Illustration by Tyler Walpole. Widescreen version here.
PaizoCon Is Here!
Friday, June 10, 2011
PaizoCon 2011 starts today! The massive event schedule lists all of the awesome activities attendees can expect to take part in, but here are some of the real gems that I'm looking forward to.
At the show guests and Paizo staff will have the opportunity to wine and dine together during Saturday's banquet. One of the reasons I'm excited about the banquet is the opportunity to meet and hang out with fellow Paizonians. Having gotten to know so many of you on the messageboards, it will be fun to finally meet some of you face to face! In addition to CEO Lisa Stevens's welcome and Publisher Erik Mona's preview of upcoming Pathfinder products, James Jacobs and Jason Bulmahn will be showcasing some really cool things about our upcoming products. I can't say here what they'll be, but you all should be very excited!
One of the neatest things about PaizoCon is the myriad opportunities to get the inside scoop on Pathfinder, Paizo, and the old days at TSR. Between “The Future of Paizo" on Friday, and seminars on writing for Paizo throughout the entire weekend, on Saturday there's a seminar on the "Secrets of TSR" with the likes of Ed Greenwood, Lisa Stevens, Ryan Dancey and maybe even Jeff Grubb himself!
Speaking of seminars, there are quite a few about the history of the industry, how to begin writing for RPGs, and breaking into the game industry. Here's a brief list of some of the seminars that you should try and get to: "Publishing in Kobold Quarterly," "Secrets of a Small Press Publisher," "Writing for the Pathfinder Society," and "Auntie Lisa's Story Hour" with Paizo CEO Lisa Steven's herself!
Finally (and perhaps best of all), expect to play lots and lots of games. Pathfinder Society scenarios will be run every day throughout the convention, and special events such as Stephen Radney-MacFarland's "Shootout in Old Korvosa," Jason Bulmahn's "Cursed Lot IV," and master of horror James Jacobs's "The Siege of Windy Hollow" (a Pathfinder RPG variant set in an apocalyptic earth ravaged by the Elder Mythos) are sure to be crowd pleasers. I might even have to sit in and watch some of these games being played—they sound that awesome.
We're super excited about this show and will be updating the blog throughout the weekend with news-bites, pictures, and updates. For those of you who can't make it, here's a wallpaper of the PaizoCon 2011 mascot: Unk the goblin!
Illustration by Dave Rapoza. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.
Invasion of the Body Stitchers!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Burghers of Paizo, rejoice! The Beast of Lepidstadt has been captured! Next week we'll begin shipping the second installment of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, and the Trial of the Beast will begin. The Punishing Man rises in the square outside the courthouse! The logs have been stacked against his flanks and the oil has seeped into his veins. The Punishing Man waits to take his passenger to the depths of Hell! And soon, he shall have his feast. Until then though, enjoy this wallpaper!
Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager/Town Crier
This is the final week of editing before we ship the Bestiary 2 off to the printer and that means the whole office is neck deep in monsters. Since we've nowhere else to put them in the ever-more-crowded editorial pit, I thought a nice way to get them out from underfoot would be to exile a few to the blog. So here are a handful of beasties we no longer need immediately on hand. Enjoy!
I recently had the "opportunity" to run into yoda8myhead, extra pervasive poster on these boards and mastermind behind the Pathfinder Wiki. Besieged with the usual onslaught of questions and accusations also came a request for a few more pieces of art previewing some of our upcoming products (and perhaps in some cases "past-viewing" some recent releases). Ask and ye shall receive… ya harpy. :P
Greetings Paizonians! Tomorrow is Paizo’s seventh anniversary! In celebration, I thought I would share with you Paizo’s most closely guarded secret: the Golem’s stats! For months I have watched the foolish drunkards Vadid and Nahk as they’ve braved the Paizo vaults, and while they’ve had the guardians distracted with their bumbling antics, I secretly gathered information on their nemesis, the Paizo Golem. Finally, I have assembled enough clues to piece together a complete picture of this mysterious being, and I present them here, compatible with the upcoming Pathfinder RPG!
The Golem
The tall, dusty shelves loom high overhead, reaching ever upward to the high-vaulted ceiling and stretching forever away into dusk and shadow. Before the endless walls of yellowed scrolls, leather-bound tomes, and crystal balls of unknowable secrets stands an immense, silent figure. A single, pale light from behind it frames its hulking silhouette. It stalks forward on thundering limbs and the shadow it wears falls away, revealing a smooth, iron-black body, devoid of any features but the two fiery orbs that regard the intruders with a powerful, burning intellect.
The Golem CR 20
XP 307,200
N Huge construct Init +6; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20
DEFENSE AC 36, touch 14, flat-footed 34; (+2 Dex, +4 deflection, +22 natural, –2 Size) hp 370 (20d10+260); fast healing 10 Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +15 Defensive Abilities construct traits; DR 15/adamantine; Immune magic
OFFENSE Spd 40 ft. Melee 2 slams +36 (2d12+18/19-20) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks depthless knowledge, shatter the earth, sweeping charge Spell-like Abilities (CL 20th)
At will—arcane lock, arcane sight, comprehend languages, daze (DC 19), detect magic, identify
3/day—alarm, crushing despair (DC 23), dimensional anchor, greater arcane eye, hold person (DC 22), locate object
1/day—bull's strength, crushing hand (DC 28), dimension door, discern location, dominate monster (DC 28), forcecage (DC 26), greater dispel magic, mage's disjunction (DC 28)
STATISTICS Str 46, Dex 14, Con —, Int 20, Wis 29, Cha 28 Base Atk +20; CMB +40; CMD 56 Feats Alertness, Critical Focus (slam), Dodge, Improved Critical (slam), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception), Staggering Critical, Stunning Critical, Toughness Skills Appraise +11, Bluff +15, Climb +24, Diplomacy +15, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (arcane) +15, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +13, Knowledge (engineering) +13, Knowledge (geography) +15, Knowledge (history) +15, Knowledge (local) +15, Knowledge (nature) +13, Knowledge (nobility) +13, Knowledge (planes) +15, Knowledge (religion) +15, Linguistics +11, Perception +20, Sense Motive +17 Languages any; telepathy 100 ft. SQ sturdy stride Gear The Heart of Lore
ECOLOGY Environment the labyrinthine corridors of Paizo Publishing, realms of knowledge and learning, and anywhere imagination runs free and inspired Organization solitary Treasure immense arcane library worth 500,000 gold pieces
SPECIAL ABILITIES Shatter the Earth (Su) As a standard action, the Golem can slam its fists down onto the ground, directing energy into the surface and causing it to ripple outward in all directions for 15 feet. Any creature standing in the area takes 2d12+18 points of damage and must succeed at a DC 38 Reflex save or be knocked prone. In addition, the ground becomes buckled and smashed and is considered difficult terrain. The save DC is Strength-based. Sturdy Stride (Ex) The Golem completely ignores difficult terrain. Sweeping Charge (Ex) The Golem can charge at a target even through squares occupied by other creatures of Large size or smaller, battering them effortlessly aside. Any creature occupying a square on the path toward the target must make a DC 38 Reflex save or be thrown 1d4x5 feet, suffering 2d8+18 damage and knocked prone. This save DC is Strength-based. Depthless Knowledge (Su) As a full round action, the Golem can capture the knowledge of any creature within 30 feet. When using this ability, the Golem's eyes seem to swell, becoming deep, endless pools. The target must succeed at a DC 29 Will save or become a mindless vegetable for 1d4 rounds, unable to perform any action. During this time, the Golem can use any skill or feat possessed by the victim as if it itself had the skill or feat, adding the victim's skill ranks to its own if it already possesses them. In addition, the victim's BAB, if higher, replaces the Golem's, and the Golem gains all of the victim's spells, able to cast them without their requisite components (if any). Any such spells used by the Golem are considered cast when the victim regains control of his senses. The Golem can only capture the knowledge of one target at a time. Any creature that succeeds at its Will save is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours. This save DC is Charisma-based.
A traveler from beyond the stars, this ageless being came to Earth during a time when vast, steamy jungles and nameless, forgotten terrors crawled across the face of our planet. A caretaker of lore and knowledge of both this world and of others, the Golem has marched across the bones of countless epochs in an endless quest for information, searching always for the unknowable, and questing eternally for the unattainable. His midnight black body appears to be constructed of highly polished iron, though the mysterious black metal is unknown to any Earthbound scientist. Forged by hands long lost to the Universe, the Golem is the last of its kind.
The Golem contains the powerful artifact known as the Heart of Lore, which appears as a radiant ball of pure, crystalline energy that it keeps stored in its broad, powerful chest. This item grants the Golem a +4 deflection bonus to its Armor Class, fast healing 10, and 200 extra hit points.
History
The Golem once slaved for its masters, a long-extinct race of space travelers and explorers who, after eons of existence, catalogued and explored much of our galaxy and even beyond, using a powerful blend of science and magic to reach out to the far corners of existence. To help them acquire and protect all of this collected knowledge, they constructed a potent servitor class, a race of obedient constructs that hungered for knowledge and lore as much as they.
But nothing withstands Time, and eventually the species began to fall into extinction, and their servitors along with them. Until when at last only the Golem remained, the remainder of the species bound their collected knowledge into a powerful artifact—the Heart of Lore—and infused it within the Golem, so that it would be forever the caretaker of their posterity. The Golem then set out into the Universe, exploring countless worlds—Golarion among them—settling for millennia at a time before finally moving on. Earth is but the latest stop on its everlasting voyage.
Habitat & Society
The Golem is driven by an insatiable hunger for knowledge, though it does occasionally stop for prolonged periods, allying itself with scholars and artisans whom it finds worthy, and sharing with them the tales it has accumulated over the course of its incredibly long and storied existence, so that they in turn can share them with others—for it is not only the duty of the Golem to collect knowledge and tales, but to ensure that they are never forgotten. However, the Golem is very particular about with whom it chooses to share its knowledge, and any attempt to acquire its information or possessions without its consent are dealt with most severely.
Howdy Paizonians! As you may have noticed, there's been a dearth of blogs lately. You can blame that on the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, as almost all of the editorial staff (including the interns) are furiously working on getting the Bestiary ready for release and ensuring that other projects (such as the one that bears this cover!) stay on schedule. It's a busy and exciting time, but it means that blogs may be sparse for a little while. Still, Hank and I will do our best to make sure that you have something new to enjoy every day (or almost every day) here on the blog! In the meantime, here's some art! Enjoy Jesper Ejsing's awesome cover for Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #24: The Final Wish, in which a poor sitarist is skewered by a brass golem's sword.
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