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One key premise of the Pathfinder Society in Golarion, is the Pathfinder Chronicle.  A telling of exploits so fascinating, or perhaps a recounting so amazing, that otherwise anonymous Pathfinders might live forever in prose.

If one of YOUR characters got to write a Chronicle, what would it be about?  Would it be funny or harrowing or would it show off just how damned clever/lucky you are? Or how incompetent the NPC was? Or how amazing the circumstance?

Without spoiling any particular adventure or story line, I’ve got a few Chronicle ‘excerpts’ for you from tables that I’ve run.  Let me know if you see your character in here.  Names have been changed to protect the innocent you guys. More to come later.

Deep in the heart of the desert tomb, a firestorm raged, filling their senses with waves of heat and pain. The only exit was blocked by the laughing woman, seemingly at ease in the raging furnace as they desperately fought to get at least one of their number free to warn the Society.  Even the beautiful oracle, normally flame’s harsh mistress, wilted in the heat and thought perhaps she even saw death approaching through the flames…

***

The smell of low tide choked the mist around them, seeming to muffle the incessant suggestions of the trollops who walked the docks at this late hour.  This was a suitable setting for the foulest and most furtive of misdeeds, but there was no remedy for it.  They needed passage into the harbor and fast. It was at that moment that a stout dwarven face appeared in the fog, attached to a hunched form hobbling along on a crude peg leg. She looked him up and down, clearly making some sort of quick calculation while absentmindedly stroking the downy fuzz on her chin. “Yes, you’ll do,” she said, “You need a boat and someone to pilot her and I can help, but there will be a price.”  And then she licked her lips and winked in the most disturbing way…

***

The filthy water was waist deep in this chamber and the wet rot covered every visible surface with glistening slime.  As the nimble rogue stepped forward cautiously she squealed an alert to the others when bubbles erupted forth and the slime suddenly coalesced with a sickening squelch.  Out of nowhere, fingers of electricity arced across the water’s surface and the rogue was found herself jumping and twitching, trying to avoid the worst of it.  From the other room, the sage and the fighter called out that they were on their way, which was followed almost immediately with the sound of a splash that was undoubtedly the sound of one or both of them trying to move too fast in the muck. “This is going to take a while,” she thought and steeled herself for the next wave of blue electricity.  It was then that hope arrived with a squawk and a furious flutter of feathers…

From time to time, I hear the question come up: Why PFS?  Why this game system and not another?  Why Organized Play format instead of home games?  Why put so much effort into this?

I suspect many gamers would have different answers, but I’d like to share mine as someone who has been gaming for a while and who has chosen to invest a lot of time into the crazy, wacky world of Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

The first, best and only reason that is really needed is easy: the people.  Don’t get me wrong, I have a great home group as well and I know lots of cool gamer types to roll dice with, but public, organized play gives you a chance to mix it up.  I have met countless people playing PFS that I simply would not have otherwise.  Many are local, but the online world allows me to say that I have PFS contacts in Turkey, Croatia, Iceland and in every nook and cranny of the United States.  That’s pretty darned cool.

Second, sometimes I like my adventure to be bite-sized.  The writing for PFS is sometimes grand in scope, but it gets resolved in about 4 hours.  It is nice to have a beginning, middle and end.  With the epic train of many home games, especially if you are running one of Paizo’s very fine Adventure Paths, it is a nice change to have a satisfying (hopefully) conclusion to a day of dungeon-delving or relic-robbing.  Sure, I’ll save the world, but only if I’m done in time for dinner.

There is a lot of variety in PFS adventures, especially when viewed over the breadth of all 5 seasons.  A lot of really talented writers contribute some very unique characters and situations.  Not everything works perfectly every time, but I know that when I sit down to play or run a game, it is not going to be the same as last time.  Dragons today, angry monkeys tomorrow followed up by a nice bit of courtly intrigue to top it all off.

Lastly, there is a payoff.  Advancing my character feels like it means something.  There are vanities to be purchased, exploits to tell of, chronicles to write.  Advancing in a home game is fun too, but not as many people get to see your hero in action.  With a forgiving GM and fewer restrictions, sometimes leveling can be a little too easy.  PFS provides some structure, and some variability, that makes getting there more of an accomplishment.  I am really looking forward to taking my very first PFS character, a polearm-wielding barbarian on the Eyes of the Ten retirement arc soon.  And then I am really looking forward to others from our local group getting to that same level so that I can run those scenarios for their storied heroes and see what they have accomplished.

So what do you think?  Why do you PFS?  Feel free to post a comment or start a thread!

We’re proud to announce the launch of the Pathfinder Society of Florida website! From Miami to Pensacola, this website is here to help you find Pathfinder Society games throughout the entire Sunshine State. Make this your one stop shop to find game days at stores and weekend-long conventions!

Please make sure to sign up on the forums, because that’s where you’ll find information on upcoming games in your area. And if you currently host Pathfinder Society games and are looking to get a bigger draw, Pathfinder Society of Florida will make sure to do everything in our power to support your games through our site!

We know Floridians are at the forefront of Pathfinder Society play, and it’s time we all come together to show how strong we are! Let’s show what we already know: Florida is THE state for Pathfinder Society Organized Play!