Paizo

Paizo is an American game publisher best known for Pathfinder and Starfinder, tabletop roleplaying games that grew from the company’s long association with Dungeons & Dragons. Lisa Stevens founded Paizo in 2002 after Wizards of the Coast licensed the publication of Dragon and Dungeon magazines to the new company. Paizo continued publishing those magazines until Wizards ended the licensing arrangement in 2007. During that period, Paizo developed a subscription-based line of monthly Adventure Paths, beginning with “The Shackled City” in Dungeon magazine and continuing with original series such as “Rise of the Runelords.” These campaigns linked multiple adventures into long-form stories and helped establish a distinctive publishing model for roleplaying games. After losing the Dungeons & Dragons magazine license, Paizo created its own fantasy setting, Golarion, and launched Pathfinder Adventure Paths as a standalone product line. The first Pathfinder Roleplaying Game appeared in 2009. It was derived from the rules of Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5 and used material released under the Open Game License, while adding Paizo’s own classes, rules, setting history, and adventure content. Pathfinder quickly became one of the most prominent alternatives to Dungeons & Dragons. Paizo later published Pathfinder Second Edition in 2019, replacing the original system with redesigned character creation, action, encounter, and proficiency rules. Paizo expanded beyond traditional fantasy with Starfinder, released in 2017. Starfinder combines science-fiction elements, including starships, lasers, androids, and interplanetary travel, with concepts and lore connected to the Pathfinder universe. Its setting takes place in a far-future era of Golarion’s history, in which the planet itself has mysteriously disappeared from historical memory. The company is also associated with organized play. Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society let players participate in shared campaigns at conventions, game stores, and online events, using characters and scenarios governed by campaign rules. Paizo has published adventures, rulebooks, novels, accessories, and licensed products for both games. In 2023, Paizo announced the Pathfinder and Starfinder Remaster projects, revising core rules and terminology partly in response to changes surrounding the Open Game License. The Pathfinder Remaster began with Player Core and GM Core, followed by additional rulebooks. Paizo’s history is therefore tied not only to particular game systems, but also to subscription publishing, connected campaign storytelling, open gaming, and organized communities that have shaped modern tabletop roleplaying.