Pathfinder Society Ireland

Hi I’m Gary and I am Venture Agent. Oh wait a minute, that sounds like my introduction for Roleplayer’s Anonymous. I’ll try again. Hi I’m Gary Bingham and it has been 15 days since my last GM session…. oh darn it … never mind. You get the idea.

As I said I am a Venture Agent for the Pathfinder Society in Ireland. I have only been an ‘official’ officer for a few months but I have been fairly active in the organisation of the society since the beginning. Venture Captain William Boyle and I set up small but growing Pathfinder Society groups in the Arkham and Black Knight Gaming Centres and most recently in our own friendly local gaming store Replay Games Bangor. William has done a fantastic job of coordinating the society in Ireland and has now convinced me that it would be beneficial to come out from the shadows and make my presence known. I will have to take his word on that. #shadowlodgeforlife

I am a great admirer of Paizo and the fantastic work they do on Organised Play with the Pathfinder Roleplaying game. The scenario content is excellent and the support for conventions, game days and even home play is extraordinary, however the real jewel in the crown of the Pathfinder Society is in the extended community. The gamesmasters and players of the society are what brings folk back time and time again to the gaming table. The stories they weave and vivid memories they share of adventure, excitement and, yes, sometimes even loss and tragedy are priceless and what makes Pathfinder Society great.

I started my own gaming adventure back in the late 1980’s with classic games such as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Traveller: 2300AD, Call of Cthulhu and of course Advanced Dungeons and Dragons which was in it’s first edition at that point. My more recent tastes in roleplaying have moved into the story-driven and Diceless systems of Fate Core, DramaSystem and Amber but I still love to roll those bones and still feel that thrill of rolling a ‘natural’20.I now have the joy of introducing my own children to the hobby as my two boys, Jack and Ben, are coming towards the age were i got into roleplaying myself. I will say though that its is much easier to sell the game to them than it was to my contemporaries during my teenage years, as both are used to playing games online, and on console, with a lot of the same structures and components as tabletop roleplaying games. The real difference, of course, is playing face to face and learning to interact and cooperate with people, and this is a key beneficial learning experience. I would highly recommend the game to young adults and Pathfinder Society is the perfect introduction.

I look forward to seeing you around the gaming table soon. Until then … keep playing games.