Faithful Servants

Pathfinder Tales

by James L. Sutter

A reluctant servant of Pharasma, Salim is no missionary. Yet when a desperate eidolon seeks his help in saving his master's soul, Salim has little choice in the matter. Saddled with a strange curse, this mysterious snake-man's creator is no longer in control of his actions—yet they may still weigh on his soul when it comes time for Pharasma's judgment. Only Salim can put a stop to events before they go too far. But are some souls really worth saving?

From critically acclaimed author and game designer James L. Sutter, author of Death's Heretic, comes a story of depravity and devotion set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction

33 pages, ebook

First published December 21, 2011

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

[Jose Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hour long short story sees Salim take on a job from an outsider to help it's master, a summoner. I was reminded of the classis Frankinstein story but with the Pathfinder story telling twist of magical artifacts and undead servants. It was entertaining.

I did feel there were 2 issues with this story. 1) this story was too short a length to be on it's own. I am not alone, as other reviewers have mentioned, in feeling this book should have been part of a bundle with other Pathfinder Short stories. Even still, the story could have been maybe 10 to 15 more minutes longer to help explain some details, which brings me to my second issue. 2) Because this story prioritized being short over description, you have to be a fan of Pathfinder lore in order to understand the meaning of things or know what they are. This is completely fine for us Pathfinder fans but for someone unfamiliar with it will be at a disadvantage listening and understanding the stories details

Ray Porter is always a gift to listen to as he reprises his role as Salim. He is the reason I started to listen to the books where Salim is the main character, and turned me to Sutter's work. The book being about the world if Pathfinder is a bonus.

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable quick short story about rescuing a Master in hopes of redeeming him.

[Göksu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Michael Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little story.

[Tomasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, a bit too short to be effective, but still a neat adventure. A man, an eidolon, and an angel walk into a bar, kinda sorta.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok

[Sal Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to this on StarShipSofa #215. I use GR's star rating system, so 2 stars isn't negative, just "it was okay." It was a nice story, it's just not really my flavor of fantasy.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but if you like epic fantasy, you’ll probably be able to dance to the groove this throws down.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

a short tale but very pathfindery. Adventure in a magical world.