Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures Partnership

Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures Partnership

Thursday, July 25, 2019

We have some really good news to share about the Starfinder Masterclass miniatures Kickstarter! Paizo is pleased to announce that Archon Studio will be taking over the license to produce Starfinder Masterclass miniatures, formerly produced by Ninja Division. As part of the agreement, Archon will fulfill backer rewards from the Starfinder Masterclass Kickstarter.

About Archon Studio: With their Unicast technology, Archon Studio has published several board games with miniatures, including League of Ancient Defenders, Vanguard of War, and Chronicle X. Recently, Archon Studio advanced its technology to hard plastic, which resulted in even more highly detailed miniatures.

Archon Studio also recently moved into the production of tabletop terrain with Rampart Wargaming. In August this year, its second tabletop terrain project, Dungeons & Lasers, is being launched on Kickstarter.

There are a few areas we want to highlight:

Archon Studio will be producing plastic miniatures instead of resin. They will also be starting over with Kickstarter fulfillment; this means that backers who have already received resin miniatures from Ninja Division will receive those minis again from Archon, this time in plastic.

Archon Studio plans to ship Kickstarter rewards in waves. Approximately every 6 months, the pledge rewards produced during the previous 6 months will be shipped to backers free of charge. Additionally, any time a Kickstarter backer purchases any Starfinder mini from Archon Studio—whether that’s a new mini or a duplicate of a Kickstarter mini—they will also ship any released Kickstarter miniatures due to that backer for no additional charge. Details of which minis are shipping when, and how to purchase other miniatures, will be posted on the Kickstarter page.

Archon Studio will be fulfilling backers in Europe, and Ninja Division will be shipping to the rest of the world. Paizo does not have specific answers to fulfillment questions: if you’re a backer with a question about your order, you’ll need to post the question to the Starfinder Masterclass Kickstarter page.

Thanks for all of your patience as we worked with Ninja Division and Archon to get this done. We’re looking forward to some epic minis!

Collect Your Destiny

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

"Geek" is a word with myriad definitions, but for me, those definitions all have to do with passion. In many cases, this passion manifests in the form of a collection of some sort, and boy, do I have a long list of collections! Just among the few freelancers and members of the staff I polled (and some I didn't but whose collecting proclivities I know), we at Paizo collect nerd stuff that runs the gamut: action figures, agates, detergents, Doctor Who autographs, foreign currency, occult texts, planchettes, port wines, Star Wars memorabilia, stuffed animals, and tarot cards, just to name a few. But not a numismatist among them?! For shame!

Well, if your collecting tendencies include coins—specifically limited-edition silver coins—you're in luck! Our partners at Destiny Coin are running a site-wide sale until November 30, including on the inaugural entry in their six-piece Pathfinder Iconic Characters series: Valeros! This 2-oz. .999 antique silver coin features the fearless fighter on one side and a red dragon on the other, and each of the limited minting comes with a certificate of authenticity. As with any piece of silver, this coin will hold value for generations to come!

So, if you're a coin collector, Pathfinder memorabilia collector, or both, don't miss this opportunity to own one of these amazing works of art at a great discount! By Cayden's cup, what are you waiting for?

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Things Get Weird

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Well folks, we did it. We made it to the final Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker preview. Were there delays and complications along the way? Sure. But no kingdom rises from nothing without pain and struggle. And I couldn't have done it without you, fair citizens. Your taxes will go to the establishment of nothing but the finest of statues in my hon—...wait, it wasn't me that got king-made? That means I have to do my job and show off these last few minis, doesn't it?

We're left now with six unrevealed figures that exemplify some of the weirder fantasy elements in the Kingmaker campaign, so I won't bore you with further theatrics. Just imagine what would happen if a bunch of drunk proto-deities made a first draft of the world, threw in some magic and glitter, and then sort of left their creations to evolve in isolation for a few millennia. That's how you end up with things like the strange (but incredibly cute) fey dragon, a Small common figure. How does something so silly looking even fit into an ecosystem without going extinct? By having magic powers, that's how!

It's not the only creature in the set tainted by magic and a pastel filter. Check out this dwoemercat, a creation of none other than Ed Greenwood, for the very first volume of Kingmaker. What better size and rarity could one ask for in a dwoemercat than Medium and common, respectively? No better size and rarity, I say!

Are you liking the fuzzies? Here's another new fuzzy, albeit a waterlogged one. The fur on an ahuizotl clumps to form weird little spikes, hence its name, which translates to "spiny aquatic thing" according to Wikipedia. Originating in Aztec myth, these Large rare cuties like human flesh, “especially nails, eyes, and teeth.” YUM!

But wait! It gets cuter! Who's a good boy? Trollhound's a good boy! Yes he is! Look at that well maintained coat of luxuriant mussed hair and thick hide of trollish green. He's even trained: "Roll over! Sit! Don't eat me!" Well, two out of three isn't bad. Cue Sarah McLachlan music. Give this poor creature a home, because every Medium uncommon figure deserves a chance to murder PCs.

Ok, I admit I may have gone overboard with the whole "things get weird" blog theme, but I'm committed now, so there's no stopping me. Spider-man himself couldn't put an end to my antics! Not even Pathfinder's own version of Spider-man, the web lurker. Less an awkward nerd bitten by a radioactive spider and thrust into a life of crime fighting, secret identities, and heartbreak than a literal man-spider, the web lurker is a Medium common figure who can't wait to be your friendly neighborhood aberrant horror.

Finally, we have the weirdest addition to the set yet, as saving the best for last seemed appropriate: a danged-old gnome! Here, good reader, we have a fine specimen of pedantic, pompous, and generally insufferable gnome alchemist, the inimitable Jubilost Narthropple. In his myriad published works, he makes an irrefutable case for being the best companion in not only Pathfinder: Kingmaker, but in the entirety of Golarion and the history of CRPGs as well. It is only fitting, then, that he offset his Small size with an uncommon rarity, so that no adventuring party suffers the indignity of not having him along to tell them everything they're doing wrong.

Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker comes out on October 24 in game stores everywhere! Don't miss it! Your king commands it!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

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

Brigands Abound

Friday, October 19, 2018

Why the River Kingdoms are called such has always puzzled me, given that rivers are only the second most plentiful resource in the region behind bandits and other ne'er-do-wells who find the largely lawless lands a safe place to practice their chicanery. Thus, no adventure set in the region would be complete without its fair share of cutpurses and footpads, and the Kingmaker Adventure Path is no exception. As such, it seemed only natural to include a number of these nefarious characters in the associated Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker set coming out later this month.

All three of the set's bandit figures first appeared in print as specific lieutenants of the sinister Stag Lord (whose figure I showed off in the previous blog), but can easily stand in for any number of more generic baddies at your table. So while some may know them as Kressle, Dovan from Nisroch, and Auchs, their common rarity means that they can just as easily represent a whole band of Stolen Lands bandits, shadow rogues, or River Kingdoms ruffians (respectively). All three are humans, and thus stand on Medium bases.

Despite being river pirates, these highwaymen do most of their robbing on the roads that wind their way through the forests and plains of the Stolen Lands, and as such need places to lie in wait for their unsuspecting victims. The set's final piece of set dressing serves as just such a hiding spot! While it might seem unassuming on its own, the large bush figure can easily become deadly if you put the right threat behind it. It's got a relatively flat top as well, so you should have little trouble putting a figure atop the plant to represent that it's literally popping out of the foliage.

Finally, we need someone to keep these common criminals in line and bring them to justice. And who better to do that than the paragon of lawful neutrality herself, Pathfinder: Kingmaker's own Valerie. A rare Medium figure, Valerie makes a great PC miniature or NPC general, and her lack of specific insignia on her shield or livery means she can serve as both ally or enemy without looking like she's wearing some other soldier's armor.

Just one preview left before Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker releases on October 24, so get your preorders in today!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

World of Niobe

Thursday, October 18, 2018

A while back, our friends at Stranger Comics, creators of the Niobe comic, launched a Kickstarter that had a reward level that included a limited-edition Pathfinder book that brought the world of Niobe into the Pathfinder rules, allowing fans of the comic and character to play within the fantasy world of Asunda. They recently launched a second Kickstarter, with the finished Pathfinder book including exclusive new art. I sat down with Sebastian A. Jones, Niobe's creator, and talked about roleplaying games and their inspiration on the world of Asunda.

Here's what Sebastian had to say:

What are your previous roleplaying game experiences that were an inspiration for Niobe?

Dare I show you my LARP outfits over the years?

Honestly, I found Niobe, or perhaps she found me, some thirty years ago amidst my adolescent fears hidden under the invisibility cloak of being too cool for school. People tend to see through that crap - she did.

Niobe would soon reflect my own ambitions, rage, and whatever raw emotions I was feeling. As I grew, she grew with me, a mirror of my own design and desire. A being of darkness and light, she would make the fantasy world of Asunda I was creating a better place, no matter the cost. As an outlet for Niobe and her world I created Stranger Comics, where I could tell her stories as well as other tales of conflicted characters. She was first introduced in The Untamed painted by Peter Bergting (Lord of the Rings), dubbed a "Frazetta Western," and then Niobe: She is Life coauthored by Amandla Stenberg (Hunger Games) and now... she is about to be deified in Pathfinder! (All of which are available on our current kickstarter, titled Niobe Returns).

I mostly GM'd, so sculpting Asunda was a constant. MERP and Rolemaster, First and Second Edition D&D, and a healthy dose of wielding foam swords kitted out in my Mum's bathrobe. (I did eventually level up to thrift store attire).

The stories (campaigns) I wanted to tell always had grand world changing underlying plots, but the seasonal arcs reflected what we would go through—the pain and beauty of coming of age, revenge vs. redemption, love vs. lust, and so on. I was usually inspired by my personal life and creators across all genres ranging from Kurosawa to Kirby, John Lennon to John Coltrane. How could we translate an emotional connection to gaming was important, so being in character was second nature, but I don't want to sound all melodramatic - we had a boat load of fun!

It also was apparent as a young mixed kid, that there were little to zero characters that reflected folks of color in these worlds I played in, unless they were a fetish sidekick, an obligatory dark elf, or the easily seduced Umbar in Middle Earth. And the stories told, as amazing as they were, well, I wanted them to reflect not only a global audience, but the duality of sinner and saint within us all.

That is who Niobe is, half angel, half demon. The chosen one. And anyone can be her, all they have to do is pick up the sword.

What are you most excited to see translated into Pathfinder?

All of it! I think the new races and feats that have been with me, Darrell, Josh, and the rest of the Asunda crew—to be able to experience them in an official Pathfinder game setting (no house rules lol!) is such a dream. Paizo are kicking ass with their designs on everything, I can't wait for folks to also share their own experiences in the same world, it has me geeked out. To everyone reading this, please check out the Esufey race… our elemental first born fairies, and of course Niobe's own paladinic type class, the paragon. Yeah, goosebumps.

Why did you choose Pathfinder for this project?

From a mechanic perspective I have played a lot of systems, and Pathfinder seems to have nailed down the perfect harmony of simple to complex. You can mold the character you want to play, in any way shape and form, while maintaining originality in a well-balanced gaming world. I love it! From a social standpoint, I love how the team at Paizo clearly believes that representation matters in a most authentic way. So, Niobe's world of Asunda fits in perfectly.

What are you most excited about seeing in the World of Niobe book?

Niobe herself—and all of the people that can now be her. That is just badass.

What from Erathune do you think would best fit in a roleplaying game?

MOOOOOOOOOG!!! Moog Thrak Gorbak, our resident Ogre Queen, ain't pretty but she will jack you up if you tell her otherwise. She killed enough of us when we were gaming. My co-creator Darrell May is responsible for this tons-of-fun menacing masterpiece.

Erathune, which is also available now in oversized deluxe hardcover on our Kickstarter, is probably the most gamerish and RPGesque of all our Asunda titles (plus it has Niobe in it). Four issues of full-scale war bedlam between Macgrom (dwarves) and Grachukk (great orcs) should rattle any roleplayer's senses, plus it ties in all of our other titles—and all of this is set in the icy mountains of Herfang with art by Hyoung (The Last of Us) and Sheldon Mitchell (Cable, Vampire Hunter D).

Regarding the question, I think what Darrell has created as far as a full town setting above ground as well as below, with trade routes, surrounding Isinniel (elven) and Urzoth (barbarian) clans easily lends itself to any campaign. Plus, I am excited to finally show off Soul Sunder, King Buxton Stonebeard's legendary cursed axe of Madraq (The Goddess of Death).

Every item across our various books will have runes on them, it is up to you to translate. Every race has a story to tell, every town has a past, it is up to you to dive in and explore. So click the Kickstarter link and roll d'em dice.

Currently, we're finishing up development of the World of Niobe Pathfinder book and hope to have it in backers' hands very soon. I hope you all have enjoyed this glimpse into another world.

Adam Daigle
Managing Developer

Untamed Wilderness

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Much of the Kingmaker Adventure Path's story involves wilderness exploration and the taming of an untamable land. So of course we had to include a lot of "wilderness monsters" in Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker.

The first of these is the imposing smilodon, a saber-toothed tiger from the nearby Realm of the Mammoth Lords. This primordial feline takes up the entire base, and makes for a very intimidating opponent (or animal companion, if you like that sort of thing). The smilodon is an uncommon Large figure.

Since we're showing off some exceptionally large creatures, how about a big-ass frog? You'll be adventuring in the River Kingdoms, after all, and that means swamps and rivers and stuff. So I bet you'll be facing a few of these amphibious menaces. Despite their size, they remain frogs, so you should have no problem making them croak. The giant frog is a common Medium figure.

Amphibians and reptiles are similar, right? I'm no biologist, so I think they're all just different levels of slimy—beasts I'd rather kill than touch. So we included a monitor lizard to kill (or touch, if you like that sort of thing). Based on new concept art for the Kingmaker CRPG, the purple monitor lizard is a common Medium figure.

Since I'm sure the comments are going to be full of slimy creature-lovers yelling at me for being mean, I'll distract you all by showing off a creature everyone likes: a swarm! Swarms are tough to do in miniature form, because they don't always take a square shape, and they are at their best when they are sharing a square with other creatures. That has resulted in many, many swarm figures looking more like bumpy coins than the creatures they're meant to represent. So we went with a more cinematic look for the army ant swarm, a common Medium figure, which is a 4-foot-tall mass of insects that have already stripped an earlier victim to the bone.

Finally, we need a skilled ranger to hunt or tame these beasts of the Stolen Lands, and who better to fill that role than the quiet archer, Ekundayo, from the Pathfinder: Kingmaker CRPG. A Garundi native of Absalom, Ekun makes an excellent PC or ally mini, with his nocked arrow and sweeping cape. His rare rarity means he'll remain unique in most collections, making him stand out among the myriad bow-wielding ranger figures out there.

Just two more previews left before the set releases on October 24, so keep your eyes tuned to this spot in the coming days. Until then, roll 20s and don't split the party!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Heavy Weighs the Crown

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

For a Pathfinder Battles set called "Kingmaker", we certainly haven't seen much in the way of kings, now have we? Well, this week's preview should address that oversight.

First, we have the Stag Lord, a Medium uncommon figure, who is in charge of the Stolen Lands when the PCs first arrive to settle the region. A sadistic and cruel bandit king, the Stag Lord is the first major threat the Kingmakers must defeat before they can establish their own barony in the River Kingdoms.

Humans aren't the only civilized creatures in the AP who have hierarchies and rulers, however, and goblins, lizardfolk, kobolds, and mites all have their own kings, queens, and chieftains the PCs must interact with. Heck, even giants have their own rulers, such as the Frost Giant Jarl, a Large rare figure perfect for recreating Amiri's origin story.

The players' only truly royal rival in the Kingmaker Adventure Path is King Irovetti of the neighboring River Kingdom of Pitax, who got his own figure in the Rusty Dragon Inn set a few years back. Never one to fight his own battles if he can avoid it, Irovetti has employed the services of the intimidating, heavily armored Pitax Wardens to do his dirty work for him. The Pitax Warden is a Medium common figure.

No ruler worth her salt leaves it up to chance to secure her legacy, and no one is better suited for that task than Linzi, Halfling Bard, this week's featured companion from the Pathfinder: Kingmaker CRPG, out now on Steam and GOG! A Small uncommon figure, Linzi will be sure to offer her unique take on the events in your kingdom, whether you like it or not.

But what good is a king without a throne? The barbarian throne and raised dais, based on this iconic illustration from the Beyond Kingmaker article back in Pathfinder AP #36, are packaged individually as bonus set dressing, but were intended to work together. The throne fits most Medium figures (at least standing on its seat, but who's going to tell the king he has to sit?) and the dais can sport any number of set dressings at its apex, from the depicted throne to the Book of the Damned or any number of pieces from the Court of the Crimson Throne premium set. The dais has a flat cobblestone surface on the bottom as well, so even if you don't have something you want to put on the red carpeted top side, you can flip it over and have a weird stone table or platform for some ritual or elaborate trap or whatever other inventive encounter you come up with.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

The Makings of the Kingdom

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

One of the most popular and innovative elements of the original Kingmaker pen-and-paper campaign was the introduction of kingdom-building and -management elements to the standard hack-and-slash gameplay of the tabletop RPG experience. Starting with the beginning of the second chapter, the players find themselves the rulers of a fledgling nation and are tasked with resolving conflicts, allocating resources, appointing trusted advisors, and even urban planning.

Players and Game Masters alike raved about the kingdom rules presented in the adventure path so much that we included them as a major section of Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign a few years later. When we realized that the system would be ported over to the CRPG format along with the rest of the adventure path in Pathfinder: Kingmaker, we were excited to see how the folks at Owlcat adapted and expanded on the system.

Not only can you select what buildings and public works your capital will feature, but you'll be able to gather additional resources by uncovering hidden locations throughout the land during the course of your adventuring. Sit upon your throne, hear the pleas of your subjects, and decide upon their fate. How you resolve conflicts, who you select as your advisors, and whether you rule with an iron fist or a benevolent smile all influence your kingdom's destiny.

While you're out adventuring—whether you're more a diplomat, monster hunter, or canny explorer—you can leave those companions not actively in your party to manage different aspects of the kingdom in your absence. Even non-companion NPCs can fill such roles as treasurer or general, so who you befriend and who you make enemies of can have farther reaching consequences than you might expect. Balance the right skills with the needs of your kingdom, keeping the alignments and temperaments of your proxies ever in mind, to ensure the vision of your kingdom comes to fruition!

Now that the game's been out a week (Cayden's cup, time flies, doesn't it?) many players are likely already starting to shape their own kingdoms. I'm already starting to see some really exciting results on my favorite Twitch streams, message boards, and even some coworkers' computer screens! What's your kingdom's story?

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Pathfinder: Kingmaker Out Now on PC and Mac!

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Nearly a decade ago, Paizo released the Kingmaker Adventure Path. Your characters explored the Stolen Lands, carving an empire for themselves out of the wilds and leaving their mark on Golarion. Today, Owlcat Games released the Pathfinder: Kingmaker cRPG, revealing a vibrant and rich tapestry that takes you beyond the Adventure Path.

Your reign begins now! Pick up your copy of Pathfinder: Kingmaker today on Steam and GOG.

Explore the Stolen Lands

Conquer Your Enemies

Build Your Kingdom

Join us the Paizo Twitch channel today at 1:00 PM Pacific time as creative director James Jacobs leaps into the Pathfinder: Kingmaker adventure live! Plus, let us know your thoughts and connect with other players in the Pathfinder: Kingmaker forum.

Jim Butler
VP of Marketing & Licensing

Undead Threats

Friday, September 21, 2018

Two weeks ago, we announced the next set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic miniatures from WizKids, Ruins of Lastwall, set for release next spring. But you don't have to wait much longer to get new undead minis to torment players in your Pathfinder campaigns! We have a bunch of them coming in Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker next month!

First among them is the Cyclops Lich, a major NPC villain in the Kingmaker campaign who first appeared on the cover of Pathfinder Adventure Path #33: The Varnhold Vanishing. A Large rare figure, this massive undead menace is sure to leave a lasting impression in your game.

Next, we have another large undead abomination, the hideous Soul Gorger. This rare figure is a staple of fantasy RPGs, and gains its power from the souls of spellcasters it has devoured, which now reside in its chest cavity, grasping to escape.

SOUL GORGER

At the other end of the power spectrum, we have the Bloody Skeleton, a Medium common figure that will help GMs everywhere bolster their undead hordes.

Not all undead are so corporeal, and ghosts have long been a pillar of both fantasy and horror stories. The Elf Ghost below can serve as either a ghostly elf pirate or any other lingering spirit trapped in its material existence until the PCs can help it to its final rest. An uncommon figure, customers who purchase a case should get a few of them, allowing for the overwhelming challenge of facing more than one of these menacing foes!

While it's technically a piece of set dressing, this set's Scarecrow makes a great red herring in horror campaigns. It totally won't animate and climb off that post to ravage anyone who gets lost in a corn maze, I promise. Players and GMs familiar with the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path may find other, more ghoulish uses for this piece as well!

Finally this week, we look at the Pathfinder: Kingmaker companion with the strongest undead connection: the undead servant of Urgathoa, Jaethal. The elven inquisitor makes an excellent scythe-wielding elf PC or NPC, and needn't necessarily be undead herself. Jaethal, Elf Inquisitor is a Medium uncommon figure.

We had a bit of a delay in past Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker blogs, but we're back on schedule now! Check back next week for a look at some of the bandits that give the River Kingdoms their reputation of lawlessness.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Kingmaker—Assembling the Perfect Party

Monday, September 17, 2018

One of the key elements of tabletop roleplaying games like Pathfinder is the collaborative storytelling that comes from a party of different characters all adventuring together. In many cases, the inter-party conflicts and dynamics of a campaign are as memorable as the overall plot like the villain and her motivations. In a single-player digital adaptation of such a game, capturing that same sense of disparate personalities is vital to making the final game feel like Pathfinder. Pathfinder: Kingmaker, from developers Owlcat Games emulates this cherished aspect of the genre perfectly with their wide array of supporting characters players can combine into the perfect team.

While players have the ability to create their own cast of companions after completing the game's tutorial and prologue, the eleven pre-made companions provide a wide variety of character types, both adhering to and bucking genre tropes to play with. Each has a backstory linking them to the game's overarching plot, an intricate series of side quests focusing on their character development, and interpersonal dynamics both with the player and their fellow companions sure to add hours of additional entertainment as they banter while making camp or interject their thoughts during key encounters.

Which companion is your favorite? Who are you most excited to get to know (and possibly romance)? Which ones do you see as comprising your default adventuring party?

Amiri

The kellid barbarian Amiri hails from the harsh Realm of the Mammoth Lords, where she was exiled from her nomadic tribe for daring to challenge traditional gender roles. Unwelcome in her homeland and resentful of anyone who doubts her battle prowess, Amiri is more eager to prove her worth to her new "chieftain"—you!

Ekundayo

Born in Absalom, the teeming City at the Center of the World, to a Garundi family, the reserved ranger Ekundayo sought only a peaceful family life in the River Kingdoms when raiding trolls forced him on a different path. A devoted follower of Torag, Ekun now seeks revenge for his slain loved ones and a new start, be that with decent companions he meets along the way or on his own.

Harrim

The dwarf cleric Harrim is the embodiment of the nihilistic faith of Groetus, god of the end times, which he doesn't so much as proselytize as ooze from every pore in his dour body. Ever ready to remind his companions of the futility of, well, just about everything, he may just as well adventure with them than do anything else. Everyone's going to end up dead at the end of time, anyway, so why not die in the service to the Stolen Lands' new ruler?

Amiri, Ekundayo, and Harrim

Jaethal

Elves are known throughout Golarion for their otherworldly grace and alien demeanor, but the inquisitor Jaethal takes this aloofness even further—by being a unique undead in service to Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony and undeath. On the run from her past in Kyonin—the type of murder and betrayal you'd expect from someone angling for the favor of such a fell god—Jaethal serves at her own whim, perhaps wanting nothing more of her companions than potential corpses for a future undead army of her very own.

Jubilost

Few authors in the world have as lengthy and prestigious bibliography as the esteemed gnome alchemist, Jubilost Narthropple. Hailing from the centers of learning in metropolitan Absalom, Jubilost doesn't suffer fools lightly, and he believes everyone to be a fool. Though his arrogance makes him few friends, his interest in the mysteries of the gnomes' origins in the First World and his expert knowledge on just about everything (at least in his own mind) make him a valuable resource in uncovering some of the region's most enigmatic mysteries.

Linzi

Your first and most loyal companion, Linzi was kicked out of the Academy of Grand Arts in the neighboring River Kingdom of Pitax after she wrote less-than-flattering things about the city's King Irovetti. The optimistic halfling bard has selected you to be the subject of her magnum opus, a book telling a tale of high adventure written by those involved, at the time of their exploits instead of decades later based on second-hand reports.

Jaethal, Jubilost, and Linzi

Nok-Nok

Most civilized creatures see goblins as little more than monsters, and sometimes, even goblins see their kin in much the same light. Nok-Nok, a rogue with ambitions of being "the fith gawd" (an addition to the four-member pantheon of goblin hero gods), is one such case. Bullied and tortured by his tribe, he's more than happy to work with longshanks who don't abuse him, and will gladly prove his loyalty and worthiness to you, as long as you give him plenty of things to stab along the way.

Octavia

A former slave of the Technic League mages of neighboring Numeria, the half-elf arcane trickster Octavia is a ray of sunshine despite the gloomy conditions of her life prior to meeting the game's hero. Octavia has an optimism that rivals Linzi's and a sense of compassion that's hard to ignore should you act the tyrant in her company.

Regongar

Octavia's closest and oldest friend, the half-orc magus Regongar, is decidedly less optimistic and compassionate than his partner. Cruel, hedonistic, and vengeful, Regongar would rather kill his enemies quickly and without fuss (especially his former captors among the Technic League) than delay the drinking and love-making to follow, a stark contrast to Octavia's more forgiving approach.

Nok-Nok, Octavia, and Regongar

Tristian

Soft-spoken and aloof, the human cleric Tristian hails from the Padishah Empire of Kelesh far to the east, where he was raised in the church of the sun goddess Sarenrae. With a grace becoming his celestial patron, the wandering priest spreads the word of the Dawnflower—as well as her tenets of healing, light, and redemption—into the heart of the Stolen Lands, and if he had his way, into the hearts of his companions as well.

Valerie

Bestowed by divine beauty and charm, the noble-born human, Valerie, was raised in a convent dedicated to Shelyn, goddess of art and love, set on the track of a paladin of the Eternal Rose. She wasn't interested in any of that, however. Tired of countless suitors inundating her with mediocre art the tenets of her faith prohibited her from ripping up and throwing in their faces, Valerie instead took up the life of a trained fighter, mastering the defensive and offensive applications of the tower shield. Now in the baron or baroness's employ, Valerie is staunchly loyal and invaluable on the battlefield.

Tristian and Valerie

Of the 11 companions in the game, four are romanceable—Valerie for male PCs, Tristian for female PCs, and both Octavia and Regongar for both male and female PCs. Whether you pursue a romantic relationship with any of them is your choice, but regardless of your decision, each of your companions provides endless possibilities for bringing the collaborative, party-based excitement of the Pathfinder RPG to life!

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is available for preorder on Steam and GOG.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Big Pathfinder/Starfinder Reference Document News!

Thursday, September 13, 2018

As a fan and a community advocate, you grow attachments to things you wouldn't have ever imagined you would. One of the projects I've gotten the opportunity to make my mark on at Paizo is neatly nestled into that fan/community/design challenge niche: the Pathfinder Reference Document. As it became obvious in this last year of architecting and laying out the plans for the future of paizo.com, and as the time increased between that "last updated" date and our resources began to shift course, a problem arose that we needed to solve: how do we provide our community a free, up-to-date online version of the rules for our games? Well, I finally get to share the answer with you all!

Paizo is pleased to announce that Blake Davis and the Archives of Nethys will be maintaining the Pathfinder and Starfinder Reference Documents!

As an official licensed partner, the Archives of Nethys includes setting-specific rules content as well as Open Game Content, so you'll be able to find the Golarion- and Pact Worlds–specific rules you're looking for quickly and easily.

Eventually, these reference documents will become more integrated into the paizo.com website, but for the near future, we will be redirecting PRD and SFRD requests to the Archives of Nethys website:

Pathfinder Reference Document: pfrd.info
Starfinder Reference Document: sfrd.info

During this transition, you will not be able to search the PRD or the SFRD using the paizo.com search tool—you'll need to use the Archives of Nethys search tool instead for Pathfinder content; the search engine for the Starfinder site is still in development and is expected to go live in the next 1-2 weeks.

(The AON will not be hosting a Pathfinder Playtest reference document, as those rules are transitory, but we are planning to launch the reference document for Pathfinder Second Edition with them next year.)

Both reference documents on the Archives of Nethys will remain a completely free resource, but you can help support their future growth on Patreon.

I'm so excited to see our new partnership with Archives of Nethys and our online offerings to the Pathfinder and Starfinder communities evolve! Be sure to check out the AON, update your bookmarks, and keep up with the Paizo blog for future announcements.

Chris Lambertz
Web Product Manager

9/14/2018 Update: After reviewing community feedback, the legacy PRD website has now been made available at legacy.aonprd.com. It does not contain the search functionality, however.

Kingmaker—Expanding on a Classic

Monday, September 10, 2018

In just two weeks, the first single-player isometric CRPG using the rules and world of Pathfinder will be released—Owlcat Games' Pathfinder: Kingmaker. It's been a long time coming, and we couldn't be more excited for the world at large to get to experience it!

One of the greatest challenges of adapting an adventure path like Kingmaker—which came out way back in the spring of 2009—into a new medium is balancing faithfulness to the source material with the creation of enough new content to entertain players and GMs who played or ran the campaign in the last decade. Kingmaker, by far the Pathfinder Adventure Path with the most open, sandboxy feel, left the writers at Owlcat (with industry veteran Chris Avellone, of Planescape: Torment and Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords fame) with plenty of room to add their own content while still including all the now-iconic encounters and story elements that made the pen-and-paper campaign such a classic.

An all-new introduction to the campaign, set in the manor house of Swordlord Jamandi Aldori, serves not only as a tutorial for new players, but also gives context to the player's mission (something the original campaign left to the GM) and introduces some of the myriad characters who will play large roles in the ongoing campaign, gaining both her most loyal companion and a hated rival.

Throughout the game, in addition to countless new side-missions and subplots introduced as connective tissue between the story elements presented in the pen-and-paper version of the campaign, the player can engage in deeply immersive companion-based plots involving each of over ten companions. Some of these, such as Amiri's companion quests, incorporate elements of the existing campaign, like the nomadic Kellid barbarians who show up in chapter four, while others are entirely new content involving such epic villains as Numeria's Technic League! Other side quests expand on simple plot hooks provided on the inside covers of the original printed books meant for GM inspiration. Still others are wholly new plotlines created to flesh out large map areas or tie together disparate elements of the campaign in new and inventive ways.

As if that weren't enough, Pathfinder: Kingmaker includes a seventh chapter above and beyond the six printed in the pages of Pathfinder Adventure Path back in 2009. This expedition into the mysteries of the First World and some of the machinations of the Eldest is perhaps the game's most inspired and imaginative content!

Pathfinder: Kingmaker releases on September 25, and is available for preorder now on Steam and GOG.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Announcing Pathfinder Battles: Ruins of Lastwall (and more Kingmaker previews)!

Friday, September 7, 2018

Last week, our partners at WizKids announced the next set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic miniatures: Ruins of Lastwall! Scheduled for an April 2019 release, Ruins of Lastwall is the last full set of Pathfinder Battles miniatures before the advent of Pathfinder Second Edition in August of next year. As such, it offers a great opportunity for us to fill in as many of the remaining gaps in the series from our iconic first edition sourcebooks, and the chance to tie in with one of the most highly anticipated adventure paths in the history of the game: Tyrant's Grasp.

As the name might suggest, Tyrant's Grasp involves the return of the Whispering Tyrant, the lich wizard-king of old whose prison was guarded by the paladins of neighboring Lastwall. Nothing in the title of this minis set should be misconstrued as a spoiler, though. Everything's going to be fine for Lastwall. Nothing to worry about for them!

With a heavy slant toward undead and Lastwall crusaders, the Ruins of Lastwall set features 44 randomized figures, six pieces of bonus dungeon dressing, and the associated Cemetery of the Fallen premium set, available for purchase along with the pre-order of a full case of standard boosters. Check out the initial wave of previews released as part of the solicitation!

From left to right: Caligni creeper, Small common; Poltergeist, Medium common; Lastwall knight, Medium uncommon; Morrigna psychopomp, Medium rare; Young time dragon, Large rare

From left to right: Mausoleum, premium dressing; Stone Coffin A, premium dressing; Tombstone A, premium dressing; Tombstone B, premium dressing

With the pending release of the forthcoming Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker set, due out in October, I'd be remiss to show off only the figures from the set following it 6 months later. So without further ado, here are a few of the most iconic high fantasy figures from Kingmaker.

This manticore, a Large uncommon figure, takes its design from concept art for the Pathfinder: Kingmaker CRPG from Owlcat Games, which gave it a less lion-like face and really shows off the fact that it's a strange amalgamation of other beasts.

Next we have the swamp naga, another Large uncommon figure. Nagas are always tough to scale correctly in plastic form, as they're large creatures but have the human-sized features. Hopefully this snake-bodied sorcerer adequately fills her base, but that's a balancing act we're working hard with WizKids to get right. When the final figure is in your hands, please let us know if we're getting closer to the ideal figure size.

Not to be left behind by his fellow Large uncommons, the Hill Giant makes his preview debut today.

Finally, we have this week's companion figure. Octavia, Half-Elf Arcane Trickster is a Medium rare figure, and makes an excellent stand-in for any half-elven spellcaster PC or NPC.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Rad Moon Rising

Friday, August 24, 2018

Among the first minis we previewed from the forthcoming Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker set way back when we announced it in the spring was the werewolf, a staple of the fantasy and horror genres for ages. But that's not the only figure in the set with a tie to the moon.

I'm super stoked to show off not one, but two new lycanthrope sculpts in this set, both Medium uncommon figures: the wererat archer and the weretiger. Whether they represent enemies of cursed PCs when the full moon calls, these two are sure to be a hit whenever they show up at the table.

Since we have such a great weretiger in the set (and a tiger in the previous set, Jungle of Despair), it is only fitting to also include a Tiger Lord—a tribe of Kellid barbarians from neighboring Numeria who play a pivotal role in the Kingmaker Adventure Path. And who better to epitomize the Tiger Lords than their leader, Armag the Twice-Born (a Medium rare figure) with his magic sword Ovinrbaane? Armag also makes a great barbarian PC for anyone not playing Kingmaker.

A far less brutish barbarian in this set is the divine guardian, also a Medium rare figure. Perfect for a ranger, druid, hunter, shaman, or shifter, this warrior can easily be used to represent a member of many of Golarion's peoples, from Kellid to Mwangi to Shoanti (including the Shoanti moon, axe, or hawk clans, which all hold birds of prey among their favored totems).

Lastly, we have another companion from the Pathfinder: Kingmaker CRPG, with a different link to the moon…not the moon in the night sky, but rather the skeleton moon looking over the Boneyard—Groetus, god of the end times. Harrim, Dwarf Cleric (a Medium rare figure) even has the holy symbol of his apocalyptic god emblazoned on the head of his flail. What campaign is complete without a nihilistic dwarf along to sour any joyous occasion with reminders of the futility of existence?

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

Friday, August 17, 2018

Now that Gen Con is behind us, it's time to once again resume our weekly look at the next wave of Pathfinder Battles pre-painted plastic miniatures from WizKids, October's Kingmaker!

This week we explore a few figures in the set that are more than their initial appearance might suggest, either due to the creatures' special abilities or hidden histories. First among these deceptive creatures is the wild spriggan, a common Small figure. While these goblin-like relatives of gnomes are only a few feet tall in their normal form, they can transform into hulking brutes in an instant. The large spriggan is a Large uncommon figure, meaning most GMs should get enough of spriggans across both sizes to build a sizable (pun fully intended) war band.

While changing size is a pretty neat ability, it doesn't necessarily help spriggans hide from potential prey or lurking threats. For that ability, one need look no farther than the gargoyle, which appears in two different forms in Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker. The first, an uncommon Medium figure places the creature on a standard round base, and depicts it in an action-packed battle pose, while the second, a similarly sized, unbased piece of dungeon dressing, appears as an intricate but completely benign statue adorning a gothic rooftop. While the pictured images depict the figures painted different colors, we asked WizKids to standardize their coloration across the two figures so a GM could place the latter as "set dressing" and then swap it for the former when the creature reveals its true nature. When we get final production samples, we'll update the images from these digital renders to actual photographs.

Finally, we have the first of our weekly previews of the set's many player character-appropriate miniatures, based off the companions from the forthcoming Pathfinder: Kingmaker computer RPG from Owlcat Games (launching worldwide on September 25)! While I won't reveal the exact nature of this figure's secret, I will say that Tristian, Human Cleric—a Medium uncommon figure—is perhaps the most enigmatic and inscrutable companion in the game, and his storyline is one I'm most excited to see the community uncover when the game comes out. Armed with a Sarenite holy symbol, Tristian makes a great stand-in for clerics of the Dawnflower in any Pathfinder campaign.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

The Last Cut is the Deepest

Monday, May 7, 2018

This week, we look at the final batch of Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts miniatures coming out in the July wave, wrapping up a brief series on the unpainted plastic miniatures from our partners at WizKids. Each of the figures below is sold individually, and is pre-primed for your painting pleasure.

Both figures this week are mounted warriors with a lot of versatility. The first is the knight on horse. The sample paint scheme depicted below shows him as a knight of Iomedae, with her holy symbol emblazoned across the knight’s tabard. The figure could just as easily be painted with the symbol of any nation, faith, or organization to fit the needs of your campaign.

Facing off against the knight on horse is the similarly named skeleton knight on horse. While not as easily adapted to represent a player character (unless they’re undead PCs, I guess. Anything’s possible!) this figure makes a great addition to any undead army, especially those fighting for the Whispering Tyrant, the nation of Geb, or summoned by a particularly powerful necromancer.

Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts aren’t the only unpainted plastic miniatures available for Pathfinder and Starfinder, though. In addition to the Pathfinder Bones figures from Reaper, we have copies of the Starfinder RPG iconics and their ship, the Sunrise Maiden, from Ninja Division back in stock, so get yours today!

Keep posting your custom-painted Pathfinder Battles miniatures on social media with the #PathfinderBattles hashtag, and we might feature your work on a future blog! Heck, why not paint the Starfinder iconics with the #StarfinderMasterclass hashtag? The sky’s the limit, miniature lovers!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

A Short Blog Post

Monday, April 30, 2018

Each wave of Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts unpainted plastic miniatures comes with both monsters and player character-appropriate figures, usually around a shared theme. Each blister pack of characters comes with two figures—one low- and one high-level—which can either represent the same character across his or her career or two completely different adventurers. The ancestry featured in July's release wave is none other than gnomes, specifically gnome spellcasters.

Gnomes are a miniature painter's dream, in no small part because they're small minis, so they don't use up a lot of paint, but also because they come in every color you can imagine. The sample painted renders depicted below are pretty conservative with their hair color choices, but you can paint them whatever hue catches your fancy, and repaint them when the gnome's mercurial fey blood leads them to change that hair color mid-campaign. First we have the male gnome bard. A world-renowned musician, this character has a version with and without his short sword (and different armor), but he never goes anywhere without his harp!

Joining the bard is the fellow arcane caster, female gnome sorcerer. She’s got two spell effects sculpted into her figures, which can be customized to be flames, lightning, acid, or whatever you need them to be with a simple ink wash. If you’re fine with her clothes changing, she could even represent the same character casting two different spells, getting swapped out for one another in the middle of combat.

Turning to a more natural set of spellcasters, we have the male and female gnome druids. Like the sorcerer, they all have clear plastic spell effects (including call lightning and produce flame, it looks like). One of my favorite aspects of the druids and sorcerer is that they could also serve as members of just about any spellcasting class, from arcanist to wizard. There's no reason you can't use the sorcerer above as a druid (just put her in a green robe; that's what makes someone a druid, right?) or the druids below as sorcerers.

Next week we'll look at the final two minis in the release wave, and show off the community's painted versions of previously released Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts figures. Just post your painted minis to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #pathfinderbattles, and tag the official Paizo account on that platform, and we'll post the best ones here next week (or sometime thereafter). I can't wait to see what our fans have done!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Elemental Invasion!

Monday, April 23, 2018

Last week, we announced the Kingmaker set of Pathfinder Battles pre-painted miniatures and the associated case incentive figures: Huge earth and water elementals. But they don't come out until October! What will fans of elementals do until then?

Fear not, valiant Pathfinders, for our partners at WizKids have you covered with their next wave of Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts unpainted plastic miniatures! Due out in July, these non-randomized figures are pre-primed with Acrylicos Vallejo primer, making them ready to paint straight out of the box. The preview images in this blog show digital renders of both the unpainted sculpt and a sample paint scheme to serve as inspiration. Each 2-piece blister pack comes with two copies of the same figure, in the same pose, so you can easily build an army of identical elemental warriors, or paint variant versions of the same figure.

First among this wave's elementals is the Medium earth elemental. Pathfinder Battles fans will recognize this sculpt as a boulder-throwing variant of the similarly named (and out of print) figure from the Shattered Star set from way back in 2013. Just like the sample paint scheme illustrated here, that figure had granite and emerald coloration, but this figure's unpainted finish means you can customize your earth elemental to fit whatever setting you want! Need a desert elemental? Paint it a tan, sandstone color with topaz or turquiose accents. Is your party facing an earth elemental on a tropical, volcanic island? Paint its body black, with ruby accents. And if it's especially lava-bound, try putting bright orange or yellow in the cracks of its body to give it a magma glow (see the lava lurker promotional figure for inspiration).

Next we have the Medium water elemental, again varying up the pose of the similarly named (and out of print) figure from Shattered Star. Composed of clear plastic, the figure maintains the sense of transparency that makes water elemental figures so much fun to use at the table. Whether you want a clear blue elemental from tropical waters, or a muddy, murky gray or brown from a swamp or sewer, this figure can be customized with a thin ink wash. If you're using a pre-existing map, like a Pathfinder Flip-Mat, you can even paint the mini to match the color of whatever body of water it's going to rise out of in your game! Give it an appearance of being icy or particularly roiling with some white dry-brushing to make the whorls and wave caps really pop.

What good is a water elemental if there isn't a fire elemental for it to quench? The Medium fire elemental is—you guessed it—a resculpt of the Shattered Star figure of the same name. Also composed of clear plastic, this figure can be customized with a variety of shades of red, orange, and yellow for traditional flames, or other colors like green and blue for more supernatural elementals summoned by strange rituals or specialized spellcasters. You can even give the figure a smoky look with a dry-brushing of sooty black.

And that's it. Just three elementals.

Nah, I'm just kidding. Of course there's a Medium air elemental to complete the set. One of the best things about this figure is that you can use it straight out of the box without getting your brushes dirty as any number of invisible air creatures. If you are looking to paint it, however, the clear plastic again allows for a lot of variety with different ink washes. Cool blues or pale whites can capture the brisk chill of a winter breeze, while darker colors like gray or even black can give the swirling elemental the look of a raging tornado. With a bit more customization, you can attach small green or brown "leaves" to the figure's surface to represent the detritus sucked up into the whirlwind in forested or autumnal settings.

While this is our first Deep Cuts blog, these are far from the first figures in the line, with dozens already in the wild in your local game store or here on paizo.com. Rather than go back and show off these unpainted figures, I'd rather give the community the chance to show off your finished Deep Cuts from the myriad figures we've previously released. Post your painted Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts figures on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #PathfinderBattles and tag the official accounts for Paizo and WizKids, and we'll collect and show off our favorites in a future blog.

Next week we'll examine the wave's batch of gnome spellcasters. The "shortlist," if you will. Until then, keep your paintbrushes wet.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Announcing Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker!

Monday, April 16, 2018

Now that we're done with previews of Jungle of Despair—which releases next week—I'm excited to announce the next Pathfinder Battles miniatures set from our partners at WizKids.

Currently scheduled for an October release, Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker, is the fifteenth set of prepainted plastic miniatures in the popular Pathfinder Battles line. Featuring 44 randomized figures in sizes ranging from Small to Large, and six pieces of dungeon dressing, Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker exemplifies the commitment to quality sculpts and paint jobs, as well as variety and utility of figures, the line is known for.

As always, customers who order a case of Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker boosters will also have the opportunity to purchase the set's case incentive. This set's two-figure incentive features the earth and water elemental lords, completing the Huge elemental series we began last year in Maze of Death with the air and fire elemental lords.

No Kingmaker set would be complete without some of the iconic allies and villains from the Kingmaker Adventure Path, such as the troll leader and Nyrissa, a Large uncommon and Medium rare figure, respectively.

There are also a number of more generic tropes of the genre we're releasing for the first time, like the bat swarm, werewolf, and oni mage. These figures fill in some of the gaps from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, which many fans have requested we represent as thoroughly as possible in prepainted plastic. The bat swarm and werewolf are both Medium figures, at the common and uncommon rarities, respectively, while the oni mage is a Large uncommon figure.

With the pending release of Pathfinder Kingmaker, the first isometric, party-based computer RPG set in the Pathfinder fantasy universe (now in Beta for Kickstarter backers!), we also had the unique opportunity to provide miniatures of the many new characters being introduced in the game by the game's developers at Owlcat Games. These companions will join the player along their journey to conquer and rule the Stolen Lands, and can now join players in their tabletop games as well. Check out Regongar, half-orc magus, the first of these companions we're showing off. A Medium rare figure, Regongar also makes a great PC or enemy NPC with the lightning spell effect giving him unmatched gravitas on the battle mat.

We're still a few months away from showing off the entire set, but keep coming back weekly for more Pathfinder (and Starfinder) miniature previews. Next week, we'll take a look at some of the figures in next wave of Deep Cuts unpainted plastic miniatures from WizKids. Until then, keep rolling 20s!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

The Ultimate Evil

Monday, April 9, 2018

Well, folks, we did it. We made it through the Jungle of Despair, and with a whole month to spare before the Pathfinder Battles set releases at the end of April! Along the way, we faced many challenges, from monsters and Darklands societies to pit traps and summoning pillars, but the greatest threat we faced was the final one, remember? Let me refresh your memory.

In the Mwangi Jungle, the greatest force of evil is the gorilla king, Ruthazek (he got his own mini in the Legends of Golarion set). From his throne in Usaro, the Gorilla King rules a nation of demon-worshiping apes and charau-ka, which he sends to torment the peaceful people of the Mwangi Expanse. Leading these armies are mighty, four-armed apes with distinctive white fur, represented here as the thrall of Angazhan. A Large, uncommon figure, the thrall of Angazhan is the final figure eagle-eyed fans might have seen on the box art.

Aiding us in this battle against the ultimate evil were two forces of goodness, one from a distant corner of Golarion, and the other from blessed Elysium. The latter, the noble azata knight, makes it her mission to hunt fiends, evil dragons, and undead with equal vigor. It is thus no surprise that she graced us with her presence, though I'd describe that as a Medium rare occurance.

Finally, from the distant continent of Tian Xia far to the east (and west, I guess, if you go the long way around), is the graceful kirin. This Large rare figure is right at home in the jungle, especially the air above the kaiju-filled Valashmai Jungle, but can oppose the schemes of evil spirits like hags and oni in any environment. Though rare, some kirin have even served as the flying mounts of particularly worthy cavaliers, paladins, or samurai.

With the aid of both azata and kirin, we overcame all adversity, and ensured the forces of Angazhan did not spread beyond their accursed, ruined jungle citadel. We have vanquished the despair from the jungle! Sort of.

Just because I've now revealed the entire set, that doesn't mean the adventure has to end here. Check back next week for more discussion of our miniature offerings. Whatever could we be exploring next?

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

On a Wing and a Prayer

Monday, April 2, 2018

We're almost out of the Jungle of Despair, but we've still got two more previews to go. This week, we look at four winged inhabitants of our jungle, before we tie up all the loose ends next week.

First on the agenda this week is the pixie, a wild fey prankster sure to add a bit of annoying fun to any campaign. A Small common figure, the pixie should have a few of his friends with him for anyone opening a brick or a case, allowing for all sorts of pixie swarm shenanigans. Though larger than the atomie and other tiny winged fey, the pixie figure can also stand in for a number of similar creatures if you're ok with the size discrepancies.

Next we have the river drake, a lesser dragon that makes a great challenge as the adventurers sail or steam into the heart of the jungle. Perhaps one of the most versatile figures in the set, the river drake is at home along rivers in all sorts of environments, and there are very few adventures I can think of that don't involve a river of some sort, even if just as background. The river drake is a Medium common figure.

This week's third offering is the batlike sabosan, echolocating monstrous humanoids found in warm forests and in the deep caverns of the earth. The sabosan miniature can also stand in for a werebat, or in a pinch, even a winged demon or devil. Its massive wingspan makes it an imposing figure, even on a Medium base, and its common rarity means you can throw a handful of them at the players to really keep them on their toes.

Players of the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path will surely remember one of the campaign's most iconic winged adversaries, which we'd be remiss not to include in this set. The bane of goats and unsuspecting travelers everywhere, the winged chupacabra is a thing of legend. More dangerous than the standard, wingless chupacabra, this Medium uncommon figure is sure to be the highlight of any adventure it appears in.

Thus we end our penultimate entry in the safari journal of the Jungle of Despair. Next week we'll take a look at the final three figures, locked in the eternal struggle between good and evil, and after that, maybe a look at the next set on the horizon. Jungle of Despair is out next month, so make sure to get your preorders in soon!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

No Bears, Oh My!

Monday, March 26, 2018

Hail and well met, Pathfinders! We're getting close to the end of our trek through the Jungle of Despair, and we'll be free and clear with a month to spare before its May release. No jungle is complete without animals to call it home, both benign herbivores like the slow-moving sloth and docile deer, and more deadly predators. What fun is a mini of a sloth, though? Let's take a look at some of those hunters!

First we have the lion, the so-called "king of the jungle." Now, you and I know that lions really live on the plains, but who am I to argue with one if he wants to be known by an inaccurate royal name? I've seen the videos of lions attacking, so I'll just call this one king of whatever he wants me to. The lion is a Large uncommon figure.

Next, we have another great cat—and one that actually lives and hunts in jungles, though it doesn't need such silly titles as the lion king. No, the tiger is content to hunt in peace and quiet. And if painted white, it might even do some magic tricks for you in a Vegas review. The tiger is a Large uncommon figure.

How does that line from "The Wizard of Oz" go? It's "lions and tigers and eagles, oh my," right? I think so, because that's what's next in this blog's sequence, and I'd never deviate from canon by changing up such an iconic listing of dangerous critters. The eagle makes an excellent animal companion or a summoned creature, available to even low-level adventurers. A Small uncommon figure, GMs everywhere will be saying, "the eagle has landed" in just a little over a month's time.

The set has more than just these iconic apex predators in it, however. After all, someone needs to clean up all the rotting, half-eaten corpses left behind in the hunters' wake. Leave that to the vulture, a gross, bald-headed scavenger bird sure to strike fear into players everywhere when a few of them start to circle overhead. The vulture is a Small uncommon figure.

With all these wild animals about, we really could use someone to train them. Fear not, for the human ranger is on the task! As a Medium rare figure, he's still a steal for the lucky collector who pulls him from a pack, because he's really two minis in one. With his trusty bird of prey perched on his gloved hand, this figure pairs well with either of the two avians previewed above.

Next week, we explore the horrors wrought by nature run amok, but until then, enjoy the birdies and kitties revealed today; next week's offerings won't be as kind.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

More Pathfinder Content on Fantasy Grounds

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Bestiary 3 is now available for Fantasy Grounds! It contains all 300+ monsters from Bestiary 3, with tokens, stats, images and full descriptions available for reference and use within the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop. Special abilities and spells have been embedded within each monster to keep everything at your fingertips and to keep the focus on the combat and roleplaying that your players love. Since several of the races include details for playable races, we've included a separate Bestiary 3 Player Version that you can share with your players to allow them to build monstrous characters like the canny ratfolk, genie-blooded sulis and more.

We've also released the fifth and sixth volumes of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path. This completes one of the 6 separate Adventure Path volumes from Paizo that are converted and ready to play on Fantasy Grounds. Check the Fantasy Grounds website for a full list of available Paizo products for both Pathfinder and Starfinder.

Be sure to sync your Paizo and Fantasy Grounds accounts to get the PDF added to your Paizo account as part of the purchase or to get the entire cost of the PDF as a discount on your purchase at fantasygrounds.com!

Doug Davison
President, SmiteWorks

Spiral of Bones is Here!

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The newest entry in the exciting saga of Pathfinder comics hits the web and comic book stores tomorrow. This issue, Spiral of Bones #1, not only kicks off a gripping new five-part storyline, but it also marks the Pathfinder comics debut of our very own Crystal Frasier!

She's already done a few interviews with external media sites, like Comic Crusaders, Major Spoilers, First Comics News, and Know Direction. But these are mostly aimed toward the general comic fan rather than readers already familiar with Pathfinder, its characters, and its world. I sat down with Crystal to ask a few questions that seemed particularly pressing for existing Pathfinder fans—a paizo.com exclusive!

As a Pathfinder developer, you have a wide breadth of knowledge about the setting, its characters, and its ongoing plots. What inspired you to write this story, set here, and involving these characters?

I love the ways that roleplaying game settings are unique from other fictional settings, and one of the big ways that Pathfinder is so unique is the lackadaisical nature of death. Heroes come back from the dead all the time—all you need is a diamond and a friendly cleric. But what kind of world does that give you in practice, and what's death like while you're there? Valeros gets to look at that up close, and as our most... non-miraculous iconic, he's the perfect audience insert for encountering and reacting to this planar weirdness, while getting some of it explained for the lay fighter or casual reader.

Kaer Maga creator and former Paizo editor, James L. Sutter, makes a cameo appearance in a crowd on the opening page of this issue. What other Easter eggs can fans of Pathfinder and Paizo hope to find in this or later issues in the series?

There are a few here and there in the first issue, but none quite as big as Sutter grinning at the camera like a film extra. The remainder for issue 1 are mostly nods to fun setting elements, like the goblin love of pickles or classic cloaker paranoia. We get a little more free with the cameos in book 2; once Valeros is wandering around the afterlife we get to have a little fun by dropping in other characters from previous comics—many of them killed by or near Valeros.

This story arc features some crazy locations, certainly the most bizarre settings the comics have yet explored. Which was more fun: writing Kaer Maga or writing the Boneyard?

Why would you make me choose like that? I can definitely say that I am sad I didn't get to write more of Kaer Maga proper, as we move on pretty quickly from that very unique and interesting setting. I only really get to scratch the surface of a city varied enough for a whole series, and I hope I get the chance to revisit in the future. Until then, man, the Boneyard was a ton of fun to write!

One of this issue's variant covers and the comic's story itself feature Valeros and iconic inquisitor Imrijka engaged in some, shall we say, "adult activities." What's the story behind this pairing?

Imrijka and Valeros have been a popular fan relationship since we first introduce Imrijka in the Advanced Player's Guide, and they're one of the few relationships between iconics anyone has really talked about beyond Kyra and Merisiel. They're both fairly energetic and physical, but feel healthier being uncommitted, and neither are the type to judge someone at first glance. Plus, I honestly just think they make a cute couple. Or at least cute "friends with benefits," at any rate.

Thanks to Crystal for taking the time to answer these pressing questions!

"Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #1" hits comic store shelves tomorrow and is part of your ongoing Pathfinder comic subscription here on paizo.com. In addition to the main Spiral of Bones story, this and all other issues in the series include a backup Starfinder story called "Helping Hands" by Paizo Chief Creative Officer and Publisher, Erik Mona, a Pathfinder RPG rules appendix, and a pullout poster map.

For fans in the greater Seattle area (or with the disposable time and income to make last-minute travel arrangements), Crystal will be doing an in-store signing at Outsider Comics & Geek Boutique in Fremont, tomorrow evening, March 21, from 5–7 PM. Don't miss it!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

They Came From Below!

Monday, March 19, 2018

The journey into the Jungle of Despair continues this week with a look at some of the myriad threats that may face your party in the Darklands below the jungle, such as in the final two volumes of the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path.

You've already seen the morlock cleric, serpentfolk cleric, and serpentfolk wizard, so there's no use in trying to tease what monstrous civilizations this week's previews are going to represent. What good is a morlock cleric without a congregation of followers to do his bidding? Look no further than the morlock, a Medium common figure. I expect most GMs to get at least two of these figures to take advantage of their swarming special ability!

Not to be outdone by the degenerate offspring of their ancient Azlanti enemies, serpentfolk are even better represented in this set than morlocks, with two more figures we haven't seen yet. The first is the serpentfolk hunter, a Medium common figure, the perfect component for a serpentfolk warband, either guarding their subterranean domain or venturing to the surface with evil intent.

The final serpentfolk in the set is the serpentfolk rogue, a Medium uncommon figure. I love hand crossbows, and this figure shows off why. Using the vials of poison on its belt, the serpentfolk rogue can envenom both a bolt and its blade, presenting a deadly threat both to enemies within reach and dozens of feet away.

Lastly, we have a brave adventurer willing to travel into the darkness to rid the world of these sinister beasts. The human paladin commander makes a great figure for both a player character or the noble leader of a holy order of knights, such as the Glorious Reclamation in the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path. The human paladin commander is a Medium rare figure.

Check back next week, for the antepenultimate entry into our Jungle of Despair preview series! Yes, that makes this the preantepenultimate preview, but who's counting?

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Rituals and Rivals

Thursday, March 15, 2018

I know there's a lot of excitement in the Pathfinder community these days, and I'm proud to be at the center of it with the most adamantly followed announcements of them all—Jungle of Despair previews!

Prior to Jungle of Despair, which releases in May, the last major jungle content we've released across our myriad Pathfinder lines was the Worldscape series of Pathfinder comics from Dynamite Entertainment, written by our own Chief Creative Officer and Publisher, Erik Mona. These crossover comics find the iconic Pathfinders whisked from Golarion to a strange, jungle demiplane where they battle and ally with such pulp fantasy heroes as John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, Red Sonja, and Fantoma. The demiplane, called the Worldscape, was actually created by the archmage Nex, one of the Pathfinder setting's most infamous wizard-kings, to serve as a staging ground for the greatest warriors of three worlds to assault the unconquerable city of Absalom. Now you can include elements of the Worldscape saga into your campaigns with the final piece of dungeonjungle dressing in the set, the summoning pillar. Modeled off the prominent monoliths scattered throughout the Worldscape, this imposing relic can also serve as any standing stone in your campaign.

No summoning pillar is complete without a powerful spellcaster to active it or bend its ancient magic to her will. One such figure is the serpentfolk wizard, a Medium rare figure based on one of the final villains in the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path, a wizard of the Amphisbaenian Rite.

If serpentfolk aren't your thing, you can instead use the summoning pillar with the morlock cleric, a Medium uncommon figure based on the art for Eudranis, the sample morlock in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Darklands Revisited. We're not picky about what evil monster person activates the summoning pillar, honest. What's really important is that your PCs get whisked away to a strange jungle of adventure and, I'll venture to say, despair.

Not all your foes need to be spellcasters, however. Why not give your players a hard time with a little bit of friendly assassination? And who better to stab someone in the back than a silent, sneaky elf? The elf assassin figure, a Medium uncommon offering, can easily serve this purpose. Or he can make for a nice rogue of swashbuckler player character. This figure's utility knows no limits!

Next week, we'll delve beneath the Jungle of Despair to look at some of the threats one can find teeming in the Darklands below.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Fiendgully: The Last Painforest

Monday, March 12, 2018

It's just been a bit since our delayed look at the set's creepy crawlies, but a short detour in our journey through the Jungle of Despair won't prevent me from at least trying to stay on schedule. This week we examine some of the fiends featured in the set: daemons and qlippoth!

Hailing from the desolate plane of Abaddon, daemons serve the Four Horsemen in their efforts to claim as many mortal souls as possible. Like all Outer Planes, Abaddon's primary means of soul acquisition comes from worshipers of neutral evil deities who are judged and sent there upon their mortal demise. But daemons' hunger is rarely sated, and like most fiends, they are always looking for new, less scrupulous means of growing their numbers. The terrifying astradaemon, for example, traverses the River of Souls on the Astral Plane, like a shark, plucking unlucky victims from their rightful path to the afterlife. With a life-draining touch, astradaemons speed their living victims toward death, increasing the prevalence of their prey in the River of Souls. The astradaemon is a Large rare figure.

Exhibiting cephalopod, crustacean, and humanoid features, the menacing venom daemon uses potent poison to bring low its enemies. Native to the swampy or fully aquatic regions of Abaddon, venom daemons target the strongest of their foes first, both as a tactical choice and for the emotional impact when foes see the greatest among them fall. The venom daemon is a Medium rare figure.

Older even than deamonkind are the qlippoth of the Abyss, whose hatred for the myriad demons who now rule their home plane knows no bounds. Last week we looked at the spider-like thulgant qlippoth, but it's just one of the four qlippoths Jungle of Despair has to offer. First this week is the ravenous qlippoth, whose body takes the form of a writhing ball of intertwined intestines and toothy mouths, an anatomy that serves it well as the scavenger of the Abyss. The ravenous qlippoth is a Medium uncommon figure.

The slightly more powerful infectious qlippoth is a manifestation of the Abyss's fecundity, spreading pain and suffering throughout the multiverse. The monocular, tentacle-covered beasts are capable of travel to other planes, where they spread misfortune indiscriminately. The infectious qlippoth is a Large uncommon figure.

Finally, we come to the gongorinan qlippoth, the crablike spawn of the qlippoth lord, Yamasoth, who was himself closely associated with Alaznist, the final Runelord of Wrath. A medium rare figure, the gongorinan qlippoth (along with most of the other figures in this week's preview) is sure to serve Game Masters running the forthcoming Return of the Runelords Adventure Path well.

That's all for now, folks! I hope you survived our glimpse into the Abyss (and Abaddon). Next week we'll return to the jungles of Golarion with a look at some of the mortal rivals your adventurers may encounter along their journey into despair.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Starfinder Now on Fantasy Grounds!

Thursday, March 8, 2018

We're happy to announce that SmiteWorks has released version 1.0 of their Starfinder Ruleset for Fantasy Grounds! The ruleset comes with the entire contents of the Starfinder core rules in an easy to read reference manual and with drag and drop data elements for everything like classes, races, armor, shields, and starships. Character creation is assisted by dragging and dropping race, theme and then class. Starship build support and starship combat is still getting finalized but will make an appearance when we release version 1.0.

In addition to the Starfinder core rules, we also simultaneously launched the Starfinder Alien Archive and first three volumes of the Dead Suns Adventure Path. The Alien Archive comes with tokens where possible.

We are collecting feedback on our dedicated Starfinder forums and plan to push a series of smaller patches out over the coming days and weeks.

Like all official Paizo conversions for Fantasy Grounds, Paizo has allowed us to provide a discount for any product where the PDF is already owned at paizo.com. Use the Store > Paizo Account Synchronization to link your accounts and Retrieve paizo.com Purchases to enable a discount on each product owned. Once linked, the products will show a discount equivalent to the PDF price of the same product. This means $9.99 off the bigger core rules products and as much as $15.99 off when you buy one of the Dead Suns adventures. If you don't already own the PDF, buying the Fantasy Grounds version allows you to sync that purchase back to paizo.com to get a free PDF added to your account there.

Doug Davison
President, SmiteWorks

Covered in Creepy Crawlies

Friday, March 2, 2018

Happy Friday, Pathfinders! We're now well on our way through our exploration of the forthcoming Jungle of Despair miniatures set from WizKids, due out in May. This week, I set aside my instinctive reaction to snakes and spiders and show off some of the figures in the set most likely to make your players' skin crawl.

Continuing the set's theme of snakes and serpentfolk, we begin with the metal cobra, a Small figure, this ophidian foe works both as a mechanical guardian left in otherwise abandoned tombs and ruins to protect the treasures within, or a more natural snake encountered in just about any environment (especially for GMs willing to repaint the minis). Released at the common rarity, most collectors will end up with a handful of them in their collection, giving them even more versatility to be used as a lone animal companion or an overwhelming swarm.

The metal cobra isn't the only creepy construct in the set, however. Check out the apparatus of the octopus, a magic item from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Aquatic Adventures. Capable of carrying two riders, this piece of dungeon dressing could easily serve as both treasure in a jungle grotto or as a means of conveyance along the ocean floor to an isolated jungle island. The figure is 60mm tall, which makes it roughly 11 feet tall at scale, making it a formidable presence on the table.

No trip to the jungle is complete without bugs, and not just any bugs. Giant bugs! Huge bugs! Bugs the size of people! THEM! We could make a dozen sets of nothing but giant bugs and still have species and sizes we never covered, so we have to pick our favorites. Jungle of Despair features the giant ant, a common figure, that can stand in for any number of Medium giant insects. Druids with the vermin familiar class feature from Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic can have a Medium giant ant companion at 4th level, making this miniature useful for a handful of players as well as GMs.

The Material Plane isn't the only plane full of creepers and crawlers. The Abyss prides itself on its myriad gross inhabitants, not the least of which are the primeval qlippoth, who hope to eradicate all mortals from existence, thereby ending sin and with it the demons from whom they could reclaim their stolen plane. Jungle of Despair features four qlippoth figures (and a few daemons, of whom the qlippoth also aren't particularly fond), the first of which is the thulgant qlippoth. This horrific, spider-like creature has tentacles and scorpion stingers and an overwhelming hatred for demonkind. Lording over hives of bound servitors in the depths of the Abyss, thulgants make great campaign villains, and at CR 18, present a challenging capstone encounter for experienced adventuring parties. The thulgant qlippoth is a Large rare figure.

Next week, we'll stare fully into the Abyss and see what other qlippoth stare back. Strap in for a journey to the lower planes, as we face off against five jungle fiends! Until then, roll high, and don't split the party!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

It's Dangerous to Go Alone

Monday, February 19, 2018

Okay, so I need to get this off my chest. We all know the classic line from the cave hermit at the start of The Legend of Zelda. "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." Cool. But how does taking a sword address the fact that Link is still going alone? Sure, he has something with which to fight the danger inherent in solo adventuring, but wouldn't it be better for the old dude to also advise Link to take some friends along? That worked really well for 15 core Final Fantasy games.* I'm just saying.

Well, when you venture into the Jungle of Despair in May, I advise you to take allies in addition to your swords, boomerangs, bombs, and whatnot. And when you build your expedition party, you're going to need some miniatures to represent them. That's where today's blog comes in!

What jungle expedition is complete without a ranger to cut a path through the thick underbrush, to listen to the calls of nearby fauna warning of pending danger, or to gauge the best time and place to make camp during the annual monsoon, when the threat of flash flooding could ruin your much-needed 8 hours of rest. Enter the human hunter, a Medium uncommon figure, and your savior when you need a high roll on that next Survival check. Equipped with a ghillie suit, soft leather boots, and a knocked arrow ready to let fly, the human hunter won't make a sound as she blazes a trail to adventure at your side!

"But," you might inquire, "what's our guide's final destination? Where are we going?" Why to find that lost magic anvil from the blog two weeks ago, silly! And who better to accompany such an expedition but the dwarf explorer? No one. There is no one better. If you don't believe me, this curmudgeonly companion will remind you at every opportunity. He's clearly planning on doing some spelunking, what with his rope and grappling hook, but even aboveground he stands to be a stalwart ally with his short sword and heavy crossbow. The dwarf explorer is a Medium rare figure.

Rounding out the party is some magical support—a companion capable of deciphering ancient runes and dispelling arcane wards that protect your prize from plunder. The human arcanist looks like he could hail from the esteemed magical academy of the Magaambya deep in the heart of the Mwangi Jungle, where acolytes of Old-Mage Jatembe still mix the traditions of arcane and druidic magic to keep the forces of evil at bay. And if his magic fails, he can always literally throw the book at his enemies. Look at that thing! It has to weigh 20 pounds! The human arcanist is a Medium rare figure.

When the dangers of the deep jungle become too much for even these capable adventurers to handle, they can always call upon the help of outsiders (maybe that giant book is full of true names used for planar binding and other summoning spells). But the arcanists of the Magaambya would never treat with the likes of devils or demons. Only the forces of good are, well, good enough for our magic warriors! The azata wilder, a CR 6 outsider capable of being summoned via summon monster V, relishes the thrill of battle, and would be more than happy to come to your aid. Since higher level variants of the spell could result in as many as 1d4+1 of the azatas, this is a common figure, enabling you to represent an entire host of Elysian archers on the battle mat. As a Medium creature with distinct elven features, the figure can also serve as a player character in a pinch—I could see this as an aasimar or a sorcerous elf arcane archer with the celestial bloodline.

Next week we'll look at the antithesis of today's previews: creepy, crawly creatures from the dark places of the earth (and at least one outer plane), as well as a thematically related piece of dungeon dressing! I look forward to continuing the conversation with you then, friends!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

*Yes, I know there are like fifty Final Fantasy games at this point. I said "core"—like with a Roman numeral in its title. You don't get to out-pedant me, nerds.

Nature's Protectors

Monday, February 12, 2018

We're now a full month into our journey through the Jungle of Despair, the next set of Pathfinder Battles miniatures from WizKids, and this week I get to show off some of my favorite figures in the set. So without further ado, let's begin!

As long as humanity has stood on the edge of the jungle and peered into the darkness beneath the impenetrable canopy, the imagination has created as many phantasmal dangers as actually exist in the unforgiving environment. But not all of these dangers are primeval, unthinking beasts that see explorers as little more than a potential meal. Many, in nearly every culture and mythology, exist to protect the untamed, untainted regions of the world from humanity's encroaching influence.

The first such creature in Jungle of Despair is the couatl, a lawful good staple of fantasy roleplaying games that takes its inspiration from the Aztec god, Quetzlcoatl, who is often referred to as "The Plumed Serpent." As such, the couatl is a mighty, mystical flying serpent with wings the color of a jungle bird's plumage. Couatls make for great protectors of jungle ruins or sacred sites for their ability to aid the adventurers, but only if the interlopers can convince the winged serpent of their true intentions and veneration for the purity of the unaltered wilderness. The couatl is a Large uncommon figure.

Similarly, nature spirits from the First World, the capricious realm of the fey, often serve as protectors of portions of the Material Plane. Comprised in large part of dense undergrowth and ancient trees, jungles make for the perfect habitat for dryads, each of whom is linked to a specific tree and given dominion over a particular copse or grove. The dryad in Jungle of Despair is a re-posed version of the reclining dryad illustration from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, and thus can be used in nearly any wooded environment, from a palm tree in a desert oasis to a lone evergreen high atop a mountain vista. The dryad is a common Medium figure.

Often filling a niche similar to that of a dryad but found in other environments beyond the woods is the enigmatic nymph, a paragon of natural beauty who uses her charms to bend would-be defilers of the wild to her will. Also based on the primary creature illustration from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, the nymph has been given some clothes in her miniature iteration, in the form of a seaweed skirt. With a pair of starfish stuck to her legs, she makes a great protector of seaside grottoes or isolated beaches but can still easily fit in anywhere that nature needs a steward. The nymph is a Medium common figure.

Mortal protectors of the natural world are no less powerful and intrinsically tied to the land, as in the case of the elf druid, a Medium common figure perfect for either a player character or in a cabal of Green Faith worshipers. In fact, the illustration used as reference for this figure was the Green Faith druid in Pathfinder Player Companion: Faiths of Balance; now where could his hawk animal companion have gotten off to?

Finally, we have a guardian not born or spawned by the raw power of nature itself, but rather created with arcane magic and set to a specific, ceaseless task by its master: the clay golem. As a construct, this Large uncommon figure has no natural habitat, and thus can serve campaigns set in ancient jungle ruins, high-magic metropolises, and everything in between. While a clay golem can take any shape its creator molds it into, the iconic Pathfinder clay golem (and thus the miniature) has a hulking humanoid form and the head of a jackal, giving it a decidedly Egyptian feel, making it equally appropriate for use in the moldering pharaonic tombs of the Osirian desert.

That's it for this exciting installment of Jungle of Despair! Be sure to tune in next week for a look at some of the player character-appropriate figures in the set. Until then, roll high, Pathfinders!

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Dressing on the Side

Monday, February 5, 2018

We're now on week three of our ongoing safari into the Jungle of Despair, and things are not looking good for our survival. We overcame the murderous vines, shambling refuse heaps, creeping tendrils, and pygmy plant people that plagued us last week, but it seems our trials are only beginning!

This morning we passed what can only be interpreted as a warning—a clear suggestion to TURN BACK! I mean, look at this skull pole. Look at it! Don't tell me that doesn't freak you out.

But did we heed the warning? Of course we didn't. And the result was a nice trip to the bottom of this fine obstacle. That's some welcome mat! See that blood on those spikes? Yeah, you guessed it—that's mine. I much prefer my life-sustaining bodily fluids remain on the inside, thank you very much.

And all this for some magic relic supposedly lost in dwarven ruins deep in the heart of the jungle? I didn't even know there were dwarves in the jungle. I thought they liked caves and canyons and dark, dry places. This place is anything but that! Still, ancient legend of the magic anvil claims that anything forged upon it will be flawless in form and unbreakable in construction. That's worth all this trouble, right? Right?

What the others don't realize, however, is that anything we find in the heart of this humid hellscape we must carry with us the many miles back to civilization. And we came for an ANVIL! Maybe I can use it to forge myself a wheelbarrow. In the meantime, everything we find goes into this trunk case. It looks like it'd be right at home on the deck or in the cargo hold of a jungle river barge, doesn't it? It's less appealing strapped to my back while I wade through thigh-deep, leech-filled muck, though, believe me.

Who am I to complain, though? I get to live the dream, the life of an adventurer. I get to venture into the untamed wild, and plunder whatever treasures I find there, left unguarded for millennia. Huh? Nature isn't unguarded, you say? There are forces protecting it and its bounty from exploitation? Great, I guess I'll just have to talk about some of those next week.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Enter the Jungle of Despair!

Monday, January 22, 2018

Greetings, Pathfinders!

It's been a while since the last Pathfinder Battles preview blog, in part because the blog, like the proverbial torch, has passed to a new patron: Me! As Paizo's Franchise Manager, I work closely with all of our licensors to ensure that their products are the highest quality and accurately reflect both the Pathfinder and Starfinder brands. This includes, of course, the Pathfinder Battles line of pre-painted plastic miniatures from our longtime partner, WizKids!

And what better debut blog content than the announcement of a new set?

In May, WizKids and Paizo will be releasing the fourteenth (!) full set in the line: Pathfinder Battles: Jungle of Despair. This set features 44 randomized figures, plus six new pieces of set dressing, all themed around jungle exploration, ancient ruins, and (mostly) natural threats. As with past sets, those fans who purchase a full case of Jungle of Despair will be eligible to purchase a Huge case-incentive figure, and man is this one fun!

Hydras are a classic jungle threat, dating back to ancient Greek mythology, and we're happy to introduce the legendary beast to Pathfinder Battles with this incredible figure. While it's impressive on its own, what really makes this sculpt exciting are its interchangeable heads. That's right. When your neophyte adventurers chop one of the beast's five heads off without proper application of fire to the writhing stub, you can simply replace the single head with two, representing in exquisite plastic detail the growing threat facing the poor player characters. Check out both the 5- and 10-headed versions of the Hydra!

The hydra isn't the only serpentine threat found in Jungle of Despair, either! The featured villains in this set are none other than the sinister, ancient serpentfolk, who ruled the world for thousands of years before the advent of pesky, warm-blooded humanity. The Serpentfolk Cleric, below, is just one of the new serpentfolk figures in the set (stay tuned for previews of the rest in the coming weeks). The Serpentfolk Cleric is a Medium uncommon figure.

Not all serpentine threats in the set are members of the psychic ophidian race, however. Some, like the Hollow Serpent, are undead monstrosities the serpentfolk create to defeat their foes. Animated from the sloughed-off skin of a giant snake, the Hollow Serpent is a perfect high-level threat for any serpentfolk-based campaign (including the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path). The Hollow Serpent is a Large Rare figure.

The jungle also serves as home to countless natural inhabitants, including innocent animals and vermin just trying to get by in a harsh, unforgiving world. Take this Giant Leech, for example. It doesn't mean you any harm, really. It's just hungry. Why'd you have to go swimming through that murky water in the first place? You had it coming, honestly. The Giant Leech is a Medium Common figure, meaning you're likely to get a few of them in your collection, and you can fit eight of them around the typical player character for some bloodsucking fun.

Finally, we have the mischievous Tanuki—raccoon-like monstrous humanoids inspired by Japanese mythology and common in the temperate forests of Tian Xia. While they often appear in disguise as other creatures (especially when infiltrating sake-filled festivities in human civilizations), this figure represents the creature as it's most likely to appear in combat against the player characters. The Tanuki is just one of several protectors of the natural world found in Jungle of Despair, but certainly the cutest! The Tanuki is a Medium Uncommon figure.

That's it for this week's preview! Fans with max ranks in Perception may note that WizKids previewed all of these figures last fall when they announced the set, but have no fear! Next week it's all new reveals — When Plants Attack!

Pathfinder Battles: Jungle of Despair releases in May 2018 and can be preordered now!

Until next week,

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

I am the Law

Monday, November 20, 2017

Hello and welcome to this week's miniature unveiling! We continue with Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes Box Set 8. This week, we have the Noble Aric and his alter ego the Red Raven. These miniatures were really fun to work with because it made me notice all the small, similar details between the two that I had not noticed before. See if you can spot them.

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

My ESPN Isn't Working

Monday, October 30, 2017

Now that we are finished with Maze of Death unveilings, I'm jumping into unveiling the sculpts from Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes set 8! To kick it off, I am starting with my favorite Iconic from Occult Adventures, Rivani the Psychic. The detailing on this lady is exquisite. I love the texturing on the border of her robe and on her sashes. You may notice that she is not floating, as she is in her textual depiction. We made that change to have a wholly accurate character representation, while changing her stance to be more generic.

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

All That Ends Well, Something Something

Monday, October 16, 2017

Hello and welcome to the last set of reveals for Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death! This includes the rest of our rare figures, dungeon dressings, and the elemental lord case incentives. We'll start off with Talmandor, a rare medium figure, whom those familiar with the Pathfinder Campaign Setting will recognize. If not, this miniature is a good stand-in for any avoral agathion, or feathered player character. And if that's not quite enough for you, we have the swashbuckling Tengu Hero, also a rare medium. If you like bird men, this miniature would make a great swashbuckler, gunslinger, rogue, fighter, ranger, or thief.

Looking to expand your options for spellcasting figures? Maze of Death includes the rare large Cyclops, rare medium Diabolical, and rare medium Elf Mystics, based off of artwork from the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path and Inner Sea Monster Codex.

Set the scene for a creepy encounter with the Barred Door and Blood Stained Altar! Almost every adventurer, at some point in their career, needs a barred door in between them and some monster. Don’t forget, that monsters also need barred doors to keep the pesky murder hobos out of their lairs. And what credible villain wouldn't use one of these altars in their decor?

The next few dungeon dressing pieces are great flexible items to drop into just about any scenario. Maze of Death includes a Fireplace, Fountain, Knight Statue, and Portcullis. Especially good for any adventure you may be running that say, has a fountain whose waters act as a potion of healing, or take up for a rest in a local estate (that totally isn't haunted). WizKids took the extra step to make the logs in the fire removable for the Fireplace, but unfortunately, creating a Portcullis that would open and close is a bit too expensive for the price point. Suspend your disbelief, remember this is a mini, and remember that magic and extra dimension space saving spaces exist in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

And finally, here come the big guns! I present you with the Air and Fire Elemental Lords, the case incentive figures for Maze of Death! These miniatures are Huge, and based off of artwork from the Mythic Adventures hardcover.

Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death officially releases this month and is now making its way out to subscribers and game stores! Stay tuned into this space next week as we take a look into the upcoming Iconic Heroes sets.

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures Kickstarter Ends Soon!

Friday, October 13, 2017

Only a few days remain in the Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures kickstarter project by the folks over at Ninja Division! They've already exceeded their fundraising goal and unlocked a number of cool and weird aliens and characters for you to drop onto your Starfinder campaign table (including Skittermanders, Ysoki Bounty Hunter, and Necrovite!). Today, we have a preview of some of the miniatures that will be unlocked shortly. To start, here's an image of the Swarm Thresher Lord based on artwork from the Alien Archive! Taking up four creature slots, the Swarm Thresher Lord miniature will be a biggun (large size).

Next, we have the Swarm Corrovox, the Swarm "Soldier," also found in the Alien Archive.

And for our final reveal, we have renders from Ninja Division of the Vesk Free Captain!

These are just a few of the awesome miniatures just waiting to be unlocked and spread across the galaxy. Don't miss out—go to the Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures kickstarter page and back it now!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

You Don't Vote For Kings!

Monday, October 9, 2017

With the release of Maze of Death nigh, this week, we are revealing the remaining common and uncommon sculpts for the set. So buckle up!

First, we have the Werebear, a common medium. I have been wanting to make this miniature for quite some time. So I am very excited for this to finally happen! The miniature is based off of the Bestiary art for this creature. A reminder to always be nice to random woodsman NPCs...

Next is the Wood Golem a common medium. My favorite part of this guy is the cut pieces with the internal grain of the wood. Very cool.

Then we have the Urdefhan Warrior an uncommon medium. Disturbing, as all Urdefhans are. I think Wizkids did a great job in communicating the semi translucence of his skin. Also, who doesn't love a ghoul esq tongue. This miniature is based off of art from the Inner Sea Monster Codex.

We also have the Urdefhan Necromancer another uncommon medium. I really like the small detailing on her outfit. Nothing says necromancer like skulls. Lots of skulls. This miniature is also based off of art from the Inner Sea Monster Codex.

Here we have the Blight Druid an Uncommon Medium figure based off of art from the Strange Aeons Adventure Path. Don't let her name keep you from using her for your good aligned druid, ranger, or hunter player character. The wooden armor came out great on this figure.

Next we have the Gate Hellknight an uncommon medium figure based off of one of my favorite prestige classes in Pathfinder, the Hellknight Signifier. Tapping on their face covering and yelling "hello?! Hello!!" is not advised.

Finally, the Ghul an uncommon medium figure and malignant spirit. This guy has it all. Cloven hooves. A missing lower jaw, and malevolently eerie glow where his happiness should be.

Check back next time for more Maze of Death reveals!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Scaly Doom

Monday, October 2, 2017

Hello and welcome to this week's Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death preview! This week we are looking at scaly horrors from the swamps, bogs, and other dark and scary places. To start this week, we have the Lizardfolk Warrior, a common medium. This miniature is based off of the art from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, and I think Wizkids did a great job changing the pose and keeping it looking awesome.

Next we have the Lizardfolk Mireborn, an uncommon medium. This one is based off of art from Pathfinder Module: Ire of the Storm and helps highlight the variety of appearance in both coloration and stance that all of our creatures in Pathfinder possess. As an alternate sculpt to the Warrior, I think this one fits the bill.

Finally, we have the Deep Lurker, an uncommon large. This beauty is based off of art from the Wake of the Watcher the fourth volume in the Carrion Crown Adventure Path. You may recognize this creature by other names, such as Lobster Monster, Chuul, or Old Man of the Sea (probably not that one, as I just made it up). I love the sea life that has taken up residence on its carapace.

Check back next time for more Maze of Death reveals!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

The Devil's in the Details

Monday, September 25, 2017

Happy Monday! Welcome to another installment of our Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death previews. Releasing next month, Maze of Death is full of wickedly cool figures for you to encounter in your Pathfinder campaign. Up first this week is the Pitborn Fighter, a common medium based off of artwork found in Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Fiends. I think he looks rad, especially for a common. The horns and spikes on his face are great, and I really love the armor.

Next, we have the Ice Devil, an uncommon Large. While the paint scheme may be simple (ice), I love the detailing of its carapace, and the spear is freaking cool. This figure is based off of art from the Bestiary Box, and I really feel it does this devil service.

To wrap up our devilish lineup is the Apostate Devil, which is a rare medium in this set. I think my favorite part of this figure is his cloak, which,if you look closely, is made out of the skins of its victims. Would you like to join its collection?

Since it's fall, why not top off this week's preview with some festive snakes? To start, we have the Viper Vine, an uncommon large. The texturing and root fangs this things has is the stuff of nightmares. Think it is safe to take a day trip to see the fall colors? Wrong. Leafy poisonous death awaits.

Next, what is better than a giant snake? A giant snake with two heads that can split and reattach as need be to more easily hunt you down and eat you. Meet the Amphisbaena, an uncommon large figure. This figure is just down right cool, and if any of your players have Ophidiophobia, I highly suggest you pickup at least one.

Finally, while not snakelike in shape, still slimy, gross, and creepy, is the Canopy Lurker, a rare medium. Afraid of Octopi? Well then this is a must have miniature, because this is a giant carnivorous octopus that lives on land! Yay! I really like the color transitions, and the face is nightmare fuel.

Check back next time for more Maze of Death reveals!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Big Things in Little Packages

Monday, September 11, 2017

Hello, this blog heralds the return of licensing blogs since the chaos of GenCon and a certain other, fairly large product release! This week we will be focusing on pint sized miniatures from the Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death set, which will release in November of this year. These critters may be small, but they pack a big punch, starting with the "Pretty” Goblin, a small common figure. The first thing you might notice is her hair. You might think, "wait, Pathfinder goblins don't have hair! Whats going on here”. I think you know...

Next, we have the Ratfolk Artillery, a small common. I think this miniature is great for anyone who wants to play a ratfolk. I really like the pose, and Wizkids did a great job on the texturing of the fur.

Then there's the Halfling Butcher, small common. Unlike the stereotypical halfling, this guy is not happy to see you. He wants to know what you are doing in his shop. This miniature reminds me of a halfling cook turned slayer that a certain Adam Daigle played in a session with Ben Loomes of Syrinscape.

Next is the Ratfolk Alchemist, a small uncommon. I really like this miniature, both for the detailing on her robes and potion bottles, but also for the steaming beaker.

The Dero Artillery, a small uncommon, is based off of art from the Strange Aeons Adventure Path. I feel this miniature accurately captures the "only a little sane” aspect of dero. A note that this miniature and the dero magister will be changed to match the preexisting dero miniatures from the Shattered Star set, in terms of hair and skin color.

Speaking of nightmare fuel, here we have the Pugwampi Gremlin, a small uncommon. This miniature is creepy because at once, I want to laugh at it, try and pet it, and run screaming from the room all at the same time. So much cuteness and homicidal violence in such a cuddly package.

Finally we have the Dero Magister, a small rare. I love the clear, crystal staff, and all the gems and potions on this guy.

Sleep tight, and we will see you next week!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

The Maze Doesn't Sleep

Friday, August 11, 2017

Hello, and welcome to this week's Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death preview! The march to Gen Con continues, but we've taken a break from preparations to show off six new sculpts from November's Pathfinder Battles set. This week we begin with three undead creatures that are sure to give your players (and their characters) waking nightmares. To start, we have the Juju Zombie, medium uncommon, based off of artwork from the Strange Aeons Adventure Path.

The Witchfire is far and away one of my favorite undead creatures. The ladies will bring the pain, and look awesome doing it. The Witchfire is also a common medium figure in this set, and is based off of artwork from the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path.

Easily one of the creepiest undead we have published stats for, the Penanggalen is an uncommon medium figure in Maze of Death. Based on artwork from the Bestiary 3 Pawn Box, this gruesome creature will have a gloss on all the entrails, to give it that grossly fresh look which is all the rage these days.

DRAGONS! Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death boasts these three new dragon figures to pit against your players. First, we have the Medium Copper Dragon (rare medium) and the Large Blue Dragon (large rare) with awesome scale and wing textures that I love.

And finally, we have the Large Nightmare Dragon, a large rare, which first appears in the Strange Aeons Adventure Path. The eyes on the same side of the head, and the neck frills are what do it for me with this miniature.

Sleep tight, and we will see you next week!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Beware the Sea and Garden

Friday, July 21, 2017

Hello and Happy Friday! This week we're diving in with aquatic and marshy foes found in November's Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death set. Let's start off with the giant moray eel, a large uncommon miniature.These guys are scary enough in real life, let alone when they are twelve feet long. This mini fills out its large sized base, and is coiled to strike at any PC foolhardy enough to come too close.

Next, we have the sea drake, also a large uncommon. I love the clear frills, and the pose, which could work above or below water.

The ulat-kini warrior and mystic, both medium commons, are based off of artwork from the Strange Aeons Adventure Path. Perfect for lurking in marshland or dank dungeons!

And, as we know up here in the Pacific Northwest, where there's marsh, there's fungus! The medium common purple fungus and medium uncommon ghost fungus are the bane of low- and mid-level characters adventuring through the Inner Sea. Don't let them hit you with tentacles or those teeth!

To wrap up this week, check out the medium common mind frond. I love the alien like texture to its "mouth"—gross and cool at the same time.

Check back next Friday for more previews from Pathfinder Battles: Maze of Death!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Pack an Iconic Punch

Friday, July 14, 2017

As we have recently moved past the days of curses and thrones, we begin the unveiling of characters so iconic that we call them iconic. The first of these appears in Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes Set #7 this November, is Erasmus, our iconic medium. Wizkids nailed the details, and I think this miniature is going to be an awesome addition to the iconic line of iconics. I think my favorite details are the crystal ball, which looks fantastic, and the ouija board and case on his left hip.

Next we have the occultist, Mavaro from Occult Adventures! Occultists gain power through gathering objects with strong resonance. My favorite part of this sculpt is the skull he is holding.

Our youngest iconic will also make an appearance in Iconic Heroes Set #7. Yoon, the iconic kineticist, has the duality of being small, young, and "weak", with the ability to destroy entire towns by herself. This miniature is my way of appeasing Jason Bulmahn's request at the PaizoCon banquet when Occult Adventures was announced—we have baby owl bears in our licensed products now. You're all welcome.

To close us out, we have the iconic spiritualist and her spectre. Estra was a con woman who fell for her mark. Then, when he died, bonded his spirit so they could remain together. I really like the detailing on her cane and robes. This mini could also easily work for a witch, wizard, oracle, or priestess.

Our iconic phantom, Honaire. I really like the ectoplasmic, dented shield, as well as the fact that he is half formed. Very cool. Even if you aren't playing a spiritualist, this mini would make a great ghost, spectre, or haunt!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Enter the Maze of Death

Friday, July 7, 2017

Happy Friday, all! After some delay in our blog schedule, I am super excited to begin showing you some of the awesome figures in the next Pathfinder Battles set, Maze of Death. This next set releases in November 2017, and is chock full of awesome creatures, villains, and heroes. So, without further ado, here is this week's unveiling!

What kind of fantasy maze would it be, if it didn't have minotaurs? We have three of them in Maze of Death. First, is the large uncommon minotaur artillery, because if you get hit by a large heavy crossbow bolt, it doesn't feel like a bolt, it feels like a ballista.

Next, we have the minotaur cleric, hail Baphomet! 'Cause what is worse than a Minotaur with a crossbow? One that can cast flame strike, or bestow curse with reach. Just sayin'. This minotaur cleric is also a large uncommon.

To wrap us up this week, we have one of my favorite miniatures in the set, the minotaur labyrinth guardian. Thats right folks: we made a miniature of a minotaur "graveknight." This imposing (and incredibly metal) foe is a large rare.

All three of the minotaur figures in Maze of Death are based off of artwork found in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Bestiary, and are stated up inside.

Next week we take a quick side-trek to look at Iconic Heroes Set #7, featuring occult iconic characters, and also releasing this fall. We'll then resume our journey through the Maze of Death with imposing plantlife and aquatic foes!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Paizo Welcomes the Glass Cannon Podcast to the Family!

Thursday, June 15, 2017

You might have been hearing rumors here and there...rumblings of an agreement between Paizo and the incredibly entertaining Glass Cannon podcast. Well today, we are proud to confirm that the Glass Cannon Podcast is now an official Paizo podcast!

Mike Kenway and Troy Lavallee with the document to make it official!

For those that don't know, the Glass Cannon Podcast is an actual-play RPG podcast that has been playing the Giantslayer Adventure Path. We've been fans of the show since the beginning and it was only a matter of time before we teamed up and made it official. Making this announcement today is extra special because it also marks their two-year anniversary.

GM Troy Lavallee serves as a ringmaster of sorts to rest of the group. "It was presumptuous from the start to imagine that anyone would enjoy listening to five guys sit around improvising while playing a tabletop role-playing game every week" says Lavallee. Fellow cast members Joe O'Brien, Skid Maher, Grant Berger, and Matthew Capodicasa all work perfectly together to create a unique podcast experience.

Line Artwork by Robert Atkins, Colors by Simon Gough.

To learn more about the Glass Cannon crew, their about page can be found here. New episodes of their game go up every Tuesday at 12:01 AM Eastern, while their other show, Cannon Fodder (a sort of Q&A/recap show) goes up every Thursday at 12:01 AM Eastern. You can subscribe on iTunes or head to their site for the full archive of shows. For best results, we recommend starting with Episode 1 so you can follow along with all of the adventures.

"I'm so excited to be officially partnering with Paizo - not only for the very selfish reason that I'll get to keep spending time in their worlds, but also so that we can all continue to tell weird and wonderful stories together." says Matthew Capodicasa.

We couldn't agree more, welcome to the family!

Dan Tharp
Outreach Coordinator

The Sounds of PaizoCon Approach!

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

I am very excited to be heading back to Seattle with Syrinscape for PaizoCon 2017. Syrinscape has had such huge growth over the last twelve months and we are keen to hang out with our best most devoted fans at PaizoCon, and we've got some really great plans for our stay too.

Probably one of the most fun things we did last year was our search for the perfect Green Dragon for the beloved Dragon's Demand module, so this year we are amplifying this to the max. This year we are going to put absolutely everybody who gives a voice into a great big Shoggoth SoundSet. You know, CR 19... blow your brain away, kinda thing! Think the Borg, with green tentacles.

I am also running sound for a few of the celebrity events, don't miss "Celebrity Gaming with Amber E Scott". Game Master Greg Vaughan and I have been scheming to make life maximally difficult for this great panel of star players.

I'll be talking at a seminar about immersion, which promises to be really interesting, and doing sound for a game of Strange Aeons with the actual lead developer running the game. How cool is that?!

Most excitingly however are the little surprises we have in everybody's PaizoCon welcome bags. Long story short, this March I visited the Paizo offices in Seattle. As well as talking business, dreaming and scheming about Syrinscape's new Starfinder SoundSets, and playing a fantastic game of Pathfinder, I also grabbed Jason Bulmahn and James Jacobs, put them in a quiet room and had some fun building a couple of SoundSets. As a result of the madness and much giggling that went on in that room, I'm now very pleased to present you with two new NPCs to use in your Pathfinder games. With James Jacobs we built a fantastically colorful Tavern Keep, a purveyor of comfortable accommodation, useful information and food and drink of questionable quality. Perfect for any Fantasy adventure that begins in a Tavern. We can't imagine when that might be useful. Jason Bulmahn brings you his notorious Priest of Razmir, a terrifyingly convincing rendition of these usurious, dishonest, blackmailing charlatans. If Jason ever starts a religion, run for the hills.

These have turned out so well, I couldn't resist taking it one step too far. Yup, stick-masks for everybody. I dare you, load up the Razmir Preist on your phone and proselytize to the poor unsuspecting hotel guests at the Hilton. Or hold whole conversations between twin Tavern Keeps. Most importantly, I want photos!

So, if you're lucky enough to be at PaizoCon this year, do make sure you drop by the Syrinscape stand and shake my hand, give your voice, share a laugh and generally geek out with me and the Syrinscape team about the game I love most of all, Pathfinder.

Also... can't WAIT for Sunday's Pathfinder Society Special!

Ben Loomes
Creative Director
Syrinscape

Pathfinder Goes Virtual... Table Top!

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is now available on Fantasy Grounds Virtual Table Top! Fantasy Grounds is rolling out their VTT platform for Pathfinder today. The initial lineup includes the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Bestiary, Advanced Player's Guide, Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition, and the first three volumes of the Kingmaker Adventure Path. Support for more will follow very soon.

The Pathfinder Virtual Table Top makes it easier to bring all your party members together. Don't let distance get in the way of your weekly game night! Integrated tools and incredible features will speed up gameplay and make players of any level feel like a pro. Throw in Pathfinders extensive library of beautiful artwork, maps, and rich stories and you've got a perfect match!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

Ninja Division to Make Starfinder Miniatures!

Friday, March 31, 2017

As many of you may have heard over the last week or so, Ninja Division has partnered with Paizo to make prepainted miniatures for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game! While we are still in the early days, we're extremely excited, and wanted to give you a sneak peak of the sculpting process. These images are by no means final. All final miniatures from Ninja Division will be pre-painted. All ship bases will be hexagonal for use in space combat.

So, with no further ado, Lets start with the images of the Starfinder Iconics! These will all be sold in a single, or two sets, based on costs, price to be determined.

Here are some ships of Pact World and Eoxian design!

Keep your eyes open for more details on Starfinder Roleplaying Game and licensed product! Enjoy!

Michael Kenway
Director of Licensing

As Aeons End

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Illustrations by Kent Hamilton

This month the Strange Aeons Adventure Path wraps up, and by the time this blog goes live some subscribers will have already dug their claws into the adventure while others have to wait for stores to put them on the shelves next Wednesday.

Over the course of this Adventure Path, readers have seen how subtle corruptions can boil over into dangerous territory, leaving those that witness them to gestate further horrors in their own minds that can threated the world at large. Within this Adventure Path, we got a look at the Great Old Ones and Elder Gods that make up the Elder Mythos. We explored Hastur's cult and had a glimpse into what might happen if that Great Old One was to rise as an Outer Gods. We got to look deeper into the vile evil of the Necronomicon, and explored the strange world of the Dreamlands. We ventured to forgotten locations in Golarion and stepped beyond the gap between worlds to set foot on lost Carcosa. In the Adventure Path bestiary, we got to show you new statistics for a Great Old One in each installment, as well as a double handful of other Mythos creatures throughout. It's been a strange journey to say the least.

I'm terrible at picking favorites, be it a favorite color, favorite song, favorite food, whatever. However, since I had so many great writers on this Adventure Path, I felt the need to pick my favorite thing that they created in each of the six adventures. Like always, it's difficult picking my favorite things that I liked about each one, so in some cases I just went with my gut when picking from my lengthy lists. Here goes!

Pathfinder Adventure Path #109: In Search of Sanity

Favorite Thing: The whole first act.

The starting encounter with the PCs asleep and encountering the Tatterman and the fugue state set up of the whole AP seemed challenging in the outline, but Wes Schneider killed it in a way that was better than I could imagine.

Honorable Mentions: That attic whisperer illustration; the Argus Wall; and Red Destiny.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #110: The Thrushmoor Terror

Favorite Thing: Thrushmoor's weird townsfolk.

Tito Leati is great at writing character that interconnect, so I loved his backstory of Nemira Lowls and how she tied in with Clymes Prett and the history of Thrushmoor's leadership, as well as the other characters he introduced.

Honorable Mentions: Fun Star Stelae mechanics; the Hastur article; and meeting Weiralai the first time.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #111: Dreams of the Yellow King

Favorite Thing: The adventure's entire structure.

I love that this adventure takes place in two worlds during a long river journey, and with most of it in the Dreamlands Ron Lundeen was able to give out powerful treasure and present some nearly impossible fights (I'm looking at you, Bokrug).

Honorable Mentions: Abdul Alhazred; Skywin Freeling as a breath of fresh, positive air; and fighting yourselves.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #112: A Whisper Out of Time

Favorite Thing: Creepy derro madness.

Rich Pett is a master of the weird and unsettling, and I really adored what he did with Miacknian Mun's house (and his weird experiments that look like him).

Honorable Mentions: The derro leader Twain; the weirdness of the Mysterium; and betrayal and blood in Okeno.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #113: What Grows Within

Favorite Thing: The strange allies you encounter.

This trip into a forgotten and inhospitable location in Golarion was made extra fun and interesting with the rich characters John Compton introduced. I adored Hoshbagh, the otyugh tome eater occultist and the frightening Mother Grim Moon, as well as the broken soul manu and the Saffron Prince.

Honorable Mentions: The return of Weiralai in her advanced form; the Necronomicon article; and the child of Yog-Sothoth template.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #114: Black Stars Beckon

Favorite Thing: Packing varied locations into one adventure.

It was a tough challenge to show different parts of Carcosa in such a tight space, but Jim did a great job of it. I especially liked seeing the Paris element of Carcosa, but getting to see Azlanti vampires and an elder thing "ghost town" was delightful as well. Man, I really love this cover.

Honorable Mentions: The cast of familiar characters like Erich Zann, Cassilda, and the Pallid Mask.

The Sounds of Madness

Today we're also excited to announce that our partners at Syrinscape have released the first Strange Aeons SoundPack! Ben has, yet again, worked his magic on bringing "In Search of Sanity" alive in all of its delightfully creepy beauty. After listening to it at my desk, I nabbed Wes so he could get a chance to hear the demented sounds of his adventure. This SoundSet really captures the fear and uncertainty of trying to survive an asylum that has descended into monstrous chaos. I loved hearing the sounds for the argus wall, and the encounter with what Debis Lieklan has become is especially unnerving. Listening to this also made me realize that I need to put more dialog in adventures, as it was great hearing the NPCs in this adventure come to life.

The first volume in the new Strange Aeons Adventure Path, "In Search of Sanity", is a fantastically intense and ghastly adventure needing equally fantastic and horrible sounds. You can get a peek at the process behind how the Syrinscape team worked their magic to bring this adventure to spine tinglingly disturbing 3D life on our YouTube channel. (Who would have thought you could voice a Nightgaunt with a fur seal?)

With the In Search of Sanity SoundPack you'll be able to carefully and finely tune your player's discomfort. Subtly ramping up or down from one so-called "Tension Level" is simply a matter of touching a single button. Your players probably won't even notice just how intensely immersed and involved they've been in the adventure session. Not until you stop Syrinscape to take a break and the mood weirdly drains from the room will they know just how you've been masterfully you've been controlling the ebb and flow of this horror adventure with a few subtle mostly subliminal tones.

Watch the demo below and grab the first Strange Aeons SoundPack here! If you're looking for more creepy sounds, check out the whole range of Syrinscape products.

Benjamin Loomes
Creative Director
Syrinscape

Illustrations by Miguel Regodón Harkness

Crossing the Streams

For those of you who want more Call of Cthulhu chocolate in their Pathfinder peanut butter (or vice versa—it's your metaphor to manipulate as needed), James Jacobs worked up a clever system in the Continuing the Campaign article to merge your Strange Aeons characters with investigators working against the sinister machinations of the Mythos in this final Strange Aeons Adventure Path volume, Pathfinder Adventure Path #114: Black Stars Beckon.

When using this system, at the climax of the Adventure Path, the PCs don't return to Golarion, but instead a magical vortex opens in Carcosa that blasts their consciousness out to the stars where they arrive in the minds of humans on a planet with a strong connection to Carcosa—Earth.

This provides an option to play adventures with the Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game where the investigators have the spirit essences of the characters the players controlled throughout the Strange Aeons Adventure Path inhabiting their minds on Earth. These spirit essences want to return to Golarion, but can't make the transition until they achieve some goals on Earth such as preventing the rise of eldritch forces and fighting against Mythos influence. With enough successes, the characters' spirit essences are freed from the human investigators and can safely return to their selves on Golarion.

This is an interesting approach to merging two different games and campaigns, and I'm interested in seeing how folks use it.

This month's Pathfinder Adventure Path closes out the Strange Aeons Adventure Path and I hope that you've enjoyed the weird ride as much as we've enjoyed bringing to you. Stay tuned to this blog for deeper looks into the Adventure Path as we bring you more reports from the Order of the Amber Die as they run marathon sessions of the remaining adventures in this campaign. You're not getting this Adventure Path out of your head that easy.

Adam Daigle
Developer

Pathfinders of Death

Friday, January 6, 2017

A dark wind blows through the Paizo offices (or at least through mine) on this chilly January afternoon, but that wind brings good portents of something very, very evil. Four of our favorite Pathfinder iconic heroes are coming to the world of the Kingdom Death: Monster nightmare horror miniatures game, so I'm taking the opportunity of today's usually minis-filled publisher preview blog to tell you all about it, because honestly, I'm super excited about this project!

Kingdom Death: Monster is currently in the final day of its record-shattering Kickstarter campaign, the largest ever for a game—tabletop or otherwise—in Kickstarter's history. It's a success the game richly deserves. Kingdom Death: Monster is one of the best-looking hobby games I've ever played, and one of the most interesting campaign-style minis game I've ever come across. The current Kickstarter is for a "1.5" update of the original, which many of us at Paizo purchased the first time around a few years ago. Many Paizonians play after-hour Kingdom Death games here at work, and the game's crazy atmospherics and innovative gameplay keep us coming back for more.

Erik Mona plays a pre-release version of Kingdom Death: Monster at Gen Con 2015.

For me, the big appeal is the miniatures. Simply put, Kingdom Death has some of the most gorgeous miniatures in my entire personal collection, featuring jaw-dropping designs. They're also produced at a slightly larger scale than, say, Pathfinder Battles figures, which allows for easier painting and greater sculpt detail without being so large that you can't use them with a 5-foot grid or with other 35 mm figures.

I've always dreamed of seeing the Pathfinder iconic characters as Kingdom Death figures, and I'm happy to say that, thanks to the newly announced Pathfinders of Death expansion, that dream (nightmare?) is now a reality.

Pathfinders of Death will include official Kingdom Death: Monster unpainted figures for Pathfinder iconic characters Merisiel, Valeros, Kyra, and Seoni, as well as rules to play them in the game. Minis collectors not interested in the full game can pledge at the $5.00 level and then add the set as a $60 add-on, but as a player of the game I've got to say that would be a mistake. For the first KD Kickstarter I focused on minis over the game, and later learned how amazing the gameplay is and I had to purchase some of the expansions on the secondary market at inflated prices. Don't overlook the game, is what I'm saying.

Above we see the Kingdom Death version of Merisiel, Pathfinder's iconic rogue. Most Kingdom Death characters awaken naked in a shadowy nightmare realm with only a rock as a weapon, but our Pathfinder characters appear fully armed and armored, with new rules for more heroic characters in a world that usually involves very little hope indeed.

Here's an early look at Valeros, who has picked up some characteristically Kingdom Death magic items on his journey into nightmare. He is one tough customer, and that sword he's got is probably the most metal sword he's ever held before. Wow!

We haven't seen Seoni, yet, but Kyra here just arrived in the Paizo offices and sailed through the approval process without a hitch. Those of you familiar with the world of Kingdom Death no doubt know that characters in the game are often fairly naked, with several optional figures falling into a "pin-up" category with, let's call it a different approach than the one you're used to seeing in Pathfinder. We wanted to make sure that our heroes, while absorbing some of the appeal of the KD visual aesthetic, were nonetheless still the Pathfinder heroes you know and love. A pinup version of Kyra, for example, was never on the table.

Let me circle back on that point for just a moment. As a note for those not already familiar with the game (and who didn't infer it from everything above), Kingdom Death is the reason the phrase "for mature audiences only" was invented. Kingdom Death explores every form of horror you can imagine—and many you hopefully can't imagine—going to extremes we'd never explore in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. We want to make it clear that this arrangement does not signal some new direction for the Pathfinder RPG or the content you'll find in our products. It does, however, signal the chance for you to get insanely high-quality miniatures of your favorite Pathfinder characters. So, forewarned, make the decisions right for you and your gaming group.

For now, these figures are available exclusively through the Kingdom Death: Monster Kickstarter campaign, which ends in less than 24 hours. We may find a way to bring some limited quantity of these figures to folks who miss out on the campaign months and months and months down the road, but if you want to be absolutely certain to get them, I urge you to back the project while you still can. We love these miniatures and the game here at Paizo, and hope that you will enjoy these figures as well.

And that's it for this momentous week. There will be NO Publisher Preview for the next two weeks, as I head to Hawaii for a MUCH needed family vacation. When I return I will bring an epic feast of Crown of Fangs previews for you to enjoy.

Until then, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

Pathfinder Comes to Virtual Tabletop!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Paizo is pleased to announce that we've now officially partnered with Mesa Mundi Inc (D20PRO) and Smite Works (Fantasy Grounds) for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Virtual Table Top content. Both will be offering full access to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line, along with Adventure Paths and Modules! This new partnership will allow gamers from across the globe play the Pathfinder adventures they want, regardless of which service you prefer. With our expansive collection of amazing artwork, maps, and stories, these VTT platforms are a perfect fit for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

We're super excited to be working with Mesa Mundi and Smite Works, and to be able to bring the magic of Pathfinder to virtual groups in the next year!

Mike Kenway
Director of Licensing

Worldscape Workbook—Under the Moons of Mars

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Issue #3 of Pathfinder Worldscape, Dynamite's blockbuster all-star sword & sorcery supergroup crossover, hits newsstands TODAY, so I figured now would be a perfect time to peel back the curtain a bit and let you know about some of the decisions that went into the Pathfinder RPG rules appendix found in the back of the issue.

This month's appendix is a bit of a doozy because the issue's story features the first appearance of one of the major stars of the series, John Carter of Mars! The great Virginian steps onto our pages to join the likes of his green Martian ally Tars Tarkas, the she-devil Red Sonja, Frank Frazetta's jungle hero Thun'da, and more (to say nothing of Pathfinder stalwarts Valeros, Kyra, Merisiel, and Seoni).

Of all Worldscape's superstars, John Carter's star shines the brightest in the firmament of fantasy literature. Carter first appeared way back in February, 1912, in a serialized story entitled "Under the Moons of Mars," by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story appeared as a novel entitled A Princess of Mars, in 1917, and it's been in print ever since.

Carter helped to define the "formula" for adventure story heroes (especially in a science fictional setting). He and Burroughs's Barsoom (Mars) also launched an entire sub-genre of fiction that arguably includes stories like Star Wars, but absolutely 1000% includes stories like James Cameron's Avatar, which borrows heavily from the tropes established in "Under the Moons of Mars."

Like many of the sub-genres we're touching on in Pathfinder Worldscape (including mainline "sword & sorcery" and especially jungle adventure stories), the heroes of "sword & planet" stories present an interesting challenge for the Pathfinder RPG, because none of them ever wears a scrap of armor. Indeed, John Carter's world probably reveals more flesh on a regular basis than even the Tarzan stories and their various knock-offs, which star a guy wearing a loincloth.

So, as I did with the sword-devil archetype in Pathfinder Worldscape #1 (which covered Red Sonja, so to speak), this month's appendix presents a brand new archetype called the warlord that allows players to run around in their briefs and kick just as much ass as John Carter did without a massive sacrifice to their Armor Class. From my perspective, it really stinks when the rules don't allow you to play a concept you want to try out, or even worse punish you for it. This archetype (and really all of the rules presented over Worldscape's six issues) creates new space for players to play heroes like Red Sonja, John Carter, or Tarzan without getting hit multiple times every round. The Pathfinder rules don't really handle characters wearing no armor and going toe-to-toe with monsters and fully armored enemies.

At least not until this series, that is. If I accomplish nothing else from writing all of the stories and appendices for this series, I hope that Pathfinder Worldscape develops a reputation as the Catcher in the Rye of no-armor martial archetypes.

The warlord is a fighter archetype, a particularly challenging breed of archetype because, unlike so many other classes, the fighter doesn't have a ton of class features to "swap out" as most other classes do. That's partially by design. When we sat down to create the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, we thought it very important to include at least one class that was easy to understand and easy to play. The fighter has traditionally played that role, so we carried that forward into the final Pathfinder rules. This was, of course, a year or two before we came up with the idea for archetypes, so only after their introduction in the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide did we realize that this might turn out to be a bit of a problem.

That's the reason that you don't see as many fighter archetypes as you see for other classes. There just isn't as much design room to make interesting options.

The class isn't without ANY options, of course, but things are a bit more challenging. I knew this going in, but I didn't really care. John Carter is obviously a fighter. One of his books is called A Fighting Man of Mars, for Pete's sake. So I had to make him a fighter archetype, design space or not!

First off, I modified the fighter's usual class skills to include Barsoomian staples Acrobatics and Knowledge (nobility), which replace Swim (not super useful on a desert planet) and Knowledge (dungeoneering). Fair trade, in my book.

Barsoom doesn't offer the same sort of weapon options we have here on Earth, so I significantly tailored the class's proficiency list to include only weapons that appear in the John Carter comics and novels, including the radium pistol and rifle included in the RPG appendix for Pathfinder Worldscape #2. This helps to keep warlord characters "on model" and representative of the way they appear in the source material, which is the overall goal of these adaptations.

The most important power the warlord has is likely Evasive Dueling, which allows a warlord to add a +1 dodge bonus to his AC in lieu of one of the MANY bonus feats fighters get throughout their careers. This means that the player gets to decide how important AC is to his warlord, and doesn't deny him the opportunity to drop some bonus feats into his weapons or other combat abilities. He can always come back for some more Armor Class when he really needs it.

And in case he needs more AC (which he will, because he's not even proficient in armor and a lot of his powers don't work when he's wearing it), I also created a power called Battle Bravado, which (at 3rd level) allows the warlord to add his Charisma bonus to his AC when unarmored and unencumbered, so long as he is not wearing armor or carrying a Medium or heavier load. This power even comes with a few more dodge bonuses spread out over the full 20 levels.

He also gets some weapon type-specific modifications to Weapon Training, and by the time he hits 19th level, he unlocks DR/5, the benefit of a life spent surviving against impossible odds in a hostile world.

So there you have it, a broad overview of the warlord archetype from Pathfinder Worldscape #3! You can order your copy from paizo.com right now, or you can pick up a copy in person at your game store.

To make sure you never miss an issue of Pathfinder Worldscape, consider setting up an ongoing Pathfinder Comics subscription today.

I'll be back in two weeks with a look at John Carter himself. Until then, keep rolling 20s!

Happy holidays to you all!

Erik Mona
Publisher

The Guest of the Story

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The first Munchkin sets were sold at Gen Con 2001. Starting in January 2016 and going right through Gen Con 2017, we're celebrating Munchkin's 15th anniversary! (Yes, for more than 18 months. What's the point of having an anniversary if we can't Munchkin-ize our own party?) As part of the celebration, we've released a series of Guest Artist Editions of many of our Munchkin titles, and we certainly didn't want to leave Munchkin Pathfinder out of the lineup.

I had the enjoyable task of combing through issues of the Pathfinder comic books to find an artist whose style was suitable for Munchkin Pathfinder. After I got to look through a number of issues (translation: I got to read comics for work, because my job is awesome), we decided on Shane White, who has a strong visual style that's perfect for Pathfinder and for Munchkin. Luckily for us, Shane was just as excited by this project as we were and knocked it absolutely out of the park. We were so thrilled with Shane's work that we've contracted him for some more projects, including a new booster pack, Munchkin Pathfinder: Truly Gobnoxious, and the long-delayed Munchkin Pathfinder 2, scheduled for Summer 2017.

There are 168 cards in this game, so picking just a few to show off Shane's fantastic work was nearly impossible. I pared it down to three that I really love.

First, the Blog Goblin, who absolutely embraces his anachronism with a jaunty hat, sunglasses, completely generic coffee, and a laptop whose logo deserves a second look. Watch your fingers! Writing all the Goblins in Munchkin Pathfinder and its expansions was fun and challenging, and even now I find myself coming up with more Goblin ideas than I have space to use them. (So far, anyway... no telling what the future might hold!)

Next up is Goblin Sweat. I admit, I wasn't thinking about a bartender when I saw this Item in the Pathfinder books and included it in the game, but I'm glad Shane did! It puts a new twist on an already fun item. (Pun totally intended.)

Finally, Firegut is one of the many Curses in Munchkin Pathfinder that I took from the various diseases found in Golarion. This one is especially nasty in canon and Shane's art captures it perfectly. Special kudos on this and all the cards in this set to the SJ Games layout and production team; this game looks fantastic because of their hard work.

The Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist Edition is now available for order from paizo.com. Love goblins as much as us? Be sure to look out for the upcoming Truly Gobnoxious booster due next month!

Andrew Hackard
Munchkin Line Editor

Worldscape Workbook—Inside Issue #2!

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

The second issue of Dynamite's sword & sorcery superstar crossover series, Pathfinder Worldscape releases TODAY in comic shops, and is now shipping from the paizo.com store! The issue features a foreboding jungle adventure in which Seoni the sorcerer awakens in a deadly dimension that harvests the deadliest warriors of three worlds. Before she can reunite with her friends Valeros, Kyra, and Merisiel, she must first survive the jungle alone. Her adventure sees her face a 10-legged Barsoomian banth, the mysterious forest goddess (and first female super-hero in history) Fantomah, Frank Frazetta's jungle lord Thun'da, and Tars Tarkas, the green Martian best friend of John Carter of Mars.

Like all Pathfinder comics, Pathfinder Worldscape #2 contains a short Pathfinder RPG rules appendix and a pull-out poster map. The poster for the issue continues the jungle scene presented in Pathfinder Worldscape #1, with a focus on an immense tree with ritualistic significance. You can put each of the two maps together to create a double-sized jungle encounter!

The text of issue #2's RPG appendix focuses on green Martians, everyone's favorite four-armed original creations of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars novels. I'd originally intended to include stats for Tars Tarkas himself in this issue, but the background of the race and its various abilities ended up hogging up so much space that Tars himself will appear later, most likely in issue #5, where the character again plays a significant role. This issue is more about creating the rules elements that I'll later use to make that character, as well as a couple of weapons that will also come into play next month, when we get to John Carter himself.

I used the race builder rules from the Advanced Race Guide hardcover to build the green Martian rules. As with previous Worldscape adaptations, I let the source material dictate my choices. For example, Large size and four arms are both extremely "expensive" traits in the race builder system (because of their significant impact on play), and those two powers alone make the green Martian a 15-point race, putting them on par with something like the fetchling or suli (by contrast, a halfling is 9 points).

But there's more to green Martians than their arms and size. There's also their ability to detect thoughts, their weapon familiarity with longswords and spears, their legendary ferocity, and a few other powers to boot. At the end of the day, green Martians are more like 23-25 points, putting them on par with the likes of svirfneblin (24) or trox (28), but well short of drow nobles (41).

The issue also includes rules for Barsoomian radium pistols and rifles, but I'll discuss that more in future blogs.

I've been very pleased by reaction to the first issue of Pathfinder Worldscape. I can't wait to hear what you think of issue #2, and look forward to hearing about your green Martian Pathfinder heroes and villains for years to come!

Until then, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

Worldscape Workbook—The Fish that Got Away

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Pathfinder Worldscape #1, my new sword & sorcery supergroup crossover comic from Dynamite, is on newsstands and is shipping to paizo.com customers NOW! Early reviews are pouring in for the issue, and I've been thrilled by the initial response. Most readers seem to be digging the "fish out of water" story I've been building as our intrepid iconic heroes meet the likes of Red Sonja, John Carter of Mars, and Tarzan, and as the first issue shows, those meetings aren't always going to go down the way you might expect them to.

Each issue of Pathfinder Worldscape contains a short RPG appendix that translates some of Dynamite's heroes, races, equipment, and worlds to the official Pathfinder rules, and while writing comic stories featuring all of these amazing characters has been a wonderful and challenging experience, writing up their game statistics has, to me, often seemed even more wonderful—and definitely more challenging.

The biggest challenge, truth be told, is in fitting everything I want to say into the relatively short appendices. When you're suddenly unleashed on the world of Barsoom, for example, there's an awful lot to say, and not a ton of space to say it. For example, Pathfinder Worldscape #2, which releases three short weeks from now, was initially to include stats for the green Martians of Barsoom, stats for the most famous green Martian of all—John Carter's best friend Tars Tarkas—and stats for a new "warlord" archetype that will be used by both Carter and Tars as a way to model the "no-armor" fighting styles of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars books. All that plus a poster map and some ideas for how to use it in a Pathfinder game.

As it turns out, I only ended up having room for the green Martian rules in #2, plus some rules for radium rifles and pistols. Full stats for Tars Tarkas, as well as the warlord archetype necessary to stat him (and John Carter) up, will come in future issues.

But my space-bursting woes did not start with issue #2. I ran into similar trouble with Pathfinder Worldscape #1, and I thought it might be fun to use this week's Worldscape Workbook to take a peek at some Pathfinder rules that might have been.

I've already spent a lot of space in this column ballyhooing writer Gail Simone's 2013 "relaunch" of Red Sonja for a Dynamite arc entitiled "Queen of Plagues." I relied on Simone's characterization of Sonja for my take on the character in Pathfinder Worldscape, and I probably read the six-issue arc a half-dozen times during my preparation for the series.

Beside the great take on Red Sonja, which really does a lot to restore agency to the character's origin and remove some of the elements that might have made sense in the early 1970s but which seem regressive by today's standards, one of my favorite elements of the Queen of Plagues storyline were the weird fish-people used by Red Sonja nemesis.

Generally speaking, Red Sonja's world is more "mundane" than that of the Pathfinder world. Based as it is on Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age, the home of Conan the Barbarian, Sonja's setting is one of ancient human kingdoms, the occasional giant here and there, and maybe a serpent man lurking in the shadows. It's not—again generally speaking, because different writers and artists bring different approaches to each story—the sort of place where you wander into a tavern to find orcs rubbing shoulders with halflings, dwarves, and elves. When a genuine "monster" appears, it's generally a sign that something very unique and special is happening.

The fish-men of that first Dynamite reboot arc are—aside from some psychic ghosts—pretty much the only monsters in the bunch, and they stick out in a very good way. We see several images of the creatures, usually in crowd or battle scenes, and what we see is intriguing. Simone's fish-men, drawn by artist Walter Giovanni, echo the vast diversity of the oceans themselves. Some have heads like hammerhead sharks. Others have beards of octopus tentacles, or are encrusted with coral. Some loom large and powerful, others sqat and blubbery. All of them look interesting, and they also look like nothing I've ever quite seen in Pathfinder before.

So I wanted to include them from the very start. The red sea-creature Kelgeth, from the opening scene of Pathfinder Worldscape #1 in which Valeros finds himself on the Worldscape, belongs to this race. I included him in this early scene in part to show the diversity of the Worldscape as a unique representative of Sonja's Hyborian Age, but also because I thought his appearance would be a good anchor for a cool new Pathfinder race in the back of the issue.

That presented an interesting challenge that speaks to the difference between writing a comic and writing a gaming supplement. Although Gail Simone put a ton of cool characterization into snippets of dialog, and Giovanni's art made the creatures unique and interesting, none of Simone's scripts actually gives a formal name for the creatures. They're called "fish-men" a few times, but it's unclear if that's supposed to be the name of the race or if it's just something people call them dismissively. From a Pathfinder perspective, we generally like to avoid gendered pronouns in race names (we use "lizardfolk," not "lizard-men"), so even if that was supposed to be their name, it didn't really work for me. I started calling them "sea-spawn," and the name stuck in my head.

I imagined a Pathfinder Worldscape #1 appendix filled with options for your sea-spawn character. Want a big strong guy? You can! Want someone with a tentacle grab attack? Ok! Just choose from this list of options and build your very own unique sea creature, perfect for any campaign.

It never lasted more than a couple of days. Once I began laying down Red Sonja's sword-devil archetype and her stat block itself, it quickly became clear that I wouldn't have space to stat up the full sea-spawn race. Maybe I'll find time in a future issue, or maybe in some other future Worldscape project.

Until then, keep your eyes on the sea. You never know what might come out!

If you have not already done so, please consider picking up a copy of Pathfinder Worldscape #1 at your local comic shop or right here on Paizo.com! Or, to make sure you never miss a single Pathfinder comic you can set up a Pathfinder Comics ongoing subscription!

I'll be back next week for another Worldscape Workbook, where I'll talk about the game goodies to come in Pathfinder Worldscape #2! Until then, please let me know what you thought of the first issue of the comic, and if there's anything from the Worldscape you'd like me to make sure to make room for before I run out of RPG appendix pages!

Until then, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

Worldscape Workbook—Today is the Day!

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Illustration by Pia Guerra

Pathfinder Worldscape #1, the first issue of my new comic series that teams up Pathfinder's iconic heroes with the likes of Red Sonja, John Carter of Mars, and Tarzan, comes out TODAY. As I write this, early reviews are already hitting the internet, and I'm thrilled with the positive response so far. Most of the commentary up to this point has focused on the comic book story itself, but here in my weekly Worldscape Workbook column, I like to focus on the RPG rules elements of each issue, and let you into my head a bit about some of the design decisions I made when adapting the Worldscape guest stars to the official Pathfinder RPG rules presented in each issue's appendix.

The first hero to get a full Pathfinder conversion is Red Sonja, who also features prominently in issue #1's story. Previous columns in this space have discussed Red Sonja's class, armor (or lack thereof), and adventuring gear. This week I want to discuss the "meat" of what makes Sonja different from other rangers, her archetype.

My desire to create credible "no armor" martial archetypes goes back to the very beginning, when Paizo Creative Director James Jacobs launched the first-ever Pathfinder campaign in our office conference room. I decided to play a barbarian named Ostog the Unslain, who in the years since has become a bit of a Pathfinder celebrity character, if only because I keep shilling for him (he never did die over more than 7 years of active gaming, after all).

In addition to being a great big gaming nerd, I'm also a book collector, and my shelves at home bulge with hundreds and hundreds of vintage sci-fi and fantasy paperbacks. Frank Frazetta's iconic portrayal of the bare-chested Conan the Barbarian made a huge impact on the paperback market of the 70s, and unarmored dudes in loincloths (and a few ladies following their example) basically took over sword & sorcery book covers for a decade or more. I wanted my barbarian to come from this "no armor" tradition, but in 2008, the options for pulling off such a character effectively using the Pathfinder RPG rules were essentially non-existent. I lobbied Pathfinder Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn—hard—to include a no-armor barbarian archetype in the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide, and the savage barbarian was born.

Previous Worldscape Workbooks have covered why Dynamite's version of Red Sonja isn't a barbarian, though, so no matter how effective Jason's archetype had been for Ostog, it didn't do me much good to use it for Red Sonja. Instead, I looked at the armor power of the savage barbarian and the armor class feature of the monk to create something totally new: the sword-devil.

The name of Red Sonja's archetype hearkens back to her classic "She-Devil with a Sword" appellation, only with the numbers rubbed off a bit so that Pathfinder can use it independent of a formal Red Sonja license. We'll eventually add all of the non-proprietary rules in these Worldscape appendices to the PRD and to tools like Herolab, though it make take until the release of the final hardcover collection of all six issues early in 2017. Right now the best place to get these rules is in the Worldscape RPG appendices in each issue.

I don't want to get into too many specifics of the archetype today—after all, I really DO want you to buy the issue—but a general overview is in order. Here's my commentary on each of the archetype's class features.

Class Skills: I knew I'd be trading the ranger's spells class feature, so it made sense to swap out Spellcraft for Acrobatics. Red Sonja doesn't know much about magic, but she certainly can leap around like a monkey.

Death Vow: This power is meant to model Sonja's "Curse of Hyrkania," which features prominently in her origin and in the Gail Simone-written 18-issue run that redefined the character for modern audiences in 2013. I've used that highly enjoyable run as a benchmark for Sonja's characterization in the Worldscape series, and this is no exception. In the comic, Sonja puts the Curse on an enemy to put them on notice that she will definitely be killing them later, but probably not MUCH later. The mechanics here are an attempt to model that on the game table. Had I more space, I might have included a few other original death vows, but these Worldscape appendices are pretty tight on space, and I needed to focus on the meat of the matter.

Slashing Fury: The Sonja stores heavily emphasize her Dexterity and quickness over her Strength, with a prominent recent Conan/Red Sonja crossover written by Simone and former Pathfinder comics scribe Jim Zub specifically mentioning that Conan is much stronger than Red Sonja, but that she's no less a combatant for it, balancing things out with speed and style. I ultimately settled on a 14 Strength for Sonja. That's decent, but not enough to keep her competitive with most martial characters, who probably put their highest score in Strength. I thus needed to come up with a way for Red Sonja to add her Dex bonus to melee weapon attacks, something that involved significant negotiation and development with Jason Bulmahn and Owen K. C. Stephens, who were both extremely helpful to me during the process of building Sonja's stats and this archetype. They drew the line at also allowing this power to add a Dex modifier to damage. I tried, folks! With the damage adds from her death vow, I don't think she's much poorer without the bonus, especially when fighting somebody she absolutely wants to kill.

Inspiring Example: If Red Sonja has any "powers" above and beyond her combat prowess, it's in the inspiration she gives those she meets along the way of her adventures. As a roaming nomad who has seen two different publishers and hundreds of different writers over the last 40 years, Sonja doesn't have a very large recurring back-up cast. That means her stories typically involve her showing up in a community, encountering a problem, and solving it before moving on to the next adventure (sound familiar, Pathfinders?). A VERY common element of these stories, however, involves Sonja meeting some poor victim of the problem at the beginning of the story and later having that victim gain confidence and help her to solve the problem that once seemed unsolvable. Sort of like Doctor Who, Red Sonja doesn't stay anywhere very long, and doesn't keep companions for very long, but she does manage to leave both people and places significantly better off than they were when she first arrived. As long as they're not evil, of course!

Untouchable: This is my armor kludge, and with Sonja's 18 Charisma and a passel of dodge bonuses spaced out over various levels, she remains competitive in the AC department, so long as she's got good bracers of armor on. If she were MY character, rather than an adaptation, I'd probably pop for a dusty rose ioun stone and an amulet of natural armor, too.

Second Combat Style: This one speaks for itself. For Sonja's stats, I focused on the two ranger combat styles from the Core Rulebook, but we've added a lot more in various books that could serve to make YOUR sword-devil even more distinctive.

Seething Fury: I always feel a little goofy designing class features for 19th and 20th levels. Do people ever really make it that high? This power and the next were inspired by Dynamite's semi-recent "Vulture's Circle" and "The Black Tower" miniseries, which depict a much older—and much more prone to crazy, supernatural violence—version of the character.

Avatar of Vengeance: This is right out of those stories, in which Red Sonja becomes a living avatar of death. I made effectively no effort to balance this capstone ability whatsoever. If you've survived 20 levels wearing no armor, you deserve a gonzo reward.

And that's it for the sword-devil! I next go to work on the warlord archetype for John Carter and Tars Tarkas. I thought I could fit that into issue #2, but details on playing green Martian characters and Martian radium weapons took up all my space for that issue, so the warlord will appear somewhat further down the road.

But I'll be talking more about that stuff in future installments of the Worldscape Workbook!

Thanks for your interest in Pathfinder Worldscape! Please grab a copy at your local comic store, pick up a copy here on Paizo.com, or set up an ongoing comics subscription here on the site to make sure you don't miss a single issue!

Pathfinder Worldscape #1 is on shelves now! I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

Until then, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

Worldscape Workbook—Gearing Up Red Sonja, Part 2: Finishing Touches

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

The first issue of Dynamite's Pathfinder Worldscape sword & sorcery crossover event hits comic stands NEXT Wednesday, and I couldn't be more excited! As the series author, I had a chance to push the series at New York Comic Con this weekend, and it was fantastic talking to so many comics fans eager to see how the big event plays out! I signed a bunch of Pathfinder comics at the Dynamite booth in my first-ever comic signing, and I'd like to thank all of the Pathfinder fans who made it such a fun and welcoming experience.

Before I get into this week's Worldscape Workbook, I want to remind everybody that I will be appearing live at 7:00 PM at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 19th, to celebrate the official release of Pathfinder Worldscape #1. If you're local to LA (or so fanatical you're pricing flights right now), I can't wait to see you at the event and chat about Worldscape, Pathfinder, Starfinder, or whatever else you have on your mind.

Can't make it to Meltdown next Wednesday? Can't make it to a comic store at all? Don't despair! You can preorder issue #1 right here on paizo.com. Or, to make sure you never miss a single issue, sign up for a Pathfinder Comics Ongoing Subscription!

Each issue of Pathfinder Worldscape comes with a bonus RPG appendix that translates some of Dynamite's most important characters to the official Pathfinder RPG rules. The first issue presents game stats for Red Sonja, the famous "She-Devil with a Sword" who has served as fantasy's most ass-kicking female protagonist since her comics debut in the early 1970s. Over the last several weeks, I've used this Worldscape Workbook column to detail my thoughts on translating Red Sonja's stories to the Pathfinder rules. I'll continue with other characters in the series—Tars Tarkas, Tarzan, John Carter, etc.—in weeks to come, but I've still got at least two more columns to cover before I'm done with Sonja.

Next week I'll reveal an overview of Red Sonja's much-anticipated "sword-devil" archetype, which allows rangers to swap out a bunch of their abilities to be more effective combatants while wearing no armor. (I mentioned in comments recently that with the Barsooman "warlord" archetype and probably a "lord of the jungle" archetype yet to come, Pathfinder Worldscape will be the "Catcher in the Rye" of no-armor martial archetypes.) Before I get to that, though, we've got a bit more ground to cover in terms of how I chose Red Sonja's equipment.

To recap previous blogs in the series, I first decided that Red Sonja's trademark "chainmail bikini" isn't armor at all. I then tried to figure out a way that her two armbands might be important original magic items before deciding, ultimately, to make them bracers of armor +4.

Recalling the simple list of Red Sonja's standard adventuring gear from last week's Worldscape Workbook, I knew that Red Sonja needed, at the very least, a longsword, a throwing dagger, and a shortbow. While the origin story that ultimately led me to determine Sonja was a ranger focused largely on her skill with a bow, that story was weighted toward Sonja's rural upbringing as a chieftain's daughter in the rugged Hyrkanian Steppes. In the modern day of the series, she's far more often depicted wielding swords and fighting in melee rather than at range. Yes, she often has a shortbow, and yes, she's very, very good with it, but a sword is definitely her primary weapon. They don't call her the "She-Devil with a Shortbow," after all. So the shortbow was in, to be sure, but I knew I needed to put the focus on melee weapons.

I knew that the sword-devil archetype I was designing would allow Sonja, eventually, at least, to choose multiple ranger combat styles. Because I wanted to build Sonja using the Core Rulebook primarily, rather than choose from the large number of ranger combat styles we've published over numerous books, that meant choosing between archery and two-weapon combat. Given that archery seemed like a secondary focus for Red Sonja, I decided to go with two-weapon fighting, even though Sonja is most-often depicted wielding a single longsword in the 18 Gail Simone-written issues I used as my primary inspiration for her game statistics. I also read dozens of other Red Sonja comics while writing Pathfinder Worldscape, and many of them depict Sonja with two weapons—most commonly a longsword and a short sword, but also occasionally a mace, an axe, or even a morning star. It wasn't a perfect solution given the source material, but I liked a Sonja who is better with swords than bows, so I'm confident it was the right decision. She'll get the archery combat style at 11th level, so it'll all balance out in the end.

Additionally, choosing the two-weapon combat style gave her access to Two-Weapon Defense as a bonus feat, which allows her an additional +1 shield bonus to Armor Class. Even with the armor-assisting archetype to come, Sonja needs all the help she can get in the AC department.

Sonja's swords themselves posed a bit of a problem. Unlike many fantasy heroes, Red Sonja doesn't have "a" singularly important blade with a unique name and history. The shape of Sonja's sword often depends on which illustrator is drawing her, and seems to be more a matter of artist preference than any attempt to hew toward a particular specific object. She most frequently wields a longsword with a sort of upward-turned half-moon hilt, but even this appears and disappears depending on her adventure. Further, while Red Sonja is definitely a formidable warrior and it's easy to assume that her blades carry a bit of magic in the Pathfinder RPG sense, they don't burst into flame, or talk to her, or float alongside her, or really do anything else to distinguish them from other swords.

I therefore decided to give her swords a simple enhancement bonus, +2 in the case of her primary longsword and +1 in the case of her short sword. I made her shortbow a +1 composite shortbow (+2 Str), allowing her to add the +2 bonus granted by her 14 Strength to give her added damage with ranged attacks.

All of that allowed me just under 3,000 gp left of her gear budget, which I dedicated to an item that allowed me to make sense of one of the most confounding elements of Red Sonja's skimpy armor—boots of the winterlands. I can buy that Red Sonja survives combats wearing next to nothing because her near nudity distracts her opponents (the "explanation" most often given within the comics themselves). I can buy that Red Sonja is such a skilled warrior she doesn't even need to wear armor.

I can't buy that she can survive in the winter wilderness wearing a metal bathing suit.

Boots of the winterlands allow Red Sonja to travel across snow at normal speeds (her enemies constantly curse her speed, so that works), but most importantly for my purposes, the boots warm the wearer as if protected by an endure elements spell.

Both of the illustrations accompanying this blog are by Jenny Frison, one of my favorite Red Sonja cover artists. I've liked both of these covers for a long time, but with boots of the winterlands, I no longer need to worry about how unrealistic it is every time we see her in cold weather.

A minor victory, to be sure. There will, I hope, be many more to come.

Check back at this space next Wednesday for a full overview of Red Sonja's sword-devil archetype, and check your local comic store on that very same day (October 19th) to grab your very own copy of Pathfinder Worldscape #1. Alternatively, start your Ongoing Pathfinder Comics Subscription today to make sure you never miss a single issue.

And if you're in the Los Angeles area, I'll see you next Wednesday at Meltdown Comics!

Until then, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

Worldscape Workbook—Gearing Up Red Sonja, Part 1: Armbands

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

This week's Worldscape Workbook covers how I decided what magic items and adventuring gear to give Red Sonja for her official Pathfinder game statistics, but before I delve into the nitty gritty, I've got two announcements about personal appearances I'll be making to support Pathfinder Worldscape #1, which hits newsstands on Wednesday, October 19th.

Later this week I'll be signing pre-Worldscape Pathfinder comics I've written at the Dynamite booth at New York Comic Con! I'll be appearing from 4:00-5:00 on Friday and Saturday, and I'll even have some Pathfinder Goblin Mini-Mates on hand for dedicated Paizo blog-watchers.

At NYCC, I'll also be on Dynamite's "Dynamite Entertainment: Our Explosive New Comics of 2017... And Beyond!" panel on Thursday night at 7:30 PM at area 1A02 in the Javitt's Center.

On Wednesday, October 19th, to celebrate the official launch day of Pathfinder Worldscape #1, I'll be appearing at the world-famous Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles to sign copies of the new book and chat with Pathfinder fans! The signing starts at 7:00 PM. I'm super excited to visit the store again and to be a part of an official event there! Please join me!

Ok! With that out of the way, let's get down to Red Sonja!

In previous weeks, I've discussed the game design challenges presented by Red Sonja's "chainmail bikini," but of course the She-Devil with a Sword has more equipment than just her armor.

A few assumptions up front.

When determining Red Sonja's level, I wanted to leave enough room at the "top end" to allow for "future" Red Sonja stories like Dynamite's "Vulture's Circle" or "The Black Tower," and I didn't want Red Sonja to be so super-heroic that she was a novelty high-level-only NPC.

We assume the Pathfinder iconic heroes are about 5th or 6th level at the beginning of Pathfinder Worldscape. I wanted the versions of famous heroes they encountered in the Worldscape to be more capable than them (naturally), but still plausible adventuring companions under the Pathfinder rules, meaning they'd be similarly challenged by the same foes. So if the iconics were 5th or 6th, that meant I'd put folks like Red Sonja and John Carter closer to 7th. High enough to get the extra attack at 6th level, certainly.

To tell the truth, I had a lot of inertia to make Red Sonja 7th level. This has to do with the Pathfinder Society's rules for pre-generated characters, which come in a few specific levels, of which 7th is one. Let's just say I had reason to think it would be interesting to end up with stats that worked as a basis for a PFS pregen for Red Sonja and leave it at that. Nothing to announce, folks, I assure you. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Anyway, I ended up going with 8th level so Sonja would qualify for a class feature of her archetype that kicks in then, about which we'll talk in a near-future column. I'll reverse engineer her stat block to 7th later if I need to for whatever reason. For now I decided to go with the more interesting character build.

So, at 8th level, by the Pathfinder rules as a player character (because, come on, I'm not statting these guys up as anything less), Red Sonja should have 33,000 gp worth of gear.

That seemed like a lot, so I immediately started looking into the possibilities. First, I turned to my notes of all the gear I'd seen Red Sonja use over the first 18 issues of Dynamite's revamped series under the guidance of writer Gail Simone. Barring various different costumes or armor worn by Sonja over these issues, that list reads as follows:

• Sword
• Throwing dagger
• Leather gloves
• Left armband
• Right armband
• Leather boots
• Hooded cloak
• Shortbow
• Waterskin

As you'll recall from previous installments of this column, I had originally planned to design Red Sonja's chainmail bikini as a suit of "decorative armor" that offered a +0 armor bonus, but didn't count as wearing armor for certain class features. That meant that Sonja couldn't wear bracers of armor, which meant I needed a solution to cheat to get her improvements to her AC that would allow her to go toe-to-toe with other martial characters of her level, who generally would be wearing a lot more armor than she does.

I zeroed in pretty quickly on Red Sonja's armbands. Although each artist draws Sonja their own way, during the Gail Simone arcs, she had a pretty consistent look drawn by artist Walter Giovanni, who gave each of the two armbands a distinct appearance. Sonja's right armband was a solid ring of gold, while the one she wears on her left arm looks more like a coiled snake. Two different armbands, I thought, two different opportunities for some cool unique magic items to get around her armor problem.

I also had another problem I wanted to solve, and this one came from actual play. Over the summer, in particular at PaizoCon and PaizoCon UK, I ran special games based on the Pathfinder Worldscape ideas I was working on in comic scripts at the time. I kludged together a storyline similar to Valeros's manifestation in the Worldscape in Pathfinder Worldscape #1, complete with anachronistic enemies and the untimely arrival of a Barsoomian White Ape, and set it upon some of Paizo's biggest fans. At the end of these sessions, I set Red Sonja herself against the party—or at least a seriously "rough draft" version of the character cribbed from a kit-bashed stat block from the NPC Codex. And every time, she blew a Will save and the encounter ended prematurely.

So I wanted those two different armbands to do two different things. One, which I originally called an "armlet of natural armor" that enhanced your natural armor bonus and one called a "coiled armlet" that allowed you to reroll a blown save. The armlet of natural armor was a boring utilitarian item, essentially a slotless amulet of natural armor at twice the price. I didn't really think anyone needed to pay a professional game designer for such a simple idea, but oh well. She needed the bonus to her AC, sexy or not. The coiled armband was a little more interesting, but given that it involved creating a gp value for rerolling a failed save, I didn't quite know how to determine a price for it.

In this, as in so many things, I turned to Jason Bulmahn, and in the process of laying out an arcane way of doing it that I have already forgotten (but will try to get him to recount for a future blog), he reminded me that the feat Improved Iron Will would give Red Sonja that rerolled saving throw on the type of save for which she needed it most.

This was the same conversation that convinced me, ultimately, that Red Sonja's armor didn't need to be some rules-breaking contrivance, but that it could simply not be armor at all. Once the armor wasn't armor at all, that opened things back up for good old bracers of armor. I decided to give Sonja Improved Iron Will, which removed my other idea for a new, unique armlet.

At the same time, Dynamite supplied me with the illustration that would accompany Red Sonja's stat block in Pathfinder Worldscape #1. Much to my surprise, it did not feature two different armbands at all. Instead, this image of Sonja (by occasional Pathfinder Comics cover artist Carlos Gomez) has two solid gold armbands instead of two different ones.

At this point I decided to listen to fate, and I simply made Red Sonja's armbands bracers of armor +4 and called it a day. Sometimes the simplest solution really is the best one.

Speaking of calling it a day, I've rambled on quite a lot! We'll pick up this gear discussion next week, when I shift the focus to Red Sonja's weapons!

Until then, please do me a huge favor and consider setting up a Pathfinder Comics Ongoing Subscription. Doing so will ensure that you receive every issue of Pathfinder Worldscape delivered straight to your door. People are always asking what they can do to support the comic, and my answer is this: If you have a local comic store, ask them to add Pathfinder Worldscape to your pull list. If you don't have a local comic shop, please set up that subscription now!

I'll see some of you (I hope!) later this week at New York Comic Con and some more of you on the 19th at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles!

Thanks for your interest in Pathfinder Worldscape!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Worldscape Workbook—Choosing Red Sonja's Class

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

We're three weeks from the official release date of Pathfinder Worldscape #1, the first issue of the new Pathfinder comic series from Dynamite! Worldscape crosses over the Pathfinder heroes Valeros, Seoni, Kyra, and Merisiel with a host of sword & sorcery superstars including Red Sonja, John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, Thun'da, Fantomah, and more! In addition to six monthly issues of pulse-pounding inter-dimensional adventure, each issue includes a Pathfinder RPG rules appendix that contains official game statistics for the series' guest stars, new race information for the unique creatures that appear in the series like Barsoomian green Martians, and so on. I'm writing the series, and taking the lead on the game design portions of the appendices. That's a huge honor, of course, but it's also a significant responsibility. When presented with such a cool opportunity, the last thing I want to do is mess it up!

I've spoken at length about the characters, plot, and origins of Pathfinder Worldscape with Bleeding Cool, Know Direction, and Things from Another World, but every Wednesday from now until the end of the series, I plan to peel back the skin of the RPG side of Pathfinder Worldscape right here on the Paizo Blog, in a new series I'm calling Worldscape Workbook.

How did I choose which characters to adapt? Why did I make this or that decision about how to bring their weird powers, equipment, or racial abilities into the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game? I'll be letting you know right here every week with a look into my thought process, as wrong-headed as that may sometimes prove to be.

I'm thrilled to be able to bring so many amazing characters from the sword & sorcery, pulp, and comics tradition to Pathfinder, and the resulting discussions around the Paizo editorial office were interesting enough that I thought you would appreciate a fly-on-the-wall look at how it's all gone down so far.

Last week, I kicked off the Worldscape Workbook with a look at Red Sonja's (in)famous "chainmail bikini," and how I jumped through several hoops and ran into some development dead-ends trying to figure out how to make it work in Pathfinder. In the end, I decided Sonja's skimpy armor wasn't armor at all, and resolved to use a special archetype to give her the Armor Class oomph necessary to go toe-to-toe with some of the nastiest customers of the Hyborian Age.

But as archetypes modify specific Pathfinder RPG class abilities, before I could get to the details of Red Sonja's archetype, I knew I had an even more important question to answer: What is Red Sonja's class?

The easy, almost reflexive answer, is that Red Sonja is a barbarian. Her past as the daughter of a chieftain in the Hyrkanian Steppes is more barbaric than cosmopolitan, to be sure, but (as with most things), the "simple" solution really isn't the best, and isn't very true to her character as presented in the comic books.

Which, actually, brings up a fair point. Red Sonja first appeared in a 1973 Conan the Barbarian comic written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor Smith. A natural female foil for the hard-headed Conan, comic book Sonja drew inspiration from Conan creator Robert E. Howard's Red Sonya (note the "Y"), a swashbuckler historical adventure character from the 1934 story "Shadow of the Vulture." In the more than 40 years since that original comic appearance, Sonja has had scores of writers and artists, all of whom brought their own approach to the character. Like many multi-decade comics heroes, there are a lot of "takes" on Sonja's origin, personality, and skill set.

To prepare for Pathfinder Worldscape, I read about 100 Red Sonja comics, ranging from her original 1970s adventures (published by Marvel) to the most recent issues of her current series from our partners at Dynamite. For key character details, I focused most strongly on writer Gail Simone and artist Walter Giovani's landmark 18-issue run that kicked off with the re-imagined origin of Red Sonja in the Queen of Plagues story arc from 2013. While keeping the most important elements of Sonja's origin and character intact, Simone's revamp gave Red Sonja more agency even before the tragedy that put her on the path of the warrior. Gone was the empowering goddess Scathach, the 1970s source of Red Sonja's fighting prowess. Gone was her ridiculous vow of chastity to only bed men who had bested her in combat. And gone, too, were other depressing elements of sexual violence to Sonja's origin story that probably seemed appropriate to a male comics writer in the early 70s, but which are grating and deeply un-empowering by modern standards.

For me, the Simone reboot keeps or amplifies everything that makes Red Sonja a compelling character while jettisoning the lamer elements of the original origin, creating a hero who cut her way to greatness under her own power as opposed to a puppet of a mostly absent chastity-obsessed war goddess. Opinions probably differ, but I considered it a vast improvement. I therefore turned mostly to the 2013 arc for issues related to Red Sonja's early life, which of course plays directly into decisions about her official Pathfinder class.

As I read through my huge pile of Red Sonja comics, it became very clear to me that Red Sonja was not a barbarian at all, at least by the standards of the Pathfinder rules. For starters, while Red Sonja certainly displays anger and combat prowess throughout her adventures, she doesn't "rage" in the traditional Pathfinder sense. Her anger and fury doesn't translate into short bursts of greater power. In fact, over the course of her adventures, "Strength" isn't really emphasized at all. During a recent Conan/Red Sonja crossover, Red Sonja's speed and, in game terms, Dexterity, were emphasized in direct contrast to Conan's Cimmerian brawn. Comic book Conan may, in fact, be a barbarian, but it's simply not a good fit for Red Sonja.

Ok, then, maybe she's something funky and off-beat like the Advanced Class Guide's brawler, or even a swashbuckler? Well, maybe, but for major heroes like Red Sonja and John Carter, I wanted to use one of the Pathfinder game's core base classes to start with, because I imagine these comics will be drawing in people who are roughly familiar with the primary Pathfinder game rules, but maybe not with our secondary or tertiary class books. So I decided to close that particular door before delving too deeply into it myself.

What about a fighter? Red Sonja is undoubtedly known for combat prowess, swordcraft, and bow skill. In Pathfinder terms, she's definitely in the d10 Hit Die camp, with the resulting "best" Base Attack Bonus progression that goes with it. Fighter certainly qualified on that front. The class would also load up Sonja with a bunch of cool combat feats, which would make her an even more formidable opponent—a design goal I definitely did not want to overlook.

All that said, fighter provided one major challenge, above and beyond the fact that Armor Training is one of the fighter's most important class features, and I'd already decided that Red Sonja basically didn't wear armor. I could always use Sonja's archetype to "swap out" Armor Training for something that gave her an Armor Class bonus when not wearing armor, but when you take away the fighter's Armor Training and Armor Mastery, there isn't an awful lot of other goodies left over to trade out for other archetype powers. And, after reading 100 Red Sonja comics, I knew I had some other powers I wanted to give her.

That led me to consider a solution that, when originally posted to my Facebook fan page before my reading spree, didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. What about the ranger?

A close look at Red Sonja's origin story suggested that the idea had a lot of merit. To recap, Red Sonja was the daughter of a chieftain of the Hyrkanian Steppes, a huge land in the east of Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age. When she was 12, marauders sacked her village and murdered the rest of the family, making vengeance a huge part of Sonja's motivation from almost the very beginning. Almost. Consider this interaction between Sonja and her father, shortly before the raiders arrive, when the family is out on a hunt.

So, by the age of 12, Red Sonja is "better with a bow than anyone in our village," and she knows "every bit of woodlore we can teach." Her father further adds, "No one can shoot or track better." That's compelling evidence and probably enough to make the case alone, but there's more.

Throughout the series, Sonja' enemies call her "Sonja the Hunter," an appellation she mentions herself, as well. In Simone's second story arc, The Art of Blood and Fire, a southern potentate named Emperor Samala hires "Sonja the Hunter" to track down the world's six greatest artisans for a party commemorating his imminent death and entombment. "I need a tracker," he says on the following page.

Want more proof? Here's Red Sonja tracking a group of fish-men through a watery swamp. Note also that Sonja uses a shortbow in this scene, which she does commonly throughout the series—further proof that I needed to figure out a way to work her ranged combat expertise into her overall rules presentation.

Lastly, Red Sonja shows strong animal affinity throughout her many appearances, and seems to especially despise cruelty to animals. In the aforementioned Conan/Red Sonja crossover (published by current Conan publisher Dark Horse under arrangement with Dynamite and co-written by Simone and former Pathfinder comics writer Jim Zub), Red Sonja encounters a cruel animal trainer named Kalayah, who later appears as one of Emperor Samala's "greatest artisans in the world," much to Sonja's ire. Check out the way she talks about Kalayah's horrible treatment of his performing animals.

Spoiler alert: It doesn't end well for Kalayah.

So that's several signifiers that point in the direction of a ranger: Excellent bow skills, total mastery of woodlore, respect and affinity for animals, tracking ability so strong her reputation as a hunter spreads to the leaders of distant foreign nations. And one more thing so common I didn't even bother looking for images to prove it to you—Red Sonja constantly fights with two weapons, another hallmark of the Pathfinder ranger.

Of course, the Pathfinder RPG ranger has a lot of class features that aren't appropriate for Red Sonja. She doesn't have an animal companion. She doesn't seem to favor a particular type of enemy over any other. She doesn't have what Pathfinder calls "favored terrain." And, perhaps most importantly, she doesn't cast spells.

While those inappropriate class features look like they disqualify the ranger from contention, in fact I was thrilled to have them. Staying competitive without wearing armor is a pretty major power, and I had other elements—such as Red Sonja's "Curse of Hyrkania" death vow—that were also going to be necessary to keep her competitive with other d10 Hit Die warrior types.

Making those powers work would mean swapping out significant, powerful, and frequently useful class features—exactly the type of "inappropriate" class features provided by the ranger.

To me, that looked an awful lot like a solution.

Red Sonja is a ranger.

She's not just a ranger, though. She's a ranger with the very special "sword-devil" archetype, which I'll begin to go into in next week's installment of the Worldscape Workbook!

Until then, please consider setting up a Pathfinder Comics Ongoing Subscription, which will ensure that you don't miss a single issue. If subscribing direct from Paizo isn't your thing, be sure to ask your local comic or game store to order you a copy of Pathfinder Worldscape #1, which releases on Wednesday, October 19th!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a green Martian named Tars Tarkas who desperately needs game statistics!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Worldscape Workbook—The Chainmail Bikini

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

We're a month away from the release of Pathfinder Worldscape #1, the launch of an all-new comic book series from our partners at Dynamite! Pathfinder Worldscape throws the Pathfinder adventurers Valeros, Seoni, Merisiel, and Kyra into a prison dimension that draws in the greatest warriors of three worlds, giving us the unique opportunity to cross over the Pathfinder adventurers with Dynamite's incredible roster of fantasy and pulp characters, including Red Sonja, John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, and a host of others. I'm quite excited about the series as a Pathfinder publisher and as a pulp fan, but to be perfectly frank, the thing that excites me most about Pathfinder Worldscape is the fact that I am writing it.

I've previously contributed scripts to the Pathfinder: Goblins!, Pathfinder: Origins, and Pathfinder: Hollow Mountain series, but this is my first go as the sole writer for all six issues, and overall the Worldscape project is one I've been working behind the scenes to make happen for years, almost since the very first Pathfinder comic ever came out. I'm thrilled and humbled by the opportunity to write comics featuring the iconic characters we created, but mixing that with the chance to script the exploits of characters created by Robert E. Howard (and Roy Thomas), Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Frank Frazetta pushes the experience over the top for me to the point that it's become a real creative highlight of my career.

Pathfinder Worldscape also provides me with the opportunity to work up official Pathfinder RPG game statistics for some of these legendary heroes. As with previous Pathfinder comics series, each issue of Worldscape contains a short RPG appendix and a pull-out miniatures-scale poster map. The first issue naturally leads with official game statistics for Red Sonja, one of Dynamite's flagship characters and one of the true pillars of sword & sorcery comics. Putting together Red Sonja's Pathfinder stats was a fascinating experience in game design and creative adaptation, and in the process of making it all work it occurred to me that it might be fun to open up my creative process a bit here on the Paizo blog, and discuss—step by step—my thought process on bringing these characters to life—Pathfinder style.

So, welcome to the first installment of the Worldscape Workbook, where I plan to do just that, on a more or less weekly basis. Throughout the month leading up to the Worldscape series and during the release of the issues themselves, I'll be opening up my brain here every Wednesday (because Wednesday is new comic book day!) and letting you know what went into adapting these characters, and why I made some of the decisions I did.

Even though I'm taking the design lead on this project, of course there are lots of other people involved, giving me suggestions, modifying my mistakes, and generally snickering about my bad decisions directly to my face in advance, ideally to spare me from all of you laughing in my face after the issue comes out, and it is too late to do anything about it. These conversations have taught me a lot about the design philosophy at play within Paizo's editorial and design department, and as I was sitting there thinking about how interesting it was to sink my teeth into this stuff, it occurred to me that a lot of you would probably find it pretty interesting, too.

I won't be posting the game statistics here on the blog—you've got to buy the issue for that—but I do plan to talk about why I made certain decisions, and (sometimes just as importantly) why I didn't make certain other design decisions (or why I did, and Jason Bulmahn made me change it). In the process I'll be revealing some of my own design blind spots and stupidities, which I figure some of you will also appreciate.

So let's begin at the beginning, with the character featured in next month's Pathfinder Worldscape #1: RED SONJA!

In the following weeks, I'll discuss things like Red Sonja's statistics, her new sword-devil archetype, her class, her equipment load-out, and so on, but first things first. I've got to address the chainmail bikini.

It goes without saying that there is not currently a bikini armor type in the Pathfinder RPG, so figuring out the value of Red Sonja's armor wasn't as simple as simply picking out something appropriate from the Core Rulebook. The smallest bit of armor there that's even remotely close is the chain shirt, and while the original version of Red Sonja way back in the 1970s DID wear a chain shirt (along with some fantastic hotpants), the current incarnation wears decidedly less material.

As an aside, one of my biggest surprises in researching about 100 issues of Red Sonja comics from various eras is that her chainmail bikini isn't really chainmail.

That's more appropriately a type of armor called "coin mail," which also isn't in the Core Rulebook, in bikini form or otherwise. So my first decision regarding Red Sonja's armor was that I was going to have to invent an entirely new type of armor for her, which I did:

New Armor Type: Decorative Armor

Little more than a few small patches of cloth adorned with bits of metal, decorative armor is more a fashion statement than practical protection. Despite its impracticality, decorative armor can be enchanted with enhancement bonuses and special armor qualities.

Cost 5 gp; Armor Bonus +0; Maximum Dex Bonus —; Armor Check Penalty 0; Arcane Spell Failure 5%; Speed (30 ft.) 30ft.; Speed (20 ft.) 20 ft.; Weight 5 lbs.

This passed muster with a couple of Paizo's developers, but "decorative armor" met its match when I passed it by Jason Bulmahn and Owen K.C. Stephens, who correctly pointed out that I had created it only as a kludge to get Red Sonja enhancement bonuses, and that this type of armor would be too tempting to monks and wizards, who would gain all of the upside while suffering none of the downside. Jason did thank me for at least putting that 5% spell failure chance in there, but I'd only done that as a trick to sneak it by him, and it didn't work.

So decorative armor was dead, as I pretty much knew it would be, and I had to figure out something else. To be honest, I wasn't too bothered, as the solution never really worked for me, anyway. Slapping three triangles of a dozen silver pieces over your breasts and crotch doesn't really make for effective protection of any kind, so facing rejection of my armor solution, I went back to my original original idea, which is far, far simpler.

Red Sonja's chainmail bikini isn't armor at all.

Instead, I decided, Red Sonja would derive most of her Armor Class from a combination of a naturally high Dexterity AND a special ability of her sword-devil archetype.

But an archetype requires a class, and what class is Red Sonja? Check back here next week, and I'll tell you!

In the meantime, check out a recent interview I did with Bleeding Cool about the series with lots of details on the plot, characters, and how the whole project came together.

You might also consider setting up a Pathfinder Comics Ongoing Subscription to make sure you don't miss the first issue, which hits comic stands on October 19th!

Thanks for your time, and we'll see you in next week's Worldscape Workbook!

Erik Mona
Publisher

OPC Log—11 Erastus 4716

Monday, July 11, 2016

Good afternoon, Pathfinders! I just got back from northern Idaho, where I went to help clean out my childhood home. Sorting through the stuff brought the memories flooding back—wrapping paper from my childhood, the hand brace my grandfather wore, books I put in storage when I moved to England. The town doesn't look the same with the open fields of my youth replaced by housing developments. It was a relaxing visit, for being lots of physical labor, but now I'm back in Redmond and turning my focus to more Gen Con prep, getting things ready so I may travel to PaizoCon UK, and keeping things moving on getting support out to other conventions.

Gen Con Countdown—22 Days!

Don't be left hanging in Indianapolis without something to do. Gen Con Badges are still available, as are tickets to the hottest events around—Pathfinder Society events in the Sagamore Ballroom. You still have a chance to get tickets to Serpent's Ire, our Thursday night Special or Through Maelstrom Rift. Quick! Make sure you have a ticket to these special events.

In addition to the Special Events, scenarios like The Twisted Circle, the Faithless and Forgotten series, or the evergreen scenarios The Confirmation, The Wounded Wisp, and The Consortium Compact are so popular they sold out, so we are working with Gen Con to add tables of each to our offerings. Net result, more tickets of these high demand scenarios will soon be available on the Gen Con Website. Buy now before they are all gone!

Syrinscape Shinies

As a thank you to the Venture-Officers, 4-star and 5-star GMs, Ben Loomes of Syrinscape is gifting them with a year pass to its awesome service! For those unfamiliar with Syrinscape, it is an application that brings background sounds to the gaming table, adding depth and ambiance to your gaming experience. There are sounds for many for most situations—battles, towns, forests and waterfront—or use the sound creator to make your own. If you are a VO or 4/5 star GM, you will receive an email in the next day with directions how to activate your free account (to ensure you receive this message, double-check that you've enabled Paizo to send you emails on behalf of partner companies on your My Account page). Anyone else wishing to add Syrinscape to their games may visit their website and try it for free.

New 5-Star GMs

Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Game Masters are busy people, running hundreds of games a month and sharing their skills with our Pathfinder Society communities. It is my pleasure to recognize our newest 5* GMs, who ran over 150 games, including ten specials, and underwent the pressure of having a Venture-Captain observe their tables. This equates to over 750 hours of game time, not including preparation. Thank you very much for all the time you spent furthering our hobby.

Our newest five stars:

• Bill Baldwin
• Adam Dane
• Josh Lovelace
• Dawn Reed
• Michael Tracey
• Ben Wilkins
• Kevin Willis

Finally, I would turn your thoughts to a more somber nature. In the aftermath of some of this weekends occurrences, please take a moment to reach out others in our community. Say hi! Shake hands! Enjoy our collective love of a game (or games, as many of use enjoy a variety of systems and genres). Take refuge and solace in our Society. For those I've met, be well! For those I haven't, stay safe. Your all friends I haven't met yet, and I want the chance to do so!

Until next time—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

More Iconic Promos!

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Obsidian Pathfinder Adventures Update

Before we jump into your regularly scheduled blog, we have the following message to relay from Obsidian:

We know many of you are eagerly awaiting the chance to explore Sandpoint and defeat the Runelords, and we're sorry to keep you waiting just a little bit longer: We're moving the launch day for Pathfinder Adventures to April 26.

The good news is why the game is being delayed: during beta testing over the last couple of weeks the community has given us a ton of feedback on everything from visual polish to card balance and general gameplay. We want to evaluate all of the ideas and address as many as possible before launch, and that process is going to take a little bit of time.

Ultimately, we hope you all agree that the result will be a better Pathfinder Adventures, just at a sliiiiightly later date.

Stuart Roch
Director of Publishing, Obsidian Entertainment

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We're just laying down the final versions of the Mummy's Mask promo cards this week, which reminds me that we have more promos to talk about! Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes Set #6 has just been released, complete with an extra miniature and an extra promo card. (See? Don't say we never gave you nothin'.)

Here's a look at the promo cards in Set #6. As a reminder, these cards have the Owner trait, meaning the character whose name is on the card can treat it as a Basic card.

Some Cards from Iconics that Already have ACG Character Cards...

Daji's card could have been named "Red Fox," but then I wouldn't stop shouting "I'm coming to join you, Elizabeth!"

People have been saying "Where's Lem?" since Iconic Heroes Set #1. There's this thing where we could only get one small mini into each set, and we wanted to make sure that Biter and... screw it, the important thing is that he's finally here.

And he brought his flute! The Instrument trait first appeared on Oloch's Orc War Drum, but has since migrated into Wrath of the Righteous and other decks. Basically, it means that you're gonna add 1d4 to other people's checks in some way—in other words, it'll make you a bit like a Bard. But if you're already a Bard, you get to add that d4 to everything anyone does that turn. Everything. Lem + Flute = popular.

Our favorite emo magus gets a shiny bent scimitar. Since he's just as concerned with spells as swords, Seltyiel can use it to pick up spells and then fling them back later.

Feiya has two cards in this set, including Daji the fox. Feiya's trick, both in the Skull & Shackles Character Add-On Deck and the upcoming Witch Deck revolves around recharging cards to reduce the difficulty of checks. Daji's great for many a spellcaster due to the Intelligence and Wisdom bumps, but when it's Feiya, suddenly she's reducing difficulty by 6 or 7 all the time. Pretty dodgy, if you ask me.

... And Cards from Iconics that Don't have Character Cards Yet

I swear there was some armor around here a minute ago.

We haven't released playable versions of Quinn the Investigator, Hayato the Samurai, or Reiko the Ninja yet. But their Iconic Heroes cards are useful even without their owners.

The investigator's main gimmick is peering into dark places. Just as Holmes has his magnifying glass, Quinn has his lamp. Anyone can use it to peek at cards and clear out barriers. When Quinn shows up, he'll be doing that a lot.

Reiko's black ninja armor is loaded with hidden weapons. Don't have a need for armor right now? Voop, it's a Hand Crossbow. Or a Dragon Pistol. Or in Reiko's case, maybe it's a Kusarigama. Just the kind of thing your shadowy figures would need in a pinch.

So that's Set 6. We get asked a lot, "Will there be more Iconic Heroes sets?" WizKids is still contemplating the answer to that, but we sure hope so.

And Speaking of Promos...

This year's Free RPG Day is June 18, and we've got another goblin character coming your way. We're not gonna say much about him for a little while, but here's Tup the Terrible!

Oh, one more thing: He has a sheep named Deliverance.

Enjoy the promos, Pathfinders!

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Obsidian Gets Difficult

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, we debuted Pathfinder Adventures on the Obsidian Plays Twitch Stream. Viewers got to see a new feature that many card game players have been begging for: adjustable difficulty. Now you can play in several modes: Normal, Heroic, and Legendary Difficulty, with or without permanent character death. To kick things off, I played Black Fang's Dungeon on Legendary Difficulty with 6 characters. Even though I've played Black Fang literally hundreds of times at this point, I still sweat bullets in this, my favorite play mode.

Let me walk you through another good scenario...

I recently jumped into Trouble in Sandpoint in "Burnt Offerings." After selecting the scenario and watching a short cutscene, we see the scenario preview which would normally show a power telling me that after encountering a Wrathful Sinspawn, I would have a 1 in 6 chance of discarding blessings from the blessings deck. As you see below, things have changed... a bit.

Who needs a blessings deck anyway?

Instead of a 1 in 6 chance of losing blessings, it's 1 in 2. Given that most of the henchmen, one of the location closing conditions, and the villain's summoning power will trigger this, my time is limited.

But wait, there's more! I've also been given two "Wildcard" powers. Wildcards are additional randomly chosen increases in difficulty. Night is approaching which means that each time I fail to get a boon, I lose another blessing, and coupled with the driving rain, those boons will be even harder to get. Time is definitely not on my side.

But wait, there's even more! I can move only to an adjacent location. Let's see what that means.

Amiri and Seelah leap into danger, while Ezren and Lem chill at the Apothecary. Yeah, that's about right.

This is our location selection screen to place characters before the scenario begins. There are now connections between all of the locations and now movement is limited to those travel lines. No longer will healers be able to parachute into any location they're needed. So I have to place each character carefully using a strategy that takes into account location deck composition, location power, closing check, connections to the locations around it, distance from other characters, and an ideal path

I see a couple challenges immediately:

1. Two Intelligence/Knowledge location closures are spread far apart, but for Lem to be effective, I want to group him with Ezren.
2. Shrine of Lamashtu is connected only to the Old Light, so it's isolated. I decide to post Seelah there because, let's face it, she was made to face the Shrine.

So we're set! Let's take a look at what this looks like in game.

Welcome to Sandpoint, where you'll find bunyips aplenty in Ven Vinder's general store.

From this view, which we call the scenario view, you can better see the spatial and thematic reasons that the travel lines are configured in this way. The Village House is acting as a hub and the Shrine to Lamashtu is the most remote location on the map. Not all locations map exactly to a place in Sandpoint, but if you look at the map of Sandpoint in the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition, you’ll find that the Old Light, Junk Beach, and the Glassworks are all in the right places; the Apothecary is located at Pillbug Podiker’s, and the Village House is at the White Deer tavern and inn.

Speaking of the Village House, let's fast forward to the end of the Scenario. I have 2 blessings left before the scenario ends. Those blessings went fast! Ezren's moved over to Village House, Lem and Harsk have converged on the Waterfront, Amiri and Merisiel are tied up at their starting locations, and Seelah's just closed the Shrine. Ezren defeated the henchman last turn so he knows he's about to fight the villain. The Old Light is open.

If only I had a way to get someone over to Old Light...

Ezren knows that he's got a useful spell in his deck and he just drew Detect Magic. Ezren understands that the best way to hit a dangerous enemy is... carefully. And he embarks on some rather arcane planning. He casts Detect Magic to look at the villain he already knows to be there, and activates his Expanded Spellbook and comes across...

Swift like a Sajan!

...Stride! Perfect!

Stride is Obsidian's version of Levitate. We found that while Levitate was a good card (particularly for Legendary difficulty), it would have to prompt at the end of each character’s turn to activate properly, which can get old real fast. We pitched an alternate version with less versatility in some ways and more in others to Mike Selinker, Chad Brown, and Vic Wertz. Vic made an excellent point that we'd be diverging enough from the original Levitate card that it would make sense to call it something else. And since it's a new card, new art!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. It's time for Seelah to move to The Old Light and do hero's work. Ezren pulls Erylium from the location deck and trusts in his friends to close their locations. Everyone does their part, leaving Seelah to try an Intelligence check.

Seelah's got this because she's literally the best character.

It's tough, but with the power of prayer and Irori's blessing...

Faith is just as good as brains to Seelah.

She nails it! Now all that's left is for Ezren to blast Erylium to bits with all of the remaining dice.

Lightning never gets old!

Boom!

Now that you have a sense for how Legendary Difficulty works, I'll give a super-brief history of this feature. One of the first big shifts we made from PACG was the use of maps and points to show the locations. Almost immediately, it was clear that we could do something more with maps, but we held off for a long time. We started developing the concept for having increased difficulties based on a number of factors. We knew that there was a strong desire to replay scenarios from Rise of the Runelords and many of you have run through Perils of the Lost Coast many, many times. I also spent some time checking out a lot of homebrew mods people had done to make the game their own. I put this version of restricted movement together before PaizoCon last year (along with some other stuff we will talk about soon) and requested a meeting with the original PACG development team at the convention.

I think I led with, "We love your game! Development is going really well! Here's my plan to screw it all up." Mercifully, the whole team was excited and on board! They gave us a lot of fantastic input across the board.

The plan simmered for a while as we were nailing down other parts of the project, like the tutorial and roles. At the end of last year, David Williams (Designer for Legend of the Five Rings, Doomtown, and so many more) joined the team here at Obsidian and locked down our difficulty design and added the concept of randomly chosen Wildcard powers which makes such a big difference in replayability and challenge level.

Dave will be joined by art lead and UI designer Andre Nguyen and artist Lindsay Laney in another Twitch stream this Friday at 4 PM Pacific time! Be sure to check it out!

Nathan Davis
Game Director, Obsidian Entertainment
@nathan_J_davis
(Previously Harsk in Rise of the Runelords and Ranzak in Skull & Shackles; currently Alain in Wrath of the Righteous)

Pathfinder Adventures—Maybe the Coolest Collection of Ones and Zeros Ever

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Last week on Reddit, I alluded to our Pathfinder Adventure Card Game design team helping Obsidian Entertainment with its upcoming Pathfinder Adventures game. If you haven't heard, it's a digital port of PACG, but with a whole lot of new bells and whistles.

So, let me give you an idea of what it's like to work on this awesome thing. First, the crew. Chad, Vic, and I have been trading emails and phone calls with project lead Nathan Davis, designer Dave Williams, user interface designer Andre Nguyen, and artist Lindsey Laney for something like a year and a half now. They are freakin' sorcerers. They see everything we've tried to create in paper form and manipulate it to be even better in the digital world.

Gone is all the setup and teardown time, the limitations on numbers of cards in the box, the trips to Ikea for new Kallaxes to fit the awkward thing in your game room. In are variable boons, dynamically changing banes, and Andre's amazing animations. Rise of the Runelords feels brand new again.

Here are some screenshots you'll like. Below is the map for the Adventure Path. The star with the checkmark just south of Sandpoint shows that I've completed the B scenarios, and the bright star to the north indicates that I can take on adventure 1 in Sandpoint itself.

Follow the teal arrows. It's totally safe.

In each scenario, you'll also see a local map with all of the locations you'll need to visit, like the Brigandoom! map below. And when you get to some of those places, you'll see new art by Lindsey. For example, this is what the City Gate looks like.

Last one in, close the portcullis!

Designing for the Digital World

Because the digital world sometimes has different needs than the tabletop, we've been revisiting a lot of things in the game. For example, here's Sajan's Drunken Master role.

Among the rejected power names: "Buy Selinker a Mai Tai."

You will note that Sajan has named powers with the familiar checkboxes. I've explained before that we don't do that in the physical card game because it would create legacy presumptions on the players' parts, and it would also take up more precious space on what are already our most text-laden cards. But Obsidian needs to be able to refer to those powers in shorthand during the game. So Tanis brainstormed a whole bunch of names for these powers, Vic and the RPG team played around with them, and then voila, all the Runelords powers—every little checkbox—got a name.

Sometimes, they come to us with a hard challenge that we need to resolve. For example, last week we spent a bunch of time trying to figure out—again—how daggers and daggerlikes work. For the minutiae-uninitiated, the card Dagger has this text: "When playing another weapon, you may discard this card to add 1d4 to your combat check." For us, that's simple. You play a Greatsword, discard the Dagger, bingo-bango, +1d4.

For Obsidian, it's not so simple. For them the question comes when your first weapon is also a Dagger. Because then you can:

• Reveal the first Dagger
• Discard the second Dagger
• And since discarding the second is "playing another weapon," you can then discard the first.

Which, y'know, is pretty much fine by me. You wanna toss two cards for +2d4, go to it. That all makes sense because you, the human with the cards, flips the card around and says "I'm playing this Dagger."

But in the Obsidian game, you click on cards to activate or deactivate them. So you click on the first Dagger to reveal it, then you click on the second Dagger to discard it, and then you click on the first Dagger to... wait a second. That first Dagger is already clicked on. So now when you click on it again, you'd be... deactivating the first Dagger? That's no good at all.

So we got out the scalpels. After a dozen false starts, our man Keith came up with this new wording: "When you play another weapon for your combat check, you may discard this card to add 1d4." Note the words "for your combat check" here. There's a step where you play the card that sets the skill for your combat check. That's only ever one card—in this case, the dagger you displayed at the start—so playing the second dagger no longer allows you to play the first again. From Rise of the Runelords through to the upcoming Gunslinger Class Deck, this change would affect almost three dozen cards, so errata-ing them for the physical card game would be both painful and pointless. So in the digital game, they'll work ever so slightly differently. And everything will be fine.

No, check that. Everything will be awesome.

Like This. This is Awesome.

Early in the process, Nathan came to me with a request for a tutorial scenario. I said something like "Dude, I have no idea what that is, so just write one."

See, in a digital game, you don't need to learn the game from a 32-page rulebook. Instead, you can learn how to play the game from the game itself. But for that to work, you need a play sequence that is tuned for the particular digital game. Since I'd empowered Nathan to make his own tutorial, I expected I'd see something like what we created for Brigandoom! or the like. I figured he'd just have Kyra and Merisiel beat up a bandit or three, and we'd be off to the races.

And then these showed up.

Ameiko: "Hold still, Orik, while I mold this shield around your face."

Yes indeed. That's Ameiko Kaijitsu and Orik Vancaskerkin—an ally and a henchman, respectively, in the Runelords set—who are your characters in the tutorial. Orik's got his own special shield and everything. And they're fun to have around. Here's some of Nathan's dialogue from the tutorial.

Orik: Bloody horse demon thing! I hate monster cults!
Ameiko: Huh. More equine than expected!

I'll bet you can guess what they're fighting. In the tutorial. The tutorial. Good luck with that.

Even Maester Grump has concerns!

Anyway, as I think you can see, this is gonna be glorious. But you don't have to take my word for it... Obsidian is running a Pathfinder Adventures Twitch stream this Friday, February 26, at 4 PM Pacific time; check it out for yourself at twitch.tv/obsidian!

And keep an eye out for the game next month. It'll keep your iPad or Android tablet humming for a long time to come.

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Simultaneously

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Hello, Pathfinders, Tanis here! This week we've got two fantastic blogs for you in one jam-packed edition. First up is Organized Play Coordinator Tonya Woldridge with a con report from Con of the North and Winter Fantasy, and the launch of Season of the Runelords. Then, we've got Adventure Card Game Lead Designer Mike Selinker with an announcement and a tease for Obsidian's digital Pathfinder Adventures. But enough from me. On with the show!

Season of the Runelords is Here!

The past two weekends, I've been attending conventions and spending much of my time at Adventure Card Guild tables previewing Season of the Runelords. This season is set after the events of Rise of the Runelords, and examines the question of what the other Runelords are doing. Starting with the first scenario ("Goblins? Gross!"), it's obvious that Tanis and the developers at Lone Shark Games turned up the witty titles, exciting adventures, and variety to suit different character's abilities.

So far, each session brought full tables, and many players rearranged their schedules to return to the Adventure Card Game area and play more. Over the next few months, many conventions will boast ACG tables including GaryCon (Lake Geneva, WI), Conflagration (Brookfield, WI), Gem State Convention (Boise, ID), and of course, PaizoCon! PaizoCon will host a boatload of Season of the Runelords tables, as well as exclusive ACG events. You can keep up on announcements for PaizoCon on the blog or by watching the main PaizoCon page.

Outside of conventions, many local Pathfinder Society chapters host ACG events. Last weekend I learned that the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul region has three stores running Season of the Righteous and Season of the Shackles, and are trying to figure out when and where to run Season of the Runelords. I'd like to give a big shout out to Erica Lopnow, Sean Pearson, and the rest of the team at Con of the North for all of the time they spent organizing ACG activities this weekend and throughout the year. To find a local Adventure Card Guild game or start your own, read through the Adventure Card Guild Guide or contact your local Venture-Officer for more information.

Speaking of the Guide, it is my pleasure to officially open the Season of the Runelords, and announce that the new version of the Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild Guide is now available. You can also find an ongoing schedule for the scenario and adventure releases on our forums. I encourage all of you to return to Sandpoint with me and visit our favorite NPCs and villians—Mayor Deverin, Father Zantus, and Gogmurt!

Watch out for gross goblins!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

What's It Like When Obsidian Makes a Digital Version of Your Game?

It's great! And that's all I'll ever say about that.

KIDDING. I've got a bunch to say about that, but there's only so much I can say today. That's because the Obsidian guys and I have a Reddit AMA Wednesday at 10:30 am PST, and they want me to save some stuff for that. But I will be showing off some really cool info about the all-digital port they call Pathfinder Adventures next week, ahead of the official release on March 29. So immeasurably stoked. See you over on Reddit.

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Designer

A Tale of Two Morgans

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Making December's Pathfinder Adventure Path SoundPack for the second chapter of Hell's Rebels has been amazing! Not only because I got to build a complete SoundSet for underwater exploration and combat (so cool, making all my normal sounds wishy washy and strangely muted), not only because I got to build a Xorn, and a Rope Golem (except I can't call either of them by their real names, because OGL), but mainly because I got to work with two of my favourite voice actors again.

Morgan Rands, I met at PaizoCon, and this year he donated a series of roars that we chose to be the official Pathfinder Green Dragon for the amazing Dragon's Demand SoundPack. The horror and sheer guttural intensity of what Morgan gave at the microphone cannot be underestimated, so when he offered to give more sounds whenever I needed something I couldn't pass up the offer. Since then Morgan has given all sorts of bits and pieces, including the King Chess Piece voices and the Dice Roller sounds for our brand new shiny Catan SoundSet in the Board Game Player. And for Turn of the Torrent Morgan didn't disappoint! From Barzillai's sneering Proclamations to the slightly disturbing snarls of the three headed cerberi.

Morgan Jenkins, I met at PaxAus, and this year I spoke on a Panel he ran about Tabletop Gaming for Visually Impaired people. It was extremely informative and inspiring. Morgan does great things for a not insignificant group of gamers, for example encouraging us at Syrinscape to add interface scaling to our Apps (already done = you can make the buttons bigger) and high contrast backgrounds (in the works now = making the backgrounds black). Morgan has a seemingly endless hoard of voices bouncing round in his head, and for Turn of the Torrent he gave me a trio of extremely peculiar and quite inebriated NPCs to populate the wonderfully seedy tavern the "Tooth and Nail". These characters (who even sing), will enable GMs to deliver an amusing and genuinely memorable break from slaying and looting in any Pathfinder adventure.

It's wonderful having these two great guys on the end of an email. All I have to do is type in, "Right, are you keen to give me a slightly psychopathic, disturbed, but competently deadly human Expert/Fighter/Rogue?" and before I can say, "mixing up the pretty sounds" I've got an inbox full of several thousand bytes of viscous Pathfinder audio gold.

So thank you so much Morgans! Since the beginnings of Syrinscape, we have been keen to use community created content and voice acting rather than just standard commercial sample packs. That's one of the reasons I love freesound.org, where I am able to use great recordings made by keen amateurs, and best of all put their names in lights inside our app. One of these days one of my fantastic contributes is going to get a lead role in a feature film after a big producer with an even bigger cigar hears their voice in a Syrinscape Pathfinder SoundSet. That'll be a great day.

If you are a Syrinscape Fantasy or SuperSyrin Subscriber you'll see these SoundSets live in the Fantasy Player already as well as stand alone "Seedy Tavern" and "Flooded Dungeon" versions very soon. If you're not a Subscriber you can still hear them by grabbing a free 30 day trial sub, which unlocks everything we've ever made.

And remember, if you're another Morgan (or Morganette), don't hesitate to get in contact with us to see if you might just have exactly what we are needing in our next Pathfinder Adventure Path SoundPack.

Benjamin Loomes
Creative Director
Syrinscape

Digital Content Enters a New Era!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Running Pathfinder games is about to get a lot easier, as Pathfinder content goes digital in a way never seen before. Lone Wolf Development and Paizo have teamed up to establish a new digital standard by delivering Pathfinder content through Realm Works, the ENnie award-winning campaign suite.

This new partnership will make the entire Pathfinder portfolio available through the upcoming Realm Works Content Market. Pathfinder Adventure Paths, Modules, Campaign Setting volumes, Player Companions, and rulebooks alike can soon be used in ways GMs have only dreamed of. The Content Market will debut in early 2016 with some of your favorite Pathfinder Adventure Paths and Modules, after which we'll begin introducing rules and setting material.

So Why Should You Care?

What sets Realm Works apart from PDFs, Wikis, and other options? Consider just a few ways Realm Works takes digital content to a whole new level:

• Make It Yours—formerly static, published content is now fully customizable, so there's no need for stickies or maintaining separate notes
• Integrates with Your World—seamlessly weave published content into your own campaign, with everything in one convenient place
• Instantly Find Anything—readily explore your realm through extensive links and relationships, full-text searching, and tag-based filtering
• Navigate with Maps—simply click on map pins to view the details of a location, or quickly navigate to the map containing a specific place
• Ready to Share with Players—no more extracting pictures from a PDF, masking out portions of maps, or repeating details multiple times while players take copious notes; reveal details with a few mouse clicks during the game and even let players access material in-between sessions
• Know What's Known—track what information the players have (and haven't) learned with ease, including explored map regions
• Organized for GMs—efficiently access everything needed to run an adventure; Realm Works does all the heavy lifting, converting a traditional module to content that can be readily used at the table
• Instant Session Recaps—review a complete rundown of what the players learned in previous sessions

Customize published content to fit your game	Use maps to find important details about locations
Track what your players discover by clicking the "Reveal" button from grey to green	Content is organized for GMs and by the people, places, events, and things within the world

With Realm Works, your entire world is literally just a few clicks away.

The Next Step

In a few short weeks, we'll be launching our "Realm Works Spotlight Series." This weekly update will outline our Content Market release plans, showcase Pathfinder and other products in Realm Works, and preview key Realm Works features.

See for yourself what the future holds, and sign-up for the Spotlight Series today! In the meantime, you can discover why thousands of GMs rely on Realm Works. Watch our Virtual Tour and get a taste of what Realm Works can already do for your games!

Rob Bowes
President
Lone Wolf Development

What's New With Obsidian's Adventure Card Game?

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

We've been admittedly pretty quiet since we showed the game at Gen Con and then PAX back in August. There's been a fair bit of speculation about it. So I guess first I'll clear some stuff up.

We won't be releasing the game in fall 2015... and that's a good thing!

Time for context!

Back when we started this project, I worked out the scope of the game with the execs at Obsidian. André Nguyen created a great mockup of gameplay in Flash that helped get everyone at Obsidian and at Paizo on board (I may share some screens from that version at some point). We agreed on a pretty limited set of features to begin with—enough so that you could play through the Base deck of Rise of the Runelords. I knew a three-scenario game would be enough to prove the game out, but not enough to bring to market. As development continued and our confidence in the product grew, we kept building upon what we had piece by piece, carefully increasing the scope over time. With each additional piece, we added a lot more content and improved presentation—well beyond our original plans.

So that brings us up to today, and more importantly, a release date that we're moving to early 2016. Why is that a good thing?

Well, behind the scenes at Obsidian, we are now planning a better, stronger launch than ever before. And I gotta tell you, I'm excited! There are so many cool things in the works, including some that will let you experience the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game in new ways. First, there's this cool new...

Feargus (CEO, Obsidian Entertainment): Davis! Not yet!

Ah, right. There's a whole plan for talking about this.

In the meantime, I think there are some new things I can "leak."

We've been working closely with Paizo and Lone Shark to make this game as awesome as possible. In most cases, that means staying true to the original rules and intent. There are times where the limitations of interface (over a tabletop) mean it's better if we change the mechanics of the card to fit our game. A simple example of this comes from the "Cloud" spells.

"Don't you know that you're toxic?" ...yep, the card game blog got a Britney reference.

From a mechanics perspective, we removed the "when a character encounters" part of the spell and made it work more like other displayed spells such as Strength and Glibness. It’s a minor change in functionality, but a large benefit for our interface: instead of stopping gameplay whenever a bane is encountered in order to see if the character with this spell wants to play it, it’s now available before or after an exploration or on a combat check. You’ll also notice that we've made some changes to the card layout; for the most part, we've done this to give the card art a bit more room. We also introduced icons for the different card types, as there are places where our user interface really benefits from that. And Paizo has updated the wording where appropriate.

The folks at Paizo have also given us opportunities to add cards here and there that are unique to the digital game. Here are some of my favorites so far:

Rusted Chain doesn't care about your armor proficiency.

The original game has a lot of standard chain mail. We switched out some of them with minor mechanical changes and art revisions. As you know from playing the game, anything that adds to the thrill of discovery is a good thing.

And speaking of thrilling, our artist, Lindsey Laney, was inspired to create the art for a new card in her free time. I can only describe it as a move for gender equality.

In case you ever wondered what a half-orc with high Charisma looks like.

Now let me tell you about who's playable in the tutorial...

Feargus: Davis! Back to work!

Alrighty! Gotta go! More information to come.

Nathan Davis
Multiclass Designer-Producer
Obsidian Entertainment
@nathan_J_davis
(Previously Harsk in Rise of the Runelords and Ranzak in Skull & Shackles; currently Alain in Wrath of the Righteous)

Dicestormers Halloween Special—All Flesh Must Be Eaten

Friday, October 23, 2015

The Game: All Flesh Must Be Eaten
The Setting: End of Gen Con tear-down in the exhibition hall—when it's really difficult to tell the difference between the exhausted... and the undead!
The Encounter: Paizo staff have turned into zombies! Watch to see how many you can name. There's even a couple of our more famous volunteers!

In this video, we've featured the latest sounds from Syrinscape's new Halloween Survival SoundPack. This latest SoundPack gives you access to creepy, icky sounds to bring your seasonal gaming session to life!

For more Halloween gaming ideas and why I chose to populate the game with the Paizo team, check out this behind the scenes video below:

Now it's your turn! We want to see (and hear) your Halloween games! Share a video on social media and tag it with #soundsofhalloween and mention @Syrinscape for a chance to win a Syrinscape prize pack.

Have fun, make some spooky noises, and Happy Halloween from Syrinscape!

Benjamin Loomes
Creative Director
Syrinscape

Announcing Pathfinder Metal Dice!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Are you ready to roll? Our latest collaboration with Q-workshop is a step beyond for Pathfinder and dice fans! Today, they've launched their first Kickstarter project to create a new 7-dice fully metal set of Pathfinder dice. This new set will push the boundaries of dice production, with each die featuring an intricate design, fine 3D detailing, and subtle finishing.

This image is a visualization and finished product may vary.

We know that fans of Pathfinder really love dice, and so do we! If you follow our Pathfinder Adventure Path line, you may recognize Q-workshop from their line of themed dice sets. Each of these sets has been designed to tie into the visual themes of the Pathfinder Adventure Path campaigns, complete with etched detailing and vibrant colors.

This Pathfinder Metal Dice Set project will be a truly awesome technical achievement in dice production. While Q-workshop has always been at the forefront of making the beautiful dice sets, and has produced in metal, no set has ever been created quite like this. The success of this Kickstarter will enable them to continue to do more unique and exciting projects in the future.

"We are really excited," says Agnieszka Przychodniak, Project Manager at Q-workshop, "both because this is our first Kickstarter project and also because of the technological side of this endeavour—it's quite a challenge! We are really looking forward to creating this dice set together with the Kickstarter community."

Help Paizo and Q-workshop get metal! Check out the Kickstarter, or subscribe to get a look at the designs and get all the updates!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

There's Adventure in the Air—September and Winter 2016 Releases

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Today the skies are shining overhead in Redmond, where in the Paizo office we've been recovering from a busy and exciting convention season. But we all know and feel the loom of pumpkin spice, sweaters, and clouds that's ahead from our respective desks. And if your group is anything like mine, the end of September marks the start of regular game nights. And what better to kick off this glorious season by revisiting the Pathfinder related releases headed your way?

Illustration by Romanov Pavel

This month we're releasing our third Pathfinder Campaign Setting hardcover (under the Pathfinder RPG ruleset), Inner Sea Races. This 256-page volume delves into the history, culture, and powers of the the denizens of the Inner Sea, including in-depth coverage of the seven core races, and features of the uncommon races like goblins and tengu. You'll also find an array of new feats, spells, character traits and more to add flavor to your own character or home game. Our Project Manager, Jessica Price, has just kicked off our series of previews into the pages of Inner Sea Races, so look out for more information and art previews in the coming weeks!

Download Standard | Download Widescreen | Download Mobile

Illustration by Ekaterina Burmak

But what about the folks that just kicked off their own Hell's Rebels adventure? The second volume, Pathfinder Adventure Path #98: Turn of the Torrent, takes your rebel band of do-good "miscreants" through the paces as they gather allies and establish their might with the Silver Ravens. Evil is running through the streets of Kintargo, and I won't spoil it for you, but your group should probably get on that. For reasons. Your Hell's Rebels character might want to take some notes from this month's Player Companion, Heroes of the Streets for inspiration as well!

Maybe your group is more into throwing down some cards? The fifth installment of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Wrath of the Righteous is coming out, and it's got demons. A whole lot of them. But what if you don't have a group? You might want to look into the Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild, where you could bring our favorite monk, Sajan from the new Monk Class Deck, to the table in fist-to-claw-claw-bite demon combat.

We also brought back the long-awaited Pathfinder Combat Pad! Now armed with more magnets, this latest printing helps keep tracking initiatives in your game just that much easier. And if this isn't the only reprint you've been holding out for, we're happy to announce the next two installments of our Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics line, City Streets and Prison, are now available.

Here's a complete look at what's releasing this September:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #98: Turn of the Torrent
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Deck 5: Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Monk
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Races
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes of the Streets
• Pathfinder Combat Pad
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: City Streets
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Prison
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Forest Dangers
• Pathfinder Pawns: Giantslayer Adventure Path Pawn Collection
• Pathfinder Legends–Mummy's Mask #1: The Half Dead City
• Pathfinder Tales: Beyond the Pool of Stars

November 2015 and Beyond!

In addition to our announcements made in the last roundup blog, which included the announcement of Pathfinder Adventure Path #100, today we're adding the latest Pathfinder Comics series: Hollow Mountain! The first volume is authored by our very own Executive Editor, James L. Sutter, where our heroes find themselves in a position where they just may have to try to get along with some the most notorious villains out there.

It might seem like 2016 is the very distant future, but not here! As we approach the new year, our Hell's Rebels Adventure Path concludes and the counter Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path will begin. Fans and followers of RPG Superstar will also see the release of our 2015 winner Monica Marlowe's module Down the Blighted Path in January as well (and I suggest you check out the hopeful module writers in the current competition going on now!).

The January 2016 lineup includes:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #102: Breaking the Bones of Hell (Hell's Rebels 6 of 6)
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Alchemist
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Hell's Rebels Poster Map Folio
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Arcane Anthology
• Pathfinder Module: Down the Blighted Path
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Noble Estate
• Pathfinder Tales: Pirate's Prophecy

The February 2016 lineup includes:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #103: The Hellfire Compact (Hell's Vengeance 1 of 6)
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Inquisitor
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Darklands Revisited
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Shadows
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Urban Sites

As always, the release dates are subject to change, but you can see the most up-to-date information on the Product Schedule page, or on each individual product page.

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

Introducing Pathfinder Class Packs for Hero Lab

Monday, September 7, 2015

Getting started with Hero Lab just got less expensive for players, making it easy to discover for yourself why Hero Lab is Paizo's official, in-house standard for character creation. You can now unlock your favorite classes in Hero Lab with new "Class Packs"—everything from seven essential rulebooks, all for only $29.99!

Each Class Pack unlocks 3-4 Pathfinder classes and includes everything from seven of the most popular Pathfinder rulebooks (see below). For only $29.99, simply choose your favorite Class Pack and start creating characters with the software that just won its third ENnie award. To unlock more classes, you can pick up additional Class Packs for only $6.99 apiece!

How Do Class Packs Work?

• Create and manage characters from the 3-4 classes unlocked by each Class Pack. For example, if you select the Druid Class Pack, you'll unlock the Druid, Oracle, Shaman, and Spiritualist classes, allowing you to build characters from those four classes in Hero Lab.
• Class Packs include everything from seven essential rulebooks: the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Advanced Class Guide, Occult Adventures, and Ultimate Intrigue (when it releases in spring 2016.) All archetypes for unlocked classes are included, as well as all feats, spells, gear, optional rules, and everything else from those rulebooks—it's all you need to create characters with your unlocked classes.
• Further add-ons like Advanced Race Guide, the Summon Monster creature package, and Player Companion packages can be readily integrated with Class Packs. They are purchased and behave just like they do in Hero Lab today.
• Hero Lab users who already use another game system, like Shadowrun or Mutants & Masterminds, can get started with their first Class Pack for only $20! Simply add the Pathfinder Class Pack option you want to your Hero Lab license through our website.
• For our existing Pathfinder users, if you feel that Class Packs are a better fit for your style, you can switch to the new Class Packs for free! Be sure to review all the details before converting, as it's a one-way, one-time option. The conversion option is also a limited time offer, so don't miss out!

While the info above covers the most important details about Class Packs, we know that many prospective users will have questions and/or want more information. We've provided extensive details on our website, plus we've assembled a comprehensive FAQ. So check out those links to our website learn more!

Already own Hero Lab? Then tell your friends! You can share this blog entry using the social links at the top of the page. Getting started with Hero Lab is more affordable than ever!

Now that I've shared this great news, I'm heading back to prep for my own Pathfinder adventure this weekend. To my fellow gamers out there, may the dice be with you!

Colen McAlister
Lead Developer
Lone Wolf Development

The Making of the "In Hell's Bright Shadow" SoundPack

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The first volume in the new Hell's Rebels Adventure Path, "In Hell's Bright Shadow", is a fantastic adventure needing equally fantastic sounds. But where exactly does one record a skeleton battle in progress, or an exploding fairy? Follow along in the attached video for just a few of the creative ways Team Syrinscape brought "In Hell's Bright Shadow" to life.

Skeleton Battle—Redact & Revenge SoundSet

"In Hell's Bright Shadow" calls for a Skeleton Battle. We had drums and a disturbing undead mumbling all sorted, but how to do the clinking of rib bones? We can't have skeletons without that sound! The secret to making the sound of lots of little bones clinking together is... Lego! Yep, with a handful of pink Lego pieces, and a bit of audio processing, the result is a sound that's not only peculiar, but creates a sense that something not held together in quite the normal way is trying to stab you.

Giant Rat Battle—Fair Fortune Livery SoundSet

This one should've been simple enough to create. Just find some Rodents of Unusual Size and record them, right? I tried that—they ate my microphone! And sound samples from real-world rats weren't nearly monstrous enough for what awaits players in this encounter. The solution here was Australia's Tasmanian Devil, whose maniacal scream is part of how the animal got its name. Thanks Australia!

Bloodthirsty Rioters—Aria Park Protest SoundSet

Next, the protest and riot scene challenged us to come up with the sound of a lawless rabble. What sort of people sound riotous, disrespectful of order, and generally dangerous? Of course, politicians! That's right—these samples came from open-source recordings of the English Houses of Parliament. That's what I call leadership!

Fan-Sourced Voice Actors

While many of Syrinscape's beastly sounds and unique voices come from our own voice boxes combined with a lot of fancy audio processing, maintaining variety in the audio content is one of our biggest challenges. This year at PaizoCon and again at Gen Con, we thought we'd try having gamers contribute their own madness to our library of source sounds, and wow, did you deliver! Some of my favorites:

• The Grimple Cackles in the Fair Fortune Livery SoundSet —supplied by Jason Bainter and Nathaniel Bassett at Gen Con. Wow!
• The lemures in the same SoundSet.
• The chough in the Waspnest.
• And the thugs in the Aria Park Protest.

THANK YOU, and keep the sounds coming! In fact we are more than happy to continue to accept sounds, just email them to benjamin@syrinscape.com.

Exploding Fairy—Rebuild the Ravens SoundSet

Last but not least came the age-old question, "What exactly does it sound like when a fairy explodes?" This was indeed the conundrum with which I was faced. In the end I settled on a slowed down balloon pop, combined with a light sprinkling of sped-up fairy dust wind chimes. If we ever get the chance to witness the real thing, I'll make sure I pull out my recorder quick-smart.

I hope you've enjoyed my musings on sound creation, and I hope you enjoy our work on this amazing In Hell's Bright Shadow SoundPack. In particular it's been fantastic to work with the two composers, Kyle Johnson and Michael Gordon Shapiro, who have breathed a great breath of fresh air into the music available in Syrinscape.

For the first time Syrinscape is releasing a new SoundPack simultaneously with Paizo's latest Pathfinder Adventure Path. GMs and players who now have access to the latest volume, Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow, also have the opportunity to experience this latest AP with sound from the get-go with the In Hell's Bright Shadow SoundPack. Give it a try with a free 30-day trial subscription, but be warned—after a session playing this excellent adventure enhanced with fully immersive sound, your players will never want to play without Syrinscape again!

Benjamin Loomes
Creative Director
Syrinscape

Pathfinder Legends Unearths the Treasures of the Dead

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Last spring, four heroes arrived in the sleepy coastal town of Sandpoint, were attacked by goblins, and embarked on a journey to stop the awakening of a legendary runelord in the first Pathfinder Legends series, Rise of the Runelords. Since this first audio adventure adaptation of Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Paths, the interest and feedback from fans of the series have been fantastic. But what's coming next?

Today, we're happy to announce that starting this September Ezren, Harsk, Merisiel, and Valeros will be trekking to the pyramid-laden realm of Osirion in Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City, the first of six new Pathfinder Legends releases. This new series will follow the story of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path, beginning in the city of Wati, where our heroes unearth a plot that could lead to the resurrection fo the ancient and feared Sky Pharaoh Hakotep. Will these iconic characters be able to succeed and defend the city, or will they be unable to stop the rule of this undead mummy from Osirion's distant past?

Illustration by Chris Seaman

Not familiar with Big Finish or Pathfinder Legends? Big Finish produces hundreds of audio titles based on popular titles like Doctor Who, Dark Shadows, Stargate, Highlander, and more. For Rise of the Runelords we worked closely with their team to determine the cast of characters, fine tuning the Adventure Path story to this new format, and pairing voices with the vivid characters featured. James Jacobs detailed this process last year on the Paizo blog.

With Mummy's Mask the Pathfinder Legends format is changing up! Each release is now double the length (running at about 2 hours) and will be provided as both a double CD set and digital download. Each Mummy's Mask episode will be released monthly as well.

Don't want to miss any of the action in Mummy's Mask? Starting today, Paizo is now offering the Pathfinder Legends ongoing subscription! By subscribing to Pathfinder Legends, you'll get:

• 20% off of the list price of each double CD set
• A free digital download version of each double CD set

The first installment in this subscription, Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City, will begin to ship with September's new releases. If you want to get all six episodes of the next Pathfinder Legends audio adventure as they release, sign up now!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

The Case Designed for Champions

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Over the past several years Battle Foam has lead the gaming industry in cases and custom foam storage solutions. The dedication to quality, customer service, and community support has helped grow Battle Foam into a global company. Battle Foam over the years has partnered with many great gaming companies. Solid partnerships between gaming companies allows both parties to successfully bring a great product to market. Both teams can discuss in detail what their customers need and what will best provide the ultimate storage solution.

About a year ago the amazing people at Paizo and Battle Foam held a meeting to partner on a new Pathfinder storage solution. After many months of hard work from both parties the official Pathfinder Battle Foam bag was created. This new storage solution truly covers all the bases when it comes to transporting your role playing books, papers, and models. The rugged design of the Battle Foam bags have proven to outlast the most grueling of tournament or gamer travel. Each Pathfinder bag features a hard plastic shell interior with a rugged outer waterproof skin. The Pathfinder bag has pockets and storage areas specifically designed for collectors of role playing style games.

The Pathfinder bag also features the ultra soft but durable Battle Foam foam trays. Each tray comes with a lifetime warranty on separation from its bottom and are cut to the exact sizes needed for Pathfinder minis. One of the coolest features of the Pathfinder bags is the MOLLE accessories system that each bag features on both sides. This area was inspired by the US military and allows the customer to attach any number of accessory items to the sides of the bag. This options really makes the bag a totally customizable solution for just about any game type.

The Pathfinder bag from Battle Foam can be purchased directly on our website and ships in just a couple days from time of order. With warehouses in both the US and UK, Battle Foam can handle any order quickly and easily with their great customer service. Check out the images and video below to learn more about this new carrying case!

Romeo Filip
Battle Foam

I Demand More Dragons!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Pathfinder's beloved adventure The Dragon's Demand just got a whole lot better! After months of hard work and the contributions of a host of Syrinscape and Pathfinder fans, the long-awaited SoundPack for this well known adventure has arrived.

Packed full with delicious and slightly frightening goodies, "The Dragon's Demand" SoundPack includes a complete Kobold Lair, an awesomely gross "Mouther" monster, shrieking grioths, firebombing Flame Drakes, and an epically massive and quite angry Green Dragon with an eye-wateringly singeing acid breath weapon with which to terrorise your players.

Check out the video demo of the awesome SoundPack!

Then grab all the sounds here, along with the rest of Syrinscape's products in the Paizo store!

What else is news?! Well, we are super excited to be able to announce that Hell's Rebels is the next Adventure Path to receive the Syrinscape treatment! Just imagine what sounds will be coming out of your speakers when you play this one—Cheliax here we come! Look out for the first chapter of Syrinscape's Hell's Rebels SoundPacks coming out simultaneously with the August release of "In Hell's Bright Shadow."

And finally watch out for Ben at GenCon! Drop by the stand to pick up this year's free goodies and contribute your voice to the "GenCon Monster Raid" SoundSet or once again enjoy the epic accompaniment Syrinscape adds to the Pathfinder Society Specials. And make sure you don't miss Ben as he GMs this year's Live RPG Plus, a truly interactive roleplaying experience where the audience determines the fate of our all-star cast, including such legends as Chris Pramas, Adrian Swartout, and Paizo's very own James Jacobs. This event is not to be missed—the last time we ran a Live RPG Plus we ended up with a Green/White/Fire/Ice Dragon held by the tail being used as a weapon by the slightly overenthusiastic Ranger, a ranger who determined all his actions using Rock-Paper-Scissors. Get your tickets now!

And remember listen out for the fantastic Pathfinder fans who gave their vocal talents to "The Dragon's Demand" SoundPack at both PaizoCon and UK Games Expo this year. You can find their names in lights under the product credits in the store. Syrinscape thanks you and praises you for your spectacularly and slightly disturbing contributions!

Benjamin Loomes (half-elf bard/paladin)
Creative Director
Syrinscape

Battle Foam for Pathfinder

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Hey Pathfinders!

This is Romeo Filip of Battle Foam, and I’m thrilled to share today pictures of the new bag we’ve been working on for Pathfinder!

Available late-spring 2015, the official Battle Foam Pathfinder bag is designed to carry all of your Pathfinder books, accessories, and other goodies, in new and exciting storage options.

We’re very lucky at Battle Foam to partner with the best companies in the industry, and working with Paizo and the Pathfinder brand has really pushed our excitement overboard while creating this new Pathfinder bag. We think it’s a must-have item for all Pathfinder fans, and we hope you agree.

Feel free to let us know your feedback here or Battle Foam on Facebook.

Romeo Filip
Battle Foam

Now Available—Rise of the Runelords for Hero Lab!

Friday, April 24, 2015

Well met, adventurers! I travel here from the far-off lands of Hero Lab, bringing good tidings for GMs and players alike. Sit by the fire and heed my tales, and you shall discover how Hero Lab makes it easier to run your games!

As a GM who's been running Pathfinder and its forebears for almost 20 years, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas and stories to share with my players. Luckily, Paizo has the answer -Pathfinder's Adventure Paths have become indispensable tools for GMs like me, with nearly 100 pages of story, background information, and combat encounters released every month. We already include player content from each Adventure Path for free, and we're excited to announce that we're now bringing the encounters to Hero Lab!

The first Adventure Path up for release is the classic Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. This new add-on package for Hero Lab gives you everything you need to run the combat encounters from Rise of the Runelords, including full details for every NPC and monster—even those referenced from other sourcebooks.

That means if a monster comes from the Bestiary, or an NPC uses a class from Ultimate Combat or gear from Ultimate Equipment, no problem! Hero Lab provides all the information you need to run the encounters, all included in this one convenient package. No more worrying about whether you have the right books or Hero Lab packages, or looking up statblocks during the game—this new package provides everything you need for use in all the Rise of the Runelords encounters. Every encounter and NPC is available to view, print, or use within Hero Lab's integrated Tactical Console.

And there's more! Are your players over- or under-levelled, or has an extra player unexpectedly dropped in to your game? Hero Lab has you covered - not only are all the Adventure Path encounters pre-built and ready to use, you can customize them to your heart's content by bumping up (or down) each adversary's challenge rating in seconds. With just a few clicks, you can add and remove templates, class levels, or even entire groups of enemies with our built-in Encounter Builder. Hero Lab automatically recalculates all the NPC and monster stats based on your changes, and the encounter is ready for use in seconds.

GMs (and players!), don't delay—Rise of the Runelords released for Hero Lab this week, so order your copy today! We're also planning to release a second Adventure Path in May—so GMs, keep an eye on our news page for more details, and players, tell your GMs to be on the lookout!

Not a Hero Lab user yet? Now's a great time to try Hero Lab for free, on Windows, Mac, and even the iPad!

Happy adventuring, and don't let those Runelords get you down!

Colen McAlister
Lead Developer
Lone Wolf Development

A Look at Obsidian's Adventure Card Game

Thursday, April 16, 2015

I have the distinct pleasure to be part of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game digital team at Obsidian Entertainment! We are progressing towards an initial release this year starting with the Rise of the Runelords Base Set.

As fans of the physical version of the game, we are having a lot of fun bringing it to life on iPads and Android tablets. In some cases, we highlight the game's hardcore RPG roots. I think character selection brings this to life.

When we played the card game, it was clear that most of the character powers were in some way analogous to class powers, feats and skills you'd find in the Core Rulebook. And in Kyra's case, her powers matched the domain powers Sarenrae gave her (Rebuke Death and Sun's Blessing).

For those of you studying this screenshot, the page also has toggles for pass-and-play and permanent death. Though I am sure that all of you play by the book and destroy characters when they die in the physical game and will continue that time honored tradition on the tablet, we are giving new players the option to play a more forgiving version of the game. That being said, there will likely be specific rewards or achievements for playing through the game as Selinker intended, but that's a topic for another day.

When we started working on the concept for this game, we knew that we had a lot of tools at our disposal to amplify the "adventure" part of the card game. To that end, we are including things like MAPS! I've always loved Pathfinder's beautifully rendered maps and we have a perfect opportunity to use them to help tell the story.

Most of the time, Location Cards are analogous to specific spots on a map, and we are trying to match the lore as closely as possible (the farmhouse pictured has since moved to the outskirts of town). When you go to Magnimar or Thistletop, you'll encounter new maps.

When you visit and explore one of these locations, enhanced versions of the location card art become the backdrop for your looting and fighting.

One handy technical flourishes can be seen at the top left corner. As you encounter cards, the numbers underneath the Card Types tick down.

Before, I sign out, I want to give big ups to the team members bringing this bad boy to life! Kevin, Andre, Lindsey, Stephanie and Kristian, y'all are making a great game!

Nathan Davis
Producer
Obsidian Entertainment

Previously, Harsk of Rise of the Runelords
Currently, Ranzak of Skull & Shackles

Pathfinder Toys from Diamond Select!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

One of the most fun aspects of Pathfinder is the endless variety of character types one meets in the world of Golarion. Different classes, races, species—even different definitions of "alive"—have brought us a diverse array of faces, both heroic and demonic, that populate every adventure. While still in its early stages, the Pathfinder Minimates toy line from Diamond Select Toys already has a line-up that runs the gamut of character types, and allows you to customize each one, to boot.

Making their debut at GenCon 2014, the first assortment of two-packs is exclusively available at Paizo.com, and includes four different sets: Ulfen barbarian Ostog the Unslain with a Cairn Wight; Elyana (from Plague of Shadows) with a Razmir Cultist; Isiem (from Nightglass) with a Ghoul; and a Human Ranger with the Lamia Matriarch.

In addition, a four-pack is also available that spans four different races—Valeros, Human Fighter; Harsk, Dwarf Ranger; Merisiel, Elf Rogue; and a vicious Goblin Warrior.

Each Minimate stands approximately 2 inches tall with up to 14 points of articulation, and each includes various weapons and accessories. But the most fun thing about them is that all of the parts are completely interchangeable, which means that you can trade costumes and gear between all of the figures. So if you think a character would look better with different boots, or different weapons, or a snake’s tail, you can swap parts with other figures in the series, creating original characters and outfits that may inspire you to think up new adventures. Keep an eye out for more Minimates, as well as a vinyl Goblin coin bank, on paizo.com and at your local gaming store!

Zach Oat
Marketing Supervisor
Diamond Select

PaizoCon 2014 Announcement Round-Up

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Missed the annual PaizoCon Preview Banquet? Enjoyed too many cocktails while there to remember what we showed off? This post is your one-stop shop for all the important announcements you may have missed!

After a brief greeting from company founder Lisa Stevens and an introduction of the staff by Publisher and Master of Ceremonies Erik Mona, Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn took over the podium to share some juicy details on upcoming books in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line.

Advanced Class Guide

Jason kicked things off with an overview of August's Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide, the RPG line's major release of 2014. The book contains 10 new base classes, each of which combines two existing classes to create a new hybrid that better serves a given character concept. The brawler, for example, mixes mechanical elements of the monk and fighter to create a scrappy martial fighter without all of the mystical elements or armor focus of its parent classes.

Jason's tour took us through eight spreads of the book, revealing details on the shaman class as well as arcanist archetypes like the elemental master, occultist, school savant, spell specialist, unlettered arcanist, and white mage. He also gave a preview of the book's numerous skald rage powers, a look at its feats, spells, and magic items, and finally a glimpse at the character class design guidelines included in the volume.

Monster Codex

He then continued with a tour of the Pathfinder RPG Monster Codex, a treasury of stat blocks, cultural details, and special rules for 20 of the Pathfinder RPG's most commonly encountered creatures. After a look at the fire giant chapter, Jason showed off several illustrations of the various creatures represented within, which are reproduced below.

Illustrations by Jason Rainville

Check out more monsters from the Monster Codex!

Illustrations by Roberto Pitturru

Illustrations by Alexandre Chaudret

Illustrations by Ben Wootten

Illustrations by Maichol Quinto

Illustrations by Jason Engle

Pathfinder Unchained

The big announcement for the RPG line came when Jason pulled back the curtain on Pathfinder Unchained, the spring 2015 hardcover that will take Pathfinder into exciting new directions. This tome of optional rules revisits the barbarian, monk, rogue, and summoner classes with entirely revised versions designed to improve their overall play at the table. The book also will include an optional (and much simpler) action economy for the game, as well as new ways of designing monsters and treasure on the fly that we think players are going to love. We'll have much more to say about this book going forward, but for now it's probably enough to say that we've been conducting some mad experiments here at Paizo Central, and we can't wait to share them with you!

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Following Jason's presentation, we were joined by Pathfinder Adventure Card Game designers Mike Selinker and Tanis O'Connor, who revealed more details about August's Skull & Shackles Base Set and the upcoming Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild Organized Play program. The highlight of the card game presentation was Mike's announcement that the NEXT Adventure Card Game base set will be Wrath of the Righteous, scheduled for a February 2015 release! We'll have full product pages for the whole path up shortly!

Sketch by Wayne Reynolds

Giantslayer Adventure Path

Following the Adventure Card Game presentation, Erik announced the name of the next Pathfinder Adventure Path: GIANTSLAYER! More details about the campaign will be announced at the Adventure Path team's Sunday seminar, and will hit the Paizo Blog in short order.

Licensed Products

Following the AP talk, I focused on a raft of upcoming Pathfinder licensed products, most so new that they do not even have product pages on paizo.com yet! They are:

• A metal Sihedron Medallion from our partners at King of the Castle/Campaign Coins.
• A look at the upcoming Rise of the Runelords soundsets from Syrinscape.
• Pathfinder Comics hardcovers for Volume 2: Tooth and Claw and the popular Pathfinder: Goblins! limited series.
• Pathfinder Iconic Heroes Minimates figurines.

Pathfinder Battles: The Lost Coast

The next section of the Preview Banquet focused on the Pathfinder Battles line of prepainted plastic figures we produce in cooperation with WizKids. In addition to showing off several of the already-revealed figures, Erik finally revealed the set's titanic case incentive figure—the mighty Shemhazian Demon.

Pathfinder Online

Following the annual presentation of our Volunteer of the Year Award (co-awarded to PaizoCon UK founders and masterminds Dave Harrison and Rob Silk), we invited Pathfinder Online executive Ryan Dancey to close out the ceremony with a look at the Alpha version of Pathfinder Online, which went live just last week. It's still very much a work in progress, but there has been a TON of progress in recent months, and it's been really cool to see people playing the game and having fun with it. Ryan and his team have been running demos all weekend, and it's become a great part of the PaizoCon experience to see the game grow from year to year.

Here's a look at the video.

And that's it for new announcements this year! We'll have a lot more to say about these products in the weeks and months to come. If you're at PaizoCon, it's been fantastic getting a chance to chat with and game with you. If you couldn't make it this year, here's hoping you get a chance to attend in the future!

Keep rolling 20s, everyone!

Erik Mona
Publisher

This One's for the Munchkins!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is today's pre-eminent fantasy RPG, with richly detailed civilizations full of ominous portents, history whose echoes still affect today's world, and terrifying foes, some monstrous and some all too human. Munchkin is the fast-paced, silly game of dungeon exploration, monster slaying, and loot acquisition. A perfect match!

Developer Andrew Hackard, in consultation with the Paizo team, has taken many of the iconic features of the world of Golarion and the Pathfinder rules and given them the Munchkin treatment. Now you can play a Pathfinder Alchemist with the Decemvirate Helm, the Boots of the Mastodon, the Aluminum Foil, and the Armor of Insults. (You have to cheat to wear that armor...good thing there's a card for that!)

You'll need that equipment when you fight famous Pathfinder monsters such as the Whispering Tyrant, the Sandpoint Devil, or even Lamashtu herself! And don't forget the goblins...

"The most important thing in developing this game was to be true both to Munchkin and to Pathfinder," says Hackard. "Munchkin fans expect a wacky game full of backstabbing and larceny. Pathfinder fans are passionate about their game and the world behind it. I think Munchkin Pathfinder successfully merges them into a game that appeals to both groups."

Munchkin Pathfinder has plenty of the humor that Munchkin is known for, with cards such as the Cloak of Dis Guy, the Anti-Curse Purse, and Shoot the Messenger (for a level!). Andrew Hackard has been part of the Munchkin team since the first game was released in 2001, and he counts getting to play around in the Pathfinder world as one of his signature achievements. Munchkin Pathfinder artist John Kovalic has turned in another classic set of illustrations, including the fantastic game cover based on the original Pathfinder Core Rulebook.

Munchkin Pathfinder is available now from stores that carry Steve Jackson Games and Paizo games—including the Paizo webstore and SJ Games' Warehouse 23.

(Oh, before we go—you want more goblins, right? Of course you do! Make sure you get Munchkin Pathfinder: Gobsmacked! in November!)