Meet the Authors of the Year of Unfettered Exploration

Hello, players! Today we want to shine the spotlight on the authors who contributed to Year 5 of Pathfinder Society. The Year of Unfettered Exploration may be over, but the adventures continue on!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

Illustration by Justin Usher

Alison Cybe (they/them)

PFS2 #5-02: The Blackwood Lost & PFS2 #5-16: A Lie Told to Strangers

Hi, I’m Alison Cybe (they/them), and this year I’ve created Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-02: The Blackwood Lostand Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-16: A Lie Told to Strangers. If you didn’t like them, I’m sorry, I’m to blame. If you did, feel free to let me know. Both of these adventures deal with people in risk or dangers and cast the characters with their rescue. I didn’t want to brush too far beyond what is generally comfortable for people with these, as they’re my first step in creating Pathfinder adventures for folks, given that my history is much more in Starfinder. But at the same time, my writing style for adventures tends to emphasize a big range of diverse NPCs who I hope will remain memorable for players, interesting and unusual landscapes, and some dramatic punch here and there. I hope some of the work I’ve created has been able to entertain at least a few of you at some points. Anyway, you can find me on most social media sites under my name, so don’t be afraid to say hello.

Hilary Moon Murphy (she/her)

PFS2 #5-03: Heidmarch Heist

Hello all, I'm Hmm. Heidmarch Heist originated when Josh Foster came up with the idea of a theft at Heidmarch Manor. Designing the mystery for this adventure was just plain fun. I spent time considering how to cater to both the hard-core mystery buffs and the potentially clueless, so the mystery includes ample handouts and a chance to explore. I had so much fun writing this overall, that I could not pick out a favorite bit. I'll leave that as an exercise for readers of this blog (under spoilers, of course!).

And if you liked Heidmarch Heist, look out for PFS2 #6-05 Silver Bark, Golden Blades coming out this October!

Illustration by Josef Kucera

Shan Wolf

PFS2 #5-06: Ukuja, The First Wall & PFS2 Quest #15: In the Footsteps of Horror

Hi everyone! My name is Shan, and I worked on In the Footsteps of Horror, Ukuja, The First Wall, and the upcoming Infernal Infiltration. I mostly want to thank the devs who helped me craft these adventures, the editors who banged them into shape, and the fans who play them! I also want to point to and highlight the hard work the Org Play team does to make sure these adventures get into your hands as quickly as possible. Make sure to give them genuine thanks because even if you don't agree with them on everything, they're working extra hard to create fun, interesting, unique adventures that give authors like me a chance to get out there and write cool things.

So thank you to everyone who has a hand in working on these, and thank you for playing them!

Jacob W. Michaels (he/him)

PFS2 #5-08: Protecting the Firelight

Hi everyone, I’m Jacob W. Michaels (he/him), the author of PFS Year 5’s Protecting the Firelight, which was my first repeatable scenario. I had so much fun trying to create as many variations as I could, and I literally can’t figure out how many times you could play this without repeating the scenario exactly (seriously, I remember learning the mathematical formulas back in high school, but that knowledge has been pushed out of my brain by Pathfinder encounter math). I was thrilled developer Shay Snow, who’s of Indigenous heritage, entrusted me with this piece, which had a number of Native themes. I really enjoyed diving into the research—the foods that may get prepared during one part of the adventure are all based on real Native dishes, as are other aspects of the traditional ritual—and working with Shay to come up with a villain that evoked a legend from their culture. I also paid homage to a friend and fellow Pathfinder player who died unexpectedly days before I began working on the adventure. And finally, a pre-teen NPC evokes my niece and nephew and all the wonderfully assertive children of the world! Thanks as always to Paizo for letting me play in their world, and to everyone who enjoys the adventures we create.

Illustration by Rodrigo Gallo

Isis Wozniakowska (she/her)

PFS2 #5-15: Cleansing the Flame

Hey all, I'm Isis Wozniakowska (she/her), and I wrote Cleansing the Flame. Personally, I'm super proud of it and have a great time running for cons whenever I get the chance, as I've always had a particular enjoyment of orc cultures and how they've been written in second edition. And I'm especially excited to see a new era of orc gods going forward from here into Godsrain. One thing I really wanted to show in this adventure is how orcs can have a culture built up around the importance of strength and combat and how displaying that to others is such a major part of it, but to do so in such a way that isn't inherently tied to a toxic culture of survival of the fittest like was previously shown in orcs before. And as someone who struggles treating an occasionally debilitating autoimmune disease these days, several parts of the adventure (many of which I won't spoil for those of you who haven't played it) are things I was particularly excited to learn I would be able to portray for everyone. Organized Play also just means a lot to me in general, and I spend a lot of time running my own local event and popping into various cons online and locally. I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope you'll see me around at various online cons occasionally running it for people.

I'm not on social media as much as I used to be since I went back to grad school, but you can find me on BlueSky as @wozenstein, but mostly I lurk on there and Insta. I don't have any upcoming personal projects, but I can always use the support in trying to get through my Comparative Literature MA. I study Italian literature, primarily medieval and Renaissance, and currently am looking at the relationship between medieval literature and modern fantasy literature (including looking at TTRPGs as a form of literary study).

Brite Cheney (he/they)

PFS2 Quest #16: The Winter Queen’s Dollhouse

The pitch to me for The Winter Queen’s Dollhouse was “poppets trapped in a dollhouse that get awakened.” From there, I thought the most fun would be a bunch of displaced workers banding together to overcome their boss, with the players helping them to organize. I’m sure there were headlines somewhere that inspired this idea. Lol. #solidarity.

While everything I create is something I cherish, Sweeper, a stuffed sloth poppet and the main NPC, will always be my darling. I wanted her to be cute enough to appeal to kids of all ages, but self-assured enough to be the perfect leader for the mini-rebellion. Watching people's reactions to her, it seems I’ve done just that. Big shout-out to Bruno Cesar (@bcesart on Instagram) for doing an amazing job bringing her to life with his art.

You can follow me on all the socials @MrGWillickers, but I’m mostly active on BlueSky @mrgwillickers.bsky.social.

And check out my Etsy store, MrGWillickers Studio, where thanks to the new Fan Content Policy, I now include a few Pathfinder- and PFS-themed props among the things I make. https://mrgwillickersstudio.etsy.com

Illustration by Bruno Cesar

Lucas Servideo (he/him)

PFS2 Quest #20: The Dacilane Academy’s Show Must Go On

Hello everyone, my name is Lucas Servideo. I was honored to be asked to write The Dacilane Academy's Show Must Go On, not only because this would be my first time writing for Paizo, but because it was an “All Ages” Quest that would be used in the Academy at Gen Con, a program that lets families play Pathfinder and Starfinder together.

My favorite part of this experience was to add a piece of myself to Absalom by making the history behind the Muse of the Rose theater and also building on the Dacilane Academy saga of scenarios by adding in NPCs of my own and those of others into the story. I hope everyone has a chance to enjoy this quest.

To see what I am up to, you can check my Instagram @lucasringmaster, or my BlueSky @smartgoblin.bsky.social. On either, you will usually see my current miniature project, drawings, photos, or thoughts that pop up.