Heroes Set #1 is 3 for 3.

Swing by next week for a look at the next three figures!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Friday Publisher Preview: Iconic Heroes Paint Masters

Friday, October 3, 2014

I've already spoken at length about our plans for the monthly series of Iconic Heroes Boxed Sets that begin in January. I've mentioned that WizKids intends to produce these figures at the highest possible standards, with premium sculpts and paint jobs.

I've even shown digital sculpts of some of the new figures. I've mentioned how digital sculpts give us as Paizo a lot more opportunity to ensure that details are exactly right (we just sent 17 sculpt comments for a single figure yesterday). But until now, all you've had beyond digital renders is my word that they're going to be awesome.

That changes today, as I reveal the paint masters for three figures from Iconic Heroes Set #1, the very first set that will hit in January 2015. WizKids factory painters will do everything they can to replicate these paint jobs exactly, so these figures should be an excellent preview of what you can expect from the final production run.

They are, however, missing some finishing details. Super-detailed work like complex patterns on clothing and pupils are applied via a stamping process called a tampo during the production run, so these elements often do not appear on paint masters. Try to imagine Seoni's tattoos and some of the dress detail work and you'll have a better idea of how the final figures will look.

Here we have the Valeros, Human Fighter like you've never seen him before. I think the face says everything you need to know about the power of digital sculpting over traditional practical methods, and the quality of all of his little pieces of adventuring gear really pushes it over the edge. Check out that tankard! Look at the bedroll on his back! I can't wait to get this figure for my own collection.

Valeros has a gnome buddy, and her name is Lini, Gnome Druid. Frankly, I really like the original Lini figure from The Lost Coast, but this one comes with a slightly more action-oriented pose and puts a little more focus on her sickle. We'll show off Lini's riding cat animal companion, Droogami, in next week's preview.

Seoni has always been one of our most popular iconic characters, and was one of the originals to appear on the covers of our Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, the very first appearance of the Pathfinder brand. Along with Valeros and several others, she stars in the Pathfinder Comics produced by Dynamite Entertainment, where she is coming into her own as the leader of the iconic adventurers. Like Lini, Seoni got a fantastic figure in an earlier set. The speed with which that figure sold out was one of the things that convinced us that we needed a better option for iconic character minis, and I think the pose on this new version is significantly more interesting than her original sculpt (which I also really liked). Of the six figures included in Iconic Heroes Set #1, Seoni has by far the most tampos still to come, but I think she's off to a great start.

Iconic Heroes also includes Sajan, Iconic Monk; Seelah, Iconic Paladin; and Droogami, Lini's snow leopard animal companion. Each of the sets also includes six unique Pathfinder Adventure Card Game cards specific to the included adventurers and animals. These cards are available exclusively in Pathfinder Battles Iconic Heroes sets, and are not part of existing Pathfinder Adventure Card Game subscriptions.

Swing by next week for a look at the paint masters of the other three figures in this set. In the meantime, check out the WizKids Pathfinder Battles items we've added to our annual Great Golem Sale, including Shattered Star boosters for $11.99, $10.00 off White Dragon Evolution, and more!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Ultimate Campaign Art Preview!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The release of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Campaign is getting ever closer. Whether it's kingdom-building or leading an army, starting a business or crafting magic items, Ultimate Campaign is for all of the adventures that take place outside of the dungeon. The pages of the newest Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover provide all kinds of useful information for your campaign, but many fantastic illustrations are contained within! Check some of them out!

Being a ruler has many responsibilities, but also many rewards.

Eidolons and other companion creatures are more fun when treated as a separate character rather than an obedient stat block.

Retraining rules allow you to replace a feat, change an ability score increase, or improve your hit points.

The quest to find a missing family member is a driving force for many heroes.

The section on marriage talks about how a spouse (or any relationship) can be an ally or an adversary.

Illustrations by Sam Burley, Eric Belisle, Lydia Schuchmann, and Maichol Quinto

Kingdom-building rules allow PCs to control their own country—or be the power behind the throne.

Followers, apprentices, and similar companions can be positive or negative plot hooks for a PC.

A character's lineage is a chain of characters linking a PC to the history of the campaign setting.

Illustrations by Denman Rooke, Jim Nelson, and Grafit Studio

Ultimate Campaign releases this May, preorder your copy today!

Sarah Robinson
Senior Art Director

Animal Archive Preview

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Since we revamped our Player Companion line last August, we've been able to play with a lot of different ideas and themes in coming up with overarching concepts for the latest Player Companions. Coming up is one of our most exciting new releases in this line, a content-packed volume called Animal Archive, available starting on the 20th of February. This Player Companion is chocked full of awesome new tips, tricks, items, archetypes, spells, and feats for you and your bestial buddy. Oh, and did I mention there'd be a ton of new animal companions and familiars too?

While of course I could never betray the llama animal companion as my favorite new addition to the Pathfinder stables, I think the platypus familiar is particularly well suited for a preview blog. I'm not sure if Seoni shares my sentiment, though...

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

Platypus CR 1/6

XP 65
N Tiny animal
Init +3; Senses electrolocation 30 ft. (while underwater); Perception +1 (+5 while underwater)

Defense

AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
hp 3 (1d8–1)
Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1

Offense

Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
Melee spur +4 (1d3–4 plus poison)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Statistics

Str 2, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 11
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 6 (10 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Swim +15; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception while underwater

Ecology

Environment temperate or tropical rivers
Organization solitary
Treasure none

Special Abilities

Electrolocation (Ex) While underwater, platypuses can sense the tiny electrical currents that trigger muscle movement. This allows them to locate living prey and to distinguish it from inanimate objects. Treat electrolocation as blindsight 30 feet, but platypuses can sense only living creatures, and it functions only underwater.
Poison (Ex) Spur—injury; save Fort DC 9; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1 nonlethal damage; cure 1 save.
Semiaquatic (Ex) Platypuses can hold their breath underwater for up to 5 minutes before they must start attempting Constitution checks to avoid suffocation.

This little guy is just one of the four new familiars you'll find in Animal Archive, and just one of eight brand-new animals total! In addition to these all-new beasties and a host of new rules options, you'll find expanded information and rules on some of Golarion's most famous endemic creatures, including the razorcrow, ether frog, firefoot fennec, and more!

So dust off the old feedbag and clean out your kennel, because Pathfinder Player Companion: Animal Archive hits shelves later this month!

Patrick Renie
Developer

Gen Con Pathfinder Cosplay Contest Voting!

Friday, August 12th, 2011

It’s that time again! Though I failed in my sacred duty to announce the Annual Gen Con Pathfinder Cosplay Contest well ahead of time, we still had a number of unbelievably strong contenders this year, and it would be a shame not to crown one of them as the winner—a title which, in addition to bragging rights, confers $50 in paizo.com store credit. So let’s get voting!

Here’s how it works: Presented below are the photographs (and names, where possible) of this year’s contestants. In the comments thread for this blog, you can pick the ONE winner who you think has the most awesome Pathfinder-related costume and shout out your vote. You have until next Thursday at noon to get in your choices, after which we’ll announce the winner.

Your options are:

Jessica as a Gray Maiden

Leslie as Seoni

Jean-Marc as a paladin of Sarenrae and Luc as a paladin of Iomedae

Eric as our Iconic Alchemist

Bonnie as our Iconic Witch (and Corey as kilted barbarian)

Nani as a Harrower

Natalie (with the metal plates), Nicole the alchemist, Amy the ranger, Megan the pregnant sorcerer, Mike the cleric.

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Seoni

Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 10:52 AM Pacific

Seoni stopped by to say hi!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Illustrations by Alex Aparin and Roberto Pitturru. Widescreen version here.

Everything She Does Is Magic!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Seoni is by far one of the most popular iconics we've ever written. The classic high charisma sorcerer, she's graced the pages of Pathfinder products from the very beginning. Now she can grace your desktop along with Alhazra, the iconic oracle, in this Inner Sea Magic themed wallpaper.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Inner Sea Magic

Thursday, June 2, 2011

So, Inner Sea Magic has been off to the printer for a few weeks now, but this is really the first chance I've had to say much more about it. And since the editors are still scrambling with various convention-season-related projects, I'll keep this blog short and just show off some art that goes with the winter witch archetype and the tattooed sorcerer archetype. It should probably be pretty obvious which one goes with which. (And also—first ever illustration of Seoni's familiar!)

Illustrations by Roberto Pitturru

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Golarion Day: The Stars Are Right!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

So, I was out sick yesterday, and as a result missed out seeing Pathfinder #46 get sent off to the printer. Which is pretty exciting, since that volume's got more Lovecraftian awesomeness in it than anything we've done to date? The proof is in these out-of-context illustrations by Scott Purdy that are sure to get everyone thinking that the Carrion Crown Adventure Path will be taking some pretty drastic and unexpected turns! (Fans of Carrion Crown's Ustalav locations can breathe easy, though, since these pictures are from the foreword and the bestiary of the book, and thus don't actually depict events that occur in this volume's adventure.)

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Iconic Love

Monday, February 14, 2011

For some of us, Valentine's Day is just another day. We go to work, come home, maybe hang out with our significant others a bit or send the kids off to the sitter for a rare night out. For other people, however, Valentine's Day carries more significance, and flat-out demands acknowledgement. They see it as an excuse to truly cut loose, to go all-out with the romance and treat it like a real holiday.

And then, apparently, there's a third type of person: the type for whom Valentine's Day means a chance to go totally insane. Such appears to be the case with Pathfinder Tales author Kevin Andrew Murphy. How else can you explain the fact that he chose the occasion to, without any prompting or warning, write us an entire heroic crown of sonnets immortalizing the iconic characters' backgrounds in prose. (For those of you who've forgotten your 400-level literature classes, a "heroic crown of sonnets" is a specialized form of poetry in which you have 14 sonnets, each linked by their first and last lines, plus a fifteenth which is made up exclusively of the previous sonnets' linking lines, in order. Needless to say, it's incredibly difficult to do well.)

I'd say more, but I'm still processing the whole thing, so I think it's better to just post the sonnets in their entirety. Happy Valentine's Day!

The Fifteen Loves of Golarion

A Heroic Crown of Sonnets for Valentine's Day 2011
by Kevin Andrew Murphy

1. Alain, the Cavalier, "For Love of Glory"
I am the one who lives to tell the tale.
The victor is the braggart of his fame,
The first to know the glory of his name
But not the last. The bards now all regale
The common folk with ballads of my deeds,
The battles won by force of my prowess,
The ransomed kings who've bowed to my duress,
And Donahan, the noblest of steeds.
Sometimes I think he is my only friend.
The men I ride with? Those I can replace.
The maids I bed? Each just a pretty face.
Yet Donahan is mine till journey's end.
If he falls first, then part of me is dead.
I've said the words that needed to be said.

2. Alahazra, the Oracle, "For Love of Truth"
I've said the words that needed to be said,
For Truth is blind, and I am blind in truth.
My clouded eyes see little but forsooth
My inner eye sees clearly. I have read
The fates of men with but the barest glance.
I know the future as I know the past,
Which seeds will sprout and which of them will last,
For Destiny leaves nothing up to Chance.
It was not Chance that burned me with its fire.
The simoom's breath is but the Wind of Fate
That claimed me with its Flame. I now relate
The Fate of Love, if that is your desire:
All present loves become in days ahead
Mementos kept in memory of the dead.

3. Seelah, the Paladin, "For Love of Those Now Gone"
Mementos kept in memory of the dead,
Reminders of what nothing can restore.
The wingéd helm that dead Acemi wore
Now hides my face and my unworthy head.
I feel its weight: part guilt, part gift, part theft.
Part love. She saw and yet forgave her thief,
The child who stole her helm. Ergo, my grief.
Acemi is still dead and I am left.
I have no words to say in my defense.
I know my deeds. I must have faith in grace
So now I wear her helm and take her place.
What Iomedae learned: Inheritance,
A gift of trust from those you must not fail
Now silent in the realm beyond the pale.

4. Harsk, the Ranger, "For Love of Solitude"
Now silent in the realm beyond the pale,
My brother lies–and those who took his life.
I ended theirs with crossbow quarrel and knife.
The giants dead, now I alone prevail.
My kin who dwell below with bended backs
To toil at the forge or in the mines,
Or worshiping our gods at dwarven shrines,
Have my regard, and yet my brother's axe
Is all I bear away from whence I hail.
A hunter's life is love of solitude.
A Spartan camp, a pot of tea fresh-brewed
Will keep him more alert than mugs of ale.
My quarry's tracks are runes left for the sage.
I know the letters written on this page.

5. Ezren, the Wizard, "For Love of Scholarship"
I know the letters written on this page,
My father charged with some impiety
Against our god, some awful blasphemy
Too dire for words, and nothing can assuage
The gossips' tongues, for rumor needs no proof.
And Abadar? The merchant god cares not
Who prospers or who fails nor what is bought.
The Golden One stays in his Vault, aloof.
I spent my youth to clear my father's name,
In quest to save the business that he built,
But in the end I only proved his guilt.
Now scholarship's the only love I claim.
Yet law for arcane law can be exchanged.
Old orders sometimes must be rearranged.

6. Sajan, the Monk, "For Love of a Sister"
"Old orders sometimes must be rearranged."
So said the monks when taking twin from twin.
My sister Sajni's gone. I should begin
Describing how we came to be estranged.
We were conceived. Our lives were intertwined
Like threads of web and woof strung on a loom,
So were our limbs locked in our mother's womb.
Though born as two, we're more when we're combined.
We trained with temple swords and so time passed
Till at twelve years we each were sent away
And battle woes lost her to Jalmeray.
I left, deserting all I knew, my caste,
To seek my sister. Far too far I've ranged.
I've changed some facts which never should be changed.

7. Damiel, the Alchemist, "For Love of Change"
I've changed some facts which never should be changed
And yet that is the goal of alchemy:
Quicksilver shifting, mutability.
The philosophic art just seems deranged
To those too dull to grasp aetheric heights
Or dream of fixing one's perfected form,
Not living with the dull and banal norm.
You reach out when the stars are in your sights,
Yet what you grasp may be the fulgent dark
For nightmares ride as well between the stars.
Like Shelyn's smile can hide Zon-Kuthon's scars,
The bright quicksilver sea conceals a shark,
And from the left the villain steps onstage
To let men feel the battle fury's rage.

8. Amiri, the Barbarian, "For Love of Oneself"
To let men feel the battle fury's rage,
The Six Bears tribesmen donned the skins of bears
They'd taken from our totems in their lairs.
Each boy was sent to do it at an age.
We girls were told to sit inside and spin,
Awaiting a barbarian's return.
This never was a name that women earn.
I brought a she-bear's hide back to my kin.
The time came that a warband of my clan
All dared me to bring back a giant's blade.
When I returned, they mocked me as a maid.
The blood rage came. I slew them to a man.
That bastard blade I bear with me. Beware
To taste the kiss of malice and despair.

9. Seltyiel, the Magus, "For Lack of Love"
To taste the kiss of malice and despair,
One needn't know the touch of love or hope–
At very least, not of an equal scope–
And pain is seldom more than one can bear,
And when it is? Well, there is always death.
My mother died the moment I was born.
My sister's cries, those spared my life that morn.
I often think she should have saved her breath.
Sioria, oh how could you divine
The babe you saved would still be here alive
Or on a feast of wormwood one could thrive.
I'll kill your father once I first kill mine.
Foul Lairsaph was a fool to teach his spawn
To walk the road with weapons sheathed or drawn....

10. Valeros, the Fighter, "For Love of Adventure"
To walk the road with weapons sheathed or drawn
Is how a sellsword passes most his days.
That much at least is truthful in bards' lays.
The rest? Well yes, there is a need for brawn–
The same goes for an ox that pulls a plow–
But when your sword-arm makes some villain yield,
That's better than some plowshare in a field.
At least it's more exciting anyhow.
One day I may retire to a farm,
Grow beans and beets or brew a bit of beer,
But now I love my freedom and I hear
A distant village sounding the alarm.
If there's adventure calling, I'll be gone
To greet the hope that rises with the dawn.

11. Kyra, the Cleric, "For Love of Hope"
To greet the hope that rises with the dawn,
The Crown of Our Beloved Sarenrae
Who cast the Beast below to Asmodae,
Is how a priestess prays for I'm Her pawn.
Whate'er the Dawnflower wishes I will do.
When bandits burned my village and Her shrine,
That's when I saw the face of the divine.
Through streaming tears the sun shone and I knew
The Everlight had filled me with Her power
To heal the sick and ailing with Her light
And cleanse those past redemption of their blight
By scimitar, like Dawn's Eternal Flower.
One day I'll join my goddess in the air
To live a life of joy and forswear care.

12. Merisiel, the Rogue, "For Love of Freedom"
To live a life of joy and forswear care
Is what I always felt the world should be.
See something that you like? Then take it. Free!
If you don't like your lot, then folk should share.
They call it thievery, who gives a fig?
My knives can teach their tongues to be polite,
And while some think I could be more contrite
It's not like they're not working the same gig.
This knife I got from some Azlanti queen.
This one? From Galt. Belonged to some coquette
And these? From Geb. But most I just forget.
I only care if I can keep them keen.
You make life up like some bard's folderol.
I sing the songs that rise up from my soul.

13. Seoni, the Sorcerer, "For Love of Magic"
I sing the songs that rise up from my soul
And write the runes appearing in my dreams.
The ones I walk with talk about my "schemes,"
If schemes they are, or just an unknown goal.
I'd like to say I like just who I am,
Yet who can say just who they are? Not I.
Or what I am, or how I am, or why.
That statement just might be my epigram.
I only know when spells wish to be wrought,
The way they say that love pulls at the heart.
Just so I feel the call of arcane art.
It springs to mind like any other thought.
I'd work alone, but I lack that control
For love and friendship are what make one whole.

14. Lini, the Druid, "For Love of a True Companion"
"For love and friendship are what make one whole."
So spake the norn who whispered in the wood.
She vanished but her fey advice is good
And with it I can talk to mouse or mole.
The purest love is love you get from beasts.
My friend Droogami taught me this is true.
It's something though that I already knew.
I never bought the nonsense from the priests
About the love of gods as the most pure.
Who can believe a love you never see?
My love is for the leopard next to me
And she for me and that's what shall endure.
She's great and strong where I am small and frail.
I am the one who lives to tell the tale.

15. Lem, the Bard, "For Love of Happy Endings"
I am the one who lives to tell the tale.
I've said the words that needed to be said,
Mementos kept in memory of the dead
Now silent in the realm beyond the pale.
I know the letters written on this page.
Old orders sometimes must be rearranged.
I've changed some facts which never should be changed
To let men feel the battle fury's rage,
To taste the kiss of malice and despair,
To walk the road with weapons sheathed or drawn,
To greet the hope that rises with the dawn,
To live a life of joy and forswear care.
I sing the songs that rise up from my soul
For love and friendship are what make one whole.

James Sutter
Fiction Editor