Pathfinder Society in Croatia, Bosnia, and Slovenia (or South Eastern Europe Calling)

These pics are great! I love the overhead shot and the one with the minis in the foreground. Great job Zrinka, both for some non-standard gamer pictures and for all your hard work.

This is what I love about Pathfinder Society organized play. It's a universal language. I can go almost anywhere in the world and find a game and be guaranteed a good time.

Great pictures, awesome post! Thanks Zrinka!

It's so great to see Pathdfinder go International! It's good to know that in possbily 10 years or so, I'll be able to go to almost any region in the world and find a Pathfinder Society table! And with Pathfinder being published in Italian, I am looking forward to playing with gamers on Lake Como in Italy sipping expresso instead of Starbucks. :D

The GM in the overhead shot is our VL, and she's the author of the blurry one ;)

Some day I shall mount my polar bear, don my winged hussar wings, grab a bottle of vodka and ravage the southern lands...

well thank you guys and all of you are more than welcome to visit! :D

Its quite nice now that the weather is better and the sea is getting warmer ;)

I noticed all of your books in the photos were in English. Do you play in English, or read it and then translate on the fly or some other arrangement?

What is the native language for that region?

What is the native language for that region?

Pathfinder

"Give praise where praise is due."

Zrinka does an amazing job and gives her best at keeping everything running, people interested and getting new players. I'm taking a guess here but I'd say two or three people each week show up interested in Pathfinder, ones who never played anything before or just experienced players looking for fun. Even if I'm sort of off here, conventions and other events she's devotedly attending make up for that. Oftentimes I think she's trying too hard and should slow down a bit. ;) At this tempo we're probably gonna need more GMs to host games than we currently have available or willing to take that role. They'll come in time I suppose.

Besides being a good Venture-Captain, she's also a great GM at whose table it's always a pleasure to play. She usually starts off new players with First Steps I, which she knows by heart at this point, and no one ever leaves disappointed (even when they end up beaten, bleeding and robbed in some shady street).

Anyway, the player base is growing and that's what counts. Players are varied and generally nice, games are fun and overall we have a good time. There's still much to learn and explore though, for all of us, in order to improve the Society, but let's have faith and see where she'll take us next. :)

I noticed all of your books in the photos were in English. Do you play in English, or read it and then translate on the fly or some other arrangement?

What is the native language for that region?

Somebody (Tito, maybe) said (of Yugoslavia) something along the lines of - one country with two alphabets, three languages, four nations and five religions.

I believe that the Serbo-Croat languages are more-or-less mutually intelligible, so I suspect they do as a lot of non-native-English-speakign groups do and play in their native tongue.

More generally - almost everyone in Europe speaks English far better than most Brits/Americans speak any other language; it's very depressing! :) Pretty much if someone's under 50 and from a big city there's a good chance they speak decent English. German's probably the next most common second language in most of West & Central Europe.

It's so great to see Pathdfinder go International! It's good to know that in possbily 10 years or so, I'll be able to go to almost any region in the world and find a Pathfinder Society table! And with Pathfinder being published in Italian, I am looking forward to playing with gamers on Lake Como in Italy sipping expresso instead of Starbucks. :D

I'm actually working towards establishing a PFS presence at one of the remote military bases in Antartica. Now, if we can all just convince Dragnmoon to hurry up with that PDS transfer to Greenland, the above would be an accurate statement.

I'm actually working towards establishing a PFS presence at one of the remote military bases in Antartica. Now, if we can all just convince Dragnmoon to hurry up with that PDS transfer to Greenland, the above would be an accurate statement.

I am trying, I am trying... The wife does not seem to like the idea...;)

I am trying, I am trying... The wife does not seem to like the idea...;)

*sigh* Priorities man......priorities. Come on, do I need to FAQ it or something? Tell her there are great ocean front views.

I noticed all of your books in the photos were in English. Do you play in English, or read it and then translate on the fly or some other arrangement?

What is the native language for that region?

Same as the name of countries, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovenian, altho if you speak them you might notice that they are similar to some degree.

We are hosting games on English sometimes if needed, esspecially since some people have different accent but most of time we translate.

No Pathfinder Society here in Italy, gne. Disappointing.

A big thumbs up for Zrinka who single-handedly introduced Pathfinder Organized Play in our city. I only played twice in her games but both times it was great fun. Her energy, optimism and dedication to the game are amazing.

I noticed all of your books in the photos were in English. Do you play in English, or read it and then translate on the fly or some other arrangement?

Because none of the RPG books are available on any of local languages, you have to know English to even be able to play them properly. Thirty years ago that might've been a problem, but nowadays most of younger people speak English at least passably because of the American computer games and movies.

We play on Croatian but use English terms for most of the stuff in books: spells, classes, abilities, etc. I can honestly say to know more foreign expressions for medieval armor and weapons than domestic ones.

What is the native language for that region?

Croatian, Serbian or Bosnian are in reality same language called differently out of political reasons. It's like differentiating American and UK English. Slovenian is bit different but comprehensible. Macedonian is a different language you have to learn to understand it.

Thank you guys! :D you are the players who make all this worthwhile

I'm happy to see others enthusiastic about bringing tabletop gaming out of our little home-groups and its amazing when we get new players who didn't have any p&p experience.
I don't know how it is in places where gaming culture has much longer (and public) history but here it feels like we've just started, even tho I know some people played d&d since early editions.

Anyway, yes, we play mostly in Croatian and most of us are trying to paraphrase/translate as much flavor text as possible (reading box text in English is usually the best way to make everyone *not* pay attention).

But when playing with our Slovenian group, it was easier for GM and the players to use English - Tenkazu can say more about that as he was the GM in question :)

Thank you guys! :D you are the players who make all this worthwhile

I'm happy to see others enthusiastic about bringing tabletop gaming out of our little home-groups and its amazing when we get new players who didn't have any p&p experience.
I don't know how it is in places where gaming culture has much longer (and public) history but here it feels like we've just started, even tho I know some people played d&d since early editions.

Anyway, yes, we play mostly in Croatian and most of us are trying to paraphrase/translate as much flavor text as possible (reading box text in English is usually the best way to make everyone *not* pay attention).

But when playing with our Slovenian group, it was easier for GM and the players to use English - Tenkazu can say more about that as he was the GM in question :)

Since I have Croatian ancestry (I believe my last name was Americanized from Pemric or something similar), the Croatian language is among those on my "to learn" list. Maybe after that I'll come visit and GM and/or play a slot. :)

No Pathfinder Society here in Italy, gne. Disappointing.

All it takes is someone to step up and take the reigns. I've had Italy on my list of locations I've been seeking a Venture-Captain since I took this job.

Since I have Croatian ancestry (I believe my last name was Americanized from Pemric or something similar), the Croatian language is among those on my "to learn" list. Maybe after that I'll come visit and GM and/or play a slot. :)

I heard stories of what was happening with foreign surnames when immigrating to the US, a long time ago.

And by all means, if you plan on visiting, let us know!

Shirokitsune wrote:

No Pathfinder Society here in Italy, gne. Disappointing.

All it takes is someone to step up and take the reigns. I've had Italy on my list of locations I've been seeking a Venture-Captain since I took this job.

Hmmm..

Michael Brock wrote:

Shirokitsune wrote:

No Pathfinder Society here in Italy, gne. Disappointing.

All it takes is someone to step up and take the reigns. I've had Italy on my list of locations I've been seeking a Venture-Captain since I took this job.

Hmmm..

To get started, point our browser to Regional Coordinator Process.

Shirokitsune wrote:

Michael Brock wrote:

Shirokitsune wrote:

No Pathfinder Society here in Italy, gne. Disappointing.

All it takes is someone to step up and take the reigns. I've had Italy on my list of locations I've been seeking a Venture-Captain since I took this job.

Hmmm..

To get started, point our browser to Regional Coordinator Process.

Sounds like an adventure. I'll think on it.

Shirokitsune, where in Italy are you?

Shirokitsune, where in Italy are you?

Emilia-Romagna, Forlì.

You're a bit out of my reach :/

but yeah, what Mike said ;)

I'll try to organize some sessions of PFS Organized Play here at a local store to gain some experience. I've read a lot about it, but never had the opportunity to actually play..

Thanks for the encouragement, anyway. Maybe I'll ask some tips on the Pathfinder Society General Discussion Forum to start.

That's the best way to start and see what the interest is.

If I can help in any way, let me know

Congratulations on your success Zrinka!

Congratulations! Hope to get to play at a table with you or some of your players some day.

But when playing with our Slovenian group, it was easier for GM and the players to use English - Tenkazu can say more about that as he was the GM in question :)

Most people from my generation started learning English in kindergarten. I don't know how it was with previous generations, but today, it is sort of expected anyone knows English basics at least. People who drop English in favor of German or other language, through their kindergarten or elementary school, usually have problems later at catching up with others, finding the right literature or have some other problems because of their choice. Most jobs nowadays require of each applicant to know English, and sometimes more than one language is required.

As far as the games go, they're alright. I had the opportunity to play at English-only table hosted by our guest from USA for Slovenian visitors and me, and to run one myself just two weeks ago for the same Slovenian visitors. I can say both games went perfectly well. Save the guest from USA, we were all using our second language and everyone had plenty of patience and didn't mind the obvious mistakes because the basic idea was transmitted and fun was had either way.

Playing in English actually helps a bit with expressing certain things that would otherwise sound awkward in Croatian or can't be translated properly. Sometimes we throw English quotes at each other or express ourselves in English, even if the game is in Croatian, because we want to make a statement, for better immersion, because of the moment, etc. Main reason is that English sometimes sounds so much better or is more appropriate to the situation. Also, we're all quite tolerant so any communication problems eventually get worked out and if someone is having trouble finding a right word, others are here to help.

I don't have many opportunities to practice my English skills in general, lest so the vocal part but I tend to think I'm doing fine and the game with our Slovenian guests kinda confirms that (because I did most of the talking). Written English and passive understanding are other matters that we're basically good at, it's just the vocal part that gets us bogged down sometimes.

Hi

Just want to give my thanks to Zrinka & her Oracle of Life for saving our butts at the PaizoCOn UK special on saturday night.

And to Mike & the others who made the weekend so special.
(Thanks Mike for GM'ing the Shadow Lodge Special on Sunday)

Paul H
(The Guy with the walking stick)

And as someone who has had Zrinka GM, I can verify her skill at the game. A very lively, and fun, GM to have! All the best on your future Pathfinder endeavours!

It's five years later and I'm moving to Sarajevo. Has the situation improved? Are there any known points of contact? Willing to do what I can to get a game going.

thank you guys!!

I had loads of fun and hope to see and play with you again!

Now about Sarajevo, I am sorry to say that every time there is a spark of hope there will be a convention there or any kind of event, in the end, it fizzles.
I am still hopeful and if an opportunity shows up, I will try to go and see how things are locally and if something can get organized.

Alas, things are as before.. only city in the region with regular PFS is still Zagreb

I keep a calendar of all public events in Croatia. I know its not helpful considering the question but thats the best we can do atm.

https://warhorn.net/events/croatia-pfs

That's so great to see! I'm Croatian descended, but born in Australia. I'm glad RPGs are something that I still have in common with the homeland.

You all look like you're having a great time too! If I ever do a European trip I'll definitely make time for some Pathfinding in Croatia.

FYI: My wife and I played PFS in Zagreb on our honeymoon. Zrinka was extremely friendly and accommodating, not only setting up a table for me to GM on Friday night, but setting up a private table for my wife and I to play at on Saturday. And despite having a 104 degree fever, we had a blast!