Paizo, you had me at ...

At what point did you know you were going Paizo? What sold you on the Pathfinder Adventure Paths or on PRPG?

For me, it was the line "Stupid little freaks" in the discussion of goblin weaponry (RotRL, p. 13). Don't know why but it made me laugh out loud in the friendly local gaming store.

How about you?

My gaming group just started the Savage Tide AP and our DM asked if we wanted to try pathfinder, the alpha test just came out, or keep using the 3.5 rules until the final version of Pathfinder was released and then decide. I was in my FLGS when I saw the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting and was blown away. I bought the book and showed it to my group, right there and then we all decided that Pathfinder was for us.

Enjoying There is no Honor's style in Savage Tide piqued my interest. Paizo had me when I realized their Editor-in-Chief, the same author, was in part responsible for the only two really worthwhile adventures that WotC ever published.

Since then, just about everything I've realized or learned about Paizo's design philosophy has drawn me in more, from Lisa's idea to keep the company small, to cherry picking freelancers for specific writing jobs, to their Path design strategies, to trusting their products to hit profit goals by being good, well-rounded adventures - not just hitting on critical marketing points.

If i am truely honest....Mmm... Paizo, or more specificially, pathfinder had me at the adverts in dragon stage...The cover art for the skinsaw murders and burnt offerings just told me instinctively that i would like what paizo was going to be releasing in pathfinder. With few exceptions since then, i have not been disappointed by them.

Well they had me with dragon. Under paizo dragon was just the best it had been in years. When savage tide came out I was hooked I had tired dungeon years ago and found the content meh. But this was the first paizo dungeons I had got and I was just in love with the style.

I was pissed when they lost the mags but was super excited when I learned of pathfinder. I love there drive and they way they tell story and just the grand feel of the whole thing. To me pathfinder is all about what I grew to love in D&D the story's, the settings the feeling of a real breathing world of heros and common folks of magic and monsters. Here is a setting of grand tradition old school with a modern take and feel yet it feels more like a living canvas then most any book game I have read in years. Well done one and all.

They had me at "we will be continuing with 3.5" and I'll stay with them for backwards compatibility.

--Gurubabaramalamaswami

Shackled City... I hadn't played in awhile and thought I would just pick up a Dungeon mag to read at work. HAve been fan the Golem ever since. And when they decided to do their own thing, I was hooked.

I really enjoyed Dungeon under their tenure (I kept getting Dragon, but often didn't even give it more than the once over since most of the material was player oriented). I wasn't pleased when Paizo lost the magazines, but having felt that the best era of the mags were under them, I decided I was in for Pathfinder. In the year immediately after Pathfinder premiered, I was pretty busy with other things, so I didn't get a lot of opportunity to check it out. Instead, I realized I would need to make a choice on whether or not to keep it once they announced they weren't going 4E. My initial thought was to drop it in favor of the online versions of the magazines, but I wanted to check out 4th edition first before making any hasty decisions. Man, am I glad I did that. I'm not going to go off on a rant about 4E right here and now (though if you give me a beer or two, I'd tell you how I REALLY feel about it). Suffice to say, it isn't D&D to me, nor is it what I normally associate with P&P RPG. That was when I started looking into the Pathfinder RPG and took a good, long look at the Pathfinder APs. They had me at "Goblin."

Paizo isn't afraid to put "mature" and "heroic" into the same product. They aren't afraid to "go there" when they're talking about truly vile, distasteful stuff. Making elements of the world truly dark and objectionable just makes the heroic elements stand out that much more, which really raises the bar.

As far as heroic fantasy RPGs go, Paizo is where it's at. Top notch writing, top notch production values, and a company of vision. I sincerely hope that 20 years from now, the RPG industry is primarily watching Paizo.

James Jacobs. I was looking for his musings online and came across Paizo. It was right around the announcement of Pathfinder, so it didn't take much convincing.

They had me with Greg A. Vaughans Istivin-trilogy which I stumbled upon after some years of roleplaying hiatus. This made me come back to the old print magazines and, by this, to Paizo. And as they never stopped to publish awesome adventures they didn't need me to convince about the Pathfinder thing. It must have been the first time that I subscribed for something I didn't know anything about (with the exception of the authors).

Shackled City... I hadn't played in awhile and thought I would just pick up a Dungeon mag to read at work. HAve been fan the Golem ever since. And when they decided to do their own thing, I was hooked.

Same here. I was a Dungeon fan (and occasional Dragon purchaser), but with the SCAP Paizo got me hook, line and sinker.

I think it was the Ten Fun Facts About Goblins as well. I thought "look what they did with goblins. Now goblins, they're usually quite boring, and when they can turn them into something memorable like this, I want to get on the train and see what they do with the rest.

Haven't regretted it yet.

I think it was the Ten Fun Facts About Goblins as well. I thought "look what they did with goblins. Now goblins, they're usually quite boring, and when they can turn them into something memorable like this, I want to get on the train and see what they do with the rest.

Haven't regretted it yet.

Yip! Goblins it was. Skinsaw Murders cemented the good impression and I have yet to regret a single pathfinder product bought.

I was feeling homesick and culture shocked, here in Taiwan. I found a magazine shop that inexplicably had Dungeon 110 and Dragon 319 in stock. I read them, and enjoyed them. When Whispering Cairn came out, I thought it was the best module I had ever read. It was a seminal module that. I think it codified and crystallised a set of values in adventure design. Shackled City was revolutionary. Whispering Cairn was a harbinger of something new. I subscribed to the magazines, looked online for the Age of Worms overload, and have enjoyed the forums, and the products, ever since. You are my buddies, and people that share my hobby, and my geeky culture. Paizo and posters alike. I live in a country that makes me feel isolated. These boards are home.

I stumbled across Paizo with Dragon #297 (the Drow issue). I had just started playing 3.0 after a 2 year RPG hiatus due to many changes in my life (birth of my daughter, several friends moving awy so that the gaming group split up and so on...). I knew Dragon from back in 2nd Edition days, but only rarely picked it up. I was at my FLGS to look for new 3.0 products and came across this issue of Dragon. I bought it and was amazed how much the mag had changed and that it featured so much great stuff that I was interested in. The next day I returned to pick up the current Dungeon issue. I never missed an issue since then and was always looking forward to the next issue. I too was sad as they had to cancel the mags, but was very pleased (and still am!) with Pathfinder. I can't afford to buy all the stuff they release, but I will continue to support them as long as they deliver quality stuff and keep up the current direction.

Funny thing is - I have all Dungeon and Dragon Magazines of the Paizo era (OK, one or two are missing, but I like to call that complete;)) but since I own most 3rd ed. Dungeon and Dragon and about 1/3 - 1/2 of the 2nd. edition Magazines, I just didn't connect them to Paizo - I knew WotC "outsourced" the mags and I happily realized that they improved in quality but still - it took the cancelation of the print magazines and the first Pathfinder AP to make me realize I was hooked on Paizo.

At what point did you know you were going Paizo? What sold you on the Pathfinder Adventure Paths or on PRPG?

Up until this Gen Con (2008) I was still undecided.

Playing 4e at Gen Con (bleh), combined with my Gen Con Pathfinder Experience, convinced me to stick with Pathfinder

I forgot to mention what sold me on Pathfinder - The Roleplaying Game:

I love 3e, I love how they are going to improve it, and I don't like what they did to the game and my previously favourite campaign setting.

So I was sold on Pathfinder RPG since before it was announced, and the death of the Realms as I knew them sold me on Chronicles.

Origins, 2007.

I'd already converted the subscriptions to Pathfinder, figured it was a better deal than cahsback, and lazier than store credit.

I realized that these guys (and girl) were serious about making Paizo/Pathfider work in the seminiar. Both in their humble amazement at the number of subscription conversions to the admitting "We've not got that far yet."

The other thing that made me realize Paizo was speical was Lisa saying "I've got some ideas I want to submit and see if they're approved." I was stunned, thinking "Whoa, the CEO has to jump through the same hoops we mere mortals have to." That cinched it. Paizo may be old friends, and they may have old friends in the industry, but quality would win out over loyalty.

I was reading the core rule book for beta and just seemed to agree with most of the things I was reading. By the time I was done with the Skills section I was sold!

Paizo had me at the cover of Pathfinder (RotRL) #2. (Yes, in other words Seoni.)

Add another vote for the goblins. :)

I got Pathfinder #1 long after it had already come out. I read it, loved the adventure and especially the monsters in the back so I decided to sign up for the subscription with Pathfinder#7.

I failed my Will save vs Paizo because of the following factors, adding to the save DC :
- Dragon magazine. Since i am playing D&D i always loved Dragon, which was more inspiration for me than any of the actual rules books or supplements. But in the years of Paizo's Dragon, the contents were exceptional and brought me more fluff and crunch than ever.
- The annoucement of Pathfinder, staying in the 3.5 rules set. Keeping 3.5 alive and active is incredible, many people don't even realize that yet.
- The general quality of their products, in content and presentation.
- Their dedication and commitment in their work, their integrity and keeping true to themselves.
- Their attitude towards their customers, listening and respecting them.

I decided to check the adventure paths out because of all the fun we have playing Savage Tide. So far I have not been disappointed.

"We will continue to support open gaming."

I was subscribing to Dungeon Magazine. WotC cancelled Dungeon & Dragon mags, and besides a press release, had nothing to say but "cool stuff is coming soon", which ended up being 4E. At the same time Paizo also announced the cancellation of their magazines, but they said "hey, here's this awesome stuff that will replace the magazines, and we already have some interesting write-ups on our daily blog, etc."

I preferred the second approach and still do. Thanks Paizo!

Dungeon magazine. I have little interest in buying webhosted material; print products make my day.

More specifically, I had already seen that some of the best minds and writers of 3.5 were on the Paizo staff. I was already very much impressed with the adventure paths they put out, so when they announced that they would continue to do so under a different label, I had no problem following. They make excellent products, and I pay for them. Best arrangement I could hope for.

Let's see... Age of Worm Adventure Path, and mind you, I had been buying Dungeon for a while, by then.
The Greyhawk goodness aside, I never imagined myself to be waiting impatiently to run a dungeon (yes, I loathe dungeon crawls). The dungeons of the AoWAP did this, even more than those of SCAP.
After that, the STAP, then Pathfinder (the magazine), the campaign setting...

Well, you got me with your damn quality and your damn politeness and good attitude on the boards. :-)

I was living in the Czech Republic (still am!) and hadn't really gamed in almost 3 years, I was nostalgically surfing the internets looking at gaming stuff and stumbled across the Paizo site, right before the RPG Superstar contest. As I struggled to make it through the rounds of the contest, I started hanging out on the boards, reading about Rise of the Runelords. Then I won a a trivia question on the blog and got a free copy of Pathfinder #1, and I was hooked! Getting to the Top 4 of RPG Superstar helped a lot too, as did all the pbps I'm playing and/or running. ;)

When I started playing, it was 3.5. I had a buddy who would buy Dungeon and Dragon some of the time, and I'd read them. I believe it was the Gnome Giant slayer that made me decide that the mags were awesome. I got a subscription after that. Oh, and AoW got me hooked to Dungeon. I've run it twice, and still love it.

As for Pathfinder, the mag's are amazing, the world is the best I've ever read... they had me at "Golarian".

What sold me on Pathfinder adveture path, was throughout their tenure with Dragon and Dungeon the Paizo folks showed that they loved D&D: the game, the hobby, and the players. They made Dragon and Dungeon top notch. So, when WoTC announced that they were killing the magazines, I put my faith in Paizo's quality and opted to convert my remaining Dungeon and Dragon subscriptions to Pathfinder. They were offering a great value, and I trusted them. The first Pathfinder was fantastic! I have never rgretted it! Paizo keeps putting out FUN quality products, and I keep buying them. I only wish that I could afford to buy all the modules and PF Chronicles books as well.

I truly feel that the Paizo crew are the true successors and torch bearers of D&D. They honor what has gone before and yet add something new and exciting too.

I would pick up Dragon or Dungeon here and there. And then I picked up the issue with the STAP preview. Isle of Dread. That was the very first adventure of Basic D&D I played in so I had a built in interest. Of course the other stuff piqued my interest so decided to get a sub.

I have been playing since 1982...I have Dragon magazines back to that era, including Dungeon #1...

After 3e, I would occasionally get Dragons, as the material was spotty at best. Shortly after Paizo took aver, I realized all the issues were better, and started getting the Dungeons at that time also. My subscription to Dragon and Dungeon ran out with the last issues that Paizo produced...I stuck with Paizo, the APs are excellent, as well as their modules, and PATHFINDER! I don't miss Wizards, I have Paizo!!!

I had a subscription to Dragon and Dungeon from the WOTC era and noticed a marked improvement when it was outsourced to Paizo. After a while I came to their website and never left. I knew I liked their work in the magazines but had reservations about their ability to continue with modules and other materials when WOTC ended the license to the magazines. I turned my subscription into Pathfinder APs and waited to see if I would be disappointed. Then Rise of the Runelords came out and Burnt Offerings had those Goblins. I knew then I had found my home. Their reimagining of Goblins was a breath of resh air. Golarion itself, is very much like my own homebrew in many ways it was easy to make the switch.

So, in essence they had me when they took over publication of the magazines and didn't let me down when they went independent.

Age of Worms!!! I still remember my older brother terrorizing us back in the day with endless hordes of the "Sons of Kyuss". To be able to relive those days from the DM'ing side of the table has been awesome. Paizo rocks!!!

An impassioned defence of Wizards of the Coast and his friends still working there, by James Jacobs, in an exchange of private email correspondence with myself.
Paizo and their employees have an integrity and honour which seems to me to be growing increasingly rare.

Like others, I became a fan when Paizo took over Dragon and (especially) Dungeon. The fact that Erik was a driving force behind giving me 3rd edition Greyhawk stuff was the main reason I became loyal to Paizo, and I've never looked back. The fact that they're sticking w/ 3.x is the deal-clincher. So I'll continue to feed my GH fix elsewhere, but as far as new, printed products, it's Paizo & Golarion FTW.

Dragon and Dungeon.

...Age of Worms. Haven't run a single adventure from another publisher since.

Started with Shackled City, but what really "got" me I guess you could say was WotC's treatment of Forgotten Realms for 4e. I heard about the open playtest, came to check it out, along with some of the setting details that were available, and saw in Golarion the things I had loved in FR that were no longer there.

The other thing that made me realize Paizo was speical was Lisa saying "I've got some ideas I want to submit and see if they're approved." I was stunned, thinking "Whoa, the CEO has to jump through the same hoops we mere mortals have to." That cinched it. Paizo may be old friends, and they may have old friends in the industry, but quality would win out over loyalty.

And I still haven't had anything published! But I told James an idea I have for a product and he actually liked it! So now I just need to get off my butt and get this product finished. It will be really weird having my first product published by my own company. But I figure if they wouldn't publish my ideas if they were presented by someone outside the company, they sure as heck shouldn't publish it just because I am the CEO. Down that way lies madness...and much lower sales I am sure. :)

-Lisa

The 3 adventure paths in Dungeon.

When Paizo announced that APs would be their flagship product, they had me. (Golarion nearly scared me away, but they're balancing on that fine line between setting development and adventure adaptability, so I'm still buying.)

The high quality of Dungeon and the included adventures. I started my subscription less than a month before the announcement that the license was not being renewed, and figured I'd get the rest of the issues and then some free stuff that I'd mine for stuff for my own homebrew. Once I saw how cool Golarion is and the company announced its decision to stick with 3.5, I was locked in for good.