No two characters worship the same way. How and why they worship their deities are as varied as the player base of Paizo’s organized play campaign. Many players choose for their characters to follow the examples of several deities, seeing a personal connection between them that motivates and inspires their journey. In some cases, adventuring parties form around one of these custom pantheons, becoming regional memes that take on a life of their own. Perhaps you have created a Pathfinder pantheon yourself?
Now you have the chance.
Lost Omens: Gods & Magic introduced us to a set of rules for creating and worshiping polytheistic pantheons. Developer Luis Loza graciously showed us more examples in his blog post, Friends in High Places. The Know Direction Network in collaboration with the Organized Play Team invites you to submit a brand new pantheon, with the best submission becoming official Pathfinder Society canon and a sanctioned option for the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild!
There will be several stages to the contest. Upon receipt, Know Direction staff will review all submissions for contest criteria compliance (say that five times fast). After that, Know Direction judges will select their top pantheons from the anonymous entries and send them to Paizo Organized Play staff, for vetting as potential inclusion in the organized play program. From the vetted pool, the Know Direction judges will select their favorites. Paizo will host a highlight blog about the finalists and launch a period of voting by the public. Once voting closes, the winner will be announced via blog post on paizo.com, invited to participate in an episode of the Know Direction podcast, and the pantheon will be sanctioned for the Pathfinder (second edition) Society.
Know Direction Staff Judges:
Dustin Knight
The creative force behind this project, Dustin Knight made his big break-through when he met Alex Augunas and Owen KC Stephens at Paizocon in 2019. He has since written books and game accessories for Everybody Games and has completed his first freelance assignment with Paizo, Wayfinder Origins. He writes Fox’s Cunning on Know Direction, runs two Pathfinder Society lodges as a Venture Lieutenant in Washington, and is a rabid advocate for anything and everything Pathfinder. You can follow Dustin’s rants on Twitter, Facebook or a smattering of Pathfinder discord servers as “KitsuneWarlock”.
Alex Augunas
Alexander “Alex” Augunas, the Everyman Gamer, has been playing Tabletop Roleplaying Games since 2007 after a friend pretended to be his father in order to smuggle him out of high school so his gaming group had enough people to run a module. Today, Alex is the owner and publisher of Everybody Games, a co-host on Know Direction: Beyond, and a player on Stellar. You can follow Alex’s exploits on Twitter (@AlJAug), on Facebook, or Patreon. Know Direction fans are also welcome to “@Alex” him on the Know Direction Discord server!
Owen K.C. Stephens
Owen K.C. Stephens is a veteran of the TTRPG industry with more than 20 years of experience, including being on staff at Green Ronin, Paizo, and Wizards of the Coast and being the publisher of Rogue Genius Games. He has worked on numerous RPG lines, including being co-author of the Star Wars Saga Edition RPG, Design Lead for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, and a writer for numerous Pathfinder RPG products for both editions. You can follow him on his blog, on Facebook, and Twitter.
Ryan Costello
Ryan Costello believes that the collaboration and creative interaction seen in roleplaying games extends beyond the tabletop. What started as a couple of friends hoping to keep the conversation going after their favourite game looked like it was going away forever turned into the longest running Pathfinder podcast, and eventually a network of like-minded gamers and creators working together to serve a community with positivity and enthusiasm. Ryan serves as the Director of Operations of the Know Direction Network, cohosts the Know Direction podcast, and plays Xavier Saveur in the Adventurous actual play podcast. You can follow Ryan on Facebook, or read his regular blog content on the websites for the Least I Could Do and Looking For Group webcomics.
Jefferson Jay Thacker
Jefferson Jay Thacker, also known for Perram, has had a lifelong passion for gaming of all stripes, and a creative itch that he can’t resist. He’s used that initiative and desire to turn a onetime trip to Gen Con into a decade of podcast and video production through the Know Direction Network, a collection of podcasts and blogs about the Pathfinder and Starfinder RPGs, with Perram hosting and producing thousands of hours of content for the community including coverage and recordings of the official Paizo panels and hosting their official streams during PaizoCon and Gen Con.
Vanessa Hoskins
Vanessa Hoskins cut her teeth in the RPG Industry by first writing for Pathfinder Society, Paizo’s Organized Play program, from 2015. Since then she’s written several small-form adventures for Pathfinder and Starfinder Society and Starfinder Adventure Path volume 29, The Cradle Infestation. She’s also contributed to numerous rules systems, player options, and other game mechanics for Paizo. Vanessa also serves on the board of directors at Know Direction Network, GMs the actual play podcast Stellar with Know Direction, and writes the Craft (Adventure) and Random Encounter blogs on that network. She is a cast member for the Fall of Plaguestone and Three Ring Adventure actual plays on Roll for Combat. You can follow her Instagram or Twitter. She lives in upstate New York with her brilliant wife and adorable cat.
John Godek
John Godek is an Executive Producer for Intrepid Heroes. He is a 4 Nova GM for the Starfinder RPG from Paizo as well as a Starfinder freelance writer. When he is not busy running games or working on the podcast, he is a university professor in the Seattle area, teaching business classes. Before earning his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, he was an officer in the US Coast Guard where he sailed the seven seas and circumnavigated North America, in addition to doing scientific work in the Arctic and Antarctic, and law enforcement work on both the East Coast and West Coast of the US.
Contest rules:
Entrants may submit one (1) Pantheon for consideration, via this form. Each Pantheon must contain an entire stat-block, including alignment restrictions, domains, edicts, anathema, list of deities and so on. In addition, each entry should have a paragraph of no more than 150 words describing the pantheon in detail. There is no limit to why the gods you choose are in the same Pantheon, but you only have that paragraph to convince us. All elements of the Pantheon must be Pathfinder Society Legal, including patron deity, alignment restrictions, and cleric spells. Entrants are encouraged to read the full rules for Pantheons in Lost Omens: Gods & Magic and the Friends in High Places blog post for more information. All entries are subject to change before final implementation into the Pathfinder Society campaign. All finalists must sign a release allowing use of their creation in the organized play program before the public voting window opens. There is no financial remuneration or award for this creation. All entries are due by 11:59 pm PST May 10, 2020.
