2009 ENnie Nominations!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The dash toward the 2009 ENnie Awards has begun with Paizo accepting nominations in six categories, including a fan nomination for Best Publisher! These acknowledgments start off the process of honoring the best products and ideas in the last year of tabletop gaming, but in the end it all relies on you! Be sure to check back in with the ENnies this Friday when voting begins, giving you the chance to cast your ballot for your favorite games and accessories.

Here's this year's rundown of Paizo Products up for honors:

Best Cover Art
Pathfinder Adventure Path #19: Howl of the Carrion King

Best Adventure
Pathfinder Adventure Path #19: Howl of the Carrion King

Best Campaign Setting
Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting

Best Cartography
Pathfinder Chronicles Second Darkness Map Folio

   

Best Miniatures Product
Game Mastery Flip-Mat: Waterfront Tavern

Best Regalia
Planet Stories: Infernal Sorceress, by Gary Gygax

And a Fan Award for Best Publisher!

Check out all the publishers at the ENnies Awards homepage, and be sure to check back this Friday for your chance to cast your vote! Thanks to ENWorld and all of you for this year's nominations and the endless support!

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

Map Pack: Caverns

Friday, June 6, 2008

Water trickles across the floor and drips from the ceiling. Skittering sounds echo from somewhere up ahead and around a corner. The pungent stench of mildew emanates off the wet dungeon walls.

This art sample is but a whiff of what these map tiles may inspire you to tell your players about the dank, dark caverns that they will be traipsing through! The newest addition to the Map Packs line takes adventurers deep into the belly of the world with Map Pack: Caverns. Featuring twists, turns, and troubles for your group, this map pack is the perfect accessory for that delve you've been planning. Map Pack: Caverns will be in stores early July.

Jacob Burgess
Online Retail Coordinator

His and Hers Full Plate

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Well, not exactly, but the lovely armor worn by Queen Ileosa's Gray Maidens—from the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path, and thus the Curse of the Crimson Throne Item Card deck—is for women only. Make no mistake, though: you do NOT want to mess with them, no matter how good their armor looks.

On the even less subtle side, the Hellknight Order of the Nail stomps around Korvosa in their less stylish but far more intimidating apparel. As befits an organization with "Hell" in its name, the Hellknights dress to inspire fear and wonder in those who meet or oppose them. Unlike the Gray Maidens, though, the Hellknights are open to people of both genders.

Check out these and 52 other awesome pieces of art in the upcoming Pathfinder Item Cards: Curse of the Crimson Throne Deck.

Mike McArtor
Editor

Map Pack: Slums

Thursday, April 24, 2008

They've delved Dungeon Chambers, braved Haunted Mansions, explored Cities and the Countryside, but nothing has prepared Map Packs for the their latest venture: a look into the dark underbelly of urban life in the Slums. Presenting what is likely the highest rat-to-map-grid ratio of any GameMastery Map Pack, Slums is already available in stores and paizo.com.

Mike McArtor
Editor

A Return to Adventure (Gear)!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The original Adventure Gear proved to be both well-received and successful. By popular demand we have now released Adventure Gear 2. Check out some of the new things you can expect to find in the set!

Mike McArtor
Editor

More Fumbles

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Critical Fumble Deck is due to hit our warehouse any day now. As promised, here are a couple aof additional sample cards and a look at the optional rules card. This card gives you some extra tools for fitting critical fumbles into your game. Take a look. Feel free to post up your optional rules for using this deck in our forums. This Critical Fumble Deck is a sequel to the extremely popular Critical Hit Deck that hit store shelves early last year. These two decks can be used together to add a new element of surprise to your combats.

Jason Bulmahn
PathfinderLead Designer

Curse of the Crimson Item Cards

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

With the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path underway in the pages of Pathfinder, we have recently sent off the Curse of the Crimson Throne Item Cards to the printer. This set includes a wide variety of the items you might encounter while taking the fight to the foes of Korvosa. Inside you will find such gems as totem spear, the doctor's mask, and the mysterious harrow deck. Need more proof that this is shaping up to be a great set, take a look at these cards. The Curse of the Crimson Throne Item Card deck consists of 54 cards and is compatible with any fantasy roleplaying game (such as the Pathfinder RPG). This deck is due to hit stores in May.

Jason Bulmahn
Pathfinder Lead Designer

Sneak Peek: Into the Slums

Friday, March 21, 2008

Here is a sneak peek inside our GameMastery Map Pack: Slums. Whether you're tromping the streets of Old Korvosa, any of the other cities in Golarion, or a city of your own making, it's bound to have slums. Take a look at our map tiles for the really-low-rent district.

Chris Self
Paizo Editorial Assistant

Critical Fumbles

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Everybody loves the stories about the critical hit that brought down the dragon just when all seemed lost. Unfortunately, combat is not all about the best hits. Sometimes, it is about the most horrible misses. The Critical Fumble Deck is expected to hit our warehouse here in just a few weeks. This deck of cards is a sequel to the immensely popular Critical Hit Deck we released last year. Although you do not need the Critical Hit Deck to use the Critical Fumble Deck, the two can work in harmony together, bringing both joy and sorrow to your players. Either way, you're in for a good time. Next week, we will take a look at a few more cards and some of the optional rules for using the deck.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

A Harrowing Experience

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

From the journal of Mike Selinker, the first harrower:

The story of Harrow starts as all good stories do, with Erik Mona and a portent of doom. "You, Master Selinker," he foreshadowed, "are being hunted by a undaunted band of brothers. A band that cannot be daunted by the mightiest of daunters. I speak, perforce, of the strapping young men of Pathfinder. They are coming for you."

I sought an exit, but these are Pathfinders, you see. They can find anyone, and since I am anyone, they found me. From me they demanded a boon: a tarot deck they could call their very own. Messrs. James and James and Jason and F. Wesley believed that the world thirsted for such a deck. I was the humble peddler of games that could slake this thirst.

"Sa-ha!" I vocalized to all who would hear, "I shall call this deck 'Harrow,' as it speaks of travels through the inferno, and it rhymes with 'Tarot.' And I shall not be alone in this undertaking! If I am to walk this road, I will have a mighty illustrator to illuminate my path." This depicter of souls would be Kyle Stanley Hunter, he who could pluck from the darker planes the disturbing images that would force legions of gamers into hiding betwixt carpet and bed.

"I need one card," I posited to Mr. Stanley Hunter, and his expression of relief was palpable, and just as fleeting when I continued: "One card for each of fifty-four intersections of alignments and abilities laid upon an imperceptible grid. This is what I command. But what shall they be?"

"There may be a prince of rabbits," Kyle pronounced, "and a cricket with a melon, and a queen with six legs, and...." I left him to his prattle, and hearkened for a woman who could detail our method of beckoning that would strip the truth from the past, the present, and the future. This woman was the oddly-named Teeuwynn Woodruff, an oracle of (Phila-)Delphi(-a). "Tell me of my future," I beseeched Mistress Teeuwynn, "the future which involves you writing most of this rulebook."

She set her laptop to such a divinatory task, and I returned to Squire Bulmahn, he of the boisterous laugh and unbending stomach. "From you I do exact a concept for a cutthroat gambling game," I invoked. He had been warned of his destiny. "There shall be towers," he declaimed. "Oh, yes, there shall be towers."

Could there be a pair of stalwarts to weave all this together, I conjectured? There could. We would enlist yet another Mike (McArtor) and still a third James (Davis) in the editing and graphic design of this most epic of decks. From hither and from yon, they weaved.

Now it was done. The past, present, and future were divined. All that remained was the ritual sharing of the stomach-turning soda pops, and the recounting of the glories, and the filling of the requisite 500-word count. Which is now complete.

I mean, now.

Mike Selinker
Titanic Games Designer

New Products Announced

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

This week we announced a slew of new products:

Pathfinder

Pathfinder #14 Second Darkness Chapter 2: "Children of the Void"—A star has fallen from the sky, destroying the island known as the Devil's Elbow. Tasked by a group of elven bounty hunters to investigate a dark elf assassin tied to the catastrophe, the heroes travel to the blasted island only to find it crawling with prospectors, merchants, and mercenaries eager to salvage the legendary "skymetal" sure to have fallen from space.

Pathfinder #15 Second Darkness Chapter 3: "The Armageddon Echo"—Evidence recovered from the devastated island known as the Devil's Elbow indicates that vile dark elves have infiltrated the ruined elven city of Celwynvian. The heroes join forces with the valorous elves of Crying Leaf in an attempt to reclaim the city from darkness.

Pathfinder #16 Second Darkness Chapter 4: "Endless Night"—Disguised as evil dark elves, the heroes penetrate a hidden city in the subterranean Darklands in an effort to discover the drow plan for the coming apocalypse. The possibility of a traitor among the goodly elves of the surface world and the discovery of the heroes' ruse leads to a race through treacherous caverns in a desperate effort to warn allies of impending doom.

Pathfinder #17 Second Darkness Chapter 5: "A Memory of Darkness"—Armed with the knowledge that an elven traitor supplied the drow with the magical means to call down the stars and devastate Golarion, the PCs arrive at the elven nation of Kyonin to find their claims falling on deaf ears.

Pathfinder Chronicles

Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods & Magic—This comprehensive 64-page guidebook provides an overview of the 20 "core" Pathfinder Chronicles gods and their religions, with an emphasis on rules and information players can use at the game table, whether they're playing a zealous cleric, brave paladin, or simply a faithful member of any character class.

Pathfinder Chronicles Item Cards: Second Darkness Deck—This 54-card set allows heroes to keep track of their equipment in style and is completely compatible with all of Paizo's other GameMastery Item Card sets.

Pathfinder Chronicles: Into the Darklands—Delve the deep secrets of the Darklands, a subterranean realm frequented by dark elves, shadow dragons, and worse! This comprehensive sourcebook provides an overview of the cavernous realms below the surface of the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting.

Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Absalom—The largest and most important metropolis in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting comes alive in this comprehensive guide to the City at the Center of the World!

GameMastery Maps

GameMastery Flip-Mat: Darklands—features a maze of interconnected underworld tunnels. The Flip side features a huge, cavernous chamber.

GameMastery Flip-Mat: Desert—features a majestic desert filled with blowing sands and massive dunes. The Flip side features a desert oasis centered on a small pond and teeming with life.

GameMastery Map Pack: Elven City—Locations include: Treehouse Dwelling, Mystic Arch, Statuary Garden Temple of the Four Winds, and Council of Chambers.

GameMastery Map Pack: Ancient Forest—Locations include: Druid's Glade, Fairy Ring, Overgrown Ruins, Blighted Glen, and Briar Patch.

Planet Stories

The Hounds of Skaith, by Leigh Brackett—Eric John Stark rides again! Leigh Brackett's unforgettable science-fantasy hero of The Secret of Sinharat and The Ginger Star cuts a red swath across the brutal planet Skaith!

The Dark World, by Henry Kuttner—Henry Kuttner's Sword and Sorcery classic returns to print at last! World War II veteran Edward Bond's recuperation from a disastrous fighter plane crash takes a distinct turn for the weird when he encounters a giant wolf, a red witch, and the undeniable power of the need-fire, a portal to a world of magic and swordplay at once terribly new and hauntingly familiar.

Death in Delhi, by Gary Gygax—A giant ruby and a plea to rescue the purloined crown jewels of Delhi arrives at the villa of Magister Setne Inhetep, philosopher-wizard of the Pharaoh of Aegypt!

Carolyn Mull
Paizo Sales & Marketing Assistant

Gear for Everyone

Thursday, February 21, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, we previewed a number of cards for Adventure Gear 2, the new set of GameMastery Item Cards due out next month. Since we are going to be starting up a contest next week in celebration of the Critical Fumble Deck, this is going to be one of our last chances to take a look at this exciting sequel to Adventure Gear before it hits the streets. Take a look.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

More Gear!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

One year ago, we released Adventure Gear, a set of item cards designed to depict most of the common items adventurers carry with them deep into the bowels of the earth. There was only one problem: You can never have enough gear to bring with you into the bowels of the earth. Enter Adventure Gear 2, a new 54-card set of item cards depicting even more of the common items your adventurer carries with them... ah, you get the idea. Anyway, enough of my talking, take a look at some of these cards from the set.

Adventure Gear 2 is due to hit our warehouse later this month.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Towers: A Harrow Game

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The Harrow Deck has a wide variety of uses, from a divination tool to a common game played for coppers in taprooms across Golarion. The game is known as Towers, and it is included in the Harrow Deck.

Towers is a simple gambling game for two to four players. At the start of the game, six special cards are laid out from the Harrow Deck, forming the base of the towers. Each player is dealt a hand of three cards. Players take turns placing cards from their hand onto the towers, trying to rid themselves of as many cards as possible while blocking the way for opponents to do the same. If you can't play some of your cards, they accrue as debt owed to the other players. As the game progresses it becomes harder and harder to play your cards and your debt can really spiral out of control. The game comes to an end when no one can play any more cards. At that point, each player's debt is tallied and players must pay the difference to those with a lower value.

The game is simple to learn, but has some complex strategy for those who are eager to fleece their opponents. A word of caution: This game can be addictive and I would hate to see someone lose a vorpal sword over a few bad hands.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Fumble at the Printer

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

With all the hustle and bustle around here with installments of Pathfinder and GameMastery Modules going out the door, it is easy to forget some of the other projects we have cooking here at the Paizo Labs. One such product has been called for since the moment its predecessor hit store shelves. So, without further ado, I am here to announce that the GameMastery Critical Fumble Deck is off to the printers (and has been for a couple weeks). We are hoping to see this product sometime next month and we will be running some previews as we get a bit closer. Until then, here is an image of the box to tide you over. Take a good look, but be careful: If you fumble, you just might "Shoot Your Eye Out: The attack hits you and is a critical threat. You must roll to confirm the critical hit." Enjoy!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

The Harrow Deck Cometh!

Friday, December 7, 2007

One of the most innovative things I've seen in D&D occurred back in the original Ravenloft, where the villain's motivation, treasure placement, and adventure goals depended upon the results of an in-game fortune-telling session. Even years later, I still recall that feeling of surprise and excitement when I first looked through that adventure. With Curse of the Crimson Throne, Pathfinder's second Adventure Path, we'll be trying something similar.

The Harrow deck is our fortune-telling tool for this Adventure Path. The deck itself is a 54-card deck broken down into six suits of nine cards each. While, in-game, these six suits and the card images themselves are "in character," it draws a lot of its inspiration from the mechanics of the game as well. The deck's six suits each symbolize one of the six basic attributes all characters are built around: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. And in each of those six suits, we have nine different cards for each of the nine alignments. Therefore, we have a chaotic evil Wisdom card, a neutral good Strength card, a lawful neutral Dexterity card, and so on.

Of course, the actual art on each of these cards hides its genesis in the rules behind symbolism and metaphor, so you don't have to worry about any weird self-aware metagame strangeness popping up (I doubt very much you'd ever hear a Varisian say something like, "that chaotic evil king has a really low charisma!"). The Harrow deck itself is an ancient divination tool used by the Varisians to tell the future and divine fortunes. Think of it as an RPG-version of the tarot deck.

Each of Curse of the Crimson Throne's six adventures are also tied in theme to the six suits of the Harrow deck, and as you play through this new Adventure Path, Harrow deck readings can provide valuable insights, helpful bonuses, or even unexpected perils and dangers. You can expect to see some recurring themes throughout the Adventure Path tied to the Harrow deck, but we'll be going beyond that. Players will be able to select a feat, "Harrowed," that'll let them use draws from the deck to hopefully tip fortune in their favor. Visit a rough-and-tumble bar down on the waterfront in Korvosa and you'll be able to gamble away your treasure in a game of Towers, a gambling game created by lowbrows and scoundrels using the Harrow deck (and designed by industry veterans Jason Bulmahn, Mike Selinker, and Teeuwynn Woodruff). And just as the infamous Deck of Many Things was inspired by the tarot deck, there might be a powerful magic Harrow deck waiting to bring all matter of mayhem to your group at some point in Curse of the Crimson Throne.

And the best part? We're making a Harrow deck you can use yourself, whether as part of your campaign, in readings of your own, or just as a fun fantasy-themed card game. Over the next several weeks, we'll be showing off Kyle Hunter's artwork for the Harrow deck here on our blog. Keep an eye out, and see if you can figure out which image goes with the chaotic evil strength card versus the one that goes with the lawful good one!

James Jacobs
Editor-in-Chief, Pathfinder

Rise of the Item Card Contest, Final Post

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Rise of the Runelords Item Card contest is finally over, and before I launch into the lengthy explanation about question #4 from last week, I would like to show you the complete set list. This deck should be arriving in stores soon, so make sure to grab a copy from your favorite local retailer.

01 Breastplate 02 Full Plate 03 Hide Shirt 04 Klar 05 Light Shield 06 Bastard Sword 07 Bladed Scarf 08 Dogslicer 09 Earth Breaker 10 Falchion 11 Glaive 12 Horsechopper 13 Ogre Hook 14 Quarterstaff 15 Ranseur 16 Repeating Crossbow 17 Scythe 18 Starknife

19 War Razor 20 Potion 21 Potion 22 Potion 23 Ring 24 Ring 25 Scroll 26 Scroll 27 Scroll 28 Rod 29 Rod 30 Staff 31 Staff 32 Wand 33 Wand 34 Wand 35 Book 36 Carpet

37 Cauldron 38 Compass 39 Helm 40 Lens 41 Lyre 42 Mask 43 Mask 44 Medallion 45 Necklace 46 Phylactery 47 Quill 48 Robe 49 Barbarian Chew 50 Harpy Musk 51 Holy Symbol 52 Reinforced Scarf 53 Unholy Symbol 54 Varisian Idol

Question #4 Solution: This week's question was incredibly tough, but congratulations are due to Rob McCreary, who gave the correct answer of "7 pounds." Rob will receive a pair of Rise of the Runelords Item Card decks and a signed copy of the limited edition alternate cover version of Patherfinder #1.

To solve this riddle, you need to know a couple of things. First, you need to know that Pathfinder #3 contains a wandering monster chart for Varisia on page 71. Second, you need the overland movement charts from pages 162 and 164 of the PH. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, to correctly answer this question, you need to remember that giants have a chance of carrying salt in their bags (MM page 120). Taking the information given, the journey there and back requires a total of 8 days in the mountains and 20 days on the plateau. With a 20% chance of encounter per hour (and not just while traveling, but more on this below), you would run into 38.4 encounters in the mountains and 96 while traversing the plateau. Of these encounters, 20% of the mountain encounters would be with giants, while only 10% of those in the plateau would be against these salt-carrying behemoths. If each encounter was against 4 giants, each with 5 items in its bag, you would gather a total of 345.6 items from their bags. Of these, 1 in 50 would be a 1-pound bag of salt. So, upon returning to Skull's Crossing you would have 6.912 pounds of salt, rounded up to 7. Due to the phrasing of the question, some of you assumed that encounters only occurred while traveling, which would cut the number of encounters by 2/3. Due to this confusion, I also decided to accept any answer of "2."

We received a total of 37 entries for this particular question, with a wide variety of numbers, from 0 to 68,000. What was more interesting, though, were the answers by those who assumed it was a trick question or just decided to submit a joke. The first answer we received was simply, "potato." We knew we had a good question when that one popped into the inbox. In the following days, we got answers such as "as much as you started with," "rock salt or sea salt?," and my personal favorite, "I would have zero pounds of salt on me, upon my return, since I'm trying to cut down on my intake." A hearty congratulations are due to all seven entrants who managed to get the correct answer on this one, and I think you can all look forward to more twisted puzzlers like this one in future contests.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rise of the Item Card Contest, Part 4

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Three Runelords have grabbed a deck of these cards using the powers of sin. With the Rise of the Runelords Item Card decks now hitting our warehouse and the holiday weekend before us, this week has an extra special prize, with an extra difficult question. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Rise of the Runelords Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases... plus with this being the final week, we will also throw in a signed copy of the alternate cover version of Pathfinder #1! Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Runelords #4" in the subject line of the email.

For this last preview, we wanted to show you some of the cool items from the rest of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path. You can expect these items, along with a host of other treasures, to appear in parts 3 through 6.

Question #4: The journey from Skull's Crossing to Urglin requires you to travel through about 48 miles of the Wyvern Mountains, and 120 miles of the sandy Cinderlands. Assuming you went there and back again, traveling for 8 hours per day at a speed of 30 without a path, how many pounds of salt, on average, would you have when you returned? Note that your chance of running into an encounter is roughly 20% per hour and you always seem to run into four creatures whenever one occurs (and each one has 5 items in its bag). Please round your answer to the nearest pound.

All answers for Question #4 are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, November 29th. Good Luck!

Question #3 Solution: Congratulations to Jonathan Cruz who correctly answered "10th" to last week's question. We got a number of creative answers (some that involved level drain), but "10th" was the correct answer, as Kyra would need to pick up two feats to qualify for the Spherewalker prestige class.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rise of the Item Card Contest, Part 3

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Two Runelords have grabbed a deck of these cards using the powers of sin. I'll let you guess which ones. Will you be next?

With the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path well underway in the pages of Pathfinder, and a special Item Card deck tied specifically to those adventures soon to be released, we here at Paizo Publishing have decided to give you a chance to score one of these great accessories.

One question about Pathfinder will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Rise of the Runelords Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Runelords #3" in the subject line of the email.

This week we're taking a look at items from the second part of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, "The Skinsaw Murders." These items in particular are not ones you might want to bring to the next royal ball you attend, but their power makes them valuable nonetheless. Next week, we'll wrap up our contest with some cards from the third installment, "The Hook Mountain Massacre."

Question #3: Using the version of Kyra presented in "The Skinsaw Murders," at what level could she take her first level of the Spherewalker prestige class (assuming she had a change of heart concerning her deity and stuck with the cleric class)?

All answers for Question #3 are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, November 21st. Good Luck!

Question #2 Solution: Congratulations to Bobby Nichols, who gave an answer to question #2. We realized upon attempting to determine the winner that the Iron Golem has had different prerequisites over the years (and in recent books... I'll get you, polymorph any object!) so we decided to accept all of the entries.

Jason Bulmahn,
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rise of the Item Card Contest, Part 2

Friday, November 9, 2007

The first Runelord has grabbed a deck of these cards. Will you be next?

With the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path well underway in the pages of Pathfinder, and a special Item Card deck tied specifically to those adventures soon to be released, we here at Paizo Publishing have decided to give you a chance to score one of these great accessories.

One question about Pathfinder will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Rise of the Runelords Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Runelords #2" in the subject line of the email.

This week we're going to take a look at some of the cards that represent tools for your arcane character. As it turns out, when you're dealing with runelords, items like these are bound to be plentiful. Next week, we move on to look at items from "The Skinsaw Murders."

Question #2: If all 7 runelords sent a 16th-level wizard apprentice to craft an iron golem, using only the spells they possess, without any outside assistance, which runelords would have to execute their apprentices for failure?

All answers for Question #2 are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, November 15th. Good Luck!

Question #1 Solution: Congratulations to Kevin Reynolds who gave the correct answer of 39 to question #1. Note that we also accepted 40 as an answer if you assumed that Tsuto was still alive.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rise of the Item Card Contest, Part 1

Friday, November 2, 2007

With the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path well underway in the pages of Pathfinder, and a special Item Card deck tied specifically to those adventures soon to be released, we here at Paizo Publishing have decided to give you a chance to score one of these great accessories.

One question about Pathfinder will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Rise of the Runelords Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Runelords #1" in the subject line of the email.

This week we're going to take a look at some of the items your PCs might encounter in part 1 of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, "Burnt Offerings." While many of these are wielded by pesky goblins, a number of them might end up in the hands of your adventurers.

Question #1: How many creatures in all of Thistletop can speak the goblin tongue?

All answers for Question #1 are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, November 8th. Good Luck!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Looting the Treasure Chest

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

We've received quite a few questions about the GameMastery Treasure Chest over the past several weeks and I thought I would take a moment to give you the skinny on this box full of goodness.

This box gives you a wide assortment of our most popular GameMastery products, including an original adventure (TC1: Into the Haunted Forest) that ties together all the products into one "deluxe" game experience. Here's what the box contains.

TC1: Into the Haunted Forest
Critical Hit Deck
Item Cards: Elements of Power
Campaign Workbook
Map Pack: Inns
Flip-Mat: Woodlands

Now, if you happen to own a bunch of these products, but still want the module, no worries. TC1: Into the Haunted Forest will be available separately for just $5 (note that this module is not part of the subscription deal, so if you want it, you will need to order it as normal). As for the module itself, you do not need these products to run the adventure, but they do include all the maps and treasure cards used in the adventure. (Incidentally: TC stands for "Treasure Chest," in case you're wondering.)

Hope that clears things up, but if you have any further questions, feel free to post them to our messageboards.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Going... going...

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Having a product go out of print is a strange experience. On the one hand, it might mean you've done something right and your product was a success, selling through the entire print run. Yet on the other hand, it's strange to think that something you've worked on and put a little bit of yourself into is going to disappear forever (except, of course, from the gaming tables of all those who purchased it, and perhaps eBay or a particularly well-stocked FLGS).

Why do I bring this up? Because as of this writing, there are only 52 copies of Map Pack: Countryside left in our warehouse, and we don't currently have any plans on reprinting this particular set. That means that when they're gone, they're gone. If you haven't already, hit up the product page and see if your game could use things like a coaching inn, ambush site, or roadside shrine. (The rope bridge, in particular, seems to have generated a lot of excitement.)

After all, you might not get another chance....

James Sutter
Assistant Editor, Pathfinder

Flippin' Awesome

Thursday, September 13, 2007

I don't know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with maps in RPG gaming. Back in middle school when I first got into the hobby, we might have had a few miniatures to represent characters, plus "terrain" made from dice, pencils, and those little plastic tables that come in the center of your pizza box. It wasn't until much, much later, when someone introduced me to D&D 3.5, that I finally saw the light and realized that things like battlemats add immeasurably to the roleplaying experience.

With that realization, however, came a new problem: mapping is hard. Even after years of practice, it's still annoying to have to stop right in the middle of a crucial scene and scramble to count squares and draw out a new room in its entirety each time PCs go through the door. (I also have a tendency to spill drinks on the battlemat, but that's really my own fault.)

Which is where something like our new Flip-Mat: City Market comes in handy. Every village worth its salt has a market, so why waste valuable game time drawing it out over and over? With City Market, the work's already done for you, and your PCs are free to look through every door with impunity. Plus, if you decide you want to switch up the layout, just flip it over and use the blank paving beneath the grid to build your own town. As with all our Flip-Mats, you can draw on the durable, laminated cardstock with wet erase, dry erase, or even permanent marker and still wipe it right off when you're done.

All of which means that if I were about to run, say, the first section of "Burnt Offerings," I'd definitely consider checking out City Market and using the time saved to pack in even more goblin-related activities....

James Sutter
Assistant Editor, Pathfinder

Elemental Mysteries Conclusion

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The new GameMastery Item Card set, Elements of Power, should be burning a path to your local store as we speak. As promised two weeks ago (sorry about the delay, Gen Con tends to get in the way of schedules), here is a complete set list for those of you hoping to delve into the mysteries of the elements.

01 Breastplate 02 Chain Shirt 03 Leather Suit 04 Platemail Barding 05 Stoneplate 06 Studded Leather 07 Ice Shield 08 Steel Shield 09 Battleaxe 10 Dagger 11 Gauntlet

12 Hook 13 Kama 14 Longbow 15 Longsword 16 Razor 17 Scimitar 18 Short Sword 19 Spear 20 Warhammer 21 Potion 22 Potion

23 Potion 24 Potion 25 Ring 26 Ring 27 Ring 28 Scroll 29 Scroll 30 Scroll 31 Scroll 32 Rod 33 Rod

34 Staff 35 Staff 36 Staff 37 Wand 38 Wand 39 Wand 40 Wand 41 Ankh 42 Bottle 43 Brazier 44 Brooch

45 Censer 46 Collar 47 Fetish 48 Horseshoes 49 Incense 50 Paintbrush 51 Pigments 52 Scarf 53 Stone 54 Wings

Mystery of Water Solution: Congratulations to Andrew Garrett, who figured out the correct answer that a 12 HD water naga would need to start making checks to avoid nonlethal damage from thirst after 1 day and 22 hours. Of course, as an aquatic creature, it would suffocate outside of water long before that.

Well, that is all for the Elements of Power set. We will begin previews for our next card set, Rise of the Runelords, in a few months. What's that? You want a taste right now? Okay, take a look at this sketch... hopefully it'll tide you over for a month or two...

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Elemental Mysteries, Part 4

Thursday, August 9, 2007

The four elements—air, earth, fire and water—have fascinated man for thousands of years. All of the mysteries have now been solved, save one: Water. Elements of Power—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to show up in game stores any day now, and if you can solve some of the mysteries of the elements, you might just score a free deck.

One elemental mystery has been presented each week. Answer this week's correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Elements of Power Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Mystery of Water" in the subject line of the email.

This week we take a look at the element of water. Often referred to as the giver of life, no other element is more revered and valued than water. There are a number of items in this set with a water or cold theme to them, including armor, weapons, potions, and a wondrous item or two. Look for these and other items like them in the upcoming set. Next week, we'll reveal the final answer and a complete set list.

Mystery of Water: How long would it take before a 12 HD water naga would need to start making checks to avoid taking nonlethal damage from thirst?

All answers for the Mystery of Water are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, August 16th. Good Luck!

Mystery of Fire Solution: Congratulations to Thomas Oakland who figured out the correct answer that a goblin wearing chainmail would need to roll a natural 20 to avoid taking the heat damage (because a 20 always succeeds).

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Elemental Mysteries, Part 3

Thursday, August 2, 2007

The four elements—air, earth, fire and water—have fascinated man for thousands of years. Yet, there are still many mysteries that have yet to be solved. Elements of Power—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release next month, and if you can solve some of the mysteries of the elements, you might just score a free deck.

One elemental mystery will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Elements of Power Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Mystery of Fire" in the subject line of this week's email.

This week we take a look at the element of fire. Perhaps no other element has fascinated man more than fire, and for good reason. Whereas fire can destroy, its cleansing can also lead to new life. There are a number of items in this set with a fire theme, including weapons, potions, staffs, and a wondrous item or two, each one looking like it might just burn you to a crisp. Look for these and other items like them in the upcoming set. Next week, we'll take a look at the final element.

Mystery of Fire: What would an ordinary goblin wearing chainmail need to roll on its Fortitude save to successfully avoid taking damage during his second hour spent in 114 degree heat?

All answers for the Mystery of Fire are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, August 9th. Good Luck!

Mystery of Earth Solution: Congratulations to Joshua Blazej, who figured out the correct answer that a stone giant could only throw a Small earth elemental (as it weighs 80 pounds, the maximum allotted weight for a rock thrown by a Huge giant).

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Elemental Mysteries, Part 2

Thursday, July 26, 2007

The four elements—air, earth, fire and water—have fascinated man for thousands of years. Yet, there are still many mysteries that have yet to be solved. Elements of Power—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release next month, and if you can solve some of the mysteries of the elements, you might just score a free deck.

One elemental mystery will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Elements of Power Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com.

Earth is the focus of our investigation this week. There are a number of items in this set with an earth theme, including items made of stone and metal or etched with acid. Each one of these items is of sturdy construction, with the power of earth behind them. Look for these and other items like them in the upcoming set. Next week, things get hot.

Mystery of Earth: What size Earth Elemental could be thrown by a stone giant of Huge size (assuming the elemental was willing and counted as a rock)?

All answers for the Mystery of Earth are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, August 2nd. Good Luck!

Mystery of Air Solution: Congratulations to Mike Davis, who figured out the correct answer that an air mephit (which counts as size Tiny when flying for the purposes of wind effects) would be blown up to 120 feet.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Elemental Mysteries, Part 1

Thursday, July 19, 2007

The four elements, air, earth, fire and water, have fascinated man for thousands of years. Yet, there are still many mysteries that have yet to be solved. Elements of Power—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release next month, and if you can solve some of the mysteries of the elements, you might just score a free deck.

One elemental mystery will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Elements of Power Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com.

This week we start off by investigating the powers of air. Not surprisingly, this set includes a number of magic items with an air theme, and those presented here are just a sample. Of course, air has long been associated with storms, wind, and lightning, so you might just find a few weapons and suits of armor with what appear to be those qualities in the set as well.

Mystery of Air: With a wind of 42 mph, what is the farthest that a flying air mephit could be blown in 1 round, without it moving at all under its own power or attempting to resist?

All answers for the Mystery of Air are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, July 26th. Make sure to put the phrase "Mystery of Air" in the subject line of the email. Good luck!

Jason Bulmahn,
GameMastery Brand Manager

The Dragon Awakens

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Four brave adventurers have stolen from the Riddling Dragon's Hoard, the last one barely escaping with his life. Now the beast is awake and flying to a store near you for vengeance. Dragon's Trove has been released and you should be seeing it in your local game shop within the next week or so. As promised, here is the complete set list for the GameMastery Item Cards Dragon's Trove set.

01 Banded Mail 02 Chain Shirt 03 Crystal Armor 04 Dragonhide 05 Dragonplate 06 Dragonscale 07 Plate Mail 08 Spiked Half-Plate 09 Splint Mail 10 Studded Leather 11 Dragon Shield 12 Tower Shield 13 Wooden Shield 14 Bastard Sword 15 Crossbow 16 Dagger 17 Darts 18 Falchion 19 Fang Dagger

20 Glaive 21 Greataxe 22 Hammer 23 Javelin 24 Kukri 25 Lance 26 Longbow 27 Longsword 28 Longsword 29 Morningstar 30 Pick 31 Pistol 32 Rapier 33 Short bow 34 Short sword 35 Shuriken 36 Potion 37 Potion 38 Potion

39 Potion 40 Potion 41 Potion 42 Potion 43 Potion 44 Potion 45 Potion 46 Potion 47 Ring 48 Ring 49 Ring 50 Ring 51 Ring 52 Scroll 53 Scroll 54 Scroll 55 Scroll 56 Scroll

57 Scroll 58 Scroll 59 Scroll 60 Scroll 61 Scroll 62 Rod 63 Rod 64 Staff 65 Staff 66 Staff 67 Staff 68 Wand 69 Wand 70 Wand 71 Wand 72 Wand 73 Wand 74 Wand

75 Wand 76 Wand 77 Wand 78 Amulet 79 Belt 80 Book 81 Bowl 82 Box 83 Bracelet 84 Circlet 85 Cloak 86 Coin 87 Crown 88 Gemstone 89 Gemstone 90 Gloves 91 Goblet 92 Goggles

93 Harp 94 Hat 95 Headband 96 Helm 97 Horn 98 Key 99 Lamp 100 Mirror 101 Necklace 102 Orb 103 Panpipes 104 Pendant 105 Periapt 106 Scarab 107 Scepter 108 Statue 109 Torch 110 Vestments

Week 4 Winner: Congratulations to Chris Cumming, who correctly answered the Riddling Dragon's question with "52.5," which happened to be the exact number we were looking for (although we accepted any answer between 50 and 55). Chris scored a free deck of Dragon's Trove. For those of you who might not have puzzled it out, the town we were heading for was Wolf's Ear, with a distance of roughly 315 miles between it and Urglin. Note that a wyvern can fly 6 miles per hour at an ordinary pace.

That wraps up our previews of this set. Next month, we'll preview some of the cards from the next Item Card set, Elements of Power.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rob the Dragon's Trove, Week 4

Thursday, June 21, 2007

The Riddling Dragon's hoard has been plundered three times now, and he grows restless. Soon he might wake. Not surprisingly, his riddles have grown incredibly difficult. Dragon's Trove—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release soon, and in anticipation we are showing off the set and giving you a chance to score a free deck of cards.

The Riddling Dragon has asked one question each week, and this is the last. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Dragon's Trove Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Answer incorrectly and your entry will be burned to a crisp. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Dragon's Trove Contest 4" in the subject line of the email.

Last week, I mentioned that I would show off some cards everyone has been waiting for. What I meant was that I would show of some items that have been near the top of the list of items not yet represented. Adding the 110 cards from Dragon's Trove, there are now about 400 unique cards in the Item Card line. Some of the items in this set, such as the glaive, goggles, hat, and kukri, have been a long time in the coming and frequently asked for by fans. Next week, we'll announce the last winner and post a complete set list.

Week 4 Riddle: Assuming you started your journey in Urglin and went south, you would run into a river. By boat, you might travel down this river, making your way down a steep drop before proceeding on through a large lake. After the lake, you might head down the same river for almost 100 miles before venturing north by boat to continue through another body of water. On the north edge of this lake is a small town. If a wyvern flies at an ordinary pace directly between Urglin and this town, how many hours will it take to make this journey?

Here is a hint: The answer can be found in one of our blog posts and in your 3rd grade math book. All answers for the Week 4 riddle are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, June 28th. Good Luck!

Week 3 Winner: Congratulations to Todd Johnston, who correctly answered the Riddling Dragon's question with "7" and scored a free deck of Dragon's Trove.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rob the Dragon's Trove, Week 3

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Two have now taken from the Riddling Dragon's hoard. Such disturbances might wake him, and his riddles grow more troubling as a result. Dragon's Trove—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release soon, and in anticipation we are showing off the set and giving you a chance to score a free deck of cards.

Each week, the Riddling Dragon will ask one question. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Dragon's Trove Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Answer incorrectly and your entry will be burned to a crisp. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Dragon's Trove Contest 3" in the subject line of the email.

This week, I promised we would take a look at the riches hiding in the dragon's hoard. There are a lot of cards in this set that look quite a bit more valuable than just simple magic items. When ordering these cards, we asked for a lot of them to "gem encrusted" and made from precious metals. To show off this wealthy set, take a look at the ring, scroll, lamp, and harp cards. Next week, we'll take a look at the cards that everyone has been waiting for.

Week 3 Riddle: What would a dark talon hunter need to roll in order to successfully save against Kerrdremak's burning hands spell?

Week 2 Winner: Congratulations to Franz Lunzer who correctly answered the Riddling Dragon's question with "Horses and Dogs" and scored a free deck of Dragon's Trove.

Here is a hint: The answer can be found in one of our blog posts. All answers for the Week 3 Riddle are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, June 21st. Good Luck!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Making the Most of Map Packs

Monday, June 11, 2007

We've been doing GameMastery Map Packs for a while now. They started out as a way for us to give you full-color, miniatures-scale maps that you could arrange and set up however you like. While they still fulfill that function, we're always looking for ways to improve upon them to give you more great maps.

The upcoming set Map Pack: Sewers is just one example of what we're trying to do. This set of eighteen 8" x 5" tiles (set to release later this month) is probably the most adaptable set of tiles to date. Using sewer corridors of various sizes, dead-ends, corners, and a host of other grime-filled passages, this set can be set up in dozens of different combinations. We made sure the artist, the incredibly talented Corey Macourek, gave us maps that not only set up some interesting chambers, but also allowed for as much flexibility as possible.

Just take a look at these sample tiles from the set, and prepare your group for a whole new (and honestly, rather disgusting) journey.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rob the Dragon's Trove, Week 2

Thursday, June 7, 2007

One brave adventurer has already stolen from the Riddling Dragon's hoard. Will you be next, or will his mighty fires burn you to a crisp? Dragon's Trove—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release soon, and in anticipation we're showing off the set and giving you a chance to score a free deck of cards.

Each week, the Riddling Dragon will ask one question. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Dragon's Trove Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Answer incorrectly and your entry will be burned to a crisp. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Dragon's Trove Contest 2" in the subject line of the email.

This week, I promised a look at some of the more "scaly" cards of the set, and by that I meant items with an obvious dragon theme. Take a gander at the dragonhide, fang dagger, scroll, and scepter cards. Each one of these scaly cards (and there are many more) is either made from dragons or sculpted to look like one. Next week, we'll see what riches hide in the slumbering wyrm's vast mound of loot.

Week 2 Riddle: What two animals are hated by all of goblinkind?

Week 1 Winner: Congratulations to Kevin Maschler who correctly answered the Riddling Dragon's question with "Merlokrep" and scored a free deck of Dragon's Trove.

Here's a hint: The answer to this week's riddle can be found in one of our blog posts. All answers for the Week 2 Riddle are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, June 14th. Good Luck!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Rob the Dragon's Trove, Week 1

Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Riddling Dragon is asleep and now is your chance to steal from his hoard! Dragon's Trove—the next set in the GameMastery Item Card line—is due to release soon, and in anticipation we're showing off the set and giving you a chance to score a free deck of cards.

Each week, the Riddling Dragon will ask one question. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Dragon's Trove Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Answer incorrectly and your entry will be burned to a crisp. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Dragon's Trove Contest" in the subject line of the email.

This week, we're starting the previews by showing off some of the great weapons featured in Dragon's Trove, including the bastardsword, falchion, morningstar, and pistol cards. We made sure to include a wide variety of cards in this set that have not appeared before in any of our other Item Card products, and these four are just a small sample. Next week, we'll take a look at some of the more "scaly" cards in the set.

Week 1 Riddle: Who is the "all-mighty Dragon King of the Truescale Kobolds"?

Here's a hint: The answer can be found in one of our blog posts. All answers for the Week 1 Riddle are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, June 7th. Good Luck!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Item Card Themes

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The GameMastery team recently got together to hash out the next theme for our Item Card product line. While tossing around thoughts of undead scrolls and elven bows, it occurred to me that it might be fun to talk about how we come up with themes for our future sets. First, a bit of history.

The very first item card set, Item Pack 1, was specifically designed to be a starter set, with a wide variety of items so GMs could use the cards right away (for those of you unfamiliar with them, Item Cards are generic treasure cards that you can hand out when the PCs find loot, with a blank space on the back for writing in what the item does). While that first set was a big success, we needed a means for GMs to get a few more potions, scrolls, and other disposable items without having to buy a whole new deck of cards. Hero's Hoard was born soon after as a set of booster packs. This set had more items in line with those presented in Item Pack 1, but came in a booster pack with a set assortment (2 potions, 2 weapons, 2 wondrous items, 1 armor, 1 wand, 1 scroll, 1 rod/staff/ring, and 1 foil card in every pack).

It was at this point that we decided to do a themed set. Item Pack 1 and Hero's Hoard covered all your basic items, so we wanted the next set to branch out in new directions. Relics of War was our first foray into this arena, with all of the cards in the set themed to either good or evil. While you can't exactly tell this with some of the cards, others in the set, such as the "demonhide" and one of the "longswords," further the theme nicely.

By this point in time, the fan base for Item Cards had really started to take off, and the one thing everyone clamored for was a set of cards for the items that characters might typically carry, such as rope, a backpack, or rations. This made choosing our next theme easy. Adventure Gear came out late last year to give characters all the thieves' tools, holy symbols, and lantern cards they could handle, with the nice bonus that many of the cards in this set work well as magic items to boot. By popular demand, this set moved back to the deck format.

When it came time to plot out the fifth set, the idea of doing themes became much more solidified. Dragon's Trove, a 110-card deck, pulls out all the stops, is packed full of all the golden baubles, lamps, crowns, and swords you might expect to find in the hoard of a great wyrm. The set also includes a number of items made from dragons, to round out the theme. As this set just went off to the printer, I thought I might give you a few sneak peaks (with more to come soon).

Fortunately for you, the work of the Item Card team never ends. Our next set is called Elements of Power and should be out later this summer—I'll bet you can guess what the theme might be. Look for some cards tied directly to Pathfinder and the GameMastery Modules in this 54-card deck set as well.

Beyond that, however, the set themes are still malleable. Got any ideas for a set you'd like to see? Post it to our forums.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Tales from the Crit

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Here at Paizo, we've been using our new GameMastery Critical Hit Deck in office games for a while, and while it's provided a number of awesome moments, I thought I'd take a minute to share a few anecdotes that stand out above the others in my mind.

Early in the process, Thursday-night GM and Paizo Publisher, Erik Mona, was running his campaign with most of the editorial staff in attendance. Up to this point, the deck had only been used by the players, but Erik—notoriously unafraid of killing off characters—decided to let every monster have a go at it as well, to our collective horror. My character, a gruff, magic-using dwarf fighter named Gar, tends to be a front-line fighter and caught the brunt of Erik's angry dice that night. After two critical hits to the face and neck, Gar was drained of 1 point of Charisma and nearly decapitated. I think this is the first time since the new edition of the game that I have had to redraw a character portrait based on in-game action.

The deck also saw some action with my weekly Monday-night game, running the Savage Tide Adventure Path. During a face-off against some rather angry bullywugs, Jufas Greenbottle, the halfling rogue in the group, managed to score a critical hit with his rapier. He drew "overreaction," causing the unfortunate monster to draw attacks of opportunity from all adjacent foes. The poor frogman was finished when Jufas scored a second critical hit, dealing triple damage after drawing "perfect strike." I think that group fell in love with the deck right then and there. I, personally, can't wait until they reach a big fight where I get to use the deck against them.

I've been using the deck in my Wednesday-night game as well, with some of the folks from Wizards of the Coast. Fortunately for my players, I generally don't allow the monsters to draw cards from the deck unless it is a boss-monster fight. In one particularly harrowing encounter, my group managed to crit a nasty half-ogre barbarian, but after drawing "spun around," the fighter only dealt normal damage, with the brute being flat-footed for one round. Suffice to say, some in the group were not very pleased with the result. The rogue was off fighting another foe and the only character engaging the half-ogre was badly hurt and hoping to drop him with that hit. As the round progressed and the players got to think about it a bit, the flat-footed status of the barbarian ended up being a great benefit. The fighter pulled a potion and drank it without provoking an attack and the rogue pulled away to sneak attack the barbarian with his bow, forcing him to flee. After that exchange, I realized one of the great things about the deck: it lets you play just a little differently and forces you to really think on your feet to get the most out of your critical hit.

All of which leads us to wonder what kind of havoc we're causing in other people's games. If you've had a run-in with the deck, post your own "Tales from the Crit" on our messageboards and let us know!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager