Encounters with Flying Cats

Tuesday, August 30, 2011


Fresh meat! We have to keep the cave raptors downstairs fed!

Hi there! My name is Meredith Kniest, and I'm the latest edition of the Paizo Intern. I've been asked to explain a bit about myself and my experience at Paizo so far, which frankly is an awesome relief from staring at Excel spreadsheets. Oh, the joys of interning.

I'm currently a senior at the University of Washington studying English and French. After having scoured internship postings in the greater Seattle area for months, and with gloomy national job forecasts echoing about my brain in the available space between Shakespeare and Balzac, I was beginning to resign myself to a long and dismal job search. That's when I came across Wesley's ad for an editing internship with Paizo. With a peculiar amount of trepidation did I apply—after all, the closest I've ever come to playing a tabletop RPG was creating fantasy adventures for my little brother using Playmobil people and Lincoln Logs, long ago, in the dusty days before Zelda took her first three-dimensional step, when Doug was the best show on television.

Three weeks into the position, I've learned a great deal about the Pathfinder universe, though I still feel like the greenest noob since Leeroy Jenkins, especially around the other Paizo employees, whose daily conversation—Hey, have we ever used flying cats as monsters? and Do we have a rule for wading through water?—flits by my ears like Miles Davis at a fifth-grade band concert.

My first intern assignment is to continue a job begun by interns of yesteryear: cataloging all of the Pathfinder rules not included in the Core Rulebook.

Yes, ALL of them.

It took me a couple of days to comprehend the daunting scale of this task. It's doubtful that it will be finished by me. Or by anyone, ever. I was discouraged, I won't lie. I had hoped to really wow my new employers with amazing ninja cataloging skills. (Hey, I take pride in my work. It keeps me going after caffeine has worn off.

However, I've been finding solace and diversion in the compelling, sometimes morbid storytelling that seems to make Pathfinder unique. I'm used to video game storytelling. Pathfinder is on a whole new, deeper, infinitely more variable and complex level than video games are capable of. Often I completely forget to catalog a rule or a stat block because I'm gripped by the lycanthropy of Duristan Silvio Ariesir or the perversions of the Runelords of Runeforge.

Feel free to send me your prayers, your derision, or any obscure Pathfinder rules you can think of. I'll be here, reading about the Blood Veil in Korvosa and, possibly, forgetting to do my job.

Meredith Kniest
Editorial Intern

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Interns Paizo Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
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Liberty's Edge

I know! I too get lost in the world of Pathfinder.

I know I should be reading rules, get more versed in the mechanics to help run my games better, but damn, sometimes I just want to learn more about the world. It's so vivid and rich. One of the best settings I've seen in and type of media, much less table top RPGS.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I like this intern.

FETCH ME HER.


*hiss*


Gorbacz wrote:

I like this intern.

FETCH ME HER.

MEOW!

Contributor

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Ha, awesome. Good show Meredith and happy to have you aboard!

(And please don't let all this rabble [gestures vaguely] scare you off.)

Dark Archive

Welcome to the madness!


*this is my scary rabble hiss*


Heya Meredith, keep up the good name of sexy interns everywhere!

I'm not sure if this qualifies as rules-not-in-Core; but I'd definitely make sure to include all the FAQ entries - including ones that are about Core rules.

...also... send us a link to the living document so we can peruse it and ogle with fascination. This should really be the kind of thing that is tackled public-domain style. Like a wiki.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber
F. Wesley Schneider wrote:

Ha, awesome. Good show Meredith and happy to have you aboard!

(And please don't let all this rabble [gestures vaguely] scare you off.)

Huzzah! I've been elevated to rabble! :-D

Congrats, Meredith, and welcome to the asylum!

Shadow Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Welcome to the adventure!

Grand Lodge

Welcome Meredith!

First Question:

Have you always had the power to petrify, or is that something you picked up at university?

I kid, I kid....

Lantern Lodge

Courage Congratulations and Bonne chance Meredith.

May the dices be with you !

Shadow Lodge

Very cute. And the intern's pretty adorable too.


Hey there Meredith!

I hope your internship at Paizo's is a great experience for you.

Paizo's products and customer-engagement are top-notch. I'm sure you're meeting and enjoying the company of some first-class folks there, as well.

Please accept my best wishes!

-- Andy

Spoiler:
*cracks whip!*

You forgot to close your parenthetical statement about taking pride in your work!

Corriger immédiatement, s'il vous plaît!

*cracks whip!*

: )

Dark Archive

But Meredith, look on the bright side, your gona know more about the pathfinder rules than anyone else...

also is this just paizo products or do 3PP rules also count o.O?

Contributor

Welcome to the madhouse Meredith. :D

Grand Lodge

Hmmm.... I think you have just given me a story idea for Wayfinder #7. Thanks Meredith!!

(You have available space in your brain between Shakespeare and Balzac?? People really were smaller back in the olden days!)

Dark Archive

i thought you had another month for wayfinder #6 submissions :S

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Oh you poor, poor soul. It's too late to run now, sorry.

I should warn you that I've never heard of an intern actually ending their internship. We just... stop hearing from them.

Some say they go mad, eternally getting close to the end of the spreadsheet before Jacobs runs in screaming "have you seen these rules for Caravans?!? It's gonna take a week to digest this much awesome!!!"

Others say the Warehouse team hunts them for sport to take the edge off of boxing subscriptions.

Still more say that they hide under the stairs after their internship is up so that they can sneak more LilithCookies(TM)

Also... be careful when attempting to go home. I hear Mona sets traps by the exits....

Dark Archive

PS - That photo = awesomesauce

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Have you started playing the game yet? :-)

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Only a goblin would go face to face with a flying cat and there she goes, yes, She will do, even the cat seems to be a bit taken back.


Bienvenida Meredith! Watch out for Crystal's goblins!

Liberty's Edge

Welcome, Meredith!
I hope you find some time to write more blog texts...

Anyway - cataloguing all rules not in the Corebook?! Will we get a Rules Compendium in the future, like WotC did it, or is it something else? :)

Oh, and Liz forgot to hand you a cookie - so here's one from me (not as good as Liz's, but hey... ;)

Grand Lodge

Meredith wrote:

Hi there! My name is....

Or as Balzac would say,

"There goes another novel."

Let's see if how many of his novels the new intern has read, yet.

Spoiler:
And extra credit if she recognizes the really obscure Woody Allen reference to Balzac.


5 people marked this as a favorite.

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys :)
Except for the hissing, that's sort of disturbing.

LoreKeeper - (Your name is already making you sound infinitely useful.) I haven't delved into the FAQs yet. Do you guys add new rules there? Crap.
Also, I think your wiki idea is fantastic!! However, there would no longer be a good excuse for Wesley to hire and harass interns...

Herald - I'd rather have the power to absorb and record massive amounts of information in a short amount of time!

ulgulanoth - to your first comment, no, that will never happen. You guys have years on me. Decades, if you count the D&D precedent!
To your question, what is 3PP?? Stop scaring me!

Scribbling Rambler - You're welcome..? :)

Matthew Winn - Where are these cookies? If I'm going to be addicted, I'd like to start soon. As in now.

DM aka Dudemeister - Unfortunately, I haven't started playing yet. I want to, though! I'm so ashamed of my noobitude, I would hate to hold up anyone's game asking eight kagillion questions.

Hank the Pirate King - All I can get from your comment is that you're calling me a goblin. roar.

Dryder - Error, I cannot divulge top confidential private intern secrets. I have not been programmed with free will.


If you're interested in playing, and busy (not that those attending college are ever busy) a good place to start would be the online games here. With PBP it's pretty easy to get in a post or two every day (what most games want you to do), especially if you're around computers a lot at work/school.

Anyways, welcome to the boards, and don't be afraid to ask gillions of questions...most people here don't have much of a life, so answering questions gives them purpose.


Merry welcomes Meredith.

And don't be too discouraged about the rules-document, they could have asked you to corral the FAWTLers.

Shadow Lodge

Ahh Paizo has a new vict....Intern..Welcome to the mad house.

I hope that you avoid the cave trolls unlike the last on....

I am sure you will be fine. :)

Sovereign Court

Welcome Meredith! Good luck with the Sisyphean task they have handed to you. Well, not so bad as all that, certainly more enjoyable than rolling a rock around. And you should be more well versed at the rules than most of us grognards who lurk around the boards when all is said and done.

Have they fitted you for a straight jacket yet? Or will they let you run free in the maelstrom of insanity like the rest of us?

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Meredith,

My favorite mini-rules withing Pathfinder are the "games within games." By this I mean the plethora of instances during the adventures wherein the brave heroes play games with or against the NPCs or each other. Mayhaps this is not within the purview of your assigned task, but some examples would be:

From "Curse of the Crimson Throne,"
Knivesies (Edge of Anarchy - Eel's End)
Blood Pig! (Escape from Old Korvosa - Pilts's Palace)
Sredna (History of Ashes - at the Kallow Mounds)

From "Second Darkness,"
Bounder, Ghoulette, Golem, Skiffs (All from Shadow in the Sky, described in the "Golden Goblin" article)

From "Kingmaker,"
The many tournament games... boasting, wood chopping, archery... (All from War of the River Kings, Pitax)

From "Council of Thieves,"
Dress Rehearsal at the Limehouse (The Sixfold Trial, not the actual play which was a series of encounters, but the bit with the goat...)

And... gosh, I'm sure so many more that I can't remember right now. But I assume your job is more along the lines of...

Kingdom Building
Caravans
Relationship scores
Shipwreck survival
Competitive Exploring of Ancient Ruins (City of Seven Spears)
Mass combat
Vehicles
Performance Combat
Duels
Haunts
Hero Points
Races (my favorite!)
Settlement statistics
Words of Power
Style Feats
Grit
Teamwork Feats
etc etc etc...

Well, that killed the 20 minutes I needed it to. Victory is mine. How much XP is 20 minutes worth? CR 2?

Shadow Lodge

I didn't even know they had finished disposing of the last inter....oh, hi Meredith ! :)


Welcome Merdith!


I can't believe they keep finding hopeless fools....I mean bright young prospects...to keep applying to be unpaid minions...I mean interns.

Ahem. Welcome aboard.


Little bit of a spoiler there about lycanthropy and all that but since you seem to be holding the line against a stone lion there I won't test my luck.

Hope you have a good time hanging out in a place that I can only assume is accurately described by the word "Nerdvana."

Dark Archive

Meredith Kniest wrote:

ulgulanoth - to your first comment, no, that will never happen. You guys have years on me. Decades, if you count the D&D precedent!

To your question, what is 3PP?? Stop scaring me!

3PP = 3rd party publishers, you know those guys that get featured in the store blog every now and then, with their own strange and obscure rules they make up all the time...

Dark Archive

Welcome aboard, Meredith! We librarians also do a fair amount of cataloging, so you have my sympathies. :)

I think you'll do just fine, as long as you stay of the basement (Crystal's pesky goblin minions live there!) and don't try to steal Sean's tupees or hair growth oil. Also, ignore any references to Wes' "hidden" lingerie collection, and vehemently turn down all of his attempts to show you some of his "secret good stuff".

Dark Archive

i wonder if wayfinder stuff will get added to the list...?... :P


Meredith Kniest wrote:

LoreKeeper - (Your name is already making you sound infinitely useful.) I haven't delved into the FAQs yet. Do you guys add new rules there? Crap.

Also, I think your wiki idea is fantastic!! However, there would no longer be a good excuse for Wesley to hire and harass interns...

heh - the name isn't particularly indicative, there are some really well-informed people on the boards here though.

The FAQs don't usually introduce *new* rules, but they do explain/expand a lot. Eventually some FAQ entries should also cycle back into the actual product - but I'm fairly certain that many FAQ entries will remain FAQ only.

The wiki is probably still a good idea to pursue, since an intern (i.e. you) would still have to create the Paizo-internal documentation with the appropriate structures/links/references and of course verify all the things that people put in the wiki are accurate.

Scarab Sages

MMmmmm.....intern brainnnnnnsssss

Shadow Lodge

Aberzombie wrote:
MMmmmm.....intern brainnnnnnsssss

Bad Aberzombie...No eating the Interns brains any more you know what happened last time.

Contributor

We are still lacking rules for high-fives between allies. I was thinking of allowing a high five to be a free action between adjacent allies, limited to five per round. After that, each high-five would be a move action that provokes AOOs. A high ten would also be a provoking move action. Either of these could be taken as a standard action that would not provoke.

Anyway, just a thought. I have a feeling having high-five rules would be very important. Best of luck to you!


My understanding was that the Intern High Sacrifice was next week...oh, but I see I miscalculated the apogee of Eox as it aligns with Apostae. Good luck anyway, Meredith! You're in a magical place. Hopefully we will all get to enjoy the fruits of your labors, and not just the Big Evil Dinosaur and his minions.

Scarab Sages

Moar Internz!


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Welcome and good luck, Meredith!

If you are interested in playing, it shouldn't be too hard to find a game where the GM or other players are willing to help with questions. As someone who's cataloging rules, your seeing quite a few of them anyway so you may pick up things quicker than you'd expect.

And don't worry about the comments from zombies looking for brains, or hissing, or even mentions about sacrifices... they're all for show, its the quiet ones you should worry about...

Here's hoping you enjoy your stay, and maybe even stick around the gaming community in the future. Editors are always needed!


Poor girl. You probably thought this would be just another practical, like any other. I fear that by the end, you'll have trouble keeping the likes of Shakespeare apart from the likes of Lokoris in your head, and will be quite bemused when someone doesn't count "Six trials of Larazod" among the most controversial plays.

But I think you'll be alright as long as you remember to use CE in the real world. If you start giving dates in AR, you're beyond help! ;-P


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Meredith Kniest wrote:
Unfortunately, I haven't started playing yet. I want to, though! I'm so ashamed of my noobitude, I would hate to hold up anyone's game asking eight kagillion questions.

You should walk over to HR (I've been told it's the Coke machine), and let who ever is there, know you need to play in a game for noobs.

A good bet is you could get an early shot at the new Beginner's Box set *and* get into a game with it's creators, developers and supporting cast.


We all started off as Noobs, so don't worry about that. Of course some of us were infants at the time, but infant noobs all the same. Enjoy. ;-)

P.S. Hardcore gamers hate that you get to work at their dream job. I'm just saying. ;-)

Scarab Sages

dartnet wrote:
Aberzombie wrote:
MMmmmm.....intern brainnnnnnsssss
Bad Aberzombie...No eating the Interns brains any more you know what happened last time.

Mrgh?


LoreKeeper wrote:
Meredith Kniest wrote:

LoreKeeper - (Your name is already making you sound infinitely useful.) I haven't delved into the FAQs yet. Do you guys add new rules there? Crap.

Also, I think your wiki idea is fantastic!! However, there would no longer be a good excuse for Wesley to hire and harass interns...

heh - the name isn't particularly indicative, there are some really well-informed people on the boards here though.

The FAQs don't usually introduce *new* rules, but they do explain/expand a lot. Eventually some FAQ entries should also cycle back into the actual product - but I'm fairly certain that many FAQ entries will remain FAQ only.

The wiki is probably still a good idea to pursue, since an intern (i.e. you) would still have to create the Paizo-internal documentation with the appropriate structures/links/references and of course verify all the things that people put in the wiki are accurate.

Some of the FAQs have rules updates and are temporary errata.

There have been new rules introduced in some of the blogs too, for things that would be long or complicated FAQs. Ultimate Magic was missing the cantrips, for instance. And there is the new stealth rules playtest.

Anyway, welcome to the community Meredith. I hope you have a fun and interesting time, and you enjoy the new hobby.

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