Adventure Backgrounds
These Backgrounds are specific to the adventures listed below, and may contain spoilers for players of those adventures.
Related Sources Organized Play Foundation, PFS Scenario #1-15: The Blooming Catastrophe, PFS Scenario #1-19: Iolite Squad Alpha
Demon SlayerBackgroundSource Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 5 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
For over a century, Mendev led a multinational coalition against ever-growing abyssal invaders in the Worldwound, and the Pathfinder Society aided in the so-called Fifth Crusade that ultimately sealed the planar rift and defeated its
demon armies. You might be a hardened recruit who clashed with the demons, or perhaps you were a survivor who lost everything to the fiendish armies and narrowly escaped—or was rescued by Pathfinders. Your exposure to the Worldwound has taught you vital lessons in identifying fiends and their magic.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Strength or
Constitution, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Religion skill, and the
Demon Lore skill. You gain the
Recognize Spell skill feat. Add
Abyssal to the list of additional languages you can learn for having a high Intelligence modifier.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Seasons 0 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
In the past decade, the Pathfinder Society has clashed with demonic armies, meddled in politics, and more, but you joined the organization before everything seemed so complicated. Whether you’re a dedicated scholar of ruins or an explorer who just longs for months-long expeditions into the wilderness, you’re a Pathfinder to explore, report, and cooperate.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Strength or
Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Survival skill, and the
Pathfinder Society Lore skill. You gain the
Forager skill feat.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 9 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
As the Pathfinder Society's influence has grown, so too did many of its factions become wealthier and more powerful. These factions relied on a host of Pathfinders and independent operatives alike to establish trade networks, shape national politics, and more, and you were among the specialists who helped one of these factions realize its goal. These events provided you countless opportunities to develop your own contacts and negotiating skills.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Intelligence or
Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Diplomacy skill, plus either
Guild Lore,
Heraldry Lore, or
Mercantile Lore. You gain the
Hobnobber skill feat.
Source PFS Scenario #1-15: The Blooming Catastrophe pg. 35Prerequisites Leshy ancestry
You are a leshy from Finadar Forest, originally created under the corruption of a cyclopean monolith. Though the Pathfinder Society managed to sever the monolith’s connection, freeing the forest and your people from its influence, you retain a trace, unnerving connection to the Abyss.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Constitution or
Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Intimidation skill, and the
Abyssal Lore skill. You gain the
Intimidating Glare skill feat.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 7 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
For more than a century, the Pathfinder Society has clashed with the avaricious and underhanded Aspis Consortium, and several years ago the Society dealt its rival a decisive blow. You may be one of the few survivors of a doomed Aspis expedition, or perhaps you chafed at the Consortium’s villainous practices and defected to the Pathfinders. No matter your reasons, you know how to be efficient and ruthless when the circumstances demand.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Intelligence or
Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Intimidation skill, and the
Aspis Consortium Lore skill. You gain the
Group Coercion skill feat. You gain access to any uncommon options as though you were a member of the Aspis Consortium.
Source PFS Scenario #1-19: Iolite Squad Alpha pg. 30Prerequisites Hobgoblin Ancestry
The Iolite Squad was Oprak's first foray into training hobgoblins for Pathfinder membership. You've added the archival and archaeological skills they sent back to Oprak into your military training.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Constitution or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Society skill, and the
Warfare Lore skill. You gain the
Sign Language skill feat.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 3 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
Named for the legendary sorcerer Hao Jin, the Ruby Phoenix Tournament occurs once every 10 years in Goka and attracts extraordinary talent from across the world. You might have begun training for the tournament but never participated, or perhaps you entered the tournament only to be defeated by (and inspired to join) the Pathfinder Society. Either way, your dedicated training prepares you for the rigors of the adventuring lifestyle.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Strength or
Dexterity, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Athletics skill, and the
Gladiatorial Lore skill. You gain the
Combat Climber skill feat. In addition, you gain access to one of the following uncommon monk weapons:
kama,
nunchaku,
sai,
shuriken, or
temple sword.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 8 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
Upon securing the Untouchable Opal, an artifact of extraordinary power, the Pathfinder Society endeavored to free the benevolent demigod
Ranginori, who was trapped within the virtually unbreakable prison. You might have joined the Pathfinder Society in its expeditions to the Elemental Planes, or you might have lived on one of those planes before learning of the Society from these Pathfinder agents. You are no stranger to navigating precarious terrain as a result.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Dexterity or
Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Acrobatics skill, and the
Elemental Lords Lore skill or a
Lore skill related either to one of the Elemental Planes (such as
Plane of Air Lore). You gain the
Cat Fall skill feat. Add
Auran to the list of additional languages you can learn for having a high Intelligence modifier.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 6 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
The unfamiliar technology of Numeria’s Silver Mount still baffles Society scholars, yet you are one of the innovators who discovered how to operate a handful of these futuristic tools—possibly after surviving more than a few explosions. The Society might have recruited you for your esoteric abilities, or you might have sought out the Society’s protection in escaping the covetously vile Technic League. Even if your understanding of advanced technology is imperfect, your hard-learned lessons are invaluable in deciphering and repairing gear.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Constitution or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Crafting skill, and the
Engineering Lore skill. You gain the
Quick Repair skill feat.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 2 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
You were among the Pathfinders recruited by the devious Shadow Lodge, lured in by promises of wealth, reform, justice, or revenge. You might have fought against the Society’s loyal agents, helped sabotage the Pathfinders’ reputation in distant countries, or even infiltrated the far-flung lodges as a spy. You’ve since made peace with and rejoined the Pathfinder Society, yet the underhanded reflexes and skills you learned are hard to forget.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Dexterity or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Deception skill, and the
Underworld Lore skill. You gain the
Lie to Me skill feat.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 1 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
Countless factions have fought for influence in Absalom for millennia, and for decades these groups worked through the Pathfinder Society to better control the City at the Center of the World. Perhaps you were ones of these agents who clashed with other operatives during the so-called Shadow War. Or you might have been an unintended victim of these clandestine clashes, inspiring you to join the Society and stop the conflict from within. Whatever the reason, navigating the Shadow War has left you politically savvy and informed.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Wisdom or
Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Society skill, and the
Absalom Lore skill. You gain the
Streetwise skill feat.
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 10 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
Within her magnificent museum demiplane, the sorcerer Hao Jin extracted and preserved countless sites and cultures. The demiplane’s unraveling magic forced the Pathfinder Society to evacuate the many inhabitants recently, and you were among the refugees who returned to the
Material Plane after centuries of isolation. Whether you joined the Society out of gratitude, curiosity, or desperation, you are hardened by your harrowing flight from your doomed home.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Constitution or
Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in your choice of either the
Medicine or
Stealth skill, as well as a
Lore skill related to the terrain you lived in while on the demiplane (such as
Cave Lore or
Desert Lore). You gain the
Assurance skill feat with the skill you chose to become trained in (Medicine or Stealth).
Source Organized Play FoundationPFS Note You can select this background only if you have earned credit for at least 5 First Edition scenarios from Season 4 of the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign.
As archaeologists uncovered and explored ever-larger numbers of Thassilonian ruins, you were among the eager explorers who sought out the Runelords’ ancient secrets. You may have been the apprentice to another Pathfinder who perished on an expedition, leaving you their discoveries and notes. Or perhaps you explored several of these sites yourself, quickly learning to parse the arcane secrets before lest the eldritch magic extinguish your life.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to
Constitution or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.
You're trained in the
Arcana skill, and the
Thassilonian History Lore skill. You gain the
Arcane Sense skill feat. Add
Thassilonian to the list of additional languages you can learn for having a high Intelligence modifier.