Pathfinder is a line of roleplaying gamesupplements published byPaizo Publishing since 2007. Originally designed for use with the revised 3rd edition ofDungeons & Dragons, they transitioned to the first edition of thePathfinder Roleplaying Game in 2009, then to the second edition ofPathfinder in 2019.
Three lines of supplements are produced as of August 2019:
One previous line,Pathfinder Player Companion, has been discontinued.
AllPathfinder books are published under the terms of theOpen Game License (OGL).[1]While the magazinesDragon andDungeon were both licensed to make use of certain iconic elements ofDungeons & Dragonsintellectual property, including material drawn from official settings published byWizards of the Coast and unique monsters such asillithids, the terms of the OGL forbid the use of such "closed" IP elements. Conversely, however, OGL material from otherroleplaying game publishers (such asNecromancer Games orGreen Ronin Publishing) can be used inPathfinder, whereas the terms of Paizo's license with Wizards of the Coast had prevented them from using any third-party OGL material inDragon orDungeon.
ThePathfinder product lines use asubscription business model, in addition to being sold in book stores, game stores, and online retailers.[2] All of the subscriptions are ongoing, and can be canceled at any time, rather than being initially purchased for a set length of time as many magazine subscriptions are.
EachPathfinder product is published in both print andPDF.
Paizo Publishing's mainPathfinder periodical product line is itsAdventure Paths. A continuation of the concept fromDungeon magazine, which moved to online publication in September 2007, each year's worth ofPathfinder Adventure Path publishes two complete adventure paths in six-issue arcs,[3]with supplementary articles to fill out each 96-page issue. It is under the editorial supervision ofJames Jacobs, formerly editor-in-chief ofDungeon.[4] "The Pathfinder's Journal" was a short (6-8 page) fiction section that appeared in early issues.
Paizo has published a number of adventure paths, including "Rise of the Runelords",[4][5] "Curse of the Crimson Throne", "Second Darkness", and "Legacy of Fire". The "Council of Thieves" Adventure Path is the first to use the rules of thePathfinder Roleplaying Game. Beginning with the 145th issue released in August 2019, the start of theAge of Ashes Adventure Path, the series transitioned to the second edition of thePathfinder RPG rules.[6] Beginning with the release of issue 163 in January 2021,Adventure Path began alternating between smaller, three-issue arcs that covered specific character level brackets and six-issue arcs intended to cover a full adventuring career.[citation needed]
Pathfinder Adventures are stand-alone adventure modules. Each module is a 64-page softcover (originally 32 pages) containing a single adventure and one or more new monsters. Each module also includes ready-to-play characters of the appropriate level for the adventure.
Pathfinder Adventures were originally calledGameMastery Modules. The name was changed toPathfinder Modules in June 2008 to bring it in line with the rest of thePathfinder line. It took its current name with the launch of the second edition of the rules.Pathfinder Adventures is a quarterly publication.[6]
Pathfinder Lost Omens products, originally known asPathfinder Chronicles then as thePathfinder Campaign Setting line, are additional materials designed to explore the fictional world of Golarion during the "Age of Lost Omens", the setting of theAdventure Path andModule lines. The world has civilizations and nations inspired by those of Earth's real history and expands beyond the fictional tropes and literary references related to western civilization found in the works of mid-20th century authors likeJ. R. R. Tolkien orC. S. Lewis, adding elements from African mythology, Asian mythology or Middle East medieval fiction. Originally consisting of 64-page softcovers published bimonthly with occasional hardcover releases, with the transition to the second edition of thePathfinder RPG, the line took its current name and moved to a publishing schedule of larger, less frequent hardcover books.[6]
Pathfinder Player Companion products are 32-page softcover books that were released monthly. The line was targeted at players as opposed togame masters; each issue contains details on the fictional civilizations, races and organizations which populate the world of Golarion. Originally published bimonthly, beginning August 2012 thePlayer Companion became monthly. The line was discontinued following the release of the June 2019 issue, with it being merged with theLost Omens line.[6]
Scott Taylor ofBlack Gate in 2015 rated theRise of the Runelords series as #4 in "The Top 10 Campaign Adventure Module Series of All Time, saying "The series [...] is like wading into a fantasy novel pool and seeing how it changes around the ripples of your character's involvement."[7]