Not sure when they were founded, but their operations are throughout the Inner Sea and likely to some extent beyond the Inner Sea as well.
From the Campaign Setting book:
The Aspis Consortium first appeared in Cheliax, and
to the current day, many of its operations center there and
within that nation’s former colonial holdings. The majority
of Avistan’s nations recognize the group’s charter, making
the Consortium omnipresent in most major centers of trade
and commerce. Without the full resources of a nation-state,
the Consortium sponsors many distant trade outposts and
operations far from its typical buyers and those nations who
recognize its compact. Distance allows for a maximization of
profits with a minimum of ethical concerns.
Unfortunately, there is only a single vague mention of Aspis in the Cheliax book and no more details at all. I think they have appeared in a few modules or adventure paths, but I doubt any of them give a founding date either. Maybe the PRPG update of the Campaign Setting will include this.
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Not sure when they were founded, but their operations are throughout the Inner Sea and likely to some extent beyond the Inner Sea as well.
Unfortunately, there is only a single vague mention of Aspis in the Cheliax book and no more details at all. I think they have appeared in a few modules or adventure paths, but I doubt any of them give a founding date either. Maybe the PRPG update of the Campaign Setting will include this.
Thanks to you both.
The AC are mentioned in the Faction Guide as well, but there is nothing concrete enough for me there either.
There was some detail on the Aspis Prophet in the campaign setting draft that didn't make it into the final version, and that gave some details on their founding, kinda sorta. However there's nowhere that a date of their founding has been or would have been given. There's also the fact that not all of the top tier members have been detailed (intentionally on my part), so it's not easy to extrapolate a time frame based on their lifespans for instance.
Depending on your use of them in your campaign and how deeply you want to go into Chelexian politics or possibly pre-Chelexian politics, you could establish a founding date to correspond to a past event and integrate it with Aspis. And you might also want to answer for yourself how much turnover the top tier of the organization has. Do they slowly get cycled out and replaced over a century or so, with new people filling their slots as Patrons?
Answer for your campaign just what interests the Aspis Prophet has in the long-term, just who or what the heck he/she/it is, and then develop the organization's founding from that point. :)
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There is really nothing saying you cannot be a "reformed" Aspis agent turned Pathfinder. Character background is largely up to the player. You just want to be careful if said background begins to impact actual gameplay. If you encounter Aspis agents during the scenario, don't expect many GMs to allow you to gain a benefit from that. But, you're right, in a home campaign, involving an Aspis character in a group that might include a Pathfinder agent is ripe for role-playing.
You would not however be able to play a PC who is both a Pathfinder agent (assumed) affiliated with the Aspis Consortium.
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Probably as accurate as any. The Pathfinders are more like Indiana Jones, but they also are not afraid to break a few eggs to get the job done depending on what faction you affiliate with.
The Aspis are like René Belloq or the "grave robber" at the beginning of Holy Grail that gives Indy his iconic fedora. They are a bit more cruel and criminal than Indiana (aka the Pathfinders) driven more by personal greed than any moral guidelines. They are more willing to be hired by anyone with good hard cash and may be affiliated with evil organizations who's goals, at least for the moment, align with their own.