Hail and well met, Pathfinders and Starfinders! This month’s new releases dive into the culture and history of the nations of Tian Xia, send Starfinders to confront the founder of the Order of Dawning Fate, and place you at the heart of a Wildwood negotiation breakdown!
Find Your Path – April 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Hail and well met, Pathfinders and Starfinders! This month’s new releases dive into the culture and history of the nations of Tian Xia, send Starfinders to confront the founder of the Order of Dawning Fate, and place you at the heart of a Wildwood negotiation breakdown!
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Dragons once served as the stewards of this land, commanded by Heavenly decree. Can you live up to their lofty expectations, or will you flounder and fail like countless kingdoms before you? Prophecy is dead and history hangs on a feather; even the slightest breath might change the course of peoples and nations. Strike out and seize your destiny in an uncertain future!
This massive gazetteer features a look at the history, cultures, and peoples of Tian Xia, with summaries of over 20 distinct nations and kingdoms on, above, and under the continent. It’s accompanied by a giant poster map displaying this region of the Pathfinder setting in beautiful detail.
Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide is also available as a special edition hardcover bound in faux leather with foil debossing and an bound-in ribbon bookmark.
The annual Greenwood Gala—a convention for primal power brokers and a festival associated with the Green Faith—is ruined when saboteurs assassinate several of the region’s eminent leaders. To keep tensions from erupting into more bloodshed, the PCs must maintain order long enough for the Wildwood Lodge to choose a new leader and restore peace. The Wardens of Wildwood Adventure Path begins with “Pactbreaker,” a complete adventure for 5th- to 7th-level characters.
If your adventurers need to entertain a crowd or disrupt a sinister performance, the Pathfinder Flip‐Mat: Showtime Multi‐Pack has you covered! The four sides of this Flip-Mat Multi-Pack present three venues on which to perform an opera, stage a mock battle, or house a cozy tavern sing-along. Two sides combine to depict a grand theater, while the others show a large amphitheater and a wintry inn, perfect places to sing rousing bardic ballads. Put on a show for your players with these exciting performance scenes!
This set includes two Flip-Mats, each measuring 24" × 30" unfolded and 8" × 10" folded. A Flip-Mat’s coated surface can handle any dry-erase, wet-erase, or even permanent marker. Usable by experienced GMs and novices alike, Pathfinder Flip-Mats fit perfectly into any Game Master’s arsenal!
A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for 7th- through 10th-level characters.
For a century, the villainous Order of Dawning Fate has operated in the shadows, remaining anonymous and untouched despite extensive criminal activity, political manipulation, and espionage. Thanks to the efforts of countless Starfinders and their allies across the galaxy, the Order of Dawning Fate is crumbling—their members are exposed, their holdings are under investigation, their proxies are moving to cut ties, many of their highest-ranking members are dead or arrested, and their supply of the rare starmetal finitrium has been cut off. Yet a threat remains…
Zhaneni, founder and mastermind of the Order of Dawning Fate, has evaded capture, retreating to her personal demesne on the planet Kax to wait out the turmoil alongside her closest ally and fellow founder of the Order, Evethriel. As the Stewards, Veskarium, and numerous other galactic bodies move against the Order’s now-exposed agents and holdings within their respective jurisdictions, First Seeker Ehu Hadif and Ixthia the Unbreakable dispatch Starfinders to confront Zhaneni and destroy the last remnants of Project Dawn—the hybrid machine that amplifies Zhaneni’s natural precognitive abilities, enabling her to see and shape the future.
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 3rd- through 6th-level characters.
The Pathfinder Society is running low on a critical alchemical catalyst, and all their usual suppliers have run dry. The Supplies and Procurement Division is desperate and has put a call out directly to agents. They know of one alchemist skilled and knowledgeable enough to make the catalyst: Tragshi the Herbalist, master of the Daggermark Poisoner's Guild. The Society has used what contacts they have remaining in Daggermark to arrange a meeting, but the chief poisoner isn't one to give things away for free. The PCs will need to do several errands for her, proving the Society's worth to the guild and to Tragshi herself.
A Pathfinder Society Quest designed for 1st- through 4th-level characters, playable in 2-3 hours.
The PCs have been placed in a sort of exchange program, wherein the Magaambya, the oldest school of magic still operating in Golarion, will judge their worth as a foundation for future cooperation. Teacher Ot has been tasked with showing the PCs the ways of the magical school as well as with taking their measure. The future of this partnership lies in the PCs' hands.
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 5th- through 8th-level characters.
The Burning Sun orc hold has spent the past year guarding the body of Mahja Firehair as she fights her Crucible in the afterlife. Unfortunately, there have been strange attacks on Freedom Town as of late. Desperate for answers and hopeful for assistance, Uirch reaches out to the Pathfinder Society to investigate the mysterious attackers and see if their flames belong to the Whispering Tyrant or to another enemy lying in wait. The Pathfinders will need to investigate the town while ensuring that an enemy of mythical proportions doesn't see their plan succeed and interrupt Mahja's Crucible.
From Our Partners:
Our partners at Archives of Nethys, Demiplane, Fantasy Grounds, Hero Lab Online, and Roll20* are dropping new content this month as well! Buy your PDF on paizo.com to get a discount via the PaizoConnect API, or pay full price on their platforms, sync your account, and get a complimentary PDF on the Paizo Store.
*Roll20 is no longer a part of PaizoConnect and discounts and complimentary PDFs do not apply.
In honor of our War of Immortals Kickoff Announcement and the looming death of Gorum, Our Lord in Iron, take 10% off of the Gods of Lost Omens Miniature Set when you purchase them on paizo.com!
Our partners at Foam Brain recently released their Pathfinder Lost Tome Mystery Loot set! Each mystery bag includes a pin that folds out into a playable miniature, a themed metal D20, and an encounter card to use at your table! Buy them online or check your FLGS for a hobby exclusive sketch dragon promo pin!
Bring Pathfinder to where you are, in person or online, and if you don’t have a favorite local game store, get books delivered to your door via a Paizo Subscription! From rulebooks to adventures, accessories, and more, we’ve got subscriptions for every table! Subscribing to a line of books gets you the physical book and the PDF for one price! Subscribe to four lines or more to unlock Paizo Advantage savings on products site-wide!
New Year’s first fireworks danced across Changdo’s night, their exuberant sparks half-reflected upon the Sea of Ghosts. Ling Zhiyu, courtesy name Wenhan, Sixth-Rank Clerk of the Ministry of Truth, Junior Secretary of the Lower Oracular Council, set down his brush to admire the distant pyrotechnics.
Tian Xia Days: One Night in Changdo
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
New Year’s first fireworks danced across Changdo’s night, their exuberant sparks half-reflected upon the Sea of Ghosts. Ling Zhiyu, courtesy name Wenhan, Sixth-Rank Clerk of the Ministry of Truth, Junior Secretary of the Lower Oracular Council, set down his brush to admire the distant pyrotechnics.
This far from the city, the celebrations looked almost peaceful. Whenever possible, Zhiyu spent New Year here, at this shoreside teahouse, preferring to stay away from the devotees jostling to light the auspicious incense to welcome the Eternal Emperor’s spirit, away from wending swells of dragon dancers bearing the throne’s five colors, and most of all, away from the Ministry of Faith’s magically amplified, self-congratulatory platitudes for yet another year of Po Li’s glory.
The Sea of Ghosts’ lapping waves broke the oracle’s reverie, their leisurely cadence not unlike the murmuring of some unknown tongue. Zhiyu smiled despite himself. No point thinking such dour thoughts during New Year. You'll invite Heaven’s displeasure... and more importantly, spoil everyone’s mood here. They’ve suffered enough.
Facing the vacuous waters, Zhiyu spoke loudly and clearly to no one at all.
“Yes, elders. Happy New Year to you too. May your heart realize ten thousand desires, may your descendants lead long and healthy lives, may the Eternal Emperor hasten your reincarnations for your loyal service. You can see, Changdo still stands, bright with lanterns, altars, cooking fires, and fireworks. You did not fight the War of Widow-Makers in vain; every New Year is your everlasting gift to us all.”
The currents settled. His invisible audience seemingly placated, Zhiyu returned to his table’s reports, and was pleasantly surprised to find the teahouse’s proprietors had discreetly left some fried niangao and a fresh pot of aged Tuotuo tea. These refreshments were not unwelcome; there was much to attend to, from goiter and beriberi coinciding with recent fads of grain diets emulating the Eternal Emperor’s piety; stirring instability in the West with Lingshen and Quain; troubling developments on the East with Hwanggot and Bachuan. So much to do! But for now, tea and rice cakes. Zhiyu sipped gratefully, smiled his thanks to the teahouse’s owners, and returned to his paperwork, as fresh fireworks and celebratory songs filled the night.
“Oracle Ling looks tired. He’s always working so hard, even on New Year.”
“You know how it is, my beloved. There are some oracles who work very hard, because there are so many who don’t...”
“Close your mouth, my foolish husband. These things! You shouldn’t even think them, let alone speak them... nobody, especially us, can afford to pay the price.”
On this solemn note, the teahouse owners’ whispered conversation reached a brief lull. Fireworks flared above, in the shape of a celestial peach tree; a sign of life’s renewal and promise. Husband and wife contemplated the sky together, a shared silence; then, both spoke abruptly at the same time.
“Do you suppose we can ask Oracle Ling...”
“Maybe it’s as good a time as any to ask Oracle Ling...”
They laughed quietly at this simultaneous blurting of their hearts’ nervousness. Who could blame them? They were but humble merchants without clan or fame, whose usual clients were fishers who plied the Sea of Ghosts for minnow and perch. Oracle Ling was by far their most prestigious guest, a virtuous official without outrageous demands or haughty airs, who paid in full and tipped well.
To ask an extra favor of him, and especially on this New Year, when families traditionally would have their Reunion Dinners, and officials would vie to fete the Ministers in grand court banquets... Oracle Ling must be truly busy to forsake those commitments and opportunities. What right would they have to disturb his schedule with such a selfish request?
Zhiyu yawned as he completed his report on the Gokan trafficking of false Po Lian relics and rubbed the poultice of chrysanthemum and wolfberry over his tired eyes.
I suppose it's time.
The waves stirred, as if in assent.
Zhiyu forced a smile, trying to let the wisdom in his mind fade away, to return from realms of divine insight dwelled by praiseworthy sages. He stood up quietly and tiptoed to the teahouse.
“Excuse me.”
The proprietors nearly jumped from shock. Zhiyu reprimanded himself; he had not wanted to cause any disturbance, but alas, that was exactly what had happened. Ah well, let's get on with it.
“Good sir, good madam, I understand you would like my help with something. I understand you have a child, of the right age for a Test of Fate, and you would like to see what the Heavens are willing to reveal about your child’s destiny.”
This time, the proprietors were truly in shock. How did the esteemed guest know all these? But then, he was an oracle...
“I understand your grandparents were from Lingshen and Quain, who fought here to defend the Imperial City during the War of Widow-Makers...”
The wind hissed, like a thousand knives drawn all at once.
“...and your parents stayed behind, but Changdo has not treated you all that well. Due to the present... succession disputes. Of things much bigger than you or me, our politics, histories, cultures...”
The wind stopped abruptly, A sleeping waterbird woke in surprise, and uttered a mournful cry.
“...and so, you have no lands, no clans, no names, no sponsors; no choice but to take on the regrettable work of doing business on your own. And you wonder... will your child inherit the same fate?”
Wife and husband nodded as one, their eyes red-rimmed and knuckles white-edged.
“If you will permit me, I will perform the Test of Fate for your child, and let his destiny be revealed in Heaven’s gaze. I apologize I must inconvenience you to visit my residence, because my luopan, almanacs, yarrow stalks, and other divinatory tools are at home.”
The couple fell to their knees in gratitude; Zhiyu stepped forward to help them back up. As they ambled to the oracle’s tiny manor, the night sky above Changdo seemed lighter somehow, and not just for the fireworks that flooded its inky expanse.
Illustration by Maichol Quinto
About the Author
Tan Shao Han (he/him) is a writer, editor, consultant, and researcher of Asian histories and cultures. Shao Han grew up with Chinese storytelling from gong'an (magistrate detectives), wuxia (heroic martial artists), and zhiguai (strange tales), which influenced his work on the upcoming Tian Xia World Guide and Tian Xia Character Guide. Outside of his work for Paizo, Shao Han is part of Curious Chimeras, an indie TTRPG company in Singapore, Southeast Asia. Currently, he is developing Sundered Flames, a Pathfinder Second Edition–compatible dark wuxia adventure, as well as remastering Shrine, a xianxia game of vulnerability and vengeance based on the Palanquin TTRPG. You can find more of his work at www.curiouschimeras.com.
Introducing the Wardens of Wildwood Player’s Guide
Chaos erupts at the Greenwood Gala over the Verduran Forest’s best interests! Cool-headed wardens needed!
Introducing the Wardens of Wildwood Player’s Guide
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Chaos erupts at the Greenwood Gala over the Verduran Forest’s best interests! Cool-headed wardens needed!
In the heart of the Verduran Forest, the largest woodlands in Avistan, druids and Green Faith adherents gather annually to share what they’ve learned from the natural world at an event called the Moot of Ages. Nearby, other forest denizens gather for the Greenwood Gala, a festive three-day event filled with feasts, games, and exuberance held on the river’s banks. The gala ends with a symbolic renewal of the Treaty of Wildwood, an agreement that has allowed a modicum of peace between those who call the forest home and those who harvest resources from it.
This doesn’t stop people from airing their grievances, yet the tone of such disagreements tends to be respectful. This year is different. Resentment has grown so deep and toxic that attendees are wielding their grudges like a keenly honed axe. Anyone stepping up to calm the situation is going to be forced to pick a side.
Inside the Wardens of Wildwood Player’s Guide, you’ll find player-friendly, spoiler-free lore and tips to create an exciting character suited for the Wardens of Wildwood Adventure Path. Contents include:
An overview of the Verduran Forest, the Wildwood Lodge, and the annual Moot of Ages.
Character advice, including ways different character classes and ancestries might excel in this Adventure Path.
Six new character backgrounds specifically designed for this Adventure Path, including Fey Friend, Green Faith Pilgrim, Verduran City Folk, and Wood Warden.
Hello! Ben, the CEO and Creative Director of Syrinscape here. My favorite adventure of all time is Red Hand of Doom, which I've run four times—once in its original 3.5 system, and three times adapted for Pathfinder. The first and second SoundSets I ever built for Syrinscape are named "Bugbear Battle," after the very first encounter in Red Hand, and "Witchwood," after the spooky dangerous forest where much of the opening adventure takes place.
Back to Sandpoint with Syrinscape!
Friday, April 19, 2024
Guest blog from Ben Loomes, Syrinscape CEO and Creative Director
Hello! Ben, the CEO and Creative Director of Syrinscape here. My favorite adventure of all time is Red Hand of Doom, which I've run four times—once in its original 3.5 system, and three times adapted for Pathfinder. The first and second SoundSets I ever built for Syrinscape are named "Bugbear Battle," after the very first encounter in Red Hand, and "Witchwood," after the spooky dangerous forest where much of the opening adventure takes place.
I am VERY excited to run Seven Dooms of Sandpoint! This amazing adventure was co-written by James Jacobs. I'm a not-so-secret über-fan of James, so I’m always excited to see new stuff from him.
Let’s jump from the first two Sandpoint SoundSets created for Syrinscape to the latest two. Number 1,081 (“Bones and Ashes”) and Number 1,082 (“Strange Times in Sandpoint”) were built to support the opening of this fantastic NEW adventure. Nowadays Syrinscape has a few more content creators than just me; while it’s still much of my music in there, Chris Körding built these sounds AND contributed even more rich evocative music of his own.
Back in 2009, Chris was playing Rise of the Runelords when, as he describes it, "Syrinscape came along and released the official soundscapes (SoundSets) for the adventure I was playing and I was blown away by the richness and textures and what it provided to the gaming table. Needless to say, Syrinscape became a permanent addition to every gaming session.”
Chris adds, “Fast forward to 2024 and Adventure Path 200! But this time I get to bring it to life for Syrinscape. Expanding from the original adventures and sounds, what could I do to propel it to the roaring 20s?" Nowadays, Syrinscape is more powerful—it can run more channels of sound, with individual reverb units set for every channel, and run sounds which are positioned binaurally for an increased sense of immersion. So, what has Chris done with these new capabilities? He’s had fun, that’s what!
Syrinscape supports all the key locations in this “new” Sandpoint with specifically crafted ambiances. Traps and dramatic events are meticulously crafted for maximum shock and affect. Encounters feature dramatic music to help keep everyone focused and specifically voiced creatures to trigger all those subconscious fears! And of course, as always, Syrinscape is 100% customizable.
When it comes to the music we have created, Chris says, “Don’t want piano hits? Just stop the element. Need some extra choir sounds? Just hit play on THAT element and you have your angelic voices. All of this can easily be done with the power Syrinscape puts into your hands.” With a SuperSyrin sub, you can even compose your own music and upload it to play along with the ambiances we designed. Syrinscape’s support for the Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Adventure Path is rich, specific, and immersive.
If you haven’t used Syrinscape at your table before, now might just be the time to give it a go! And if you are playing remotely with a team of headphone-wearing warriors, Syrinscape has you sorted with our new Web Player, which lets you share your audio with any of your friends ,wherever they are, with just a simple link they can open in any browser. We hope you love what we have built for this adventure. We believe that using Syrinscape in your Pathfinder and Starfinder games will deliver a world-class gaming experience so everyone in your game will have an amazing time, including you!
Hello Starfinders!
The Order of Dawning Fate is crumbling, but the founder and mastermind behind their organization, the calculating witchwyrd Zhaneni, remains at large! It’s time to confront Zhaneni and destroy the last remains of Project Dawn—the hybrid machine that amplifies Zhaneni’s precognitive abilities and enables her to see and shape the future. Time is not on your side!
April Digital Adventure Previews
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Hello Starfinders!
The Order of Dawning Fate is crumbling, but the founder and mastermind behind their organization, the calculating witchwyrd Zhaneni, remains at large! It’s time to confront Zhaneni and destroy the last remains of Project Dawn—the hybrid machine that amplifies Zhaneni’s precognitive abilities and enables her to see and shape the future. Time is not on your side!
Wait… isn’t there another founder we’re forgetting?
Starfinder Society Scenario #6-16: Dawning Fate is an adventure for 7th- through 10th-level characters written by Linda Zayas-Palmer! This adventure is the finale of the Year of Fortune’s Fall metaplot.
Take care out there, Starfinders! The future’s worth fighting for!
Jessica Catalan Starfinder Society Developer
Illustration by Josef Kucera
Greetings, Pathfinders!
It turns out that all the various consumables handed out on missions require a pretty solid support network, and now a supplier of a rare catalyst aiding in mass production is retiring, leaving the Society to turn towards a more troublesome source–Tragshi the Herbalist, head of the Daggermark Poisoners’ Guild. Fortunately, Tragshi is open to the idea, as the Outlaw Council, a meeting of various leaders of the River Kingdoms, is happening in Daggermark soon, and Tragshi has agreed to supply what the Society needs if they can be seen taking orders for her, letting her show off politically. She says there will also be other sundry tasks that need doing as well, but there’s a pretty good chance that the Pathfinders might end up dragged into an internal power structure within one of the most dangerous organizations in the Inner Sea.
The Burning Sun orc hold calls for the Pathfinder Society’s assistance in protecting the corpse of Mahja Firehair as she continues to undergo the Crucible. Lately there have been strange attacks on Freedom Town, centered on the house protecting her body and filled with signs of sulfur and occult magic. While the council of Freedom Town suspects the Whispering Way, Uirch has other concerns and requests that the Pathfinders investigate to find out who might be at the root of this chaos and find out their intentions with Mahja’s body, never suspecting that he may also be the target of this strange attacker.
Finally, we have the next All Ages quest. The Pathfinder Society has long desired a closer relationship with the Magaambya, and Kreighton Shaine has finally gotten a chance to achieve that. He’s selected some of his finest students to show the instructors at that storied institute of magical learning just what Pathfinder can do. The future ties between these organizations are in your hands!
Hey there Pathfinders! In our stream on Tuesday, we announced the god who will die in the War of Immortals. This blog discusses how that god’s death will affect characters in Pathfinder Society.
How A God’s Death Impacts Pathfinder Society
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Hey there Pathfinders! In our stream on Tuesday, we announced the god who will die in the War of Immortals. This blog discusses how that god’s death will affect characters in Pathfinder Society.
This blog contains spoilers for the War of Immortals! If you don’t want to know which god dies, click away now!
Seriously, I’m not joking. The god’s icon is like 5 lines down.
Now’s your last chance.
Okay, you’ve been warned!
Take it away, Josh!
Alex Speidel Organized Play Coordinator
Illustration Jeff Carlisle
Greeting Pathfinders,
By now you’ve all learned which of the core 20 will be dying—Gorum. Many of you may have characters that through one way or another draw power from Our Lord in Iron, and I can imagine that you’re all wondering what this means for those characters going forward. Our setting is one where dead gods don’t grant spells, no matter how fervent their remaining believers. We’re also running the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign in a living setting, and that means that setting-altering impacts will happen, and that they will matter. So, starting at Gen Con, August 1st 2024, Gorum will no longer be alive to grant his faithful power.
Illustration by Ksenia Kozhevnikova
What that means is that any character with an option than relied on Gorum, such as a cleric, gets a free rebuild immediately. You don’t have to use it right away, but if you want to play your character on or after August 1st, you won’t be getting power from Gorum. I know many of you have characters intensely devoted to the gods they follow, and I’ve seen some really incredible Gorumites in my time volunteering for Pathfinder Society and since coming on as a developer. You don’t have to erase that fervor though. Just as we allow the reporting conditions for our scenarios to shape our setting, changes to the setting can be a part of your character’s story. We have some of the most creative players out there, and I look forward to seeing how you incorporate this twist into the characters you play.
Illustration by Francesco Graziani
The death of Gorum is going to hugely impact the setting, but we’ll also be releasing some Godsrain scenarios, so you’ll be able to play through some of the setting-altering aftermath of Our Lord in Iron’s demise. I know some of you will still be disappointed that a character you’ve put a lot into has to change, but we can’t keep our promise of a living setting if we don’t have those setting changes impact everyone. Though Gorum will be gone, your characters’ stories will continue. And I can’t wait to show you some of the scenarios we’ve shaped around this massive event, stories you’ll be able to contribute to because this is a living setting.
But that’ll have to wait for another blog. So, to reiterate, as of August 1st, Gorum will be dead, and any option explicitly receiving power from him won’t work. Any character using such an option, like a cleric, will receive a free rebuild. Until then, play your Gorumites’ hearts out.
Happy gaming everyone. It’s been a blast watching everyone’s theories and reactions throughout this announcement process.
Yesterday, we announced a slate of new products set to release over the latter half of this year that are all tied to the War of Immortals event. While I’ll get to those below, I know the real reason you’re reading the blog, so without further ado, the identity of the member of the Core Twenty who is going to die as part of the War of Immortals is…
Announcing the War of Immortals
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Yesterday, we announced a slate of new products set to release over the latter half of this year that are all tied to the War of Immortals event. While I’ll get to those below, I know the real reason you’re reading the blog, so without further ado, the identity of the member of the Core Twenty who is going to die as part of the War of Immortals is…
Gorum, God of War, is going to die in the War of Immortals event. Illustration by Ivan Koritarev.
Our Lord in Iron, Gorum! Now, the how, when, and why of this deific death are elements of War of Immortals we’re not quite ready to talk about yet, but we promise: Gorum is going to die “on screen” in an adventure in which your player characters play a role. We’ll have more details about that as the adventure’s release approaches. In the meantime, let’s take a brief look at the slate of products coming in the second half of 2024 in which Gorum’s death and the larger War of Immortals metaplot will play out!
First on the list are an adventure and adventure path that have already been announced. In July, we’re releasing Pathfinder Adventure: Prey for Death, a 128-page hardcover adventure for 14th-level characters, written by former Paizo Developer Vanessa Hoskins. In this adventure, you’ll play members of the Red Mantis, the notorious and mysterious assassins guild and cult of the mantis god, Achaekek, who must clear their names when treachery threatens to besmirch their honor. Not only is Prey for Death the first tie-in to the War of Immortals storyline, but it’s also the debut of the new ongoing format of the Pathfinder Adventure product line!
Also in July, we’ll kick off our 40th Pathfinder Adventure Path (!!!), entitled Curtain Call, with Pathfinder Adventure Path #204: Stage Fright by veteran designer Richard Pett. Stage Fright starts characters as 11th-level adventurers who, over the course of the AP, help to produce an opera based on their own prior adventures while simultaneously facing a new threat that only the most powerful of heroes can stop. The connections between a theater-based campaign and the death of one of Golarion’s most powerful deities may seem tenuous, but you’ll have to trust us on this: the ramifications of Gorum’s death and the ensuing Godsrain affect all aspects of the world. And players of the Curtain Call Adventure Path will have a front row seat!
In September, we’ll be releasing the first of a pair of e-book short fiction collections exploring the event, a compilation of Erin Roberts’s smash web fiction series, The Godsrain Prophecies, complete with additional material exploring the identity and motivations of the mysterious seer who first penned the prophecies.
In October, we’ll publish Before the Godsrain, an anthology of short and flash fiction featuring four Iconic characters: the barbarian Amiri, the wizard Ezren, the cleric Kyra, and elven rogue Merisiel. These stories—mostly previously published on the Paizo Blog—explore the characters’ origins, character, and prior adventures and set the stage for something we’ll chat about a little bit later.
Also in October, Paizo is proud to announce the tentpole release of the War of Immortals event, the aptly named Pathfinder War of Immortalshardcover rulebook. This 240-page hardcover (also available in special edition, retailer-exclusive sketch variant, and forthcoming pocket edition) will introduce mythic rules to Pathfinder Second Edition, as well as two brand new classes—the first original classes built on the remastered foundation of the Pathfinder Player Core—the animist and exemplar! In addition to loads of new character options, War of Immortals also explores Gorum’s death and the ramifications. Most notable among these is the Godsrain: a literal shower of the slain god’s blood, shattered armor, and divine essence that falls upon Golarion and every world on which he was worshiped, leaving war and mythic power in its wake. A book called War of Immortals would hardly be doing its job if it didn’t explain the selfsame conflict, an extended period of conflict in which gods struggle to survive a slew of divine deaths and mortals vie for the newly available god-sparks upsetting the balance of power.
October also brings our second War of Immortals tie-in adventure path, Triumph of the Tusk, beginning with Pathfinder Adventure Path #207: The Resurrection Flood, by Brian Duckwitz and John Compton, and adventure for 3rd-level characters. Triumph of the Tusk is a three-part monthly campaign in which an eclectic band of dignitaries become battle-hardened survivalists fighting for the orcs’ homeland and independence. “How does this tie into the larger War of Immortals?” you might ask. Well, let’s just say that Gorum isn’t the only god who’s going to die during this event, and some ancestral pantheons are going to get hit harder than others. For more info, you’ll just have to wait until October!
In November, we round out the products we’re announcing today (though the consequences of the Godsrain and War of Immortals will continue into 2025 and beyond) with two exciting new releases. The first, Lost Omens Divine Mysteries, explores, well, the divine mysteries of the setting and provides an overview of the gods and faiths common throughout the Age of Lost Omens, reflecting the changes to the setting brought about by the War of Immortals. You’ll notice that Arazni is featured prominently on the cover, and that’s because she’s graduating into the ranks of the Core Twenty to fill the vacancy left with Gorum’s death. While she won’t take on his mantle of war, she will nevertheless rise to more and more prominence within the setting as a new status quo materializes.
Finally, November also sees the return of long-format Pathfinder fiction to print with the much-anticipated Pathfinder Godsrain by fan-favorite author Liane Merciel. Unlike previous novels published under the Pathfinder Tales brand from 2010 to 2017, Godsrain will debut as a deluxe hardcover with wraparound dustjacket and will feature Pathfinder’s popular Iconic heroes as its protagonists. In this exciting tale, Amiri, Ezren, Kyra, and Merisiel will witness Gorum’s death, receive their own nascent god-sparks, and even meet one of their patron deities as they take on a desperate quest to prevent the greatest threat Golarion has ever known from escaping an ancient prison. Can they use their unique talents, newfound mythic power, and the blessings of the Dawnflower to maintain the seal on the Dead Vault? You’ll just have to read and find out!
The advent of the War of Immortals on Golarion will necessitate seasoned warriors, and we’re answering that call with the newly announced Battlecry! Class Playtest, launching on April 29, 2024. During this public playtest, players will have the chance to put two new war-themed classes through their paces before their release in an as-yet-unannounced product coming in 2025. The commander is a martial support class that can issue commands to her allies, granting them extra movement, actions, reactions, and more. The guardian is an armored tank, who can taunt opponents and maximize the effectiveness of heavy armor to be a bulwark against nearly any threat. Be sure to try these exciting new classes out in just a few weeks!
That’s all the announcements we have for now, but we’ll have a lot more to say about these releases and more in the coming months, beginning at PaizoCon in May. Until then, you can catch up on yesterday’s stream on Twitch or YouTube and join the conversation here, on the Paizo Forums, or any of the many social media communities where Pathfinder fans congregate.
If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, check out this step by step breakdown for getting badges via Tabletop.Events this year.
Game Signups
And here’s a step-by-step breakdown for this year’s game signups!
Find the game you would like to sign up for on the Schedule of Events. This schedule can be filtered by many different criteria including name, event type, date, and time. Click on the event entry (either the name or the number to the left).
On the right side of the screen, click the large green button that says “Get Ticket for YOUR NAME.” This will add the event ticket to your cart, but you’re not done yet!
You can go and add more tickets to your cart if you like, as your tickets are saved for two hours. Once you’re all done, click “Checkout” in the cart to the right of the screen.
Click “Check out for Free.” You’re all set! You can view your schedule on the “My Schedule” page at any time.
Please note that there is a limit on our new content this year. To ensure everyone gets a chance to play the new scenarios, you may not sign up for more than one session of a new release. These new releases are:
SFS1 Intro: Year of Era's End
SFS1 7-02: Zo! vs. Zo
PFS2 5-16: A Lie Told to Strangers
PFS2 5-17: Stranded on Yesterday's Tide
Submitting Community Events
While the main schedule has been released, community gaming event submissions are still open! These can be RPG events featuring Pathfinder or Starfinder, as well as other systems or even other types of games entirely! Want to introduce people to your favorite indie RPG? Looking for players for the new board game you just bought? Finally want to settle who the best Mario Karter in the community is? You can host all these events and more!
From the PaizoCon convention page, go to “Host” in the top bar, then click “Submissions.”
Click “New Submission” and choose an event type. For this explainer we’ll be using an RPG event, but most events will ask for the same or similar information.
Fill in the requested information! Let the staff and prospective attendees know as much as you can about the event you’re submitting. Once you’ve filled in the information, click Create!
After submission, staff will review events and either approve them (adding them to the schedule), contact you for more information, or reject them. We reserve the right to reject events for any reason.
You can submit events at any time before May 24, 2024.
If you have any questions about event submissions, please reach out to us at paizocon@paizo.com
Other Activities
Portfolio Review Sign Ups
Portfolio reviews are now open to general attendees! Anyone is welcome to fill out the form, book a slot for portfolio review, and join us on the Paizo Events Discord server! Get thoughtful and detailed feedback on your illustrations from Paizo’s art directors and narrative team. Learn what we look for and how to get there. We are here to help! Sign up to have our team review your portfolio, and we’ll give you a constructive critique on your work.
The art and writing reviews are separate, so you are welcome to sign up for both, but please only sign up for one review per subject.
Review Guidelines
Reviews will be done over Discord; please remember what time you signed up and join the Discord chat at your time as to not intrude on someone else’s review.
Please only choose one slot per review subject; we have a limited number of times and want to give as many people a chance as possible.
Please link to your portfolio so we have a chance to review your work beforehand.
No AI generated work.
Appointment reminder emails will be sent out the week before PaizoCon, and again the day before a scheduled review. We can’t wait to see your work!
We’ll once again be joined by multiple friends of Paizo in the Discord this year! Chat with, ask questions of, and learn more about the amazing work of teams like BKOM Studios, Foundry VTT, Roll20, and more!
Last year’s convention was entirely online, but this year we’re introducing PaizoCon@! Our new pilot program allows you to experience PaizoCon in person with your fellow Pathfinders and Starfinders at participating local game stores! Check back on this blog to learn more.
We look forward to seeing you all online this year!
One of my favorite places aboard the Zoetrope was the menagerie, where I would tend to the flora and fauna we’d taken aboard temporarily for further study. Unfortunately, things were decidedly less peaceful this evening as I raced up the steps to the upper deck, pausing to catch my breath before a small blue creature scampered past me along the ship’s outer railing, giving me a dreadful start.
Zoetrope Logs, Part Four: Our Flying Home
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
One of my favorite places aboard the Zoetrope was the menagerie, where I would tend to the flora and fauna we’d taken aboard temporarily for further study. Unfortunately, things were decidedly less peaceful this evening as I raced up the steps to the upper deck, pausing to catch my breath before a small blue creature scampered past me along the ship’s outer railing, giving me a dreadful start.
“She’s still not eating, Baranthet.” Charikleia came around the side, gingerly navigating the narrow space between the railing and the Zoetrope's menagerie. Through the structure’s glass walls—perfect for letting in natural light—I could see our other specimens settling in for the evening amid the lush vegetation, under ballast rocks, or near the drinking pond. The little blue creature, however, swiveled her enormous amber ears in my direction as Chari spoke, resolutely ignoring the seedcake in Chari’s hand.
“Hmmm.” I leaned down and peered at our guest, who chirped plaintively at me in a way that sounded like speech. “Chari—”
“I agree,” she said, already scribbling notes. “That sounded like language. Can you understand us, little one?”
The creature surveyed us solemnly, then without warning sprang from the railing and scrambled through a window.
I let out a rather undignified yelp of surprise and hustled to the nearest door, Chari following soon after. Dr. Pom was at the helm this evening (she was always a bit more alert at night), and the Zoetrope was well underway; we couldn’t have our small guest accidentally falling overboard!
The tiny patter of paws overhead led us upstairs to the mess deck, where, sure enough, the creature perched in the doorway to Grefu’s kitchen, sniffing the air with a disappointed look.
“Well now, who’s this?” Grefu turned from a simmering pot and looked from the creature to us. “I didn’t set a place for an honored guest.”
She emitted the sound—a word?—again, but Grefu looked as nonplussed as the rest of us.
“Well, it’s not Jotun or Thalassic,” muttered Chari, surely making a mental note for our records. Before I could reply, the creature shot between the legs of the chairs and dining table and tore back downstairs. Grefu shrugged and returned to his work as Chari and I gave chase.
The creature was perched on a crate as we came downstairs to the storage area but looked almost disapprovingly at us before scrambling down the stairs to the next flight. We heard a “Goodness! What—?” from Dr. Pom as the creature chirped at her and continued down another level, then a clang a few seconds later. She must have already reached the engine room on the next deck down.
The Zoetrope’s newest guest. Art by Vira Linevych.
“Hey; I need that!” called Ten as the creature emerged clutching a small gear in her hands. She chirped at them, placed the gear gently on the ground, and took off once more.
“She’s very energetic,” I observed to Chari, pausing to catch my breath.
“And she’s not speaking Surki either,” said Chari, who seemed unaffected by our unexpected evening exercise. “Oh no!”
We heard a distant splash and ran down another level to find the creature sputtering and pulling herself out of the access pipe leading down to the aquatic deck. She looked rather affronted as Lythea swam up the pipe and broke the surface, inadvertently splashing a few droplets onto the creature’s head.
“So sorry, little one,” our navigator said, holding out a hand. “How can we help?”
The creature instead clambered up onto Chari’s arm, flicking water from her ears. She chirped again. It sounded so familiar! I was increasingly convinced that lyrical chirp was, in fact, a word in a language I’d heard before.
“I’m going to stop for my notes before we go back up,” Chari called over her shoulder, turning down the hall toward the crew quarters. I followed her, thinking to peruse my own small collection and check again for any clues as to this creature’s identity.
“Professor, is that you?” Telero opened the door at the end of the hall, emerging from the shuttle bay just as I stepped into my own room. “Hey, who’s this?”
The creature, catching a glimpse of the darkening sky through the branches of the shuttle bay door, squawked and leapt from Chari’s shoulder to her head, climbing up one of her horns and chattering at Telero. He quickly closed the door behind him and approached slowly. “Hey there, it’s okay, friend,” he said. “You’re safe. What’s your name?”
The creature blinked at him, then chirped that same familiar syllable.
Telero frowned in confusion. “Gold?”
I’d become distracted while opening the door to my own room, bemoaning the untidy stack of scrolls and maps I’d meant to organize the previous day, but I turned at this. “Wait, did you say—?”
The creature leapt from Chari’s head and shot into my cabin, papers flying as she disappeared under my desk. I crouched at once to see her clutching my long-missing volume of The Thrilling Tales of Spiridendra (so that’s where it had gone!). She chirped once more.
“She’s saying ‘gold’ in Fey,” Telero said, he and Chari crowding in behind me.
“Of course,” I breathed, looking back up at Chari.
“A marp!”
“They usually communicate in both Common and Fey, but perhaps this one is too young,” I reasoned, reaching out for the book as she began to lick its gold embossing experimentally. “Wait, please! I’ll trade you.” I slowly reached into my pocket and withdrew a gold piece. “Would you like to return to the menagerie? We’ll make sure you’re well fed!”
The marp reluctantly relinquished her grip, but cheered up when she grasped the gold piece with her small hands. We climbed back up to the menagerie, the marp riding on Chari’s shoulder and crunching happily.
The rest of the crew gathered around to exclaim over our guest and her unique menu. (Ten dashed off and returned with an armful of metal scraps to see if the marp found anything else to her liking, but as you’ll see in Charikleia’s notes, gold remains the preferred meal.) As I looked around at my companions, the moonlight streaming through the menagerie’s glass dome, a wave of joy overcame me, as it has so often done on this journey—the joy of discovery, of reaching shared understanding, and of building communities. The joy of belonging.
The Zoetrope hummed quietly under our feet, whisking us away to our next adventure.
About the Author
Baranthet Zamendi cultivated his love of the natural world at a young age, enamored with his grandmother’s awe-inspiring tales of the legendary Wardens of the Wild. He briefly attended Almas University before returning home to rebuild Droon’s public library, eventually becoming its head archivist. His upcoming book on the crew of the Zoetrope and their search for the wardens is his first, but he’s already planning his next adventure.
Support for Mr. Zamendi by
Simone D. Sallé is a senior editor at Paizo and has written for numerous Pathfinder and Starfinder books, including more of Baranthet’s tale inPathfinder Howl of the Wild, the primal treatise and witch journals in Pathfinder Secrets of Magic, and Starfinder Bounty #12: Under Pressure. When she’s not extolling the virtues of the en dash, she enjoys playing as many narrative games as her schedule allows and wandering the woods with her Disreputable Dog.
Good morning, explorers! While we’ve taken a look at the crew you’ll see throughout Howl of the Wild, we realized there’s one more character we still needed to introduce: the Zoetrope itself! This unique airship serves as a home to our eccentric crew as they search Golarion for the Wardens of the Wild and features its own onboard menagerie, darkroom, research deck, and aquarium for all their exploratory needs.
The Zoetrope in dock. Art by Gunship Revolution.
If your characters want to have their own adventures alongside Baranthet and the rest of the crew, we hope the following map, wonderfully illustrated by Damien Mammoliti and based on concept art from our very own Kent Hamilton, will come in handy.
Map of the Zoetrope. Art by Damien Mammoliti.
It's hard to believe our foray through the Zoetrope logs is at a close. But this is just a taste of Baranthet’s story, and we hope that you’ll want to take part when Howl of the Wild releases next month. Look forward to seeing some more tidbits about all the creatures, options, items, and more coming in the book, and let us know what sort of expedition your characters are thinking about going on!
Pathfinder Infinite, Starfinder Infinite, and Paizo are thrilled to welcome you to the PaizoCon 2024 Game Jam!
Educate, Entertain, Inspire!
Friday, April 12, 2024
A one-page game jam designed for the Infinite community!
Guest Blog by Meredith Gerber | Partner Relations Representative at DriveThruRPG
Pathfinder Infinite, Starfinder Infinite, and Paizo are thrilled to welcome you to the PaizoCon 2024 Game Jam!
What is a game jam?
A game jam is an event designed to create something from scratch during a timed period. In this case, all entries will be due no later than May 1st, 2024.
What is the game jam theme?
The theme marries with the PaizoCon 2024 theme: Educate, Entertain, and Inspire!
Who can participate?
Anyone! All you need is a customer account for DriveThru sites.
Why should I participate?
Aside from it’s a blast to jam together with the community, you’ll get promotions from Paizo, DriveThruRPG, and Pathfinder/Starfinder Infinite; you will be providing a very cool option for GMs to bring to their table; and you’ll be challenging yourself as a creator or bringing an idea from your table to life.
What are the rules?
Must fit one page, double sided. (Technically, it will be two pages of a single-page PDF or a two-page spread. When someone prints it out, they’ll have one sheet with information front and back)
Must be uploaded to Pathfinder Infinite or Starfinder Infinite before May 1st, 2024.
When you’re finished setting up your title, please keep it private. We will turn all of them to be available for purchase slightly before PaizoCon.
Email meredith@roll20.net with a link to your private URL, your customer email, and a two-sentence synopsis.
Do you have a font size restriction?
No. You’re welcome to make the font any size you’d like, but we recommend at least 9.5 for readability.
Do I have to put artwork in?
Not a requirement! We recommend keeping it simple so people can easily print it out. You’re welcome to also make a printer-friendly version to upload alongside your submission (so, two files!) if your submission needs color, art, and flourish!
I submitted my title. Now what?
Pathfinder Infinite/Starfinder Infinite will notify you when it is live and when Paizo posts a “round up” promoting it the week of PaizoCon.
Can I make changes? Won’t that cause problems for the URL I send?
You are welcome to make changes to your submission—the PDF(s), the description, title—at any time.
Can I charge for this?
Absolutely! Infinite Masters are recommending at least 99 cents. You are not required to charge but we always recommend it because you should charge for the work you did!
Hello, everyone! Today we’re giving you a sneak peek into our two upcoming multi-table interactive events for the 2024 Paizo Organized Play season!
Organized Play Preview: 2024 Interactive Events
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Hello, everyone! Today we’re giving you a sneak peek into our two upcoming multi-table interactive events for the 2024 Paizo Organized Play season!
Every year, Pathfinder Organized Play and Starfinder Organized Play each release one multi-table event that can be played with as few as three tables and well over 150+ tables at the world’s largest gaming events. These are intended to be epic adventures where players work alongside each other to accomplish monumental feats and battle great evils. In the past, these events were tied to key story points for Organized Play. In recent years, our special events have been standalone adventures that tell exciting but isolated stories, making them usable at conventions and special events for many years to come. This year, we’re continuing this trend, with two exciting interactive events that are standalone, so they can be enjoyed by anyone at any time.
Every year the Starfinder Society dispatches agents to perform initial exploration and surveys of hundreds of worlds, identifying resources, cataloging biological samples, mapping terrain, and initiating peaceful contact. This year is no different. …Or is it?
Respected Starfinder Palivhar Chooser of Hues, has recently discovered a planet they believe to be Krethiskar, a “missing” planet in the distant Szandite Collective that failed to reconnect after the Gap. Keen on investigating further, Palivhar leads an expedition of rookie Starfinders to Krethiskar’s surface, to conduct initial surveys and routine testing.
Unfortunately for the Starfinder Society, Krethiskar is a huskworld consumed by the voracious Swarm in ages past, and this mission is anything but routine. Palivhar’s survey expedition is doomed to become a desperate fight for survival, as the hibernating Swarm awaken. Can you escape the planet alive?
I hope you join us on Krethiskar for this year’s interactive special!
Jessica Catalan Starfinder Society Developer
Illustration by Lucas Fernando
Premiering at Gen Con 2024, Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-00: Salt of the Ocean is an adventure for 1st- through 8th-level characters written by Rigby Bendele and Jacob W. Michaels.
As the year turns over and different events start to pick up across Golarion, two things of interest are discovered as the Eye of Abendego, the massive hurricane off the coast of the Mwangi Expanse, shifts and turns. The first is a shipwreck of an old Pathfinder ship, the Whippoorwill, and the second is an island of legend spoken only in the stories of the crumbled Ghol-Gan empire, the Island of Teeth and Terror.
Hurricane Queen Tessa Fairwind has reached out to the Pathfinder Society to inform them of both discoveries, prompting an expedition to see what can be found on both the ship and the island. However, the Island of Teeth and Terror is also the goal of the notorious pirate Sharkskin, spurred on by xir companion and mentor, Enava, who has her own plans for the nephilim and the island.
Can the Pathfinders put a stop to these nefarious plans? Can you survive the threats within the Abendego Ocean?
Despite my apprehension at reading about the deaths of so many of Golarion’s gods and my continuing belief that these Godsrain Prophecies cannot be taken at their word, I still feel a bit wistful about reaching the end of my analysis. While it is certainly possible that there are other prophecies in this vein, this is the last that I will read before delivering the collection to my Lady.
The Godsrain Prophecies Part Ten
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Despite my apprehension at reading about the deaths of so many of Golarion’s gods and my continuing belief that these Godsrain Prophecies cannot be taken at their word, I still feel a bit wistful about reaching the end of my analysis. While it is certainly possible that there are other prophecies in this vein, this is the last that I will read before delivering the collection to my Lady.
I am not sure why I feel so hesitant to put this work aside. Of course, there is something satisfying about feeling like you are a part of important research, even if the experience of it is less than pleasant. (I think here of those who have documented the beliefs of faiths that are somewhat more difficult to understand, as in To Scream Is Divine: My Year at a Nidalese Temple and its somewhat more uneven follow-up, Kuthite Lullabies.) Beyond that, though, I believe I will miss the gods themselves—or at least the insights into them that these texts have given me, even when I don’t believe a word that I am reading.
After reviewing the entirety of the Godsrain Prophecies, I am confident in one thing and one thing only: that the author has been made privy, whether through prophecy or otherwise, to the fact that one of Golarion’s gods will die. The preoccupation with the subject of a dead god, accuracy of some of the smaller details, and feeling of anticipation throughout are compelling evidence in favor of my theory. With all the contradictions and confusions in the text, though, I do not believe that the author knows which god, how they die, or why.
Unfortunately, this is where my certainty ends, as there are several different reasons why the author may have taken this information and used it to create the prophecies. It is possible that they feared what might happen and wrote these prophecies as a warning, attempting to prevent the dangers they dreamed up. It is also possible that they hope the death will be a destabilizing event, and that they intended for these prophecies to weaken faith and trust in the gods, making them easier to abandon in the aftermath of a catastrophe. There is no way to know, as I will admit to my Lady; I hope that in her wisdom, she can discern the truth.
If nothing else, as with all futures, only time will tell.
–Yivali
The “Death” of Rovagug
The chant starts as a whisper—an idle piece of pillow talk on nights Sarenrae cannot sleep, her fingertips gone marching on the canvas that is Shelyn’s back, her hands casting surging shadows onto Desna’s resting arm. She weaves a tale of how to win the battle that she hungers for, imagining alliances that span across the Great Beyond and speaking life to victory until the passion of her dream becomes a shared ambition. All three lovers make mention of it, idly, to those who share their interests, pitched in a tone and timbre meant to echo in the listener’s chest. The message drums with nostalgia tinged with rage and thirst for justice long delayed, and it is passed along from ear to ear until it finally circles back, a call to action with the deadly urgency of war.
Imprisonment is not enough. Rovagug must die.
There are more gods now than there were when Rovagug was sealed away, and many sign up for the quest to kill the Great Destroyer, to stand alongside Abadar and Gozreh and Calistria. Some do so to show their mettle, some to gather bragging rights, and some to reassure themselves that if there is something to gain, they won’t leave empty-handed. Sarenrae worries, privately, that many do not understand the danger they’ve signed up for, but she takes the names and notes the skills and hands the roles out all the same—rear guard to those who fear but fight, support for those who dwell in hope, melee for those who want to feel the blood beneath their fingers.
At first, it seems too easy. Asmodeus unlocks the seal that leads into the Dead Vault and gods pour through in something like a line. Wrackworms turn from feasting on the Rough Beast’s flesh to face them, but fall to sword and spell and scythe as if they were an afterthought, slicking the ground around themselves with remnants of their dying. After the cheers and murmurs fade, a gnawing silence fills the air, thick and dank and hungry, and for a moment, no one moves, a huddled mass of godhood waiting for something to happen.
Then Rovagug is everywhere—suddenly, impossibly. Rending, clawing, tearing open, shoveling exalted flesh into his waiting mouths. Apsu’s wing is torn asunder. Hei Feng’s feathers fall like rain. Grandmother Spider holds her own, her arms a whirling blur of blades, but watches as Thamir falls still, body crushed beneath a claw, and Hanspur drowns a second time, awash in his own blood. But Rovagug, despite his power, cannot overcome them all, and soon the tide of battle changes, rattling the prison’s walls as gods press their advantages, slamming his body side to side—an endless, rhythmic dying.
With each impact on the Dead Vault’s walls, Golarion is shaken. Buildings tumble into streets. Rivers shift to find new banks. Old trees flatten forests. Volcanoes long thought dormant, from Taldor to the Five Kings Mountains, spit dense ash into the sky, blanketing the life around them and blocking out the sun. The Eye of Abendego expands twofold, turning the Mwangi Expanse into newly Sodden Lands. When Rovagug is finally still, Sarenrae standing by his head with her arms held high in victory, the gods emerge from the Dead Vault to find a world that thinks the end has come.
After all the dead are mourned, no one agrees on what comes next. The aftermath grows tense and bitter, victory turned vicious. With Rovagug no threat to them, godly alliances feel heavier, a burden to be shrugged off or set down and ignored. How to rebuild a ruined land becomes the stuff of smaller wars—Abadar feuds with Erastil, Irori shuns Iomedae, Sarenrae feels the weight of blame hurled at her from every corner, and Norgorber sides with anyone who might advance his cause. But while they bicker here and now, the gods may yet unite again, as deep in Avistani soil, disturbed by distant tremors, the worst of Rovagug’s spawn have felt their prison falter and ready for destruction that would make their sire proud.
While imprisoned, Rovagug maintains the peace between the gods, but in his absence, what prevents war between the immortals?
That is certainly one way to end things. If I am being honest, the idea of Rovagug trapped within the bowels of Golarion has always made me a bit nervous, but it seems it may be better than the alternative! Which gives me one final idea as to why these prophecies exist—perhaps they argue against change and tell those who read them that, even for those gods whom you might fear or hate, the status quo is better than anything new that you might long for—a desperate version of a wish that, no matter what they have seen coming, it would be best for things to continue as they are. Sadly for the author, change, I believe, is inevitable. I hope only that we are ready and that we meet it, heads held high and wings outstretched, however and whenever it comes.
Don’t miss our exciting livestream on Tuesday, April 16 at 4:00 PM Pacific at twitch.tv/officialpaizo, where members of the Pathfinder team will announce who among the remaining deities is the unfortunate victim presaged in these prophecies. In addition to revealing which major deity is going to die in the War of Immortals event, we’ll also lay out the entire slate of War of Immortals tie-in products coming in the second half of 2024. Make your final predictions and join us in just under a week.
About the Author
Erin Roberts has been thrilled to be able to contribute a few small threads to the fabric of Golarion in the pages of books like Lost Omens Firebrands, Lost Omens Highhelm, and Lost Omens Travel Guide. In addition to her work for Paizo, she freelances across the TTRPG world (and was selected as a Diana Jones Award Emerging Designer Program Winner in 2023), has had fiction published in magazines including Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and The Dark, and talks about writing every week on the Writing Excuses podcast. Catch up with her latest at linktr.ee/erinroberts.
From first light to sunset, the Indraracha Institute bustles with activity. The docks continually ferry people in and out of the campus. Meal, study, repeat—every day is a routine at the academy, a routine strengthening the minds and sharpening the skills of the future sorcerers and politicians of Tang Mai.
Tian Xia Days: Study Hall
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
From first light to sunset, the Indraracha Institute bustles with activity. The docks continually ferry people in and out of the campus. Meal, study, repeat—every day is a routine at the academy, a routine strengthening the minds and sharpening the skills of the future sorcerers and politicians of Tang Mai.
For one young boy, though, things were different. School was just school. Sometimes, all he wanted to do was to just run around, not bury himself nose-deep in a book about the nation’s history. One morning, he was doing just that—running through the halls of the Institute, weaving between his classmates that filled rooms and corridors studying all things magical.
Asok’s circuit ended in one of the many gardens. Resting under a tall banyan tree, the boy began to doze off. He snapped his eyes open when he heard a familiar voice.
“What are you doing here?” A tattooed young man strode over, a basket of herbs in hand.
“Thanom!” The boy scrambled up to his feet, putting his hands together in a greeting. “I’m just on my way to study hall... unless you need help in the gardens?” He gave a wide grin.
“And take you away from your studies? Your instructors will have my head! And if I’m gone, there will be even fewer people who tolerate your behavior.” He pulled out a mangosteen and handed the fruit to Asok. “Now go to class. Next time I need help, I’ll come to you. When you’re not trying to hide from your instructors.”
Asok gave another huge grin to the alchemist before rushing off to his class, conveniently located in a quieter corner of the Institute. He tucked himself alongside his classmates as they all settled in, twisting open the mangosteen and eating the meat inside. Mali, his seatmate, glared. In return, he smiled and offered a piece to her, but she turned her head away in annoyance.
“Remember, students, placement tests are coming up soon. While you all are young, it’s important you take your exams seriously.” Teacher Chai walked around, handing out textbooks. “We want to make sure you all end up learning subjects you enjoy and excel at.”
Asok opened the book to the lines, “Sorcerer diplomats provide the Chaophaya counsel and identify magical phenomena to aid them in their rule. Following the precepts of the Indraracha Institute, diplomats must be impartial...” The text was dizzying.
“Aiyyyyy, I’m tired,” he groaned.
“Shhhhh!” Mali nudged him. “Stop complaining. You’re going to get us in trouble.”
“It’s hot and it’s sooooo boring.” Asok began fanning himself with the textbook.
“It’s always hot,” the girl reminded him, “and you say everything is boring.”
Asok nudged her back. In a huff, they both started jostling each other, though mostly in jest.
Their instructor eyed them with suspicion, but before he could say anything, sparks coalesced in the air.
“Teacher Chai!” An illusion of an older student sprung into being. “Apologies for the disturbance—we could use some assistance with an artifact in the south research laboratory.”
“Of course. Right away.” The instructor turned to the class, saying, “Now, students, be diligent while I’m gone,” before hurrying out.
In the heat and humidity, diligent self-study didn’t last long. Mischievous as ever, Asok got to his feet and reached for the magic within him. A small flame sparked to life in his hand.
“Asok, stop,” Mali chided. “You shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Come on, we’re studying, right?” Asok juggled the flame between his fingers. “If we don’t break anything, it’s fine. Unless you’re a scaredy-cat?”
Illustration by Ilina Naydenova.
“Am not!” She frowned before standing up, a spell coming to her as easy as breath. “You know I’m sooooo much better than you at casting.”
Students discarded their textbooks and started chatting among themselves. In a moment, the alcove filled with all sorts of spells. A young nagaji girl conjured a bubble of water and began shaping it into a flower. Another student drew a monstrous face on a nearby stone before levitating it to chase their classmates through the alcove.
Between the two rival factions, a heated competition quickly drew the class’s attention. Mali shot her hand up in the air, spraying an array of bright colors. The crowd was mesmerized with the lights. She gave her opponent a playful grin.
Asok huffed, “It’s just colors—isn’t this so much cooler?” He caught the ember in his fist before shooting it out. The small burst of fire cut through the rainbow. The boy puffed his chest in pride.
The “oooohs” from the crowd turned to a giggle as Mali wiggled her fingers and a second image of Asok appeared next to him. While crude, the illusion was unmistakably of the boy. It hopped around, flexing in an exaggerated manner. Asok frowned at his double, which frowned back.
Not to be outdone, Asok threw his memory and being back into his blood, finding the might of elementals. He breathed in deep before releasing a gust of flame that spilled from his lips and billowed outwards. The fire dispersed the illusion before launching upward to the sky. Asok was careful to not let it hit Mali or their classmates, but the size of the breath was growing larger than he could control. The expanding heat licked the roof of the outdoor galleries that surrounded their study area, lighting up small pieces of foliage.
“Asok! Look what you did,” Mali yelled, taking a step back from the sparks.
“I didn’t mean to,” Asok stammered, ashamed about his mistake. “I—I’m sorry!”
“Come on, we have to stop this before Teacher Chai comes back.”
The nagaji student guided her water magic to the fire. While it extinguished some of it, the flames were spreading faster than she could handle. The class chipped in with various spells, with little impact.
Suddenly, a chill wind gusted through the alcove, frost trailing in its wake and collecting on the stones. The winds roared across the roof, blowing the fires out as easily as candles, making Asok and Mali shiver and clutch their arms close despite the fires and the Tang Mai sun. Turning around, the students saw Teacher Chai with an expressionless face, magic still trailing from his fingers as his incantation left him.
“Spellcraft is not allowed without instructor supervision at your age.” Teacher Chai said sternly as he walked toward the panicked students. “I expected as much from you, Asok. But you, Mali...”
“I—I—I’m sorry, Teacher!” Mali bowed her head, “We tried to stop it ourselves. We know it was wrong, but—”
The teacher put a hand up to stop the student. “While you all showed responsibility in fixing your mistakes, magic is volatile. One misstep, one wrong incantation, can cause chaos. Now, back to your studies.”
As the young students began to quiet down and shrink themselves back into their texts, Teacher Chai looked at Asok and Mali. “Though, I must admit it was quite the impressive feat. You two have the makings of incredible sorcerers.”
About the Author
Collette Quach (they/she) is a Chinese-Cambodian narrative designer with an interest in mythology and identity. They've worked on projects such as the Tian Xia Character Guide Unbreakable Anthology, and the ENNIE-winning Uncaged Anthology. She has an MFA in Interactive Media from USC, where she explored branching narrative and agency through her video game, Last Broadcast. You can see more of their work here and on Twitter.
Hey! It’s your fledgling and greenhorn Rulelord Pete here. If there’s three things to know about me, they’re that I am a consummate GM, I think the next iconic should be a shoony, and I want people to try new games! However, it’s not always that easy. Branching out in our collective hobby requires many people to commit time, money, and energy to sit at a table and engage with unfamiliar rules. There are many who might want to try something new but aren’t able to because they can’t find anyone to play with. If this sounds like you, then there’s hope.
Get Ready For Beginner Box Days 2024!
Friday, April 05, 2024
Hey! It’s your fledgling and greenhorn Rulelord Pete here. If there’s three things to know about me, they’re that I am a consummate GM, I think the next iconic should be a shoony, and I want people to try new games! However, it’s not always that easy. Branching out in our collective hobby requires many people to commit time, money, and energy to sit at a table and engage with unfamiliar rules. There are many who might want to try something new but aren’t able to because they can’t find anyone to play with. If this sounds like you, then there’s hope.
The mods at r/Pathfinder2e saw a need to help bring Pathfinder to new players, and thus Beginner Box Days were born! This year, events will be running between April 13th and April 21st. Using the power of the internet, we have been able to connect new players hungry to try Pathfinder Second Edition with experienced GMs. So, how can you get involved?
RUN A GAME! GMs can register their game at RPGChronicles.net using event code 2716006. Once you set up events for both the Upper and Lower levels, players will be able to join your game starting TODAY! You can run games in your local time zone or even in a non-English language to help introduce the next generation of Pathfinder players to the game. Just make sure to get a Beginner Box module version for your VTT of choice or request a FREE PDF copy from Paizo through our form at BeginPF2.com.
PLAY A GAME! Starting TODAY players can register themselves for both levels of Paizo’s remastered Beginner Box adventure: Menace under Otari! Each level is designed to slowly introduce the player to important aspects of the game, from combat to skills to puzzles! The Upper Level is the starter level, where you’ll investigate Tamily Tanderveil’s basement to investigate who (or what) is stealing her fish. This level is best for people who are brand new to playing Pathfinder or any TTRPG. The Lower level introduces more challenges as you begin to uncover the menace under the logging town of Otari, putting your new skills to the ultimate test! Players can play one level, or both, by finding a slot that matches their availability and signing up on BeginPF2.com.
EARN SOCIETY CREDIT! Both GMs and players can earn society credit that you can use on your first official character. The Beginner Box is played in Adventure Mode so you can try any class or ancestry that your GM will allow, or play any of Paizo’s remastered pregenerated characters if you just want to get rolling! To earn society credit, simply add your Paizo Organized Play number on RPGChronicles when you create or sign up to a game. We will be reporting all sessions, but it is not necessary to join Pathfinder Society to participate in Beginner Box Days.
Paizo has also given us a stack of vouchers we’ll be raffling off to players and GMs, which we’ll distribute after all games are reported. Also, Rise of the Rulelords podcast and Team + Publishing are giving away 3 physical remastered Beginner Boxes, and Team + will be raffling away bundles of their best-selling class expansions! So don’t wait! Begin your next adventure, or help someone start their own at BeginPF2.com!
Hello and well met! With many shenanigans and much wrangling, we bring you this year’s PaizoCon Online schedule! Included in this year’s schedule is our Twitch programming, Discord programming, and some community content creator streams happening during PaizoCon weekend as well!
Check Out The PaizoCon Online 2024 Schedule!
Thursday, April 04, 2024
Hello and well met! With many shenanigans and much wrangling, we bring you this year’s PaizoCon Online schedule! Included in this year’s schedule is our Twitch programming, Discord programming, and some community content creator streams happening during PaizoCon weekend as well!
As more games and activities are submitted, be sure to check back here, as well as the Tabletop.Events schedule for updates!
12 p.m.–1 p.m. PDT
Starfinder Second Edition (Twitch)
Find out where we've been and what's to come for Starfinder Second Edition!
12 p.m.–1 p.m. PDT
Guess that Adventure! (Discord Stages)
Very similar to Paizo’s ‘Guess that Monster’ livestream we did in honor of the release of Monster Core. We've stripped adventure covers of their identifying information and now we're quizzing Paizo developers on their knowledge of what adventure it is!
1 p.m.–2 p.m. PDT Godsrain—Death and Renewal (Twitch) If you haven't heard, there's been some interesting prophesies popping up in Golarion. Join us while we talk about The Godsrain Prophesies, upcoming novel, Adventure Path, and War of Immortals event!
2 p.m.–3 p.m. PDT Organized Play Updates (Twitch) Join the Organized Play team while they talk about what’s coming up in the newly revealed Year 6 of PFS and what's in store for the final year of Starfinder Society First Edition!
3 p.m.–4 p.m. PDT Paizo Partners Online Tools Showcase (Twitch) We have some amazing partners who help us produce various tools to aid with online gaming. Some you know, and others you might not be familiar with, but we want to give them all a chance to show off a little of what they do!
4 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 1 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 p.m.–6 p.m. PDT SF2E Live Play (Twitch) Join the Starfinder team on their journey through the stars in this alpha playtest campaign of Starfinder Second Edition! This game will be the opening session of an ongoing campaign, with episodes dropping up until Gen Con 2024.
4 p.m.–8 p.m. PDT The lightless Beacon: Call of Cthulhu 7E (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
In the mid 1920s, the passengers of the SS Essex County must investigate an unlit lighthouse off the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts. Was the lighthouse's lantern extinguished by inclement weather, or is something more sinister afoot?
This session will use Foundry VTT and be run by Paizo's Software Architect, Brian Bauman. Players will be provided with pregenerated characters.
7 p.m.–7 p.m. PDT Pathfinder Battles and Beyond: 2025 releases from WizKids (Twitch)
Join Magellan Mulligan, RPG Project Production Manager/Producer at WizKids, for a look at some exciting new releases coming this year and next for Pathfinder Battles and more!
8 p.m.–9 p.m. PDT Jackbox: Get Pathlashed! (Discord Stages)
Join the community in an evening of Jackbox nonsense to kick off PaizoCon Online 2024! There will be adult language/themes in this event.
Planned schedule:
Round 1: Lie Swatter! Up to 100 participants can play this game of spotting falsehoods and nonsense.
Round 2: Pathlash! It's Quiplash, but with a Pathfinder and Starfinder twist!
Round 3: Community choice! I'll present several fan-favorite games for vote at the top of the event and we'll pick one to close things out.
10 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 2 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 a.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 3 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
9 a.m.–10 a.m. PDT Roll20: Bridging the Gap Between Digital and Physical Play (Twitch)
Join members of Roll20's staff as they discuss the platform's long-term investment in Pathfinder and Starfinder and share how user feedback is driving the development of powerful, reliable tools to make play easy, wherever you are.
10 a.m.–11 a.m. PDT An Adventure Path Retrospective (Twitch)
With the release of Seven Dooms for Sandpoint, we've reached a milestone of our 200th adventure path! Join the Narrative Team as they talk about the history of the Adventure Paths, things we’ve learned along the way, and ways we at Paizo have innovated the format and challenged traditional norms in the industry through our stories.
11 a.m.–12 p.m. PDT Journalism & TTRPGs (Twitch)
Take part in a roundtable discussion with journalists from around the tabletop space. Learn how journalists breathe life into the industry and shine a light on projects—and learn how you can help support them in return!
12 p.m.–1 p.m. PDT Transitions from Starfinder First Edition to Second Edition (Twitch)
Join the Starfinder team while they talk about working on Starfinder, the final adventure path; Mechageddon!, and what we can expect while transitioning into Starfinder Second Edition!
12 p.m.–1 p.m. PDT Backmatter Speed Round! (Discord Stages)
We’re testing participants on their Paizo knowledge! Taking the backmatter from spells, item descriptions, or anything the host choses, the participants must race to guess the name or adventure that the choice description comes from!
1 p.m.–2 p.m. PDT Pathfinder Project Remaster (Twitch)
Join the team while they talk about the Pathfinder Remaster project, what's happened so far and where we plan on taking it in the future!
1 p.m.–2 p.m. PDT Paizo Games - Board and Card Games from Paizo (Discord Stages)
Come learn about Paizo Games, a new initiative to bring the worlds of Paizo to board and card games. Learn about our previous games and get some enticing hints about what is to come!
2 p.m.–3 p.m. PDT VTTs Enhanced (Twitch)
Join the team while we discuss where we’ve been and where we’re going with virtual tabletop content, producing soundtracks for Adventure Paths, and maybe even some peeks at what the future holds!
3 p.m.–4 p.m. PDT Whimsy in TTRPGs (Twitch)
In PaizoCon years past we've had panels such as Horror and Mysteries in RPGs, and this year we're bringing it back with Whimsy in RPGs! Join the team while they talk about how to have the most fun possible during your game!
4 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 5 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 p.m.–6 p.m. PDT PF Live Play with the Narrative Team (Twitch)
Join the Narrative Team for a one-shot adventure of epic proportions!
4 p.m.–8 p.m. PDT Chickens in the Mist (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Student reporters for the local university paper investigate rumors of a cockfighting ring hidden in the homesteads adjoining Big Thicket National Preserve in eastern rural Texas.
System: Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)
This session will use Foundry VTT and be run by Paizo's Software Architect, Brian Bauman.
7 p.m.–8 p.m. PDT
Make Some Magic with AbyssalBrews (Twitch)
AbyssalBrews has been creating third party magic items, systems, creatures, and more for Pathfinder 2E for over a year now. On that road, they’ve learned a lot about writing and a little about business. Join writer Matthew Ross and Illustrator Fernando Dominguez as they talk about being a third party creator and work on creating a specific magic item for Pathfinder 2E right in front of you. Ask anything about being a third party creator and see how the process unfolds!
9 p.m.–10 p.m. PDT
Paizo Con Paint-Along with WizKids (Twitch)
Join WizKids painting instructor JD Wiker (IG: @JeDiWiker) at your favorite local game store, or from the comfort of your own home, as he walks you through how to paint the Pathfinder Wood Giant from start to finish.
10 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 6 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 a.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 7 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
10 a.m.–11 a.m. PDT Infinite Possibilities: How to write for Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite (Twitch)
Join Dustin Knight, Meredith Gerber, and Alexander Augunas as they relay their experiences, offer advice, and answer questions about how to publish on Pathfinder Infinite, including where to find creator resources and collaborative creator spaces!
11 a.m.–12 p.m. PDT Teaching & TTRPGs (Twitch)
TTRPGs are becoming more familiar in classroom settings. Join Paizo staff and guests with teaching backgrounds as they share their experience using RPGs in the classroom, running afterschool clubs, and how they think games can be used in educational settings going forward.
12 p.m.–1 p.m. PDT Tips & Tricks: Ask the Paizo GMs (Twitch)
Get your questions ready! Get answers about the games you love from the people who love to make them!
1 p.m.–2 p.m. PDT Exploring Tian Xia (Twitch)
With the Tian Xia World Guide out and the Character Guide coming soon, join the team as they share their inspiration, process, and maybe some favorite art from the guides! We’ll be answering as many questions as we choose—but not all secrets will be revealed.
2 p.m.–3 p.m. PDT Therapeutic TTRPGs (Twitch)
Clinical professionals from Take This join Paizo staff for a panel on therapeutic TTRPGs and safety in therapeutic roleplay.
3 p.m.–4 p.m. PDT Walking the Tightrope: Balancing Encounters in Your Adventure (Twitch)
Want the perfect mix of monsters, mayhem, and roleplay? The Paizo devs are here to talk about their favorite tips and tricks to balancing encounters!
4 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 9 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 p.m.–5 p.m. PDT Suit Up, Save the World! (Twitch)
Join developer Jenny Jarzabski and the authors of the Starfinder Mechageddon! Adventure Path as they talk about their inspiration, process, favorite mechs, monsters, and spoilers!
4 p.m.–8 p.m. PDT The lightless Beacon: Call of Cthulhu 7E (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
In the mid 1920s, the passengers of the SS Essex County must investigate an unlit lighthouse off the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts. Was the lighthouse's lantern extinguished by inclement weather, or is something more sinister afoot?
This session will use Foundry VTT and be run by Paizo's Software Architect, Brian Bauman. Players will be provided with pregenerated characters.
5 p.m.–7 p.m. PDT Bixby’s Mail Adventure Part Two: The Mailening (Twitch)
Join GM Alex Speidel, Paizo staff members Katina Davis, Rue Dickey, Valentine Luneau and former Paizo staffer Jackson Wood on another wild Pathfinder adventure! Bixby has one job: deliver a letter through the Maze of the Open Road. What could possibly go wrong?
8 p.m.–9 p.m. PDT Mapmaking With Dungeon Alchemist (Twitch)
Join us as we use Dungeon Alchemist to make professional quality, custom maps for your Pathfinder games in seconds!
10 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 10 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 a.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 11 (Tabletop.Events & Discord) Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
10 a.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 12 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 p.m. PDT Organized Play Game Block 13 (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios begin at the start of this timeslot. Shorter adventures, such as Quests or Bounties, may also be available. Visit the tabletop.events schedule for full details on all Organized Play offerings!
4 p.m.–8 p.m. PDT Chickens in the Mist (Tabletop.Events & Discord)
Student reporters for the local university paper investigate rumors of a cockfighting ring hidden in the homesteads adjoining Big Thicket National Preserve in eastern rural Texas.
System: Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition) This session will use Foundry VTT and be run by Paizo's Software Architect, Brian Bauman.
If you’ve already bought a ticket, keep an eye on your inbox as we release early sign ups for art and writing portfolio reviews! If you haven’t bought a ticket yet, don’t worry, we’ll be sending out another sign up email before review slots open up to the public on April 17.
Game Signups!
As said in a previous blog we’re doing game signups via Tabletop.Events this year. Game sign ups open to ticket purchasers on April 17 at 9 a.m. PDT, with GM early sign ups opening on April 10 at 9 a.m. PDT!
See you soon!
Don't forget to join us on the PaizoCon Discord for even more programming! Some of our partners and digital content guests will be hanging out in our online "exhibition hall" with their own channels to answer questions and show off their amazing products!
Convention season is in full swing! There are dozens of local conventions happening this spring around the world and online. Check out the Paizo Conventions Calendar for details on everything going on in the months to come.
Of course, the convention looming largest on my mind is PaizoCon! We’re less than two months away from Paizo’s first major convention of the year, and I cannot wait. Badges are on sale now; stay tuned to the blog later today for more news on signing up for events.
Sanctioning Updates
The Pathfinder Remaster has gained another pillar! Last week we released Pathfinder Monster Core, available now on paizo.com or at your FLGS (with an exclusive sketch cover!). Sanctioning for Pathfinder Monster Core has also been added to the Pathfinder Character Options page, though the vast majority of this content is only relevant for those of you with summoning spells.
Additionally, the Pathfinder Core Rulebook got a slight tweak thanks to the Remaster. Any deity who grants dreaming potential instead grants their followers illusory scene, effective immediately.
Unfortunately, I botched the calendar, so the sanctioning documents for Seven Dooms for Sandpoint have been delayed slightly. At press time for this blog, they’re not ready yet, but I expect them to be available very soon!
This month sees the release of the Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide, the first of our two Tian Xia-focused books, to be followed by the Tian Xia Character Guide at the end of August. I expect sanctioning for this book to go live on street date! After that, May sees two exciting releases with Howl of the Wild and Mechageddon!, the final Adventure Path for Starfinder First Edition.
GM Recognition
GM Ranks
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 had one GM earn their 5th rank!
5th Nova (SFS1): Joel Hager
That’s all from me this month, folks! Until next time - Explore! Report! Cooperate! And enjoy the eclipse!
Hail and well met! With April kicking off, we’ve got a handful of Paizo streams to announce! Be sure to follow us on twitch.tv/officialpaizo to be notified when we go live!
Paizo Streams – April 2024
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Hail and well met! With April kicking off, we’ve got a handful of Paizo streams to announce! Be sure to follow us on twitch.tv/officialpaizo to be notified when we go live!
Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors Launch – April 4 at 9 A.M. Pacific
Paizo Community Manager Jon Morgantini joins the BKOM team for this special launch day co-op playthrough of Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors!
Paizo LIVE – April 5 at 4 P.M. Pacific
Join us Friday, April 5th for this month’s Paizo LIVE! We’ll be chatting with James Case about the upcoming Pathfinder Howl of the Wild rulebook, the Starfinder team about Starfinder Second Edition, and James Jacobs and Bill Fischer about Abomination Vaults for 5th Edition!
War of Immortals Kickoff – April 16 at 4 P.M. Pacific
The wait is over! Join members of the Pathfinder team as they lay out the War of Immortals Meta Event! Plus—an extra special (godly) death announcement!
We’ve got some very fun stuff to unveil this month. We hope to catch you at one of our streams! If you can’t make it to the stream live, be sure to watch the VODs on our YouTube channel!
As I near the end of my review of the Godsrain Prophecies, I’m reaching the part of any research project that’s the most daunting—the conclusion. While it will of course be up to my Lady to decide what, if anything, to do with these prophecies, I plan to present her with the two or three reasons for their existence that I believe are the most plausible (other than them all being true, which I maintain is nearly impossible).
The Godsrain Prophecies Part Nine
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
As I near the end of my review of the Godsrain Prophecies, I’m reaching the part of any research project that’s the most daunting—the conclusion. While it will of course be up to my Lady to decide what, if anything, to do with these prophecies, I plan to present her with the two or three reasons for their existence that I believe are the most plausible (other than them all being true, which I maintain is nearly impossible).
Unfortunately, this need for clarity means that I must dismiss (or at least deemphasize) one of the more exciting ideas I have come up with thus far: that these are a collection of the gods’ fears. I have noted throughout these pages that there are responses to the gods’ deaths in each of the prophecies that seem out of character, either for the other gods or their followers, but I don’t believe this lack of consistency is due to these being reflections of what a god would worry over. In truth, I am not sure that gods fear anything at all. Is fear not driven by a sense of mortality, or at least, the potential for one’s role in the world to change or end at a moment’s notice? I wonder if, instead, the “prophecies” are intended to help the gods develop fear, to remind them that they are not beyond the reach of death and give them a small taste of mortal terror. Though to what end, I do not know. Who would want to give a god a nightmare?
–Yivali, Apprentice Researcher for the Lady of Graves
The “Death” of Irori
Irori is not one for dying. Death is common. Death is normal. Death is there for mortals who have not yet mastered how to reach new levels of perfection, who have not willed themselves into attaining the divine. Death might take some weaker god if given the right circumstances, starting with those cheaters who let the Starstone grant them power, grabbing godhood like some prize for drunks and thieves and zealots. But for a god like him, who’d worked and willed himself to godhood? Death is something of the past and he is moving forward.
Irori’s never rested long, no matter his successes. There’s always some new path to take at any well-earned milestone, some new technique to master, some new knowledge to find. Yes, it was good to be a god, if for no other reason than to share new possibilities with those who’d turn their will toward doing better with their lives. But he is one of many gods—some virtuous, some indolent—and so there must be something more, some way that he can still evolve. Some new route toward perfection.
Irori works with diligence, the way that he has always done, reaching beyond the world he’s known to better what he has become. Until one day, he grasps it all—the spaces in the sum of things, the power in the truth of everything that was or will be. And though total enlightenment is only for a moment, slipping between his fingers like a cloud of windblown sand, he still can feel the barrier between himself and something more, as pliable and thin as what once kept him from divinity. While he has it in his reach, he passes through the boundary, as bracing and as easy as a step through falling water. Irori, once a mortal, is now much more than deity.
Irori savors everything, if only for a moment. He takes a breath in every plane, his heartbeat now a multiverse, and feels the coursing power as it crashes through his veins. But he has departed our reality, has left a tear along the border of the way of things, and everything, on every plane, begins to shift toward him, as if he were a beacon for something within the Great Beyond—a single life, a single god, become a singularity. Gruhastha is the first to fall, the Keeper’s arms stretched uselessly, hands grasping at the emptiness he finds beside Irori’s feet. He’s swallowed by a void that somehow still contains a multitude, his body torn asunder in a bright and blissful darkness, his lips mouthing his gratitude, his throat choking on screams.
Irori is a magnet now, pulling those closest to him; Chaldira’s luck lost in a cry while Magrim’s runes go tumbling, some force dragging them both to places even he can’t follow. All he can do is close the gap before it sunders everything, using the power that he holds, still far beyond what it once was, to fix whatever he has done (or is doing or one day will, time half-unraveling in his hands). As he repairs the barrier, still dripping with the power that he touched from passing through it, Zon-Kuthon comes to stand beside him, image of the blinding void reflected in his longing eyes, and Nethys tries to touch the power nestled just beneath his skin, hands clawing unknown patterns of magic in the air. Both soon become his shadows, hounding every move he tries to make, Zon-Kuthon chasing memories and Nethys seeking answers, with Torag always close behind, holding his brother Magrim’s blade with vengeance on his mind. Some of Irori’s followers also trail behind him; those who were deep in prayer at the moment that he moved beyond, unable to unsee the void, dedicate themselves to its return, doing whatever they can to hasten the end of all things.
But Irori has a new path now, divinity left far behind as he masters the power that’s now deep within his bones. He sees things now—beneath the ground, between the breaths, inside the skin—and knows that they will take him where Gruhastha and the rest have gone, that what tore them apart will help him make himself anew. If there are prayers for him to hear, he is no longer listening. If rakshasas take his guise and use his faith to build their power? If Urgathoa’s clerics tell his followers that next time he will end the world and they should eat and drink and die with no thought for tomorrow? How can he care when there’s a new path for him to gain perfection? And if the world unmakes itself, if he had to unmake the world, if that brings him enlightenment, then that’s what it must be.
What lies beyond divinity, and who better than Irori to first achieve such exquisite perfection that he leaves even other gods behind?
Well, that was certainly involved. Multiverses? Singularities? Bright voids? And yet, in all of that, I almost see a pattern. I have tried not to reference other prophecies in my notes here; if my Lady chooses to read them out of the original order that I chose, I would hate for her to learn a piece of information in these notes that would be better divulged by the original text. Still, I am reminded of the prophecy regarding Desna, which also mentions a void. And there are similarities between this prophecy and the one for Nethys, not only in their reciprocal mentions but in their fascination with the fundamental properties of our universe. Perhaps instead of looking at the prophecies individually, I should be looking for these types of commonalities—could things that are repeated be elements of some underlying message, or a hint as to what among these “prophecies” might be true amidst the overstatements and suppositions? If there was ever a time to make a chart, that time is upon us.
About the Author
Erin Roberts has been thrilled to be able to contribute a few small threads to the fabric of Golarion in the pages of books like Lost Omens Firebrands, Lost Omens Highhelm, and Lost Omens Travel Guide. In addition to her work for Paizo, she freelances across the TTRPG world (and was selected as a Diana Jones Award Emerging Designer Program Winner in 2023), has had fiction published in magazines including Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and The Dark, and talks about writing every week on the Writing Excuses podcast. Catch up with her latest at linktr.ee/erinroberts.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, no trace of the previous day’s storm left on the horizon. Dr. Pom joined me on the research deck for our customary morning tea, sipping in companionable silence until we’d finished our first cup and were contemplating our second.
Zoetrope Logs, Part Three: Potential for Change
Tuesday, April 02, 2024
The next morning dawned bright and clear, no trace of the previous day’s storm left on the horizon. Dr. Pom joined me on the research deck for our customary morning tea, sipping in companionable silence until we’d finished our first cup and were contemplating our second.
“How are you feeling, Baranthet?” she asked kindly as she held out her cup for a refill. “That was an intense day of travel yesterday.”
“Quite well, thank you,” I said as I poured, reveling in the wisps of aromatic steam rising from our mugs. “How are you? Are you used to storms like that where you’re from?”
She took a moment to consider this, her eyes following the gulls soaring over the cliffs. “We did have some mighty storms, yes, but it’s different now,” she said thoughtfully. “The instinct to seek shelter is the same, of course, but there’s... a deeper appreciation, I suppose. A sense of thinking about the past and the future, whereas before there was only the present moment. I find joy in their beauty and feel appreciation for the sheer primal power of the skies. Though,” she said with a laugh, “I never expected to be flying in those skies in the middle of one!”
“Neither did I,” I admitted, grinning. “A humbling and awe-inspiring experience, to be sure!”
We sat in comfortable silence for a while as the others drifted in for breakfast or set about their tasks for the day. I wondered idly where my Spiridendra book had gone and what we might find next in our journey as I watched Telero and Ten examine one of the ship’s wings—they’d been busy checking and recalibrating this and that after the flight through the storm the day before. For my part, it was nice to have a slower morning before returning to the expedition.
“It’s wild, isn’t it,” Dr. Pom said softly, “looking back on the changes you’ve weathered in your life?” Her eyes met mine, and though we were close in years, I sensed she wasn’t talking merely about aging.
“I certainly never thought I’d go from ink-stained librarian to bold explorer,” I said fervently, and she chuckled, her small spectacles slipping down her striped snout. “When you awakened, did you ever plan on having such adventures?”
“It was hard to make plans at all, at first.” She adjusted her glasses and looked back out over the cliffs. “Awakening is... a turbulent time, for most. There’s a lot of information to process all at once, and many of us are overwhelmed by the concept of a vaster and more specific future than what we’d previously had the capacity to consider. But I always felt called to be a healer,” she added, and smiled again. “I know what it’s like to be hurt, and afraid. It gladdens me to provide comfort and support where I can.”
I reflected on this as I watched Telero hoist Ten higher up the wing, where they began to hammer at one of its joints. Suddenly, tension released in an explosive pop, the wing springing back into place… and catapulting our mechanic overboard, falling past Telero’s arms to land with a thud and a yelp in the water below.
“Goodness, not again!” Dr. Pom and I were on our feet at once, tea abandoned. Grefu surfaced in the waves near our mechanic (no doubt he was enjoying his morning constitutional), and swam Ten over to the research deck, hoisting them aboard. Their eyes blinked rapidly at us as we gathered around.
Dr. Pom knelt next to them, illuminating the lamp at her shoulder and setting her bag down as she looked them over.
Light writer plates of Dr. Gulnara Pom and Whose Antenna Is Askew (“Ten”), from official Zoetrope expedition logs. Art by Gunship Revolution.
“It’s my fault, Professor,” Telero said in anguish. “I tried to catch them—”
“It is not his fault; the wing was badly jammed from the storm; it was more badly misaligned than I thought,” Ten chirped in their customary staccato tone, their eyes glittering as Dr. Pom shone her light in one and then the other. “Do not fret; I feel fine; and that should be the last of the repairs!”
“I keep telling you to use your safety lines when you’re doing repairs,” said Dr. Pom, ignoring this tale of triumph as she peered into her patient’s eyes. “You seem coherent, but I’d like to confirm, please. What’s your name?”
“Whose Antenna Is Askew,” they replied promptly, wiggling the appendage in question. “You know me; I am the ship’s mechanic; you’ve patched me up many times before.”
Dr. Pom smiled wryly and looked up at me. “They’re all right.” She rummaged about in her belt, retrieving a slip of paper and weighing several powders and herbs onto it. “Take this before you tuck in tonight. It should help your carapace mend.”
An aggrieved Telero relaxed slightly next to me as Ten withdrew the frayed checkered cloth that was always at their toolbelt and dried their face. “Telero; now the repairs are done; do you want to check the cliffs for geodes?” they said, pointing at the shore.
Dr. Pom and I left the young friends to their explorations as they boarded the airskiff for shore, but I checked in on our mechanic later that evening. They were in the engine room, as usual, cleaning various gears and leaning close to the engine to listen to its steady hum.
I knocked on the doorframe. “Doing all right, Ten?”
They jumped and dropped what appeared to be an armful of wrenches, the tools clanging on the floor and narrowly missing their feet. “So sorry; you surprised me; please come in; hello.”
“Oh! The fault is mine,” I said, crouching down to help them collect everything. “You’re still feeling well?”
Ten nodded. “My carapace is very tough; it’s held up through worse falls; I am fine; thank you.”
I smiled at their earnest assurances. “I’m glad to hear it! And the Zoetrope? Everything running smoothly?”
“Running like a dream,” Ten said, casting their expert eye over the complex machinery that made our expedition possible. “The good kind of dream; the ones with friends; and cookies; and adventures. Like what we have.”
How had I been so fortunate as to find such bright, kind, brave, and talented companions? “Like what we have,” I agreed, handing over the last of the wrenches. “A dream come—”
“Come quick!” a voice yelled from above. “One of the specimens has escaped from the menagerie!”
About the Author
Baranthet Zamendi cultivated his love of the natural world at a young age, enamored with his grandmother’s awe-inspiring tales of the legendary Wardens of the Wild. He briefly attended Almas University before returning home to rebuild Droon’s public library, eventually becoming its head archivist. His upcoming book on the crew of the Zoetrope and their search for the wardens is his first, but he’s already planning his next adventure.
Support for Mr. Zamendi by
Simone D. Sallé is a senior editor at Paizo and has written for numerous Pathfinder and Starfinder books, including more of Baranthet’s tale inPathfinder Howl of the Wild, the primal treatise and witch journals in Pathfinder Secrets of Magic, and Starfinder Bounty #12: Under Pressure. When she’s not extolling the virtues of the en dash, she enjoys playing as many narrative games as her schedule allows and wandering the woods with her Disreputable Dog.
Hi everyone! James here again to talk about the last two ancestries featured in Howl of the Wild. We’ve saved the awakened animal and surki for last, as they’re quite different from the ancestries we’ve put out so far! Each uses its heritage in a pretty different way than any ancestries we’ve published previously, so we’ll be previewing those here instead of some feats.
The awakened animal freely chooses their size (from Tiny to Large) as a part of character creation, which also determines their starting Hit Points. Afterward, they choose a heritage that represents their general body plan. Your heritage will usually give you some suggestions for an unarmed attack that replaces the fist attack that most ancestries get, but given how broad the animal world is—some aquatic animals have wing attacks, after all—these are treated as suggestions to work out with your GM rather than as hard restrictions. The climbing animal heritage showcased below is great for a bipedal animal, like Dr. Pom.
Climbing Animal Heritage
You are an animal whose limbs are adapted to grab, climb, and brachiate. You might be dexterous and ready to use tools like a chimpanzee or otter, or you may simply be a quick climber like a bear, raccoon, or sloth.
You have a land Speed of 20 feet, a climb Speed of 20 feet, and one animal attack of your choice (typically claw, fist, or jaws; see the animal attacks sidebar).>[?
Surkis also approach heritages in an unusual way. Surkis absorb magic as larva and young adults, which accumulates in nodes throughout their bodies. All surkis freely choose a tradition of magic at character creation that represents the type of magic they most consumed as a larva, which affects the tradition of their magical abilities (plus a few others). Then, they also choose a heritage. A surki can then, later in life, undergo metamorphosis to develop these nodes into unique magic-projecting organs. Each surki heritage has a base ability as well as two possible directions they can evolve the ability later by taking feats such as the 9th-level Grand Metamorphosis. Surkis can even gain multiple heritages or change their heritage late in life with various feats as well! We can take a look at this with the light-emitting lantern surki heritage below:
Lantern Surki
The nodes in your abdomen are particularly luminous. You can use an Interact action to shed light from your abdomen in a 20-foot radius (and dim light for the next 20 feet). This is a magical light effect with a level equal to your own. You can change the color of the light or extinguish it with another Interact action.
Evolution Your abdominal nodes have evolved into a pair of secondary limbs that project a magical focusing lens. You gain the Lantern Beam action. Lantern Beam [one-action] (light, fire, magical) Requirements Your lantern light is shining; Effect Your lenses focus your light into a searing beam. You deal 5d4 fire damage to all creatures in a 30-foot line, with a basic saving throw against the higher of your class DC or spell DC. Your lantern light then extinguishes, and you can’t use this ability or use your lantern light again for 1d4 rounds. At 11th level and every two levels thereafter, the damage increases by 1d4.
Evolution Secondary light emitters grow from your shoulder nodes that flash in time with your lantern. You gain the Lantern Strobe action. Lantern Strobe [two-actions] (light, magical, visual) Frequency once per hour; Effect As you pulse your lantern, your emitters flash erratically, disorienting your opponents that see it. Each opponent in a 15-foot cone must attempt a Fortitude save against your class DC or spell DC (whichever is higher). On a failure, the creature is dazzled for 1 round. On a critical failure, the creature is blinded for 1 round and dazzled for the following round.
“But wait,” you might be asking. “My explosive surki sorceress, Blastrellina, isn’t just a surki; she’s also a nephilim because she fed upon the lingering unholy magic of the Worldwound! How will these ancestries interact with versatile heritages?” We know that versatile heritages are very popular, and so if you want to take one with either an awakened animal or a surki, you can! In this case, you still select a heritage purely to define your character’s story and cosmetic appearance, and you gain some basic benefits but not their specialized heritage abilities. However, you can take either the Late Awakener or Secondary Adaptation feat later to gain these benefits.
The awakened animal ancestry is embodied by the ship’s doctor, Dr. Pom, and the surki ancestry by its mechanic, Whose Antenna Is Askew (“Ten”)! Art by Gunship Revolution.
It’s hard to believe it, but our next chapter is the conclusion to this run of Zoetrope logs! If you don’t think you can wait that long for more Howl of the Wild, be sure to tune in to this Friday’s Paizo LIVE, where we’ll be talking a bit more about the book!
But that, explorers, is a story for another day.
James Case Senior Designer
For the fourth and final chapter of the Zoetrope Logs, click here.
We’ve mentioned before that every now and then, someone makes a typo and realizes that they’ve accidentally created a pun or joke so bad that they must immediately drop it into their team’s work chat, triggering a wave of snickering when we were in office, and now a wave of reaction gifs via the office chat. We’ve even statted them up for previous April Fools’ Day posts.
It's Foolish To Go Alone
Monday, April 01, 2024
We’ve mentioned before that every now and then, someone makes a typo and realizes that they’ve accidentally created a pun or joke so bad that they must immediately drop it into their team’s work chat, triggering a wave of snickering when we were in office, and now a wave of reaction gifs via the office chat. We’ve even statted them up for previous April Fools’ Day posts.
It’s been so fun that I’ve started stashing anything I’ve deemed April Fools–worthy, to the point where if someone else deems it worthy of The List, I’m summoned to add it immediately. Around a month ago, I added to the goblins’ ever-full dance cards by releasing The List into the wilds of the Paizo Chat. So with a year’s worth of out-of-context inspiration, the goblins responded to me with this year’s foolish wonders!
Maryssa Mari Web Content Manager
Wordsmith
With every strike of a wordsmith’s hammer, a new onomatopoeia is formed. They swiftly grab the word as it flies off the anvil before nailing it to the pages of our favorite comics. POW! WHAM! SPLAT! The hammer crafts each and every sound. The humble wordsmith is often overlooked by their artisan peers, whose pictures are the primary focus of readers. However, many don’t realize that while pictures can be sent to the printing press, sounds are not captured so easily on the page and must be hammered into place by a skilled wordsmith.
While most wordsmiths are content to forge their words out of sight of the public, they are fierce defenders of their work and are quick to fight anyone who belittles it. They know the pen is mightier than the sword, but the hammer is mightiest of all, and they use it mercilessly to SMASH! through their foes.
Though many wordsmiths are dwarves, they come from all kinds of backgrounds, each bringing their own unique sounds and noises from their culture. Tengu wordsmiths particularly favor onomatopoeias similar to bird calls like cawfor crows or okalee for red-winged blackbirds. Meanwhile, leshy wordsmiths favor sounds inaudible to most non-plant creatures, such as the tr-tr-tr that reflects the sound of a plant growing.
Wordsmith Creature — 4
Medium, Dwarf, Humanoid Perception +10; hearing (precise) 60 feet Languages Common, Dwarven; truespeech Skills Athletics +10, Crafting +14, Occultism +10, Scribing Lore +12 Str +4, Dex +3, Con +4, Int +6, Wis +2, Cha +2
Items anvil and hammer (sterling artisans’ toolkit) AC 19; Fort +13, Ref +8, Will +11 HP 70; Resistances sonic 7
HP 70; Resistances sonic 7 Word Warp [reaction] (auditory, occult) Trigger The wordsmith is the target of a linguistic effect; Effect The wordsmith twists the words and attempts to counter their foe’s utterances with their hammer (counteract +16, 3rd rank). Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] hammer +14 (forceful, occult, sonic), Damage 2d6+4 bludgeoning damage plus 1d6 sonic plus forge onomatopoeia
Forge Onomatopoeia (occult, visual) The wordsmith slams their hammer against a creature, creating a visual onomatopoeia like CRACK! or SMASH! that flies off at the site of impact. The target of the strike must attempt a DC 24 Will save. Critical Success The creature is unaffected. Success The creature is stupefied 1 for 1 round. Failure The creature is stupefied 1 for 1 minute. Critical Failure The creature is stupefied 2 and gains weakness 1 to sonic damage for 1 minute.
Mightier than the Sword (occult) Any hammer gains the forceful trait, can’t be disarmed, and becomes a +1 striking hammer while the Wordsmith wields it.
By Felix Dritz Editor
Moowhip
Disarm, Finesse, Grazing, Professional (Cook), Reach, Tech Price 10 credits; Damage 1d4 S; Bulk 1 Hands 1 Type Melee; Category Advanced;
Group Flail
Moowhip: The self-replicating nanites in this handheld weapon can use the kinetic energy of your swings to turn air into interwoven monofilament sharp cheddar cheese fibers capable of cutting through any enemy or any hunger.
Grazing: If you Strike with this weapon and your next action is to use an ingested consumable or Interact with the weapon to eat some of the generated food, restore 1 Hit Point per weapon damage die.
Professional: A weapon with this trait can be used as a tool for the listed skill. Add the weapon’s item bonus to attack rolls as an item bonus to skill checks using the listed skill. Your proficiency with this weapon is equal to your proficiency with the listed skill (up to your proficiency in simple weapons).
By Dustin Knight Starfinder Developer
Chain Letters of Golarion
Armiger Khelum,
If this letter comes across my desk one more time, I’ll be reporting you to Lictor Stought. I understand the fear one carries when confronted with the possibility of hags, but I can reassure you that the Bloddey Glass Hag is not one to fear because she does not exist.
“You are now cursed!! You must copy this letter and send it on or you will be killed!!! In a fortnight at twilight the Bloddey Glass Hag will crawl out from under your mattress! This isn’t a joke! She will stab your chest and pull out your eyeballs with a fork and if you don’t have eyeballs she will pull out your liver and if you don’t have a liver she will pull off your skin and use it to make a newe dress! And then she’ll take your corpse and she’ll stuff it under your bed or she’ll put you in the closet! What will your Maralictor tell your family??? It won’t be funny then! Send this letter to ten other Hellknights to break the curse! Remember, the Bloddey Glass Hag is watching you sleep!!!”
This is ridiculous, armiger.
I’ve sent copies of this to my fellow Paralictors, the Master of Blades, the Maralictors, and the Paravicar of our Order, just so they also have copies of this... ghost story of yours. I don’t want to see it again.
Signed,
Paralictor Shudi Osra
Kreighton,
Never let it be said that I’m not grateful for the random bits and bobs that you’re able to submit to the archive that tell us more about pre–Age of Darkness Kyonin. But this one does seem a little... strange. Perhaps you could provide more context?
— Gorm
“I was dining with my youngest child at the Viridian Crystal, and we had the most wonderful little cakes. I asked the chef’s familiar if we might have the recipe and the little jay twittered and said that while he couldn’t give away the lady’s recipe, I would be able to purchase it. Of course, being quite sensible I requested the price and was told ‘two pieces.’ This seemed very reasonable, so I accepted, and I was told it would be added to my bill.
The next day, I was going through my letters and found my bill from the Crystal, and I was being charged two platinum, 32 silver. Of course, 20 silver for dinner, 12 silver for the lovely crystal tiara I purchased for my child, but apparently the two platinum were for the recipe for the little cakes! Well, I threatened to take this up with the Edasseril family, only to be told that I could put the recipe wherever I wanted, so here I am. I’m sharing this recipe with everyone I know and hoping that they’ll send it to everyone they know, and I hope that Chef Avie Vandlade enjoys her comeuppance!
Viridian Crystal Cakes
1 and a quarter cups flour, weighed
Three-fourths cup and two tablespoons fine white sugar
Three-fourths teaspoon baking powder
One-fourth teaspoon baking soda
One-fourth teaspoon salt
Six tablespoons unsalted butter, soft
Two tablespoons oil (vegetable)
One whole egg and one egg yolk, at room temperature
One and one-half teaspoons vanilla
One-half teaspoon butter flavor
One-half cup soured cream, room temperature
Activate your fire elemental and put your oven at cake temperature. Well grease a half-foot round pan.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt gently in a medium bowl. Add softened butter and oil and mix until it looks like delicate sand.
In a small bowl, combine egg, yolk, vanilla, butter flavor, and soured cream. In batches of three, add the wet to the dry and beat until smooth. Scrape the bowl for any pockets of dry goods and make sure everything is fully combined. Once all thirds are in, beat for another half-minute until fully incorporated.
Pour into round pan, bake for around 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes clean. Cool in the pan for ten minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Cut into small circles or squares. Top with chocolate frosting.”
Dearest Gorm,
Yes, of course, I realize this letter was slightly obtuse. Cake temperature is 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
With care,
Kreighton
Do YOU want to be RICHER than ABADAR? Do YOU want to be PRETTIER than SHELYN? Do YOU want to be STRONGER than KURGESS?
Send my letter to your TEN CLOSEST FRIENDS and YOU will receive the BLESSINGS OF THE GODS!
If you THROW THIS LETTER OUT then YOU will find NORGORBER in YOUR HOME in ONE WEEK!
Since Starfinder’s initial release in 2017, a larger-than-life mystery has loomed over the setting. What happened to Golarion? How did Absalom Station come to be? And what was stolen from the memories of everyone who lived through the period of time known only as The Gap?
Learn the Secrets of The Gap!
Monday, April 01, 2024
Since Starfinder’s initial release in 2017, a larger-than-life mystery has loomed over the setting. What happened to Golarion? How did Absalom Station come to be? And what was stolen from the memories of everyone who lived through the period of time known only as The Gap?
Triune has long worked to keep these secrets hidden, but with a new edition on the horizon, the Starfinder team is ready to pull back the curtain…
Under the supervision of Managing Creative Director Thurston Hillman and Senior Developer Jenny Jarzabski (and snuck under the nose of Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Erik Mona), The Gap is a Starfinder book like no other! Learn the secrets of the most mysterious time in the Pact World’s history—but you’d better act fast! This book is only available today, and in very limited quantities.
Buy The Gap now to unlock the history of the universe before Triune silences the whispers that echo through space and time!
Note: Starfinder The Gap is an April Fool’s Day limited-run product. Please read the product description on the webstore page before purchase. This book was printed in extremely limited quantities and is only available while supplies last.
Salutations! It’s me, Luis Loza! I am saddened to say that we are at the end of our draconic journey. Last week, we took a look at the mighty and benevolent empyreal dragons. This week, we close out our exploration of dragons by looking into the crystal ball and revealing the mysterious omen dragons. Let’s have a look!
A Fated Encounter With Dragons!
Friday, March 29, 2024
Salutations! It’s me, Luis Loza! I am saddened to say that we are at the end of our draconic journey. Last week, we took a look at the mighty and benevolent empyreal dragons. This week, we close out our exploration of dragons by looking into the crystal ball and revealing the mysterious omen dragons. Let’s have a look!
Illustration by Kent Hamilton
Omen dragons are tied to the occult tradition, granting them strange powers. In the case of omen dragons, those powers are connected to prophecy and fortune-telling. Although proper prophecy no longer works in the world, short-term fortunes like those explored via augury still function. Beyond that, fortunes become less accurate, but might still have nuggets of truth within them. It’s these short- to medium-length fortunes in which an omen dragon dabbles.
Every omen dragon is constantly seeing glimpses of possible futures. These dragons’ occult nature compels them to share what they see with the relevant parties, regardless of the people involved or the nature of the future glimpsed. The dragon usually shares this future through their prophetic wings. An omen dragon’s wings have a reflective inner portion that is much like a mirror. The dragon can use their ability to allow another person to glimpse their future, sometimes months into the future, within the wings. Since an omen dragon has no other information beyond what it shares in the glimpse, they leave the task of deciphering the vision and dealing with the future to the people involved.
Omen dragons have a number of additional abilities tied to the fate and prophecy. Every omen dragon is unbound by the restrictions of fate, making them immune to fortune and misfortune effects except when the omen dragon chooses to be subject to them. They can also twist the immediate future to force misfortune on foes who attempt to attack the dragon. Even the breath weapon of an omen dragon is tied to fate and future. An omen dragon’s breath grants victims a small taste of an omen dragon’s power, inundating the victim with countless visions of possible futures that can overwhelm.
As they’re always seeing these future glimpses, omen dragons often collect items and treasures related to the future. Omen dragon hoards tend to be smaller than that of a typical dragon, but most omen dragons maintain several hoards at once. Most of these hoards hold items of some future importance, such as a weapon that will strike down a great power or a relic that can save an entire village. People who want or need these items can speak with the dragon in an attempt to claim the items, but doing so can be a difficult feat!
That’s the omen dragon, and with that we’ve finished our look at all the dragons in Monster Core! The book has been out for a few days now and I’m sure some of you reading this already had access to your PDFs or received your physical copies and learned about the omen dragon. In a way, you got to see the future before others, making you not unlike an omen dragon! I want to thank everyone who followed these draconic previews and I hope you’ve had a good time reading them. Also, special thanks to Kent Hamilton for his incredible work and being a great collaborator in helping create these dragons. These dragons wouldn’t be what they are without him!
As the author for the new dragons, I’ve been excited to talk about them, but I’m more excited to hear how everyone uses them in their games. I look forward to exciting stories in the months and years to come!
You know, I genuinely thought that this column would be much quieter than the delicious solstice report from last time but, by Calistria’s sweet whip, there has been so much hustle and bustle, I barely know where to start!
Venture-Gossip on the Town
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hello, Pathfinders!
You know, I genuinely thought that this column would be much quieter than the delicious solstice report from last time but, by Calistria’s sweet whip, there has been so much hustle and bustle, I barely know where to start!
Okay, so first off: there’s mutterings about sending a group of Pathfinders up to Freedom Town. Apparently Old Baphy is sending more undead to harass them, so I’m hoping this means we’ll be seeing more of Mr. I’m So Handsome Uirch!
Left to Right: Uirch of the Burning Sun by Fabio Di Bernardi, and Watcher-Lord Ulthun by Hassan Tabrizi
Also, I was out and about at the Grand Bazaar, like I usually am on my off hours, poking around who knows what and who knows where and I saw a certain watcher-lord shopping with a fancy lady! Now, we all know there’s been certain glances between this lord and an acting leader, but it seems those may have just been glances, because her arms were very firmly around his (well-built) upper arm.
Oh, and the biggest news is that Eando Kline was seen storming out of a meeting with all of leadership and the Waterfall! He’s extremely displeased about something, and you know I’m on my way to find out! I tried to peek in and see what was occurring, but Old Muttonchops sent me on my way, as usual.
Don’t you worry, I’ll figure out what’s happening and will report on it in my next update!
Keep your eyes peeled for my next column, and enjoy your adventures, Pathfinders!
One of the theories that I intend to run by my Lady in my compilation of these so-called Godsrain Prophecies is that they may be warnings of some kind. This is a relatively new addition to my admittedly large list of potential reasons for their existence, which range from sensible hypotheses to outlandish theories, including one recent concern that this has all been a test by my Lady to discern whether I am trustworthy and analytical enough to handle some of her more complex research needs. I know she would never do such a thing, in truth, but after a particularly vivid dream (involving my being back in one of Lorminos’s classes and asked to deliver a talk about a research paper I had somehow forgotten to do), my anxiety briefly took hold.
The Godsrain Prophecies Part Eight
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
One of the theories that I intend to run by my Lady in my compilation of these so-called Godsrain Prophecies is that they may be warnings of some kind. This is a relatively new addition to my admittedly large list of potential reasons for their existence, which range from sensible hypotheses to outlandish theories, including one recent concern that this has all been a test by my Lady to discern whether I am trustworthy and analytical enough to handle some of her more complex research needs. I know she would never do such a thing, in truth, but after a particularly vivid dream (involving my being back in one of Lorminos’s classes and asked to deliver a talk about a research paper I had somehow forgotten to do), my anxiety briefly took hold.
The warning theory is of particular interest to me because it reflects an ongoing scholarly debate about the ability to prevent a true prophecy. As noted in Beyond Aroden (which I believe I have already mentioned in these pages), there are some who believe in the Fate’s Chain theory, which holds that any action taken to prevent a foretelling only hastens its speed and effects. Conversely, others believe that all prophecy presents the opportunity to exert free will. In the words of one notorious scholar, “those who lie down in front of the hooves of prophecy instead of taking the reins of their lives deserve to be trampled to dust, even if only metaphorically.” Fiery words, and ones I am not sure I believe, but given the gravity of this particular set of prophecies, I do like the idea that this might be an opportunity to shift the course of the future.
–Yivali, Apprentice Researcher for the Lady of Graves
The Death of Desna
The thing about journeys, especially the good ones, was how easy it was to lose track of the past. Hard to move forward while looking behind you. Desna had always believed that. Each new night, each new step, had something new to offer up—a bit of knowledge to excite her, a dark horizon to invite her, a way for love to keep her grounded as she wandered from place to place.
But something else was out there. A threat that she’d forgotten from the void between the stars, seeking only to expand its brutal, ceaseless silence. Not an enemy that could be caught or stopped forever, but something she’d held at bay as it consumed star after star, by making them anew as she had done since the beginning. Back then she’d set the stars like jewels, each a perfect piece of art, and now they were a chorus that only she could truly hear, gentle bells that softly chimed and brought new hope to dreamers.
Except with so much journeying, she’d let the task slide down her list, forgetting to replace the stars that steadily winked out. She hadn’t heard their quiet ringing slowly growing quieter, as something more than silence brought new fury to its form. And by the time it reached her ear, that music wasn’t quite as rich, and starlight twinkled that much less, and butterflies flapped weakly. Absence had turned to abscess turned to deep vulnerability, and what was of the past became the killer of the present. In one fell swoop of emptiness, no longer held back by her lights, something of the Dark Tapestry she thought she’d left behind took her and Cynosure as one, and with her all the stars that filled the skies above Golarion.
Desna was loved by many, and all stepped up to play a part and try to build a new world in the space left by her death. Cayden Cailean raised cups “to Desna and to freedom” (though he stayed still for many months, sometimes with Kurgess by his side, drinking to his memories and running up his tab). Shelyn offered welcome to those who sang in Desna’s name, collecting songs and poems so she would not be forgotten. (And when they sounded out of tune, as if something was missing, she called them Desnal melodies and blessed those who repeated them, ignoring art’s new promise for the haunting elegies). Sarenrae sought her vengeance but had no one to strike out against, and so she turned to healing in its place (by never letting hurt inside, and building walls around her heart she dared Shelyn to climb).
No one could prove the daytime light was any different than before, but even on the fairest day, there was something in the air—a stagnant sort of thickness that weighed upon the spine. Scouts moved slowly, and travelers lingered though they knew to hurry (to get themselves to safety long before the starless night). With no means by which to navigate, sailors called off voyages, reduced to tiny odysseys that kept the shore in sight. And while the feeling dissipated, slowly easing day by day, everything about the world felt dormant for a time.
Even as the pace picked up, no stars returned to fill the sky. At night, only the moon shone down, and paths forward could change in ways unlucky and impossible; more often did travelers disappear from the shadowed roads ahead. And while some blamed her ancient nemesis, Ghlaunder, who was emboldened by Desna’s demise, or Zon-Kuthon, who reveled in the new depth of the darkness, only Desna would have known that what killed her waited, determining its next advance, growing in the spaces left within a starless night.
Do the stars and their keeper, Desna, truly protect the Universe from some fell threat that hides in the darkness beyond them? May the stars shine forever, if so!
The Dark Tapestry? It has been some time since I thought about that void of space, which has long been reported to be the home of godlike beings far beyond my comprehension. Maybe this is why I am the most intrigued about Desna’s seeming knowledge of the place and its dangers. It is the first I am hearing of a potential connection, though that may simply be because I do not attend the right discussion groups. Whether or not this prophecy turns out to be true (or, again, maybe a warning that my Lady might be able to give to Desna to prevent this outcome), I will add a note about the possible link between Desna and the Dark Tapestry to my collected papers covering her works as a deity. I am not sure when or if I will have the time to publish any of the works I have begun to write, or if there will be room in my papers for all of the data I now have, but I am glad that I have at least begun collecting information. If these prophecies make nothing else completely clear, my own takeaway is this: it is important to understand what you know (and don’t) about the gods.
About the Author
Erin Roberts has been thrilled to be able to contribute a few small threads to the fabric of Golarion in the pages of books like Lost Omens Firebrands, Lost Omens Highhelm, and Lost Omens Travel Guide. In addition to her work for Paizo, she freelances across the TTRPG world (and was selected as a Diana Jones Award Emerging Designer Program Winner in 2023), has had fiction published in magazines including Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and The Dark, and talks about writing every week on the Writing Excuses podcast. Catch up with her latest at linktr.ee/erinroberts.
Hail and well met, Pathfinders and Starfinders! This month’s new releases call on heroes to save the town of Sandpoint, bring a host of remastered monsters to your table, and send you into Azlanti Space!
Find Your Path — March 2024
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Hail and well met, Pathfinders and Starfinders! This month’s new releases call on heroes to save the town of Sandpoint, bring a host of remastered monsters to your table, and send you into Azlanti Space!
In celebration of Pathfinder Monster Core’s release, we’ve got a special “Who’s That Monster?!” stream today, March 27th, at 12 p.m. Pacific on twitch.tv/officialpaizo!
Never miss a release with our Paizo Subscriptions—for everything from rulebooks to accessories.
The town of Sandpoint has seen more than its fair share of danger over the years, including harrowing fires, prolific serial killers, goblin raids, and attacks by giants and dragons, but now the so-called Light of the Lost Coast faces its greatest threat yet! Something sinister has been manipulating events all along, and a new band of heroes must step in to save this legendary small town from seven deadly dooms! Return to the town where it all began with the Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Adventure Path—a full campaign for 4th- to 11th-level characters that’s presented in its entirety in this super-sized volume!
Intense battles call for intense monsters! Inside Monster Core, you’ll find over 400 creatures, including fantasy classics like elves, ogres, and all-new dragons; wild animals from giant ants to ferocious wolves; and unique monsters that threaten the world of Pathfinder, like sinspawn and noxious needlers. These creatures cover all levels of play, from the slow and mindless zombie shambler to the ultrapowerful demonic Treerazer! This collection is an ideal resource for Game Masters planning their next battles and player characters looking for monstrous allies to summon.
Pathfinder Monster Core is also available as a Special Edition Hardcover, faux-leather bound with foil debossing and an in-bound ribbon bookmark.
Also, check your FLGS for the hobby retailer exclusive Sketch Cover!
From the hustle and bustle of a busy shopping center to the dilapidated, overgrown shell of a once-appealing plaza, there’s adventure to be found in malls across the galaxy. One side of this Flip-Mat depicts a futuristic mall, with an open entryway for crowds to mingle, numerous shops, and a luxurious food court to enjoy a bite to eat. The opposite side shows an abandoned mall and is the perfect site for a haunting or the remnants of a post-apocalyptic civilization.
Starfinder Flip-Mats present ready-to-use science-fantasy set pieces for the busy Game Master. With Starfinder Flip-Mat: Shopping Mall, you’ll be ready for the next encounter!
Whether your players are students themselves or the ones responsible for solving a tricky problem before things get out of hand, turn to Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Boarding School. From frightful legends that students speak of in hushed whispers, to struggles to contain failed alchemical experiments, to lighthearted stories of schoolyard mischief, these school buildings feature everything you need for an academic adventure, including classrooms, dormitories, a lunchroom, and a library.
A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for 11th- through 14th-level characters.
The Azlanti Star Empire is a vast union of diverse species, worlds, and star systems under the tyrannical dominion of humans who left Golarion for the stars long before the Gap. Under the leadership of Star Imperators Iorian and Yridela Ixomander, the Azlanti Star Empire seeks to bring all inhabited worlds under its hegemony, exploiting their knowledge, labor, and resources for the good of the empire. With a navy rivaling that of the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium combined, its ruthless legions of gem-augmented Aeon Guard pose a terrifying threat to the inhabitants of the galaxy. Most systems—including the Pact Worlds—have forbidden their citizens from entering Azlanti space, lest they draw the Imperators' covetous eyes.
Yet, a foe as powerful as the Azlanti Star Empire can’t be ignored, and numerous factions have dispatched agents into the Star Empire to operate in secret, acting as the eyes and ears of the Pact Worlds—a first line of defense against invasion.
When an undercover Starfinder broadcasts an emergency call for extraction from New Thespera, at the heart of the Azlanti Star Empire, Venture-Captain Naiaj dispatches a team of highly experienced Starfinders to answer the call. Infiltrate the Azlanti Star Empire, retrieve a Starfinder in peril, and escape with your lives—if you can!
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st- through 4th-level characters.
The Maze of the Open Road has mostly been stabilized, and yet agents are still ending up at the wrong destination. While no one has been hurt, Venture-Captain Sigvard Tornkvist fears that it might be a matter of time until injury or worse results. She tasks the PCs with investigating the cause of these mishaps, and dealing with it, if possible. Little do the PCs know what they’ve gotten themselves into, but there’s a nonzero chance they’ll find themselves in a dance-off before their mission is complete.
A Starfinder Bounty designed for 4th-level characters.
Illegal gas mining operations are nothing new on the enormous Pact Worlds gas giant Liavara, but mining platform pilot Alana Eledin thought she had a foolproof plan to get past the mining syndicates’ and the Confluence Agents’ watchful gaze. She and a crew of desperate fortune seekers would power up a derelict platform they used to work on and take it down into the depths, to the limit of the structure. Of course, no plan is perfect, and reactivating the maneuvering systems on the old rig sent out an alert. Now a Confluence Agent, with Deep Station’s troubles still fresh in mind, has assembled a team of deep pressure specialists and the PCs to, if possible, rescue the derelict and learn what sent it plunging into the clouds. What no one involved has realized is that there’s a greater danger than the immense pressure facing everyone involved.
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 5th- through 8th-level characters.
The simple mission is: deliver a letter. However, upon entering the magical hedge maze to do so, the Pathfinders find that two of their sticky-fingered friends have arrived at the same time and intend to hide a powerful elemental artifact within the Maze of the Open Road! This completely realigns the keystones of the maze, leading to planar interruptions and wild disruptions to operations. It's up to the Pathfinders to realign the keystones, calm down an angry genie, and help everyone who's been misplaced along the way! (And just maybe get that letter delivered!)
From Our Partners:
Our partners at Archives of Nethys, Demiplane, Fantasy Grounds, and Hero Lab Online are dropping new content this month as well! Buy your PDF on paizo.com to get a discount via the PaizoConnect API. Or pay full price on their platforms, sync your account, and get a complimentary PDF on the Paizo Store.
Prepare to face Gallowspire's hordes for as long as it takes…Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors launches on Thursday, April 4. Brave heroes can buy Pathfinder: Gallowspire Survivors on Steam in Early Access today, or try the demo, as they await the Whispering Tyrant’s return. Wishlist and follow the game on Steam to get notified of the launch. Keep up to date with all the information by joining the official Discord server, Facebook page and following BKOM Studios on X (formerly Twitter).
Bring Pathfinder to where you are, in person or online, and if you don’t have a favorite local game store, get books delivered to your door via a Paizo Subscription! From rulebooks to adventures, accessories, and more, we’ve got subscriptions for every table! Subscribing to a line of books gets you the physical book and the PDF for one price! Subscribe to four lines or more to unlock Paizo Advantage savings on products site-wide!
Welcome back to another exciting collection of Pathfinder Infinite & Starfinder Infinite Top Performers!
Infinite Top Performers—Feb ‘24
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Welcome back to another exciting collection of Pathfinder Infinite & Starfinder Infinite Top Performers!
What is Infinite?
Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite is a program that allows you to create content (adventures and locations; monsters; character classes, archetypes, and backgrounds; fiction; etc.) based on Paizo’s intellectual property (IP), including Pathfinder’s Lost Omens campaign setting, and to make some money while you’re at it. Your work might even be recognized by the community and earn you an invitation into the Infinite Masters elite creator program.
For more info on Pathfinder Infinite, Starfinder Infinite, and how to get started, check out the FAQs!
February’s Top Performers
Titles are ranked by an average of units sold and revenue earned and presented in alphabetical order. Asterisks indicate titles that have been on a best-seller list previously. Because they’ve consistently topped the list, and due to the number of their titles that typically take up spots, “Team+” and “Team Index” have asked to be removed from the calculations for ongoing top performers lists. This will allow newer publishers or book series to get more attention. Thanks, all!
Dive deeper into the new system of Edicts and Anathema from the Pathfinder Second Edition remaster. Over 700 edicts and anathemas for the ABCD of character creation: Ancestry, Background, Class, Deity.
The All-Seeing Eye is often derisively referred to as the "god of wizards." While that's not entirely wrong, it isn't exactly right, either. Faith's Reward—Nethys examines the influence of Nethys as the god of magic, including new spells, new feats, new items, new archetypes, and a new spell research subsystem to allow you to build or modify spells!
When Yivali held death in her talons, she feared delivering such terrible warning without also hope. Included in her annotations was research into what the world might become if each god’s death were to occur, and thus what contingencies could be made.
This product contains a handful of player options for each scenario. While there is a primary focus on the fall out for followers of each god, there are options for many types of players. The centerpiece is the return to service ritual and how each god’s death leads to which potential successor gods, what that new relationship looks like, and providing which potential benefits.
Providing an in-depth expansion of Pathfinder Second Edition's vulpine ancestry, Kitsune of Golarion Remastered provides players and GMs alike with everything they need to make this vibrant ancestry of shape shifting fox folk feel at home in the Age of Lost Omens. Based on Gold Best-Selling product Kitsune of Golarion, this product aims to not only remaster, but redefine the content from this original offering into an indispensable product for the entire table, tailless or not.
Has inspiration struck, but Player Core 1 doesn't have a subclass to fit? Whether you are looking for a Cleric spy, a swaggering Rogue, or a Druid with a will of steel, you will find myriad options within, made by 4 Infinite Masters and specially tuned for the PF2e Remaster! Feats, subclasses, focus spells, and more for the classes of Player Core 1.
A wide variety of subclasses, feats, and alternate class options—whether it comes from mastering the use of sound to bringing religion to the more physical classes. And let us not forget options of various levels of technology, from Steampunk, to tech which is science fiction even to Starfinder, to bringing forward old favorites from Pathfinder.
Experience the new Enhanced mechanic—revised for balanced and easier play. This expansion includes several new and revised mechanic tricks, drone chassis, and drone mods.
This is a brand-new adventure card game core set based on the award-winning first Starfinder adventure path, Dead Suns. This game uses the basic ruleset of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Core Set, but expands upon it in several ways, with new card types, mechanics, and characters. This download includes all of the rules necessary to play the Starfinder Adventure Card Game, a set of eight characters designed to be used with the game, and three full adventures based on the first three books of Dead Suns.
When the lights go out somewhere in Absalom Station, station staff already stretched thin find themselves unable to cope with a forced entry into the maintenance passages. Will the player characters be able to find out what went wrong and start to set things right?
In this standalone adventure, the players find themselves as prisoners trying to clear their name. They start their adventure competing in the fighting pits of Akiton in order to survive. Given a mission, will the heroes be able to purge their record of any wrong deeds and escape? What is the mission? How will they complete the task? Can they be sure others will keep up their end of the bargain? Can they track down the real criminals responsible and bring them to justice? bargain? Can they track down the real criminals responsible and bring them to justice?
New & Exciting from Infinite Masters!
Want to see what’s been cooking in the Infinite Masters’ alchemy lab? Here’s a selection of new products from some of our Infinite Masters—and some pieces that have caught their eyes!
Clerics+—The expansion on Clerics from Team+ is now remastered!
It’s 30 minutes until midnight and the river’s delta is gleaming with bits of gold dust coming off the tips of the fires scattered about. Dragon-tailed lanterns illuminate the paths as multi-generational families recount raucous stories.
Tian Xia Days: The Dead Eat First
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
It’s 30 minutes until midnight and the river’s delta is gleaming with bits of gold dust coming off the tips of the fires scattered about. Dragon-tailed lanterns illuminate the paths as multi-generational families recount raucous stories.
Overheard, a gravelly voice mixed with sincerity comes from an elderly kobold: “Do you remember that time when...”
Cut off, an innocent yet bright voice coming from a toddler yells, “We’ve already gone over this, ông nội! I wasn’t even born yet! You and grandma met ages ago...!”
A family of seven bursts out into loud laughter as they filter into the streets, seamlessly mixing in with the noises of carts carrying crafts and garments, silks and spices; from afar, melodies of wood, wind, and percussion firmly grace the air.
It’s the second day of the Festival of the Loss: Xa Hoi’s yearly celebration of the lives of the recently deceased, but also the ancestors that have been watching over the collective for centuries.
Bordering each side of the river, home cooks, restaurant chefs, and food stall owners squat, cooking fragrant foods on portable stoves and fires. Closer to the water are tables draped with lucky red fabric, used year after year, dishes placed carefully. The food is surrounded by burning incense that wafts up to the heavens:
· Pillowy, perfectly cooked rice next to crisped, barbecued game glazed with a translucent, sweet red sauce that reflects all the lanterns and lights.
· Bowls of fragrant broth, simmered for a full day prior to pull the flavor from livestock bones and aromatics into the perfect infusion, filled with tender noodles and garnished with fresh herbs.
· Beautiful golden pancakes still sizzling on the griddle, loaded with glowing leaves and minced meat, folded into half-moon parcels.
· Rice paper rolls stuffed to the brim with fresh vegetables, herbs, noodles, and steamed prawns caught and delivered just the morning prior, served next to a sweet, crunchy peanut sauce.
· A three-layered bean and jelly parfait drizzled with a viscous cream, multicolored glutinous rice dumplings in a ginger syrup, and big, round fried pastries covered with seeds, filled with a mixture of locally harvested sweet beans.
Yet, no one has approached the tablescape. Though outsiders might be curious why this mile-long spread adorning the riverside isn’t being touched, for the people of Xa Hoi, it’s because it’s tradition. You see, the dead always eat first.
Legends have been told of ancestors who moved to the afterlife and existed miserably because they were forgotten. Instead of joining those who've moved on peacefully to look over their family’s health and luck, these now-lost souls are cursed for eternity. Wondering why their families have forgotten them they manifest as bad luck, nightmares, or even come to our mortal plane themselves, seeking attention and respect.
This is why the dead always eat first. The meals are put out under the full moon of the Festival of the Loss to invite those who protect Xa Hoi to join in celebration, feast, and remembrance.
Illustration by Luis Salas Lastra
As the hour and minute hand of clocks join at midnight, there’s one more moment of silence. A single, unified prayer. One big breath inhaled together with hands pressed close to the hearts—families are sending final well-wishes to their loved ones. Then, as if on cue, the chaotic symphony of music and laughter and joyous conversation rises back to fill the streets along the river as families take turns making their plates and enjoying the delicious, jubilant dinner.
As some folks go back for seconds, many start making their way toward the center of the city of Ngon Hoa, where the rivers meet. Shining brighter than the lanterns that line the river, a stage next to the water is covered with vibrant tapestries lined with golden trim. Embroidered into the curtains are stitched portraits of dragons and warriors and empresses and flowers, seamlessly flowing into each other like scenes from a play, draping across the fabric.
Though performers have been rotating throughout the night, in and out of the larger festival grounds, with lighter crowds watching and cheering them on, now, people start to enter en masse, staking their place on the damp, grassy ground with blankets and stools to see the annual water puppetry show, Múa rối nước. On stage, the orchestra sets up gongs, wooden flutes, drums, chimes, and string instruments rarely seen outside of Xa Hoi. At the stage’s edge, closest to the water, lie ornate hand-carved wooden puppets, ranging from humans to dragons, merfolk, and nagaji, mirroring the crowd that has gathered around.
The spotlights bolt up and down, right to left, finally converging to shine over the river, and the water seems to slow down. The Sorcerer Storytellers rise enchantingly from below the surface and begin the show to roaring applause. They recount stories over the water to tell of this year’s troubles and successes, their magic manipulating not only the puppets from the stage, but shaping the water itself with swipes of their hands like a timeless dance that’s both familiar and not from this world. Their silken garments, meticulously crafted by masterful seamstresses, almost seem to enhance their dragon-blooded magic, each embroidered stitch exuding small glimmers of light as they perform. Dramatic scenes reenact wars with swelling, cacophonous music and powerful imagery, these darker moments interwoven with flashes of occasional victorious triumphs while plumes of water fly high to the sky in unison with the music.
As the show ends with a magnificent finale, swirls of iridescent water whipping around in a display of elegant magic, the festivities start to wane. At a glance across the river, the ornate and lavish outfits start to dwindle as workers change into their ordinary uniforms. The next day's tasks still must be done. The incense has burned down to the bottom, leaving small piles of gray ash at the base of ceramic bowls. Performers start packing up their instruments and tear down their festival stages. Carts that once held celebratory candies and toys are stowed away for household wares and common fabrics—the tables’ lucky red clothes are folded up and stored for next year’s celebration, too. Farmers head back toward their plots to tend to the crops and livestock. Store owners start opening shops for the last few hours before the sun starts to rise once more in Xa Hoi.
About the Author
Danny Quach (he/him) is a tabletop marketing professional by day and the internet’s emotional support himbo by night. He’s the author of Digital Thiccness, a substack dedicated to making information about marketing, social media trends, and building digital communities as accessible as possible, sprinkled with personal musings and projects and pop culture through a queer lens. When he’s not writing and collaborating on TTRPG projects, Danny can be found lifting heavy things, eating tasty things, watching scary movies, and listening to 2000s emo/screamo music. Follow him on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.
