You'd Better Believe It!

Friday, December 7, 2018

Over the course of Pathfinder's over 10-year history, adventurers have trekked all over the globe, pulling back the veil on distant continents and lesser known cultures in the Inner Sea. As stories of these travels filtered back and spread across northern Garund and Avistan, tales of foreign gods came with them, piquing the interest of religious scholars. Now, with PathfinderCampaign Setting: Faiths of Golarion, we're offering up the details of some of these faiths, with a few hotly anticipated divinities and notes from their authors:

Illustration by Vicky Yarova

Illustration by Vlada Hladkova

You know who isn't going to stand for your bullying? Chaldira Zuzaristan, that's who. This halfling demigoddess jumps fist-first into tyrants and oppressors, showing her followers how quick action, trust in luck, and faithful friends can see you through any trouble. Chaldira's worshippers can rely on powers that bolster their fortune and enable their light-hearted mischief. Sure, she's got a paladin code, but when your paladin code includes "It is my sacred duty to explore" and "I know mischief brings joy," you know you'll have a character that can find two fistfuls of trouble. My favorite part of writing Chaldira's entry was bringing her attitude through in the writing, and into your game!

—Ron Lundeen, Pathfinder Adventure Path Developer

I was excited to add a deific creation of my own to this book. Kazutal, Arcadian goddess of community, liberty, and safety, started in an office game run by James Jacobs. I was playing a cleric and asked him if I could make up a deity from my notes on Arcadia. He agreed, and I presented him with a short write up of Lady Jaguar (as I hadn't fully decided on her real name at that point). I knew that she was different long ago than she is now, and I wanted her faith to be concerned with protection and the bonds of community. Playing a cleric of a god that had little lore to start with was a great way to help build lore organically through play and interaction with the other characters. (Fun fact: you can find an illustration of this cleric—Xochitl—in the Segada chapter of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores.)

—Adam Daigle, Pathfinder Managing Developer

So, I got to the write-up on Nivi Rhombodazzle, which makes it hard to nail down one particular part that's my absolute favorite. I mean, the gnome goddess, who is almost perfectly described by Kenny Rogers in the song "The Gambler", what's not to like? But since I have to choose something… I loved writing up Nivi's planar allies. While some of Nivi's allies, like her sapient magical die Seven-Eyes, had already been briefly mentioned in previous works, it was still fun to build out the details of these figures that represent some important aspects of Nivi's personality. Maybe I'm a bit too fond of talking animals (I did read the entire Chronicles of Narnia at least a dozen times as a kid) but I also had to add the earth elemental Rummbrrlar, in no small part because I want to use him in a Pathfinder Society scenario at some point. A powerful elder earth elemental who spends most of its time in the shape of a mole made out of diamond, riding around in adventurer's backpacks dispensing sage advice that would have been most useful about five minutes earlier, just leapt out at me as the kind of individual Nivi would take a special liking to. I hope everyone else who loves Nivi as much as I do finds something worthwhile in this article, and that you all have some fun bringing Nivi's faith and lore into your Pathfinder games. I know I did!

—Michael Sayre, Organized Play Developer

Illustration by Sandra Posada

Much as the Glory domain's mechanics lend themselves to good-aligned deities, the Madness domain seemed nearly exclusive to evil divinities in early Pathfinder. This style of madness hearkened to the slavering beasts, wild psychopathy, or sinister misanthropy presented in many scary movies. A few years later I read about Tsukiyo in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Dragon Empires Gazetteer, and I reread it in puzzlement for a while. Lawful good madness? How could this be?

The more I considered him, though, the more I understood what might have happened. Tsukiyo's story is similar to that of Osiris in Egyptian mythology: killed by a jealous rival, mourned by his lover, pieced together by divine mysteries, and brought back to life. Whereas Osiris changed in body (having been embalmed in some versions), Tsukiyo had changed mentally. His love for Shizuru had not dimmed, nor had his power diminished; however, he was shy, reserved, and seemed to process the world around himself in a strange way, puzzling his bold and boisterous peers. Yet Tsukiyo overflows with compassion for mortals, especially those whom societies deem insane. He doesn't have the Madness domain because he revels in inflicting psychological distress. He has that domain because he defends, comforts, and above all understands the neurodivergent. Creating the codes for his priests and paladins was an absolute pleasure, as was working with Liane Merciel (author of the Shizuru article) to describe his difficult yet utterly devoted romance with Shizuru.

—John Compton, Organized Play Lead

Some of my other favorites include Grandmother Spider, Achaekek's little sister, who much like younger siblings everywhere likes to play pranks on her big brother… as well as everyone else! In fact, she even managed to steal and copy Asmodeus' keys, an embarrassment that the Dark Prince hates other people knowing about. There's also Gruhastha, whose beautiful features were cited by a coworker as "one way to get people interested in reading." A former mortal, Gruhastha really put himself into his writing—so much so, that he actually became one with the text. I'm sure other authors can sometimes relate.

Eleanor Ferron
Developer

Build Them Up, Break Them Down!

Friday, November 2, 2018

Illustration by Alyssa McCarthy

Constructs have been a staple of fantasy stories for decades and it's no surprise that they are just as prevalent in the world of Golarion. These creatures include the likes of simple clockwork familiars all the way to the colossi, towering constructs the size of entire keeps. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Construct Handbook takes a look at these created creatures and provides new options for both players and GMs that wish to build up the presence of constructs in their adventures.

While the majority of this book is intended for GM use, the first portion of the book does provide a significant amount of material for players. In particular, the book contains a full break down of the rules for crafting a construct, providing detailed information on each portion of the process. It also contains additional construct modifications to expand on those found in Ultimate Magic. A number of new magical items also help with the handling of constructs, including new golem manuals to ease with the crafting of all new types of golems or machinebane oil that can slow down hostile constucts.

Players wishing to receive their own construct will find a few of the book's archetypes, such as the clocksmith wizard or the construct caller unchained summoner archetypes, to be very helpful. On the other hand, if you find yourself constantly fighting constructs, you might want to take a look at some of the other archetypes within. A Forgefather's seeker paladin is all about putting a stop to harmful constructs with abilities like smite construct and the scrapper fighter can take parts from broken constructs to improve his armor.

Illustration by Graey Erb

The main portion of this book is our enormous bestiary. This bestiary has several new constructs from different categories for GMs to use in their game. Some of these include more common constructs like clockworks or golems, but also a new construct category: the mysterious automatons! Automatons are constructs created during the height of the Jistka Imperium and feature powerful abilities like the stalker automaton's adaptive camouflage or the sharpshooter automaton's energy beam. GMs wishing to continue using some of their favorite constructs can change things up with several new templates. A haunted construct is a construct infused with an evil soul that takes over the construct's body, while a runeplated construct is one infused with the sin magic of Thassilon.

Luis Loza
Developer

The Long Road to Sandpoint

Thursday, October 4, 2018

I've made no secret of the fact that Sandpoint, the scene of the action in the first Pathfinder Adventure Path adventure, Burnt Offerings, was based in large part on my hometown of Point Arena, California. Some elements, such as the town dump consisting of "just throw your trash off the cliff into the ocean," huge cliffs surrounding a perfect little cove, the presence of a large theater in a relatively small town, or the mirror posted just outside of town that sports a sign asking visitors to see themselves as the townsfolk see them first are from Point Arena's real-world history. And then there's the fact that the town's original name translated roughly into "Sand Point"... although time and the tides have long since washed away the point bar of sand that once protected the harbor.

But most of Sandpoint came from my imagination, and that includes its diverse cast of citizens. In Burnt Offerings I was able to explore several of these characters and locations, but for many of Sandpoint's locals I was only able to scratch the surface. I never had room to go into full detail about the extent and dangers found in the old smuggler's tunnels below town, who's been leaving birthday presents for Rynshinn at Vernah's Fine Clothing, or exactly what drove Jervis Stoot to become a relentless serial killer, but that doesn't mean I didn't have an idea even at the time what was going on.

With Sandpoint: Light of the Lost Coast I can finally pull back the curtain and expose some, but not all, of Sandpoint's secrets. It was a blast finally getting to set these mysteries down on paper for others to explore, and just as fun to make my own discoveries along the way. I'd never given any thought as to what danger might lurk near the headwaters of the Turandarok River, for example, or figured out exactly why a ghost haunts Biston's Pond in the hinterlands. As I got to these locations and more while writing about them, their stories seemed almost to write themselves.

In fact, I wrote a lot more than I could ever fit into even a 96 page book. There's plenty more to find out about Sandpoint, and in time, and if I can pester the right folks to help make it happen, I'd love to present the nearby complex known as "the Pit" in the format of a deluxe adventure. I've already run this adventure once for several folks here at the office in my old Shadows Under Sandpoint campaign. Many of the elements of that campaign, from the Red Bishop to Pillbug Podiker's antics are direct results of that campaign.

Anyway, here's hoping that you all enjoy your upcoming visit to Sandpoint as much as I enjoyed setting the place up for you to explore! Have fun, enjoy the curried salmon and raspberry ale, and keep watching out for that pesky Sandpoint Devil!

PS: Check out what might be one of my favorite pieces of art we've ever published—a bird's eye view of the town itself! I can totally see my house from here!

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Postcards From The Planes

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Cities rise and fall alongside the civilizations that build them; some falling into ruin, some serving as the foundation for new settlements, and some weathering the test of time. Among the nations of humanity, some cities stretch back over 5,000 years of unbroken history, such as Taldor's opulent capital Oppara. To others who live upon Golarion, even this ancient metropolis might seem young, as the elves have civilizations that date back before Earthfall and dragons once ruled in the lands of Tian Xia while humanity was still in its infancy. And eons before even these legendary cities had the first stone placed for their foundations, there were cities among the planes that had already existed for tens of thousands of years. To venture into a planar city is to become part of a living, breathing community that has outlived the greatest of empires on Golarion—and perhaps were even founded before any living creature graced the surface of that world.

Illustration by Mary Jane Pajaron

This month sees the release of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Planar Adventures, but there's far more to the planes than could ever be covered in a single book. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Realms offers a closer look at six planar cities that characters can visit, either as a jumping point into the planes or as adventure locations in their own right. Several previous previews have revealed the identities of many of those six cities; some brave adventurers may have already set foot in them before.

Illustration by Federico Musetti

But before we get into describing the cities and outlining all of their most interesting adventure spots, I wanted to offer a more organic impression of these fantastic locales. So imagine you have just stepped out of a portal or off of a luxurious howdah on the back of an astral whale, and look out onto the superbly illustrated vistas that make up your first view of these cities. Or, if you're the less adventurous type, imagining opening your mailbox to find a postcard with one of these landscapes printed on the front, along with the phrase "Wish You Were Here!" Of course, which particular landscape is printed on your postcard might give a different tone to those words!

Illustration by Biagio d’Alessandro

Eleanor Ferron
Developer

Nidal, Where the Gloom Never Recedes

Thursday, April 19, 2018

In the realm shackled to Zon-Kuthon, god of darkness and pain, shadows are more than pools of gloom tucked away from the light of day—they're living embodiments of the Midnight Lord's power.

And in Nidal, the sun never fully shines.

In the forthcoming book Nidal, Land of Shadows, we take a deep dive into this nation, where the evil Kuthite religion is mandated on pain of slow, tortuous death. The book's authors have done an incredible job breathing creepy, nuanced life into this dismal land, as we mentioned before. On display are innumerable adventure hooks for intrepid adventures as well as details about the perils that stretch across the land. The writing in this book is, to put it succinctly, beautiful.

And so is this book's art.

From its cover to its chain-adorned page border to its chapter-opening pieces to its interior art, everything about this book just looks gorgeous in the best, most gothic-inspired way.

But don't take my word for it. Check out these interior pieces for yourself!

Illustrations by Raph Lomotan and Nikolai Ostertag

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Managing Developer

Enter the Land of Shadows!

Friday, April 13, 2018

Between the devil-bound nation of Cheliax and the storied realm of Varisia festers a land enveloped in gloom, where 10,000 years of obeisance to a fell god have warped the people and landscape into shadowy horrors beyond recognition.

Welcome, then, to Nidal.

In Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Nidal, Land of Shadows, we draw back the curtain for the first time on this theocracy dedicated to Zon-Kuthon, god of darkness and pain.

The book includes a stunningly detailed look into Nidalese history and daily life, both in the nation's oppressive cities and in rural villages, where keeping the appearance of absolute dedication to the Kuthite religion is a matter of life and death. This book also reveals new details about how, 10,000 years ago, Nidal's leaders made the pact that placed the nation in eternal servitude to the evil Midnight Lord. A gazetteer of the entire land, detailed threats in the gloom, and a shudder-inducing bestiary round out this book's offerings.

There's a lot to be proud of in this book, and foremost on that list for me are the absolutely stellar authors on this project.

I'm so pleased to say that all of the lore and gazetteer information in Nidal, Land of Shadows was written by Liane Merciel, the author who brought you the incredible novels Nightglass and Nightblade. Those novels provided bone-chilling glimpses into the stark wickedness of Kuthite life, and Liane did an incredible job building those details into a rich, nuanced, and horrific world for Game Masters and players to explore. Some of the most memorable creatures and set pieces from the novels—Joyful Things, anyone?—are now fully integrated into the Pathfinder RPG.

Continuing the list of first-rate authors, the book's foreboding adventure sites were written by none other than Lyz Liddell, a Paizo editor who is as conscientious and thoughtful a writer as she is incisive and affecting. Lyz did a great job creating and expanding locations that range from an underground hub of Desnan resistance to a stronghold of rogue kytons to a certain tower where a tapestry of living flesh is not the most horrifying thing inside.

In the book's bestiary, our author list continues to shine. For this stark task, we pulled on board Ron Lundeen and Mark Moreland, two of Paizo's own developers. Mark's work, in truly fine form, includes the monster write-up for the Joyful Thing mentioned above, and I think it turned out spectacularly creepy and atmospheric. Additionally, I'm so pleased to say that Ron, whose new monsters in this book include a gristly new kyton, joined our team in the office shortly after completing this assignment—one of many reasons why this book is quite special.

There's so much to say about Nidal, Land of Shadows that I'm going to leave further discussion of it for another blog. For now, take a look at this beautiful opening piece from the second chapter!

Illustration by Federico Musetti

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Development Coordinator

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Friday, February 16, 2018

Come on in, come on in! You look thirsty. Pull up a stool and let me pour you a drink. What's your poison? Whiskey? Wine? No matter, we have it all here! *polishes glass with a dirty rag*

What's that? You say you read about our humble establishment in some kind of guidebook? Mind if I take a look? Inner Sea Taverns, hmm? Interesting...

Cayden's tankard, this book is something else! Not only does it have information about a tavern's menu and owner, there's also a map for some of these bars! And it even tells you about a tavern's customers! I wouldn't want my patrons to find out about this, that's for sure.

I can't say as I've been all around the Inner Sea, but I did my fair share of traveling before I bought this place. Let's see if I've heard of any of these places.

Ha! Here! The Whispering Stone in Osirion. They say if you kiss the lips of the stone statue that stands in the middle of its open-air pavilion, you'll have luck in love. Don't you believe it! After a few mugs of their pink hibiscus punch, I pulled a chair over to that hunk of rock and planted one right on its mouth. The next thing I remember is waking up in a nearby stable with my face in some camel's fur! True, I later bought that camel and she got me alive out of a number of scrapes in the Parched Dunes, but I wouldn't call that true love!

Oh, and here's the Porthmos Club over in Taldor! Full of snooty nobles who wouldn't give the likes of you or me a second glance if they saw us on the street. But they still need a place to drink and gamble, don't they? Ha! I was actually a senator's aide for a day in Oppara—that's a story for another time—and had to purchase a brand-new doublet just so they would let me in. And with my own coin no less! Truth be told, that was the finest bar I've ever been thrown out of.

I can't believe it, this book even has the rules for a handful of pub games! Why, I haven't played bootbeer in ages. I think I have an old dented helmet in the back from my days in the Molthune militia if you want to go a few rounds. Beer's on the house! No? Suit yourself, then.

Well, friend, I have to tell you that this book is amazing. I wonder who took the time to put this together. No matter. Say, before you leave, keep an eye out for this pale half-elf that's been skulking around town. He's nothing but trouble. There's a sketch of him on the notice board, but you really can't miss him—I don't think he's ever covered up his chest in his life!

Cheers!

Jason Keeley
Developer

Respect for the Past, Eyes on the Future!

Friday, December 1, 2017

When setting out to write Taldor, The First Empire, I found myself presented with a circumstance unlike any that I had previously undertaken: round up everything we've ever said about the nation of Taldor in the 10 years the Pathfinder campaign setting has been around, put all of that into a single cohesive document, make sure it's exciting and inspirational for readers, and lay the groundwork for a Pathfinder Adventure Path campaign that will take place entirely within the nation and deal with the inner workings of its government and long history. But if anyone could do it, I told myself in true Taldan fashion, it was me. Right?

The first major challenge was determining what tone we wanted to present Taldor with going forward, in part because we've been less than consistent on it in the past. Some sources made it out to be more like the Byzantine Empire, complete with laws dictating who could have a beard, while other sources described the court of Louis XIV, with nobles so incompetent that they couldn't even spell their own names correctly. The problem isn't with either presentation, but rather with the fact that there are a lot of fans of both sides of Taldor.

I spent much of PaizoCon 2017 chatting with the community about what they wanted out of the book, what they liked about Taldor, and what never seemed to make sense to them. The development team held a series of meetings wherein we broke down our own views of the nation and what we needed from it in the future, from NPCs, locations, and events to seed into the campaign setting for forthcoming adventures to even larger meta-plots. Then I took all of that and used it as a guideline when combing through the myriad bits we'd said about the Inner Sea's greatest nation to construct what would become the book itself.

Illustrations by Allison Theus, Mary Jane Pajaron, Raph Lomotan, and Katerina Kirillova

I'm incredibly proud of this book, and think the final result is one of the best entries in the illustrious Pathfinder Campaign Setting line. It will be headed to subscribers and game stores soon, and I look forward to hearing the what the community has to say. Check back next week, when I'll go over a few of the reasons why Taldor is the greatest nation in the Inner Sea, and enjoy these glorious illustrations as a preview of what Taldor, The First Empire has to offer.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

Take the Plunge!

Friday, June 23, 2017

Let me guess, another adventurer scared of getting a bit wet are we? Beneath the sea there's another world waiting for those brave enough to challenge the depths. And you're not wrong, it can be scary down there if you're not prepared. Unlike any other terrain on the face of Golarion, venturing underwater constantly reminds you that you're as out of place as the proverbial fish out of water. Krakens, lusca, and worse swim circles around you while you're still worrying about little things like breathing. Looking for a bit of help? Well, you've come to the right place!

Aquatic Adventures includes a lengthy section on Aquatic Rules with more rules content than normal for a book in the Campaign Setting line, including simple but in-depth rules for handling the challenges of underwater adventuring on the topics of swimming and aquatic adventures, fighting underwater, and underwater hazards and features. The rules for swimming consolidate and expand previous swimming rules that were written from the perspective of a land campaign where the Swim skill is described as a way mainly to avoid going underwater in the first place. The rules for fighting underwater collect and adjust the various changes to weapons, spells, and more when used underwater. For instance, creatures with a natural swim speed can ignore penalties for using their inherent natural attacks underwater, so an octopus or kraken doesn't deal less damage with its tentacles. Water attacks that deal bludgeoning damage, like a kineticist's water blast, work without penalty underwater as well! Finally, underwater hazards and features abound, making it easier than ever to add exciting new features to underwater adventures while always having the various threats (drowning, pressure, temperature, and more) right at your fingertips, with guidance about how they vary in different oceanic zones.

But that's not all! This tome also contains pages and pages of aquatic options to customize PCs and foes alike. The strange alchemists known as aquachymists have adapted their craft to the particular hindrances of undersea life, while aquakineticists and deep shamans of waves allow two water-related options to further master the realms beneath the sea. Meanwhile, the tidal trickster rogue moves around in the middle of her full attacks, throwing her foes off-balance. But the aquanaut fighter has one of the coolest abilities: "At 15th level, as a full round action, an aquanaut can spin ferociously underwater, creating a whirlpool around himself with a spinning force that drags all creatures within 120 feet of him 30 feet closer to him. Creatures closer than 30 feet spend the 30 feet of movement circling around the aquanaut in a single direction of his choice. The whirlpool isn't fast enough to deal damage, but the aquanaut is unaffected by his own whirlpool, allowing him to make attacks of opportunity against creatures moving in it."

Illustration by Julien Carrasco

Before venturing beneath the waves, make sure to buy various mundane items useful to adventuring underwater, such as sureseal bladders to keep your potables safe and ready to drink and pressure pills (good news, it's not a suppository!). Teach yourself a variety of aquatic feats including two new style chains based on the ways dolphins and great white sharks hunt their prey (it turns out dolphins are kind of jerks to their prey, and you can be too!). Discover new magic items like the apparatus of the octopus (a more affordable apparatus of the crab), the practical underwater weapon special ability, and the tidefinder, best friend to terrestrial vampires vacationing under the waves. There's even a new major artifact as well as the paladins who seek it, finally sating your curiosity as to what that Pathfinder Society boon for Aquatic Adventures was talking about.

Illustrations by Vicky Yarova

While many of the spells have undersea applications, like invisibility bubble or lead anchor, I'll leave you with a spell that's equally fun above the waves as it is below (one undersea deep platinum medallion to the first person who remembers the forum thread that led directly to this spell's creation)!

STEAM RAY FUSILLADE

School evocation [fire, water]; Level sorcerer/wizard 7 Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S, M (a scraping from a hydrothermal vent) Range personal

Target you

Duration 1 round/level

For the duration of the spell, you can fire three rays of steam once per round as a standard action (and you also fire three such rays as part of casting the spell). These rays function similarly to the rays from scorching ray (you can fire them at close range, they're ranged touch attacks, they deal 4d6 points of fire damage each, and spell resistance negates them) except that they work both underwater and above water without a caster level check for being a fire spell.

Mark Seifter
Designer

War, War Never Changes!

Friday, February 24, 2017

Conflict rages across many portions of Golarion, but no two nations are defined and shaped by the war that rips through them quite like Molthune and Nirmathas. More than 8 decades of bitter unrest and violence inextricably links these two countries; imperialist Molthune seeks to bring rebellious Nirmathas back into its fold, while fiercely independent Nirmathas can't help but rabble-rouse even when peace seems at hand.

Beyond these basic details from the Inner Sea World Guide, though, we've said little about Molthune and Nirmathas—until now. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of Conflict is just hitting shelves now, and it contains 64 pages about these two complex nations. I couldn't be more proud about how it turned out.

For the first time, we provide an in-depth look at the inner workings of these two lands, including the complex governmental structure of Molthune and the disparate populace of Nirmathas. The illustrious Amber E. Scott—our superstar author guest of honor for this year's PaizoCon!—did a phenomenal job fleshing out both nations, their history and motivations, the ongoing conflict, and the wild adventures you could set there. Amber has turned Molthune and Nirmathas into living, breathing places that Game Masters could use as a setting for years to come.

Speaking of, if you're interested in adventures that take place here, you'll want to check out the upcoming Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path, developed by Crystal Frasier, in which a hobgoblin army invades Nirmathas!

Illustrations by Sandra Posada and Lewis Jones

But deep lore and context is not all this book offers. We've also included a new militia system designed to allow any party to build, advance, and lead their own band of fighters. It's particularly appropriate for the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path, though this subsystem can easily be used in any game. The militia system marks the debut of author Lissa Guillet, who is also Paizo's own systems administrator. Lissa did a great job building and parsing rules that can slot seamlessly into any appropriate backdrop.

Beside all of the above, Lands of Conflict includes a host of new Molthuni and Nirmathi troops, large gazetteers of each nation, robust nation and settlement maps, and much more. And check out these all-new character shots below!

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Developer

I Get a Little Help From My Friends

Thursday, January 19, 2017

We've all been there, whether by seeing it in a movie, reading it in a book, or experiencing it in your favorite tabletop adventure: the protagonists stride into the throne room, where the regal monarch greets them and says, “Hail, noble adventurers. Long have I sought heroes to assist me with this plot hook, and you may be the saviors I need.” That treatment may work well in a European-fantasy setting awash with minor kingdoms and desperate NPCs, but in Qadira, everyone knows somebody; there's rarely any need for a regional governor to rely on some no-name group of 9th-level adventurers, much less have any motivation to entrust them with important tasks. Whether one's the soul of courtesy or a boor busting into a trade prince's parlor demanding news of the nearest dungeon, an unknown adventurer's almost certain to receive the same response: “Who the hell are you?”

While Jessica Price was writing Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Qadira, Jewel of the East, we began discussing the importance of one's status through citizenship, family, and social connections—everything from selling a goods without a license, to choosing a spouse, to arranging a meeting, to traveling the roads without paying tolls. That was all well and good for citizens, but we knew that for Qadira to be a fun adventuring location, it needed to be accessible to foreign PCs. If an adventurer isn't born into Qadiran society, how can he access its wonders? Patronage. With the right friend, doors both figurative and literal open for the PCs. After we had nerded out about Roman patronage for a while, Jessica exclaimed what we were both thinking (and I give you the direct quote): GAMIFY SOCIAL CLIMBING. The honor system in Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign gave us a starting point, but the more we brainstormed how Qadira's social mobility worked, the more we realized we needed something tied less to the client and more to the patron herself. The patronage system was born.

Illustration by Anson Tan

Qadira, Jewel of the East dedicates four pages to the patronage system, which provides a mechanical framework for a client (either a PC or the entire party) to earn social credit (Clout) with a patron. Each patron has a certain amount of influence (Rank, ranging from 1 to 10), holds power in a certain sphere within the society (Category), feels a certain way toward the client (Disposition), and may know other equally powerful people in other social spheres (Affiliation). As a PC performs tasks in a patron's name, he earns Clout that he can spend on improving the patron's disposition or buying favors. The trick is that relative social status plays a significant role in who talks to whom, so a tourist stands almost no chance of arranging a meeting with the satrap; in game terms, one's starting Clout depends heavily on the patron's rank and the PC's ranks in the patron's favorite skills, and if that calculation results in 0 Clout or less, the prospective client had better supply a really nice gift or suffer being ignored.

Patrons are the key to success in Qadira. The right patron can not only provide the PCs with a critical lead on a lucrative adventure site, but she can also help outfit them from her personal stockpiles, secure them access to restricted areas, and then spread word of their deeds. Of course, this is a two-way street; if a PC intends to earn that Clout, he must perform favors for the patron, help her earn prestige by having sponsored a successful hero, and avoid embarrassing her. The patronage system includes a wealth of suggested ways one can earn and lose Clout, including methods unique to different patron categories (e.g. attending a major social event for a social patron or recovering a major relic for a religious patron). Perhaps my favorite little feature is the list of additional patron qualities that modify the patronage system in little ways to fit a patron's positive and negative qualities. If the PC intends to keep climbing the social ladder, though, his patrons can be of further service, granting him a reliable introduction to higher-ranked patrons that had previously ignored him. A sword-swinging warrior can find a home in any campaign, but in Qadira, a PC who plays the system right could secure unfettered access to the empire's wonders, the ear of any celebrity, and a marriage proposal to one of the satrap's cousins—all by knowing who's who and how to befriend them. I like to think that in a Qadiran campaign, playing a social climber could be just as important a party role as that of a healer or trapsmith.

What you'll find in this book is designed for Qadira but is easily adaptable for other regions and settings by renaming a few titles or adding a new category. Since I spend most of my time working on the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild campaign, I thought it fitting to include an informal patron stat block for several of the Pathfinder Society's most reliable contacts in Qadira.

Trade Prince Aaqir al'Hakam (Season 8)
N male human
Rank 6 mercantile patron
Key Skills Appraise and Profession (merchant)
Affiliation none
Additional Qualities deep pockets

Venture-Captain Esmayl ibn Qaradi (Season 8)
NG male human
Rank 4 academic patron
Key Skills Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (history)
Affiliations political, social
Additional Qualities well-connected

Eurdan Stonemantle (Season 6)
NG male oread
Rank 4 tribal patron
Key Skills Sense Motive and Survival
Affiliation none
Additional Qualities none

Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri (As of Season 2)
NE female human
Rank 5 political patron
Key Skills Bluff and Knowledge (nobility)
Affiliations mercantile and military
Additional Qualities jaded

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Qadira, Jewel of the East hits shelves in less than a week! Grab a copy, and turn your setting's political landscape into the PCs' playground.

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

Peoples of Qadira

Thursday, January 12, 2017

It's time for another Qadira preview!

Although residents of the Inner Sea region often think of Keleshites as a monolithic people, the reality is a lot more complex. The Empire of Kelesh has made efforts to encourage a unified Keleshite identity, but talking about "Keleshites" as if they were a single culture (which residents of Avistan, especially, tend to do) is about as accurate as talking about "Avistani" (which residents of Casmaron, to be fair, also tend to do). Just as the Chelaxians tend to have very different cultural practices from the Ulfen and Varisian customs and history differ greatly from those of the Shoanti, the various cultures that make up the Empire of Kelesh have widely varied practices and histories. The average resident of the major cities of Kelesh is of mixed heritage, but in less urbanized areas, people still practice traditions that date back five millennia or more.

Qadirans tend to think of themselves as Qadiran first, Keleshite second, and whatever other ethnic identity they may claim third, but those histories still shape their identities and practices.

There are six peoples credited with creating the Empire of Kelesh, corresponding to the seven virtues Keleshites believe they exemplify—the seventh is the unified Keleshite identity, though rumor has it that there was once a seventh culture that has been erased from the historical record.

Althameri: The once-nomadic Althameri tribes founded the Empire, and still form most of its noble class and merchant houses. Althameri still hold to their tribal identities, and many still live in deep desert holds and practice traditional ways, including a unique form of Sarenism. Most of what people outside of Casmaron consider "Keleshite" comes from the Althameri culture; even Keleshites with no Althameri descent often imitate Althameri dress and practices as a sign of prestige. The virtue associated with the Althameri is zeal.

Althameri use a first name followed by a matronymic indicated with the prefix al-. For example, Yaqib al-Marah is Yaqib, son of Marah. They may include a tribal identifier when introducing themselves to other Althameri, but most city-dwelling Althameri consider this information private. If needed, they may append their city of residence or birth to the end of their name distinguish themselves from another individual with the same name.

Most Keleshites who do not strongly identify with another ethnicity follow this naming convention.

Illustration by Eric Kenji

Aishmayar: The Aishmayar were an ancient, settled culture when the Althameri were still nomads eking out bare survival from the harsh deserts. Famed for their pacifism and dedication to the arts, they were the first people conquered by the Althameri. Their lack of written records has caused them to become an enigmatic founding myth in Kelesh. Though only a few noble families can prove Aishmayar descent in contemporary Kelesh, it is common for artists, actors, and socialites to claim it to enhance their status. The virtue associated with the Aishmayar is grace.

The Aishmayar generally used a string of names, the first given to them at birth, and another two to four earned throughout their lifetime based on achievements or personality characteristics, such as Nur-Iqar-Shamah. Particularly desperate celebrities sometimes effect an Aishmayar name, but doing so is generally considered gauche in the extreme.

Khattibi: The Empire of Khattib once occupied a large swath of the territory now controlled by Kelesh, especially the jungles and rich farmland of Casmaron's southern coast. They are famous for feats of physical engineering and their great libraries, but their inability to match their physical infrastructure with similarly robust social systems caused them to overextend and become a tempting target for Keleshite conquest, especially as they controlled the trade routes that brought goods from Vudra and Tian Xia into Casmaron. The vast majority of the citizens of Kelesh are primarily of Khattibi descent. The virtue associated with the Khattibi is inventiveness.

Khattibi names originally put an individual's family name first: Sadikci-Darya is Darya of the Sadikci family, though in recent centuries it has become more common to reverse the order, e.g. Darya Sadikci.

Mideans: The other great empire absorbed by the Keleshites was Midea, which warred with Khattib for most of its existence and claimed many of the port cities of Khardaji Bay. The Midean love of efficiency and organization inspired an unprecedented financial system that includes some of the oldest still-operating banks on Golarion. Mideans are enthusiastic patrons of the arts and the oldest families are devoted to civil service. The virtue associated with the Mideans is elegance.

Mideans tend to use personal names followed by a patronymic or family name, such as Mizha ibn Illiar, but as with the Khattibi, they increasingly drop the prefix, e.g. Mizha Illiar.

Susianam: Known as the People of the Tides, or Susians in Taldane, the Susianam are believed to have begun wandering Casmaron after a disaster destroyed their homeland. The clergy of their moon god go veiled and are accompanied by tattooed bodyguards. Though they are now a rare minority, the Susianam contributed both many of the irrigation systems that allowed Kelesh to bridge the harsh deserts between arable areas of Casmaron and founded its navy. The virtue associated with the Susianam is adaptability.

A Susian generally goes only by a first name, though the clergy sometimes bestow epithets upon other members of their faith, which become part of their names.

Tzorehiyi: Believed to share ancestral roots with the Althameri and Kara peoples, the Tzorehiyi still prefer to live in the steppes and grasslands of Casmaron. Their tribes control security for most of the trade routes and provide most of the agricultural labor that supports Kelesh's major cities. The virtue associated with the Tzorehiyi is honor.

The Tzorehiyi tend to use a first name followed by their tribe's name, such as Nerzad Batgui.

More Introductory Kelish!

Since people seemed to like it last time, here are a few more Kelish words—these are terms of endearment and forms of address.

Endearments

Little dove (term of affection for children)
yunifah
(yoon-ee-FAH)

Little falcon (term of affection for children, especially mischievous/bold ones)
tzaherhyifah
(tzah-herh-yee-FAH)

Spice of my life (term of affection)
reqethnayyah rukhni
(reh-keth-NAI-yah rukh-NEE)

My sun (term of affection, considered blasphemous/profane)
tzorenellni
(tzor-eh-NEL-nee)

My love
hevevhanni
(heh-vev-HAH-nee)

My sweet
deshfanni
(desh-FAH-nee)

Forms of Address

sir/madam
timanah
(tee-mah-NAH)

citizen
isakhmatah
(ee-sakh-mah-TAH)

noble
dimeqan
(dee-meh-KAHN)

member of imperial family
shahiyan
(shah-hee-YAHN)

professor/intellectual
bihuran
(bee-hoo-RAHN)

priest
yeshranah
(yesh-rah-NAH)

government official
ridathan
(ree-dah-THAHN)

kinsman/kinswoman (used not for actual kin, but for fellow Keleshites, fellow tribespeople, etc. to emphasize a connection, generally in the presence of people who don't share that connection)
nithveqalah (neeth-veh-kahl-LAH)

Hope you enjoyed this preview! Stay tuned next week for a glimpse of the patronage subsystem! :-)

Jessica Price
Project Manager

Qadira: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Friday, January 6, 2017

Very soon, dear readers, copies of Qadira: Jewel of the East will be in your hands (or available to be in your hands, if you're not a subscriber), so this seems like an excellent time to list off my ten favorite things about Qadira and/or this book. Behold:

1. The "Adventuring In Qadira" section: These 24 pages of mysteries, perils, ancient secrets, and general weirdness give glimpses of locations like the razor-edged obsidian labyrinth of the Lady of the Burnt Lands; Ihalar, a massive underground city; Ushumgal, a banking center probably run by bronze dragons; the deadly ruins of Qumarin, from which explorers emerge blinded, their faces branded with wheels of wings, eyes, and fire; and the Tower of Winds, set among a sea of colorful grasses haunted by strange beings who ask visitors a single question to which there is no correct answer. There's also a lot more detail about sites we've mentioned before, like the harpy-haunted ruins of Al-Bashir, the military training grounds of Omash, and the twisted gnoll settlement of Shadun.

2. My favorite piece of art ever: Look at this gloriousness. It's the adventurer equivalent of having your cat sleeping on your keyboard when you need to get work done. The poor lady just wants to figure out where these tracks go, and her lion animal companion is demanding that she play with him NOW.

Illustration by Lance Red

3. John Compton's patronage system: In Qadira, getting ahead is all about who you know and what they can do for you. John has put together a brilliant system for navigating the currents of Qadiran society, gaining access to the elite, and benefitting from your connections.

4. Keleshite ethnicities: Did you think "Keleshite" described a single culture or people? If you did, that's understandable—that's what most people from Avistan think, too. But the Padishah Empire of Kelesh is home to many different peoples and cultures, making "Keleshite" more of an umbrella term, like "Avistani" or "Tian," than a specific ethnicity like "Ulfen" or "Shoanti." Learn about the six major cultures that formed the Empire, as well as close to a dozen ethnic minorities common in Qadira. There are also details about how non-humans and different classes fit into Qadiran society, from tieflings pretending to be emberkin aasimars to Paraheen dwarf weaponsmiths, and Taldan brawlers to the pyrokineticists of the Imperial Forces.

5. This other piece of art, which is also my favorite piece of art ever: It's a CYCLOPS WITH A MIGRAINE. I empathize so much, buddy.

Illustration by Eric Kenji

6. Horses! If you like playing mounted characters, especially if you like playing mounted characters who ride horses, you're going to want this book. From new tricks for your horse animal companion, to genie-touched horses with elemental powers, to information on the horse-breeding tribes of Al-Zabrit and their unique cavalier order, this book is packed with goodies for riders.

7. The clothes: There are so many well-dressed people in these pages. Look at this magnificently attired guy. Even his horse is dapper as hell.

Illustration by Anson Tan

8. Creepy desert fey: I'm not going to spoil it, but it's about time we had one of these.

9. Sunsinger skalds: I know, you hear "skald" and you think "Viking bard," right? Well, everything's different in the desert, and skalds there channel the powers of fire and sunlight in service of the goddess Sarenrae. Oh, and there's also a solar sorcerer bloodline. Qadira has a lot of people who are ON FIRE: both in the sense of being badass, and also literally on fire.

10. Kelish: While working out names for places and people in Qadira, I put together a phonology document to ensure consistency (and to help me figure out ways to suggest layers of history with names that didn't follow those conventions). That document turned into a lexicon, and eventually into a reference grammar for the Kelish language. I could geek out about it for 10,000 more words or so, but instead, I'll just note that it drops the copula in the present tense, has a triconsonantal root system (like Arabic, Hebrew, etc.), and lacks grammatical gender (like Turkish).

Bonus: Introduction to Kelish

Kelish started out as a trade language: early Keleshite merchants realized that their tongue, now known as Old Keleshite, was proving an impediment to spreading their influence, due to sounds non-native speakers found difficult and grammatical features they found baffling. So they created a simplified and more regular form of the language, with phonology more similar to that of common tongues outside of Casmaron and with more regular grammar. Old Keleshite is still used in religious ceremonies and among some of the more isolated desert tribes, but these days, almost everyone in Kelesh speaks Kelish as their native tongue.

Like many Semitic languages, Kelish is written using an abjad rather than an alphabet (which is to say it's written using only consonants). Many consonants have both a "soft" and a "hard" version (e.g. a single consonant can be pronounced either as b or as v depending on context). The transliterations below are simplified and may not reflect the way the word would be spelled in Kelish script.

Kelish pronunciation: Kelish has six vowel sounds, five of which (a, e, i, o, u, which are pronounced similarly to Romance language vowels) have long and short versions. The sixth is found in unstressed syllables and can be either pronounced as a schwa sound or left silent. It has a few consonants that differ from their English pronunciations. The kh sound is pronounced like the ch in the German pronunciation of Bach, or the Scottish loch. The r sound is trilled, as in Spanish or Italian, but also exists in a "softened" version (usually transliterated rh or gh), which is pronounced like the French r. An apostrophe (') indicates a glottal stop.

Stress generally falls on the final syllable of the word. Stress on non-final syllables is indicated in the transliterations below with a doubled consonant after the lengthened vowel. (adirah is pronounced ah-dee-RAH, but aninnu is pronounced ah-NEE-nu.)

Greetings

Hello
adirah
(ah-dee-RAH)

Goodbye
baraqqti bshlim (lit. "go in peace")
(ba-RAHK-tee bsh-LEEM)

Poems/Prayers/Idioms

Dawn will come.
lehibwa'ah fishereqel
(leh-hee-bwah-AH fee-sheh-reh-KEL)

Sunlight banishes lies.
li'ekhrabah mutzeirnil et drejem (lee-ehkh-rah-BAH moo-tzeh-ee-MEEL eht dray-JEM)

We are not strangers, for our hearts are old friends.
aninnu la reyevem, qaru qelebeiniannu ekhum qidumum
(ah-NEEN-oo lah reh-yay-VEHM, kah-ROO keh-lay-bay-ee-nee-AH-noo eh-KHOOM kee-doo-MOOM)

Hold my wine and watch this!
bashaddti et yenananni w ri'oyeti et eleh
(bah-SHAD-tee eht yey-na-NAHN-ee wuh reeh-oh-yeh-TEE eht eh-LAY)

Useful Phrases for People Who Annoy You

Be quiet. I haven't had my coffee yet.
batallti. la halli lishqai et kahvenni udina
(bah-TAHL-tee. lah HAH-lee leesh-kie (like "die") oo-dee-NAH)

No horse will carry you.
ianu shisah illi lihi'enubshadah et atah
(ee-ah-NOO shee-SAH EE-lee lee-HEEH-eh-noob-shah-DAH eht ah-TAH)

May you fall in love with a genie.
deyah akhalkhallti et jani'ah
(day-YAH ah-khal-KHAL-tee eht jah-neeh-AH)

I hope you've enjoyed this peek at Qadira: Jewel of the East. Stay tuned for more previews, including a glimpse of the patronage system!

Jessica Price
Project Manager

Illustration by Nikolai Ostertag

First World Preview—The Places

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Last week, I showed off one of the Eldest write-ups from our upcoming campaign setting book, The First World, Realm of the Fey. This week, I thought I'd give you a taste of some of the bizarre adventure locations you'll find inside.

My philosophy with gazetteers has always been to squeeze as many ideas into an article (or in this case, book) as possible: give GMs just enough fun details to get their minds spinning, then go off in an entirely different direction and leave them (or future adventures) to fill in the rest. These short shotgun blasts of ideas are also one of my favorite thing to write, and thus I try to carve them out as much space in my books as possible! As a result, this book has a heaping helping of encounter locations, ranging in size from a mere paragraph for random adventure sites to an entire page for the Eldest's seats of power or cities in need of maps. Presented below is just one of these locations, plus its awesome illustration!

Cobyslarni: The gleaming domes and steeples of this magical academy would be impressive anywhere, yet instead of standing atop a mountaintop or in some bustling city, the Traveling Academy of Cobyslarni roams the plains of the First World, riding like a howdah atop an enormous, three-eyed elephantine beast. The university's charter holds that its founder, Cobyslarni, decided the best way to foster independent thought was to be constantly moving, never able to be claimed by any given Eldest or city government. In the academy's halls, some of the greatest arcane and occult scholars of the First World gather to teach promising students, peruse the school's extradimensional libraries, or debate the finer points of occult theory upon floating disks in the school's open-air auditoriums. Overseeing the day-to-day running of the school is Headmistress Bofika Nemesan (NG female human wizard 11/occultist 6), chosen from among her peers by the school's illustrious founder. As for Cobyslarni himself, any student or traveler may ask him questions, yet he rarely deigns to answer these days, busy as he is contemplating the mysteries of the multiverse and carrying the school upon his vast back.

For dozens more locations like these, please check out Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The First World, Realm of the Fey, coming later this month!

James L. Sutter
Creative Director

First World Preview—The Eldest

Thursday, December 1, 2016

With the release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The First World, Realm of the Fey rapidly approaching, some kind folks on the forums have been asking for a taste of what you'll find inside. And what better place to start than with the godlike Eldest of mysteries and secrets?

It's no secret that this book is special for me. Not only have I been working on it sporadically for so long that the original paper pagination I wrote out has started to look like an antique treasure map, but the First World has always captured my love of the weirdness of Pathfinder. A place where anything can happen, there's infinite variety around every corner, and beings great and powerful can toss you into an adventure in an instant! It's the same draw that led me to first start work on Kaer Maga (following in the gonzo footsteps of folks like China Miéville and Richard Pett), or to follow trailblazers like Wes and Jacobs into the Outer Planes with my novels. For me, the more bizarre oddities you can pack into a setting book, the better.

And one of the things that excited me most about this project was the prospect of getting to give all of the Eldest a full Book of the Damned/Chronicle of the Righteous-style write-up. Ever since Wes did the first Book of the Damned, it's been one of my favorite campaign setting books, and I shamelessly ripped off that format for The First World. Each of the Eldest in the book gets their own spread—the left page a write-up about the god (like this one for Ng), and the right detailing that Eldest's seat of power—in Ng's case, the fabled Palace of Seasons. As with Inner Sea Faiths, all of the Eldest come with boons and obediences that work with both the prestige classes in that book and the new feysworn prestige class presented in this one.

But of course, the true best part of this book for me is finally getting to see the Eldest illustrated! Ever since their first introduction in Pathfinder Adventure Path #36, I've wanted to see them brought to life, and this version of Ng is everything I had imagined and more, perfectly capturing the aura of mystery and menace that should accompany any of the fickle fey lords!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for future blogs, where I hope to do at least one more preview before The First World launches!

James L. Sutter
Creative Director

Embrace Elemental Might!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

From the Jade Regent Adventure Path and Dragon Empires Gazetteer that drove the Year of the Ruby Phoenix to the Iron Gods Adventure Path and Technology Guide that inspired the Year of the Sky Key, the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild has borrowed heavily from upcoming Pathfinder literature when designing a new season's setting and feel. About two years ago, the organized play program set a course for storylines independent of the ongoing Adventure Paths, and the elemental planes were always that under-appreciated portion of the campaign setting's cosmology where the Pathfinder Society could make its mark. We're making that happen in the new Year of the Stolen Storm!

Illustrations by Nikolai Ostertag

The trouble is that by divesting our metaplot from the Adventure Paths, we'd entered fairly undocumented territory. The Great Beyond provides valuable information upon which Blood of the Elements built, but we had still written fewer words about these nigh-infinite planes than we had about most countries in the Inner Sea region! This time, rather than react to and incorporate other product lines, the Pathfinder Society team pitched Planes of Power, secured it a spot on the schedule, and outlined it so that players, GMs, and authors alike could learn more about the elemental planes we're featuring over the next year.

Planes of Power also provided us with an opportunity to make the elemental planes stand out as the truly bizarre, wondrous, and primal places that they are. We aimed much higher than simply describing the Plane of Fire as a place that's hot or the Plane of Air as a floating realm. Rather, the nuances of each plane are lovingly detailed in 10-page chapters, which describe the realms' unique histories, inhabitants, places of interest, political intrigues, and more. Each chapter also includes a section of ground-level details about a planar metropolis.

Rounding out the book are chapters full of planar beasts and character options, including tools to help PCs explore the elemental planes and wield elemental energies no matter the setting. We're excited to say that Planes of Power also provides a look at the elemental lords, including the unholy symbols for the evil lords shown above.

Aside from this breadth of information, the book flat out looks gorgeous. From its dynamic cover to its thematic page elements to its beautiful illustrations, we hope that Planes of Power's visuals inspire readers with infinite ideas for planar characters and adventures.

Illustrations by Tomasz Chistowski, Helge C. Balzer, Roberto Pitturru, and Jorge Fares

Take a look at the illustrations above for a taste of what we mean!

John Compton and Amanda Hamon Kunz
Developers

Prepare to Raise Hell

Friday, June 24, 2016

In this final preview of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight, I figured I'd touch on the Hellknight arsenal—rules-wise the book's meatiest chapter—and wrap things up with glimpses of the remaining three major Hellknight orders. So let's dive right in!

Hellknight Arsenal

The most rules dense section of Path of the Hellknight comes at the very end. While there's certainly plenty of content in here for GMs planning to pit their PCs against Hellknight foes, in truth, this section is designed to give players a ton of new options for their Hellknight characters. A host of new traits, feats, spells, and equipment provide a spectrum of new ways to make your character feel more like a driven and entrenched Hellknight, while details on existing cavalier orders and inquisitor inquisitions recast existing options to further the Hellknights' agendas. You'll also find new options for those taking the Hellknight prestige class, the Order of the Ennead Star cavalier order, and more. There is a ton of super cool content in this chapter worth showing off...

So, moving right along to our final three major Hellknight orders!

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Richard Suwono

Order of the Pyre

Symbol tower rising from flames

Headquarters Citadel Krane, near Ostenso

Leader Lictor Rouen Stought (LN female human ranger 6/Hellknight^ISWG 4)

Members atheists, former cultists, members of mainstream religions, victims of dangerous radicals

Armor Features bladed armor, horned and skull-like helm

Favored Weapon glaive

Reckoning Burn yourself over an open flame. Once per day as an immediate action, you can gain fire resistance 10 for 10 minutes. This does not stack with resist energy or any other abilities that provide fire resistance and overlaps with protection from energy.

Whether unhealthy beliefs take root in the minds of religious fanatics, practitioners of strange mystical arts, or students of radical philosophies, the Order of the Pyre strives to stamp out all outlandish convictions. This philosophy has given these Hellknights a well-earned reputation as cultist hunters who are intolerant of religion. Yet the Order of the Pyre also seeks to thwart philosophical revolutions and the insidious spread of dangerous ways of thinking. The order uses the faiths and mores of Chelish society as the standard of acceptable beliefs. The Inner Sea region's most common deities are acceptable to them, as are orderly philosophies such as diabolism and the Prophecies of Kalistrade. However, the order views whatever doesn't mesh with Chelish thinking or doesn't have an existing role within society as dangerous.

Followers of the Pyre can expect to learn more about the group's witch-hunting methods, their costal citadel and black armored fleet of ships, and a variety of feats and magic items perfect for hunting down practitioners of dark faiths an traditions.

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Richard Suwono

Order of the Rack

Symbol a spiked wheel

Headquarters Citadel Rivad, near Westcrown

Leader Lictor Darcyne Wrens (LN female human sorcerer 10/Hellknight^ISWG 1)

Members denigrators of art and poetry, patriots, technology-haters, traditionalists

Armor Features muscular design, sleek helm, flayed cloak

Favored Weapon longsword or whip

Reckoning Endure internal burns. Gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saving throws to resist poison. This increases to +6 against ingested poisons.

The Order of the Rack numbers among the Hellknight orders that the public most loathes. The order has a reputation for raiding the homes of those who speak out against the status quo, and for breaking up groups of malcontents before they become guilds, unions, or revolutionaries. They are the enemies of foreign ideals and innovations, not because they lack merit, but because they detract from what these Hellknights perceive to be the traditional values of southern Avistan. Art and technology are viewed as wasteful or dangerous, especially when they meet in union. None can say how many valuable printing presses Hellknights of the Rack have destroyed, or how many thousands of pages of unique stories, songs, and philosophies they have burned in the shadow of Citadel Rivad. All of this is summarized in the Order of the Rack's symbol, the torturer's wheel, which the order sees as the embodiment of wayward thinking and the suffering manifested by those permitted to indulge their ideas.

Those seeking to join the Order of the Rack can expect to learn more about this groups strict hierarchy, their hazing traditions, technologies and texts targeted for destruction, the Hellknight's first citadel, dozens of character options, a new poison, and a variety of crippling feats. Developments within the order also see the rise of a new commander, Lictor Darcyne Wrens, and the full story associated with that power shift.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Scourge

Symbol star of bleeding lashes

Headquarters Citadel Demain, near Egorian

Leader Lictor Toulon Vidoc (LN male human rogue 2/fighter 4/Hellknight^ISWG 10)

Members constables, informants, the poor, victims of organized crime

Armor Features serrated breastplate, horned helm

Favored Weapon heavy mace, scourge (see page 48), or whip

Reckoning Lash yourself with a scourge or whip. Take 1 fewer point of bleed damage per round when you are affected by an ability or effect that causes bleed damage and gain a +4 bonus on Heal checks to stop bleeding.

The oldest organization of Hellknights, the Order of the Scourge seeks to root out corruption in any form. Its members hunt for political manipulation and abuses of power, but their efforts also include an endless war against organized crime. At the fringes of its influence, the Order of the Scourge might hunt gangs of burglars or cutpurses, but in the heart of Cheliax these Hellknights crusade against faceless guilds of thieves, sprawling criminal organizations, and nobles for whom crime has become a family business. This regularly pits the Order of the Scourge against some of the most dangerous powers in Cheliax, including members of the nation's government.

Illustration by Mariusz Gandzel

Members of the Order of the Scourge can also expect much more on their particularly urban group's methods, Citadel Demain—the de facto headquarters of all Hellknight orders—tenets, characters options, the new faceless enforcer vigilante archetype, and more!

That's it for glimpses into Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight! Look for it on your local game store's shelves soon or snag it right now here on paizo.com. I'm already looking forward to hearing about all the new Hellknight characters the book spawns, not to mention how all these merciless tools finally let you stamp out the forces of chaos in your campaign.

Best of luck lawbringers!

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

Expanding the Ranks of Hell

Friday, June 17, 2016

Illustration by Leonardo Borazio

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight hits this month! Ready to learn more about the legions you'll be joining or commanding once you've picked up the definitive guide to this deadly order?

This time around let's focus on the Hellknights' lesser-known orders, small but driven organizations ready to accept new members or that might come to oppose your wild adventuring.

Lesser Hellknight Orders

Beyond the seven well-known orders of Hellknight—Chain, Gate, Godclaw, Nail, Pyre, Rack, and Scourge—there are several minor orders. Among these are the vicious Order of the Coil, revenge-obsessed Sargavan interlopers, the Order of the Pike, a band of renowned monster hunters, and the Order of the Glyph, who you might already know from the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path. Some of these fringe groups number among the most heroic and villainous of the Hellknight orders, but heretofore little has been said about them. The Lesser Orders section of Path of the Hellknight changes that. While these orders hold a great deal of interest and potential, especially with some of their niche focuses, they have less of a footprint in the Inner Sea Region, and, appropriately, in this book. But I didn't want to leave readers gravitating toward these orders adrift. As a result, each of these orders references which major Hellknight order it's most similar to. This guidepost points readers toward an analogous major order with options to crib from. It's a quick fix, but it opens the door to a variety of options for Hellknights of these minor orders. Beyond this, you'll find plenty of new details, histories, and options for these orders. To show off a bit of that, here's a few snippets from one, the Order of the Wall.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Wall

Symbol crenellated skull

Headquarters the Gnashing Wall, south of Khari

Leader Master of Blades Atlan Essebar (LN male human fighter 8/Hellknight^ISWG 5)

Members Chelaxians born in Rahadoum, soldiers

Armor Features angular mantle, cylindrical, castlelike helm

Favored Weapon lucerne hammer (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Equipment 19)

Reckoning repeatedly strike bricks or stone

Analogous Order Rack

Today, the order has grown from 50 members to nearer a hundred, most of whom are lawful neutral. Technically subordinate to the Order of the Chain, the Order of the Wall has no lictor, as master of blades is its highest title. In practice, though, the order functions with near autonomy. The order's mandate to defend Chelish fronts south of the Arch of Aroden has broadened over the years. Now, members stand watch at several borders—not just Chelish ones—defending civilization's frontiers. Despite the order's Chelish origins, Garundi—and specifically Rahadoumi—soldiers comprise most of the order's Hellknights. While their defense of the Gnashing Wall remains an almost religious duty, many travel across northern Garund, serving as guardians of all sorts.

So that's a bit of what you can expect in the chapter on lesser Hellknight orders. But to get back to the major orders, here are glimpses of what you can expect from the fanatical Order of the Godclaw and the frontier scouring Order of the Nail.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Godclaw

Symbol five-pointed iron star

Headquarters Citadel Dinyar, in the Aspodell Mountains

Leader Lictor Resarc Ountor (LN male fighter 4/cleric 2/Hellknight^ISWG 6)

Members crusaders, religious zealots

Armor Features breastplate with clawlike vambraces, clawlike helm

Favored Weapon morningstar

Reckoning Flagellate yourself with a five-tailed lash. Whenever you are the target of a lawful divine caster's spell that heals hit point damage, you heal 1 additional point per die rolled. Additionally, if you cast divine spells, you can use the holy symbols of Abadar, Asmodeus, Iomedae, Irori, and Torag interchangeably.

Not content with seeking divine approval for their knighthood's righteous path, the Order of the Godclaw's members have sculpted their beliefs from the harshest, most exacting philosophies of five lawful deities: Abadar, Asmodeus, Iomedae, Irori, and Torag. Remade as five stern, armored paragons, the deities of this pantheon are known collectively as the Godclaw. The Hellknights follow revised doctrines to stamp out disorder, particularly its divine embodiments and beings of absolute chaos, with religious zeal. Rather than targeting the faiths of prominent religions, the order sets its eyes on supporting lawful crusades (such as the wars fought by Molthune and Mendev) and being at the vanguard of battles against the forces of chaos. No land is beyond the lawfulness provided by Hellknights—a fact the Order of the Godclaw endlessly seeks to prove.

Members of the Order of the Godclaw can also expect to learn much more about the formation of their unique order, their pentamic faith, their holdouts (and escape routes) near Citadel Dinyar, and a new Godclaw oracle mystery—for your most devout, polytheistic signifers.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Nail

Symbol thick nails forming a sunburst

Headquarters Citadel Vraid, near Korvosa

Leader Lictor Severs "Boneclaw" DiViri (LE male fighter 4/rogue 2/Hellknight^ISWG 4)

Members frontiersmen, settlers, victims of barbarian and monster attacks

Armor Features breastplate emblazoned with a fiendish face, horned helm

Favored Weapon lance or halberd

Reckoning Pierce your flesh with sharp metal. Gain a +4 bonus on Knowledge (geography) checks. Additionally, if you are trained in Knowledge (geography), you automatically succeed at attempts to use that skill to identify a creature's ethnicity or accent, as long as you are familiar with that ethnicity or accent.

To certain dogmatic, rigid-minded individuals, civilization seems under siege. Beyond the bulwarks of cities and national borders lies an endless expanse of wilderness populated by those who, all too often, shun the rules of settled, lawful societies and follow their own callings. To the Order of the Nail, these beings enviously prey upon the children of the law, seeking to draw civilization into a regressive mire. The Order of the Nail stands staunchly against what it views as barbarity.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro and Maichol Quinto

Those who throw in with the Order of the Nail can also expect to learn more about the order's harsh ideals, their tri-part citadel, a number of famous Hellknights, the circuit judge cavalier archetype, and an array of deadly magical brands. There's also a pretty neat little glimpse of the Order of the Nail's Mistress of Blades, Maidrayne Vox, slipped into the illustration of Citadel Vraid.

That's it for today's peek into Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight, but our final preview is coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

Prepare to Raise Hell

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

I've got a lot of favorite parts of the Pathfinder campaign setting—if you've been following along for the last few years, there's a good chance you already know a few of them. Since we created the Pathfinder world, I've had a chance to explore the pits of Hell in the Book of the Damned, some of Golarion's mightiest treasures in Artifacts & Legends, and the gothic nightmare of Ustalav in both Rule of Fear and Pathfinder Tales: Bloodbound. But in all that time there hasn't been a good opportunity to fully detail my favorite of Golarion's countless organizations. With the Hell's Rebels and Hell's Vengeance Adventure Paths, though, that's changed. This month, at long last, you'll learn more than has ever been revealed about the Pathfinder world's most infamous champions of law: the Hellknights.

Illustrations by Roberto Pitturru

Since their first appearance in the Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide, Hellknights have been a part of the Pathfinder campaign setting. In those crazy frontier days of Golarion's creation, we didn't have all the setting's details fully defined. As a result, part of the goal of the player's guide for our first Adventure Path was to fake it. To that end, I wrote in a whole weave of loose ends, threads suggestive of places yet to be visited, threats without faces, and groups bound to be enemies or allies. One of these organizations—described among the ranks of paladins, if you can believe it!—were the Hellknights. There wasn't much more than a name for the group, but the grim title immediately stuck, so much so that we got our first glimpse of these dark armored crusaders as early as Pathfinder Adventure Path #2: The Skinsaw Murders.

Over time there'd be drips and drabs revealing more on the Hellknights, particularly in our campaign setting hardcovers and in two meaty articles I wrote for Pathfinder Adventure Path #27 and #28. Liane Merciel's newest novel, Pathfinder Tales: Hellknight, also has more than a little to do with these grim mercenaries. But beyond those books, there hasn't been a ton more on the relentless order. It's been too long.

The drought ends now.

Today presents the first of three previews of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight. While my name's on the book's cover as author, this title owes most of its coolest bits to star developers Amanda Hamon-Kunz and John Compton, who not just contributed a host of ingenious new player options, but made me sound like I know what's what. Creative Design Director Sarah Robinson also somehow managed to outdo herself once again, not just by wrangling incredible art, but by creating a gorgeous interior evocative of dark iron and bloody crimson. As for the content, today I'll show you a bit from the first chapter, a section that provides an overview of the Hellknights as a whole, the group's history, methods, philosophies, and the like. Throughout this series I'll also be showing off snippets and symbols of all seven of the major Hellknight orders, starting with the Order of the Chain and Order of the Gate.

Order without Mercy

Path of the Hellknight's first chapter focuses on the Hellknights as an organization, their history, their unyielding philosophy—the Measure and the Chain—and more of the traditions and trails that bind their distinct orders. There's also a fantastic piece of art depicting the Hellknights' founder, Daidian Rhul, along with details on his deeds and mysterious disappearance. The section also includes a discussion of what it means to play a Hellknight character. Being zealots, Hellknights are similar to paladins in some ways and bring with them some of the challenges one might expect with inflexible heroes. To that end, the section includes big picture advice for players and GMs alike planning to bring Hellknight characters into their games—such as the following.

Hellknight Philosophy at the Table: Hellknights seek to embody supreme order, refuse to compromise their ideals, and do everything they can to uphold their philosophies. People and circumstances that don't fit into their definition of order must be stamped out to meet their vision of progress. For some, this extends to whole religions, cultures, or philosophies. When making a character, discuss with your group whether a Hellknight character is right for your party—Hellknights and law-breaking characters are unlikely to work well together. Also, discuss with the group and GM how appropriate themes of intolerance are in your game. Behaving in ways that make other players uncomfortable simply because your character is a Hellknight is neither respectful nor fun. Consider that lawful neutral Hellknights of any order tend to focus on the harsh judgment of societal vices, while lawful good characters usually work at the organization's fringes, hunting down criminals and bringing justice to civilization's frontiers. Lawful evil members are the ones who tend to commit acts of prejudice and intolerance. Remember that every Hellknight order has members focused on different tasks, meaning that it's your choice whether your member of the Order of the Nail is either a righteous traveling judge or a vicious murderer—make the character that's right for your entire group.

Beyond this introduction chapter, the book spends considerable space focusing on the various Hellknight orders. Each section features details on the order's organization, philosophy, citadel, prominent members, tenets, suggested rules for Hellknight characters, and new options for Hellknight heroes and villains. Every one of these chapters begins with an overview of fundamental information, including rules elements that tie in with the new Hellknight Obedience feat—an option similar to Inner Sea Gods' Divine Obedience feat—which grants a host of new powers to an order's most fanatical members. All one has to do is take the feat... and perform an excruciating daily reckoning. I'll show off the reckonings here, but the powers themselves can wait for now.

Illustration by Daniel Lopez

After this first chapter, Path of the Hellknight turns its attention to each of the major Hellknight factions. For this first preview, here are a few glimpses of the Order of the Chain and the Order of the Gate.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Chain

Symbol hand wrapped in chains
Headquarters Citadel Gheradesca, near Corentyn
Leader Lictor Uro Adom (LN male human fighter 5/Hellknight^ISWG 7)
Members guards, sleuths, trackers, victims of outlaws
Armor Features lock-and-chain design, manacle-like gauntlets, helms reminiscent of iron prisoners' masks
Favored Weapon flail
Reckoning Crush your limbs with tightened chains. Gain a +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks when attempting to disarm, grapple, or trip opponents.

The Order of the Chain counts among its ranks the greatest Hellknight bounty hunters and jailors. Believing that everyone has a vital role to play in society, the order seeks to remove those who irredeemably deny their place and who actively impede civilization's progress. Rather than slaying criminals and nonconformists outright, the Order of the Chain forces most of its captives into lengthy terms of service in work camps. The most dangerous malefactors are sequestered in the order's fortress-prison, Citadel Gheradesca. Few criminals surrender easily, and so members of the Order of the Chain train in a variety of fields: tracking, criminal psychology, investigation, and interrogation, to name a few. Little strikes greater dread in a lawbreaker than knowing she's become a Hellknight of the Chain's quarry.

Along with details on the structure and fugitive hunting techniques of the group, players of Order of the Chain Hellknights can also expect a variety of new rules and uses for restraints, from fetters and iron masks to new uses for common manacles.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Gate

Symbol infernal eye staring out from a swirling portal
Headquarters Citadel Enferac, east of Pezzack
Leader Vicarius Giordano Torchia (LE male human wizard 11/Hellknight^ISWG 2)
Members devil worshipers, intellectuals, planar-blooded outcasts, spellcasters
Armor Features helm with a vortex-like pattern, crimson robes
Favored Weapon dagger
Reckoning Etch complex symbols of penitence into your flesh with a dagger. Gain a +4 bonus on Will saving throws to resist divination spells and spell-like abilities.

Punishment is a response to the failure of law. To the members of the Order of the Gate, true order can be achieved only when criminal behavior is quelled before it is committed—preferably before it is even considered. The Order of the Gate doesn't seek to convince every free-willed creature of a lawful society's virtues, because its members believe that forces stronger than rhetoric must be used to prevent the sickness of criminal impulse. Thus, the Order of the Gate employs magic to enforce its vision of law.

Would-be Order of the Gate Hellknights can look forward to learning a measure of this spellcasting order's secrets, including invasive new scrying techniques, methods for shielding spellcasters, and the order's connections to planes beyond.

Keep on the lookout for more previews of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight, as I'll be covering the rest of the major Hellknight orders soon, along with plenty more glimpses of the dreads to come.

Thanks for reading!

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

Do Not Underestimate the Sneakiness!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Working on Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Intrigue brought out our inner deviousness—this book has so many ways to inject a little craftiness into your Golarion games, especially for players and GMs who are using the recently released Ultimate Intrigue. Now that Inner Sea Intrigue is about to hit the streets, we thought we’d show you some of our favorite toys from the book!

Illustration by Konstantin Vavilov

Inner Sea Intrigue riffs seamlessly off of Ultimate Intrigue in that much of its content showcases these new rules as they affect and exist in Golarion. One of many examples is the specific archives presented. Using the research rules found on pages 148–153 of Ultimate Intrigue, the book presents four places of research that feature prominently in the setting. They are Forae Logos, located in the Wise Quarter in Absalom; the Jeggare Museum, located in Korvosa in Varisia; the Magaambya, located in Nantambu in the Mwangi Expanse; and the Quarterfaux Archives, located in Caliphas in Ustalav.

Illustration by Konstantin Vavilov

By making Research checks and reducing the archives’ knowledge points, players can discover many of the fascinating truths kept in these libraries. Many such discoveries are in-world details that pertain to the history of the archives’ locations, the magic that has thrived there, and other key elements. Some of the most difficult-to-unearth discoveries, though, are adventure seeds in and of themselves.

Take this gem, found in the depths of the Jeggare Museum, for example.

"A small island in Lake Skotha on the Storval Plateau is known as Chorak’s Tomb, and is rumored to be the home of an ancient weapon that belonged to a runelord rival of Karzoug. However, no one has been able to get close enough to verify this story, as all trespassers are driven away by bombardments of boulders and rune-covered ballista bolts."

As with other "Inner Sea" hardcover tie-ins we’ve done in the past (including Inner Sea Magic and Inner Sea Combat), we also had the opportunity to present dozens of new character options, from new talents for investigators, rogues, and vigilantes, to new archetypes and prestige classes directly tied to the intriguing elements of the Inner Sea region. The prestige classes included are the Lion Blade of Taldor (updated from its 3.5 iteration) and the enchanting courtesan (inspired by the character Vreva Jhafae in the Pathfinder Tales novel "Pirate’s Promise"), while the new archetypes include the Anaphexia thought-killer, the bonded investigator (who gets a familiar to aid him in his research), the Nexian spell-spy, the tinkerer (who learns to craft a clockwork familiar that she can adapt to an increasing number of situations as she levels up), and many more!

Whether you’re a GM running a campaign with intriguing elements, or a player whose PC prides herself on her sneaky, duplicitous ways, there’s no better supplement to an Inner Sea campaign than Inner Sea Intrigue!

Amanda Hamon Kunz and Mark Moreland
Developers

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

In celebration of the release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Heaven Unleashed, I wanted to take a moment as one of the biggest fans of Heaven on the Paizo development staff to reveal a never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes peek at how exactly we went about building the great mountain of Heaven!

As is often the case at Paizo, we didn't build it all at once. For many years, we had dropped hints and brief descriptions of different locations within it, or discussed it in broad terms. While we had given the plane a very rough outline back in a book called The Great Beyond, that was one of the first setting books we ever did, and frankly we were still figuring a lot of things out back in those days and had no concept yet just how important Pathfinder's setting would become. (To give you a sense of how long ago that was: the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game didn't exist yet, folks currently running the adventure paths hadn't even started freelancing for Paizo, and Wes didn't yet have any stress-induced gray hair.) Since then, we'd revisited the plane various times—for instance, I got to explore the Great Library and Heathen Shore (Heaven's international district) in The Redemption Engine—but we'd never sat down and really hashed out a full outline of the plane.

While Heaven Unleashed is mostly a big book of cool encounters tied to Heaven, it was important to us to finally give a comprehensive overview of the plane—what the various layers are, who runs what, etc. So several of us sat down and brain-melded to try and figure out how to weave existing canon and new stuff together to create a framework for Heaven. There was plenty of pressure, for as Wes pointed out, a well-designed Heaven ought to be just as cool as Hell, especially since they're in many ways mirror reflections of each other. (Plus, it had always felt like a shame to both of us that everyone reads Dante's Inferno, but not even hardcore planar fans can be bothered to finish Paradiso...)

The result was this whiteboard sketch, with each of Heaven's seven's layers charted out. Here you can see our thoughts on the function of each layer and which souls go where, as well as our metaphysical musings about how the souls residing on certain layers "face outward," others face inward, and still others face beyond, toward Heaven's role in the multiverse. (We go down all sorts of theosophical rabbit holes around here.) And of course, there are the names of the layers, the identities and titles of the rulers of each layer, which gods live where... all the basics you need to know as a scholar of Heaven or just someone looking to petition the gods or kick some angelic ass.

You'll also notice a bunch of green boxes on the board. Those were for those layers or rulers who hadn't been named or decided yet when I took this picture. We've figured things out since then, of course, and I'm happy to say that I think we achieved our goal of making Heaven just as interesting as its unholy sister plane. But if you want to know the rest of the details... well, that's what the book is for, now isn't it?

James L. Sutter
Executive Editor

Replace the weights with boxes and this (mostly) accurately depicts our warehouse now!
Illustration by Ralph Horsley

Spreading the Good Word of the Inner Sea!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

By now, Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Faiths has shipped out to friendly local game stores and subscriber mailboxes everywhere, giving you details on some of the lesser-known gods of the Inner Sea—and a couple of them really bug me!

Bug me in the best possible way, of course. Achaekek and his Red Mantis assassins first showed up in as part of the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path (which we'll be happily returning to this fall), and I've had a fondness for them ever since their debut. I'd tell you where Ghlaunder and some of these other gods might show up in an adventure, but that might be a bit too spoilery (although it's not much of a spoiler to say that some of these cults would prefer to stay hidden). On to more art previews for Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Faiths!

Illustrations by Kiki Moch Rizky, Shen Fei, Ralph Horsley, Firat Solhan, Leonardo Borazio, and Will O'Brien

Until next time, I'm heading to the woods to talk with a black goat,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Your Faith is Rewarded!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Faith and religion are ubiquitous in Golarion, and some of the world's most fascinating divinities have also historically been its most mysterious. With the recent release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Faiths, though, we're drawing back the curtains shrouding 15 of the Inner Sea region's lesser-known deities. From Milani, the valiant Everbloom, to Brigh, the enigmatic Whisper in the Bronze, to Zyphus, the Grim Harvestman, this divine goody bag is filled with lore and tools for faithful characters. Now, let's reveal some of its secrets!

For those who want to play a devout character with the Deific Obedience feat, this book offers obediences and boons for all 15 featured deities. There are boons available to characters with levels in the evangelist, exalted, and sentinel prestige classes (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods 198-203); characters without levels in those prestige classes can access the exalted boons.

Like other obediences we've published, the obediences in Inner Sea Faiths are tightly tied to their deities' portfolios, concerns, and roles in the campaign setting. For instance, take Kurgess's obedience, as written by freelancer Patrick Renie:

Find the nearest boulder, log, or other unattended object that you can reliably lift over your head, and hold it up high for the duration of the obedience. If you are interrupted at any time by any creature or person, you must challenge your interrupter to a contest of strength, speed, or stamina, with the boulder or other object of your obedience as the main focus of the competition. Regardless of who wins, gain a +2 sacred bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks.

For those more interested in how these faiths fit into Golarion's society at large, the book provides in-depth information about each divinity's priests—how they tend to approach their roles, what their lifestyles look like, and how they might interact with passing adventurers.

Each divinity's section also includes artwork of a priest of that faith. For instance, below we have priests of Achaekek, the Mantis God, whose section's author is Creative Director James Jacobs; Gyronna, the Angry Hag, whose section's author is Developer Crystal Frasier; and Sivanah, the Seventh Veil, whose section's author is Project Manager Jessica Price.

Illustrations by Kiki Moch Rizky, Jon Neimeister, and Firat Solhan

And, last but not least, I'd be remiss if I didn't share this totally metal opening piece of artwork for Zyphus's section.

Illustration by Jose Parodi

I'll leave you with a final hint: that section's remaining art? Just as metal, right down to the malevolent wraith standing beside the god himself.

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Developer

That Warm Glow of Terrors from Beyond Space and Time—New Pathfinder Products Announced!

Friday, March 10, 2016

Our March 2016 releases are ready to go on an adventure to your game table, and we'll be doing some damage to our sanity this fall—check out our round up of all our new and announced products!

It's been a pretty crazy month around here at Paizo—from the release of the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path last month (not to mention the free Player's Guide), to the wildly successful Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Humble Bundle, not to mention polishing up our fall releases, preparing for convention season, starting our Twitch channel, we've all been running around getting our dire ducks in a row for the upcoming year!

Apsu and Dahak are just a couple of the gods you will learn more about in Inner Sea Faiths!
Illustrated by Ben Wooten

Heading out to subscriber's mailboxes and friendly local gaming stores everywhere this March are:

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Intrigue
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #104: Wrath of Thrune (Hell's Vengeance 2 of 6)
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Faiths
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-19: Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Twisted Caverns
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Oracle
• Pathfinder Comics—Hollow Mountain #4
• Pathfinder Legends—Mummy's Mask #4: Secrets of the Sphinx

We're All Mad Here

One of my favorite things is announcing new products, and we added the Strange Aeons Adventure Path to our August lineup, a truly maddening set of adventures! Lovecraftian creatures are not new to the world of Golarion—they've been there since the beginning, thanks to Creative Director James Jacobs' love of the genre, but we haven't quite done an entire adventure path around them. The wait is over, starting with "In Search of Sanity," penned by our own Editor-in-Chief F. Wesley Schneider, wherein you start off at a wee bit of a disadvantage—in an insane asylum. But that's not all that lies ahead! Check out other new stuff heading your way!

April 2016

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

May 2016

Don't forget—PaizoCon is coming May 27th through 30th! Check out all of the details, and don't miss grabbing your tickets!

• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-22: Bid for Alabastrine
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-23: Abducted in Aether

July 2016

• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Goblins Burn!

August 2016

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #109: In Search of Sanity (Strange Aeons 1 of 6)
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Planes of Power
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Haunted Heroes Handbook
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Waterfront Tavern
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Labyrinths
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Gunslinger
• Pathfinder Tales: Starspawn

That's all we've got in our sleeves for now, but stay tuned for next month's releases, including part three of Hell's Vengeance, "The Inferno Gate" and Heaven Unleashed!

Reading a delightul play bound in a yellow-hued tome,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Illustration by Mattias Fahlberg

Hey, Who Turned Out the Lights?

Thursday, February 18, 2016

It had been a few years since we returned the classic "Revisited" line of Pathfinder Campaign Setting sourcebooks, so we were really excited to delve into the depths beneath the Inner Sea in Darklands Revisited. All we had to do was narrow down what ten monsters we were going to feature in the book—a scary proposition indeed!

In the end, we left out some favorites, in part because they're all our favorites, but also because we love them so much that they might get books of their own someday. What we landed on was a nice mix of classic subterranean foes like drow and duergar; pillars of the science fiction and fantasy genres like morlocks and gugs; icons from the game's history like intellect devourers, neothelids, and vegepygmies; and two monsters introduced to the game in Pathfinder—daemon-worshiping urdefhans and their good-aligned nemeses, the psychic munavri.

It's rare that a single author tackles an entire 64-page Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, but we were lucky to get the veteran Canadian, Thurston Hillman, to put down his poutine and curling broom long enough to breathe life and adventurous inspiration into all ten creatures detailed in Darklands Revisited. The result is one of the most exciting Pathfinder Campaign Setting books I've had the pleasure of working on. I think Game Masters and players alike are going to love this book.

Illustrations by Jon Neimeister, Daniel Lopez, and Dave Allsop

Check out some of the awesome art that brings the Darklands and their deep-dwelling denizens to life! Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Darklands Revisited invades the surface world next Wednesday.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Let's Be Clear

Monday, January 11, 2016

Happy New Year, everyone! As we return from our holiday vacations, John, Tonya, and I have been diving into some projects that have been sitting on the Pathfinder Society back burner for some time. We are happy to announce the release of the first of these projects—the Pathfinder Society Campaign Clarifications Document.

As anyone who has ever seen the official list of Additional Resources knows, Pathfinder Society characters have many options. As anyone who is a regular on our forums knows, some of these options can be interpreted in different ways. When these rules ambiguities crop up in a home campaign, where a player is likely to have only one GM, the GM and the player can work together to find a satisfying solution. In the organized play campaign, where players are likely to have many GMs over the course of each character’s adventures, these ambiguities can lead to substantially different rules interpretations from table to table. We created this document to help reach one of goals of organized play—to provide an equitable gaming experience to players all over the world. The Clarifications Document is a centralized place for us to offer official rulings for ambiguous rules.

Many of these interpretations are the suggestions of the developers who worked on the rules in the first place, which have until now been unofficial posts on the messageboards. Others come out of Additional Resources, which we will be trimming down a bit in the next update. The last source is a list of ambiguities I’ve been saving until we had a clear plan for how to address them. I’m sure some of you will notice a couple of rules elements mentioned in the Clarifications Document that are not currently legal in Pathfinder Society. These elements will appear in our next update of Additional Resources.

While GMs are free to use clarifications from this document in their home campaigns if they wish, these are not official errata. The Clarifications Document principally addresses rules material that appears in softcover sources such as the Pathfinder Campaign Setting and Pathfinder Player Companion lines, rather than the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover books. As part of our Additional Resources process, we plan to revisit this document each month and make changes if necessary. What rules ambiguities have you seen in your Pathfinder Society games that you would like to see resolved?

Download the Campaign Clarifications Document — (8.43mb zip/PDF)

Linda Zayas-Palmer
Assistant Developer

"Spooky? Do You Think I'm Spooky?" The Year in Review

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Another year is in the bag, and with it, thousands of pages of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game content, ranging from new a whole new range of psychic classes in Occult Adventures to facing off against the demons of the Abyss in Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Wrath of the Righteous! Here's a few highlights from 2015.

Pathfinder Adventure Path

Yes, I was attracted in my younger years to the occult.
Illustration by Emiliano Petrozzi

Deep within the Mindspin Mountains, a big problem stirred, kicking off the Giantslayer Adventure Path with "Battle of Bloodmarch Hill"! As you might surmise from the title, you face a whole lotta giants in this AP, from hill to storm and pretty much all kinds in-between. The Order of the Amber Die ran the entire Giantslayer Adventure Path in six sessions, one per volume, and we shared their exploits on the blog previously. This year also saw the start of the 17th Adventure Path with Hell's Rebels, which included the milestone 100th volume, "A Song of Silver"!

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

Jefe, what is a plethora? Four hardcover Pathfinder Roleplaying Game books, that's what. The Strategy Guide, Pathfinder Unchained, Occult Adventures, and Bestiary 5 all made its way out to fans everywhere this year, bringing a host of advice, new rules options, psychic characters, and critters a-plenty for everybody's game. The wyrmwraith proved pretty popular, winning our Bestiary 5 Battle Royale contest!

Pathfinder Campaign Setting

Pairing nicely along with Occult Adventures is setting-specific releases of Occult Realms and Occult Bestiary! Esoteric horrors and secrets await in those tomes, but there's also Inner Sea Races, a hardcover compilation expanding upon the many members (and possible player characters) of the Inner Sea! The Inner Sea Monster Codex gives a heapin' helpin' of new options for the game master as well (along with the return of the Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics and a redesigned Combat Pad).

Pathfinder Module

Don't rest your head.
Illustration by Dave Allsop

You may not be aware of this...but we kinda like adventure 'round these parts! "Daughters of Fury" was penned by RPG Superstar 2014 winner Victoria Jaczko, while Nicolas Logue returned with "Feast of Dust", and Master of Mysticism Brandon Hodge penned "The House of Hook Street" (which just might make you afraid to close your eyes at night). If you're looking for something level- or region-specific, don't miss out on the Pathfinder Adventure Finder, which includes hundreds of adventures from Paizo and third-party Pathfinder publishers!

Pathfinder Player Companion

There were quite a few fan-favorite releases for players this year, including (but certainly not limited to) Cohorts & Companions, Melee Tactics Toolbox, and Weapon Master's Handbook! Players picking up a copy of Occult Adventures might also want to grab Occult Origins, which provides new spells, feats, and rituals that tie into some of Golarion's history.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

The world-changing events of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path made for an epic conversion to the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and the Season of the Righteous brought the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Card Game to organized play. From lowly mortals dabbling in affairs beyond their ken to challenging demon lords in their home realms, Wrath of the Righteous is not for the faint-hearted heroes!

And in conclusion, here's some more art from this year's releases!

Illustrations by Nikolai Ostertag, Géraude Soulié, Tom Babbey, Donald Crank, Jaime Martinez, and Kiki Moch Rozky

May your next crit confirm—and if you're looking for more hidden gems, check out Know Direction where hosts Alex Augunas and Ryan Costello interview our Project Manager Jessica Price for things you might have missed this year!

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Sign a Deal with the Devil!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Hungry for all the diabolical details about Cheliax, the nation at the heart of the Hell's Rebels and Hell's Vengeance Adventure Paths? Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Cheliax, the Infernal Empire has you covered!

Never before have we revealed so many secrets about this Hell-bound nation, from its politics and history to its diverse cities to everyday life under the iron thumb of House Thrune. Among many other things, this gorgeous 64-page book also lays out the stark reality of crime and punishment in Chelish society, as illustrated below.

Illustration by Tomasz Chistowski

If traveling through the infernal empire is more your style—those tines are rather confining, after all—the book also offers an array of magnificent location art and maps, as well as accompanying details. Take this illustration of Khari and the Arch of Aroden, for example.

Illustration by Tomasz Chistowski

Of course, all of these Chelish places would be little more than window dressing if it weren't for the complex folks who inhabit them. The book discusses dozens of individuals who play vital roles in shaping Cheliax and its myriad locations into living, breathing places ripe with intrigue and opportunities for adventure. Below are illustrations of two such individuals, as well as a sneak peek at one of the book's six new monsters!

Illustrations by Alexandur Alexandrov, Konstantin Vavilov, and Bryan Sola

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Assistant Developer

Salutations, Spring!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Illustration by Suzanne Helmigh
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Realms

As "predicted" in our last product update blog, fall has arrived! In fact, as I'm typing this, I'm wearing my first oversized sweater of the season and looking at decidedly orange leaves against the grey and rain filled sky. This is certainly setting the mood for an excellent Halloween night this Saturday, and what better to set the scene than going over some the tricks and treats we've released and have to look forward to in the coming months?

We've reached the mid-way point of the Hell's Rebels Adventure Path with the release of Pathfinder Adventure Path #99: Dance of the Damned. How's your group dealing with the tenacity of resident tyrant, Barzillai Thrune? I hope they're ready, because they've got a lot of work to do to get ready for Pathfinder Adventure Path #100: A Song of Silver. The next volume of the Hell's Rebels is a mega-sized volume, filled with articles that all fans of the Pathfinder Adventure Path line will want to have in their collection. We'll have more previews available as we get closer to AP #100's release in December.

Ever wondered what lies beyond the border Golarion's Inner Sea region? Distant Shores takes you there! Or may you're a character that prefers to lay low or the company of the unseen world? This month we had a double Pathfinder Player Companion release with Black Markets and Occult Origins.

The current Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Adventure Path, Wrath of the Righteous cames to a close with the release of the epic conclusion: Adventure Deck 6: City of Locusts. Fans of the Adventure Card Game will be excited to know we've also announced plans for the Season of the Runelords, which begins in early 2016.

Do you need monsters and frights? This month we rummaged up some ideas for you to add in some creepy elements to your games in a series on the Paizo blog (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. We also launched a brand new feature in the Pathfinder Reference Document to sort Bestiary entries so you can find just the perfect set of teeth to drop into your campaign, and rounded all the free resources you can find on paizo.com to enhance your game or plan your next character.

Here's a complete look at what released in October:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #99: Dance of the Damned
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Deck 6: City of Locusts
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Black Markets
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Occult Origins
• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GM Screen—Alternate Cover 2
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Slum Quarter
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Dungeon
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Town Square
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-09: The Blakros Connection
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-08: To Judge a Soul, Part 2: Karma Reclaimed
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild Adventure 1-5: Herald's Vengeance
• Pathfinder Legends—Mummy's Mask #2: Empty Graves

Now, what is that book coming out in November? You know, the big one? The big awesome one that's filled with stat blocks? We've kicked off a community-based series of previews (and a contest where you could win yourself a copy!) for the latest Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover, Bestiary 5. This fifth volume of monsters for the Pathfinder RPG delivers a series of dark and weird creatures, whimsical allies, and so much more. Keep an eye on the Paizo blog and the Bestiary 5 Battle Royale for more news!

Illustration by Ertaç Altınöz (Pathfinder Module: Feast of Dust)

While we don't have an Adventure Path volume releasing in November, we do see the return of Pathfinder Modules with the latest stand-alone adventure Feast of Dust. Get to the bottom of the deadly curse that's been driving the city of Dimayen mad and stop the Jackal Prince before the entire world falls victim to his whims!

Here's a complete look at what is releasing in November:

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 5
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Realms
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Weapon Master's Handbook
• Pathfinder Module: Feast of Dust
• Pathfinder Pawns: Summon Monster Pawn Collection
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Slum Quarter Alleys
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-10: The Consortium Connection
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-11: Ancient's Anguish

Spring 2016 Announcements

In our last roundup blog we covered the announcement of our next Pathfinder Adventure Path, Hell's Vengeance, the next Pathfinder Comics series Hollow Mountain, and more. Let's take a look a bit further into the future into the next season of Pathfinder releases:

The March 2016 lineup includes:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #104: Wrath of Thrune
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Faiths
• Pathfinder Pawns: Hell's Rebels Adventure Path Pawn Collection
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Twisted Caverns
• Pathfinder Legends—Mummy's Mask #6

The April 2016 lineup includes:

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Intrigue
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #105: The Inferno Gate
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Inquisitor
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Heaven Unleashed
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Armor Master's Handbook
• Pathfinder Module: Ire of the Storm
• Pathfinder Tales: Hellknight
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Road System

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.

See ya next month!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

Spooky Scary Pathfinder Games

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

It's that time again, ghouls and boils! Howl-oween is almost here—the fearly celebration of everything creepy and scary, and on a Saturday no less! If you're lurking for a good time, it's the perfect excuse to run a creepy game for all your fiends! But what's that? You haven't made arrangements before now? What a ghastly mistake! Luckily, your friend Paizo grave-elopers have assembled a list of the top ten creepiest Pathfinder products you can pull out for a scary night of rolling bones. You can buy the physical product, or pick up the PDF on short notice and get your spooky books instantly, anywhere ghost to ghost!

10. Pathfinder Adventure Path: Empty Graves: You say you want a zombie apocalypse in Pathfinder, with plenty of strange monsters being stirred into a tizzy over the undead uprising, and it all runs on a timer? Empty Graves is a level 4-6 urban sandbox that focuses on surviving the undead onslaught and eventually ending the necromancer stirring them up!

9. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Tombs of Golarion: if a pre-built adventure isn't your style, Tombs of Golarion offers 6 seeds and maps for dungeon crawls among the restless dead, covering everything from a murky Horse Lord cairn to a clockwork tomb.

8. Pathfinder Module: Feast of Ravenmoor: If you want less dead and more lively threats, Feast of Ravenmoor is a 3rd-level adventure that pits your innocent travellers against an all-too-human cult in a sleepy little hamlet. Equal parts Sleepy Hollow and Children of the Corn, Ravenmoor is a small town getaway your adventurers won't be recommending to their friends.

7. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Undead Unleashed: If your campaign can't afford a long diversion for a full module, the Undead Unleashed brings 15 rotting antagonists to meddle in your adventurers' affairs for a single encounter or an extended stay, ranging from CR 3 to 23!

6. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Mysteries: If you need to bring in a touch of the strange far more than you need a monster-of-the-week, Occult Mysteries is a toolbox that caters to every flavor of weird that hides in the corners of Golarion. From astrology to numerology to the secret societies and veiled masters who control the destiny of humankind, Occult Mysteries offers guidance in adding just enough of the weird to your game to keep your players uncomfortable.

5. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rule of Fear: Horror requires a certain sense of helplessness and hopelessness, and nowhere in Golarion do these elements flourish quite so well as Ustalav. Rule of Fear offers a detailed overview of a nation that exists to support its monsters, human and supernatural alike, and where mortal heroes are the ones who are hunted as beasts.

4. Pathfinder Module: Carrion Hill: If insanity, lost lore, and buried secrets appeal to your players, they'll find a place to settle in somewhere in the winding, muddy streets of Carrion Hill. This adventure for 5th-level characters takes players from the halls of government to asylum cells to forgotten ruins all in search of secrets buried in the cursed city's founding.

3. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Undead Revisited: To run a creepy-crawly effectively, you need to get inside its head and know how they tick. Ghosts don't simply leap out and yell "boo!" in our complicated modern world. Learn the tricks of the undead trade in Undead Revisited, and be prepared for any spooky game this Halloween, whether of our making or your own.

2. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Classic Horrors Revisited: Certainly monsters are scary, but why are they scary and how can you make them scarier? Classic Horrors Revisited looks at some of the most iconic monsters in pop culture, from mummies to flesh golems to werewolves and delves into why they exist and what makes them hunt commoners for sport! It provides plenty of inspiration whether you're running your own game or trying to make a pre-made adventure a little more terrifying.

1. Pathfinder Adventure Path: Carrion Crown: The entire run of Carrion Crown delves into the most timeless horror monsters in the western world, and runs from 1st-level through 15th! Whether you want a haunted prison, Frankenstein's monster, or Lovecraftian horror, the six volumes of Carrion Crown cover your needs, and each volume comes packed with new horror-themed monsters and articles to kick up your poky game!

Crystal Frasier
Assistant Developer

The Distant Flags

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores introduces us to corners of Golarion far beyond the Inner Sea, from the Arcadian nation of Degasi to the hobgoblin empire of Kaoling. Each city shows a slice of these foreign cultures, as well as adventuring potential for natives and visitors alike. Each also has a unique identity and aesthetic, typified by the various flags, banners, and crests the cities use to identify themselves:

From left to right, these are the flags for Aelyosos (the Iblydan City of Tides), Anuli (Holomog's City of New Beginnings), Dhucharg (the hobgoblin-run City of Conquerors), Radripal (the Vudrani City of Arches), Segada (the City of Keys controlling access to the continent of Arcadia), and Ular Kel (the Caravan City).

Distant Shores also introduce six new gods from across the world, along with five appropriate holy symbols:

These holy symbols reflect Ashukharma (goddess of canyons and cliffs), Kelksiomides (hero-god of gardens and orchards), Matravash (goddess of the Matra River), Omrataji (god of silver and silversmithing), and Psomeira (hero-god of seasons and spears). Not pictured (because we ran out of art budget): the holy symbol of Mazludeh (goddess of balance and community).

Crystal Frasier
Assistant Developer

Illustrations by Joe Wilson

See the World, Visit Distant Shores

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Want to learn what lies beyond the border of the Inner Sea region? Eager to set sail to mysterious Arcadia, follow trade roads into vast Casmaron, or venture to legendary Vudra? The journey you chose is up to you, but your destination is right here: Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores.

Over years of developing the Inner Sea region we've dropped countless hints about this mysterious relic from Iblydos or that distant ruin in Holomog. Now, we're pulling back the curtain just a peak. Actually, we're pulling back six curtains, revealing destination cities on the fringes of such mysterious lands as Arcadia, Casmaron, Iblydos, Tian-Xia, Southern Garund, and Vudra. For the first time ever, we're detailing major cities in these distant regions (or unexplored nations therein), giving you full-fledged, thriving settings for you to explore. Each of these six cities presents new rules options along with them, be they a new player race, new deities to worship, new mythic abilities to claim, or other character options, assuring that your journey to distant shores leaves a distinctive mark.

As defining the lands beyond the Inner Sea region is such a major undertaking for us, we trusted these explorations to six in-house authors who have already proven themselves experts on these rich lands. In their authors' words, here are the six cities you'll find in Distant Shores, as well as some of the most exciting elements you'll learn about in each.

Aelyosos, City of Tides, by John Compton

The people of Iblydos owe their existence to the cyclopses that emigrated from Ghol-Gan during that doomed empire's decline, and though the giants have dwindled in number since, they and humans continue to co-exist on the archipelago. The greatest mortals earn the rite of myth-speaking, in which the cyclopses foresee how that hero might attain mythic power through great deeds. Many of these so-called hero-gods have since ruled one of Iblydos's city-states, granting spells to followers and heralding in a new age of prosperity or tyranny. Since the deaths of Aroden and prophecy itself, the tradition has failed with troubling frequency. Now the last hero-gods age and dwindle, and a new generation of heroes must arise to combat the greatest threat to the islands: the thalassic behemoth Ousmariku.

Illustration by Ben Wootten

Illustration by Davi Blight

Anuli, City of New Beginnings, by Crystal Frasier

I wrote up Anuli, the furthest-north city in the celestially empowered nation of Holomog. It stands out as a matriarchy that isn't evil, and as a good-aligned nation that still has plenty of possibility for adventure: political intrigue, chaos cults, an evil nation of undead on their borders, and 10,000 years worth of abandoned cities and ruins. Anuli is also the only nation on Golarion that has been continuously exposed to the energies of the outer planes for millennia, causing a number of unexpected side-effects, including a new player race.

Dhucharg, City of Conquerors, by Amanda Hamon-Kunz

The most intriguing part about fleshing out Dhucharg was playing with the pervasive undercurrents of dissidence and discord that must naturally arise in a city with absolutely rigid and militaristic social and political structures. On one hand, I got to create a society that has a law for everything, and into which each individual literally has a prescribed place. On the other hand, there's this sense that if any of the dissident elements in the city gain traction, the entire thing might collapse. Mix that intrigue with the fact that Dhucharg is a city of hobgoblins (some of the coolest goblinoids!) and this assignment was a blast indeed!

Radripal, City of Arches, by Mark Moreland

Since I first read about Vudra in the original Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer, I've been captivated by this fantasy version of India. So when the opportunity arose to further flesh out this part of the setting, I couldn't let it pass me by. My favorite part of writing Radripal was getting to define three new Vudran deities (of which there are hundreds) and to detail a non-evil city ruled by a rakshasa. Placing the riverside city on both sides of a natural bridge allowed me to define two distinct parts of the city and play with the interactions between them from a religious, social, economic, and demographic perspective.

Illustration by Ben Wootten

Segada, City of Keys, by Adam Daigle

When we first started talking about which city in Arcadia we'd detail, the first things that popped up were places that we've already mentioned, but many of us weren't interested in doing an Avistani colony in a land ripe for something new. We did realize that we needed some element of a touchstone that people were familiar with, so with Segada you get to see not only a city full of Arcadians, but you also get to see how they interact with the Avistanis that have recently come to their shores.

Ular Kel, The Caravan City, by James L. Sutter

A while back, I wrote a web fiction story called "Boar and Rabbit" about two men of the Iridian Fold who are major characters in The Redemption Engine. I'd already decided that the Iridian Fold (introduced way back in City of Strangers) came from a place called Karazh in central Casmaron, a region inspired in part by the real-world steppes of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations—places that frankly get short shrift in the States. (I'm ashamed to admit that, not that many years ago, I thought Kazakhstan had been made up by comedian Sascha Baron Cohen. I blame the American public school system.) While "Boar and Rabbit" was primarily a prince-and-pauper love story, the bits of description I was able to seed about Karazh's capital city of Ular Kel kept nagging at me, and I started keeping notes. As soon as Wes posited the idea of the Distant Shores project, I pounced on it, and I'm thrilled to finally get Ular Kel out of my head and into the public eye at last!

You won't have to for long to plan your far-flung adventures, as Distant Shores releases this month. And be sure to let us know which regions are your favorites—as it might help us decide where to explore in more detail next!

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

A Last Look at the Art of Inner Sea Races

Friday, October 2, 2015

Inner Sea Races just released this week! I've picked some of my favorite illustrations for this preview, and a wallpaper for you to download!

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Illustration by Romanov Pavel

Illustrations by Mariusz Gandzel, Aleksey Bayura, Damien Mammoliti, Fabio Gorla, Firat Solhan, and Nikolai Ostertag

Sarah Robinson
Managing Art Director

Are You Here for the Free Swag?

Thursday, October 1, 2015

When someone offers you gaming material for free, you say "YES!" Here's a host of free gaming material, perfect for anybody just getting started in the world of Pathfinder!

Player's guides for our adventure paths have been a staple since the very beginning, starting with Rise of the Runelords! Containing tips on which classes fit the campaign the best, along with traits and equipment, the Player's Guides serve as an invaluable aid to players and GMs looking to start a Pathfinder Adventure Path.

• Rise of the Runelords (also available for 3.5)
• Curse of the Crimson Throne
• Council of Thieves
• Kingmaker
• Serpent's Skull
• Carrion Crown
• Jade Regent
• Skull & Shackles
• Shattered Star
• Reign of Winter
• Wrath of the Righteous
• Mummy's Mask
• Iron Gods
• Giantslayer
• Hell's Rebels

The Pathfinder Modules "Dawn of the Scarlet Sun", "Master of the Fallen Fortress", and "Risen from the Sands" were a part of the Free RPG Day promotion, along with the now-infamous "We Be Goblins!" (and "Too!" and "Free!"). And for our last free adventures, get in the wayback machine! "Hollow's Last Hope" was one of the first places that introduced our world of Golarion (yes, even before "Burnt Offerings") via the town of Falcon's Hollow! Another adventure "Revenge of the Kobold King" continues the mini-campaign in Falcon's Hollow, which is set after "Crown of the Kobold King". Since these last adventures were made for 3.5, you may also want to take a look at the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Conversion Guide. If you're just getting started in Pathfinder and have a copy of the Beginner Box, check out the first and second demos (not to mention the GM Kit, Player Pack, Pathfinder Society Character Creation, and Transitions PDFs).

Both the Adventure Card Guild Guide and the Roleplaying Guild Guide contain all the details that you need to get started in our two Organized Play programs, but that's just the beginning! The GM 101 , GM 201, and Kid's Track PDFs for the Roleplaying Guild give you additional resources and advice on how to run events and games for your local group. The Faction Journal Cards and The Story So Far PDFs give players a better overview of what's going on, while the GM Star Reward Chronicle Sheets gives GMs access to special rewards for running Pathfinder Society games. And speaking of Pathfinder Society games, "Ambush in Absalom", "Fane of Fangs", "In Service to Lore", "Phantom Phenomena", and "The Silverhex Chronicles" are great introductions to the Roleplaying Guild arm of Pathfinder Society, while "On the Horizon" and "Demonic Politics" introduce organized play seasons for the Adventure Card Guild!

Pathfinder Reference Document

Recently updated with the errata for the Advanced Class Guide, the Pathfinder Reference Document contains almost all of the mechanical references from our Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover line of books. We're always looking to improve the PRD to make it more useful for GMs, so please don't hesitate to give us your feedback!

Community Use Projects

Since the very beginning of Pathfinder, Paizo has allowed for fans to create and share their own material using our campaign setting of Golarion. The Community Use Project allows for amazing resources like PathfinderWiki.com, the Archives of Nethys, and the innumerable flyers and handouts made by our hard-working volunteer Venture Officers of the Pathfinder Society! I would be remiss if I did not mention the Wayfinder fanzine and Pathfinder Chronicler anthologies, one of the first Community Use Projects—and still going strong with the 14th issue in the works! If you're looking for character sheets, holy symbols, regional flags, they are available (along with a host of other things) in our Community Use Packages, and if you want to make your desktop, phone, or tablet look a bit shinier, we have many, many wallpapers for you as well!

Hopefully this post has illuminated you to the amazing array of resources available to you—without ever having to open your wallet!

May your next dice rolls be successful ones,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Inner Sea Races: Rules for Every Race

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Illustration by Mattias Fahlberg

In previous previews of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Races we've highlighted the cultures, heritages, art, and secrets you'll find in this massive hardcover. But what we haven't said much about are the rules—and there certainly are a ton of them. A whole chapter, in fact, heaped with new feats, spells, magic items, alternate racial traits, and plenty more! Regardless of your race, you'll find new tricks and tools that are perfect for your character and that make your rooting in the Inner Sea's lore more meaningful than ever before.

For example, check these out:

Child of Two Fates

You have learned to make the most of your torn existence.

Prerequisites: Knowledge (local) 5 ranks, half-elf.

Benefit: Once per day, you can select a teamwork feat that a human or elf ally within 30 feet possesses. You can ignore any race, ethnicity, or racial trait prerequisites, but you must still meet any other prerequisites for that feat to gain this benefit. You're treated as if you possess that feat for up to 1 minute, as long as you stay within 30 feet of the ally whose teamwork feat you have chosen to emulate.

Champion's Bout (Shoanti)

School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 3, cleric 3, mesmerist 3

Casting Time 1 round

Components V, S

Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)

Targets two creatures

Duration 1 round/level

Saving Throw Will negates (see text); Spell Resistance yes (see text)

You allow two chosen champions to fight without interference. The two creatures must be willing in order for the spell to work. After you cast this spell, any creature attempting to aid or hinder either of the two targets in any way must succeed at a Will save or lose its action instead (spell resistance applies). A creature that fails its Will save against champion's bout cannot attempt to interfere again. If a creature successfully interferes with the bout, the spell ends immediately.

Duplicitous (Kitsune)

Many kitsune prefer to avoid the attention they often attract from human neighbors and attempt to convince all around them that they are human. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks. This racial trait replaces kitsune magic.

And there's plenty more where those came from. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Races hits store shelves next week! Have you figured out where you're getting your copy?

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

Where Are You From?!

Friday, September 18, 2015

This Inner Sea Races art preview focuses on human ethnicities. Our next preview will be non-human humanoid races. Enjoy!

Illustration by David Alvarez

Illustrations by Mariusz Gandzel, Eva Widermann, Keri Ruediger, and Nemanja Stankovic

Sarah Robinson
Managing Art Director

The Inner Sea Races Heritage Appendix

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Illustration by Carolina Eade

The majority of Inner Sea Races focuses on how the human ethnicities and non-human races of Golarion see themselves, are seen by others, fit into the world, and interact with one another. However, Chapter 4 focuses on the mechanics of building and equipping characters of different races and ethnicities, and contains a wealth of different traits, feats, spells, and equipment for creating a vibrant character immersed in the culture and practices of his or her homeland. It also features a handy heritage appendix, which summarizes the mechanical effects of choosing a particular race for your character in one place.

One of my favorite features in this chapter is a short section written by Creative Director James Jacobs, explaining that a character raised in a region where Taldane (Common) is not the most widely spoken tongue can choose their regional language as their starting language instead of Common. From a mechanical perspective, it makes sense to give all characters a language in common. However, from an in-world perspective, it seems odd that a character born and raised in Wati would grow up speaking Taldane and have to learn Osiriani as a second language, rather than the other way around. So, I'm glad that Inner Sea Races allows players and GMs to choose to represent that Taldane isn't a native tongue for many of the residents of the Inner Sea region.

Whenever the Common tongue is listed as a race's starting language (or among the race's available choices for starting languages or bonus languages), you can substitute for Common any of the other widely used human languages listed on page 6 (for example, an elf who was born and raised in Varisia might choose Varisian as one of the bonus languages she knows due to a high Intelligence score, or a gnome raised in an isolated monastery in Jalmeray might speak Vudrani as his native tongue rather than Common). In these cases, Common always remains an option to choose at a later date if you wish.

In other news: aquatic elf enthusiasts, rejoice! The heritage appendix in Inner Sea Races now presents the stats for aquatic elves in the same format as those for all the other races of the Inner Sea region. You'll be able to find them on page 242!

Jessica Price
Project Manager

10 Secrets from Inner Sea Races

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Illustration by Eva Widermann

Today we take a look at 10 little known facts about the races and cultures of Golarion. Check out Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Races, releasing this month, for more!

1. In southern Garund lies the catfolk nation of Murraseth. Non-catfolk are rarely allowed inside its borders, and rumors persist of a great danger hidden at Murraseth’s center.
2. Merfolk, cecaelia, siyokoy, and tritons are all rather appalled at the way gillmen plunder the ocean for "treasures," then exaggerate the history and importance of these objects when selling them to land-dwellers.
3. Strix families are usually organized around sibling relationships, rather than romantic partners.
4. Kellids often interpret arcane magic in a spiritual context.
5. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Taldans do not believe that their empire is in decline.
6. The Order of Transcendent Reclamation is a school of gnomes dedicated to attaining and surviving the Bleaching in order to achieve what they believe is a metamorphosis into a higher form of being.
7. Halflings consider unexpected greetings to be an unlucky omen, so they often nod at one another silently and wait for recognition before speaking a greeting out loud.
8. The first drow noble house, Dolour, gained its name when its founder, Arishkirah, murdered her mother and rejected her family name of Alevonnar.
9. Only about a quarter of orc warriors survive to see their twentieth year.
10. Stories of Karfus the Golden-Horned, a tiefling merchant prince, have drawn many other tieflings to follow the Prophecies of Kalistrade.

Jessica Price
Project Manager

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!

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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

A Look at Cultures in Inner Sea Races

Thursday, September 3, 2015

With the release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Races just around the corner, we're kicking off previews of the new content heading your way today! Here's a look at one of the books new features:

Each human ethnicity and non-human core race has a sidebar giving tips on how to play a character from that culture. These tips include both elements that are common to that culture, such as the likely educational background and religious attitudes for characters from that culture, and descriptions of the way other residents of the Inner Sea region are likely to view them. Above are examples from two human ethnicities and two non-human races.

Look out for more content sneak peeks of Inner Sea Races in the coming weeks!

Jessica Price
Project Manager

Mind Beasts Hunger for Your Dreams!

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Gather close to learn a harrowing secret of the hidden world of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game development! One plan was to include occult monsters—psychic vampires, duergar, and advanced aboleths, among others—in the Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures hardcover. During that book's development, however, we discovered that we wanted to explore more occult themes than would fit in a single book, and thus Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary was born. Containing all the creatures originally intended for the pages of Occult Adventures as well as dozens more, Occult Bestiary provides GMs with nearly 50 new monsters with which to populate any occult-themed campaign, many of which use the new rules presented in Occult Adventures.

The monsters in the book can be easily broken into three categories. The first of these is the monsters that were going to appear in Occult Adventures—reimaginings of monsters that would have used psychic magic rules when they first appeared, had we had such rules at the time. These include aboleths, neothelids, seugathi, intellect devourers, and so forth. When they were going to appear in a hardcover rulebook, that seemed like a fine way to do it. But in a book set in the Pathfinder campaign setting, we needed to distinguish between a "normal" aboleth and a "psychic" aboleth. So instead of making an alternate aboleth, we created a new, CR 18 aberration in the same family: the omnipath.

Illustrations by Yigit Koroglu, Maichol Quinto, and Ben Wootten

The second type of monster in the book are those that come from real-world occult beliefs. Many of these are templates like the prana ghost (think Obi-Wan Kenobi in Empire and Jedi), the alter ego, and the psychic lich (whose phylactery is held safely within a mindscape). Others are standalone creatures like the boggart or the tattoo guardian. These were even more fun to concept than the first type of monster!

Illustrations by Audrey Hotte and Jason Juta

Finally, we have my favorite group: the monsters we just made up or that have existed in the Pathfinder campaign setting for years but that we never got to stat up. These include the potential familiar psyche serpent, the Lashunta's shotalashu mounts, new rakshasa and dark folk, and even Kalervo Oikarinen's RPG Superstar 2015 monster entry!

Illustrations by Yigit Koroglu, Kim Sokol, and Ben Wootten

I always know a bestiary is ready when reading the entry for a random monster within inspires a new adventure that would let me use it; every monster in Occult Bestiary had me champing at the bit to throw it at unsuspecting PCs! What occult horrors are you most excited to subject upon your players?

Mark Moreland
Developer

A Hellishly Good Winter Ahead: July and Winter 2015 Releases!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

As we double- and triple-check our Gen Con prep lists, our warehouse is also busily sending out the latest and greatest Pathfinder releases to your doorstep! Check out this overview of this month's releases, as well as what's heading your way this winter!

There are creatures in the world that even giants fear.
Illustration by Jason Rainville, from "Shadow of the Storm Tyrant"

Subscribers have already started receiving their July products, and in a little less than two weeks, they'll be available to retail stores everywhere, as well as at Gen Con in Indianapolis! Here's a roundup of this month's releases:

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #95—Giantslayer 5 of 6: "Anvil of Fire"
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #96—Giantslayer 6 of 6: "Shadow of the Storm Tyrant"
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Giantslayer Poster Map Folio
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Wrath of the Righteous, Adventure Deck 3: "Demon's Heresy"
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Character Mats: Ekkie
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Hell Unleashed
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Museum
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Village Square
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Woodlands
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Camps & Shelters
• Pathfinder Comics—Origins #5: Harsk

Of course the big release this month is one that our staff has been super-excited about, and we've been filtering out sneak previews and stories about the six new iconics featured in the newest Pathfinder RPG hardcover—Occult Adventures! Over 250 pages long, it's got everything you want to be a master (or mistress) of mysticism and explore new realms of adventure with psychic magic.

November 2015: One Hundred Volumes of Pathfinder!

There was a time in the not-too-distant-past where the idea of Pathfinder (and Paizo) reaching a volume in triple digits was a distant dream—but it is a reality, and "A Song of Silver" is it! This special volume contains more than just our usual assortment of support articles for the adventure—it also contains more new monsters, revelations about the god Aroden, and a retrospective covering all of our previous Adventure Paths!

Additional releases in November include:

• Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 5
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Realms
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Weapon Master's Handbook
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Barbarian
• Pathfinder Pawns: Summon Monster Pawn Collection
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Winter Forest

December 2015: The Thrice-Damned!

Unsurprisingly, we've got Hell on our minds (and I am firmly placing this blame on the Overlord of Words Wes Schneider), and this December, Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Cheliax, The Infernal Empire gets its due with more details on this infamous country. For both freedom fighters of the Hell's Rebels or Thrune supporters of the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Paths, this will be an essential guide!

Additional December releases are:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #101—Hell's Rebels 5 of 6: "The Kintargo Contract"
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Agents of Evil
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Oracle
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Marsh Trails
• Pathfinder Tales: Bloodbound

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.

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Hell Unleashed: 10 Infernal Secrets

Friday, July 10, 2015

Just in time for the Hell's Rebels and Hell's Vengeance Adventure Paths, Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Hell Unleashed hits later this month. For this entry into the Unleashed series, Jerome Virnich and I broadened the book's focus to encompass more than just dragons, just undead, or just any one creature type. Instead, we investigate a spectrum of Hell's servants, be they immortal fiends, damned mortals, or more terrible things in-between. Also expect a few other nasty tricks you've never seen in an Unleashed book before.

So you're as prepared as you can be for the coming blasphemy, here are 10 infernal topics in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Hell Unleashed that your party paladin doesn't want you to read.

1. Roads to Hell: Before you can face the horrors of Hell you have to get there. Learn more about gates, spells, ferrymen, and talismans that provide direct routes to Hell—or that bring it to you!
2. Manifestations: Learn how to conjure forth manifestations, new haunt-like dangers that allow divinities—both fair and foul—to exert their wills upon the mortal plane. Along with these new rules you'll find examples of foul miracles for all of Hell's archdevils, and more.
3. The Book of the Damned: Learn more than ever before about Golarion's most infamous tome, The Book of the Damned, including its history, its lingering masters, how to conduct research within the book, and the god-like being that guards its secrets.
4. The Cult of Lies: Hell has many allies in the mortal world. In once such case, a cult of Asmodeus on the cusp of breaching the border between the mortal world and Hell. This elaborate encounter features customizations to make it a threat for a wide range of play, making it an appropriate climax to either an adventure or an entire campaign.
5. Exorcism: Fiends sometimes wear the fairest of faces, and their disguises aren't always illusions. Can you defeat a zebub devil? What if that disgusting devil is firmly rooted inside the body of a 12-year-old?
6. Everything has its Price: Whether you're striking a deal with a contract devil or your trading artifacts in the legendary Market of Breaths, everything has a price. Yet Hell rarely accepts currency as mundane as gold. What would you trade for power, immortality, or a chapter from the Chronicle of the Righteous? Once you've decided you're buying, it's just a matter of finding who's selling.
7. Living Blasphemies: Not all of Hell's denizens are devils. Asuras, immortal beings with grudges against the gods, also strike from Hell's depths against pious mortals. The Flowering Jasmine Monastery has fallen to one such living-heresy. Can you, and your faith, survive what that holy place has become?
8. Test of the Hellknights: Before any armiger can call herself a Hellknight, she must survive a lethal test: defeat a devil in single combat. Learn more about the Hellknights' most infamous rite of passage, with details on its strictures, testing grounds, and devils to confront would-be Hellknights of all levels.
9. The Gate to Dis: The passage between Hell's first layer, the wasteland of Avernus, and its second, the metropolis of Dis, is one of the most traveled routes in all the planes. The Forked Pyre guards that passage, twin spires flanking an endless volcanic cascade. Infernal Duke Furcas oversees the orderly passage of the damned through his realm to the torments beyond. Learn more about one of Hell's most notorious warlords, his eon-old fortress, traits for all infernal dukes, and details on their infernal demesnes.
10. Visions of Hell: Glimpse the face of Hell with one of Pathfinder's most METAL covers ever, by Remko Troost. Inside, you'll also see more of Dis, depictions of infernal personalities, and maps for every diabolical locale.

Illustrations by Eric Belisle and Roberto Pitturru

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Hell Unleashed debuts at the end of this month. Pick it up, and put the fear of Hell back into your players.

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief & Author

More Inner Sea Monsters!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Ever since we released Pathfinder RPG Monster Codex last fall fans have been asking for an Inner Sea version, covering monsters unique to the Pathfinder Campaign Setting. Soon, those fans will get their wish, as the Inner Sea Monster Codex debuts in just a couple short weeks! The 64-page book presents ten monsters iconic to the Inner Sea region, including charau-ka, gillmen, and strix, each with four sample creatures filling a variety of combat and social roles. To support these monsters, the book also includes new rules, such as archetypes, oracle mysteries, alchemist discoveries, traps, spells, feats, and magic items. Here are two of the new rules found in the book, a minotaur spell and a gillman magic item, as a little sample, as well as a few choice pieces of art to whet your monstrous appetites.

PUZZLE BOX

School enchantment (compulsion) [curse^UM, mind-affecting]; Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) or touch; see text
Target one creature or one object up to 5 lbs./level
Duration 1 round/level or permanent; see text
Saving Throw Will negates or none; Spell Resistance yes

This spell causes even commonly used objects to become conundrums. When cast on a creature, the target loses all weapon and shield proficiencies. The target also forgets how to use all spell-completion, spell-trigger, and use-activated magic items, as well as any mundane items used as part of a skill check, imposing a –5 penalty on all ability and skill checks attempted with such items. These effects last for 1 round per level. As a move action, the target can attempt a skill check to negate the effects of this spell for one object. Weapons, shields, and mundane objects require a successful Craft skill check of the type required to craft the item in question, with a DC equal to the spell's save DC. Magic items require a successful Spellcraft or Use Magic Device skill check against the spell's save DC.

Alternatively, this spell can be cast on a single touched object that weighs up to 5 pounds per the caster's level. Use of this object becomes a puzzle even to those previously familiar with it. Any creature attempting to use an item affected in this way is treated as though the creature was the target of puzzle box for that item only. When cast on an object, the duration of this spell is permanent.

BATHING BASIN

Price 6,750 gp
Slot none CL 5th Weight 5 lbs.
Aura faint conjuration and transmutation

This heavy bronze bowl, etched with outlines of waves, feels cool to the touch. Once per day as a standard action, the bowl can be commanded to grow in size and fill with 25 gallons of cool, fresh water. In its enlarged state, the basin can accommodate a Medium or smaller creature. The basin remains enlarged for 1 hour or until the user commands it to shrink. All water in the basin disappears when the item shrinks, and any creatures or objects that don't fit in the shrunken bowl are expelled into an adjacent square.

Construction Requirements

Cost 3,375 gp
Craft Wondrous Item, create water, shrink item

Illustrations by Milivoj Ćeran and Wayne England

Illustrations by Aleksey Bayura, Maichol Quinto, Chris Seaman, and Jaime Martinez

Mark Moreland
Developer

PaizoCon Product Announcements and Sneak Peeks!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

One of the exciting parts about PaizoCon for a lot of our attendees, fans, and onlookers are the juicy spoilers and announcements that come out of the show (whether it comes from one our RPG or Adventure Path panels, or the Preview Banquet). So, let's take a look at what's coming this November and beyond!

Gather Your Forces!

The Season of the Righteous for the Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild starts this week! Be sure to take a peek at the newly released Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild Guide to get yourself ready for laying down cards and taking down the evil that's begun spilling out of the Worldwound. You can also check out the whole line Wrath of the Righteous products here due out later this year.

We also announced our return to Osirion, land of the pharaohs, in the next Adventure Card Game base set, Mummy's Mask! Look out for more details about this release soon!

Hell's Rebels Continues!

There's been a lot of speculation surrounding the 100th issue of the Pathfinder Adventure Path. Now we can tell you! Pathfinder Adventure Path #100: A Song of Silver will be a 128-page softcover issue with several new monsters, revelations about the great mystery himself—Aroden, and a retrospective of the previous 16 Adventure Path campaigns.

You might have noticed that we haven't been saying much about the Adventure Path line lately, or announced what's coming next. And since we've been talking quite a bit so far about hell, it's evil denizens, and the good fight against 'em, it only makes sense to mention what's coming up next:

Hell's Vengeance!

Friends, Food, Good Times!

Whether it's the start of a long adventure, tracking down contacts, interrogating suspects, or just plain enjoying some downtime, inns and pubs are a mainstay of many roleplaying campaigns. During the PaizoCon Preview Banquet, Erik took time to give us a glimpse of what's coming in the next set of Pathfinder Battles miniatures. This next set, The Rusty Dragon Inn comes with set dressings, just like the June release Dungeons Deep, some friendly faces, and monsters that fit in perfectly with any bar brawling, plot scheming, or memory making game sessions.

Other November Releases

In addition to the products above, we've also just announced the following on paizo.com today:

• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Class Deck: Barbarian
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Realms
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Weapon Master's Handbook
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Winter Forest

Trust No One

As if it wasn't stressful enough to be a Pathfinder adventurer, a new tome of monsters and other worldly beings is coming your way! Within the pages of Bestiary 5 are creatures that warp the minds of their victims, monsters from beyond the stars, as well as an array of other monsters, familiars, and other allies.

And as much as we know you love monsters, we also know you want more... so I'm going to leave you all with a mockup of the hardcover coming up after Bestiary 5:

Ultimate Intrigue will reveal new options for skill-based classes (like the alchemist, bard, druid, hunter, inquisitor, investigator, mesmerist, ranger, rogue, slayer, or spiritualist), a complete influence system, feats and spells that can be used in social settings, and THE VIGILANTE!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

Pulling Back the Veil: Fall 2015 Releases!

Monday, May 11, 2015

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to add upcoming products to the website. Often it's the first time that I'm hearing about the latest adventure, realm to explore, or new player options, and now we're going to round up all the announcements to make sure you don't miss out on the latest additions to Pathfinder, coming to you this summer and fall!

Welcome to Kintargo—hope you survive your stay!
Illustration by Shen Fei

This month is going to be a triple feature, as we're going to talk about not one month's releases, but three, starting with August.

August 2015: Hell's Rebels Adventure Path begins!

With Gen Con a wee bit earlier this year than normal, we won't be starting the Adventure Path at the show, which means that the Hell's Rebels Adventure Path will begin in August, starting with "In Hell's Bright Shadow" by Crystal Frasier! With the city of Kintargo under martial law, what starts as a protest turns into a riot, and your hero is at the center of it!

Other August releases include:

• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Wrath of the Righteous, Deck #4: "The Midnight Isles"
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Class Deck: Paladin
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes of the Streets
• Pathfinder Tales: Liar's Island by Tim Pratt
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Forest
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Swamp
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Forest Dangers

September 2015: Hail and Well Met, Traveler!

The feature of this month is one that we've all been waiting for—Inner Sea Races! Filled with details on all of the races common to the Inner Sea, this also gives you juicy tidbits on rarer denizens like aasimar, tieflings, and ooh, do I spy a [[REDACTED]]?!

More September releases include:

• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Wrath of the Righteous, Deck 5: "Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth"
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Class Deck: Monk
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #98—Hell's Rebels, Part 2: "Turn of the Torrent"
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Occult Origins
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Slum Quarter
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: City Streets
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: Prison

October 2015: The Night is Dark, and Full of Terrors!

We like spooky things—turns out, they are a grand thing when writing adventures and designing campaigns, and what could be grander than returning to one of our earliest Varisian stomping grounds? As anybody who's visited Elm Street can attest, dreams can be a dangerous thing, and "The House on Hook Street" promises to make a pleasant afternoon nap into a nightmare in this Pathfinder Module for 6th level adventurers. Written by Brandon Hodge, one of our own key resources when Occult Adventures was first on the drawing board, would-be heroes attempting to survive this adventure may want to stock up on their elixir of choice to stay awake through the night!

Additional releases in October include:

• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Wrath of the Righteous, Deck 6: "City of Locusts"
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Class Deck: Druid
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #99—Hell's Rebels, Part 3: "Dance of the Damned"
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores Gazetteer
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Black Markets
• Pathfinder Tales: Beyond the Pool of Stars
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Slum Quarter Alleys
• Pathfinder Pawns: Giantslayer Adventure Path

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.

Is there any particular release you're excited for? Have a hankering for learning more about the denizens of the Inner Sea with the Inner Sea Races hardcover? Maybe want try to divine the details of Occult Origins? Let us know in the discussion thread!

Liz Courts
Community Manager

PS: With PaizoCon just around the corner and adventures to wrap up before then for our GMs, the Pathfinder Society team is busily developing and editing the May releases. The regular PFS blog will return next week! And if you're attending PaizoCon, be sure to attend the Pathfinder Society Q&A on Saturday, May 23 at 2:00 PM!

Let Slip the Orcs of War!

Wednesday, Feburary 11, 2015

It seems like forever ago we sent Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes off to the printer. So long ago did we ship it, in fact, that I was caught woefully unaware when those little digital orcs we sent across the sea to be printed returned, all grown up and hungry for my blood. I managed to divert their attack to the warehouse, whose border abuts my office, avoiding the worst of the onslaught. I understand they've successfully divided the horde into small, easy-to-defeat single members and sent them off to our noble subscriber allies. To aid you in your orc-slaying efforts, I present a glimpse at some of the horrors that await you. Study them well, and always check your mail with sword drawn until the Belkzen threat has been quelled.

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

Illustrations by Wayne England and Brynn Metheney

Mark Moreland
Developer

No Hablo Shoanti

Monday, February 9, 2014

The Pathfinder Society Organized Play team recently introduced the Core Campaign, an additional way to participate in Pathfinder Society that makes it more approachable while also opening up hundreds of new ways to play for credit.

As with any new initiative, there are many features that we consider and address before the announcement, and there are often nuances and corner cases that the public points out after the grand unveiling. I am going to address one of the latter now, but if you have other questions about the Core Campaign and how it works, I recommend checking out the Core Campaign messageboard.

Languages play a major role in our adventures, and while the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook describes many of the basic languages that could appear in any campaign setting, it does not list any of the languages specific to Golarion. That means the Shoanti cannot speak Shoanti, PCs traveling to Tian Xia are unable to learn the continent's common tongue, and nobody exploring ruins in Varisia can learn to read Thassilonian. That's an omission on our end, and we're including a list of key languages in a future version of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, one of the legal resources for the Core Campaign. In the meantime, this blog serves as a legal stand-in resource. Also note that page 8 of the Guide notes that human characters also gain their ethnic language for free (this is also true in the Core Campaign); in order to be extra clear as to who gets what, I have included a parenthetical note next to some languages clarifying which human ethnicity (if any) gains that language for free.

The following 19 languages are legal choices in the Pathfinder Society Core Campaign:

Now that Hayato can legally speak Tien, he can avoid unfortunate misunderstandings like this.
Illustration by Rayph Beisner

Modern Human Languages

• Hallit (Kellid)
• Kelish (Kelishite)
• Osiriani (Garundi)
• Polyglot (Mwangi)
• Shadowtongue
• Shoanti (Shoanti)
• Skald (Ulfen)
• Tien (Tian)
• Varisian (Varisian)
• Vudrani (Vundrani)

Ancient Languages

• Ancient Osiriani
• Azlanti
• Cyclops
• Jistka
• Tekritanin
• Thassilonian

Other Languages

• Necril
• Orvian

There are still other languages out there like Minkaian, Senzar, Treant, and Tengu, but this list should provide PCs with a broad range of language choices that facilitate playing and enjoying all that the organized play campaigns have to offer.

John Compton
Developer

Invasion of the Pawn People!

Wednesday, January 7, 2014

Beware! A few days from now, an invasion of over 200 of the most notable denizens of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting will be flooding into game stores and subscribers' mailboxes. Cleverly hidden inside the Inner Sea Pawn Box like a modern-day, miniature Trojan Horse, these characters are set to assault game tables the world over. Check out the full list of included pawns, as well as a preview of several of the new pieces of art ordered for the set!

Inner Sea Pawn Box Set List:

Small
Aspis Consortium Spy (2) Balazar, Summoner Bellflower Tiller* (2) Bellflower Tiller* (2) Bleachling Lunatic	Charau-Ka Warrior (5) Chuffy Lickwound Daggermark Poisoner (2) Eagle Knight Halfling Enora, Arcanist	Mogmurch Okeno Liberator Pathfinder Loreseeker Poog of Zarongel Priest of Desna	Priestess of Nethys Priestess of Norgorber Priestess of Zon-Kuthon Reta Bigbad Usaro Rebel (3)
Medium
Absalom Guard (6) Adowyn, Hunter Adril Hestram Alahazra, Oracle Alain, Cavalier Aldori Swordlord* Aldori Swordlord* Alkenstar Shieldmarshal (4) Anaphexia Assassin (4) Android Monk (2) Android Warrior (2) Arcanamirium Sorcerer (2) Arclord of Nex Aspis Consortium Commander Aspis Consortium Soldier (3) Aspis Consortium Thug (3) Averaka Giant Slayer (2) Belkzen Warchief (2) Blackfire Adept Summoner (3) Blackraven Scout (4) Bloatmage* Bloatmage* Blue Warder (3) Chernasardo Sniper (3) Crowe, Bloodrager Cyphermage* Cyphermage* Daggermark Poisoner (2) Damiel, Alchemist Decemvirate Member Drow Matron Duergar Slaver (3) Duskwarden (3) Eagle Knight Commander (2) Eagle Knight Soldier (4) Eando Kline Feiya, Witch Fierani Demon Hunter (4) Geb Blood Lord Gillman Warrior (3) Gillman Wave Rider (2) Grandmaster Torch Gray Gardener (4) Gray Maiden (4) Gray Maiden Commander Green Faith Druid (4) Green Faith High Druid Hakon, Skald Half-Orc Pit Fighter (2) Harbinger Disciple (3)	Harrower* Harrower* Hayato, Samurai Hellknight Armiger (4) Hellknight Signifer* Hellknight Signifer* House of Perfection Monk (3) Imrijka, Inquisitor Ironmaster Ytharia Vulane Iroran Champion Jinx Eater (2) Jirelle, Swashbuckler Keleshite Entertainer Kess, Brawler Kitharodian Academy Bard Kitharodian Academy Performer Knight of Ozem* (2) Knight of Ozem* (2) Knight of the Ioun Star Kortash Khain Korvosan Shingles Runner (3) Kuru Cannibal (4) Lantern Bearer (3) Lion Blade of Taldor (4) Lirianne, Gunslinger Low Templar (3) Magaambya Arcanist (3) Magaambya Instructor Maurya-Rahm Advisor Mendevian Crusader* (3) Mendevian Crusader* (3) Molthuni Soldier (4) Mushfens Cabalist (3) Night Herald Cultist (3) Old Ones Cultist (3) Old-Mage Jatembe Oloch, Warpriest Order of the Chain Hellknight (3) Order of the Gate Hellknight (3) Order of the Godclaw Hellknight (3) Order of the Nail Hellknight (3) Order of the Pyre Hellknight (3) Order of the Rack Hellknight (3) Order of the Scourge Hellknight (3) Pactmaster of Katapesh (3) Padrig Pain Taster (2) Pathfinder Braggart Pathfinder Chronicler Pathfinder Explorer	Pathfinder Hunter Pathfinder Priest Pathfinder Sneak Pathfinder Spellcaster Pathfinder Venture-Captain Pathfinder Wanderer Pathfinder Warrior Pirate Marauder (4) Priest of Abadar Priest of Asmodeus Priest of Calistria Priest of Cayden Cailean Priest of Erastil Priest of Gorum Priest of Gozreh Priest of Iomedae Priest of Irori Priest of Lamashtu Priest of Nethys Priest of Norgorber Priest of Pharasma Priest of Rovagug Priest of Sarenrae Priest of Shelyn Priest of Torag Priest of Urgathoa Priest of Zon-Kuthon Priestess of Abadar Priestess of Asmodeus Priestess of Calistria Priestess of Cayden Cailean Priestess of Desna Priestess of Erastil Priestess of Gorum Priestess of Gozreh Priestess of Iomedae Priestess of Irori Priestess of Lamashtu Priestess of Pharasma Priestess of Rovagug Priestess of Sarenrae Priestess of Shelyn Priestess of Torag Priestess of Urgathoa Prophet of Kalistrade* Prophet of Kalistrade* Puddles Peddler Pure Legionnaire (4) Pure Legionnaire Commander Quinn, Investigator	Razmiran Cultist (4) Razmiran Priest (2) Red Mantis Acolyte (2) Red Mantis Assassin (5) Red Mantis Elite (3) Red Mantis Leader Reiko, Ninja Riftwarden (4) Risen Guard* (3) Risen Guard* (3) River Kingdoms Brigand (4) Rough Rampager (3) Sable Company Marine (3) Sczarni Crime Boss Sczarni Mystic (2) Sczarni Thief (4) Seltyiel, Magus Shackles Pirate* (4) Shackles Pirate* (4) Shackles Pirate Captain* Shackles Pirate Captain* Shardra, Shaman Shoanti Gladiator (3) Silent Enforcer (4) Sister of the Golden Erinyes (4) Sleepless Detective (3) Sodden Scavenger (4) Strix Warrior (4) Strix Witch Taldan Noble* Taldan Noble* Technic League Spellcaster (2) Thrune Agent* (2) Thrune Agent* (2) Tian Monk* (2) Tian Monk* (2) Tian Sage Ulfen Guard Commander Ulfen Guard of Taldor (2) Ulfen Hunter (2) Ulfen Longboat Captain Ulfen Raider (5) Usij Cabalist (3) Uskwood Druid (2) Ustalavic Duelist Varisian Merchant (2) Varisian Wanderer (3) Way of the Kirin Agent White Witch (2) Zadim, Slayer
Large
Absalom Wave Rider (3) Alain on Donahan God Caller with Eidolon	Jarl Gnargorak Knight of Ozem, Mounted (4) Mistress of Blades Maidrayne Vox	Mounted Hellknight (4) Qadiran Horselord (4) Ruthazek the Gorilla King	Sable Company Marine, Mounted (3) Shoanti Burn Rider (3)

* Indicates box includes multiple images for this character type.

Illustrations by Konstantinos Skenteridis, Mariusz Gandzel, and Alberto Dal Lago

Illustrations by Konstantinos Skenteridis, Ramon Puasa Jr., Chenthooran Nambiarooran, and Subroto Bhaumik

Mark Moreland
Developer

2014 Art Review

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

As we close out 2014, I wanted to end on a high note and give you one last year-end blog. I went to our Managing Art Director Sarah Robinson and Senior Art Director Andrew Vallas to get some help rounding up some favorite illustrations from the past year. Seeing how great their selections were, I also asked various members of our editorial team to pick a few of their own favorites to add. So here are some of our best illustrations from 2014!

Let's start off with some covers! The above are selections were made by Andrew, Sarah, and Developer John Compton.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Monster Codex Illustrated by Wayne Reynolds, Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Treasures Illustrated by Igor Grechanyi,
Pathfinder Module: Plunder and Peril Illustrated by Kiki Moch Rizky, and Pathfinder Player Companion: Alchemy Manual Illustrated by Kerem Beyit

Monsters and gods are up next! The above selections were made by Andrew, Sarah, and Designer Stephen Radney-MacFarland

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Monster Codex Illustrations by Subroto Bhaumik and Jason Rainville, Pathfinder Adventure Path #80: Empty Graves Illustration by Johan Grenier,
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Mysteries Illustration by Ralph Horsley, and Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods Illustration by Yu Cheng Hong

Brigh and Zyphus are two of the many Golarion deities featured this year. The above selections were made by Adam Daigle and myself.

Pathfinder Adventure Path #86: Lords of Rust Illustration by Johan Grenier, and Pathfinder Adventure Path #89: Palace of Fallen Stars Illustration by Matias Tapia

And to round out this art blog, some portraits of deities, monsters and important characters of 2014!
The above selections were made by Andrew, Associate Editor Judy Bauer, Editor Ryan Macklin, Developer Rob McCreary, and Managing Editor James L. Sutter

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Monster Codex Illustration by Tim Kings-Lynne, Pathfinder Adventure Path #80: Empty Graves Illustrations by Ekaterina Burmak,
Pathfinder Adventure Path #84: Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh Illustration by Johan Grenier, Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods Illustration by Maichol Quinto, and
Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine Illustration by Eric Belisle

What was your favorite piece of Pathfinder art from 2014?

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

Ships Ahoy!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

One book I've wanted to put out for as long as I've worked at Paizo has been a gazetteer of different ships one could find in the Inner Sea region. Because ships are mobile, a ship of any type can be found in just about any port, opening up nearly endless options for Game Masters.

When Ships of the Inner Sea finally made it onto the production schedule instead of my wish list, I wanted to make sure that the book could serve GMs in a number of ways. The included ships, of which there are seven, range in challenge rating from foes appropriate for parties of levels ranging from 4 to 15, and are thus useful additions to all sorts of adventures. For those running the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path or otherwise using the ship-to-ship combat system presented in the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide, each ship includes statistics compatible with the system, allowing all seven vessels to be potential prey for pirate PCs prowling the Fever Sea. Each ship is fully mapped (and gorgeously so, by Jared Blando) for tactical combat and can be used as a potential PC or enemy vessel. While the crew compliment of each vessel is enough to fill a book by itself, each ship's chapter includes full statistics for its captain, one prominent crewmember, and a generic sailor or passenger stat block.

To provide more useful and general tools for GMs running nautical campaigns, we also included a chapter on sailing the Inner Sea. This includes a glossary of nautical terms, definitions of several different ship classes, and details on the region's most traveled trade routes and the hazards that make them full of adventure potential.

Three of the authors who worked on the book live or have lived on functioning boats, including naval vessels. Their knowledge of nautical terms, ship layouts and life at sea really shows in their writing, and I was very lucky to be able to get them all together for the project. It's the same reason we had Sutter write about space aliens and Wes write about Infernal contracts; you're best at writing what you know.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro, Eric Belisle, and Yama Ocre

What I'm most excited about in this book, however, is the art. This is one beautiful book. It was really tough to pick a few pieces to show off and whet everyone's appetites, so I decided to share one piece per type: a half-page introduction, a ship portrait, and a full-body illustration. And another half-pager simply because, holy cow, is it amazing!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Honor the Hold!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

The treacherous Hold of Belkzen is a savage place for outsiders as well as its own residents. We've said a lot about the region, but a lot of this information is scattered throughout different books and product lines. For those who are new to Belkzen or who just can't get enough of the orc nation, here's a brief breakdown of some of the most interesting aspects of this savage region as well as links to where you can find more information on these topics.

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

Beasts: Orc rangers and beastmasters have "domesticated" many animals and monstrous beasts native to the valleys of the Tusk and Kodar Mountains, though in most cases this simply means caging wild animals until they're to be released on the field of battle. From dire wolves to the strange and tempestuous gorthek, orc tribes rear a number of different monsters to serve as their mounts or hounds. Beyond these brutes, even fiercer beasts lurk in the hills around the Hold of Belkzen (including a number of all-new Belkzen animals detailed in the forthcoming Giantslayer Adventure Path bestiaries).

Half-Orcs: The progeny of orcs and humans are treated somewhat paradoxically among the orcs of Belkzen. On one hand, orcs treat their half-blooded brethren as weak, and bully or abuse them to prove their inferiority. On the other hand, talented half-orcs (especially spellcasters) can achieve statuses among their tribe as seers or witch doctors. Many half-orcs consider themselves prisoners in their own homelands, and wrestle with the inherent savagery that flows through their blood. Others flee the Hold as soon as they are able, becoming storied adventurers or even founders of peaceful settlements that they can fearlessly call home.

Atrocities: The horrors of war are not solely restricted to the orc side of Belkzen's borders, and the human knights and soldiers who clash with these monsters sometimes inherit more of the orcs' savagery than any would care to admit. Servants of Zon-Kuthon often go to the ravaged battlefields of Belkzen to commemorate the unfathomable acts of savagery that transpired there, and rumors persist of orcs being held prisoner and brutally interrogated in such Lastwall border strongholds as Castle Everstand.

With a slew of orc-related products coming out this winter—including Pathfinder Adventure Path #91: Battle of Bloodmarch Hill (written by yours truly), the much-anticipated Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes, and Pathfinder Module: Daughters of Fury (written by Viktoria Jaczko, winner of the 2014 RPG Superstar contest)—you can be sure we're going to be posting a lot of Belkzen banter on the blog in the coming months.

Patrick Renie
Developer

Year of the Sky Key Q&A

Monday, September 15, 2014

The start of the Year of the Sky Key has spawned many questions thanks to the faction changes, the release of the Advanced Class Guide, and the use of Technology Guide. In preparation for today's blog, I compiled my list of known questions, polled venture-officers about unanswered questions still at large on the messageboards, filtered out the ones that weren't specific to the organized play campaign (saved to pass along to their associated designers and developers), and wrote out answers and updates to everything that was left.

Warpriest Retraining

Are playtest warpriests able to adjust their ability scores based on the fervor class ability's new dependence on Wisdom?
Yes, page 28 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play states that "if a class, prestige class or class feature-dependent ability score is altered," the character qualifies for a rebuild, maintaining the same equipment. That means a character's class choices, feats, skill ranks, spells known, et cetera can change.

Are playtest warpriests able to adjust character features tied to these ability scores (e.g. losing ranks in Diplomacy to instead put them in Sense Motive)?
Yes, see above.

Are playtest warpriests able to alter any other character choices/options (e.g. feats) as part of any rebuilding process?
Yes, see above.

Are playtest warpriests able to take archetypes as part of any rebuilding process?
Yes, see above.

What are the warpriest's retraining synergies (as per Ultimate Campaign's retraining rules on page 190)?
In Pathfinder Society Organized Play, determine the retraining synergies for the Advanced Class Guide classes by substituting one class name for an existing class on the table. For example, an arcanist has the same retraining synergies as a wizard, and any class that lists the wizard as a retraining synergy also has the arcanist as a retraining synergy.

• Substitute the term "arcanist" anywhere the term "wizard" appears.
• Substitute the term "bloodrager" anywhere the term "barbarian" appears. Bloodragers have retraining synergy with sorcerers and vice versa.
• Substitute the term "brawler" anywhere the term "fighter" appears.
• Substitute the term "hunter" anywhere the term "ranger" appears.
• Substitute the term "investigator" anywhere the term "alchemist" appears.
• Substitute the term "shaman" anywhere the term "druid" appears.
• Substitute the term "skald" anywhere the term "bard" appears. Skalds have retraining synergy with barbarians and vice versa.
• Substitute the term "slayer" anywhere the term "ranger" appears. Slayers have retraining synergy with rogues and vice versa.
• Substitute the term "swashbuckler" anywhere the term "fighter" appears.
• Substitute the term "warpriest" anywhere the term "paladin" appears.

What is the intended interaction between the Guide's and the Additional Resources' entries about retraining for the warpriest? Should one or both be revised based on any of the above rulings?
The Additional Resources page and Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play principally conflict regarding warpriest retraining, as no other class's associated ability scores changed between the playtest and final versions of the classes. The Additional Resources page's wording in an important reminder that most classes and most characters do not qualify for comprehensive rebuilds based on the final version of the Advanced Class Guide.

During the playtest, the shaman's spell list had access to summon nature's ally. Is there any rebuilding allowed for those who selected character options that modify summoning such as Augment Summoning?
Shaman characters that selected character options that modify summoning abilities they no longer possess may retrain those features and any immediate prerequisites for those features. For example, such a shaman could retrain Augment Summoning, Superior Summoning, and Spell Focus (conjuration), but not Spell Penetration, Combat Casting, or Improved Initiative. A character can sell back any items that specifically modify summoning abilities, use summon nature's ally, or use summon monster (such as scrolls).

Faction Changes

Does one automatically switch to the successor faction, or is that treated as the one faction change per season?
The change to a successor faction is automatic and does not count as the one free faction change. If your character was a member of the Cheliax faction, she is now part of the Dark Archives faction for free. Try out a scenario as part of that faction, then decide if you want to stick with it or use the free change.

When the five nation-based factions (Andoran, Cheliax, Osirion, Qadira, and Taldor) changed into ideological factions, how many faction-specific features and rewards could a PC retain?
As noted on pages 17-18 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, a member of a retiring faction retains "any faction-specific vanities, titles, traits, prestige items, or other purchases made while the character was a member of the retired faction." As a result, a Cheliax faction PC who purchased the Hellknight prestige award would retain it no matter which faction she ended up joining at the start of Season 6.

Do I also keep any of the faction-specific boons earned on Season 5 Chronicle sheets?
Yes, you keep any of these boons that you earned during Season 5. However, remember that you might not qualify for other faction-specific boons from that faction once you have switched allegiances; page 18 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play covers which current factions correspond to earlier nation-based factions for the purposes of earning these rewards.

Is a character benefiting from The Risen faction prestige award required to stay with the Scarab Sages faction as the natural evolution of the Osirion faction?
This is a special case, given the enduring consequences of purchasing that particular prestige award. A character who possessed this prestige award prior to August 14th, 2014 does not qualify for the free faction change. He can, however, pay 3 Prestige Points per character level to change factions, as described on page 17 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. A member of the Scarab Sages faction who acquires The Risen prestige award [on or after August 14th, 2014] is bound to that faction and cannot change factions.

Technology Guide

Is the Technologist feat in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide required to attempt any skill checks regarding technology?
The following text will appear in an updated version of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play:
"The otherworldly technology associated with Numeria is very different from the rest of the technology available on Golarion,and so far advanced that any comprehensive understanding requires the Technologist feat (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide 7). However, scenarios that include Numerian technology are designed in a way that characters with the Technologist feat have an advantage, yet those without are still able to succeed at the mission. Clever Pathfinders might operate a device by trial and error, infer a device's use by its placement (such as a keypad on a door acting as a lock), or draw logical if crude associations between known items and Numerian technology (such as a laser pistol having the same shape and features as a hand crossbow or Alkenstar firearm)."

How does hardness work for creatures? Does energy damage such as cold deal half damage to creatures with hardness (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 173-174) even before applying the flat numerical reduction?
When a creature with hardness sustains damage, subtract its hardness from the damage dealt. The rules for halving damage, doubling damage, dealing damage with ineffective tools, immunities, and the like only apply to damaging inanimate objects.
(This is apparently a question the Design Team has received a few times during the development of Iron Gods, so they were ready to go with an answer!)

Miscellaneous

Investigators have an alchemy class ability similar to that of an alchemist. Are investigators also able to craft alchemical items in Pathfinder Society Organized Play?
Investigators are able to craft alchemical items and poisons as if they were alchemists. This information will appear in an upcoming update to the Pathfinder Society FAQ, both in the poisons section (which will also include the investigator's poison lore class ability) and the alchemist crafting section.

I received a ratfolk or samsaran race boon for volunteering at a recent convention, but the Additional Resources page still says that ratfolk and samsaran options in Advanced Race Guide are not legal for play. Is this ever going to change?
All ratfolk and samsaran alternate racial traits, favored class bonuses, archetypes, equipment, feats, and spells are legal for play. Note that most of these options are limited to ratfolk and samsaran characters respectively following the Advanced Race Guide entry's second paragraph on the Additional Resources page. The next Additional Resources update is set to revise the entry.

What deities can a warpriest worship? The Additional Resources page suggests that only the core 20 deities are legal choices.
This is not the intended interpretation, and the next Additional Resources update is set to revise the entry to read as follows. "To select a blessing, a warpriest must worship a deity that offers the domain of the same name." A warpriest in the organized play campaign is able to select from among any of the legal deity choices.

Can one purchase a ring of eloquence (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 216) with any combination of languages? Are restricted or banned languages such as Druidic or Androffan options?
At this time, only two configurations of the ring of eloquence exist in the organized play campaign. The first grants the ability to speak and understand Common, Dwarven, Elven, and Gnome. The second grants the ability to speak and understand Giant, Goblin, Orc, and Undercommon. Rings with other configurations may appear as treasure on Chronicle sheets.

John Compton
Developer

Unleash the Krake... Undead!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

In mere weeks the most vile undead masterminds of the Inner Sea region (and one that's actually pretty nice most of the time) will be released upon unsuspecting PCs everywhere. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Undead Unleashed features 15 unique undead creatures ranging from CR 3 to CR 23, as well as maps of their lairs, details on their minions, histories, and current plans. While not exactly adventures, each lair provides enough information that a Game Master can easily build an adventure within. Each undead is designed to be modular enough that a trek through its lair can help a party bridge a gap between levels or fill a night when some members of a gaming group can't make it. At the same time, their rich backstories provide GMs with enough plot hooks and secret motivations to make even the CR 3 ghast villain the mastermind behind an entire adventure.

This book gave us the opportunity to detail several characters first mentioned in the earliest days of Pathfinder, about whom fans have been asking questions for years. Want to know more about Walkena, the child mummy god of the Mwangi Expanse? He's in here. How about Erum-Hel, the mythic Lord of Mohrgs, whose defeat at Iomedae's hands is considered one of her holy Acts? He's in here. What about the Wight Mother of Isger, who spreads disease and undeath from Finder's Gulch in Isger? You guessed it—we included her as well.

As to who the other 13 undead creatures are, you'll just have to wait and see, but here are a few pieces of amazing art from the book to whet your appetites further (and provide a few hints at the creatures' types, if not their specific identities).

Illustrations by Carmen Cianelli, Mac Smith, Ekaterina Burmak, and Carlos Villa.

Undead Unleashed will be on its way to subscribers soon and available everywhere later this month!

Mark Moreland
Developer

The Literary Origins of Science Fiction in Fantasy Settings

Thursday, September 4, 2014

"Do you know about other worlds? Don't you believe the stars are only huge jewels?"
—The Swords of Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber
Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

With the release of Pathfinder Adventure Path #85: "The Fires of Creation", the first adventure in the Iron Gods Adventure Path, I thought it was worth taking a moment to talk about the literary origins of mixing science-fiction elements into fantasy settings.

Illustration by Ian Llanas

The origins of the Iron Gods Adventure Path itself are pretty clear. The seeds of advanced technology in Golarion go back to its inception, and descriptions of Numeria, Alkenstar, the Red Redoubt of Karamoss, and the Ruins of Kho have always included a level of technology much different than most of the rest of the Inner Sea. Golarion is a world where scraps of ancient lost technology exist in limited quantities, and it makes sense that at least one adventure path explore that aspect of the world. This follows a long tradition of mixing science fiction and fantasy elements in roleplaying games, dating back to near the beginning of the hobby.

The RPG hobby is in turn built on a long tradition of genre-blurring stories, dating back to at least the early 1700s. Earlier speculative fiction didn't mostly bother to define a difference between science fiction and fantasy. Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels was written as a satire, but it is also arguably an early work of mixed science fiction and fantasy. Beyond the well-known fantasy races of Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians, protagonist Gulliver encounters many other places including both the flying city of Laputa (a city of pure scientific thought and clear antecedent of Kho), and a land of magicians (Glubbdubdrib) where magic largely replaces technology.

Although not the same as most modern fantasy, another common category of early speculative fiction that often blends advanced technology and magic is the "lost world" genre, where a modern character discovers a fantastic land unknown to the rest of civilization. In some lost world books the discovery is the result of an exploratory expedition (such as is the case for Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, an early example of the genre), while in other cases the discovery is entirely accidental (as in Edward Bulwer-Lyrtton's 1871 novel Vril, the Power of the Coming Race).

Similar is the planetary romance genre, where the foreign land is generally on other planets. One can argue that Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom (from A Princess of Mars, and a series of novels that follow) is pure science fiction, with its airships and radium pistols, but the fact that most conflict is handled through swordplay reveals its fantasy roots. The blending of science and magic is even clearer in related stories by Burroughs, the most obvious example being "The Wizard of Venus," where planetary explorer Carson Napier learns extraordinary powers from the titular Venusian wizard.

Many novels of the 1930s-1970s combined fantasy and science fiction in one setting, often inspired by the tradition of Barsoom and the planetary romances. The fiction of Michael Moorcock is one of the original influences for fantasy RPG settings, and includes multiple cases of high science elements. Most extensively, the adventures of Hawkmoon (who, as an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, is connected to the better-known Elric of Melniboné,) take place in a world that appears to be a post-apocalyptic version of Europe. Magic is commonplace, but sorcerer-scientists also often have access to ancient advanced technology, including the Black Jewel, which is implanted into Hawkmoon by his enemies to monitor his movements. Ursula K. Le Guin's 1966 novel Rocannon's World has fewer directly magic elements, but does describe the travels of a scientist with advanced knowledge through an alien land of castes and swordsmen. Poul Anderson's 1961 novel Three Hearts and Three Lions presents a protagonist from the modern "real" world who ends up in a parallel world where magic and trolls are real.

Instances where science fiction elements enter an existing, established pure-fantasy setting are less common but far from unknown. Robert E. Howard's fantasy character Conan encounters an alien in the 1933 short story "The Tower of the Elephant." Fritz Leiber's quintessential rogue and barbarian team Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser run into a time traveler in his 1968 novel The Swords of Lankhmar. Time travel and planetary travel both come into play in C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner's 1937 story "Quest of the Starstone," in which fantasy swordswoman Jirel of Joiry must deal with Northwest Smith, a smuggler and scoundrel hired from a tavern on Mars in her own far-flung future. (Those interest in seeing how that particular situation is resolved can read the story in Black God's Kiss, still available from paizo.com.)

The existence of fantasy tales that added a dash of high science is no reason for groups that dislike blending the two ideas to feel they must change their minds, but it is one of the reasons other groups love having the option to through a little more sci-fi into their fantasy games.

Owen K.C. Stephens
Developer

Iron Gods Resource Roundup

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Many of you have already got your hands on Pathfinder Adventure Path #85: "The Fires of Creation," the first volume of the Iron Gods Adventure Path. Dedicated readers, eager fans, and other messageboard fanatics (you know who you are) have been clamoring for us to do something more with Numeria since the nation first appeared in the Campaign Setting, but adding in laser guns and robots isn't something you do without a considerable amount of preparation. So, to support the Iron Gods Adventure Path we went all out with a number of releases intended to fully flesh out the campaign and provide fun and interesting options for players and GMs alike.

While you wait for the next volume—Pathfinder Adventure Path #86: "Lords of Rust"—check out the wealth of resources we've provided to help you enjoy the Iron Gods Adventure Path.

Illustration by Lucio Parrillo

The first thing we needed were rules for all the technological wonders found in Numeria, so we came up with Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide. This 64-page book not only presents dozens of examples of high-tech equipment, but it also provides new feats, spells, archetypes, and even a prestige class suited to mastering Numeria's technological wonders. We didn't want to make it so that people had to buy this book to run the Iron Gods Adventure Path, so we made sure to include all the rules from the Technology Guide in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Resource Document (aka PRD). Our own resident robot recently remodeled the PRD to not only include this resource, but to also spiff up the place a bit. And it looks great! Have you seen it? Why not? Go, now. Go check it out.

Now that the rules were covered, we knew we'd need a good gazetteer of Numeria to allow GMs to really flesh out that part of Golarion. Knowing that there wouldn't be enough space in the back matter of the Adventure Path to provide all this information, we got to work on Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars. This 64-page book talks about the nation's history, goes into detail about its settlements and people, provides hazards to watch out for while exploring the land, and outlines some of the most compelling adventuring sites and hooks to keep a group playing in Numeria for years.

We couldn't let the GMs have all the fun, so we knew we needed some exciting options for characters too. Instead of just doing one Player Companion to support the Iron Gods Adventure Path, we spread it out over two books. Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the River talks about the multitudes of people that live along the Sellen River, the largest river system in Avistan that reaches all the way up through Numeria. This Player Companion also include the campaign traits for players eager to jump into an Iron Gods campaign.

Also providing support for players hoping to play a stranger race in an Iron Gods campaign, Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the Stars provides character options for some of the most popular aliens in the Campaign Setting, new ways to incorporate astronomy into your games, and dozens of new traits, feats, gear, and other new mechanics all steeped in some Distant Worlds flavoring.

Finally, as with every Adventure Path, we also put out the free to download Iron Gods Player's Guide that provides advice and suggestions about making characters that fit the themes of the Iron Gods Adventure Path and excel at the challenges presented in the campaign.

Players and GMs running an Iron Gods campaign would also do well to check the messageboards to see all the fan-made goodies and shared advice from dozens of on-going campaigns. I hope everyone has as much fun playing in this Adventure Path as we've had working on all this material. Charge your batteries and strap on your gear. Let's go to Numeria!

Adam Daigle
Developer

The Stars Are Falling Soon!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Illustration by Patrick Reinemann

The latest volume of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line has started shipping out to subscribers, and it's one that I know a lot of players and Game Masters are very excited to get their hands on—Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars I asked one of the book's co-authors, Jim Groves, to write a few words about his own excitement surrounding the book, and what a few of his favorite elements of it are. Here's what he has to say (as well as a few pieces of preview art I generously appended to his text).

Like many fans, I was at home during Gen Con 2013. My personal situation required me to live vicariously through the Twitter feeds and messageboard posts of fans who generously kept me informed. When I read James Jacobs had announced the Iron Gods Adventure Path, I wasted no time e-mailing him, right then and there, while he was still on the convention floor. A few days later, I received a very friendly and gracious reply. James already had a list of authors in mind, and it is vital for the health of the product line to add new authors and vary the cast up from AP to AP. So I understood James's reasoning perfectly, but when Mark Moreland contacted me a few weeks later to work on Numeria, Land of the Fallen Stars, I was overjoyed.

When writing for Numeria, I felt it was important to honor the theme of otherworldly super-science, but not to absolute exclusion. There are a number of elements, like the Plain of Ten Thousand Swords and the Battle of Grasyhot, which are all about traditional barbaric adventure. I was also very aware throughout the entire process that Ustalav, the Worldwound, and the River Kingdoms were right across a borderline—a division many adventurers and barbarians do not honor. My hope is fans gain insight into how Numeria fits and interacts with the world around it.

Among my favorite plots is the Chapel of Rent Flesh, dedicated to kyton activities on Golarion. The origin and history of the kytons is wonderfully mysterious and provocative. They demonstrate an aspect of the campaign setting which does not conform to a tidy and artificially organized cosmology. The Chapel doesn't upend what we know about the universe, but it asks some interesting questions. I also love Hajoth Hakados and Chitterhome. These communities allow a GM to introduce unusual player characters and NPCs, not just for a Numeria campaign but for all of Golarion, without feeling they're "fighting the campaign setting." GMs should never feel that way, but I think we help with a liberal sprinkling of rationale and context. I hope the book inspires and supports people to develop their own incredible and original campaigns.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro

As I said above, Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars is already on its way to subscribers and will be available in game stores, bookstores, and for PDF download to the general public on June 25! The book is a vital source of setting information for Game Masters running the Iron Gods Adventure Path or anyone looking for more highly-anticipated information on one of the Inner Sea region's most exotic locales.

Mark Moreland
Developer

What's In the Box?!

Thursday, May 15 2014

Illustration by Milivoj Ceran

When we decided to make this month's Pathfinder Campaign Setting volume, Occult Mysteries, the development team had perhaps the most fun I can remember in almost 4 years at Paizo coming up with the different setting-specific mysteries we wanted to explore in the book.

One of the largest challenges was determining what, in a world where magic, gods, divination, and the afterlife were demonstrably real, constituted the "occult." In our world, research into demons and devils is certainly occult, but is it in a world where one of the most powerful nations in the Inner Sea is openly and proudly in cahoots with the legions of Hell?

In the end, we decided that "occult" in Golarion meant anything that wasn't known to the general population. So while your average commoner pig farmer doesn't know how to cast a spell, he's aware that magic exists. He's not, however, likely to know that some magicians can augment their spellcasting by quickly analyzing the mathematical constants that bind reality together, or that if the stars are in the right alignment certain types of magic are more potent than normal.

As much as we wanted to reveal a lot of the hidden truths behind some of Golarion's longest standing mysteries (Why did the gnomes leave the First World? Who created the multiverse? What's the deal with the Aucturn Enigma countdown clocks in Osirion?) we also wanted to maintain the mystery that has inspired players, GMs, and ourselves and our writers to use these mysteries as jumping-off points in their own adventures. Thus, we made sure that every answer we provided left another (sometimes several) in its place.

Subscribers have already started getting their copies of Occult Mysteries, and the discussions about what reveals they're most excited about and what questions these revelations have raised are exactly what we'd hoped for. Make sure you pick up a copy of Occult Mysteries and see what lies hidden just below the surface of the Pathfinder campaign setting.

Illustrations by Helge C. Balzer and Dmitry Burmak

Mark Moreland
Developer

Who Doesn't Like A Little Conflict?

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

The release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Combat is approaching, and it's a book I'm particularly proud of. Since I've taken over the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line, we've released a number of books, but this one is perhaps the most jam-packed with amazing new rules and thematic elements of the lot. Just about every page has something on it that makes me want to run a new campaign or build a new character. If only I had the time to do so! But as a developer, I often game vicariously through the players and GMs who use the content I have a hand in delivering, and I can't wait to hear what fun you fine folks have with this one!

Let me show off a few of my favorite pieces of art from the book, and tell you what about these images and the content related to them really excites me.

First we have this amazing half-page chapter opener by Jason Rainville, of Sajan sparring with a fellow monk. She's proof positive that an amulet of mighty fists doesn't just affect your hands. This illustrates the chapter on new combat schools of the Inner Sea, including gladiatorial arenas like the orc-run Bloodworks in Urglin, dojos like the Houses of Perfection in Jalmeray, war colleges such as Ironstock Hall in Alkenstar and Brevoy's Aldori Academy, and thieves' guilds like the Bloody Barbers of Absalom. Players can join schools to gain new abilities to represent their training, as long as they can make the grade.

When we sat down to outline this book, I was absolutely amazed at how large and varied our list of potential archetypes was, and I think people are really going to like the ones that ended up making the cut. We have archtypes for Shoanti burn riders; Bekyar slavers; undead-loving antipaladins known as seal-breakers; Iroran paladins; Sable Company marines; Osirian Ouat dwarf monks; the Qadiran horse lord (depicted here, by Kim Sokol); and dozens more.

Speaking of horses and riders, we couldn't do a book about combat and not present a stable of new material for cavaliers, masters of battlefield strategy and horsemanship. Inner Sea Combat presents two new cavalier orders, rules on taking a monstrous mount (like a hippocampus, hippogriff, or worg), and context for where in the Inner Sea region the knightly orders presented in our setting-neutral hardcover rulebooks fit in. Alain may get a lot of heat for being a jerk (not undeservedly, I might add), but with Inner Sea Combat, he gets the ability to show that his attitude isn't completely undeserved (as this action-packed illustration by Jason Rainville shows).

That's all I have time for (and that they'll let me spoil) so you'll just have to wait to see what else Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Combat has in store for you. The wait shouldn't be too long. It's on its way soon!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Independent Ilsurian

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Illustration by Mark Molnar

The many settlements from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Towns of the Inner Sea show smaller locations throughout the world of Golarion that are perfect for telling stories on a small scale. Radically changing the political or cultural face of a large city make be a massive ordeal taking up most of a campaign, but doing so in a town might take only the course of one adventure and happen at a lower level. The Varisian town of Ilsurian is a primarily peaceful place, but the dangers around the town could close in at any moment!

Ilsurian was founded by the Chelish expatriate Ilsur, and their independence from the tyranny of that diabolic state gave the town their identity. They pride themselves on their independence and discipline, and everybody who comes of age in the town knows how to use a weapon. Think of them like fairweather patriots: they talk a good game and know a few things, but they're no soldiers.

If you want a good kick-off to a campaign that starts in Ilsurian, Pathfinder Module: Murder's Mark takes you there, and you can use the description in Towns of the Inner Sea to flesh out the adventure further. And not to say too much about the plot of that adventure, but it's possible some real estate might free up in town for the PCs to snag on the cheap so they can set up a home base...

Logan Bonner
Developer

Hometowns of the Inner Sea

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Illustration by Mark Molnar

The other day, Wes showed up in our cube with a treat: a peak at an advance copy of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Towns of the Inner Sea. I finally got to see my town, Solku, in print!

When the list of available towns came out, I immediately jumped on Solku, excited to explore this diverse corner of our world. Solku isn't as famous as the much larger city of Katapesh, but it's a fascinating place: founded by cultists fleeing persecution, preyed on by gnolls and fellow Katapeshi alike, at once pious, mercantile, and afraid. It's decidedly good, but that doesn't mean life there is easy (as exemplified by the story of Solku's most famous resident, the iconic paladin Seelah)—the town is plagued by frequent attacks by gnoll bandits and slavers, and crowded with long-term refugees. Being good also doesn't guarantee the well-intentioned inhabitants all get along; the widening rift between the civilian government and Sarenrae's church is another major source of tension in the town. And, of course, Solku also has its fair share of con artists, madmen, and more!

I tried to write about Solku like it was my own hometown—with a tangled mix of love and pride and frustration. After all, while this book is partly about showing that adventure isn't found only in dungeons and major cities, it's also about exploring places and cultures that your characters could call home!

Judy Bauer
Editor

The Mythic Side of Golarion

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

In the forthcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting volume, Mythic Realms, we present a lot of setting-specific options for campaigns using the mythic rules found in Pathfinder RPG Mythic Adventures. Whether you're characters with mythic tiers or simply high-level, non-mythic adventurers, there's something here to add a touch of the mythic to your journeys through Golarion.

Illustration by Fabio Gorla

In the first section of the book, we present a number of founts of mythic power. These are locations within the setting that are imbued with mythic power and from which characters can gain access to specific path abilities. Among these mythic founts are the Mordant Spire, the Cenotaph, the Doorway to the Red Star, and even the Starstone. While the book doesn't detail the challenges a hopeful must overcome to reach the Starstone, it does explain how this mysterious meteorite became the apotheosis catalyst it has become, and gives GMs and players unique powers to use as their characters ascend to the ranks of the gods.

Illustration by Fabio Gorla

The second chapter of the book presents a variety of mythic adventuring locations, including the Pit of Gormuz, Mechitar, and the Valashmai Jungle. Each location receives four pages of gazetteer as well as a regional map, with enough information to give GMs running campaigns in the area plenty of adventure hooks and challenging foes to run entire campaigns. We also provide suggested mythic trials GMs can seed into campaigns in each location to allow characters adventuring within to gain mythic tiers as they face the seemingly insurmountable challenges presented in each spot.

Illustration by Yuriy Georgiev

Finally, the book concludes with a whole chapter on some of the setting's most iconic mythic characters. Inside, you'll find statistics for such NPCs and monsters as the Whispering Tyrant (CR 26), Old-Mage Jatembe (CR 24), Raskineya, the Dark Comet (CR 16), and the Oliphaunt of Jandelay (CR 30). These characters and the rest presented in the book play large roles in the setting and many within the specific locations presented elsewhere in the book.

All combined, GMs wishing to run mythic adventures set in the world of Golarion beyond the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path should find this book among the most helpful aids in putting together such a campaign. And those interested in the secrets and lore of Golarion would be hard-pressed to find another single 64-page volume we've published that contained more long-awaited big reveals of some of Golarion's most talked-about features than Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Mythic Realms.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Be Careful What You Wish For

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Let me tell you about my character. In James Jacobs's "Sands of the Scorpion God" campaign, I play a catfolk ranger/rogue who dual-wields sickles. His name is Pr'ral. He helped his fellow adventurers infiltrate a subterranean city run by evil cultists of Rovagug, but we got captured when a badass umbral dragon left us all blind and weakened and pretty much helpless. We were placed in a gladiatorial arena and forced to fight giant-riding morlocks and other terrible foes. In the final round of the arena fight, we were pitted against a powerful glabrezu demon named Bezilak. And he mopped the floor with us.

With my allies unconscious and bleeding out or fleeing, Pr'ral was the only one who could save them. So I made a deal with the demon. Communicating telepathically, we came to an agreement, and in so doing, I saved my companions from certain death before a cheering crowd. But the cost was high.

My alignment shifted from chaotic neutral to chaotic evil, and Bezilak and I now have a much more intimate relationship. The specific details of the arrangement haven't been revealed to anyone but James and I, so I won't go into them here, but needless to say, Pr'ral is a very different character now that he saved his friends. He now cares only for himself, and will (and has) abandoned his fellows in their times of need if it serves him. He's also started taking levels in assassin. And when he needs things that he can't find (like a ring of invisibility that would have otherwise been unavailable in Sothis at the time) Bezilak has come to his aid.

Illustration by Fabio Gorla

While Pr'ral isn't quite intelligent enough to recognize the error of his ways, I do not lack such insight into the machinations of demonkind, and every session has been stressful, as I await Bezilak's next appearance and the inevitable calling in of what Pr'ral owes him. So imagine my surprise and—I'll be honest—horror, when I was editing Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited, and I came across a familiar character as the sample glabrezu. Yeah, it was Bezilak. I was then forced to read (in the process of editing) the deep, dark truth of how vile a creature and sinister a manipulator he truly was. I think it was James's own demonic means of torturing me. He certainly got a good laugh out of it when he found out that I was doing an editing pass on the book.

Game Masters looking to add that same sort of terror to their demon-filled games will find plenty of additional inspiration in Demons Revisited, including a number of influential members of each demonic race that NPCs can summon or who can be archvillains themselves in myriad campaigns. Further, each of the 10 demons presented in the book also features a variant of the half-demon template specifically designed to reflect the abilities and flavor of the specific demonic races. Demons are unpredictable, wholly evil, and unfathomably twisted creatures, and Pathfinder Camapaign Setting: Demons Revisited captures the raw madness like no book before it.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Welcome to the End of the World

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Illustration by Fabio Gorla

It's no secret that demons are pretty much my favorite monsters in the game. When we were brainstorming ideas for regions to include in Golarion, the concept of a realm where the demons had invaded and now ruled was near the top of the list. In fact, we ended up with two regions where the demons are in charge—the smaller of the two being Tanglebriar in southern Kyonin (a region more or less transplanted directly from my homebrew world), and the much larger Worldwound itself. Whereas Tanglebriar was basically the work of one nascent demon lord, and as such was relatively limited in the scope of its area, the Worldwound was the work of a full-on demon lord, Deskari, and the resulting demon blight is correspondingly much more massive.

We've tinkered here and there with the Worldwound over the past few years, but with the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, we're finally diving into the deep end of the demon-haunted pool. Which means the time is finally write to head on into old Sarkoris and explore it. Aptly titled The Worldwound, this 64 page Campaign Setting book aims to do exactly that. Of course, it covers the entire demonblighted region—even though Wrath of the Righteous remains pretty tightly focused along the northeastern border, The Worldwound has a lot more secrets to reveal.

There's plenty of new demons and monsters lurking in the Worldwound, as well as in the pages of this book, as evidenced by the creepy monster pictures that grace this post, but even the plants in this realm want to kill you. Take, for example, the following excerpt from the book's chapter about Adventures in the Worldwound:

Leechweed (CR 3 hazard): These plants cluster thickly in the muddy marshes of the western Worldwound, typically growing in a 5-foot-square patch. A single plant is slightly smaller than a human hand, and consists of a mass of dark green leaves from which a single feeding stalk extends. The tip of this stalk contains a small, lancet-like protrusion that can pierce flesh with ease. Spotting a patch of leechweed before blundering into it requires a DC 17 Knowledge (nature) or DC 22 Perception check. A living creature that comes into contact with a patch of leechweed swiftly learns the source of the plant's name, as dozens of feeding stalks suddenly stab and slash at any bits of exposed flesh. As soon as a creature is in contact with leechweed, the plant attempts an attack against it with a +9 bonus. The attacks continue at the end of each of the creature's turns if it doesn't move away from the plant. On a hit, the plant deals 1d4 points of damage and 1d6 points of bleed damage. Fire kills leechweed, as does holy damage or any magical effect that specifically harms plants (such as blight).

Illustrations by Jorge Fares and Damien Mammoliti

That, in a nutshell, is the Worldwound for you—a place where even the grass wants to kill you.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

A Righteous, Mythic September!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

In a lot of ways, Gen Con is like the start of the gaming year. You've probably already heard all the excitement over Paizo's upcoming Gen Con releases, but we're just getting this new year of games started! Here's what we have in store for you in September:

A Truly Righteous Adventure Path

The second installment of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, Pathfinder Adventure Path #74: Sword of Valor continues the story of newly mythic PCs fighting against the encroaching horde of the Worldwound. This is our first Adventure Path to use Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures, and you don't want to miss out!

Getting Even More Mythic

Speaking of being mythic, check out these two books that give you even more to play with: Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Mythic Realms and Pathfinder Player Companion: Mythic Origins. Mythic Realms will introduce you to a host of epic legends, secret places of power, and mythic hotspots. If you're looking for ways to put the mythic into your game, this book is for you. And everyone playing a mythic character will want to grab Mythic Origins, for loads of new options for every mythic path and plenty of ideas for being mythic heroes.

Fearsome Adventuring Gear

Playing the Reign of Winter Adventure Path? Or in a campaign centered on the vicious perils hidden in the ice and snow? You'll want these Pathfinder Pawns: Reign of Winter Adventure Path Pawn Collection, with over 100 different critters, villains, and other NPCs. These work with the plastic bases from the Pathfinder Pawns: Bestiary Box.

For that most classic of adventure openers—that creepy, dirty, poorly lit tavern—we've got just the flip-mat for you: Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Seedy Tavern. From vile criminals ambushing the heroes to the PCs getting into a drunken brawl, the scenes you could have in this Seedy Tavern pretty much write themselves.

Looking to play the upcoming Wardens of the Reborn Forge deluxe module? Then check out Pathfinder Campaign Cards: Wardens of the Reborn Forge. This 54-card Campaign Deck is a great way for the players to keep track up the items and NPCs in the game, and introduces the Quest Cards to help the players keep track of the adventure. With gorgeous artwork, you'll surely find uses for this even after the adventure is over!

Ryan Macklin
Editor

Gather Your Forces!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Here we have a balor taking out a silver dragon in this awesome cover illustration from Wayne Reynolds. This chaotic scene greets the PCs as they begin the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, which launches this August with Pathfinder Adventure Path #73: The Worldwound Incursion. This Adventure Path uses rules from Pathfinder RPG: Mythic Adventures to make this a truly mythic campaign. As the release of this Adventure Path nears, I'd like to highlight some of the other things we're working on that can help support your PCs' venture into the Worldwound.

At the same time that Pathfinder Adventure Path #73 releases, a number of other products that help support the Adventure Path will be available, such as Pathfinder Cards: Wrath of the Righteous Item Cards, which allow you to hand players cards depicting the treasures they unearth during the campaign. Learn more about the horrible rift in reality that gives the region its name in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Worldwound. Need more information on demons to use in the Adventure Path to stop those pesky heroes? Look no further than Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited! Are there now too many demons around? Then check out Pathfinder Player Companion: Demon Hunter's Handbook for tips and tools that come in handy during a fight against the Abyss.

If all of that's not enough to get you packing your bags for Mendev, then stay tuned for the adventures of your favorite count and his trusty bodyguard as Radovan and Jeggare head into the Worldwound in Dave Gross' upcoming novel Pathfinder Tales: King of Chaos. Also, this year at GenCon the Pathfinder Society begins a new season with Year of the Demon. Mike Brock and John Compton will provide more information about that sometime soon.

Adam Daigle
Developer

First World Problems

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Illustration by Emily Fiegenschuh

In the forthcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, Fey Revisited, we examine ten classic fey creatures in the context of how they function and fit into the world of Golarion. Each article presents details on the ecology of the creature (life-cycle, habitat, and so forth), its aspect of nature, and a sample creature of the type as well as a description of the sample's home. We also provide some background about each fey creature's real-world mythological origins and the fairies' tokens.

A fey token is an item, generally crafted by the fey giving it, that can be provided to another creature as a sign of the fey's blessing or approval for a short period of time. Each fey creature in the book has different conditions upon which it grants its token, and each has a limited magical effect that generally lasts about a day before its magic fades. As an example, here's the token granted by the evil water fey known as nuckelavees.

Illustration by Helge C. Balzer

Token of the Nuckelavee
Nuckelavees are rarely pleased by anything other than bloody vengeance, but occasionally they take a liking to a mortal—usually one with some connection to nature—who has a reputation for being a friend of the waters, perhaps by virtue of clearing a river of debris or driving a coven of polluting hags from a shore. In such instances, the nuckelavee bestows its token upon the do-gooder. The recipient awakens one day to find a bracelet made of cold, gray skin that smells of brine and constantly drips water. (Some say the nuckelavees craft these bracelets from strips of their own skin, which is why they have none left to wear.) Upon donning the bracelet, for the next 24 hours the recipient gains the ability to make contaminated water clean enough to drink (as per the spell purify food and drink, but only for water). However, the fey token has a cost. For the same duration, the water inside the recipient's body becomes tainted, lowering his or her Constitution by 2. When the token's power expires, there is a chance that the devil of the sea comes after the recipient to reclaim the bracelet.

Ok, so maybe that's not the fey token most PCs would want, especially given that last bit about the nuckelavee maybe coming for them. The rest of the tokens presented in the book totally don't have hitches and gotchas like that, though. I swear. Really. Why wouldn't you trust a fey creature not to try to trick you?

Fey Revisited is available for preorder now and will start shipping to subscribers this month!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Righteous Indignation

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I know that many of you are anticipating Chronicle of the Righteous, which introduces the forces of good and covers over 50 empyreal lords, mystery cults, and celestial beasts. While you'll have to wait until late May for the full book, Wes has agreed to share a preview of what's to come with Chronicle of the Righteous's cover boy, Ragathiel, General of Vengeance. Enjoy!

Ragathiel, General of Vengeance

LG angel empyreal lord of chivalry, duty, and vengeance

Cult

Holy Symbol Bastard sword crossed with a crimson wing
Temples Battlefields, castles, fortresses, headquarters of knightly orders, war rooms
Worshipers The avowed, knights, soldiers, the wronged
Minions Aasimar paladins, blink dogs, kirin
Obedience Slay a proven wrongdoer in Ragathiel's name. It is not enough for the sacrifice to have an evil heart or evil intentions; the sacrifice must have committed evil or unlawful deeds. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against spells and effects cast by evil creatures.

Boons

Virtuous Combat (Sp) bless weapon 3/day, litany of righteousness^UC 2/day, or magic vestment 1/day
Retribution (Su) You gain a sacred bonus equal to half your HD on damage rolls made with slashing weapons against the last creature to have physically wounded you within the last 24 hours.
Pure Soul (Sp) You can cast holy aura on yourself once per day. In addition to the effects of the spell, you gain DR 10/ good and cold iron and you treat any weapon in hand as a +5 holy weapon for the duration of the effect.

Illustration by Eva Widermann

Ragathiel, child of the archdevil Dispater and a goddess of fire, stands on the front line of the war between Heaven and Hell. He carves through legions of fiends and drives back lesser evils with the mere presence of his awful majesty.

Ragathiel is a tower of glorious might. He stands almost 20 feet tall, and five lofty burning wings stretch from his back. The General of Vengeance once had six wings, but one was severed, torn from his body by Dispater himself.

Ragathiel's tainted heritage has left him with a wrathful heart, and the angel struggles constantly to master his baser impulses in service to the light. For thousands of years he strove to prove himself to the angelic choirs of Heaven. In the Maelstrom he wrestled for 16 years with a monstrous evil serpent whose scales wept acidic blood until he was able to choke the life out of it. He led an entire army against one of the iron fortresses of Avernus and burned the castle to the ground with holy fire, single-handedly maiming Infernal Duke Deumus in the process. Finally the other empyreal lords agreed to admit Ragathiel into their ranks, and now they appear to trust the angel completely—though that trust took centuries to develop.

Ragathiel takes an active role in the battle against Hell's fiendish legions. He shines at the head of his army, a figure of golden light cleaving through the ranks of devils that face him. Soldiers of all kinds, but particularly knights, pay homage to Ragathiel and pray for his virtue and wrathful strength in battle. Those who have taken vows, especially those of duty or vengeance, hold Ragathiel as their ideal, and his agents sometimes assist those who have been grievously wronged and now seek righteous vengeance.

The lower slopes of Heaven are home to Ragathiel's Fortress, a magnificent steel structure designed to withstand a thousand-year siege if need be.

Cassidy
Editorial Intern

Pathfinder Preview!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

It's Savannah again. The prodigal intern from last summer returns... for Spring Break anyhow. It's been an accidental intern reunion here at Paizo, as my predecessor Jerome is helping out in the warehouse this week. Personally, I think I've got the better end of the deal, since I get to tell you all about some of our upcoming products and how exciting they're looking. So, from the depths of the Editorial Pit and my appropriated computer comes an intern's-eye view (when that view isn't "hiding on pallets from the cave raptors.")

Do you want the power to challenge the gods themselves? Then Mythic Adventures is the book for you! This is the perfect resource to help you take our game up a notch, and give your characters the power to challenge the gods themselves. Mythic Adventures allows you to take up new mythic magic items, artifacts, and legendary items, utilize news feats and spells, and walk one of six mythic paths. However, with mythic heroes also come mythic foes, and this book has over 40 of them, including mythic versions of the minotaur and the medusa!

Next up is the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited. This book showcases some of Pathfinder's most vicious and well-known demons and provides in-depth information, such as what sins they arise from. The balor, the succubus, and the vrock are among the demons mentioned here, but Demons Revisited doesn't stop there! There are a list of named demons, some of them from previous Pathfinder products, and some of them brand new, but each of them unique in their own horrendously cruel ways. This can help to add some spice to the conjurations of your villains (or your PCs) and nothing says "personal" quite like a named summons. As an added bonus, this book ties in with the upcoming Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path!

Speaking of Wrath of the Righteous, The Worldwound Incursion is also up for August. One of the most exciting aspects of this Adventure Path is that it is the first to utilize the rules of Mythic Adventures, making it a truly epic adventure! On top of that, there will be six demon lords featured in Wrath of the Righteous, and the first of them will be in The Worldwound Incursion's bestiary.

Continuing our demonic theme is Pathfinder Player Companion: Demon Hunter's Handbook. This book explains exactly how to eradicate or control demonkind through might or magic. To help, there are all sorts of archetypes, feats, spells, and magic items to give you just what you need to take care of the vilest of demons and purge them from the land (or take their power for yourself...). Don't travel to the Abyss without one!

For the fans of steampunk out there comes Wardens of the Reborn Forge by Paizo's own Patrick Renie. This module takes place in the Grand Duchy of Alkenstar, which has withstood the ravages of the Mana Wastes thanks to the amazing inventions of its citizenry. When the clockwork guardians start attacking the townspeople, though, the power balance of the city is thrown into disarray. Can our heroes discover the cause behind these attacks and save Alkenstar from itself?

In case you were wondering about what you were going play some of these awesome adventures on, you can look no further than the Pathfinder Map Pack: Evil Ruins for all of your creepy, dungeon-crawling needs! From spider haunts to profane altars to overflowing ossuaries, this map pack brings all the horror and dark ambiance of unhallowed ruins to your game.

If frightening ruins aren't what your game calls for, then the Flip-Mat: Basic Terrain Multi-Pack might be just what you need. Its full-color textures include grassland, stone floor, street, and water. It also folds up to be travel sized, making it great for the GM on the go.

If you haven't had enough of demons yet, then I'd suggest that you check out the new Pathfinder Tales novel from fan-favorite (and intern-favorite) author Dave Gross: King of Chaos. This is another adventure featuring Count Varian Jeggare and his wisecracking hellspawn bodyguard, Radovan. This time they find themselves mixed up in the battle at the Worldwound as the demons break free of the wardstones. In addition to being an excellent book with interesting characters, King of Chaos is also a great resource for those who are running or playing Wrath of the Righteous.

To round out our Worldwound-themed August comes a new set of Pathfinder Item Cards. These cards represent the trove of treasure that characters can amass, as well as the medals that heroes can earn in their service against the demon hordes and the legendary artifacts that they will need to defeat the Abyssal armies.

From Paizo's collaboration with Lone Shark Games comes an entirely new breed of game: The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set. This is a cooperative card game for one to four players. Choose a class and select your cards to create a unique character to play through your first adventure, the Burnt Offerings Adventure Deck. If you want even more card game goodness, then check out the Rise of the Runelords Character Add-On Deck, which adds on 110 cards worth of new classes (including druid, monk, paladin, and my favorite, barbarian), new items, and enough cards to expand to five or six players.

All right, well that's a wrap. Let's hope that writing this was a good enough offering that I don't get thrown to the cave raptors. Hope you enjoy all the new products!

Savannah Broadway
Editorial Intern

Winter Witch Revisited

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Illustration by Ryan Portillo

It's the end of the summer, and while it's not winter quite yet, we got you a frosty gift. When we recently released Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige there were some questions on the messageboards regarding the winter witch prestige class and how it worked with hexes and spells and some of the other goodies the prestige class gets. Since we're gearing up for the Reign of Winter Adventure Path, we decided we'd revisit the winter witch, make a few clarifications, and present you fine folks with the result. We wanted to get it cleared up so people can play the class in the Adventure Path, but don't think we're being completely altruistic—we really wanted to make sure that the White Witches of Irrisen provide a significant challenge to pesky adventurers making trouble and poking their nose in their nation's frozen business!

Download the New Winter Witch Spread! (1.2MB zip/PDF)

Adam Daigle
Developer

Unveiling the Shackles

Thursday, June 7, 2012

When we started working on the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path and Wes drew up his incredibly detailed map of the Shackles, we knew we’d have to fill out this huge region if we wanted to do it any justice. Thanks to Mike Shel and all the excellent work he did on Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles, we had a cornucopia of locations and adventure sites to put on the map. Factor in all the cool islands and seaside towns visited throughout the Skull & Shackles AP, and what we ended up with is a lot of locations throughout the Shackles.

Like, a lot of locations.

Each volume in the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path pinpoints the important islands visited in that adventure, and Isles of the Shackles maps out the big islands detailed in that book and their major cities, but beyond that, readers have yet to receive an exhaustive map that features all of the heretofore mentioned locations in the Shackles. This blog post remedies that.

The downloadable web supplement is a huge PDF map of the Shackles featuring tags for all of the locations heretofore mentioned in Pathfinder products. The map is highly spoiler-intensive since it gives the precise location for over 150 islands, towns, and sites of interest throughout the Shackles. Thus, it should go without saying that this map is meant only for those who aren’t players in a Skull & Shackles campaign or a campaign set in the Shackles. Otherwise, this map will prove an indisputable boon for GMs and readers interested in the Shackles who have no qualms with discovering each and every location in the region in excruciating detail. You can find more information on all of these exotic and often treacherous sites in Isles of the Shackles and throughout the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path.

Download the Isles of the Shackles map supplement here!

Happy trails and safe sailing!

Patrick Renie
Developer

Round 2 Challenge Preview

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Greetings, potential superstars! There’s been some discussion about the Round 2: Organizations challenge, as smart competitors want to start working on a Round 2 submission early just in case they make it into the Top 32. While we haven’t finalized the rules document for Round 2 yet, we have decided the Organization format will match that in the Inner Sea World Guide, which looks like this:

Organization Name

Alignment: [two-letter abbreviation]
Headquarters: [location]
Leader: [character name]
Structure: [multinational corporation, military hierarchy, orders of crusading lawbringers, loose affiliation of like-minded explorers, religious cult, assassin’s guild, and so on]
Scope: [regional, national, or global (specify region or nation, if any)]
Resources: [property, valuable assets, castles, fortresses, equipment, network of local agents, informants, safe houses, and so on]
[100-word introductory paragraph summarizing the organization.]
Structure and Leadership
[100 words on this topic.]
Goals
[100 words on this topic.]
Public Perception
[50 words on this topic.]

Note that the organizations in the Inner Sea World Guide are approximately 1,400 words, so your submission write-up is a lean, stripped-down version of that. If you don’t have a copy of the Inner Sea World Guide handy, here’s the entry for the Aspis Consortium - (3.9 MB zip/PDF) from that book that you can use as a model for your write-up.

Your organization should be something PCs would normally oppose or come into conflict with, not an organization a typical heroic PC would join. The organization doesn’t necessarily have to be villainous, but it should definitely be a potential antagonist.

Full details (including a BBcode-formatted template for this challenge and an example organization from the Inner Sea World Guide) will be available next week. In the meantime, use the above information to guide your design for Round 2.

Remember, the deadline to submit your wondrous item is January 6th! You can’t submit an organization in Round 2 unless you make it into the Top 32 by submitting a wondrous item!

Sean K Reynolds
Designer and RPG Superstar Judge

Illustrations by Eva Widermann and Wayne Reynolds. Widescreen version here.

Dragon Empires Gazetteer Wallpaper!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Check out this great wallpaper for the Dragon Empires Gazetteer, courtesy of two of the nicest and most talented artists in the business—Wayne Reynolds and Eva Widermann!

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

Night of the Pale

Monday, December 19, 2011

Night of the Pale is mentioned on page 249 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide. We are advised it is a night of morbid revelry, as people wait indoors for the ghosts of last year’s dead to pass by their homes.

Creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description below of the Night of the Pale and beneath that you’ll find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Illustration by John Gravato

Not all of Golarion’s holidays and festivals are times of rejoicing and delight. Holidays worshiped by dark and sinister cults and religions tend to be hidden affairs, their rituals and ceremonies involving cruelties and vile practices that send shivers of fear through gentler society. Scholars suspect that the Night of the Pale—a holiday that traditionally takes place on the last day of the year, the 31st of Kuthona—has links to several sinister religions, but today no one church has specific association with the event. Nonetheless, the Night of the Pale is an event that many look forward to all year, whether in fear or excitement.

On the Night of the Pale, it is said that the ghosts of those who died during the previous year manifest upon the world and come to visit the homes they lived in during life. Although some might think that the chance of seeing even the shade of a dearly departed one might be a blessing, the Night of the Pale is not a time for tearful reunions, for these ghosts, tradition says, do not return out of love for those they left behind but out of darker compulsions. Lingering jealousy, unfinished arguments, or the simmering need for revenge are said to be what compels the dead to return to torment the living on the Night of the Pale.

The evening of this night in many communities is celebrated by a morbid feast, the food prepared with themes revolving around graveyards, the dead, and other spooky traditions. This feast, on one level, helps the celebrants to make light of their fears while sharing good company with similarly nervous neighbors, but at another level is believed to placate vengeful spirits as toasts are raised to the memories of the recently departed. These feasts include retellings of favorite memories of the departed, in hopes of reminding the approaching ghosts of brighter and kinder memories than those that compel them to return. The feast always ends at least an hour before midnight in order to give participants time to return home, decorate doors and windows with salt and other trinkets taken from the feasting table (salted bread baked into crook-like shapes are a favorite, as these can be hung from doorknobs and eaves) to ward off evil spirits, and hide in their bedrooms until dawn. Brave youths and adventurers often deliberately stay out after midnight, either to dare the ghosts to challenge them or simply for the thrill of bucking tradition. Every Night of the Pale, it seems, there are disappearances among those who stay out after midnight, although whether these vanishings are the result of dissatisfied locals taking the opportunity to run away from home, murderers or wild animals or other mundane dangers, or the vengeful spirits carrying off their victims depends upon the circumstances.

The morning after a Night of the Pale is also the first day of the new year—a time that many celebrate more as a relief for surviving the night before than in anticipation of what the new year might bring, although regional preferences for how this day is celebrated vary enough that no single tradition holds over the other. Save, of course, the lingering fears of what dread spirits might come knocking upon warded doors one year away...

As always, I am interested in reading your thoughts on future holiday write-ups and boons. This is especially true in regard to the various equinoxes and solstices.

Download the Night of the Pale Boon! - (111 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 1/9/12.

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Seven Veils Celebration

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Jestercap blog and boon seemed well received last month so I decided to try out another holiday this month.

Seven Veils is mentioned on page 249 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide. We are advised it is a celebration of brotherhood between all civilized races, marked by interracial masquerade balls. I thought this seemed like a neat holiday and decided it should be expanded upon.

Once again, creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description the holiday, and you will find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Illustration by Eric Belisle

Diversity is a fact of life in the Inner Sea region—not only do numerous human ethnicities mix and live among each other throughout the area, but races entirely separate from humanity dwell there as well. It’s not uncommon to see elves brushing shoulders with humans in marketplaces, gnomes working as merchants in dwarven settlements, or tengus serving aboard ships mostly helmed by humans. Indeed, two of the more widespread races in the Inner Sea region—the half-orc and the half-elf—are the specific results of diverse unions.

The holiday known as Seven Veils, which takes place on the 23rd of Neth in most realms found in the Inner Sea region, is a celebration of this diversity—a time when social boundaries break down even further in a day-long event filled with dancing, feasting, and courting. The evening traditionally closes out with the Seven Veil masquerade, a ball wherein the participants wear disguises that either hide their actual race and/or gender (often using minor magical trinkets and spells) or specifically disguise these features as entirely new characteristics. At the end of the ball, the participants remove their disguises to their partners, often with unpredictable and sometimes delightfully awkward results. Traditionalists and conservative minds often find the Seven Veils masquerades to be scandalous or off-putting, yet they remain particularly popular in most of the larger cities of the land.

Historians note that the original "Dance of the Seven Veils" has a much different genesis than one promoting diversity—the mysterious cult of Sivanah, goddess of illusions, mystery, and reflections, is generally cited as the source of this festival, and indeed, worshipers of the goddess (herself known as the Seventh Veil) count the 23rd of Neth as one of their most sacred of days. What rituals the church of Sivanah performs on this date, however, are unknown to outsiders, for the cult enjoys its secrets. This secrecy has, unsurprisingly, given rise to all manner of sinister rumor, yet when Seven Veils rolls around each year, its eager participants are quick to set aside rumor in preference for the night’s fun and games.

I am interested in reading your thoughts, not only on Jestercap and Seven Veils, but also on future holiday write-ups and boons. This is especially true in regard to the various equinoxes and solstices.

Download the Seven Veils Boon! - (111 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 12/12/11.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Pathfinder Tales author chats on tonight, November 21, hosted by Master of Ceremonies Dave Gross!

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Celebrating Jestercap

Monday, October 24, 2011

Since I have been involved with Pathfinder Society, one thing I have heard mentioned by players on numerous occasions is that they wish they could learn more about Golarion and incorporate that knowledge into their Pathfinder Society character. After thinking on different ways to make this happen, it occurred to me that Golarion has quite a few holidays mentioned in Faiths of Balance, Faiths of Corruption, Faiths of Purity, and The Inner Sea World Guide. As in the real world, where holidays are important to all of us, holidays in Golarion are important to our characters and the NPCs spread out across the world.

Every so often, I will write a blog that details a holiday in Golarion to help Pathfinder Society characters share in the spirit of the holiday. Creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description below for the first holiday in this series: Jestercap, mentioned on page 249 of The Inner Sea World Guide. At the end of the description, you will find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Jestercap occurs at the end of the month of Lamashan, traditionally on the 27th (although a few regions have taken to moving the exact day around slightly so it always falls on the last Starday of the month, allowing people who wish to celebrate in excess to have the following day of rest to recover). While Jestercap has been embraced with excited open arms by the gnome communities of the Inner Sea region, its original genesis is said to have been in one of Taldor’s coastal cities not long after King Aspex the Even-Tongued broke from the nation, significantly weakening Taldor’s power and beginning that nation’s long decline. The holiday was originally intended to distract the distraught Taldan populace with a night of revelry and comedic entertainment, but the antics of jesters simply weren’t enough. Over the course of the first few years, Jestercap evolved from a holiday of observation to a holiday of participation. Today, the holiday is a time where anyone can pull pranks or jokes or japes on companions, on neighbors, and (most typically) on rivals, with the understanding that provided no lasting harm is done, any humiliations inflicted before midnight are to be taken in stride. Of course, come morning the day after, there are inevitably jokes that went too far, and grudges and feuds borne from Jestercap antics have a way of lingering for months to follow.

Download the Jestercap Boon! - (115 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 11/14/11.

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Uncommon Courtesy

Friday, October 21, 2011

I’m pleased to report that I have now seen preproduction samples of all 41 miniatures in the Pathfinder Battles Heroes & Monsters set, and I am thrilled with how they look! At long last we have discovered the “perfect” goblin skin tone, and the big meaty Ettin finally has the proper ink wash to make him a truly menacing brute. Things are really coming together, and folks around the Paizo office are blown away by the quality of the sculpts and paint jobs of the entire line. The commons in particular are amazingly impressive, with far better paint jobs than most gamers are used to at that rarity. WizKids has done a tremendous job both in the initial execution, and in keeping up with a bewildering amount of changes and suggestions from Paizo aimed at making these minis as close to perfect as possible.

To that end, we’ve been shaking up the rarity scheme a bit, so while I was planning to reveal the entire uncommon list today, we’re going to have to wait another week since a few minis are moving around and I don’t want to reveal anything that might change later.

But I do want to share some uncommon images with you! As I explained last week, we see the uncommon rarity as the perfect landing point for player character miniatures (the “heroes” in Heroes & Monsters). While everyone needs multiple orcs and goblins, you probably don’t need a whole army of human rangers or dwarf clerics or what have you.

Today’s blog shows off three of the uncommons (that won’t be changing rarities) no one outside the office has seen yet. Two of them are player character types, while the third is a creature you’ll use again and again.

Our first miniature this week is the Dwarf Fighter, a doughty dude in plate armor and a fancy winged helmet. If you’ve got a copy of the Inner Sea World Guide you probably recognize this guy from the back cover. He means business!

Next up is our Half-Elf Cleric, in this case a crusading warrior of Iomedae. I really like the way WizKids emblazoned her holy symbol on her tabard. And since she’s using a sword and wearing plate mail armor, this miniature easily doubles as a fighter or paladin.

Last up this week is a nasty Venomous Snake, whose image comes straight out of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. A bright red coat is nature’s way of saying “I am going to murder you,” and it’ll be fun to watch your players squirm like Indiana Jones when this little guy hits the table.

That’s it for previews this week! But here we are at the end of the post, and I can’t spoil that uncommon list I was planning to, and I feel terrible! So, in order to make up for this egregious slight, here’s a list of a few rares in the set that we haven’t previously announced!

Gargoyle
Half-Orc Barbarian
Spectre
Werewolf
Minotaur
Ogre

There are a lot more rares than that, but I’ve got to hold onto some of my cards. The set doesn’t come out until December, and we’ve got plenty more blogs to go before the set releases!

So let me know if there are other topics you’d like me to cover on these Friday blogs, and I’ll do my best to do so!

Cheers!

Erik Mona
Publisher

An Accounting of Abbadon

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Illustration by Jorge Fares

Considering the date, a preview of a more sinister sort seems in order. A while back I put together a listing of the devilish denizens of Hell (one you can complete with the CR 14 gylou and CR 19 puragaus in Bestiary 2). But with the upcoming release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the third volume in our Book of the Damned series which focuses on the pure evil fiends known as daemons, it seemed appropriate to give daemonkind the same treatment. So here you go, a daemon for every dark deed and nearly every CR.

CR	Daemon	Source
2	Cacodaemon	Bestiary 2
3	Lacridaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
4	Vulnadaemon	Bestiary 3
5	Venedaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
6	Ceustodaemon	Bestiary 2
7	Suspiridaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
8	Hydrodaemon	Bestiary 2
9	Leukodaemon*	Bestiary 2
9	Sangudaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
10	Piscodaemon	Bestiary 2
11	Erodaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
11	Meladaemon*	Bestiary 2
12	Derghodaemon	Bestiary 2
13	Thanadaemon*	Bestiary 2
14	Temerdaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
15	Crucidaemon	Bestiary 3
16	Astradaemon	Bestiary 2
17	Phasmadaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
18	Purrodaemon*	Bestiary 2
19	Obcisidaemon	Horsemen of the Apocalypse
20	Olethrodaemonn	Bestiary 2

Ushering in his brethren, we have Jorge Fares's vile venedaemon, just one of the new breeds of daemonkind revealed in Book of the Damned 3. Also, before any one asks, no we haven't done this sort of listing for demons yet, but considering all the sources on the list above, maybe that would make a fine Bestiary 3 preview in the coming weeks. Only time will tell.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse hits store shelves next month.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

* Deacon. If you don't know what this is, learn all about it in Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Illustration by Dmitry Burmak and Daryl Mandryk. Widescreen version here.

For Glory, Not Gold!

Friday, September 2, 2011

A lot of folks have long been clamoring for more Norse-inspired gaming goodness, and we've got that coming for you to the axe-hilt in the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings. To get you in that northern Inner Sea mood in the meantime, here's an awesome Linnorm Kings wallpaper featuring the art of Dmitry Burmak and Daryl Mandryk.

Christopher Carey
Editor

We Come from the Land of the Ice and Snow!

Friday, August 26, 2011

As we struggle to keep our heads above water amid Bestiary 3's monster monsoon, here's a quick art preview of J. P. Targete's incredible work from the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings. For more on Bestiary 3... stay tuned.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Gen Con Announcement Recap!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

ENnie Awards: Product of the Year
(for the Advanced Players Guide)

Whew... another Gen Con over and done with! We had a great time at the show, in no small part due to the incredible support of our fans and customers. You all are the BEST!

In a Gen Con filled with highlights, though, for me one of the most incredible moments came about 15 minutes after the Ennie Awards wrapped up, when we went up to the Pathfinder Society Organized Play room to announce to a room of several hundred gamers that we’d won. The uproar of cheers that filled the room when Erik climbed up on his chair and made that announcement was overwhelming. Pictured is one of those many awards—the trophy for Product of the Year (Advanced Player’s Guide) held up with an enormous room of hundreds of Pathfinder Society GMs and players in the background.

We also made a large number of announcements at Gen Con for products coming out in the months ahead. Most of these announcements can be found here and there on paizo.com, but I thought I’d group them all up here in this post so everyone can find out about them at once.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Coming at the end of the year is Pathfinder Bestiary 3, followed next Spring by the Advanced Race Guide (a big hardcover book that’ll give you new options for ALL of the zero Hit Die races we’ve published to that point, as well as rules for building your own races of any power level), and then next Gen Con with Ultimate Equipment (a hardcover filled to the brim with new toys and magic items for any Pathfinder character).

Pathfinder Adventure Path: At long last, we’ve started the Jade Regent Adventure Path! But once you’re done traveling over the frozen Crown of the World and exploring Tian Xia, be ready next February for some good old-fashioned plundering and mayhem with the pirate-themed Skull & Shackles Adventure Path. And then, next Gen Con, we celebrate five years of Pathfinder and ten years of Paizo by returning to where it all began—the Shattered Star Adventure Path brings it all back to Varisia with a frantic search to be the first to recover and rebuild an ancient Thassilonian artifact—the original Sihedron Symbol—before it’s too late!

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: We sold out of the copies of Inner Sea Magic and Pathfinder Society Field Guide we brought to the convention! Coming in the future in this line is a trip to the north with Lands of the Linnorm Kings, a visit with the daemons and their overlords in Book of the Damned 3: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, our first real excursion into the lands of Tian Xia in the Dragon Empires Gazetteer, and an investigation of ten favorite beasties in Mythological Monsters Revisited. Then, next year, we’ll explore the other planets of Golarion’s solar system in Distant Worlds, look at the big guys in Giants Revisited, look to ancient empires with Lost Kingdoms, explore the pirate and monster infested Isles of the Shackles, and finally take a trip back home with Magnimar: City of Monuments.

Pathfinder Player Companion: After debuting Goblins of Golarion at Gen Con, we’re ready to finish out the three-part exploration of the faiths of the Inner Sea with Faiths of Corruption. Two months later, the Dragon Empires Primer gives players all they need to know to make characters from Tian Xia. And early next year, Pirates of the Inner Sea will finally let you unleash your inner buccaneer!

Pathfinder Modules: We’ll be heading back to Varisia even earlier than Magnimar: City of Monuments and the Shattered Star Adventure Path, though, with Feast of Ravenmoor, a low-level module set in the Varisian hinterlands. Two months later, test your mettle in The Ruby Phoenix Tournament, and then next January find out what our latest RPG Superstar winner, Sam Zeitlin, has in store for you in The Midnight Mirror!

Pathfinder Tales: Dave Gross’s trip into Tian Xia, Master of Devils, launched at Gen Con to great success. Later this year comes Death’s Heretic by Paizo’s own James L. Sutter, followed next year by Hugh Matthews’s Song of the Serpent and Tim Pratt’s City of the Fallen Sky.

Pathfinder Battles: After WizKids releases the initial set of prepainted plastic Pathfinder miniatures of Merisiel, Kyra, Valeros, and Ezren (Pathfinder Beginner Box Heroes, which ties into the upcoming Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box), you can look forward first to the 40-miniature set of Heroes and Monsters, to be followed up later next year by the Rise of the Runelords set.

And finally... the announcement that I was the most excited for: a 420-page hardcover compilation of Rise of the Runelords, fully updated to the Pathfinder rules and expanded with new encounters and tons of new artwork, due for release at PaizoCon 5 next June!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Golarion Day: Inner Sea Magic Preview

Thursday, July 21, 2011

	Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

Well, because you asked for it, here's a preview of some elements taken from the upcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, Inner Sea Magic. I'm including excerpts from two different sections of the book—one of the possible results for unleashing primal magic (as might occur if you try to cast spells in the Mana Wastes) and one new hex that the winter witch archetype grants access to (and yes they do gain a bonus on all cold spells they cast).

Excerpted from "Sample Primal Magic Effects": 75–78 Strange telekinetic forces rip through the area, attempting to trip all creatures in a CR x 10 foot radius. The event makes a trip combat maneuver check against all available targets, using a CMB of 10 + CR. Any creature tripped by the event has its equipment reorganized and tangled by the mischievous telekinesis. Until a creature takes a minute to reorganize its belongings, retrieving a stowed item is a full-round action.

Excerpted from "Spells": Frozen Caress (Su): Whenever the winter witch casts a touch spell, she can infuse the magic with cold as a swift action. This grants the spell the cold descriptor, and adds 1d4 points of cold damage to the spell's effect. If the touch spell allows a saving throw, a successful save negates this additional cold damage.

And here's one more preview—the names of all 39 spells that appear in the book, presented in alphabetical order:

Aroden's Spellbane Bladed Dash Bladed Dash, Greater Blast Barrier Call Weapon Crusader's Edge Eaglesoul Eldritch Conduit Eldritch Conduit, Greater Fleshcurdle Forceful Strike Geb's Hammer Geniekind

Hungry Darkness Hunter's Lore Ice Spears Impart Mind Khain's Army Kiss of the First World Light of Iomedae Martial Marionette Martyr's Bargain Music of the Spheres Orchid's Drop Pugwampi's Grace Shadow Barbs

Shining Cord Siphon Magic Song of Kyonin Spell Absorption Spell Absorption, Greater Spellscar Suppress Primal Magic Tattoo Potion Transfer Tattoo Vengeful Comets Vex Giant Weaponwand Zone of Foul Flames

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Maichol Quinto. Widescreen version here.

Deep, Dark, and Deadly!

July 15, 2011

It's been awhile since we've had a wallpaper, and this one's a doozie. Featuring some stunning artwork by Damien Mammoliti and Maichol Quinto, and themed around Dungeons of Golarion, it showcases Alain venturing into the Red Redoubt of Karamoss, a massive siege-fortress outside Absalom constructed by a combination of the machine-mage Karamoss's mechanical minions, powerful magic, and Numerian technology.

In the forefront is the leader of the kobolds living in the Candlestone Caverns, deep beneath rural Andoran. You definitely want to watch out for him!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Field Guide Art Preview

Friday, July 1, 2011

In the buildup to our print deadline for Gen Con, we saw a fair amount of book schedules get a bit of "compression," with books that should be being worked on (and thus previewed) a month apart being separated by a few weeks. Or in this case... ONLY a week. Last week we previewed some art from Dungeons of Golarion, but the Pathfinder Society Field Guide is right on its heels! And what kind of field guide would it be if it didn't have a section that talked directly about the things eager new Pathfinders might face in the field? Challenges like daemon-spawning portals, angry dinosaurs, and vengefully violent six-armed animated statues?

Well... no one ever said that being a Pathfinder was easy, I guess.

Illustrations by Maichol Quinto and Florian Stitz

James Jacobs
Creative Director