The Pathfinder Society

The Pathfinder Society
The Pathfinder Society has existed for more than
400 years. Members include treasure hunters,
explorers, tomb raiders, historians, and vagabonds
who roam the farthest reaches of the world seeking lost
relics and answers to the world’s most enigmatic and
dangerous riddles. These heroes brave vine-choked
jungle ruins, ascend snow-capped peaks, and comb
sun-seared desert sands in search of buried tombs and
monuments of bygone ages.
Society members send records of their exploits to
their venture-captain superiors, who in turn review
them for accuracy before forwarding the manuscripts
to the leaders of the Pathfinder Society. The most
exciting and enlightening of these have the potential
to be printed and distrubuted as volumes of the famed
Pathfinder Chronicles.
Though the Pathfinder Society itself isn’t concerned
with the specific actions of individual Pathfinder
agents, they require those agents and their actions to 
conform to the general code of exploration, reporting,
and cooperation. Those Pathfinders deemed incapable of
following these simple rules are removed from the Society.
Most Pathfinders are trained in the necessary skills
at the Grand Lodge in Absalom, but a few experienced
adventurers are given field commissions in the Society
once they’ve proved they’re capable. Such is likely the case
for most Pathfinders participating in the Shattered Star
Adventure Path.
The Society is directed by the Decemvirate—10 masked
and secret members whose identities are protected even
from each other. It’s not known how long each Decemvirate
member occupies the position; likewise, every aspect
of their existence, from nomination to election, from
meetings to formal public functions, and from day-today
functions to retirement, is utterly mysterious. The
identity of the Ten is the Society’s most closely guarded
secret—one, some say, that the Decemvirate is willing to
kill to protect.
The Pathfinder Society is based at the sprawling Grand
Lodge of Absalom, but the organization as a whole has
many official lodges spread throughout the Inner Sea
and toeholds across Golarion.
Goals of the Society: Explore, Report, and Cooperate
The Society recognizes no formal bylaws, but adherence
to a general code of behavior is expected of all members,
and evidence of behavior contrary to this code is grounds
for removal from the organization. The three most
important member duties are as follows.
Explore: Pathfinders are expected to further the
knowledge and reputation of the Society by traveling to
distant lands, unearthing forbidden secrets, and piecing
together the secret history of the world. Agents are
encouraged to travel uncharted lands in search of ever
more fantastic mysteries.
Report: In the course of their adventures, Pathfinders
are expected to keep detailed journals, maps, and
accounts of their exploits. At the conclusion of a
successful mission, agents send a copy of their notes to
their immediate superior, a regional venture-captain,
who makes a full analysis (often involving divination).
Records of especially noteworthy exploits make their
way to Absalom and the Decemvirate, who compile
the best tales into irregularly published editions of
the Pathfinder Chronicles, which in turn make their way
back to venture-captains for distribution to Pathfinder
agents in the field.
Cooperate: The Society places no moral obligations
upon its members, so agents span all races, creeds,
and motivations. At any given time, a Pathfinder
lodge might house a fiend-summoning Chelaxian,
an Andoren freedom fighter, an antiquities-obsessed
Osirian necromancer, and a friendly Taldan raconteur.
Pathfinder agents are expected to respect one another’s
claims and stay out of each other’s affairs unless offering
a helping hand.


Heidmarch Manor

Heidmarch Manor is the home of two of Magnimar’s
most eccentric citizens: esteemed hunters, explorers, and
Pathfinders Sheila Heidmarch and her husband Sir Canayven Heidmarch. 
The world-traveling adventurers
have retired to Magnimar, but have not been content to
settle into the quiet life, instead opening their sizable
manor to the Pathfinder Society. The first Pathfinder lodge
in Varisia welcomes all members eager to explore the still
relatively unknown land, including the surrounding region
and the mysterious City of Monuments itself. Visiting
members of the Pathfinder Society are welcomed to the
manor by comfortable lodgings, a well-stocked library of
far-flung lore, and its owners’ sagely advice.