Delve Into Alien Worlds

Monday, September 26, 2016

Illustration by Marko Horvatin

Once Gen Con ended in August, Linda and I had a chance to breathe after pushing ourselves to create an immense number of adventures for the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild. By breathe, of course, I mean we kept busy with sanctioning a big pile of modules and Adventure Paths (many of which we're queuing for a big release next month); outline and assign a big chunk of Season 8's adventures; and perform some long-range planning that takes us through 2017 and beyond. When it came time to start developing September's adventures, it had been so long since we'd done any scenario development that the process seemed strangely alien.

Thankfully, that coincides nicely with these adventures, both of which deal with very alien people, places, and things.

For the first of these adventures, Isabelle Lee takes us back to Numeria for the first time since Season 6 with Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-04: Wardens of Sulfur Gulch. Pathfinders recently uncovered hitherto unknown surveys of the Numerian landscape by the famous Gojan the Sharp, and Venture-Captain Holgarin Smine believes one of these sites in particular merits exploration. To reach the ruins, the PCs must first impress the Kellid tribe (including one of its mystics, pictured here) that claims the region as its own—and that's even before the Pathfinders can uncover the dangerous legacy that lies within Sulfur Gulch! Whether you love technological adventures or seek the camaraderie of robot-hating peers, this Tier 7-11 adventure has something for everyone.

Illustration by Marko Horvatin

When we first announced Season 8: Year of the Stolen Storm, we mentioned this year would enjoy a considerable connection to the elemental planes. Now that we've kicked off the season properly, we're taking our first jaunt to the Plane of Earth with Jenny Jarzabski as the pilot in Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-05: Ungrounded But Unbroken. The shaitan genies of the Opaline Vault aren't as easy to impress with words as they are with actions, and the best way to demonstrate the Society's worth is by working directly for one of the shaitans' finest: the genie Faiza, pictured here. This Tier 1-5 adventure with Sovereign Court connections allows even novice adventurers to play a big role on another plane, with challenges that take them to strange urban sites and bizarre wilderness realms.

As a closing note, as the Pathfinder Society team spins up the Pathfinder Society scenario subscription, we're encountering some new, very necessary logistical steps. We've already taken steps to ensure our production schedule accommodates these going forward, but we're unable to compress our timeline further for the September scenarios to account for those challenges. Regretfully, that means that the September scenarios are delayed by one week (now debuting October 5, 2016). We're sorry for the inconvenience, and future months' publications should be back on schedule.

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer