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Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets—A Guide to the Pathfinder Society (PFRPG)

4.50/5 (based on 4 ratings)
Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets—A Guide to the Pathfinder Society (PFRPG)
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Note:This product has been superseded by the Pathfinder Society Field Guide.

At long last, the gates of the Grand Lodge have been thrown open, offering an inside glimpse of the Pathfinder Society! Packed with information about the most famous group of explorers on Golarion, this 64-page sourcebook is a must for any campaign that involves the Society, whether as employers or rivals.

    Inside, you’ll find:
  • How to join the Pathfinder Society, and the rights and responsibilities of Society members
  • The origin and secrets histories of the Pathfinder Society
  • A detailed gazetteer covering the Pathfinder Society’s reception and activities in every nation of the Inner Sea Region
  • Detailed maps and descriptions of the Grand Lodge of Absalom and the Society’s newest lodge in Magnimar, plus profiles of 15 high-ranking and notorious Pathfinders
  • Thirteen new kinds of mystical ioun stones, three new variants for each type, and rules on how to implant these bizarre magic items into living flesh
  • Rules for the mysterious compasses known as wayfinders, and how their ancient magic interacts with ioun stones
  • Three new Pathfinder prestige classes, along with sample characters for each
  • New feats and spells to help characters uncover ancient secrets—and protect their own!

This book is fully legal for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Paizo’s massive world-wide organized play campaign. To learn more about Pathfinder Society Organized Play, visit paizo.com/pathfindersociety!

By Tim Hitchcock, Erik Mona, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-178-7

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscription.

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

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4.50/5 (based on 4 ratings)

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Great Flavour for PFS GMs and PCs

5/5 —

Seeker of Secrets is all about the in-world Pathfinder Society: its history, ethos, leaders, lodges, and more. It's thus a great way for GMs to add more depth and description for the scenarios they run, while players can add better background for their characters and take advantage of the prestige classes and magic items in the last third of the book. The book is a 64-page softcover with full color art (that's a mixed bag, to be frank, though there's a great illustration of noteworthy Pathfinder Eando Kline on page 4).

The cover is fun, with a classic image of a rogue paying too much attention to treasure while a monster sneaks up behind her (and her friends shouting in the background is a nice detail). The inside front cover is a map of the Inner Sea noting the location of Pathfinder lodges. It's interesting to see several in close proximity in some areas while other large regions have hardly any. The inside back cover is a reproduction of the cover art, sans title and logo. Running along the bottom of the pages throughout all three chapters are illustrations and capsule descriptions of various Venture-Captains in the Pathfinder Society. These are the "face" of the organisation for most players, and it's good to have another way to make them come alive.

Chapter 1 ("Welcome to the Pathfinder Society") takes up 26 pages. It provides a good general overview of the Society: the duties that every PFS player knows ("Explore, Report, Cooperate"), the organisation's internal leadership structure, a timeline history (which comes up in some noteworthy scenarios), the in-world application process to join (which seems much more rigorous than most PFS characters I've seen could actually meet!), and a lengthy discussion of the role that the Pathfinder Society could fill in a more traditional campaign (e.g., having the PCs be part of a team sent on expeditions instead of the cliched "you're in a tavern and there's only one table free" beginning). The chapter spends several pages with a one or two paragraph description of how the Pathfinder Society operates in each region of the Inner Sea (including those where they don't have lodges or aren't legally allowed to operate, such as Hermea, the Hold of Belkzen, and Ilizmagorti). It makes for interesting reading, and there's some great ideas there, like an all-undead team for secret missions in Geb, an all elf crew to investigate murders in Kyonin, etc. There's a brief mention of rival groups (like the Aspis Consortium) and I wish this had been fleshed out much more. Last, there's a few new feats and five new spells--the best of which, teleport trap, is perfect for a big bad guy's lair (as I can personally testify).

Chapter 2 ("Where Secrets Sleep") is 12 pages long, and focusses on detailing the various Pathfinder lodges around the Inner Sea. Lodges are where agents receive their mission briefings, but they can also serve as places to rest, train, and do research in between missions. Lodges definitely don't follow a uniform plan, and are very much a reflection of the locale and the venture-captain in charge: from a back room behind a bait-and-tackle shop to a luxurious estate. Apart from capsule descriptions of various lodges, the chapter provides a map and detailed description of the Society's central headquarters (the Grand Lodge in Absalom) and of its first foray into Varisia (Heidmarch Manor in Magnimar). There's a lot of very flavourful description that should help GMs (and scenario writers) bring these places to life.

Chapter 3 ("Tools of the Trade") finishes the book off with about 22 pages of new magic items and prestige classes. The chapter starts with a one-page summary of various past volumes of the (in-world) Pathfinder Chronicles, and there's some really intriguing bits there. Several pages in the chapter are devoted to an extensive discussion and list of ioun stones that I think is more complicated and less interesting than the space is worth. A few new wayfinders are introduced, but they're so expensive I can't see PCs ever being able to afford them (or wanting to even if they had the cash). Then, there's a complicated set of tables setting out various resonance abilities when ioun stones are implanted in wayfinders. Just not my cup of tea. Some other new magic items are included. I think the best part of this chapter is the three new prestige classes: the Pathfinder Delver (archaeologists and dungeoneers), the Pathfinder Savant (spellcasters skilled in learning the magic of other classes), and the Student of War (an intelligence-based tactical fighter and leader; I used this for my sadly-departed PC Sarabian, and thought it was pretty cool). None of these prestige classes are super-powered, but I think they're all solid and worth taking. An NPC (complete with description, stat block, and artwork) for each prestige classes is also included--though I'm not really sure why.

Overall, Seekers of Secrets is a fantastic and under-used resource for players and GMs in Paizo's "Organized Play" division. It's a really nice package and one I've referred to multiple times.

Solid book, mostly focused on background information . . .

4/5 —

I remember early on in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play circles, finding out what ioun stones did with wayfinders was a big deal. Strangely, that mystery seemed less important by the time this book came out, but the explanation was still a lot of fun.

While there are some very useful spells, magic items, and gear in the book, this is mainly a book to explain the history and mindset of the Pathfinder Society. While it would be very nice if people interesting in playing Pathfinders would get a feel for the organization, if someone isn't the type of player to care about that, they aren't really going to get that much out of the book.

Still, if you want to know how you may have been trained, how the organization started, what the lodges look like, and what the current clack within the Society might be, this is a good book to pick up.

The book does seem to meander a bit when it comes to describing how Pathfinders view different regions of the setting, because there seems to be little difference between what Pathfinders see in a region and what general adventurers see in that same region.

Great looking book

4/5 —

This book is a very interesting read. A lot of detail into the background of PFS. It is also a beautifully presented book. There is material in here that I will plug into the Magnimar leg of the RotRL campaign I am running.

I have marked it down to a 4 star product. Basically is it really worth the $20 that is being asked for it? I think $15 is closer the mark. I get excited when I start reading but as I near the end of the book I feel empty... as their is not a lot of mechanics for new feats/spells as this item's summary leads you to believe.

I would recommend this book to roleplayers who like details and background information for character development and to GM who want some details for PFS in their campaigns. This book is not for character optimisation.

A GREAT sourcebook, cover to cover!

5/5 —

I just finished reading Seekers of Secrets. What a great sourcebook. Very well written and interesting all the way thru.
There are many plots, NPC's, and adventure hooks to be found in this volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles line.
My only minor complaint is that in a few places, the authors used unnecessarily obscure words. I don't have the book handy right now or I would give you an example. It just seemed like a few "showing-off-my-huge-vocabulary" moments crept in a few times too many.
That said, this is a fantastic Pathfinder RPG book. It details the Pathfinder Society, which is a big part of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, and does it well.
Buy this one!

—

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Here, here!
Contributor
Kevin Mack wrote:
Now it is off to the printers any chance to see the final cover?

I'll remind Vic about it next week, we're sorta busy with the move for the next couple of days. ;)

The Exchange Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
joela wrote:
SKR posted on Twitter that SoS is out the door (to the printers, I presume).

I'm expecting the printer to burn down now :)

Okay, the previews have begun! Can we get the updated, final cover over here?
Verdant Wheel

OMG!!! We will finally discover the true relation between the Pathfinder´s Wayfarer and the ioun Stones !!?!

My mind was blowing since The Skinsaw Murders, and now is so close.

Thank you Paizo for not letting me suffer no more.
Dark Archive

Those art previews in the blog look so damn good... I can't wait to get my dirty dwarven hands on this one!
Contributor
Draco Bahamut wrote:

OMG!!! We will finally discover the true relation between the Pathfinder´s Wayfarer and the ioun Stones !!?!

Well, it depends on what you mean by "true relation" ... it's more of a "how" at this point than a "why"....

Dark Archive

Is there anything in this supp that PFS members should especially be aware of (e.g., new feats that'll be necessary in future PFS, etc.)?
Contributor

The goal is to have all of it (feats, prestige classes, magic items, etc.) PFS-legal once the book hits the streets. Josh had a look at it a couple months ago and will take a look again for final comments once it's about to go on sale.
Dark Archive
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
The goal is to have all of it (feats, prestige classes, magic items, etc.) PFS-legal once the book hits the streets. Josh had a look at it a couple months ago and will take a look again for final comments once it's about to go on sale.

W00t! Thanks, Sean.

Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber

Is this still expected for October?

Just curious as I'm not seeing it in my list of subscription items for October under "My subscriptions"
Contributor

It just went off to the printer on Friday, I'm sure we'll update the availability info once we have a better idea of the timeline (also, we've been dealing with the move to the new office and such).
Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
It just went off to the printer on Friday, I'm sure we'll update the availability info once we have a better idea of the timeline (also, we've been dealing with the move to the new office and such).

S'all good. Just asking on a whim. From the posts above it seems to be "pushed" back a few times already due to some mysterious curse. heh...

Hope the moving has gone smoothly so far.
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

I've updated the product image to match the finished cover. If you see more beige than green, clear your browser's image cache.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Wow, I love that pic. It is perfectly matched to the content!
Silver Crusade

Awesome cover. Really dig the designs on the adventurer and the naga.

Man, adventurer types just can't not pry large rubies from mean-looking idols, huh?
Dark Archive
Elorebaen wrote:
Wow, I love that pic. It is perfectly matched to the content!

My thoughts exactly -- that's an *amazing* cover! :)

Sweet peepers you people are trying to drive me 'round the bend!
Dark Archive
Mairkurion {tm} wrote:
Sweet peepers you people are trying to drive me 'round the bend!

(As usually) you totally lost me there...

Swearing by my eyes, I suggest that behind all this release of wonderful preview art there stands a secret plot to unbalance my sanity. An overload of desire through the sense of sight, if you will.
Dark Archive
Mairkurion {tm} wrote:
Swearing by my eyes, I suggest that behind all this release of wonderful preview art there stands a secret plot to unbalance my sanity. An overload of desire through the sense of sight, if you will.

I thought you had already lost most of your leav... er, marbles? ;P

Luckily, those are oak leaves--they always come back strong. Marbles are much harder to replace, although not for lack of them laying around...

Implanting Ioun stones??????? awesome

I realize that working divination on pulishing golems renders wonky results at best, but now that the month of October is neigh upon us, any chances of getting a release date?
We're starting a new campagin based around a pathfinder lodge and I'm about wetting my poants with excitement over this book.
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Tallghost wrote:

I realize that working divination on pulishing golems renders wonky results at best, but now that the month of October is neigh upon us, any chances of getting a release date?

We're starting a new campagin based around a pathfinder lodge and I'm about wetting my poants with excitement over this book.

Our current estimates can always be found on the product schedule page. Unless something unexpected happens to delay delivery further, such as a hang-up in customs or on the truck, we're expecting it in early October—that is to say, a week or so.

Vic Wertz wrote:
Tallghost wrote:

I realize that working divination on pulishing golems renders wonky results at best, but now that the month of October is neigh upon us, any chances of getting a release date?

We're starting a new campagin based around a pathfinder lodge and I'm about wetting my poants with excitement over this book.
Our current estimates can always be found on the product schedule page. Unless something unexpected happens to delay delivery further, such as a hang-up in customs or on the truck, we're expecting it in early October—that is to say, a week or so.

I'm curious... is the fact that this isn't out yet going to delay my bestiary pdf? My once per month order has everything pending but this book now.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Rizzen wrote:


...
I'm curious... is the fact that this isn't out yet going to delay my bestiary pdf? My once per month order has everything pending but this book now.

I have the same question, especially considering that the bestiary has shipped for some people, whereas mine has not.

Although I appreciate the customer support that Paizo provides, it sometimes seems that people who subscribe to more lines are often the last to receive them.
Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
Antony Walls wrote:
Rizzen wrote:


...
I'm curious... is the fact that this isn't out yet going to delay my bestiary pdf? My once per month order has everything pending but this book now.

I have the same question, especially considering that the bestiary has shipped for some people, whereas mine has not.

Although I appreciate the customer support that Paizo provides, it sometimes seems that people who subscribe to more lines are often the last to receive them.

*shrug* Patience... I'm in the same boat, just flipped from ship with AP to ship monthly. will be worth it to get the shipment in one pop.

Grand Lodge
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Matthew Morris wrote:
*shrug* Patience...

Same here. I switched from "ship with AP" to once/month for October. Once Seekers gets to Paizo and I get my ship notice, I'm going to switch back to "ship with AP."

-Skeld
Paizo Employee CEO

Seekers of Secrets and Map Pack Extradimensional Spaces are due to hit out warehouse next week, so if you have picked the monthly shipment option, then all of your October subscriptions should ship then.

-Lisa
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Lisa, last Friday I wrote a message in the customer service area but nobody has answered me. I don´t want to wait for seeker of secrets and I had selected the "don´t hold anything" option before receiving my mail. I´m still waiting for someone to fix it and receive my bestiary as soon as possible with the book of damned. Can you tell it to Cosmo or Vic?
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Antony Walls wrote:
Rizzen wrote:


...
I'm curious... is the fact that this isn't out yet going to delay my bestiary pdf? My once per month order has everything pending but this book now.

I have the same question, especially considering that the bestiary has shipped for some people, whereas mine has not.

Although I appreciate the customer support that Paizo provides, it sometimes seems that people who subscribe to more lines are often the last to receive them.

Just depends on what shipment options you have chosen. If you have unlimited funds, then I suggest just having the items shipped when they become available as that would be the quickest.

If you are like me (ie those with limited funds), then you appreciate the shipments options like, once per month. It does require a bit more patience, but being able to both game, and eat during the month is nice.

Best.
Scarab Sages

Has it reached the warehouse and ready to ship yet?
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Lara Cobb wrote:
Has it reached the warehouse and ready to ship yet?

We're expecting it Monday or Tuesday.

Scarab Sages

I didn't want to seem excited or anything, but I've been really waiting for this release.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

The artwork is really looking great!
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

It arrived today, and shipments will begin going out tomorrow. I've also updated the product description to match the finished product.
Scarab Sages

I have some secret 'sploring planned.
Sovereign Court

Is there going to be a PDF version for this one? Sorta wanna get my hands on it now. :)
Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy
Phalazar wrote:
Is there going to be a PDF version for this one? Sorta wanna get my hands on it now. :)

There's a pdf of everything. They become available for purchase on a product's street date. Since the dead-tree books came into the warehouse yesterday, it should be about two weeks before they get through the distribution chain to FLGSs and are officially released. At that time, Paizo will put the pdf for sale. You can get a free pdf if you subscribe to the Pathfinder Chronicles line and will have access to it when your book ships, which would be sometime this week if you subscribed today.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
Vic Wertz wrote:
It arrived today, and shipments will begin going out tomorrow. I've also updated the product description to match the finished product.

F5

F5

F5

F5

F5

Alt+F4
Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
Matthew Morris wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
It arrived today, and shipments will begin going out tomorrow. I've also updated the product description to match the finished product.

F5

F5

F5

F5

F5

Alt+F4

*Reloads browser*

F5

F5

F5...

;-)
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber

doing the same thing myself, been waiting for this to finally get into their warehouse so I can get at this and my bestiary.
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Just got my PDF. My eyes are gonna burn tonight.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Matthew Morris wrote:
Matthew Morris wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
It arrived today, and shipments will begin going out tomorrow. I've also updated the product description to match the finished product.

F5

F5

F5

F5

F5

Alt+F4

*Reloads browser*

F5

F5

F5...

;-)

+1

=)
Scarab Sages

Sweet... I now have little stones dancing around my head.
Shadow Lodge
Lara Cobb wrote:
Sweet... I now have little stones dancing around my head.

I just have one stone every time another one tries dancing around my head it eats them:(

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Decorus wrote:
I just have one stone every time another one tries dancing around my head it eats them:(

A one-horned, one-eyed flying purple pebble eater?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Got my copy in the mail today, and I have to say, one of the best supplements I've ever had the pleasure to read. I also really like the magic items section, and the prestige classes are amazing. I especially like that there's one for each of the classic rolls. *tips hat to the designers*
Liberty's Edge

Um, is this really PF Society legal? Already?
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