Sczarni
Use Pathfinder missions as a front for personal gain.
A loose affiliation of Varisian swindlers, thieves, and smugglers, the Sczarni don’t have much in common with the average Pathfinder. But to many, there’s little distinction between someone who robs the grave of an ancestor and someone who cons one out of her night’s dinner. Thus, when Sczarni and Pathfinders come to town, both are often lumped into the same category by suspicious natives and watchful legal authorities—troublesome people to watch out for. Though not officially allied, many Pathfinders work with local Sczarni throughout the region to aid one another in surviving, hopefully gaining a leg up in their own endeavors in the process.
Some Sczarni find a life of wandering leads them eventually to the Grand Lodge to become part of a larger organization, though these Pathfinders never lose their loyalty to their Varisian roots. Similarly, Pathfinders of any ethnicity looking to swindle, smuggle, and steal at every opportunity find that they work well with the Sczarni operating throughout much of the world. Ever opportunists, Sczarni know when the Pathfinder Society provides a great cover for their unscrupulous ventures, while similarly shrewd Pathfinders see the benefit of having contacts in nearly every port, especially ones skilled at getting valuable cargos past prying harbor watchmen and tax collectors. Most Sczarni Pathfinders are chaotic-aligned.
Pathfinders working in tandem with the Sczarni often earn reputations within the insular organization by delivering or retrieving messages from other operatives in the field, transporting stolen goods while on otherwise standard Pathfinder business, and sometimes stealing from or conning innocents along the way. Few Sczarni admit they belong to the loose affiliation, and even fewer Pathfinders boast of their association with the ill-reputed crooks. While Pathfinder agents who can operate without catching the notice of their friends and allies are a great asset to the Sczarni, conversely, some Sczarni prefer to be seen in the company of acclaimed and well-respected adventurers such as ostentatious Pathfinders, hoping the latter group’s more positive reputation will rub off on their own oft-maligned brethren. But sometimes more virtuous Pathfinders are simply sent on Sczarni missions to allow the criminals to keep good company while doing something less than honorable behind the Pathfinders’ backs.