Pathfinder Society Introduction Information

This page is for persons that want to learn about Pathfinder Society. I'm trying to assume that the reader knows NOTHING about Pathfinder Society.

First place to start is to define some terms and concepts to make it less confusing. (I hope).

• Pathfinder Society is Paizo's implementation of an organized play system for Pathfinder RPG.

• What is an "Organized Play System"? - The standard (read short) definition for RPG's is a system of play that uses standard character creation and advancement rules. It also uses a library of publicly available adventures (AKA modules, mods or slots). In this way a player and take their PC from game to game. From large global conventions (like GenCon) to smaller local cons or even local game nights at their local gaming store.

• Adventures that are in the library are usually 4-5 hours in length per module. This means that a player will complete an entire adventure in one sitting (usually). Longer plot threads are carried on over a multi-part adventure or are part of an entire running theme for a period of time (like a season of a TV show).

• The Adventures should be considered much like the episodes of a syndicated TV show. For most episodes of the TV show "CIS: Crime Scene Investigation" it's not necessary to watch them in order. A viewer could miss one or watch them out of order and, for the most part, not miss much. Occasionally there ARE episodes that really matter, when a main character dies for instance, that the order will matter. Adventures in organized play have this same feel. A few are important but for the most part a player can play them in any order without missing large portions of plot or story. Sometimes a player may want to play them with different PC's as having only one PC may limit which adventure can be played if the adventures are spread out over only a few levels.

• Many organized play systems have a running theme for a portion of their adventures much like a season of a TV show would focus on a particular plot issue.

Whew! That was dry stuff. Now on to PFS specific stuff.

• Pathfinder Society (PFS) is organized by seasons, much like a TV show. A season will have a larger plot theme that runs through most adventures for that season. There are a few running story lines that transcend all seasons.

• What is the general concept behind playing in PFS?

  • You PC is part of an in-game organization called..... Pathfinder Society (that's not confusing or anything right?)

  • It's an organization dedicated to collecting old knowledge and treasure (but maybe not in that order).

  • You may not be evil in PFS. (Neutral is fine but not outright evil).

  • There is no PvP, nor may you attack other NPC members of Pathfinder Society.

  • As the adventures are only 4-5 hours long you (the player you) may have to limit your options when it comes to choices that would obviously drive you "off the reservation". Yes, there are rails this is not a sandbox type game. That's not to say you can't have fun, but remember the limits of the game.

  • In order to play all the content for a season (and therefore "see" all the story line) you will need to have multiple PC's at different levels. The story lines are for players (that's you) as well as characters (that's your PC).

Paizo intro text about PFS:

"In Pathfinder Society Organized Play, you play a member of the Pathfinder Society, seeking fortune and glory all over the face of Golarion. At the same time, your character works for one of the competing factions, all with their own motivations and secret agendas.

Play is organized into Seasons, throughout which the actions and achievements of you and your fellow Pathfinders create an ongoing storyline. Each season consists of at least 28 Pathfinder Society scenarios (short, 4-hour adventures) set in a variety of exotic locations across Golarion."

So you'll get to travel all over Golarion (the Pathfinder RPG standard world) and play in a bunch of adventure locations. So the adventures can be all different types from almost all social and role-play (RP) to heavy combat and traps. There are 28 adventures in a season so there's lots of room for both. If a player really wants to do the social interaction and deep role-playing aspects they will need to do research on the world of Golarion and all of it's detailed background material. Many of the RP style mods depend on the players knowing (and therefore their PC's knowing) a good deal about the world in which the PC lives.

Other resources:

Short Pathfinder Society Primer

Here's a link to the official Pathfinder Society Website

- You can download the character creation guidelines there. (or here)

Inner Sea Region - The geographic region in which we normally play.

Faction Summary

Pazio's Offical Faction Listing

Andoran - LG - Common rule for all!

Cheliax - LE - Hell on Golarion

Osirion - N - Uncover the power of the past

Qadira - LN - No life without trade.

Taldor - N - Get back in the game.

Silver Crusade - LG

Sczarni - N

Grand Lodge - N -

Retired Factions

Lantern Lodge - NG - Asia Pathfinders

Shadow Lodge - CN - Worked to destroy the Pathfinder Society from the inside

Golarion World Background Intro

Great Golarion Intro - 4 mins long

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMaYzBrbqaM

Good intro, adds some details that the first doesn't add. 4 mins long

Skipping the beginning about the sodden lands would be good. I'd start about 50 second into this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ghXBKTonE

Golarion History Lessons - Long. Really. 10 mins each, but detailed if you like this type of stuff.

Golarion Illuminated Episodes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgujTxobLDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJCe5HQN3cs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANDqkeapRc4

Pathfinder Society and You (where does my PC fit in?)

Some of Golarion’s greatest heroes record their victories in an ongoing series of chapter books known as the Pathfinder Chronicles. The amazing tales bound in these volumes tell of lost gods and sunken continents, of creatures older than history and the fantastic ruins they left behind. The authors of these tales belong to the Pathfinder Society, a looseknit group of explorers, scholars, and adventurers who span the globe and band together in search of lost knowledge and ancient treasures.

Some seek to unlock the secret history of the world, piecing together the past one fragment at a time. Others are in it for the money, filtering priceless antiquities through a series of unscrupulous merchants to enrich themselves beyond measure. Other Pathfinders take up the trade for the potential fame, or because they find the thrill of risking their lives more addicting and exhilarating than any vice or drug.

A shadowy inner circle of 10 masked leaders known as the Decemvirate rules the PathfinderSociety from the bustling metropolis of Absalom, the so-called City at the Center of the World. There, in a huge fortress complex called the Grand Lodge, the Ten manage a vast organization of operatives spread throughout the Inner Sea and beyond. Their subordinates, called Venture Captains, coordinate independent teams of Pathfinders, tipping them off to ancient legends, passing along newly discovered maps, and supporting their efforts in the field.

Venture Captains provide an ideal “inworld” source of adventure leads, making them indispensable NPCs in any campaign. That doesn’t necessarily make every Venture Captain an ally, however. The ultimate goals of the Decemvirate are inscrutable, and not even the Venture Captains understand the full picture of what the Pathfinder Society does with the information it collects.

Each Venture Captain oversees the activities of several tightly knit groups of Pathfinder field agents who conduct much of the exploration and adventure

that fuels the organization as a whole. Perhaps your player characters are one such group, moving from locale to locale to discover the lost secrets of dead civilizations. Pathfinders provide written reports of their exploits to their Venture Captains, who in turn forward the most compelling records to the Grand Lodge for consideration by the Decemvirate. Periodically, the masked leaders collect and publish the greatest exploits into new volumes of the Pathfinder Chronicles, which they ship back to the Venture Captains for distribution to field agents, sending adventurers flocking to the sites detailed therein.

Individual groups of Pathfinder agents often find themselves at cross purposes in the field, particularly if each team reports to a different Venture Captain.

Competition between Pathfinders rarely results in outright battle, but certain agents aren’t above collapsing passages, triggering ancient traps, or selling

out their rivals to hostile natives—all in the name of friendly competition, of course.