Leadership

The day to day running of the Pathfinder Society is managed by the venture-captains. These are usually older or accomplished Pathfinders, or long-time allies of the organization, who have settled down, and claimed a Pathfinder lodge for themselves. They direct Pathfinders in the field towards new and interesting locales, and receive the regular reports that will eventually become part of the Chronicles.
They receive their instruction from the Decemvirate, a secret body of ten masked individuals who pass messages along to the captains in subtle and silent ways. Little is known about the Decemvirate, not even their ultimate goals for the collection of the endless data the Society receives.



Training

The Pathfinder Society is willing to accept members of all backgrounds, creeds and morals. Any applicant who does well enough overall on the initial tests is allowed to take the oath and become an initiate. Training is overseen by three deans, the Master of Swords, the Master of Spells and the Master of Lore. The final test, Confirmation, is taken after 3 years as an initiate (although ambitious or gifted initiates may persuade the deans to allow them to take the test earlier). The test is effectively the initiate’s first mission; those who pass become Pathfinders and those who fail are discharged from the Society (but often remain on good terms with it afterwards).

Field Commissions
Those rare few non-members who manage to significantly change the course of history may be offered full Pathfinder status by the Decemvirate as a “field commission”.
More commonly, anyone who makes a discovery and elects to report it to the Society may sometimes be offered the chance to join as an initiate, and to have the initial discovery count towards his final Confirmation. Depending on the individual, he may then be asked to report to the Grand Lodge for further training, or invited to attempt the remaining task(s) required for Confirmation.



Members

Members of the Society are loosely affiliated adventurers, who are not required to interact. However, they are forbidden direct conflict against each other, but this doesn't stop the more unscrupulous from leading rival parties into dangerous situations and dead ends. Most are issued a Wayfinder, which is a type of magical compass, and taught to recognize the signs indicating a lodge. Other than that they are largely free to be and do what they please. This allows for a very varied membership, with a Chelaxian devil-binder and a Garundi rogue easily finding themselves sharing a night in the same lodge in the far north of Avistan.



Pathfinder lodges

Pathfinder lodges, also known as outposts, are the accommodations build by the Pathfinder Society to house its members, their research, and artifacts found during their explorations.
The basic purpose of the lodge is to provide support for Pathfinder Society members: a place to sleep, a library for research, meeting rooms to converse and plan, and mechanisms to communicate with other lodges.



Lodge requirements

There is no such thing as a canonical Pathfinder lodge -- it could be a log cabin or a majestic fortress. But the following things must be true to give it true lodge status:

 

• It can only be founded by a member of the Pathfinder Society.
• The lodge founder must own a minimum of one volume of the Pathfinder Chronicles, to be kept in the lodge.
• The lodge must provide access to texts that specialize in the region in which the lodge resides: geography, flora/fauna, demographics, etc.
• The lodge must honor the requests of any pathfinders seeking aid.
• The lodge must uphold the policy of tolerance and respect to all pathfinders. The lodge is a safehouse for all Society members, regardless of religious beliefs, political persuasion, gender, or race.



Pathfinder Chronicles

The Pathfinder Chronicles are a multi-volume series of chapbooks published by the Pathfinder Society recounting the most notable journeys and discoveries of the order's membership. While pathfinders the world over submit accounts of their deeds to their local venture-captains, the books themselves are published by the mysterious Decemvirate in Absalom, and they alone make the final decision of whose adventures grace the Chronicles' illustrious pages. 

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Copies of the Pathfinder Chronicles are intended for consumption by members of the organization only, though some volumes have made their way into the public sphere. They serve not only as a record of accomplishments, but inspire young and future pathfinders throughout the world, while increasing the renown of those whose journeys are detailed within.



The Decemvirate

The Decemvirate is the ruling body of the well-known Pathfinder Society and is headquartered in the Grand Lodge in Absalom. As per the name, it is composed of 10 experienced Pathfinders. The identities of the Decemvirate are a closely guarded secret, and their motivations are often shrouded in mystery, Pathfinder members often shrug-off strange orders from above as simply the "will of the Ten". Nevertheless, members of the Society are sworn to absolutely obey the will of the Decemvirate, or risk expulsion or an "even darker fate."



Because their identities are unknown, some say even masked to the gods, members seem ageless. It is assumed that the position is passed down through a hidden method, although it is not beyond reason that the Decemvirate age very slowly or are truly immortal.



The Decemvirate has existed almost as long as the Society itself. It was created as a result of the increasing complexity of the growing Pathfinder Society, and instituted as a way to maintain the numerous far-flung lodges and facilitate communication between members.



Although the full powers of the Decemvirate, like the identities of its members, are shrouded in secrecy, it is known to have the following responsibilities:



• Venture-Captains

Individual Pathfinders report to their venture-captains. Venture-captains report directly to the Decemvirate.



• Pathfinder Chronicles

The Decemvirate is directly responsible for collecting stories of the best exploits of the Pathfinder Society, and publishing them as the Pathfinder Chronicles. These are then passed on to the venture-captains, who distribute them to the membership at large.



• Field Commissions

On rare occasions, a person will so distinguish him or herself, either through a ground breaking archaeological discovery or through scholarly work, that he or she will be admitted into the Pathfinder Society without having to go through any testing or training. These are called "field commissions".



Venture-captain

 

Venture-captain is a position of regional authority within the Pathfinder Society. After surviving long, esteemed careers as pathfinders, members of the Society who choose not to retire are honored with their own lodge, and a handful of pathfinders who report to them. A venture-captain receives his or her orders directly from the Decemvirate, passing these on to their assigned.  In return, Pathfinders submit detailed notes, maps, and relics from their adventures to their venture-captain in the hopes of reading their exploits in the pages of the Pathfinder Chronicles



Deans

 

• Marcus Farabellus is the current Master of Swords within Absalom's Pathfinder Society.

The most popular of the Three Masters of the Pathfinder Grand Lodge, Marcos is known for his storytelling, good humour, and devil-may-care approach to combat and training. In truth, his bravado is more a teaching technique to keep his audience rapt, with his true goal being the preservation of Pathfinder's lives.



• Aram Zey holds the prestigious title of Pathfinder Society's Master of Spells despite his constant belittling of every student he teaches. 

Aram is a middle aged man of thin stature with disdain written across his keleshite features. He grew to fame in his youth for his radical, some say blasphemous, theories regarding the fundamental nature of magic. Aram originally joined the Society only to gain access to it's vast libraries but later went on to make major discoveries in Geb and Nex. Aram was eventually promoted to Master of Spells (some say against his will) where he has been a vocal critic of every student he has taught. Aram is especially mean towards those without any magical talent, unfortunately part of his role involves teaching every pathfinder, even the most magically inept, how to safely handle magic items and identify types of spells. Despite his seeming loathing of many of his student has continued to accept his position for many years now.



• Kreighton Shaine holds the title of Master of Lore within Absalom's Pathfinder Society.

Kreighton Shaine is considered strange and absent-minded to his Pathfinder peers, but his abilities in solving puzzles and codes more than make up for his eccentricities.