Leaders in Liberty

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Last week we shared how Season 9 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild—the Year of Factions' Favor—is poised to deliver exciting stories to the campaign's factions. The organized play campaigns wouldn't be possible without the efforts of our four-person team, so it makes sense that our faction leaders would also appreciate advancing their respective goals with the help of elite specialists. In fact, several factions already have such a setup, such as how Tahonikepsu leads the Scarab Sages with the assistance of Amenopheus and how Aaqir al'Hakam directs the Exchange with the help of Guaril Karela's rather underhanded expertise. There are some big events in the works for the Liberty's Edge faction, and we want to introduce someone who can play a part in upcoming events and share in the spotlight.

To this end, we've ordered art of this awesome person, illustrated by Tom Ventre and modeled on the physical description of the Bonuwat people along Garund's west coast. Just as we're looking to give Major Colson Maldris some help, we're looking to you for assistance in introducing this new character. That's right—we're hosting a contest.

Include a backstory of between 250 and 300 words that provides insight into the character and their motivations. Submit your entry as email text (no attachments!) to pathfindersociety@paizo.com (Subject: Leaders in Liberty Contest) along with your Pathfinder Society number. Entries must be received by August 30, 2017 for consideration for the contest.

After the deadline, the Organized Play team (and maybe a few other staffers) will narrow down the options and then post a new blog with our top choices for the community to vote on. The winning story will define the character's canon. The winning author will receive $20 paizo.com store credit and a custom avatar on paizo.com. What's more, those who participate in the contest—either by submitting an entry or participating in the voting process—will contribute to the Liberty's Edge faction's goals for the upcoming Season 9 Faction Journal Cards update.

Criteria

• The character's name must appear clearly in the backstory.
• The character must be sympathetic to the Liberty's Edge faction
• The character does not need to be part of the Pathfinder Society organization, but the character could be.
• The character is not evil-aligned, and the backstory should reflect this.
• The character should not have an extraordinarily tragic backstory. Both adventurers and the Liberty's Edge faction tend to attract people who have suffered injustices and are amenable to a little gritty heroism, and this character can certainly have survived misfortune. However, please avoid having this character be the subject of a crushing catastrophe, unbroken sequence of tragedies, or pattern of dehumanizing experiences. That's just not the direction we want to take this person.
• The character should be capable. In game terms, we're looking at someone around level 5-10.
• You don't need to define the class or level of the character. In fact, leaving a little flexibility on that front is appreciated (but not necessary)

We look forward to reading your stories and making this next part of the campaign your creation!

John Compton
Organized Play Lead Developer