Chief Technical Officer
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Will the bound books in the box be added as PDFs to subscribers downloads? Ditto character sheets? Ditto tokens?
I can't talk about the box set specifically, but I *can* tell you that the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Subscription, of which this is a part, says this:
As a subscriber benefit, we'll throw in a FREE PDF of each product that you'll be able to download immediately after we ship your subscriber copy.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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We all know Paizo likes to use Icons on the covers they use in products. Based off the four lined up icons on the side of the box we are getting: Mage, Rogue, Cleric and Fighter, and human and elf as races at least.
"Mage"?
And I would guess that either Harsk or some other dwarf will be showing up somewhere. Can't have a D&D-style game without elves and dwarves.
I also hope that either the iconic monk, or else some other non-Caucasian-skinned characters, feature prominently.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Hmmm, if this is part of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Subscription, does that mean no Bestiary 3 this year? That would be too bad if that's the case...
Please note that we've only announced products through October of this year. Any products due in November or December will not be announced for about another month or two.
Starting at some nebulous point in the future, we'll be going back to product announcements in roughly 3-month batches. We've been doing them monthly to go with a change in the way our book distributor requests this info, but it's caused me no end of headaches and I'm very eager to get back to the old system for a litany of reasons too boring to go into a thread like this.
Why is this cool? Isn't it just a dumb down version of the main game?
Even if this was just "a dumbed down version of the main game," which it isn't, this is a cool product because you can hand it to a beginner and say, "here's *everything* you need to get started playing Pathfinder." And they won't boggle at having to read the 576-page Core Rulebook just to "get started"... and won't also have to buy a flip-mat, dice, and miniatures.
It'll be a great product for teenagers. Or college students. Anyone you know who *could* be a gamer, but doesn't have an all-in-one-box game to hook them.
I can't tell for certain, but from the picture, it looks like it's a dark blue box, which is a crazy awesome detail for an old 'blue boxer' like myself.
Best wishes for the launch.
5th level?
It seems like this is missing a great opportunity to have a product that can be firmly utilized around E6 play.
Not to say that it would be officially an E6 game, but that a group of players could just have this set, exclaim "we are playing E6!" and have this set be the horizon around which the game runs.
If I remember well, in an other thred it was explained that they won't go beyond 5th lever in a beguinner kit, because some rules get more complex beyond that point, and would take up more book space. I.E. BAB allowing multi attack.
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(I don't know why, but I always picture Ms. Frasier being about 5' nothing and 98 lbs soaking wet. Never been able to make it out to Seattle to say hi)In truth, she is 6'5" and build like a weightlifter. I've seen her fold pennies with her fingers. Better watch what you say about her...
Nah, she can't be 6'5" because she is *significantly* shorter than I am. And the penny folding has never really impressed me as much as the origami she does with nickels and quarters.
Its actually kind of like working with a shaved badger.
Minus the shaving.
And less badger and more Wonder Woman.
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(I don't know why, but I always picture Ms. Frasier being about 5' nothing and 98 lbs soaking wet. Never been able to make it out to Seattle to say hi)In truth, she is 6'5" and build like a weightlifter. I've seen her fold pennies with her fingers. Better watch what you say about her...
You know, as her fiance, I feel the need to speak up here on her behalf. Noone sees her in the same light as I do and I get to see her true self... which is 3'12", green, has a maniacal laugh and a penchant for fire. Also, she has the cutest ears. =)
Nah, she can't be 6'5" because she is *significantly* shorter than I am. And the penny folding has never really impressed me as much as the origami she does with nickels and quarters.
Its actually kind of like working with a shaved badger.
Minus the shaving.
And less badger and more Wonder Woman.
Man this explains the letters of approval from the Guild of Calamitous Intent. I thought it was just junk mail!
Awesome news guys. Congratulations!
Why is it always a Black Dragon in these sets? I think it was a Black Dragon all the way back in 1992's Dragon Quest!
For one thing Black Dragons are good fit both power wise, size wise, and environment wise. The swamp living aspect makes them a bit more creepy without being totally remote (a mountain) or having to explain how come people don't bump into it more (planes, forest, coast).
White dragons are just to dumb and remote, and small, to be good BBEG dragons.
This looks like a truly great idea for bringing in new players.
If I remember well, in an other thred it was explained that they won't go beyond 5th lever in a beginner kit, because some rules get more complex beyond that point, and would take up more book space. I.E. BAB allowing multi attack.5th level?
It seems like this is missing a great opportunity to have a product that can be firmly utilized around E6 play.
Not to say that it would be officially an E6 game, but that a group of players could just have this set, exclaim "we are playing E6!" and have this set be the horizon around which the game runs.
Also, having it be E6 (rather than E5) would be more important if there were a sorcerer class in the set, for instance. Out of the cleric, rogue, fighter and wizard, only the fighter gets something particularly interesting at level 6.
Question, if you can answer it, will it be more like Holmes which lead players to AD&D by design? or more like BECMI and stand alone as a game in itself, a more simplified Pathfinder, taking characters to high levels with more releases?
You guys can't be making a profit off of this - so much stuff for such a low price point!
Either the margins are wafer-thin, or you're not gaining any money (perhaps even losing money) on this in the hopes of reigning in more customers for the rest of the PF line. That, or you're employing slave labor down in the RPG mines to keep manufacturing costs low.
Also, I'm glad it comes with high-impact dice, for all of my maximum velocity rolling I do.
Contributor
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That, or you're employing slave labor down in the RPG mines to keep manufacturing costs low.
Cost issues aside, understand that Paizo treats its employees incredibly well. The general company attitude is very "pro-creative" and even in crunch times like this there's a strong element of care and camaraderie from the CEO on down.
Or, to be a little more poetic: The secret ingredient in every Paizo product is love.
very nice, we so need one of these things for new people to pick up and get into too. Take that 4e!
... at some nebulous point in the future...
Are we there yet?
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Contributor
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As one of the GMs around here, let me assure all of you that my secret ingredient is spite. It makes all of my adventures that much more evil.
Jason
Yes, Jason, but you LOVE being evil, and that loves drives you to work harder every day to make your evil products that much better and give them opportunity to to succeed. You're basically the sweet, kindly, snuggly mama duck of evil.
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Director of Games
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I cannot see much appeal to a beginner if the content of the box is just normal Pathfinder wih all its tedious overcomplicated rules but only for the first 5 levels. What a beginner really needs is a extremely simplified version with fewer rules.
Perhaps you missed the bit about a simplified rules set.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
Are spite and clarity just forms of love?
And can we please see a bigger picture?
You had me at "The". :)
As one of the GMs around here, let me assure all of you that my secret ingredient is spite. It makes all of my adventures that much more evil.
Jason
There's a reason you have a pile of spite tokens on your desk....
Man this explains the letters of approval from the Guild of Calamitous Intent. I thought it was just junk mail!Nah, she can't be 6'5" because she is *significantly* shorter than I am. And the penny folding has never really impressed me as much as the origami she does with nickels and quarters.
Its actually kind of like working with a shaved badger.
Minus the shaving.
And less badger and more Wonder Woman.
Crystal knows the Sovereign?! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Which brings up the question: Is she an employee at Paizo, or just deepcover arching someone?
...sweetly, kind, snuggly mama duck of evil.You will pay for that....
OOOO! Great idea for Bulmahn's tattoo... now we just need to get him drunk at Paizocon.
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Question, if you can answer it, will it be more like Holmes which lead players to AD&D by design? or more like BECMI and stand alone as a game in itself, a more simplified Pathfinder, taking characters to high levels with more releases?
IIRC, at least one Paizo staff member implied the beginner characters are compatible to the Core Rulebook.
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Chief Technical Officer
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That, or you're employing slave labor down in the RPG mines to keep manufacturing costs low.
They prefer to be called "interns." (We have a current opening!)
Just have to say I'm very excited about this product, looks awesome. I can't wait for the banquet.
And I, for one, never used the red box or blue box. My first D&D book had a pegasus and a red dragon on it.
A question the answer to which I hope isn't locked down: will the simplified rules variants be considered open content?