Pathfinder Society is the official organized play campaign for Pathfinder. It has been running for over seven years now. It consists primarily of adventures that can be run in about four hours, but there are also longer and multi-part scenarios, as well as special event scenarios to be played by dozens of groups at the same time. While each adventure can be run by itself, there is an overarching plot with numerous recurring characters, locations, and artifacts.
Plot Summary
- In season zero and season one, the in-universe Pathfinder Society is introduced as an archaeological society of which the player characters are members. It has a scholarly aim; the characters are primarily sent to investigate ancient ruins, recover tomes of knowledge and magical artifacts, and deal with the occasional evil cult or group of monsters infesting the ruins.
- Season two, Year of the Shadow Lodge.
- Season three, Year of the Ruby Phoenix. Hao-Jin, a powerful archmage who disappeared decades ago, has left behind a trove of magical treasures. Every ten years, a tournament is held, and the winner gets to take one item from the trove. This season deals with qualifying for the tournament and gathering various magical items that may help; it ends with a special event about the tournament itself. The Society is victorious and selects as their item an unassuming tapestry, that turns out to be a portal to a hidden extraplanar world.
- Season four, Year of the Risen Rune.
- Season five, Year of the Demon.
- Season six, Year of the Sky Key.
- Season seven, Year of the Serpent. As the Society holds its yearly convocation at their headquarters, they are assaulted by the Aspis Consortium. Although the attack is fought off, several items have been stolen, and the Master of Scrolls lies dead. The season deals with recovering these items and recovering the abducted soul of the Master of Scrolls, and it culminates with a counterattack on the Aspis headquarters.
- Season eight, Year of the Stolen Storm. Ongoing.
Pathfinder Society continued into Pathfinder Second Edition with a new cycle of seasons. Starting with the fifth season, the seasons are marked as "Year (number)," rather than "Season (number)." Pathfinder 2nd Edition introduces the "Maze of the Open Road," a sort of Warp Whistle that lets parties travel between well-established Pathfinder Society Lodges with relative ease.
- Season 1: Year of the Open Road
- Season 2: Year of Corruption's Reach
- Season 3: Year of Shattered Sanctuaries
- Season 4: Year of Boundless Wonder
- Year 5: Year of Unfettered Exploration
General Tropes
- Evil Counterpart: The Aspis Consortium, a similar group of explorers that is primarily motivated by profit and illicit sales of artifacts.
- Immortality: The sun orchid elixir.
- It Belongs in a Museum: The primary goal of the Pathfinder Society is to discover and chronicle ancient mysteries and wonders of the world. Of course, this tends to make them a target or competitor of whatever relic gets involved.
- Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The Decemvirate, the secretive leaders of the Society. The scenario arc Eyes of the Ten explores this in detail.
- Our Goblins Are Different
