Taking a Stab At Pathfinder Infinite (Would You Like to See More?)

As a lot of my regular readers know, the Pathfinder Infinite platform came online in late 2021. And at the time I said I had a couple of ideas I'd like to publish on it assuming progress was made regarding the ugliness that had come to light regarding Paizo's treatment of workers. And since Paizo's employees now have a union, and the company seemed to support rather than fight those efforts, I figured it was time for me to make good on that tease I'd put out.

And though 150 Sights To See (And Rumors To Hear) in Absalom dropped this past weekend, I wanted to pull back the curtain a bit to let folks know what's going on, and how they can help keep the wheels moving.

Because I can't do this one alone.

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Do Readers Want Me To Add More To Golarion?

In case some readers are confused, I'll catch you all up to speed. Pathfinder Infinite is a community use platform that lets independent and 3rd-party creators make content set in the world of Golarion (the base setting for the Pathfinder RPG), and which uses Paizo's intellectual property (as long as the project obeys all the appropriate rules set forth by the company). So rather than just making generic content that could be used with the Golarion setting if one wanted to (like my supplement 100 Random Bandits to Meet), or creating content that uses the Pathfinder rules system but which is part of an independent setting (like Gods of Sundara for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting), I can just explore parts of Golarion that I enjoy, but which haven't gotten the attention that I feel they should have.

Like this one.

My supplement, 150 Sights to See (And Rumors To Hear) in Absalom is actually the second Pathfinder Infinite supplement that's been released by Azukail Games. The first was 100 Rumors and Hooks To Hear in (or About) Magnimar, and it came out a few weeks previous. However, the issue that we've run into is that neither of these two supplements has been a particularly noteworthy success. In fact with slow sales and the cost of splitting profits for the community-use platform, it seems like Pathfinder Infinite just isn't a great investment when taking these two products as examples of what one can expect.

However, I didn't want to just shrug my shoulders and walk away. As someone who contributed to Paizo products in the past, I felt this would be a solid opportunity to get some of my own ideas out for the setting that I'd never had a chance to before... but for that to happen, I need the folks out there playing these games to come along for the ride.

Because on the one hand, it's possible there just aren't a lot of people playing Pathfinder anymore. On the other hand, it might be that there are lots of players, but they don't use the Golarion setting for their games. It might be that the type of supplement just isn't what folks want, and they'd prefer something more mechanical like fresh archetypes and prestige classes, modules to play through, or lists of world-specific NPCs they might meet while traversing the setting. Or maybe there are a lot of GMs out there who want lists of weird sights and side-quest worthy rumors, but they'd prefer to find them in Varisia, or Ustalav, or one of the other nations or cities we didn't actually cover yet.

There's a lot of possibilities here, is what I'm saying.

So if you're reading this, and you would actually like to see me put out some stuff for use in Golarion proper, there are two things I'd like to ask you to do.

- Leave a comment (either here or on social media) with the kind of supplement you would be most interested in seeing in the future.

- Help boost the signal on 150 Sights to See (And Rumors to Hear) in Absalom and 100 Hooks and Rumors to Hear in (or About) Magnimar. Consider sharing them on social media, or getting copies for yourself and leaving reviews once you've read through them.

The reason I'm asking my readers to do this is, first of all, I want to make sure that folks get the content from me they want. All that talk about following your interests and drive as a creator makes for good sound bites, but at the end of the day I want to make sure there's actually a desire among my fellow players for the stuff I'm putting together. Secondly, the best way to get my publisher to agree to let me keep going down a particular vein of content is to prove there's a paying market for it. They want to sell copies, I want to sell copies, and if the stuff we produce for Pathfinder Infinite just stalls out and doesn't sell, then the company just won't sign off on further Pathfinder Infinite projects in the future.

Most products on Drive Thru RPG don't even sell the 50+ copies you need to hit Copper status, let alone the 100+ copies you need to hit Silver status, but I've had a really good track record with my Azukail Games releases. I feel confident in saying that if we can push one, or even both, of these supplements up into Copper territory, that would be enough of a sign of gamer interest to get approval for at least a couple more ideas.

So if you're not done playing in Golarion yet, and you want to see what dark corners of the world I'd like to explore, take a few moments and help me spread the word so we can build up some momentum!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Orcs, Vikings, and Bias Within Survivor Narratives

When I say the word Viking to you, chances are it conjures a very particular image in your mind. You probably picture a huge warrior with a flowing beard, bellowing battle cries while he lays about with his ax, slaying men, burning towns, and stealing anything not nailed down. Even if you have enough historical literacy to know they didn't have horned helms, or that they may have had red hair instead of blonde, this image of the defiling raider is firmly etched into our collective consciousness.

And while this sort of individual certainly existed in the historical record (a Viking is, by trade, often a pirate after all), this one aspect has grown to encompass an entire people in the minds of a lot of us. Even if you were a trader, a farmer, a skald, or a normal sailor, there was the fear of what the most dangerous and violent of the Norsemen had done when one laid their eyes upon you.

Which brings me to orcs, and how we could have some fun examining them.

She was huge! Ten feet tall, with blood dripping from her tusks!

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What Contact Do You Have With Them, Really?

Despite the vast reach of Viking longships, which ranged from the shores of North America all the way to the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire, from the frozen Russian steppes to deep into the Muslim world, the Norse people weren't some huge players on the world stage in the way that empires tended to be. They were relatively small in number, came from a remote, frozen place, and though they did some very notable things (the raid on Lindisfarne and populating the ranks of The Varangian Guard as examples), they weren't some massive influence that was going to take over the world.

Probably the biggest thing about Vikings that has survived (we're talking specifically about the raiders and pirates, not Norse people in general) was the legendary fear they produced. Their raids were ruthless, they ignored the conventions that so many other cultures followed, and the sheer maneuverability of their ships meant they could turn up nearly anywhere. If there was water nearby (and even if the water was miles away) it meant the Vikings could reach you. And in the dark, with the fires barely holding the night at bay, it was easy to imagine dangerous pirates with minds full of murder and robbery, their hands tight on the hilts of their weapons as they drew ever closer at the behest of their strange, foreign gods.

Hope the waterfront property was worth it!

Because I've had orcs on the brain ever since my latest Species of Sundara dropped where I talked about several of the varieties of these creatures that populate my setting (available for both Pathfinder Classic and Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition), this has been a natural connection that I figured might be of-use to players and GMs alike.

To be clear, I'm not saying to pattern orcs off of the culture and/or pop culture we associate with the Norse (there's more than enough GMs and designers who've taken a stab at that already). However, as orcs and characters of orc heritage have grown and changed over the years we've had to re-imagine them, and expand on their place in our worlds and our games. Original orcs were the Tolkien model of monsters who served dark masters, and this is very much in line with the outlandish myths of Vikings told by those who survived their raids, or who merely observed the carnage left behind. The idea that the children of orcs with other species could only have been the product of violence or threats of violence is also much in-line with the sorts of tales told about the brutality of the Northmen.

As we expanded orcs further, we've seen that their violence toward towns and cities may be for more reasons than sheer wickedness, or raw personal gain. They might have been pushed off their old lands, and are fighting against resettlement. They might be fighting against prejudices that have led others to shun and mistreat them. They might even be fighting for the families and communities that those on the other side never even thought about, because to them there are no children or civilians among orcs; they're just a nameless, faceless hoard of roaring warriors because that's all they've ever seen, or all the legends have told of them. Yet much like the Norse people there was a vibrant, shifting, ever-changing culture that went beyond the Ulfbehrt and the Dane ax, and that was more than golden armbands and berserkers. Those things were a part of it, yes, but they were by no means what defined the whole of who they were. There were multiple nations, holds, and smaller clans within the larger whole, and examined on that small scale you could see stark differences between the myths of their culture, and who they really were at ground-level.

For GMs and players alike who want to bridge that gap between the orcs of older RPGs who were brutal, savage raiders at the behest of a violent, one-eyed god of battle and death, and newer RPGs where orcs are diverse and varied, each with their own cultures and interior life, this strategy might be worth thinking about.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

5 Rumors About Your Character (A Simple Trick For Quickly Establishing a PC)

Getting information about your character front and center in any game can be tough, and as a result it can be difficult and time consuming to get the party together when you first start playing. One tool that I've been on both ends of as a player and a DM, though, is the idea of rumors, and the power they have to immediately convey who your character is, and what the rest of the party has heard about them. Because as I said back in Character Reputation in RPGs: The Small Legend, just because the other PCs don't know you personally that doesn't mean they don't know of you.

So tell them what they know.

Seriously, my dude, don't target the dog. Trust me, I've heard the stories.

4 (Mostly) True Rumors, and 1 Lie

I've seen lots of DMs shuffle the numbers on this strategy, and you should feel free to play around with it to see how many rumors fits your ideal play style. My personal recommendation is a total of 5 rumors, where 4 of them are at least mostly true, and where the 5th is a lie (and typically one that reflects badly on your PC).

As an example, take Gard Hardacre. Tall and bald except for a braided tail at the back of his head, he has the look of a tough man who doesn't scare easily. That's enough to get a picture of what the party is looking at, but what have they heard about him? After all, he's a PC... surely someone is talking about him in this town?

Well, the rumors the others hear are:

- They say he fought for the black coats, back during the war. They offered him a promotion and a knighthood, but he was so disgusted by what they did he walked away and never looked back.

- He's even most of the time, but he's got a temper to beat the devil. He once beat an innkeep till he could barely see just because he didn't get him his food quick enough.

- No one's quite sure what his tastes run to. He's pleasant enough, but no one's ever seen him with a man or a woman, orc, elf, dwarf, or otherwise. He pays more mind to his sword and armor than company.

- His sword's one of the best around, but he can't keep gold in his purse for nothing. He gambles and drinks, sure, but he's a sucker for a sob story. Urchins, whores, and beggars know him by sight.

- No one's ever seen eyes like his. A green so dark they're nearly black... no one in this country has eyes like that but the Dredgers. He don't look like one of them swamp lords, but he handles that blade better than any foot soldier I've ever seen.

Starting to get a clearer picture now?

The reason I suggest five rumors is so you have flexibility. Part of their benefit is that they help you create your character, but the other part is that you can hand them out however you please. Do you hand out one rumor per session per PC? Does every player get a different rumor about a fellow PC in the first session, so they have to talk to each other in order to spread the gossip and figure out who their fellow party members are? Or do you post them in your group's Facebook page after the first session, and leave them to decide which rumors are true, and which ones are false?

There's no wrong way to go about this, but it is key that at least one rumor is a falsehood. And for those who are curious, the second rumor on my list was the lie. The innkeep was slow bringing Gard's meal, that's true, but he'd found out the man was beating his wife. So Gard decided to give him a taste of his own medicine to see if it taught him a lesson. He never bothered to try to stop the rumors because he knows what really happened, and that's all that matters to him.

Looking For More Inspiration?

Crafting rumors off the top of your head isn't always easy. Fortunately, I've written some stuff that can help get the wheels turning if you're looking for a push start.

- A Baker's Dozen of Noble Families: This one has the Dredgers that I mentioned above in Gard's rumors, along with 12 other noble families, their history, reputation, and heraldry. Whether you want to have a secret son of a noble house off adventuring, or a rumor that your PC is a bastard child of the line, this is a useful thing to have on-hand.

- 100 Random Mercenary Companies: Mercenaries are a copper a dozen in many fantasy settings, but if you want it rumored that your character once fought for an elite (or cursed) band, then this collection is quite useful. Especially if you have insignia, weapons, armor, etc. that ties you to a particular free company, since those symbols will get tongues wagging.

- 100 Knightly Orders: Much like free companies, knightly orders carry a lot of weight with them... sometimes good, and sometimes bad. Whether your PC is a member, or is only rumored to be, this list should spark its share of ideas.

- A Baker's Dozen of Rumors (And The Truth Behind Them): This one is more for DMs than players, as each of the rumors in here can be stretched out to fill an entire session. However, since we're on the subject of rumors, I felt I should include it in the list.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!