Knights of Ozzem

The Pathfinder Society has humble roots, having grown organically from a network of like-minded adventurers who were as interested in telling a good tale as they were in uncovering new lore. Even after its formal creation, the Society resembled many other adventuring operations, albeit on a larger scale. It was only after publishing the first of the Pathfinder Chronicles, a printed folio of recent discoveries and studies by the Pathfinders, that the Society established a permanent base of operations known as the Grand Lodge in Absalom. The organization has grown in prestige, power, and academic relevance in the four centuries since, sending explorers across the world—and sometimes beyond—in daring pursuit of historical discoveries. The story of the Society is told by its field agents, adventurers recruited from all walks of life. Most would-be agents undergo about 3 years of training at the Grand Lodge, overseen by three experienced deans: the Master of Scrolls, the Master of Spells, and the Master of Swords, each an expert in essential skills for studying and surviving abandoned ruins. Initiates become full members only after demonstrating their abilities through a mission, publishing an academic treatise, or completing a personal challenge devised by their mentors. Much rarer are the Pathfinders who earn a field commission, an honorary yet full membership granted to established explorers who amaze the Society’s leaders with a submitted report or perform some noteworthy service for agents abroad. Operatives of all types adhere to the same commitment to explore, report their findings, and cooperate with one another.

The Pathfinder Society’s headquarters, the Grand Lodge, serves more as a symbolic home than as a command post. Most agents direct their own studies, visiting the Grand Lodge rarely to file reports, recruit help, or request supplies. The Society does not supply field operatives wages, and its leaders rarely compel members to perform tasks. Instead, the organization serves more as a network for directing capable agents toward research projects that suit their skills and goals, allowing operatives to keep any spoils they recover in the course of their travels. Local leaders known as venture-captains oversee expeditions across large regions, maintaining specialized libraries and lodges. Operatives in good standing can stay at these lodges free of charge, in return helping the venture-captain explore new sites and document the area.

Presiding over the organization is the Decemvirate, a group of 10 enigmatic leaders who have maintained magical anonymity for centuries. When members of “The Ten” see ft to intervene directly in operatives’ affairs, they act with stern pragmatism and decisiveness that earns them respect but little love. This hands-off style of leadership has allowed numerous factions to arise within the Society, each endeavoring to direct the Society’s attention and resources to particular regions or initiatives. Despite periods of intense competition in the past, these factions have begun cooperating with one another while pushing agendas that are not mutually exclusive.

Joining the Pathfinder Society

The doors of the Pathfinder Society are open to all who lust for knowledge, regardless of class, race, or creed. As long as the prospective member is willing to follow the rules and submit to the authority of the Decemvirate and its venture-captains, the Society gives no preference to any particular demographic. Not even the quality of one’s character factors in—whether a Pathfinder seeks new discoveries out of pious altruism or selfish self-aggrandizement is of little concern to the organization, so long as the reports keep flowing in. This marked lack of concern with the methods of its agents is a chief reason why the Pathfinder Society is less than welcome in several nations.

Starting Characters: The Pathfinder Society is willing to accept members of all backgrounds, creeds, and morals. Any applicant who does well enough overall on the initial tests is allowed to take the oath and become an initiate. Training is overseen by three deans at the Grand Lodge: the Master of Swords, the Master of Spells, and the Master of Scrolls. The final test, known as the Confirmation, is taken after three years as an initiate (although ambitious or gifted initiates may persuade the deans to allow them to take the test earlier). The test is effectively the initiate's first mission; those who pass become Pathfinders, and those who fail are discharged from the Society (but often remain on good terms with it afterwards). Characters can begin the game as members of the Pathfinder Society. Please note that the Lodge in Numeria was razed by the Black Sovereign and the society is not officially welcome there.

Gaining Prestige

As the core of the Society’s functioning is venture-captains giving other Pathfinders assignments, earning prestige with the Society is a matter of completing these missions without destroying anything priceless along the way. Members may gain more prestige if their adventures are published in a volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles.