The Future of Pathfinder Society Organized Play Part XVIII: Ensure the Decemvirate doesn't take advantage of Pathfinder agents.

Monday, July 18, 2011

For decades, a growing segment of the Pathfinder Society's membership has become disillusioned with the Decemvirate. Whether they hold personal grudges against the masked leaders of the Society for slights they feel were never remedied or watched too many of their friends suffer for the good of a Society that seemed to thank them very little, these rebels' numbers have surged in recent years, swelling the Shadow Lodge's membership. In 4710 AR, several fringe cells of the underground resistance movement broke off from the main body of the Shadow Lodge, and began a series of open attacks on the Grand Lodge and those loyal to it. The Decemvirate, recognizing that there was a real problem to be addressed, quelled the rebellion by bringing the Shadow Lodge back into the fold, acquiescing to some of their demands, and sending strike forces to hunt down and eliminate remaining cells of radical Shadow Lodge agents. Many still feel the Decemvirate has further to go to remedy the injustices carried out in the Society's name, though they are glad to be in good standing with the Society once again—even if many also believe they were brought back into the Grand Lodge so the Ten could keep a closer eye on them.

Well, folks, here we are. Just over two weeks left before Gen Con and only two Pathfinder Society Season 3 preview blogs left before the Year of the Ruby Phoenix kicks off. That means we're up to the last of the 10 factions from which players may choose their PCs' allegiance. Since the Year of the Shadow Lodge began, a not-insignificant portion of the players in the Pathfinder Society campaign have asked, "How do I join the Shadow Lodge?" In two weeks, they can do so easily.

The Shadow Lodge began as a clear villain organization who wanted to use the Pathfinder Society's resources for their own gain. But over time, as more and more people expressed dissatisfaction with how the Decemvirate treated the body of their organization, the more we at campaign HQ started to wonder ourselves what the implication would be to have PCs working for the Shadow Lodge.

In the end, we realized that the villains the Shadow Lodge represented would need to evolve to better fit the campaign. Luckily for us, we made this decision in plenty of time to get that evolution to take place over the course of Season 2 such that now, looking back on the Year of the Shadow Lodge, someone can follow the metaplot and watch how the organization went from evil mustache-twirling villains to Pathfinders with legitimate complaints against their leadership. By Season 2's conclusion, those playing all the scenarios over the course of the season can see that some of the Shadow Lodge's agents were too easily manipulated and misguided by influential members of the group into initiating open hostility with the Grand Lodge in hopes of destabilizing it.

Now, however, everything's been smoothed over, at least for the most part. Both the Shadow Lodge and the Decemvirate have a way to go before they trust one another fully, and both sides now must follow through on their ends of the bargain. As the first sign of the Society's willingness to do so, a new service has been added to those which may be purchased with Prestige. Beginning in Season 3, a PC may pay 5 PP to have her body recovered by a rescue team. This means you no longer have to worry about being left in a sealed tomb or abandoned on another plane of existence. As long as your body still exists (meaning no disintegration), you can get out!

Members of the Shadow Lodge, for their part, must now help the Pathfinders quell any remaining rebel cells that may exist throughout the Inner Sea region, including any featured in Season 2 scenarios that a new player or someone catching up on missed scenarios may play a year or two down the line.

So there you have it: the 10 factions available for play in Season 3 of Pathfinder Society Organized Play! Next week, we'll take a look at the revised Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play and go over a few of the more notable rules changes or clarifications you can expect to find within. See ya next Monday!

Mark Moreland
Developer