Anyone recieved this yet?? I'm tempted....but need to know more.

Ordered this on saturday, but it still shows as "pending".

Question revolves around background generation. There were a series of books, ages ago, don't remember their names but for Fantasy, Modern and Future, that used charts and die rolls if you wanted randomness, for a varied background- things from parents and events of childhood and young adulthood. How does your book approach this topic? :)

We dedicate more than 50 pages to tables that help spark cool ideas when conceptualizing a character. The area you were born, number of siblings, organizations you may be involved with, character quirks, character features (not "how long your finger nails are or what color hair"), nightmares, dreams, omens, coming of age ceremonies, hobbies, phobias, inheritance, birthmarks, tattoos, etc. And we very much provide the types of charts you used as examples as well.

Then, we go into focusing on developing your choice of class and why. There are lots of preview pages on the book's official website at AEG:

http://www.alderac.com/ultimatetoolbox/

-DM Jeff

Anyone recieved this yet?? I'm tempted....but need to know more.

I have the whole book here, if you have any specific questions (only cause I wrote it and all). Also, the AEG website has a page with a bunch of preview pages (link in the above post).

-DM Jeff

I ordered both Toolboxes yesterday. While I was writing the store blog yesterday, I just kept thinking to myself, "Lisa, you should own these books. They would be great tools for the campaign." So, soon, I expect to be the proud owner of both books. :)

-Lisa

I ordered both Toolboxes yesterday. While I was writing the store blog yesterday, I just kept thinking to myself, "Lisa, you should own these books. They would be great tools for the campaign." So, soon, I expect to be the proud owner of both books. :) -Lisa

For some reason when I read this the first thing that popped into my head was a line from the first Batman movie: "Oh, and Alfred, give Knox a grant."

This is news to be proud of. I Hope you enjoy them both!

-DM Jeff

Mac Boyce wrote:

Anyone recieved this yet?? I'm tempted....but need to know more.

Ordered this on saturday, but it still shows as "pending".

We're still awaiting our shipment, which should arrive any time now.

I have the original and love it. I use it nearly every game session.

My first real question is this. Is there ANY overlap? Is there reprinted material at all.

If so, how much?

An index would be wonderful to see.

Sean

My first real question is this. Is there ANY overlap? Is there reprinted material at all. If so, how much? An index would be wonderful to see.

:-)

Hi Sean! We reprinted a small handful of tables from the first book we felt were invaluable. A very small few. Like less than a dozen.

The index is posted for everyone to see on the book's website: HERE.

Click on the link there that says "DOWNLOADS" and you can download the entire index and a few small samples from selected chapters!

-DM Jeff

A Paizo exclusive...

1d20 GM Headaches Cured
1 A maker's mark? Where did this magic sword come from?
2 A symbol? Of which noble family?
3 But, we killed that guy months ago, how is he behind this crime?!
4 He offers me an irresistible bribe? Like what?
5 How do you explain my wizard graduating at such a young age?
6 I eavesdrop…what are they saying to each other?
7 I take watch in the crow's nest. What do I see?
8 I'm a fighter, I don't think I have anything to do in the city…
9 It's called Mount…um, the Mountain of the…uhh.
10 My character has nightmares? Like what?
11 Ok, so we get to the top of the ridge, what do we see?
12 The bag of holding ruptures? Well, what happens now?
13 The locals? What do they dress and act like? Who are their gods?
14 They're performing a ceremony? For what?
15 What does my bard know about these caverns?
16 What happens to him when I land my critical hit?
17 Who's in the inn? What are they doing? Who's singing what now?
18 Why did the players skip the city? Now what do I do?
19 Who is she, and what is she doing here?
20 You're telling me we sailed 400 miles and saw nothing?!

And this barely scratches the surface of what you can do with UT. :-)

-DM Jeff

Dawn and I just opened a box with our copies of Ultimate Toolbox inside. At least now we know it's real. ;-)

-DM Jeff

golem101 wrote:

Mac Boyce wrote:

Anyone recieved this yet?? I'm tempted....but need to know more.

Ordered this on saturday, but it still shows as "pending".

We're still awaiting our shipment, which should arrive any time now.

Now shipping! w00t!!

So this is being touted as the successor to the original Toolbox. Is there any reason to buy this and the old toolbox? The old toolbox had:

Over 400 charts
Name charts
Hit location charts
Traps!
10 Pickpocket charts with 200 entries
City and Dungeon generators
Encounter charts galore
Contents of a wizard's lab
Taverns!
Enough information to choke a yak

Does this new one have all that?

I just went through all the online samples of this book I could find and wow. Wow on 2 fronts. Wow, I will be picking this gem up for its creativity and ease of use. Wow, you guys need a proof reader, maybe a fact checker. Below are a few of the ones I found.

Table 7–25: Villains - knowledge on an
6 Cryntona: Corrupt priest who seeks to destroy all knowledge eon a ancient trapped god of good

Table 7–75: Quests – Sargasso Sea is a place, I think you meant sea
1 Charter a ship to a dread sargasso to discover the fate of a legendary pirate’s lair

Table 1–66: Criminal Path – Sociopathic, but I think you mean sadist.
5 Enjoys causing others harm (sociopathy)

Table 7–40: Hidden Agenda - Deconstruction or social experiment. I think.
Deconstructtion or societial experiment

Table 3–89: Medicinal Herbs – So many things in that table are wrong. Not misspelled or anything, just wrong. IE “2 Anise, for insomnia”. Nothing to do with insomnia, more like digestive problems.

Not a big deal, but I figured this is a book by nerds for nerds, this nerd noticed :p I will be pickin this up though.

So this is being touted as the successor to the original Toolbox. Is there any reason to buy this and the old toolbox?

Wow, on 2 fronts.

1) Thanks for finding the online previews, and taking a peek! As you saw, it does have the offerings of the first in type but all new, and bolstered with so much more.
2) Thanks for pointing out a few foibles, keeping us mortal!

-DM Jeff

Is this anything like the old 2nd edition World Builders Guidebook (I loved that book and still use it) or is it more akin to Robin D. Laws' Laws of Good Gamemastering? I'm guessing it's somewhere in between, but I'm very interested in the content.

Actually, anise mixed with warm milk is a traditional insomnia cure. The herbalism is sound on that end.

And "Sargasso" has been used in the general sense for quite some time. (cf. Andre Norton's "Sargasso of Space") You can have a Sargasso somewhere other than the Sargasso the same way as you can have a Mecca somewhere other than Mecca.

(I don't mind nitpicking, but please check your facts before you do.)

Is this anything like the old 2nd edition World Builders Guidebook (I loved that book and still use it) or is it more akin to Robin D. Laws' Laws of Good Gamemastering? I'm guessing it's somewhere in between, but I'm very interested in the content.

I know both books, and I'd say it's closer to the former, with plenty of 'good gamemastery' built in.

I too remember fondly the World Builder's Guidebook. It contained a ton of pages with open graph paper on the top of pages and entry lines underneath for you to fill in to create kingdoms, forests, countrysides, even continents and cities.

If you take a piece of graph paper (not included) and sit yourself down, then yes it very much plays the part of a world builder.

The "world" chapter in fact helps you build whole continents with visual cues, entire overland hex maps. Hope that helps!

*And Kevin, thanks for your observations too!*

-DM Jeff

I'm always looking for new strange tables that I'm never going to use in a real game.

Yes, I know, I can't understand it myself too, likely it's just some kind of irrational sheer love for random tables ;).

Anyway, I'm quite interested on this book, but I have no idea of what is inside. Can I see table of contents or an index somewhere?

I'm always looking for new strange tables that I'm never going to use in a real game.

The thing is, we wrote these tables from the point of view of actually gaming 4-6 times a month, so we hope the tables will be useful!

Anyway, I'm quite interested on this book, but I have no idea of what is inside. Can I see table of contents or an index somewhere?

Sure thing. Go to this LINK and take a look at the intro, the entire index, and lots of sample tables!

-DM Jeff

This looks intriguing. Is there an electronic version?

Paper is cool, but sometimes hauling half my library around turns gaming into work. An electronic version (PDF maybe?) would make this a much-welcomed edition to my virtual stack of stuff.

Thank you.

This looks intriguing. Is there an electronic version?

For now there is not. We will work with AEG going forward and hopefully have an electronic version available sometime.

-DM Jeff

Is this anything like the old 2nd edition World Builders Guidebook (I loved that book and still use it) or is it more akin to Robin D. Laws' Laws of Good Gamemastering? I'm guessing it's somewhere in between, but I'm very interested in the content.

Puts it to dust. Gone.

I just got the book tonight. I am speechless. If I had to grab just one book from my burning house, this book would be it.

You remember when Jafar became a Djinni in Aladdin. It feels like that.

"The Power! Muuhahah! The Power! All in an itty bitty living space."

You won DMJeff!!

Been there done that?

Guess what? You will have to do it again.

Congrats to you three. This is an amazing thing. I feel like going to explore an alien world next and then pop into the 4th Dimension for kicks. This is what "living the life" is about.

Zux

I just preordered it here in Germany, after all the good words I've heard about it!
Hopefully it will be available again soon, as this monster is pretty expensive to get shipped to me from the Paizo Warehouse...

This thread was so helpful. My copy is on its way on the Fed Ex truck which will be at my house tomorrow.

I just got the book tonight. I am speechless. If I had to grab just one book from my burning house, this book would be it.

You remember when Jafar became a Djinni in Aladdin. It feels like that.

"The Power! Muuhahah! The Power! All in an itty bitty living space."

I'm very glad you like it. :D It was a fun book to write.

I just got the book tonight. I am speechless. If I had to grab just one book from my burning house, this book would be it.

Thanks Zux for the awesome kind words. Hope you get loads of use from it!

-DM Jeff

This one was literally, write up my alley. Pun intended.

Zux

I ordered my copy through my FLGS. I picked it up yesterday. I have been browsing through it and have only made it through about halfway. That's even considering reading in bed. I have seen several places where I will use the information inside to update the Second Darkness AP that I should be running in a couple of weeks. The charts are set up based on rolling a d20, or you can just choose what suits you. There is a very good index in the back. One thing I question is why put "Using This Chapter" at the end of the chapter? It seems more logical to me to have it at the beginning of the chapter. But that is just my take on the subject. Once I finish going through this book I will try to write a review. I think it is still too early for me to do that yet. All in all, I like what I have seen so far. I consider this well worth the money.

Just my 2 cp.

EDIT: After reading Lisa's post I should add that the Toolbox is enroute through UPS from Paizo. So by Friday I should have access to both books. My players should read the old Civil Defense Safety posters, "Stand up, spread your legs, bend over and kiss your a** goodbye". Did I just date myself? Oh well, I have posted my age here before it is really no big deal. Anyway, nice set of books.

One thing I question is why put "Using This Chapter" at the end of the chapter? It seems more logical to me to have it at the beginning of the chapter. Anyway, nice set of books.

Glad you like the look of UT so far! The whole idea of 'using the chapter' I think, was sort of a "you just got a whole ton of themed info, here's how to put it together" deal. It could have worked at the beginning too, sure!

-DM Jeff

Taking your view in perspective I can understand your point. As such I agree that it can work in either place. Still a nice book. Thanks for creating it.

Just my 2 cp.

When will a pdf version of this book be available?

As much as I'd like to buy this book. Shipping costs for such a big volume would make it unfeasable for most europeans over here.

A pdf offering the advantage that it is always available on your labtop.

Cheers,
Günther

well I most certainly want it. Now not to sound evil, but why is it not on Amazon? Also, will it be in pdf form??

Got mine on Wednesday off the FEDEX truck. Its great book! I have one or two minor quibbles but ALL in ALL I expect to get great use out of it.

We've let AEG know how important a PDF version would be and I expect to work with them on that going forward, but no exact date or info yet.

-DM Jeff

We've let AEG know how important a PDF version would be and I expect to work with them on that going forward, but no exact date or info yet.

-DM Jeff

Hi Jeff,

thanks for keeping us updated.
A pdf for a reasonable price: I'd instantly buy this product.

Kr,
Günther

I will definitely buy a PDF version too. I use my hard copy when planning games, but in-game, I feel it's better to turn to the laptop rather than pull out a book which (as far as the players are concerned) could be titled "the DM hasn't planned this bit".

Great book, by the way!

I will definitely buy a PDF version too. Great book, by the way!

Glad you like it so far Toby!

-DM Jeff

We have our first review friends, and it's a good one indeed!

LINKY

-DM Jeff

Another review is up at EN World!

LINK

Anyone else lurking here in the Paizoverse get a copy and have any impressions?

-DM Jeff

And "Sargasso" has been used in the general sense for quite some time. (cf. Andre Norton's "Sargasso of Space") You can have a Sargasso somewhere other than the Sargasso the same way as you can have a Mecca somewhere other than Mecca.

Don't they have several in Japan?

Oh wait...

That's Mecha. Carry on.

Another review is up at EN World!

LINK

Anyone else lurking here in the Paizoverse get a copy and have any impressions?

-DM Jeff

Still digesting. I'll try to get motivated and post something by the weekend.

Anyone else lurking here in the Paizoverse get a copy and have any impressions?

I love it. (But I am biased *looking at the credits page* so ignore me.)

Another review is up at EN World!

LINK

Anyone else lurking here in the Paizoverse get a copy and have any impressions?

-DM Jeff

Got my copy on Monday (yay! less than a month in transoceanic voyage!), still "on hold" due to a week of no spare time at all.

Hey Everyone,

If you're not on enworld, I've posted a contest there for some free books for people who OWN the Ultimate Toolbox and have ideas on how to use it.

Feel free to check it out and post your entries.

Contest runs through April 9.

- jim

And just to correct a few concerns about the Ultimate Toolbox.

1. There is little to no overlap from Book 1 to Book 2.
2. Some sentence fragmenting exists for space (and sometimes because jeff is a noob). We were aware of this while making the book. We didn't want to waste space for two extra words running over a line. That's not very TOOLBOX-Y.
3. And sometimes, editing 20,000 entries can just drain on you.

Anyway. Glad everyone is enjoying it. Even the nitpickers.

:)

Cool, I just ordered this lil' hunny, I'll have to check the contest out. (even though navigating EnWorld is like a trip to the dentist..)

2. Some sentence fragmenting exists for space (and sometimes because jeff is a noob). We were aware of this while making the book. We didn't want to bla bla bla

Note all the "We"s in there when you say that sir! It was good thing.

-DM Jeff

Here's a link to the contest for free game stuff.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/250472-why-did-no-one-t ell-me-ultimate-toolbox-5.html

And the due date is the 7th

Less than a week away

Oh man there is a sweet Goblin Stew recipie over there that just gets my mouth waterin'. Shiny.

-DM Jeff