Paizo Unveils Wayne Reynolds ‘Pathfinder’ Sketch Covers

Welcome to the table,

Oh wow! BIG WOW!

Paizo has been doing a ton of amazing stuff lately but this new announcement has excited beyond reason. Yesterday, at the annual GAMA EXPO game industry trade show, Paizo publisher Erik Mona unveiled the sketches of the just-announced Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core hardcovers to hobby game retailers and distributors. The website and product pages are going to be updated when the final full-color pieces arrive in the coming weeks, but Pathfinder cover artist Wayne Reynolds‘ illustrations had the Paizo team so excited they had to show off the images early.

The team who writes the Paizo blog said “Receiving a new cover sketch from Wayne is one of the true highlights of life behind the scenes at Paizo. Whenever they arrive, the creative staff gathers around to marvel at their beauty and pick out all the fun little details Wayne always adds above and beyond the simple descriptions we provide him.

Reynolds has been one of the most important contributors to Pathfinder since the very beginning, and it’s a pity that his pencil sketches are not often seen outside the building.

So, we decided to change that this time around—not just by showing off his sketches here on the blog, but also on your own game tables.”

And they are not wrong! Reynolds has been a foundational artist in the gaming scene for ages now and his work has defined the hobby and the way we think about monsters, species, lore, gear, and more. I really can’t think of a cooler way for Paizo to roll out these new core books than this.

What’s really cool if you have a local gaming shop, is that for the first three months of their release, the Pathfinder sketch cover versions of the new core rulebooks will be available EXCLUSIVELY at hobby retailers worldwide.

Paizo has said via their blog that they will not be offering these editions online or in bookstore retailers, ever! There have also stated that there is no intent to reprint the editions beyond the original “modest” print run. This leaves me to think if you don’t get them when you can, you will not be able to get them outside the secondary marker. For those of you who have tried to buy books recently via non-direct markets, you know how high those prices can go.

Paizo says they will retain a small number to sell on the Paizo.com site after the 120-day exclusive period for people who don’t have access to a local gaming shop, but you know those are going to go as fast as the Arbby’s dice did.

I love the fact that Paizo is thinking about the local game store partners and the communities that are built around those shops. This is such a Paizo move. A company that makes it a point to care about their creators and the people who support them, this is such a rad way for them to give back.

So be sure you are talking to your local gaming and hobby shops and asking them to order you these sketch covers if you want them for your collection! They should be available this November but get the ball rolling now so you don’t miss out.

I will keep coming this as more news comes. I am so excited right now!

Until next time, take another look at those cover sketches. Each debuts a brand new type of official Pathfinder dragon that will appear in March 2024’s Pathfinder Monster Core book. Wayne developed the dragons from concept art by Paizo’s very own in-house concept artist, Kent Hamilton. SO RAD!!!!