Hello, Pathfinders! With the release of two more Year 3 metaplot scenarios yesterday, the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries is in full swing. This blog introduces the concept of the “metaplot” for those who may not be familiar. I’ll also be providing a rundown of the Year 3 metaplot stories so you have all the information in one place. Let’s get to it!
Each year of Pathfinder Society adventures includes “metaplot scenarios,” which tell a linked story. You can think of the metaplot like the “main plot” of a TV series. There are non-metaplot scenarios as well, which typically have fewer connections to the major plot events.
Year 3 Metaplot
Pathfinder Society Year 3 Logo, artist Maurice Risulmi
The Year 3 metaplot includes 14 adventures. One of the challenges of creating a metaplot is that many players will play the adventures in a different order, sometimes based on which characters they have at different levels, or which adventures are being offered at their preferred venues. Asking everyone to play 14 adventures in the same order wouldn’t work too well! So, we broke Year 3 up into six “metaplot arcs.” Each arc tells a small part of the overall Year 3 story. You can play some of the arcs, or all of them, as you like. Each arc tells a contained story which fits into a broader narrative. In the case of Year 3, each of these arcs tells the story of a strange disaster befalling a Pathfinder Society lodge in one of six nations in the Inner Sea: Absalom, Andoran, Cheliax, Osirion, Qadira, and Taldor.
Within the Year 3 metaplot, you can think of the Absalom storyline as the “A plot,” and the other storylines as side plots. The Absalom arc contains both the introduction and conclusion of the metaplot as a whole.
Year 3 Metaplot Arcs
Scenarios marked with an asterisk (*) are future releases. Titles and release dates are subject to change.
Absalom
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Intro: Year of Shattered Sanctuaries (Levels 1–4)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-06: Struck by Shadows (Levels 3–6)
Part 3: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-17: Dreams of a Dustbound Isle* (Levels 5–8; June 2022)
Part 4: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-19: Mean Streets of Shadow Absalom* (Levels 7–10; July 2022)Andoran
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-02: The East Hill Haunting (Levels 1–4)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-05: Inheritor's Rite (Levels 1–4)Cheliax
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-04: The Devil-Wrought Disappearance (Levels 3–6) Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-07: The Locked Lodge (Levels 3–6)Osirion
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-09: The Secluded Siege (Levels 5–8)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-14: The Tomb Between Worlds* (Levels 5–8; April 2022)Qadira
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-08: Foundation's Price (Levels 1–4)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-12: Fury's Toll* (Levels 1–4; March 2022)Taldor
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-11: No Time for Treason* (Levels 3–6; February 2022)
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-16: Escape from Oppara* (Levels 3–6; June 2022)Enjoy the arcs in any order!
You can play these metaplot arcs in any order. For example, you could start with the Qadira arc (the first scenario came out yesterday!) and then go back to the Andoran arc, the Cheliax arc, or even the intro scenario. This means there are several possible entry points into the Year 3 story. Every single scenario in the metaplot is playable with our Pathfinder Society pregenerated characters (available at levels 1, 3, and 5), with one exception: the final scenario in the Absalom arc is level 7–10, so you’ll need your own character in that level range if you’re playing for Pathfinder Society credit.
Final Recommendations
Though you can play the arcs in any order (Qadira before Andoran, or the other way around), when you’re looking at the individual adventures within a given arc, I recommend that you play them in the order they were released. The above list shows the intended order within each arc. There is no “rule” which requires you to play Part 1 before Part 2, but the story within each arc is going to make more sense if you do.
There is no “right” or “wrong” approach to the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries. Pick an arc, or any scenario that sounds fun, and dive into the story!
As always, please keep your hands and arms inside the sanctuaries while you explore, report, and cooperate your way through Year 3!
Mike Kimmel
Pathfinder Society Developer
Pathfinder Society Year 3 Metaplot Arcs
Thursday, January 27, 2022
