Greetings, Lodge Sisters and Brothers! Please excuse the assumed name above, but I thought it best to travel incognito. I am Pathfinder Aram bin Kaleel, of Katheer, and I beg your indulgence this day on a matter of import to the entire Society.
“Explore. Report. Cooperate.” These are the three Core Tenants of our Society, drilled into the heads of every Initiate that passes through the doors of the Grand Lodge. Yet when they leave again, their training complete, how many Pathfinders are actually qualified to carry out those core tenants?
- To Explore, a Pathfinder must possess more than lethal skill with a single weapon: one must possess curiosity and skill, self-sufficiency and courage in equal measure.
- To Report, a Pathfinder must be at the least literate, and able to express themselves coherently in more than monosyllabic grunts.
- To Cooperate requires a certain level of social grace and tact, which seems largely absent in many Pathfinders today.
In my experience, many Pathfinders seem to be either highly-specialized killers or common thugs. On a recent assignment to represent the Society at the marriage of Michellia Blakros, I shudder to think of the damage that could have been caused by a group of brutish oafs with no use beyond murder. Pathfinders are increasingly being used as nothing more than an army against the Society’s enemies, because that is all many of them are suited for. This intolerable situation is an affront to the memory of those who have gone before, whose tales are immortalized in the Chronicles. So: what can be done?
In my country, we have a saying: “It is better to light one lamp, than to sit and curse the darkness.” To do my part in restoring the honor and traditions of the Pathfinder Society, I have decided to become a Lamplighter, and I invite other Pathfinders of like mind to join with me.
I propose the formation of a voluntary, informal organization within the Pathfinder Society, to be known as the Lamplighters, with membership open to any Pathfinder who meets the minimal requirements outlined in the attached Creed. The Lamplighters will have no hierarchy and no leadership; anyone who meets the qualifications may purchase and wear the Lamplighter’s badge upon showing proof of qualification to the vendor.
Benefit of membership in the Lamplighters is intangible, but significant. When you see another agent wearing a Lamplighter badge, you know that you can count on their support and trust them with your life. Similarly, by identifying yourself as a Lamplighter, you will instill confidence in your companions that you can be trusted to complete the mission at hand. Lamplighters will remind other agents, new and old, what it once was to be a Pathfinder, and put the proper emphasis on resourcefulness and versatility outside of just the combat arena.
Let me emphasize: the Lamplighters are not a “shadow Society” trying to change the Pathfinder leadership or mandate. Neither are we a political faction seeking to twist the Society to our own uses. No Lamplighter will ever ask another to obtain a bauble for their upcoming party or to assassinate a personal rival while on Society business. The Lamplighters exist solely as a positive exemplar of the resourcefulness, wit, and skill that built our Society’s glorious history. As such, it operates above such individual agendas. Membership is open to all Pathfinders who honor the Lamplighter's Creed regardless of other political or social affiliations.
I believe that if more agents were as versatile, resourceful and adaptable as our predecessors, then our leadership would see more use for us than as foot soldiers against the Aspis Consortium and other rivals. Join the Lamplighters, and together we will serve as a guiding light for the Society's future.
With humble thanks for your time and consideration, I remain,
Your comrade,
Aram bin Kaleel of Katheer,
Pathfinder
In order to codify the qualifications to become a Lamplighter, I have set down my thoughts in this matter. I propose that those who yearn as I do for the Society to return to its glory days, offer their own suggestions, so that we may quickly agree upon a list of minimal requirements.
* A Lamplighter is sound of mind and body, with no physical, mental, or social deficiency which would interfere with their duties.
* A Lamplighter is skilled in diplomacy, tact, and effective communication.
* A Lamplighter is well-trained, knowledgeable, and resourceful.
* A Lamplighter is always ready for combat, and is trained and equipped for both hand-to-hand and ranged fighting.
* A Lamplighter is well-equipped for any eventuality, and ready to travel at a moment’s notice.
* A Lamplighter puts the success of the mission and the well-being of her comrades ahead of personal gain.
* A Lamplighter keeps no knowledge secret from their Venture-Captain or their comrades.
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Such a prideful person, making such claims as that many fellow pathfinders are killers or thugs. Some of us are true professionals, professionals that offer help to those who spit in the face of the rules of cooperation with our fellow Pathfinders.
Why to wear a Holy Symbol of Asmodeus is to almost invite lynching amongst our brothers and sisters. Those who call Cheliaxian's evil, and do nothing to help.
Perhaps that is where you should start first, reminding those who come to swear to the Society, that they should extend the helping hand to those who are their brothers.
Until then, all you suggest is to be the very Society we belong to, yet someone such as I, with intelligence, wit, and other skills, sharper than your sword, wouldnt qualify for your little glee club, how sad this is. How very sad, that for all my abilities, my strength of arm would keep me out of your little club. Ah, well.
Tolerance only goes so far these days, only as far as it finds itself useful. Ah well, God is good dear Aram bin Kaleel of Katheer, and should you ever find yourself in need - please by all means. Come find me, as I will always be willing to aid a fellow brother in need.
Your boon companion,
Sin of Asmodeus.
(Sorc 10 23 Diplomacy, 28 bluff, before I drop the banner >.> )
We shall keep our eyes on this group. They have drawn our......interest.
Mr., ah, "Sin": As others have pointed out, I believe that my initial proposal was in fact too restrictive, and focused too much on an Initiate's initial ability rather than the results of their training. I have convened a meeting in Absalom where Pathfinders of all affiliations may come and discuss ways to modify this proposal, and I hope you will join me there so I may learn from your experience and wisdom.
You are correct, in that tolerance does not seem well-represented, either, in the modern-day Pathfinder Society. Competing agendas often put comrades at odds and focused on individual goals instead of the Society's. I admit that I have had the same feelings in regards to your countrymen in the past, based (as such feelings are) on misinformation and misunderstanding. I believe I shall have to craft a line which requires cooperation and tolerance to add to the Lamplighter's Creed. Thank you for pointing out one of the missing pieces of my proposal.
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I feel your statements are largely incorrect, sir. Those are indeed the tenants of the Pathfinder society, true, and they are fine values to have in a single agent, often times we are not talking about single agents. Indeed, most often you see groups of agents working together, and those groups need specialists. A gaggle of jack-of-all-trades agents will never fair well against the greater challenges that the Decemverate places ahead of them. I myself am a scholar. I have great knowledge of the arcane and sciences, but am utterly lacking in brute force or the strength of divinity, and I've been told my manner of speaking is quite brusque and incomprehensible to some. Ergo, often I partner myself with a brutish Hellknight and an eloquent Asmodean cleric to shore up my personal weaknesses.
That said... you do have an excellent point in that the Decemverate seems to compile its groups, not of the truly best fits for a mission, but of who is most convenient at hand. Usually this does end with, as you seem to fear, sending thugs to a wedding, or sending a group of paranoid treasure seekers to a peaceful monestary (well, mostly peaceful it turned out, but they didn't have to treat every door like it was out to get us. I digress). Perhaps if more people took your words to heart and as advice in this matter, the Pathfinder Society would eventually lose this reputation it has garnered as "hired goons". To that end, I will support your movement in my own way, even though it seems my lack of people skills utterly disqualifies me from joining.
Also, I look forward to attending the upcoming Blakros wedding. It will be nice to see my friend Nigel again. He barely stoops in an ape-like manner when I see him these days.
"Lady Dza'Thrune, a thousand pardons for not hearing your question amid the din. My goal in starting the Lamplighters is simply to serve as a positive role model for a specific philosophy of Pathfinder agent. While as many have pointed out, today Pathfinders are sent in teams, I have often been sent with agents who are ill-equipped to face anything but combat with their favorite weapon on their own terms. While of course, combat remains an important arrow in a Pathfinder's quiver, it should not be the only arrow one carries on a mission. I hope that, if the Lamplighter concept spreads, it may inspire new recruits to follow the Lamplighter ideals even before completing their training. In this way, they may become more well-rounded agents of the Society.