Back from the Future, Part 2

Friday, October 2, 2009

One of the big highlights of Gen Con Australia 2009 was the "What’s Next for Pathfinder?" seminar that took place Saturday afternoon. The Pathfinder players at the show were so excited for this seminar that they took a break from their Pathfinder Society games to attend. Not surprisingly, it was pretty packed.

Although much of what was covered during this seminar had already been announced, there were a few surprises in store, including the final two new base classes being planned for the Advanced Player’s Guide and a special surprise, a first look at one of the base classes from that book. At Gen Con Indy this year, we announced four of the six base classes slated to appear in the Advanced Player’s Guide: the alchemist, the cavalier, the oracle, and the summoner. During this seminar, the final two were revealed: the inquisitor and the witch.

The inquisitor class is going to look a lot like your Van Helsing-type character, dedicated to hunting down and killing monsters. This means that the class is going to have a fair number of skills and some limited divine spellcasting ability. In addition, the inquisitor is going to have the ability to designate a foe during combat, and the longer the combat progresses, the more damage he will deal to that foe in combat. Unlike a ranger, the inquisitor’s abilities are not based on monster type. Instead he has to carefully study his targets, learning how to more effectively deal with them as a combat progresses. Higher-level inquisitors will learn how to exploit monster weaknesses and possibly even add additional weaknesses to a monster using special attacks.

The witch class is going to be a class that fully embraces both the arcane and divine spell lists, taking select spells from each to make for one intriguing list. The big news for the witch is the focus on her familiar. This will function like a wizard’s familiar, but with additional powers and abilities, with maybe a few extra limitations thrown in to balance out the rules. You can also expect some new mechanics for witch curses, through some new spells and class features.

While the crowd was certainly excited to hear about these new classes, the room grew rather quiet as I handed out a sample oracle character for them to analyze. But rather than leave you out in the cold, here is that character, updated with the most recent version of the class.

Sample Oracle
This sample shows one of the first builds of the new oracle class. The relevant class abilities are summarized, but they do not include additional bonuses that Areanna would gain at higher levels. For example, at 9th level, Areanna’s form of flames ability improves, allowing her to assume the form of a Medium fire elemental.

Areanna
Female human oracle 7
CG Medium humanoid
Init +6; Senses Perception –1
Defense
AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16; (+5 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 49 (7d8+14)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +5
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee +1 flaming shortspear +7 (1d6+2 plus 1d6 fire)
Ranged dagger +7 (1d4+1/19–20)
Special Attacks fire breath (2/day, 7d4 fire damage, DC 17), form of flame (Small fire elemental)
Spells Known (CL 7th)
3rd (5/day)—cure serious wounds, dispel magic, fireball (DC 17)
2nd (7/day)—aid, augury, resist energy, summon monster II
1st (7/day)—bless, cure light wounds, divine favor, produce flame, remove fear, shield of faith
0 (At Will)—guidance, light, purify food and drink, read magic, resistance, stabilize, virtue
Focus fire
Statistics
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +5; CMB +6; CMD 18
Feats Combat Casting, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Nimble Moves, Toughness
Skills Acrobatics +12, Intimidate +14, Knowledge (religion) +10, Perform (dance) +14, Spellcraft +10
Languages Common, Ignan
SQ oracle’s curse (speak in tongues), orisons, revelations (cinder dance, fire breath, form of flame)
Combat Gear elemental gem (fire), elixir of fire breath, wand of cure light wounds; Other Gear +1 flaming shortspear, daggers (4), +2 studded leather armor, cloak of resistance +1, ring of protection +1
Special Abilities
Cinder Dance (Ex): Areanna’s base speed increases by 10 feet. At 5th level, she receives Nimble Moves as a bonus feat.
Fire Breath (Su): As a standard action, Areanna can unleash a 15-foot cone of flame from her mouth. This flame deals 1d4 points of fire damage per level, maximum 10d4. A Reflex save halves this damage. The save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 her oracle level + her Charisma modifier. She can use this ability once per day, plus one additional time per day for every four oracle levels she possesses.
Form of Flame (Su): As a standard action, Areanna can assume the form of a Small fire elemental, as elemental body I. She can use this ability once per day, but the duration is 1 hour/level.
Speak in Tongues: In times of stress, Areanna speaks in tongues. Whenever she is in combat, she can only speak and understand Ignan. This does not interfere with spellcasting, but it does apply to spells that are language dependent. She gains Ignan as a bonus language.

As you can see, oracles are spontaneous divine spellcasters, working in a manner similar to sorcerers. Instead of bloodlines, each oracle has a focus (fire in Areanna’s case). At 1st level, 3rd level, and every four levels thereafter, oracles can select one revelation from their focus to learn. These revelations grant them special powers and abilities, such as the ability to breathe fire, turn into a fire elemental, or even call down a storm of fire (Areanna is not quite high enough level for that one). In addition, oracles must select a curse at 1st level. These curses are a mixed blessing, with each one limiting the oracle in one way, while granting special bonuses in other areas. Areanna’s curse is perhaps one of the easiest to deal with, which is why it grants one of the smallest bonuses.

Well, that about wraps up my summary of Gen Con Australia 2009. I want to thank Ian Houlihan, the convention director, for bringing me down to the show, Mark Rogerson, the events manager, for showing me a great time in Brisbane, and Peter Ball, the seminar manager, for setting up some great panels. I am hoping to make this show a regular in my convention schedule. Maybe next year, you will too.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Back from the Future, Part 1

Thursday, October 1, 2009

After a lengthy, globe-trotting adventure, I am finally back and well rested from my journey to the future. I am here to tell you that Gen Con Australia 2009 was a big success! For those of you that missed it, I thought this would be a good time to recap my trip to Australia and the news from the con.

Flying to Australia is hard, even if you are not very tall. The plane ride from LA to Sydney alone took about 14 hours. Arriving in Brisbane (two days after I left thanks to the international date line), I was greeted by some of the friendly con staff and some truly terrific weather. I spent some time exploring the city, including a wonderful tour down the Brisbane River, but no trip to Brisbane would be complete without paying a visit to the Australia Zoo (of Steve Irwin fame). When we arrived, Mark, my incredibly helpful guide, explained that most of the animals inside were ready for their tryouts to get into Bestiary II. Let me tell you, the animals in Australia do not disappoint!

From Koala's to Kangaroos, the Australia zoo is a real "hands on" experience, allowing you to feed and get up close to all of the animals. Except for the large and hungry ones, such as their extensive crocodile exhibits. Lucky for us, we showed up in time to catch one of the crocodile feeding demonstrations. Yeah, I am beginning to think that CR 2 might be a bit underrated. We also got to take a good look at the Cassowary, one of the world's biggest and deadliest birds. Apparently, the claws on its toes can rip a man open with relative ease. Terror bird anyone?

After the zoo, it was time for the Gen Con Australia to get underway. There were thousands of folks at the show, playing board games, card games, miniature games, and many RPGs. The Pathfinder RPG fans were there in force, playing a lot of Pathfinder Society games thanks to the tireless efforts of Stephen White (DarkWhite to those that lurk on the boards), who organized and ran more tables than any sane man should. Much of my time was spent talking to fans, participating in a host of seminars, and signing books (I may have signed over 50% of the Core Rulebooks on the continent).

Of course, the big seminar that everyone was waiting for was the "What's Next For Pathfinder?", where I spilled the beans on the final two classes to appear in the Advanced Player's Guide, set to release next August. But that was not all. I had another surprise in store for the attendees—a first look at one of the new classes. Tune in tomorrow for all the juicy details!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Second Day Non Sequitur

Monday, September 21, 2009

Jason Bulmahn here with another update from the FUTURE! By the time you read this, Gen Con OZ will nearly be over, but it's not too late to learn the lessons of TOMORROW! That lesson is: the people of Australia love the Pathfinder RPG.

But that's not all, in this distant future time, the people are very excited to learn more about the Advanced Player's Guide and all 6 of its wonderful new base classes. One day (probably as soon as this afternoon's seminar takes place), you too might enjoy their splendor.

A word of warning from the future. Although we live in a time of wonder, where the impossible is real, it does have one drawback—giant horror spiders! (Thanks to the Brisbane Museum for the terror.)

By the way, although it has not happened yet, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to all the Daves of the world. No one could have predicted that the aliens would have responded that way.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer from the FUTURE

This Just In, From the Future!

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Hello Pastlings, Jason Bulmahn here, from the FUTURE. That's right, while you are living in yesterday, I am in tomorrow. By the time you read this, the first full day of Gen Con Australia will be over.

Here is a view from the future, where anything is possible, such as this exciting Paizo booth. Such a glorious pile of fabulous products would not be available in your time. If you too live in the FUTURE, and are planning to stop by Gen Con OZ, make sure to stop by and experience the Splendor of Tomorrow!

Btw, tonights lotto numbers are 4-15-26-32-35-44. Enjoy your millions.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer in the FUTURE

Cosplay Contest Part Deux: Choose Your Champion!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Another Gen Con has come and gone, and as all the editors crawl out from where we've been hiding in fetal positions beneath our desks, recovering from the exhaustion and excitement, we're forced to conclude that this was the best convention yet. The release of the Core Rulebook was a rousing success, the ENnies were kind, the community was more welcoming than ever, and our favorite industry professionals were just as zany and fun as last year. Yet all that in no way lessened the excitement of...

PATHFINDER COSPLAY!

Despite the relatively late warning (next year's contestants: consider this your starting gun), we doubled our Pathfinder cosplay turnout this year. That's right: two intrepid individuals spent portions of their con wandering around in full Pathfinder regalia, forever winning our hearts (and potentially $50 dollars in store credit). This year's contestants were Tiffany as a cleric of Desna (whose same costume last year inspired the contest, and hence is allowed to compete this year as well—unfortunately, only last year's photo is available) and new challenger Kelly, who wowed us all with his incredible rendition of a Pactmaster of Katapesh.

Tiffany as Cleric of Desna	Kelly as Pactmaster of Katapesh

Which costume is the best, and most deserving of reward? It's a tough question, but it's up to you to decide. If you want to weigh in on the matter, or just congratulate them both on their amazing costumes, head over to the Pathfinder Cosplay Contest thread on our messageboards and make your voice heard. Votes will be collected for roughly 48 hours, at which point we'll announce the winner here on the blog. So what are you waiting for? Let the voting begin!

James Sutter
Editor

Campaign Setting

Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 04:15 PM Pacific

Hmm. Looks like this post from the ENnie awards got jammed in the intertubes.

Jason and Erik go Gold for Best Campaign Setting for Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

While We Were Gone

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

While some of us were back in blissful Seattle sipping ice tea and lounging on the beaches and others of us were still trekking back from Gen Con—drunk on our own sleep deprivation and tears—Ashton Sperry, paper minis mogul and N’wah from the boards, decided to drop by. While most of us missed him, he certainly left his mark. Here are just a few of the scribbles that followed in Ashton's wake. Sorry we missed you man, but thanks for the post-its! It really made getting back to the old grindstones all the more bearable!

For everyone else! Expect more reports from Gen Con starting bright and early tomorrow morning! It was great to see a ton of you at the show and, as always, we had a fantastic time. For folks who couldn't make it, though, tune in to the blog and messageboards for what you missed!

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Victory dinner

Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 06:19 PM Pacific

The Paizo staff is having our annual end of GenCon dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse. Ummmmm...meat...ummmmm.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Deconstruction

Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 02:52 PM Pacific

The lights have been dimmed, and the air conditioning has been turned off. This is where the fun ends.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Pathfinder 101

Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 07:51 AM Pacific

The Reaper sculptors swung by the booth to get a crash course on the Pathfinder product line. Have I mentioned how excited we all are?

Lisa Stevens
CEO

All of the following is true.

Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 07:32 AM Pacific

This is Elena, with her autographed core rulebook. She's studying for her Ph.D in genetics. She's a Pathfinder Society player.

You should be a Pathfinder Society player too.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

The Father of Open Gaming

Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 03:05 PM Pacific

Ryan Dancey stopped by to pick up his copy of the Pathfinder RPG. Without his championing of the Open Game License, this book and indeed Paizo would not have been possible.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Can you believe they're married?

Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 10:10 AM Pacific

Cheliax wife, Andoran husband. Can it get more perfect?

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

New Taldor Recruit

Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 09:32 AM Pacific

8 years old and he's already a loyal Taldan power-attacking and cleaving his way to glory.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Pathfinder: The Next Generation

Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 07:19 AM Pacific

This is Katie and her brand new Pathfinder RPG rulebook, signed by Jason and myself. She's excited to read the new rules and roll up a new character. Welcome Katie!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Bat in the hotel!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 07:50 PM Pacific

Tim Hitchcock yelling at a bell man with a bird net chasing a bat flying around the hotel, "Dont hurt him!! He's my roommate and he's LARPing!!!"

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

The Big One!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 06:38 PM Pacific

Lisa takes silver for Fan's Choice--Best Publisher! Wizards takes the Gold.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Product of the Year

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 06:33 PM Pacific

Gold goes to 4E PH!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Best Game

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 06:30 PM Pacific

4E takes Best Game against some strong, strong competition!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Monsters

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 06:16 PM Pacific

4E MM takes Best Monster/Adversary. PFRPG Bestiary next year, I hope!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Adventures!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 06:11 PM Pacific

Erik & James take gold for Best Adventure for Pathfinder 19!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Flipping Out!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 06:03 PM Pacific

Flip-Mat Waterfront Tavern takes the gold for Best Minis Product!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Best Rules

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 05:36 PM Pacific

The 4E PH takes Best Rules. Hopefully we'll be there next year!

By the way, some have wondered why the Beta wasn't nominated for anything. Simple answer--we didn't submit it!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Kobolds!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 05:16 PM Pacific

KQ takes the gold for Best Writing!

Where's Wolf?

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Maps!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 05:11 PM Pacific

Wes accepts the Gold for Best Cartography for the Second Darkness Map Folio.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Cover Art

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 05:03 PM Pacific

We just won the silver for Best Cover Art for Howl of the Carrion King.

Sorry my camera is misbehaving.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Standing Up

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 04:58 PM Pacific

Dave Arneson just got a standing ovation, and Kobold Quarterly won silver for Best Website.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Dreamy!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 04:32 PM Pacific

Erik Mona and Jason Bulmahn flank Paizo's ENnie Dream Date winner, Paul Rees.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Waiting for the ENnies

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 04:30 PM Pacific

The ENnie awards are about to begin!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Amiri!

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 08:56 AM Pacific

The mini love keeps coming! Here is the painted mini for Amiri, whomi play in Jason's campaign. Awesome!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Amazing Maps

Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 05:30 AM Pacific

One of my most prolific Pathfinder Society GMs, Doug (pictured left in the white shirt), impresses me at every show with his hand-drawn maps on giant graph paper. Even more jaw-dropping for me is when I come to observe one of his tables and see his version of a map I just drew (and submitted to map god Mike Schley) a few months ago. It's a level of surreal that, even after 5 years of RPG design, I still get a kick out of seeing.

Thanks to all of my GMs for their hard work and thanks to all Pathfinder RPG GMs. You guys are hardcore and we dig it.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Action Valeros!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 09:46 PM Pacific

I stopped by and chatted with Bobby Jackson, Reaper sculptor extraordinaire. Here is his Valeros sculpt as it is nearing completion! If it isn't 100% obvious, this is Valeros from the cover of the Core Rulebook. Sweet!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Chocolate covered bacon

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 05:49 PM Pacific

Fleece66 from the boards just fed me chocolate-covered bacon. Mmmmmmmmmm tasty.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

At the Werecabbages dinner

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 05:26 PM Pacific

Wes, James, Sean, and Sarah at the Werecabbages dinner.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Fresh Pile

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 04:00 PM Pacific

Fresh pile o' books waiting for tomorrow's crowd.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Pathfinder Society off to a good start

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 03:54 PM Pacific

62 tables launched in the first 2 slots.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Paizo Delve Action

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 12:04 PM Pacific

Wes running the delve.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Where did they go?

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 11:52 AM Pacific

Pile o' books getting smaller and smaller.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Lunch

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 09:18 AM Pacific

At lunch. Spine broken. Mango tea best thing ever. Hope site not broken yet.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

The line from hell!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 08:46 AM Pacific

The line is starting to wind down to reasonableness. But this morning was chaos! I was trying to keep to the back of the line and it grew faster than I could walk. It stretched twice around the booth, past the art show and towards the bathrooms. Wow! I must have signed 300 autographs today. :)

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Almost There

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 06:55 AM Pacific

This is what the crowd looks like waiting to get into the dealer hall. I suspect that many of them will be heading our way. 5 minutes to release.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

My precious!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 06:46 AM Pacific

Lisa Stevens
CEO

The first Reaper green!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 06:44 AM Pacific

Here is a green of the first Reaper mini. It is Arael from the cover of Bastards of Erebus. Sweet!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Chris Pramas buys his Pathfinders!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 06:36 AM Pacific

Lisa Stevens
CEO

It's official! We have grognards!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 06:16 AM Pacific

Lisa Stevens
CEO

It has begun!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 06:15 AM Pacific

The line forms!

Lisa Stevens
CEO

A mountain of goodness!

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 05:41 AM Pacific

We just unveiled the mountain of RPG books. This will be the last time it looks so pretty! Calm before the storm.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Proud papa

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 05:22 AM Pacific

Jason introduces the RPG to Pathfinder Society Organized Play members.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

It begins...

Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 04:31 AM Pacific

Here's a tiny part of the line that's formed outside the convention center.

VIGs (folks who paid Gen Con extra for a Very Important Gamer package) get in in 90 minutes, with general admission an hour later.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

The Edition Wars Are Over!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 10:07 PM Pacific

From where I sit, it's August 13, the official release date of the Pathfinder RPG. And as a co-owner of Paizo Publishing and someone with a significant role in what some refer to as "the edition wars," I have an announcement to make:

The Edition Wars are over, and we have all won.

You like 4th Edition? Great--Wizards of the Coast has some fun stuff coming out for you, and there are quite a few third parties expanding the scope of the 4E world too.

You like 3.5, but want to see it evolve? We've got you covered with the Pathfinder RPG, and more companies are coming on board to support that all the time.

You like 3rd Edition and want to keep playing it as it is? Congratulations--you can. And since the Pathfinder RPG was designed with compatibility in mind, you'll be seeing a lot of new stuff coming out that you can easily use with your game.

You like more than one of the above, or perhaps something completely different? That's fine, too.

So let's put an end to the talk about why the games you're not playing are lacking, and keep the focus on why the games you are playing are keeping your attention.

This town *is* big enough for the both of us.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Shiny!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 07:56 PM Pacific

Lilith, Lisa Stevens, and Daigle at the contribtors party, with Lilith's Core Rulebook.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

He missed PAIZOCON!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 07:53 PM Pacific

Nick Logue sees the fan-made Wayfinder for the first time.

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Un-putdownable!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 07:47 PM Pacific

They just can't stop looking at the Core Rulebook!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

The secret of our success

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 07:34 PM Pacific

A big part of why our products look so good: cover artist Wayne Reynolds and art director Sarah Robinson.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Wayne Reynolds and the Hardcover

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 05:57 PM Pacific

'nuff said.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Hint: it's not a "beastiary"

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 05:50 PM Pacific

Hmm. What's that we're showing off at the party?

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Party!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 05:49 PM Pacific

Party oooooover heeeeeere!! Gen Con GMs, Paizo staff, and contributors gather for food, fun, and a Bestiary preview.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

We have a lot of contributors!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 05:47 PM Pacific

A shot from the super-secret Paizo contributor party.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

The Opposite of Grim

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 05:34 PM Pacific

So we've announced our new partnership with Reaper for new Pathfinder miniatures!

They're excited, we're excited...

And I hear they have something nice to show off at the show. We'll try to get you pictures in the next day or so.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

The New MECCA

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 05:23 PM Pacific

The Indianapolis Convention Center, home of Gen Con, as seen from our hotel room.

I first came to Gen Con with WotC in 1993, the year we released Magic: The Gathering on a mostly unsuspecting audience. Back then, it was at the MECCA convention center in Milwaukee.

The feeling I get about tomorrow's Pathfinder RPG launch reminds me a lot of how we felt at Wizards before Magic came out.

Good times!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Indiana Jonesin'

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 04:31 PM Pacific

Welcome to Indianapolis. For the next four days, this is the gaming capital of the world.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Denver? I hardly know 'er!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 1:47 PM Pacific

After a brief layover in Denver, we're off to Indy to join up with the rest of the crew. I'm sure they're having lots of fun setting up the booth!

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Silly Tired

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 1:44 PM Pacific

The booth is done, a billion books are ready, and I'm that silly tired that comes from two long hot fun days of setup. Very excited to kick this thing off tomorrow. Oh, quick note: the RPG pile o' books itself is larger than most booths here. :-)

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Almost Here!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 12:37 PM Pacific

A strange black craft has descended upon the Paizo booth. I wonder what it could be?

Find out tomorrow morning.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Goin' to Gen Con!

Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 10:36 AM Pacific

Welcome to our near-live Gen Con blog! These are being sent from our iPhones and other tiny, tiny devices, and not going through the usual editing process, so you might see a few more typos than normal. Here's the plane that's taking Lisa and me to Gen Con... or at least to Denver.

Vic Wertz
Technical Director

Pathfinder Swag!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It's already starting to feel like a ghost town here at Paizo headquarters as the majority of the staff packs up and heads off for Gen Con Indy. With the debut of the Pathfinder RPG, we're totally excited, but also expecting the convention to be four days of absolute madness. So what are we doing? Oh, we're adding fuel to that fire, of course! There's already going to be tons of opportunities to get Paizo swag just by stopping by our booth, but in addition to the Pathfinder RPG, the annual Paizo delve, tons of Pathfinder Society Events, and way more, we're adding buttons! That's right, special, collectible Gen Con '09 Pathfinder Buttons. For as long as they last on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we'll be giving away a different button, allowing you to show your love for the grim gray maidens, those madcap goblins, or the lovely Seoni. So hurry on over to the Paizo Booth (#2312) every day to pick up the whole set!

And that's it! We're off. We'll see you all at Gen Con Indy!

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

Pathfinder Costume Contest at Gen Con!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Here at Paizo, we have many different levels of experience with cosplay, from Art Director Sarah Robinson's complete disdain for anything other than the latest trendy fashions (seriously, the woman has every purse in the western hemisphere) to Jason Bulmahn's days playing a lumbering oaf at midwestern renaissance fairs (how little things change!), to Wes Schneider who may, in fact, be a Pokémon. But the one thing we all have in common is that we love the idea of people dressing up as Pathfinder characters.

We never thought such things were possible until we met Tiffany, a real-life cleric of Desna, at last year's Gen Con, and thanks to her we're now convinced that anything is possible. Which is why I'm filled with glee to announce the First Annual Pathfinder Gen Con Cosplay Contest!

Here's the deal: At some point during Gen Con, you show up to the Paizo booth dressed in your best Pathfinder costume (faction shirts and other official Paizo merch don't count). We should stress that we're looking for monsters and characters with obvious ties to our world itself, not generic cosplayers (that wizard hat could be from anywhere), or people dressed up like actual Pathfinder books (very clever) or members of the Pathfinder staff (the world already has one James Jacobs, and one is enough for everybody). In addition to drawing a crowd of happy Paizoites, the contestants will have their pictures taken. Those folks with the best costumes, as decided by us, will end up on the Paizo blog once we return from Gen Con, at which point we'll allow the posters on our messageboards to pick their favorite. What criteria that mad and merry crew will use is anybody's guess—creativity? recognizability? skin-to-clothing ratio?—but whoever they select as the best Pathfinder cosplayer will walk away with fifty dollars in store credit!

So what are you waiting for? Get out that sewing machine and hot glue gun, send your party members on a run for foam rubber and acrylics, and show us what you're made of!

James Sutter
Editor

ENnies 2009 Dream Date Auction

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Do you like awards shows?
Do you like sitting with Paizo Publishing at awards shows?
Do you like sitting with Paizo Publishing at awards shows and walking away with a pile of loot, such as a signed copy of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, a copy of Pathfinder #19, a Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, a GameMastery Flip Mat, and a copy of the Gary Gygax novel, Infernal Sorceress?

If you answered yes to these questions, than the 2009 ENnies Awards Dream Date Auction is for you. This is your chance to sit with Paizo during the ceremony and to support the event at the same time! At the event, we will regale you with tales of daring stat block formatting, stories of narrowly missed printing dates, and the bone-chilling saga of stair rules that were nearly forgotten. In other words, we are going to have a good time and you get to join in on the fun!

Help us earn bragging rights by having the largest auction ever. Bid today!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Paizo's Gen Con 2009 Events Schedule

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Good morning!

In celebration of the launch of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook at Gen Con 2009, Paizo is offering a large assortment of events for players young and old, veterans and noobies, casual and grognard alike. In addition to an assortment of seminars, Paizo's premier organized play system, Pathfinder Society, will have four scenarios for 1st-level characters (with 2 additional scenarios for higher-level experienced players) available for play throughout the show from 8 A.M. on Thursday through 5 P.M. on Sunday. Slots start at 8 A.M., 1 P.M., and 6 P.M. and run for four hours. Look for such titles as The Decline of Glory, Tide of Morning, The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats, The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker, Sniper in the Deep, and Drow of the Darklands Pyramid to further explore the Pathfinder RPG rules and the Pathfinder Society Organized Play experience. On Friday and Saturday night, Paizo will also offer an interactive event for all levels of Pathfinder Society entitled Betrayal in Absalom that turns Indianapolis into an interactive City at the Center of the World for players to run an RP and combat-laden scavenger hunt. Prizes will be awarded to the winning teams each night. Lastly, every day of the show during dealer hall hours, Paizo Publishing will run a delve at their booth that's designed to be a meat grinder event that quickly shows off the PRPG rules set as well as handing out prizes to those lucky enough to survive. For those of you who just want to play and aren't interested in the Pathfinder Society, there will be pre-generated characters available for every slot of Pathfinder Society events with the exception of the interactive—the interactives both require you to have a character for Pathfinder Society ready to go.

For those of you signed up for Gen Con and ready to go, a summary of events is listed below including links to each event's sign-up page. You must be logged in to the Gen Con website for the links to work. We've also included a running total (frequently updated in this thread) of how many tickets remain for each event and slot. Online ticket sales for Gen Con 2009 end on June 27, 2009. So don't delay in reserving your spot for one or more of Paizo's Gen Con events!

Here are the events:

SEM0904095 PFS: PRPG Conversion & Creation Q&A 8/13/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $0 Tickets Remaining: 160 RPG0904098 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/13/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 63 RPG0904122 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/13/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 32 RPG0904136 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/13/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT SEM0904079 Writing for Paizo 8/13/09 5:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 34 RPG0904101 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 44 RPG0904110 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 10 RPG0904131 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 24 RPG0904149 #23 Tide of Morning 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904102 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 31 RPG0904111 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 55 RPG0904124 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904137 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 1 RPG0904103 #29 The Devil We Know Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/14/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 52

RPG0904112 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/14/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 47 RPG0904132 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/14/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904154 #23 Tide of Morning 8/14/2009 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT SEM0904081 Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Path Q&A 8/14/09 5:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 78 RPG0904104 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/14/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 59 RPG0904113 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/14/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 44 RPG0904178 Betrayal in Absalom: A Pathfinder Society Event (Version 1) 8/14/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $8.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904105 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 60 RPG0904114 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 61 RPG0904125 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 9 RPG0904138 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 9 RPG0904106 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 31 RPG0904115 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 62 RPG0904133 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 1

RPG0904173 #23 Tide of Morning 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 11 SEM0904080 Thrilling Adventures on Other Worlds: Paizo's Planet Stories Line 8/15/09 3:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 49 SEM0904087 Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Q&A 8/15/09 05:00:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 151 RPG0904107 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/15/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 71 RPG0904116 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/15/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 35 RPG0904179 Betrayal in Absalom: A Pathfinder Society Event (Version 2) 8/15/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $8.00 Tickets Remaining: 15 RPG0904108 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 54 RPG0904117 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 67 RPG0904129 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 18 RPG0904140 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 18 RPG0904109 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 66 RPG0904119 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 37 PG0904134 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 16 RPG0904174 #23 Tide of Morning 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 11

We also still need volunteers for Gen Con! Please read this thread for details. Thanks!

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Official Call for Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2009 Volunteer GMs and Assistants!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Hello!

This is the official call for volunteer GMs and assistants to help Paizo Publishing run events at Gen Con 2009. (If you're looking for the Origins volunteer thread, click here.) In order to be sure that Gen Con 2009 is the best possible play experience, I need a minimum of 42 volunteers (54 volunteers total on Friday and Saturday night) with no maximum—I'll keep taking volunteers until the slots are filled! Below you will find the reward structure for volunteering as well as the events and slots for which I need volunteers. This year, I'm also creating a new "Volunteer Assistant" position for the show—these two folks will aid me in all manner of things and will be my right and left hand man/woman throughout the entire show. They will be rewarded handsomely for their time. Speaking of our rewards, we've DOUBLED the voucher amounts you get for volunteering this year and increased the number of hotel rooms available for Tier 1 volunteers. By doing this, I hope to see even more people working for us at Gen Con.

Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell everyone in your game group! We need volunteers!

One last thing to keep in mind: you're volunteering for a slot, not a specific event. I'll assign people to events inside the slot they've volunteered for and won't take requests.

Volunteer Tiers and Rewards

Volunteer Assistant
The volunteer assistants will work closely with me every day of the show from 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. to help muster slots, gather tickets, answer questions, and run HQ. The volunteer assistants may also be used as gophers, lunch-gatherers, or errand-runners. Reliable, punctual, and guaranteed-to-be-at-the-show applicants ONLY please. This position is limited to two volunteers and will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis, though I reserve the right to select volunteers I've worked with in the past (i.e., at Gen Con 2008 or Gen Con UK 2008). Volunteer assistants will only be used as GMs to cover GMs that are MIA. Volunteer assistants receive:

A FREE 4-day badge
A FREE 1/4 of a hotel room
A $150 voucher for the Paizo booth (to be used in the Paizo booth on Sunday only)
A FREE black & white photocopied version of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook before the show after signing an NDA
A FREE autographed copy of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook hardcover at Gen Con Wednesday evening
A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2009 T-Shirt

Tier 1 GM Volunteers
Tier 1 GM volunteers are my workhorse, every day GMs. They are invaluable to making the show a success! Tier 1 GMs must select and volunteer for a MINIMUM of 8 slots. Tier 1 GMs may feel free to volunteer for more than 8 slots if they so desire. I only have room for 18 Tier 1 GM volunteers so don't delay in volunteering for this tier. Volunteers will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis, though I reserve the right to select volunteers who have previously worked for Paizo over new volunteers. Tier 1 GMs receive:

A FREE 4-day badge
A FREE 1/4 of a hotel room
A $10 per slot voucher for the Paizo booth (to be used in the Paizo booth on Sunday only)
A FREE black & white photocopied version of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook before the show after signing an NDA
A FREE autographed copy of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook hardcover at Gen Con Wednesday evening
A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2009 T-Shirt

Tier 2 GM Volunteers
While the rewards for volunteering for this tier are smaller, the majority of my volunteers will come from Tier 2. Tier 2 GMs must volunteer for a MINIMUM of 4 slots. Tier 2 GMs receive:

A FREE 4-day badge
A $10 per slot voucher for the Paizo booth (to be used in the Paizo booth on Sunday only)
A FREE black & white photocopied version of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook before the show after signing an NDA
A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2009 T-Shirt

Tier 3 GM Volunteers
This is the minimum volunteer level. Tier 3 GMs must volunteer for a MINIMUM of 2 slots. Tier 3 GMs receive:

A $10 per slot voucher for the Paizo booth (to be used in the Paizo booth on Sunday only)
A FREE black & white photocopied version of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook before the show after signing an NDA
A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2009 T-Shirt

Volunteering for One Slot
While we will gladly accept anyone who wants to run just one slot during the show, there are no rewards for doing so other than our thanks.

Events by Slot
When volunteering, please be specific about what slot you are volunteering for. I will assign folks to scenarios on an as-needed basis, so you really only need to tell me the slot(s) you're volunteering for (since I won't take requests). I will update the needs in the Gen Con volunteer thread on the Pathfinder Society messageboards as I receive volunteers, so you may refer to that thread in order to remain up to date on where we still need help.

Slot 1: Thursday 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 2: Thursday 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 3: Thursday 6 P.M. to 10 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 4: Friday 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 5: Friday 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 6: Friday 6 P.M. to 10 P.M.
Need: 54 volunteers

Slot 7: Saturday 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 8: Saturday 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 9: Saturday 6 P.M. to 10 P.M.
Need: 54 volunteers

Slot 10: Sunday 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Slot 11: Sunday 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Need: 42 volunteers

Thanks in advance for volunteering, good luck, and have a great Gen Con 2009!

All volunteers can email me: josh@paizo.com with the subject line Gen Con Volunteer.

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Presenting the Gen Con 2009 Scenarios!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I've spent a huge portion of this week thinking about and planning for Gen Con 2009. As most of you know, we're launching the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game at Gen Con, which means we're also kicking off Season 1 of Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The first slot of the show, Thursday morning, will be a character creation/conversion seminar with Paizo employees and volunteer GMs who have all seen the rules ahead of time and will be available to answer questions and help you either build a new character or follow our soon-to-be-released conversion guidelines for Season 1. We'll cut everyone loose before the dealer hall opens so they can hop in what will assuredly be a long line for the RPG hardcover itself and then let everyone flow back to the Org Play area to finish their characters alongside their shiny new (possibly autographed) Pathfinder Roleplaying Game books.

The real fun kicks off Thursday afternoon when we launch Season 1 of Pathfinder Society Organized Play! We have four outstanding scenarios written by four outstanding scenario authors (if I do say so myself) who will all be in attendance at Gen Con and will likely GM their own scenarios once or twice as surprise GMs throughout the show. Tim Hitchcock and the Werecabbages are brewing a brilliant Friday and Saturday night interactive event for the Pathfinder Society that I cannot reveal the details about yet as the lycanthropic vegetable club would stake me and eat my brains for doing so. Rest assured, when Tim pitched me the idea, I ran screaming through the office declaring it the best idea since horseshoes.

Here are some quick summaries of the four scenarios we'll be running at Gen Con 2009:

Pathfinder Society Scenario 29:
The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats (Tiers 1–7) by Joshua J. Frost
When simultaneous kidnappings of Pathfinder and Aspis Consortium agents rock Cassomir's imperial shipyards, the Society orders you to join forces with hated Aspis agents to solve the mystery. Can you work together with the enemies of the Society to uncover the source of the kidnappings, or will you perish in the shipyards of Cassomir? Written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Pathfinder Society Scenario 30:
The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker (Tiers 1–7) by Joshua J. Frost
The Pathfinder Society dispatches you into the catacombs beneath the shipyards known as Cassomir's Locker to uncover the source of a shamanistic rat cult that's breeding monstrous vermin never before seen on Golarion. After thwarting a double-cross and delving into the dirty dungeons below, will you find the artifact that powers Cassomir's Locker in time or will you bring about the destruction of Taldor's most important port? Written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Pathfinder Society Scenario 31:
Sniper in the Deep (Tiers 5–9) by David Eitelbach & Hank Woon
When rumors stir of a hidden treasure ship in Absalom's Flotsam Graveyard, the Pathfinder Society sends you beneath the Inner Sea to investigate. Mayhem, undersea adventure, and chaos are to be had in this rousing rampage beneath the roiling waters of Absalom's harbor. Written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Pathfinder Society Scenario 32:
Drow of the Darklands Pyramid (Tiers 7–11) by Sean K Reynolds
A rogue band of drow are plaguing the artifact shipping lanes of Osirion and the Pathfinder Society has sent you to stop them. When the drow capture an entire caravan laden with Society relics, the Decemvirate orders you into the Darklands to track down the drow and their stolen cargo. You'll travel beneath Golarion, fighting through caverns of hideous creatures to reach the fabled Darklands Pyramid—will your survive the journey, or become a slave forever? Written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Lastly, I want to congratulate the selectees for the final 3.5 Pathfinder Society Organized Play Open Call: Elizabeth Leib and James MacKenzie! They're writing #28 Lyrics of Extinction and #27 Our Lady of Silver respectively. Congratulations!

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Gen Con Ephemera!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Someone made the terrible mistake of giving James and I cameras, a lapse in judgment we heartily exploited over the past week at Gen Con. While many of the images we captured proved too terrible to inflict upon you gentle souls, here are a few quick highlights we snapped from the showroom floor. Special thanks to all the Paizo volunteers, everyone from the message boards we ran into (you guys are awesome!), all who voted in the ENnies, Tiffany, Boomer, and um... Sheila (sorry we forgot your name; blasted cloak of invisibility).

F. Wesley Schneider
Pathfinder Managing Editor

Gen Con and the Pathfinder Society

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Gen Con was a great success! We saw nearly 400 characters made for Pathfinder Society and handed out 600 registration cards for new players and Game Masters. Our fine volunteers rocked the Pathfinder Society room in ICC 101-102 and all of the players were enthusiastic, excited, and fun. The room was filled with laughter, chaos, and the roar of critical successes. Nick and I had a good time and everyone's positive and negative feedback was heard, written down, and (in many cases) will be incorporated in the next version of the guide. Season 0 is our playtest season—we're happy folks are helping us test it.

We learned a few lessons at Gen Con, both from the organization standpoint and from the standpoint of GMs and players. We know a little more about how to organize the event, how many tickets to sell for each slot, and how many GMs to gather to run it smoothly. We learned that a bull horn (thank you, Lou) is the most valuable asset of the room and we learned that people really DO want to sport the colors of their faction and wear their shirts with pride (and free re-rolls).

Thanks everyone who was there for making it a great success. We'll see you next year. Until then, found your local chapter of the Pathfinder Society and hook another bunch of recruits into becoming Pathfinders. We know they'll love it.

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

Gen Con 2008 Day 4 Report

Monday, August 18, 2008

As Gen Con comes to a close, we look back on what we've accomplished here this week and we couldn't be more happy. This week represents to us how strong our community is, how much they support us, and how unbelievably willing they are to sacrifice their time, their sleep, and their sanity to insure that our company is successful.

I want to say thank you, personally and publicly, to our GMs here at Gen Con:

Chris, Christopher C., Christopher S., Clinton, Coridan, Craig, Dan R., Daniel M., Dave, Erik, Geoffrey, Greg A. V., Greg V., Heather, James, Jared, Jeremy, Joe B., Joe R., John, Liz, Lou, Mark, Marshall, Mat, Matthew, Michael K., Michael M., Michael W., Neil, Philippe-Antoine, Randy, Rob, Ron J., Ron L., Russ, Shane, Stefan, Steven, Tim C., Tim H., and Will

And to our demo team:

Bill, Carie, Hunter, Neil, and Scott

Thanks everyone!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

Gen Con 2008 Day 3 Report

Sunday, August 17, 2008

I'm tired. Let's do pictures!

Brian Lewis, Christian Doyle, and Scott C. Brown from The Gamers: Dorkness Rising.	SOLD OUT!
Juxtaposition.	Paizo won EIGHT ENnies Awards—7 golds, and 1 silver. Best Publisher (Gold) is the one we are most proud of and you, our community, made that happen. Thank you. These are all of last night's ENnie Award winners.
Victory!	Daigle at Ascension of the Drow.
Lou Agresta does horrible, vile things to the participants of Ascension of the Drow.	Clinton J. Boomer—exile, rogue, sycophant. (And a cool dude!)
Ed Greenwood, Michael A. Stackpole, Paul S. Kemp, and James Lowder signing Worlds of their Own.

See you tomorrow!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

Gen Con 2008 Day 2 Report

Saturday, August 16, 2008

We did it: We sold out of our entire weekend's worth of stock of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta Release in less than two days. Less than one day plus one hour, really. Ok, so less than 9 hours total. That's a lot o' copies.

We're also mowing through The Gamers: Dorkness Rising DVDs so fast that we had to have another very, very, very large quantity overnighted to us here at the show—a quantity that ends in three zeros.

At opening today we had only four copies of the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting hardcover remaining; they sold out quickly.

Now that's I'm done showering you with OUR accolades and successes, let me show you YOUR successes:

Shot 1 of the Pathfinder Society Organized Play room on Friday afternoon looking from the main entrance. What you see there is a completely sold out slot—two full scenarios, 12 GMs each, 6 players per GM. I'd like to swear here in excited glee, but I'll keep it PG and say, "RAD!!!"

Shot 2 of the same room, same time, from the other entrance. The GMs that are standing are: Michael Kortes (in white and red, front), Knight Errant JR from the Paizo boards (in white t-shirt, middle), clight101 from the Paizo boards (just over JR's shoulder, in grey), SheKaKa67 from the Paizo boards (black hat, top left), Lilith from the boards (back right corner, green shirt), and Greg Vaughan (far right, green and white striped shirt). There are many GMs in this picture from the boards—these are the ones I can pick out of the picture.

Our community is awesome, and without our community's awesomeness, we wouldn't be around. That's YOUR success, community—being our support and our rock at shows like Gen Con (and stores, homes, and cons beyond).

Keep spreading the word.

My hat's off to you.

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

Gen Con 2008 Day 1 Report

Friday, August 15, 2008

Nearly sold out of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta. STOP. Line at the booth stretches to Miami. STOP. Rabid gamers seen occupying every seat in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play room. STOP. Nick Logue taken over by zombie urges. STOP.

Hey, here's some pictures!

The entrance to the Pathfinder Society Organized Play cavern.	Paizo Contributor Michael Kortes takes a much needed drink between rounds of intense Pathfinder combat during Silent Tide.
Nick Logue, taken over by zombie urges.	Silent Tide and The Hydra's Fang Incident off to a good start at 8:00 A.M.
The Paizo booth.	James Jacobs, James Sutter, F. Wesley Schneider
Jason Bulmahn and his brand new baby book.	Paizo's awesome undead-horde-crushes-your-town (Falcon's Hollow) delve.

See you tomorrow!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

It has begun!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Or, at least, it will almost have begun when some of you start reading this. It had not begun as of me writing it, but Gen Con starts today and the Paizo crew couldn't be more excited. For two days, we've been delicately crafting our booth out of aged cheddar while letting the succulent roast beef floor stew in its own juices. The racks, carefully constructed from licorice and gum drops, sit majestically beneath our towering and quite delicious pecan sign.

Yes, you can say Gen Con is tasty. And we can't wait for the feast to begin. We're serving Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta and Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, a new Flip-Mat, Flip-Mat: Basic, on the side, with Yetisburg, Key Largo, and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising for the second course. For dessert, we have Gary Gygax's lost final novel, Infernal Sorceress, and a brilliant short story compilation that gathers together a host of hobby gaming writers who have all written shared-world fiction (like R.A. Salvatore, Gary Gygax, and Michael A. Stackpole) called Worlds of Their Own. The delve is back with an all-new horror twist, we have the cast and crew of Dorkness Rising on hand for signings all day every day, and a mega-signing on Saturday with a handful of the authors from Worlds of Their Own.

And then there's Pathfinder Society. Nick and I prepared the room yesterday and we've had it simmering at a temperature of awesome for twelve hours. We can't wait to guide a bunch of hungry adventurers (just like us!) through many, many days of exploration and daring-do.

We hope to see you here. If not, start a party on the boards. Have a good time while we are.

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

Here Comes Gen Con, Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Gen Con 2008 is roughly 22 days from the moment you read this blog. Paizo is unveiling more new products, hosting more new events, and cramming more game play into the Paizo booth than we have ever done at any convention. To give a taste of what you'll find at this year's supreme gaming event and to make those of you who can't make it seven flavors of raving envious, here's a full list of Paizo events we'll debut at the show:

Pathfinder Society Organized Play
Though most of the Pathfinder Society Organized Play events are totally sold out, there are still a few that have open slots. If you didn't sign up for these slots during pre-registration, no problem! Grab yourself two generic tickets per slot at the show and come ready to play. Keep an eye on the Pathfinder Society website for character creation guidelines that should be posted around August 1. The following slots still have availability:

Slot 2: Thursday 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Scenario #3: Murder on the Silken Caravan
Scenario #4: The Frozen Fingers of Midnight

Slot 7: Sunday 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Scenario #3: Murder on the Silken Caravan

Slot 8: Sunday 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
Scenario #1: The Silent Tide
Scenario #2: The Hydra's Fang Incident

Pathfinder Adventure Path Preview: Ascension of the Drow
Though this event is completely sold out, we'd be remiss to not include it in the list of Paizo events at Gen Con. Ascension of the Drow is a Nicolas Logue-run Paizo mega-event that will determine the ruling house of a Drow city to be featured in Pathfinder #16. More than 100 players, Game Masters, and special guests will play a variety of Drow, demons, and maybe even gods as they battle for total supremacy.

Assault on Falcon's Hollow: a Paizo Delve
Last year's delve went smashingly (pun intended) and we knew for this year's delve that we'd need to line up an even greater number of monsters to raise our tallies of PC deaths and TPKs even higher! Come by Paizo Booth #2221 during dealer hall hours, grab a pre-generated Pathfinder Roleplaying Game character, and test out the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game's combat system while you protect the tiny village of Falcon's Hollow from a ravenous horde of horrendous undead. Accomplishing pre-determined goals will win you and your party keys. Those keys just might open our treasure chest, winning you fame, fortune, and some free stuff. Sponsored by Dwarven Forge.

Paizo Publishing Seminars
Judging by pre-registration numbers alone, we may very well "sell out" most of our seminars at Gen Con this year (they're free to attend for Gen Con attendees.) Pre-registration numbers are the highest attendance counts we've ever had for Gen Con seminars and the show hasn't even started yet!

Writing for Paizo
Thursday 5 P.M. to 6 P.M.
Marriott — Indiana Ballroom C

Sticking with 3.5: the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Future of Paizo
Friday 5 P.M. to 6 P.M.
Marriott — Indiana Ballroom C

Pathfinder Adventure Path Preview
Saturday 5 P.M. to 6 P.M.
Marriott — Indiana Ballroom C

Worlds of Their Own Author Signing
Many of today's best (and best-selling) fantasists got their start writing shared-world fiction supporting roleplaying games. Worlds of Their Own collects more than a dozen thrilling tales, providing an exciting overview of the original worlds and characters of authors who achieved their greatest fame writing stories they do not own. Worlds of Their Own presents an unprecedented sampler of fantasy and science-fiction adventure tales from some of the best-loved and best-known authors in the genre.

Worlds of Their Own authors Ed Greenwood, Paul S. Kemp, Michael A. Stackpole, Greg Stolze, and Editor James Lowder will be on-hand in our booth on Saturday, August 16, 2008 from 2:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. signing copies of Worlds of Their Own. Copies of the anthology will be available for sale in the booth.

Worlds of Their Own Mega-Signing
Saturday 2:30-3:30 PM
Paizo Booth #2221

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising Signings
The Gamers: Dorkness Rising will finally be unleashed upon the world at Gen Con! Paizo is the exclusive hobby distributor for Dead Gentlemen Productions and we're pleased to host a full-time signing area in our booth throughout the show. If the dealer hall is open, someone involved with The Gamers: Dorkness Rising will be in our booth signing copies of the DVD. As of today, we expect the following folks to spend time in our booth:

Don Early, Producer
Matt Vancil, Writer / Director
Nathan Rice, Lodge / Sir Osric
Steve Wolbrecht, Composer
Scott Brown, Leo / Turk / Flynn the Fine
Christian Doyle, Gary / Fastidian / Luster
Matt DeMille, Production Designer / Art Director / Set Decorator
Brian Lewis, Cass / Rennard / Brother Silence
Jen Page, Luster (Female) / Professor

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising Signings
Thursday through Saturday 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.
Sunday 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.
Paizo Booth #2221

We hope to see you there!

(If you don't get the blog title, think Beatles. You're welcome for getting that song stuck in your head.)

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Marketing

Four Score and a Gen Con Ago

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

This is a true story.*

We Paizonians have a tradition: every year at Gen Con we invent something. One year we invented Titanic Games. Another year we invented Pathfinder. Yet another year we invented trans-hyperdimensional quasiphasic proton pillows (patent pending). Last year, quite by accident, we invented Yetisburg.

The gathered Paizo editorial staff (Erik Mona, James Jacobs, Jason Bulmahn, F. Wesley Schneider, Jeremy Walker) and myself were playing rugby in the lobby of the incredibly expensive Burg de Yeti hotel in downtown Indianapolis. It was just after the second scrum when Jason threw his head back and howled, charging the ball carrier (Wes) with a vicious fervor that only a man as imposing as Jason can muster. One might say that, with his towering height and rampaging facial hair, he looked rather... yeti-like.

Wes, not wanting to be run over, retreated back behind his line and started rallying his team, pushing them toward the beastly Jason Bulmahn while shouting, "Don't be afraid of him! He's only seven feet tall!" Wes's teammates, Jeremy and James, took to Wes's orders like crows to a battlefield and started flinging all manner of object at Jason: silverware, bowling pins, a circa 1863 cannon ball, and one very angry muskrat. These distractions caused the hulking Bulmahn to pause just long enough for an errant Russian teapot to clonk him upside the head. He went down like a telephone pole, crashing terribly to earth and taking myself and the rest of our team with him.

As I struggled to extract myself from the pile of collapsed bodies, it hit me: this could be a game! It could be about our famous rugby match in the Burg de Yeti! And Jason would be represented as a yeti, with Wes as a famous rugby general and the rest of the guys as teams of brothers fighting against each other. Most importantly, I would need someone at least half as crazy as me to help me design it—Mike Selinker!

Yet another Gen Con. Yet another invention.

That's exactly how it happened. If anyone says that, as the Paizonians gathered for dinner one night, a very tired James Jacobs incorrectly heard an equally tired Erik Mona and then blurted out an incredulous "Yetisburg!?" in response, thus causing an idea I couldn't get out of my head, prompting me to tell Mike Selinker, and the two of us deciding we had to make this game—well, they're probably lying.

And that's the truth.

*Not a guarantee

Joshua J. Frost
Yetisburg Co-Designer
Director of Sales & Marketing

  

Delve of Doom Results!

Friday, August 31, 2007

Gen Con was a great show for Paizo, as usual, but this year had a new addition to our booth presence. It all started with a little contest around the office to determine who could design the most deadly dungeon chamber. While this idea was all well and good, we would need some "test" subjects to run through our gauntlet of pain, and thus the idea of running a delve at Gen Con was born.

Using the fabulous Master Maze 3D dungeon terrain pieces produced by Dwarven Forge, along with our Critical Hit Deck, Combat Pad, and item cards, we set out to murder as many unsuspecting visitors to our corner of the booth, and murder we did. Of course, we also gave out some great prizes to those who managed to succeed, including free production, discounts at the booth, and even some real swords.

Every unfortunate soul who met his end in the depths of Tirana's death trap became a red dot on our oversized delve maps, as a warning to others. Of course, that didn't seem to help much, as by the end of the show there were 255 red dots on the maps. Considering that we ran roughly 1000 players through the delve, a 1-in-4 death rate is pretty respectable (mental note: make next year deadlier). Of course, part of the fun was figuring out whose rooms caused the most deaths. Phil Lacefield's rooms certainly had the most kills as a whole, but no individual room had more kills than Publisher Erik Mona's doom-filled Vrock chamber. Congrats to Erik for having the least compassion toward poor player characters.

If you missed out on the delve, never fear. Many of its chambers were used as inspiration for GameMastery Module D2: Seven Swords of Sin, which should be hitting your store shelves any day now.

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Delve-o-vision!

Monday, August 27, 2007

We'll have the scores for Paizo's Deadliest GenCon Delve Room contest up soon, but it's taking us some time to tabulate all the character deaths... it seems the majority of valiant PCs went down like field mice under a rotary mower. Until then, here's the first of several YouTube videos people took of fan favorite author and messageboard regular Nick Logue introducing delve players to his unique (and decidedly kinesthetic) brand of game mastering.

James Sutter
Assistant Editor, Pathfinder

Gen Con Field Report Day 4

Sunday, August 19, 2007

The end is upon us!

Gen Con has come to a close and we're a bizarre blend of happy and sad to see it stop. We're happy to finally be off our feet and sipping cold drinks by the pool and sad to leave behind a throng of interesting and fun readers, fans, and gamers as we make our way back home tomorrow.

Sunday is the day of last resort as attendees cram the show floor to buy everything that piqued their curiosity the days before. Our booth has seen steady business all day and the early indicators are that this will be the best Gen Con Paizo has ever had.

Paizo Publishing had the distinct honor to sponsor Nick Logue's Iron DM event last night. Yesterday's blog was written before the Iron DM finale and we were excited to present awards to the runners up as well as the grand prize to Iron Dungeon Master "Ancient Sensei," an amazing DM who came in second place last year (by two-tenths of a point on their grading scale) and just edged out the winner of the past two Iron DM events, Iron Dungeon Master "Dreads." This year's ingredients were river rapids, Rakshasas, and redemption; "Ancient Sensei" did not disappoint with his first-hour TPK followed by a trip to hell where his players had to redeem themselves to return to life. Paizo was proud to give the top three Iron DMs a pile of GameMastery goodness, including autographed copies of GameMastery Modules D1 and W1. Ancient Sensei also received Paizo's "secret" prizes which included a copy of D2: Seven Swords of Sin autographed by nearly every Paizo employee who wrote a room for the module, and a huge sword donated by KingofSwords.com. You can learn more about Nick Logue's Iron DM by visiting irondm.com. We can't wait to sponsor this event again next year!

I can hear the angelic sounds of gaming through my hotel room door so I must heed the call and hastily beat a path to dice rolling. I hope you've enjoyed my four-day look into the Gen Con experience from the eyes of Paizo Publishing—it was fun to put together, so I hope it was fun to read.

Until next year!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Sales & Marketing

The three winners of this year's Iron DM (from left to right): two-time champion and this year's second place finisher, Iron Dungeon Master "Dreads;" this year's champion, Iron Dungeon Master "Ancient Sensei;" and third place finisher Iron Dungeon Master "Necessary Evil."	Nicolas Logue signs a copy of D1: Crown of the Kobold King.	Erik Mona waits for the results of a critical die roll as he runs the Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve.
The Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve was never without lines or a crowd of onlookers.	The race for Most Deaths is a close one! As of this morning, Customer Service Enforcer Cosmo Eisele and Paizo Publisher Erik Mona were tied for the most player characters killed in their rooms.	Board #1 as of this morning. The dots are where PCs died.
Board #2 as of this morning.	Paizo's youngest fans were on hand to demo Stonehenge: An Anthology Board Game.	Steve Greer expounds on the importance of good dice-rolling while exploring a dungeon.
	James, Erik, and Wes talk about Pathfinder and Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting.

Gen Con Field Report Day 3

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Today was another hectic day in the booth! Saturday has the reputation as the busiest day of the con and today was no exception. Paizo's booth was buzzing with the news of our awards last night at the ENnies—we took home two gold medals for GameMastery Flip-Mat: Tavern (the second year in a row a Flip-Mat has won a gold ENnie) and the Savage Tide Player's Guide free download and our partner company, Open Mind Games, took home a much-deserved silver ENnie for the awesome GameMastery Combat Pad.

We also had Gary Gygax back on hand with us signing The Anubis Murders, as well as Larry Elmore signing the final print issue of Dragon, and our own Paizo editors signing their works as well. James, Wes, Jason, and Jeremy signed a good deal of autographs and it was nice to see the readers and fans patting these guys on the back for their amazing work on Dragon, Dungeon, and Paizo's GameMastery and Pathfinder lines.

Today was also Nicolas Logue's Iron DM. Nick runs this event every year and its reputation as one awesome gaming experience has increased its attendance year-over-year. Iron DM saw 15 Dungeon Masters and over 130 players this year. If you're not familiar with the event, Iron DM is modeled after the Iron Chef television series: DMs get one hour to write an entire adventure using three "ingredients" that Nick reveals at the last second. Once the adventure is written, the DMs find their randomly assigned table of players and begin. The event is often interrupted by mini-games called Player Olympics, wherein the players must compete table-against-table to win prizes and fame. At the end of the day, the Iron DM who receives the best review scores from his or her players wins the crown. Paizo Publishing was proud to sponsor this event, and we gave away buckets of GameMastery items as prizes. I have a video of Nick introducing one of the Iron DMs that I'll upload to YouTube when I return to the office. Nick is most definitely a character and his Iron DM event was a blast.

Tomorrow is our final day at Gen Con and, though my tired feet wish its end, it would be great if the gaming and fun could continue on for another four days.

And now, pictures!

James Jacobs, Erik Mona, and Jason Bulmahn show off Paizo's two gold ENnies after last night's awards ceremony.	Ryan and Amber from Open Mind Games show off their silver ENnie.	Dragon #359 cover artist Larry Elmore and Erik Mona pause for a picture during Larry's magazine signing.
Paizo is always proud to host the folks from Dead Gentlemen Productions in our booth! These fine folks are (from the left): Jen Page from The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (Female Luster), Steve Wolbrecht from The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (Nodwick), Don Early (Executive Producer of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising) and Chris Dupenthaler from The Gamers (Mark the Berserker) and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (Mark).	Paizo's prize table for Nick Logue's Iron DM contest.	Nick diligently copying down deeply personal information about an Iron DM so that he can embarrass and crush him later.
Gary Gygax returns!	This time, he came with a HUGE line! (That's Paizo's Jeremy Walker standing behind him.)	Monte Cook shows his love for Pathfinder #1.

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Sales & Marketing

Gen Con Field Report Day Two

Friday, August 17, 2007

The second day of any four-day convention is typically referred to as the "slow day." Retailers and manufacturers complain that nearly every year their business is down, the crowds are down, and Friday is generally a light day. Eager four-day attendees are typically seen swarming the Dealer Hall on Thursday to get the awesome Gen Con exclusives (such as Paizo's alternate Pathfinder #1 cover) and those folks are more inclined to game and rest on Friday. Then the two-day crowd hits with the four-day crowd on Saturday and the show floor turns into a zoo.

Today was slow for us, but we're only able to say so because yesterday was such a huge hit. Pathfinder and GameMastery Modules continue to do very well and I'm pleased to report that our first three Planet Stories novels (The Anubis Murders, City of the Beast, and Black God's Kiss) are selling very well and their positive reception has been exciting to see.

Speaking of The Anubis Murders, Gary Gygax was on hand this afternoon for 90 minutes signing copies of his book and generally anything people asked him to sign. "Keep on the Borderlands" got several Gygax-o-graphs as did the original hardcover Monster Manual, current editions of the core system, badges, convention on-site books—you name it. Someone jokingly asked Gary to sign their baby and he would've done so, graciously, had they not told him it was a joke. He was a nice guy and it was a real honor to meet him. One quick story about his session in the booth today: a guy walked up, looked at his book and said, "Hmm, Anubis Murders, I'm not familiar with your work. I'll have to go look it up." Gary gave him a stern, reproachful look and said, "Try Dungeons & Dragons." Needless to say, the guy looked very sheepish as he fled the scene.

We also had the pleasure of Wayne Reynolds' presence in our booth today, signing copies of the poster included with Dragon #359. He modeled Pathfinder #1 for us, as you'll see below.

The number one question on everyone's mind, of course, was "What does Paizo think of 4th Edition?" We heard this often and our response was the same each time: we're excited to see it, but we know just as much about it as you do. I can report that WotC intends to have an OGL with 4th Edition and that Paizo's eager to learn more, but that does not put us closer to a decision—it only puts us in need of more research and discussion. Rest assured, the moment we make a decision we'll scream it to the four corners of the multiverse.

And now, pictures!

A beholder watches over the crowd as they prepare to hear WotC's 4E announcement.	Jungle James!	Eric Boyd says farewell to the final print version of Dragon magazine.
F. Wesley Schneider and Michael Kortes talk about Paizo's products.	Erik Mona, Gary Gygax, and Greg Vaughan.	Amber Scott (Medesha on the messageboards) holding up her very own copy of Paizo's Gen Con exclusive Pathfinder #1.
The following is a picture-by-picture example of the many forms of the martial arts employed by the mighty and unstoppable Nicolas Logue as he GMs the Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve.	Rhinoceros Style.	Chicken Claw!
Bear Growl.	Dyn-o-mite. (I recorded five minutes of Nick running the delve. It'll be on YouTube and this blog very soon.)	Tim Hitchcock, Nicolas Logue, and Michael Kortes talking about GameMastery and Pathfinder.
The incredibly talented Wayne Reynolds modeling the covers he sketched and painted.	Jason Bulmahn demos "Stonehenge Roulette," the game he wrote for the Stonehenge Library.

Tomorrow: Larry Elmore stops by to sign the final Dragon cover!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Sales & Marketing

Gen Con Field Report Day One

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Hello from Gen Con!

It's broiler hot, the humidity makes you feel like you're walking through a warm pond, and the bodies are stacked so close in the hall when someone trips in aisle 14 the domino effects doesn't stop until aisle 37.

And that's awesome!

We're having one of our best first days at a con ever and it's in no small part due to the crush of Paizo readers and fans that have mobbed our booth to look at and purchase Pathfinder, to play in our Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve, or to watch the latest Dead Gentlemen video. Our booth is busy busy busy and we love it!

Of course, the con is buzzing about the Wizards announcement to take place at 6:30 P.M. Eastern tonight. We're all aware by now that they're announcing 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons tonight and the Paizo staff plans to be in full attendance to usher in the news. Many of you have asked us, "Will Pathfinder/Modules/Paizo/etc switch to 4th edition?" Our response is this: We haven't seen 4th Edition, but we feel that we have a good gauge of our fan base and if we think it's something they will like and support then it's something we will like and support. We always take our readers' and fans' feedback seriously and we'll take feedback on this potential transition doubly so. We hope to have more information soon and we'll let everyone know the moment we've come to a decision.

Now, pictures!

F. Wesley Schneider prepares to kill willing players at our Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve.	Paizo's Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve is sponsored by KingofSwords.com. Naturally, that means they gave us seven swords to give away to seven lucky delvers!	A quick shot of the Paizo booth straight down the middle.
James Jacobs poses with a mysterious figure from the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path.	Paizo.com messageboard regular Lilith (wearing the light grey shirt) prepares to lead Kill Doctor Lucky first-timers on a quest to kill a sorry old man.	James Jacobs and F. Wesley Schneider hold court as they enlighten the uninitiated about the glories of Pathfinder.
An ever-moving and easily blurred Jason Bulmahn rolls the dice to determine one unlucky player's fate in our Seven Swords of Sin Dungeon Delve.

Tomorrow: Gygax, pictures from the 4E announcement (we hope!), and more!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Sales & Marketing

Come to Gen Con!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Gen Con is always a big deal for us here at Paizo, but this year is even more momentous than most. With many people getting their first chance to pick up and check out copies of Pathfinder (with an alternate Gen Con-exclusive cover!), Seven Swords of Sin, Elements of Power Item Cards, and the first few books in the Planet Stories line (from such authors as Michael Moorcock, C. L. Moore, and Gen Con Guest of Honor Gary Gygax, who will be signing copies at our booth), this convention will be our first chance to show off all of Paizo's new ventures at once. So along with a boatload of shiny new products, what kinds of things can you expect to see starting Thursday?

Signings: Want your chance to personally meet industry legends like Gary Gygax, Larry Elmore, Wayne Reynolds, and our own cast of Pathfinder and GameMastery authors? Paizo has you covered!

Seminars and Events: Learn about everything Paizo's going to be doing in the upcoming year, design your own Stonehenge game, or play in game demos ranging from Kill Dr. Lucky to Pathfinder roleplaying blocks run by our editors and authors.

Delves: Bring your friends or join a party and play your way through a chunk of deadly 3D dungeon based on Seven Swords of Sin and run by a crack team of expert GMs. Do well, and you just might win awesome prizes from Paizo—including one of several actual swords!

The ENnies: Show your support for Paizo at one of gaming's most prestigious awards shows! Will our proud convention warriors end the night with glory or defeat, champagne or stale Mountain Dew? Only time will tell!

Hope to see you there!

James Sutter
Assistant Editor, Pathfinder