PaizoCon 2014 is less than a month away, and traditionally that convention debuts the thrilling conclusion of one season of Pathfinder Society Organized Play and lays the groundwork for the exciting story arc that begins a month later at Gen Con . The Pathfinder Society is poised to march to Jormurdun, a lost dwarven Sky Citadel, but several of their sworn enemies have taken it upon themselves to claim the prize first. Of course, we can't let that happen, so gear up to tackle some major campaign villains at PaizoCon! On Friday evening, we're also doing a test run of "Legacy of the Stonelords," one of the upcoming season's two Special adventures.
What season is that, you ask? Well, no doubt you've seen this blog's title already. Nonetheless it's our pleasure to announce that Season 6 of Pathfinder Society Organized Play is the Year of the Sky Key, which kicks off this August at Gen Con Indy!
The Pathfinder Society team has really enjoyed reading the speculation about the upcoming season. For several years we've tied the season's theme to the Adventure Path that debuts at that year's Gen Con, as we did with "Jade Regent" and the Year of the Ruby Phoenix, "Shattered Star" and the Year of the Risen Rune, and "Wrath of the Righteous" and the Year of the Demon. To an extent this is also true for the Year of the Sky Key, which borrows from the technological theme of the "Iron Gods" Adventure Path; however, the scope is different this time around.
It's hard to deny Numeria's appeal and intrigue. For years we've received inquiries on the messageboards, questions during convention panels, and requests in person for more information about Numeria, and based on a blog post earlier this year, the organized play campaign is no exception to this phenomenon. The bounty of new books about Numeria and its technology provide some great adventure ideas that might inspire a few scenarios this year. So that's it, then—a year of robots, laser guns, and cybernetic prostheses? No, that's one of the Year of the Sky Key's many charms. Not everyone likes sci-fi peanut butter in the fantasy chocolate, and we respect that. What's more, introducing a glut of advanced technological gadgets in the campaign would impact the many adventures that precede (and likely those that follow) Season 6 in unintended ways. One can only imagine the havoc a particularly trigger-happy Pathfinder could inflict with a nuclear resonator or gravity rifle.
We have several adventures planned that deal with Numeria and its past, including the three scenarios set to debut at Gen Con. You'll find that many of these adventures don't take the PCs directly into Numeria, but they do involve the rare piece of technology smuggled out of that nation, the Technic League, and the sites influenced by Numeria's alien treasures. That said, we've made a conscious decision not to tie this season to its neighboring Adventure Path so closely for another important reason: it allows us to return to long-neglected lodges and reinforce the Pathfinder Society's founding goal—the recovery of lost knowledge and ancient treasures. During the Year of the Sky Key, Pathfinder agents will have numerous opportunities to return to places the campaign hasn't touched in years. Are you excited to see more of Qadira, Katapesh, the Mwangi Expanse, the Land of the Linnorm Kings, the Shackles, and Tian Xia—including whatever became of the thriving Lantern Lodge? Us too!
In the weeks leading up to the new season's debut, we'll be sharing more details about faction developments, the revised Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, and a few other surprises that we're really eager to announce. In the meantime, check out the Year of the Sky Key's new logo.
Seeing the popularity of the Season 6 scenarios, as well as some of the favorites from Season 5, we've adjusted the number of tables available at Gen Con for nine of the 10 slots, and more tickets are now available for those popular events that were sold out. Finally, John will be appearing on the Know Direction podcast on this Wednesday, June 18th.
Happy gaming,
John Compton and Mike Brock
Developer and Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator
