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That's some fine ad copy there! Thanks!

I posted this question on Facebook, but figured posting it here would be good too. A lot of the Off Topic crew have been really helpful in a bunch of off-topic things, so why not?

I'll be driving a big U-Haul that'll be towing my car. While Austin has hills and I'm a Texas boy, I've never driven many big trucks and rarely towed things.

This one is the most direct, but has lots of mountains and a chance of snow. People have warned me about the Idaho/Utah border.
Option #1

This one's a little longer but looks like an easier trip. (I know I could take I-10 straight to I-5 and have fewer mountains, but I'd also gain half a dozen border checkpoints and I have an ethical opposition to checkpoints in my own country.)
Option #2

The AAA site suggests this one, but I don't know. It seems like a lot of mountains and it still brings me through that Idaho/Utah thing:
Option #3

I'll be checking the weather and road conditions before I leave and if I choose 1 and the weather's looking bad, I can switch to 2 with no difficulties.

I know people have debated their interest in fiction appearing in the AP as well as the number of monsters, and it seems everyone likes the deity articles, so let’s assume the format and type of articles goes unchanged to avoid rehashing those arguments.

I’ve also noticed that much of this material never shows up in reviews of the AP chapters. Why do you think this is? Do you think people are mainly focusing on the adventure at hand and consider the last third of the book to be extra? As someone who’s written a fair number of monsters and articles in the last third of those books, maybe I’m just sensitive. :)

What do people like and dislike about everything other than the adventures in the volumes of the APs?

What has stood out to those of you buying and reading the APs?

Which articles have seen the most use in your campaigns?

Which articles have seen the least use in your campaigns?

Share some cool photos of great places for adventures. Like this. The real world is such a great inspiration.

Hey, folks. I’m not sure how many of you have noticed, but Texas is on fire.

We’ve been under a serious drought and some pretty hardcore temperatures lately. There have been a lot of fires this season, but just this weekend, the tropical storm veered away from us, and instead of dropping some much-needed rain, it whipped up winds and pushed some brushfires to an out-of-control level. So far the fires have destroyed over 500 homes in Central Texas alone. Firefighters have been fighting some of the fires since Saturday and Sunday and they’re still listed as 0% contained. We’ve got winds between 12-24 mph and humidity hovering in the low teens, and no rain on the forecast, so things aren’t looking great.

One of my friends from work can’t make it in tomorrow because the road is closed into town due to the fires. He’s spent most of the day helping displaced people and helping the VFD in his small town get some extra trucks running. His wife, who runs a dog-sitting business opened her place to all the displaced pets.

Thankfully, casualties have been low, but a lot of people are evacuated from their homes, and hundreds of them don’t have anything to go back to. I know this isn’t a major flood, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or warzone that’s killed hundreds or thousands of people, but it’s in my backyard (figuratively) and it’s affecting my neighbors (again, figuratively), so it’s close to my heart.

You guys and girls are the only other community I have aside from my friends and family here in this area, so I’m asking y’all to keep us Texans in your thoughts. If you’re the praying type, kick that method. If you’re the donating type, this link gives some suggestions (Local Red Cross)

I’ve seen gamers help out tremendously for other natural disasters, so as one gamer to another, if you can lend a hand, Texans will graciously accept.

Sure, I know there’s a big chance some of y’all don’t listen to her music, but I was wondering if any crew here have heard her last album “Let England Shake”? I love the record, but I can’t help but think that it’d have more meaning for someone from or immediately living in England. I admit, while I can follow along, I’m sure there’s certain bits that are more profound. I’ve been a fan of PJ Harvey for a long time, so I’d like to see a broader perspective. Share what you can.

Thanks for the Store Blog love!

Edit: ...and seriously, take advantage of the $4.95 limited time offer on the PDF. If nothing else, there's 60 beautifully laid-out and illustrated full-color pages to drool over.

Hey folks!

Despite having a fair dose of con crud after the show, I worked up the monster we all created during my monster workshop. The resulting critter is available HERE on the koboldquarterly.com blog.

Thanks again to everyone who showed up and threw in their ideas. It was a fun time.

I was wondering if anyone knew of a resource that has the modules listed out by level, region the adventure takes place in, type of adventure, and whatnot. I was going to collect the data, but if someone else in this awesome community already did the work, I’d hate to duplicate it.

Just checking before I dive in.

The mighty Willie Walsh is writing adventures again!! I'm nabbing this immediately.

The factions have been around for a few years and have certainly gathered their share of fanatics, both online here on these boards and at conventions throughout the world.

This is a simple poll to find out what brought you to choose your particular faction.
What was the detail you focus on?
What makes you happy to further your faction’s goals?
What would you say embodies the particular faction you chose?
What do you hope to see your faction achieve?
How does your faction resonate with the character you brought to PFS?

You know, stuff like that. Rep your faction!

Hey folks, OwlCon on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas is right around the corner.

Okay, fine.
It's January 28th-30th, but GMs have already started planning. Since the first year PFS was at OwlCon, the interest and excitement has grown and this year is certainly no exception. I think we will double the number of tables from last year.

So come on down to Houston and pitch some dice and tell some tales. We even had some crazy Cajuns drive in from New Orleans in previous years, so don't pretend that Houston is too far for a fun weekend of gaming. (I'm looking at you, Metroplex Paizonians.)

Rock on, Mark!

Hey there! Just wanted to let you know that I’m baiting you into highly divisive political conversation.

Oh, I forgot my link to a charged article on the web.
Perhaps if the article isn’t charged enough, I can include some woolly text I can rub against that headline balloon to product a bit of static.

I am pretty interested in watching a train wreck, so please, by all means, fall into my trap and provide me with a simple chaotic glee.

The more abusive and outlandish the better.

Maybe we can drown out the silliness that used to happen in this section, and maybe, just maybe, the people who said they wouldn’t make a politics section will actually bend to their knees and create a section of the message boards we can flame into a burned out wasteland.

I saw this doc last night and found it to be amazing.

Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness
(For those of you with Netflix: streaming)

When I was a kid I used to explore all kinds of abandoned buildings and tunnels, so that was one reason I really liked this film. Also, these folks who make a hobby out of exploring urban environments take some amazing pictures and just a handful of shots is enough to give you tons of ideas for any modern or fantasy game.

Check it out.

I looked at the submissions page on the ENnies site and saw:

* Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide Playtest
* Pathfinder Society Scenario #29: The Devil We Know Part 1: Shipyard Rats

What else is up your sleeve?

Long live editors!

Dancing huts!?

Congrats!

Nice guest list...except for that Vaughan guy. ;)

Werd!

One of my co-workers is the kind of guy that gets really involved with things. He’s an active member of two different organizations related to the industry our company is in, started a Lions Club chapter in his community, volunteers his time for various non-profits, and gives to charities (ranging from signing up for the KQ Adopt-A-Soldier program despite not being a gamer to setting up collection bins for the local food bank). Just today when I was looking for a place to dispose of a pile of old dead computers, my co-worker found a guy in his community that collects computer bits to build computers to send to third world nations for kids to use. So yeah, he really makes an effort to make an effort and he’s always getting me and the other guys to do things as well. So, he approached me today about cooking a dinner at the local Ronald McDonald House. I dig cooking, did it for a living for over a decade, and like making people happy, so I’ll probably do it.

But this got me thinking. The Ronald McDonald House is a pretty well-known non-profit, and I’ve always rooted for the underdogs. So my challenge to y’all is to enlighten me to some more obscure charities that are really doing something fresh and amazing. I know 99% of charities are doing some good for someone, but I’m looking for the really creative ones or ones that seem to have a good take on some of the problems the world faces.

Now available!

I'm wondering if I screwed things up and overly complicated this order, which has been pending for over a week. I originally had my settings on either 'Ship Monthly' or 'Ship with AP' (I can't remember which.) Then I changed it to 'Don't Wait', and then added a non-sub item to the order. I'm not in a hurry, but I just wanted to make sure I didn't mess anything up. I'd also like to change my shipping option after this one goes out, and want to make sure that works smoothly.

Seriously. There could be.

You should go check.

If you contributed a Tavern Name, go back, find your numbered entry and give us no more than 25 words describing the establishment listed. (If you don't want to, that's cool.)

We can't even pretend for these to be in order, so make sure you note your numbered entry in the other thread.

7. The Jackalope – This desert bar hosts the gritty homesteaders who call this desolate land home. Behind the bar stands Jay Burton ready to serve anyone who can pay.

8. Lovejoy’s – This smoky den hosts a band of musicians every night. The local ale is cheap and the company is as well.

9. The Gingerman – Forty-one taps grace the shining lacquered wall behind the bar. This taproom and brewhouse prides itself as having the best brewers in the city.

10. Room 710 – A broken down cathedral houses a stage for some of the most avant-garde artists in the city. Cacophonous choruses echo from these broken walls nightly.

11. The Red-eyed Fly - Ruffians dominate this establishment. Fights rarely break out, however, unless an opposing gang of toughs decides to drink here.

12. Headhunter’s – A foreign investor bankrolled this jungle tavern. A fat and sweaty man named Jacobi constantly wipes the bar with the same towel he dabs at his brow.

13. Club Deville – A shining theater converted into a swanky bar, the enchantments outside draw crowds to capacity on resting days. The bartenders pour the drinks with loose hands.

14. Longbranch Tavern – Buried in the outskirts of town, this establishment serves well-crafted libations to the nearby laborers. The staff makes available a savory and filling dinner as well.

The last few conventions I’ve been to I didn’t recognize someone in meatspace that I’ve been holding conversations with here for years. The badges have our real names on them, but it would be really helpful for all of us to better identify each other at GenCon if we found some way to modify the badge, wear a name tag or some other way to let the rest of us Paizo messageboarders know each other’s handle. Tape and marker, stickers, a printed picture of your avatar, custom t-shirts, disturbing cosplay…whatever.

Nothing like some recognizable stories and friendly faces to make a crazy huge crowd seem much more familiar.

My boss bought me the new 16g 3G S yesterday and it's my first iPhone. (He picked up my phone bill too!) Does anyone have some fun tips, tricks or apps they can suggest? I've been playing around with it, but as always, when good advise is needed, the community is the best place to go.

...be with you.

Yo Cos or Alison, Think y'all could slap this order in with my next subscription shipment? Did I miss this option during checkout? I'd hate to bug y'all needlessly.

Thanks in advance!

I’ve been a fan of your work for a while now, and I want to say that I really appreciate the input into a cartographer’s mind you’ve given to all of us. It was very insightful reading your comments on how authors can improve their map turnovers. Again, thank you for your contributions to the community.

It's decided. The elections are over, can we please get back to rolling some freakin' dice? The Off Topic section has been positively annoying lately and I can't wait to get back to good ol' absurdity. I'll give you a few weeks to get it all out of your system.

Have fun and bubblezoid, wooly goldfish mannequin flesh monkey!

A year ago the announcement was made that Dragon and Dungeon "were going away". The darkness of that day was alleviated by another announcement.

Nearly halfway into the second Adventure Path with a double armload of adventures, a new RPG and heaps of accessories, this little bugger grew up fast and strong. Here’s to many more years of excitement, adventure and fun!

I’ve been reading as much of these posts as I can, and have really hesitated posting any observations until I got a chance to sit around a table and throw dice with my crew. Well, tonight I did just that and have to say, actually playing it instead of just reading it makes a difference.

I want to know who among us has actually built characters and ran through some scenarios with other players. I’m not saying that any one person’s opinion or experiences carry any more value or weight. I just know that my mind was eased into the understanding for a few rules that seemed kinda weird at first reading.

So, if you’ve played the Alpha – sign here.

Our group made 6th level characters. We each chose one of the classes and used a 32 point buy (what we normally use in our campaigns, actually). We gave full hp at first level and let the dice determine the other five.

We ran through four encounters in an extremely loose storyline. First there was a zombie attack on a village with 16 human commoner zombies attacked the party. Later, three trolls ambushed the party. Finding a cave that led into a ruined underground complex, the group met up with a guardian in the form of a grey render. After defeating the guardian, the group went face to face with something way out of their league just to prove that nothing was ridiculously powerful and fought a young adult green dragon.

I will post my notes in the appropriate threads after I go through them again and analyze.

A week and a half ago I played a game with one of my fellow players GMing a group of complete and total new RPG players. He wanted it to be simple and have a little bit of everything so that each character could shine at least once. He pre-generated three characters for the new folks and let me build my own 1st level PHB only fighter.

Doesn’t sound too exciting, does it?

That’s where you’re wrong. (Well, if you were me, so I guess that renders that whole rhetorical question moot.) That session was one of the most enjoyable gaming sessions I’ve had in ages. Was it because of the new life new players injected into a bored view of a basic D&D? Maybe. Was it that I only carried three books to the game, two of which were extra copies of the PHB that I passed out to the new players? Most definitely.

Does anyone here play a strict SRD only game?

Anything close?

How’s it going? Are you a RP kinda group or a crunchy group? Or both?

I ask because I recently ran past the players of my upcoming Runelords game the idea of getting back to basics and just using the SRD. Most of them were open to my call, but some I knew would prefer to play with a more broad selection of options.

I want to get feedback from groups/GMs/players that use few if any supplements.

I'm curious to know how many super special "Transposed AI" issues of this got out. Let me know if you got one of them. If you bought this episode here (or not the release day) then you do not have one.

By now, many of you are playing/running Rise of the Runelords. Some of you are nearly done. Some of you are in the middle and some of you just started. I’m right before that third category and will be running it for my old Greyhawk group in less than two weeks.

I am starting this thread to act like a condensed version of all 100+ threads and thousands of posts that I am slowly working my way through.

What things stood out in your mind as things a GM really should know after the fact?

Where did you screw up? And what can a guy approaching this AP do to avoid the same fate?

What do you suggest spending more/less time on?

How long has it taken you?

What levels were you up to when?

I’m sure I’ll have more questions, and I’ll ask them in their specific threads (I know how to use the search function!), but I just wanted to get the jump on things as I flood my brain with this entire section of posts, the AP adventures and my player’s random ideas and actions.

Preemptive thanks!

I’ve got a player in my upcoming RotRL game who has proposed a character idea and I wanted to run some things by the folks who make up the best boards in the multiverse.

His base idea is a dwarven transmuter who’s schtick is polymorphing into mean critters and beating the snot out of his foes. Good flavor, cool background, not in the slightest bit powergamey. Nice start. I haven’t talked to him about the details of this character in some time, but from what we talked about months ago (when he was going to use this idea for another game) he’s going to go with the warshaper PrC (CW p89). Still, not a bad call as far as I’m concerned. Hell, I think I might have suggested warshaper to him in the first place.

The thing that I’m concerned with is that he has talked about taking the reserve feat Minor Shapeshift (CM p45) and using it to gain the class abilities of the warshaper. I just don’t want him walking around immune to crits, +4s to Str and Con, and fast healing 24-7. Granted, the character can take the PrC as his 8th level and can’t get the feat until 9th.

The part of the whole build that I have contention with is that I do not feel that the benefits of minor shapeshift qualify for the use of the class features.

The class features function only when the warshaper is in a form other than her own.

That leaves a lot of room for interpretation seeing as the alternate form ability that quasits and vampires have do not even qualify a critter for the class.

I could be wrong on his intention and maybe he simply plans to benefit from the class features when he actually casts polymorph or one of those newfangled specific form polymorph spells.

I tossed the idea out there that we get back to basics with this game and rock it out SRD only, but I got a slight tinge of resistance from a couple of players. They eventually said that it’s my call. That’s only partially true. While it is my call, it is all of our fun at stake, and if they’re not having a good time with their characters, then no one is.

I'm a frozen dinner, eating at Applebee's and McDonald's kinda gamer.

I'm not proud.

I just never played many other systems longer than a couple of months at most. Is there a time travel RPG or a system that uses the subject/genre well or often?

After magazine cancellations and edition changes, through Adventure Paths, contested products and contests, you have always been there for me. May the deity of your choice bless each and every one of you that post here and brighten my day or enlighten me in some way!

I was wondering how many of you fine message board brothers and sisters recently came to these boards due to the contest? I'm sure some of this has been discussed before somewhere on the boards, most likely in nineteen or so different threads, but I was wondering out loud and thought it'd be interesting to see y'all sound off in one centralized place.

Happy Birthday, Samuel Butler! What a weird 395 years it’s been! Hope you’re well

From having a number of non-native English speakers in the Paizo fan club, both here on the boards and when I'm asleep in the chatroom, I have noticed a pronounced interest in having the Pathfinder and Game Mastery material translated. I was simply curious about the process in which that occurs.

Is it farmed out to a company that publishes in that certain tongue? Is it handled by a firm that is in business to translate published English material? Has fan-supplemented work ever sufficed for this kind of request?

There seems to be a fair number of competent German-speakers here on the boards that it seems that the translation process could easily go forward if there was a green light to do so without fear of IP issues. I was just wondering what this part of publishing entailed.

Does anyone have a list of all the critters featured in Ecology of... articles in the last few years?