The Web Fiction Cometh!

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Illustration by Daren Bader

Here at the Paizo headquarters, we know that our community is made up of busy folks. (After all, we're insanely busy, and we work at a company that makes books about goblins.) We know that the average person surfing our website probably has half a dozen tabs open, is following a dozen different messageboard conversations, is scrolling through his or her email—all while trying to look productive in case the boss walks by.

Which is why we're switching things up to save you one extra mouse-click per week! Yes! Starting next week, we're going to begin serializing the weekly web fiction as part of the Paizo blog, making it that much easier for you (or your RSS reader) to catch each installment. You'll still be able to find both the latest episode and the whole archive of free web fiction stories collected under the "web fiction" tab at the top of this page, but now it'll pop up here as well.

But that begins next week, with Robin Laws's "The Ironroot Deception." This week, we've got a different Robin-related treat: a sample chapter from his newly released Pathfinder Tales novel The Worldwound Gambit. Click here to get a first look at veteran con man Gad as he attempts to put together the perfect team of thieves and scoundrels for a job in the demon-infested Worldwound—folks like an obsessive and socially oblivious halfling lockbreaker, or a demon-hunting bard-turned-junkie. And of course, as this chapter reveals, no con would be complete without some heavy artillery in the form of an insane, pyromaniac spellcaster...

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

New Books and Epubs!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

It's an exciting day over here in the Pathfinder Tales department! Not only does today introduce the final chapter in Erik Mona's "Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver" (which you can read right here for free), but it's also the release date of two things that folks have been anxiously awaiting for a while now.

Illustration by Daren Bader

The first is Robin Laws' The Worldwound Gambit, a rollicking heist novel set in the demonic madness of the Worldwound. Hitch a ride with veteran con man Gad as he gathers the perfect team of scoundrels and thieves to infiltrate a cult's living tower deep in demon-held territory. Together they'll attempt to pull off the biggest job of their lives, saving their home from destruction and keeping business booming. Along the way, they'll have to deal with insufferable paladins, a dangerously seductive priestess, their own quirks and faults—and of course, plenty of demons. By turns hilarious and disturbing, Robin's new book is a dark, witty romp that will show you Mendev and the Worldwound like you've never seen them before.

Illustration by Jason Engle

The second thing we're proud to unveil is the latest batch of Pathfinder Tales ePubs, which includes not just several of the web fiction stories, but the first three Pathfinder's Journals from Pathfinder Adventure Path, available now in compiled electronic form, complete with all their original illustrations! For years, people have been asking for compiled versions of the journals for ease of reading and transportation—in fact, before he worked here, Mark Moreland compiled all the Eando Kline stories into a self-printed chapbook to read on his commute—and we're glad to finally be able to oblige. Appearing in this first batch are "Hell's Pawns" by Dave Gross, which marks the first appearance of Varian Jeggare and Radovan; "Dark Tapestry" by Elaine Cunningham, which follows the adventures of half-elven Pathfinder and desert druid Channa Ti; and "The Compass Stone: The Collected Journals of Eando Kline," which presents the entire epic journey of Pathfinder Eando Kline from his first appearance in Pathfinder Adventure Path #1 to the stunning conclusion in #18. Much longer than a typical web fiction story, both "Hell's Pawns" and "Dark Tapestry" are full-length novellas, while Eando's story is roughly as long as a Pathfinder Tales novel! "The Compass Stone" also comes complete with a new foreword by yours truly, discussing the evolution of the Pathfinder's Journal, and of Eando's story in particular. Joining these journals are the compiled web fiction tales "Lord of Penance" by Richard Lee Byers and "The Secret of the Rose and Glove" by Kevin Andrew Murphy.

And this is just the beginning! We hope to unveil the next novel in the Pathfinder Tales line fairly soon, and you can look forward to seeing further batches of web fiction stories and Pathfinder's Journals compiled for your electronic reading enjoyment at regular intervals. Because when it comes to Pathfinder fiction, more is better!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Illustration by Daren Bader. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

What Happens in the Worldwound Stays in the Worldwound

Friday, March 25, 2011

Oceans 666—that's the best short description for Robin Laws's The Worldwound Gambit I've heard yet. Gambit is the fourth book in our Pathfinder Tales line and will be coming out in May, just in time to tuck it away in a bag and head to the beach. In this novel, preternaturally handsome and coolly charismatic swindler Gad decides to assemble a team of thieves, cutthroats, and con men to take the fight into the magic-twisted hellscape known as the Worldwound, intent on striking directly at the fiendish leader responsible for a series of raids into the surrounding territory—the demon Yath, the Shimmering Putrescence. Can Gad hold his team together long enough to pull off the ultimate con, or will trouble from within his own organization lead to an untimely end for them all? You won't be able to find out for a few weeks, but until then you'll have plenty of time to gaze on this great piece by Daren Bader.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustration by Daren Bader. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

A Plague on All Your Houses!

Friday, February 25, 2011

The latest Pathfinder Tales novel, Plague of Shadows, has started shipping to subscribers and stores. In this novel, written by sword and sorcery icon Howard Andrew Jones, the race is on to free Lord Stelan from the grip of a wasting curse, and only Elyana, his old elven adventuring companion and former lover, has the wisdom and reflexes to save him. When the villain turns out to be another of their former companions, Elyana and a band of ragtag adventurers must set out on a perilous race across the revolution-wracked nation of Galt and the treacherous Five Kings Mountains, bound for the mysterious Vale of Shadows. But even if they can succeed in locating the key to Stelan’s salvation in a lost valley of weird magic and nightmare beasts, the danger isn't over. For Elyana's companions may not all be what they seem.

Plague of Shadows is straight up old-school fantasy adventure. Bands of heroes race to complete a quest fighting dragons and other monsters along the way. This wallpaper showcases Elyanna fighting an umbral dragon (check out Bestiary 2 to see its stats!) inside the Vale of Shadows. To learn how the fight ends, pick up your copy of Plague of Shadows today either here at paizo.com or at your local bookstore.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustration by Daren Bader

It's a Bug Hunt

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

When we ordered art for Lost Cities of Golarion, I criticized the wisdom of ordering a cover that was just "Kyra fighting some bugs?"

Thanks to Daren Bader, I stand thoroughly corrected.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

Illustration by Daren Bader

Dragon on Dragon Action

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

With the runaway success of Classic Monsters Revisited, it was pretty much just a matter of time before we started work on the second in what is going to be a series of books that takes well-known monsters from the game and examines them in detail, ten per book. The fact that there are ten dragons in the core rules made the subject for the second book in the series a no-brainer. Check out the cover illustration for that book, Dragons Revisited, here!

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief