Pathfinder Conventions and Live Events in the US
Tabletop gaming conventions are where the rulebook stops being a reference document and starts being a living thing. For Pathfinder players, live events range from enormous multi-day conventions drawing tens of thousands of attendees to local game days at a library with folding tables and homemade snacks. This page covers the landscape of Pathfinder-specific and Pathfinder-friendly conventions across the United States, how organized play intersects with live events, and how to navigate the difference between drop-in tables and ticketed scenarios.
Definition and scope
A Pathfinder convention event, in the context that matters here, is any organized, in-person gathering where Pathfinder Second Edition (or First Edition) sessions are scheduled, run, and tracked through Pathfinder Society Organized Play or offered as open-table pick-up games. The term covers everything from Gen Con's sprawling event hall in Indianapolis — which typically hosts hundreds of Pathfinder Society tables over four days — to Paizo-sponsored regional events and fan-organized game days.
The scope inside the United States breaks into three tiers of scale:
- National conventions — Gen Con (Indianapolis, IN), PaizoCon Online (historically a hybrid format), and Gary Con (Lake Geneva, WI) attract players from across the country and often feature exclusive Pathfinder Society scenarios, previews of upcoming releases from Paizo, and designer-led seminars.
- Regional conventions — Events like GameHole Con (Madison, WI) and Paizocon Unplugged (when hosted as an in-person event) serve regional communities, typically running 50–200 Pathfinder tables across a weekend.
- Local game days — Organized through Pathfinder Society lodges, Meetup groups, or local game stores, these one-day gatherings may run as few as 4 tables but remain the most accessible entry point for new players.
How it works
The engine behind most Pathfinder convention play is the Pathfinder Society program, administered by Paizo. When a player sits down at a Society table at Gen Con or a regional event, the session is logged against their character's permanent record. Chronicle sheets — the paper record of what was earned, what was spent, and what story beats were encountered — travel with the character across every table, at every convention, forever.
Convention coordinators typically work with the Pathfinder Society Venture-Captain network (Paizo's volunteer regional coordinator structure) to request scenario licenses, organize Game Masters, and submit post-event reporting. At large conventions like Gen Con, this process involves submitting event listings months in advance through the convention's own event registration system. Gen Con's event registration historically opens to the public in late spring for an August convention, meaning high-demand Pathfinder tables — particularly exclusive premiere scenarios — sell out within hours of opening.
Ticket pricing for individual Pathfinder sessions at conventions generally runs between $2 and $8 per event, though this varies by convention. Some events, particularly local game days, are free to attend once a convention badge is purchased or no badge is required at all.
The Pathfinder home page provides links to Paizo's official event calendar, which lists both Society-sanctioned events and Paizo-attended conventions by region.
Common scenarios
Gen Con: The largest tabletop gaming convention in North America by attendance — Gen Con reported approximately 70,000 unique attendees in 2023 (Gen Con LLC, 2023 attendance report) — hosts a Pathfinder Society HQ that serves as command central for hundreds of simultaneous tables. Paizo typically premieres at least one new Pathfinder Society special scenario at Gen Con each year, a multi-table interactive designed for mass simultaneous play where decisions at one table affect outcomes at others.
PaizoCon: Paizo's own convention, historically held near its Seattle-area headquarters or online, features direct access to Paizo staff, playtest opportunities for upcoming products, and seminars on game design. Attendance is substantially smaller than Gen Con — typically in the low thousands — which means closer contact with designers and a more focused Pathfinder experience.
Game store events: Many Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS) host Pathfinder Society game days, particularly around Paizo's Free RPG Day participation (part of the broader Free RPG Day initiative coordinated annually by Impressions Game Distribution). These often serve as the first live Pathfinder experience for players who found the game through the Pathfinder Beginner Box.
Decision boundaries
The practical question most players face is choosing between convention types based on what they actually want out of the experience.
New players vs. experienced players: Local game days and game store events are structurally better for new players. Table sizes are smaller, GMs have more time to explain mechanics, and the social stakes of making a rules error in front of 6 people is lower than doing so in Gen Con's main hall. Experienced players hunting exclusive content — convention-exclusive boons, rare Chronicle rewards, or scenarios that haven't been released to the public yet — need the national conventions.
Society play vs. open tables: Not every convention Pathfinder session runs under Society rules. Some tables operate as independent, non-tracked games — essentially a home game run in a convention setting. These don't generate Chronicle sheets and don't require a Society account, which removes administrative friction. The tradeoff is that nothing from those sessions carries forward. For players invested in a persistent character through Pathfinder Society Organized Play, non-tracked tables are recreational rather than progressive.
Ticketed vs. open gaming: At major conventions, specific tables require advance tickets. Open gaming rooms — where players self-organize at unclaimed tables — are available at most large conventions but won't guarantee a Pathfinder-specific game or an experienced GM. Ticketed events guarantee scenario, GM, and a seat.
Finding events in a specific region starts with the Paizo convention calendar and the Pathfinder conventions and events directory, which tracks community-reported gatherings alongside official Paizo-attended shows.