Prodigal Sons

Pathfinder Tales

by James L. Sutter (Editor), Richard Pett, J.C. Hay

Sometimes loved, sometimes hated, but always respected, Pathfinders are known all across Golarion. Earning a commission as a Pathfinder requires years of hard work, dedication, and study—far too much trouble for disgraced noble son Ollix Kaddar to be bothered with. After all, it's much easier to simply declare yourself a Pathfinder and worry about the formalities later. Accompanied only by the long-suffering priest Phargas, Ollix is determined to live a life so grand and daring that the Pathfinder Society will beg to include him in its ranks, happily overlooking trivial breaches of protocol. Of course, as Ollix is about to learn, the hardest part of being a Pathfinder is never finding adventure. It's surviving it.

From fan-favorite authors and game designers J. C. Hay, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Richard Pett, Steven E. Schend, James L. Sutter, and Jay Thompson comes a fully illustrated and riotous romp through the lawless River Kingdoms, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Genres: Fantasy

36 pages, ebook

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the best-selling Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games. He’s the author of the young adult romance novels DARKHEARTS and THE GHOST OF US, as well as the fantasy novels DEATH'S HERETIC and THE REDEMPTION ENGINE. His short stories have appeared in Nightmare, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death, and more. James lives in Seattle, where he's performed with musical acts ranging from metalcore to musical theater.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the Pathfinder Tales. My three stars are for the writing - the protagonist was written well enough that I wanted him to die, I like what happened with the sidekick, and it explored more of the world. If you don't like reading things from a lofty viewpoint, this isn't for you.

[Dave Walls · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the short Pathfinder Novella's taken from the Adventure Paths. This is another with different chapters written by different authors. It has a more humorous style as the protagonist/narrator is naive, but thinks he is great. His cleric companion, who he looks down on, is quiet but effective when needed. It would not surprise me to learn that Jeeves and Wooster are the models for the two central characters.

I enjoyed the earlier chapters more than the later, as I found those funnier. Overall, it is good, but not as good as other Pathfinder stories.