OPC Musings
It’s no secret that the past two years have been hard on the program. One w¬ay we’ve seen this most clearly is in convention support. Prior to the pandemic, we would send out support to hundreds of events worldwide; obviously, mass gatherings have been in short supply since then. Last year was our smallest year since we started keeping records in 2016.
However, I can see the ecosystem starting to return. As of this week, I have nearly all the events through May submitted, and we’ll be sending out support to double the number of events I had at this time last year. Summer is typically our busiest time, and I can’t wait to see how many more I get. It’s a positive sign in a time when we could all use some good news!
Digital Adventure Releases
Here are this month’s digital releases, available April 27, 2022:
Pathfinder
Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-13: Guardian's Covenant**
Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-14: The Tomb Between Worlds*
Starfinder
Starfinder Society Scenario #4-16: Hope for the Future**
Starfinder Bounty #3: A Green Place
*part of a subscription
Major Conventions
Volunteer applications are now open for both PaizoCon and Gen Con Indy! GMs are accepted on a rolling basis for both, so if you’re interested in GMing or volunteering, make sure to head over to their respective blogs and fill out the forms.
PaizoCon GM selections will close this Saturday, April 9; after this point, GM schedules can only be changed with the organizing committee’s approval. Player signups will open to GMs on Wednesday, April 13th; to Warhorn VIPs on April 15; and to all players on April 16. Unfortunately I have no new information to share on badge sales; please email paizocon@paizo.com with any such questions.
For Gen Con Indy, our soft cutoff for GMs is April 30. GMs may sign up after this date, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be considered for a room or be able to sign up for more than a backup GM slot. We have no information on Gen Con Online at this time; once we hear more from the Gen Con staff, we’ll be sure to let you know.
We can’t wait to see you all at PaizoCon and Gen Con this year!
Sanctioning
We’ve been hard at work in the sanctioning mines this month! First up, we sanctioned the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path for Pathfinder Society (first edition). This will be the final content sanctioned for First Edition; while we intend to leave reporting open indefinitely, we won’t be providing any new content for the campaign at this stage. Thank you all for your patience as we got through the final pieces!
For Pathfinder Society (second edition), we sanctioned the Quest for the Frozen Flame Adventure Path. There are also two boons for the Pine Leshy Heritage in the Achievement Points store: one for all players, and a discounted version for those who play through the AP. Quit needling us about it!
Starfinder Society got sanctioning for the third one-shot, System Takedown, which can be applied to a character of any level.
Looking ahead, we have sanctioning for Book of the Dead ready to go for its street date, and we’ll have a blog on the topic later in the month. We’re also working on Lost Omens: Knights of Lastwall, as well as the Horizons of the Vast Adventure Path and Drift Crisis for Starfinder Society.
GM Recognition
Whether stars, novas, or glyphs, achieving a 5 ranking in any program involves a substantial amount of time. To achieve the 5th milestone, a GM must run 150 games, of which at least 50 must be unique scenarios and 10 special scenarios, as well as run between one and three games for venture-captains (program dependent). A conservative estimate of the time needed to reach the 5th milestone is 650 hours!
This month, we completed our second hat trick, with one new 5-rank GM in each program!
5th Star (PFS1): Steven Crow
5th Nova (SFS): Jocelyn Hamilton
5th Glyph (PFS2): Nicholas Ruchlewicz
Congratulations to our new 5-rank GMs, and thank you for your dedication! If you believe you have achieved your 5th rank but haven’t been announced, email us at organizedplay@paizo.com.
Conventions
As I mentioned above, we have a ton of events planned in the next few months! Check out our conventions calendar and see if there’s an event near you. There are some great events happening around Memorial Day weekend, so if you can’t make it out to PaizoCon, you might find a local group near you!
Until next time - Explore! Report! Cooperate! And enjoy the spring sunshine!
Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator