Ed Healy's page

None. Sorry.

Fan-submitted ones are ok, but don't expect anything official.

Any news on the disposition on previously submitted, accepted and/or unpublished articles?

I just picked up The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant. You're looking at three minis and approximately a dozen cards. I described the Vault over on the thread about that product.

I don't have Sanctum yet, but since Mearls wrote it I'm sure it's full of devious evil. He has a certain Lovecraftian way about him.

They're worth the price, is all I can tell you. If you're not into miniatures, just grab the mini-adventure.

Giant squids. Would any of "the 20" be associated with them? Gozreh, perhaps?

Has anyone purchased this product yet? I'm anxious to hear more about it.

Today's blog is about Conquest. It's going to be released this month. So am I the only one that's excited?

The fey in "Carnival"...

Are these the keld piskies mentioned in D0?

How do these work? are they small modules with maps and stuff?

There's a short mini-adventure and some map tiles and three minis.

Cards 1-4: The adventure itself. There is a "Scaling" sidebar at the end. The only backstory has to do with the main bad-guys, who also happen to be the minis.

Card 5-6,7-8,9-10: Details about main bad-guys. Front side=sketch. Back side=stat block and picture of painted mini.

Map Tiles (4): Front side and back side are of the same location, but with changes. For instance, one might show a magic circle glowing (on one side), or a flooded passageway.

That's about it.

The good thing is that these mini-adventures can be plopped into any campaign / setting b/c other than the names of the three minis, there is nothing setting-specific in them to muck up your world.

Nick, what can you tell us about the keld piskies?

They are mentioned in D0. I don't think they're in D1, unless I missed the reference.

What level range is this written for?

Any Setting.

High Level (13th-16th).
Dungeon Crawl.

I wonder how applicable the history of the lich-king Tar-Baphon is to the region around Falcon's Hollow.

Another Q: about Paizo's RSS feeds:
How often do they update? I noticed that the blog feed thinks the last entry is in April (Ye Gods!).

Webgurus... is there a way to target a single post in a thread? For instance, if I only wanted the 3rd post in a thread to show up, is there an URL format that would isolate that single post?

I had suggested asking Pulp Gamer to produce podcasts of them all. I doubt anyone would mind you making a recording (even a video) of the seminars.

and there's a preview copy.

Rea-ea-eally...

Some nifty convention-only booklet?

Wireless access in the seminars? Wish we'd known that. We could have used the #pathfinder chat room - in addition to someone with a webcam...

Which Seminar are you in.

YOU NEED A WEBCAM ! ! !

If ANY of you attend the seminars, PLEASE bring something to record the audio and/or video. I'd love to have a listen!

I'd buy it now. August is a long way off, and D0 might be sold out (and gone for good) by then.

Oh, she's not canon by any means. I've not been invited to work on any of Paizo's projects... yet.

Shyama came about because I was trying a creative exercise. I wanted to see if I could create an interesting shtick for a LN character that wanted to worship a LE deity. I was reading through Z-K's info and thought it'd be cool if his faith had a sect of dominatrixes.

I haven't planned anything for Shyama, so feel free to use her. Why don't you guys see what you can come up with. A mini-contest! Maybe Lillith will volunteer to sketch the winner?

Let me appologize for not posting a summary of the last two weeks' chats. To make up for my lapse, I've compiled a summary of what was discussed on the following dates: 19 June, 26 June and 03 July.

* * * * *

NEW GAMEMASTERY PRODUCTS
(1) GameMastery Brand Electro-Shock Sleep Depravation Hat. "For when you have six different products to ship to the printer in two weeks. Accept no substitutes." (Jason has his set to 7.)

(2) GameMastery Brand Collectable Constructable Visual Enigmas. "Some might call them puzzles, but these are far more extreme... cuz there collectable."

* * * * *

FREE RPG DAY
It's come and gone (June 23rd), but you can still get a copy of D0 Hollow's Last Hope from the Paizo store. Also, make sure you drop by the Hollow's product page and download the PDF of the module, as well as the pregenerated characters.

* * * * *

THE BLOG
Paizo maintains a blog on their website. If you're interested in sneak peaks at upcoming products and the new setting, want to participate in any promotional contests they may sponsor, and just want to stay abreast of the latest Paizo news... that's the place to go. However, be advised that everything on the blog is, in essence, preview material. It is all subject to change.

For instance, the map of Varisia which was released on the blog has gone through some edits. 'Varisian Bay' is now known as 'Varisian Gulf' and 'The Face Pyramid' is now 'The Sunken Queen'.

* * * * *

GAMEMASTERY MODULES
The GameMastery Module Subscription service is now live. Combo shipping for Pathfinder subscribers is still in the works, and should be ready by the time Burnt Offerings ships.

D0 Hollow's Last Hope: Released 23 June. Hard Copies are selling fast. It is not part of the subscription service, so don't delay in ordering your copy.

D1 Crown of the Kobold King: Released last week. This module the backdrop for a huge, three-dimensional 'delve' event premiering at Origins this weekend.

W1 Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale: Should be released in the next two weeks.

* * * * *

PATHFINDER
The August release of Burnt Offerings and the Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide is close at hand. James is fairly certain that Paizo will be selling Pathfinder products at GenCon--so if you plan on attending the show, make sure to drop by their booth.

Each Pathfinder product will include some non-adventure material, the character of which will change with each chapter. However, two things will stay constant: the "Pathfinder Journal," which will read like an in-character campaign log, with crunchy game sidebars, about various regions of Golarion, and the Bestiary, which will always have at least six new monsters. Other features will include articles in the style of Dragon's ecologies and core beliefs/demonomicons, as well as in-depth setting expansions like Dungeon's city/regional backdrops.

The monsters featured in Pathfinder will all be new material. For the most part, three will be provided by that chapter's adventure writer, and be featured in the adventure itself. The other three will be designed by other authors--meaning monster creation is one avenue for aspiring freelancers who wish to work with Paizo on their new product lines.

Those interested in new spells will have to wait a bit. James said that Sins of the Saviors (Pathfinder #5) is the first installment that features new spells.

Adventure Path II: When asked if the second Path will visit south-eastern Varisia, James replied "Let's put it this way: by this time next year Korvosa will probably be the most heavilly detailed city in our campaign setting."

* * * * *

THE SETTING
Paizo hasn't announced the setting name yet, but it won't be long. Given the fact that Burnt Offerings and the Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide both include the setting name, you can expect the announement in the near future. Chances are high that Erik will be leaking the info at Origins this weekend.

For those who might have missed the previous announcement, Paizo has announced the name of the planet at the center of their new setting: Golarion.

A setting guide is still a possibility, but Paizo is focusing its world development efforts on publishing adventures for the time being. They've got a historical timeline worked out, but it's not going to be ready for publication any time soon. James said "For the immediate future, the Pathfinder Adventure Paths will be advancing as real life time goes by. Events in Rise of the Runelords will lead directly into the second Adventure Path, for example."

Poster maps is one thing that Paizo is still trying to figure out. James said they're looking to release maps of Varisia, Sandpoint, and other locations, but can't do so until they can come up with an effective means of distribution.

Paizo Iconics: Those who have read D0 and D1 will note that two of the iconics don't have portraits yet. As soon as the art is finalized, this will change. Also, for those of you who were wondering... Kyra is a cleric of Sarenrae.

Thassilon: This ancient realm has its own language, also called 'Thassilon.' It can be found on giant monuments and in tombs all over Varisia. "Think of it like sanskrit or Egyptian heiroglyphs," James said. "No one alive today really knows how to speak it, but many scholars certainly know how to read it." He also said that the ability to read and understand Thassilon will help during Rise of the Runelords.

The Gorilla King: Throne of the Gorilla King is being ported into the new setting. It is not in Varisia, but James gave no other indication as to its placement in the new world order.

* * * * *

DEITIES
The majority of the god names were lifted more or less whole from James's home campaign. Other members of the Paizo staff also contributed: Shelyn (Mike McArtor), Torag (Jason Bulmahn), Iomadae (Erik Mona), Gozreh (Wes Schneider), Cayden Cailen (James Sutter).

One way in which Paizo's pantheon will differ from that found in the 'worlds most popular roleplaying game' is in the use of non-deity outsiders. In Golarion, demon lords and arch devils and celestial paragons can grant spells to their clerics.

If you check the list of 'the 20' powers of Paizo's core pantheon, you'll notice they've made use of most of the SRD domains. James said "Adding domains like Charm and Madness really helps to round out a lot of the deities who otherwise start to feel a little bit the same. Plus, there's certain types of deities (like love deities and non-evil death deities) who simply don't work with the PHB domains only."

Each deity has five domains. In most cases, one of those five is a non-PHB domain from the SRD. If you only have access to the PHB, the gods still work fine--you can just ignore the fifth domain. James said "If and when we do a Campaign Setting Book, we'll have all the SRD domains bundled there. We just don't have room to reprint them in the Player's Guide or in Pathfinder."

Paizo will likely be adding more domains in the future. "We'll be eventually detailing all of our core deities in a format similar to Dragon's 'Core Beliefs' articles," James said. "Desna might get a 'Dreaming' domain."

Pharasma: "She's Neutral, and therefore gives her clerics the choice of Death or Repose on how they want to handle things. Kind of like how the god of magic grants Destruction and Protection."

Cayden Cailean: "He is one of the ascended gods, which is why he has a last name. He's basically the god of bravery and all that because he drinks. Without the drink... nothing." The other ascended deities are Iomedae and Norgorber.

Urgathoa: "Urgathoa's pretty hard-core. She's not pleasant to be around. At other times she's a creepy thin goth girl with rotten breath."

Calistria: "Calistria is the one you'll want to look up if you're looking for a less violent and horrific 'bad girl.' Callisto is probably going to be inspiration, thematically, but it won't be the same character as Calistria."

Shelyn: "'Cause it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Zon-Kuthon: "Zon-Kuthon's cult plays a pretty big role in Pathfinder #2, and an even bigger role in the soon-to-be-anounced second Adventrue Path."

* * * * *

CORE RACES
Unlike Paizo's treatment of goblins, the other core races (elves and dwarves and the like) won't differ greatly. The two that have gotten the most discussion lately are halflings and gnomes. Jason said "We did a fair amount of work on halflings and gnomes to give them a better niche."

Elves: James posed the following question during last week's chat: "What's better for elves? Long pointed ears or short pointed ears?" If you have an opinion, sound off on the messageboards.

The first elf illustration appears in Pathfinder 1 (Shalelu Andosani the fighter/ranger goblin killer), with some basic info in the Player's Guide.

Those interested in information about the Mierani will be pleased to know that The Hook Mountain Massacre (Pathfinder #3) will feature some information about the Mierani Forest.

Dwarves: Guy dwarves will have beards. Girl dwarves will not.

Gnomes: Mike McArtor is riding point on gnomes. Paizo has stressed one thing repeatedly: gnomes won't be 'thinner dwarves.' They'll be their own species, with close ties to the fey realm. "Think of them as humanoids who started out as fey but for whatever reason 'evolved' into the humanoid type, James said. They retain a lot of their fey heritage, such as being able to talk to animals and use magic, though.

And of course there must be gnome ninjas!

Halflings: James said "Think of them as social parasites. They don't really have a society of their own--they kind of glom on to other nearby societies and adopt their ways. Their standard society is kind of nomadic, but in cases where they settle down next to other societies, they adopt local customs. Halflings who live near dwarves, for example, grow beards and are into mining/metalwork/drinking chewy beer."

* * * * *

MONSTERS
Paizo has decided that pre-done knowledge checks for monsters are a waste of space. Instead, by removing the knowledge check sidebars, they hope to give the DM the power to decide what to reveal to the PCs.

Goblins: Goblin halberds are called 'horsechoppers.'

The goblins in the first Pathfinder adventure really get up to some crazy stuff. They are, however, goblins--and therefore evil. James was kind enough to describe a common goblin game during the chat:

"Killgull is a goblin game, in which goblin #1 ties a string to a sea gull's foot and 'flies' it like a kite. The other goblins each have 3 rocks and try to stone the gull out of the sky. Goblin #1 yanks the string to prevent the gull from being hit. Whoever kills the gull gets to eat it. If no one kills it, goblin #1 eats the gull. The leftovers are used to attract more sea gulls."

Terror Birds: "I can GUARENTEE we'll have some sort of big flightless bird menace in our world."

Constructs: "There'll certainly be things like homunculouses and other constructs, but they'll be more like golems and less like robots. More glowing runes, less blinking lights."

Bullywugs: The Skinsaw Murders (Pathfinder #2) will feature Paizo's take on the frog-man, the 'boggard'.

Drow: "There are drow in our world, but they won't have an Eilistraee drow goddess in our world. The closest you'll get to her is probably Sarenrae."

Ogres: "Think of our ogres as mutants. Hillbilly mutants. Who fight with hooks."

Ghouls: "Our ghouls are kind of like serial killers who live under graveyards."

* * * * *

LIVING PATHFINDER
Paizo is still looking at a Living campaign, which will probably be run by Jason and Erik. One thing is for certin, any living campaign will be limited to a single region of the world. What happens in Living Pathfinder STAYS in Living Pathfinder, in other words.

* * * * *

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
"We'll absolutely have answers by Gen Con. Whatever we decide, the actual writer's guidelines will likely be very close to what we utilize for Dragon and Dungeon."

DESIGN CONTEST
"I'm fairly certain Pathfinder will have design contests of some sort."

CHARACTER SHEETS
"Those things are trouble. They kill graphic designers. I'd LOVE to have a Pathfinder character sheet some day, though. If we DID do a character sheet... it'd be a new design from the ground up."

When I was little, Mum used to give me sweet-meats for breakfast. That's what I had every morning for years. I'd sit watching the people in the market and nibble the morning away. I have a sweet tooth now.

But Mum wasn't "all there." She was very excitable, with a tendancy to be needlessly dramatic. For a young child, it was very frustrating. Mum used to take me to the seedy bars where she worked--stripping for men with coin to spare. She used to dress me up in her clothes because I was quite tall and she was short. I was her little friend.

She'd take me on trips, too. We'd set out with no destination in mind. Eventually some kind traveller would let us hitch a ride in the back of their cart and we'd ride until Mum found a town worth staying in for a while. If wanderlust can be a part of someone's soul, it was in Mum's. I think I lived in five different homes before the age of ten.

One day I woke up and no one was home. It was the scariest day of my life. I was convinced Mum had left and forgot to bring me along. Hours later, though, she came back with an arm-load of new clothes and some toys for me to play with. She'd simply gone shopping, and forgot to tell me. I was so worked-up I couldn't make her understand... "But look, I've got you toys!"

When I was ten Mum left and never came back. I'm still not sure what happened to her. I was lucky enough--if you want to call it that--to be taken in by some of the local churches. Over the next six years I was in eight different homes. The longest I spent with any one family was from age 13 to 15. They were a strict bunch, and very conservative. Everything I did was wrong. For a while I believed I was evil incarnate. Even when I tried to be good, it didn't work.

It didn't help that something seemed to be wrong with my body. For some reason my arms and legs are longer than those of normal people. I was always really lanky. Even as a toddler I was gangly--head and shoulders above other children. I felt awkward and had no sense of grace. It took me a long time to get over it. I looked so odd the other kids would tease me without mercy. One of my foster-brothers said I should be a mummer with a circus, and the name stuck. From then on, people called me "Mum"--which is bittersweet as that's what I called my Mum.

I was the freakish girl who was always in trouble for some reason, so I embraced the darker things in life.

Once I was independent I nurtured my own power, and I wielded it. I became a dominatrix in part because it sounded glamorous, but mostly because I wanted control. A preiestess took me on as an apprentice and I began my new career. It was a stimulating experience--learning how to strip the facade off people and get to know the soul buried beneath.

Being a dominatrix was therapy. It helped me understand myself and learn where emotions came from. It also gave me an outlest for those emotions. I took back my own life. I don’t regret it at all. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I could be who I wanted to be, no matter how bizarre – and I was bizarre.

After some years, I knew it was time to quit. The work was no longer stimulating me, I’d lost my passion for it and was no longer fulfilling. I got too full of myself, thinking I was almost omnipotent – "I’m the mistress!" When there is no joy in what you're doing, you know there’s no point doing it.

It's been two years since I left the church of Zon-Kuthon.

Drop me a line.

Done.

"The Late Unpleasantness" (May 17th blog) indicated that the Sheriff of Sandpoint was one Casp Avertin. In your posts the Sheriff's name is Hemlock. Is this another change, or did Avertin bite the big one at some point?

I'm not sure how the market is for figurines, but have you considered doing some for the iconics if they become really popular?

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

I'm waiting to see where the Gorilla King will show up.

If you liked Crown of the Kobold King, you might find THIS interesting.

Hint, read page 3 of CotKK again.

If you liked Crown of the Kobold King, you might find THIS interesting.

Hint, read page 3 of CotKK again.

D1 Crown of the Kobold King (page 3):
"The patron is not concerned about a ragtag band of kobolds, but rather divinations reveal that a greater evil grows restless farther below the earth, a dread undead rumored to serve the infamous Whispering Tyrant."

Just something to consider, for those looking to add some depth to adventures around Falcon's Hollow.

LG Goddess of valor, rulership, justice, honor
Domains: Glory, Good, Law, Sun, War
Favored Weapon: longsword

It's a rather surreal experience, discussing blockages and constipation with someone named "Grunt."

Some of the Item Cards feature elements from the GameMastery and Pathfinder lines. The Compleat Encounters, which came out prior to the new campaign setting, will be incorporated within it somehow (esp the last two).

So, yes. There will be some synergy. Cool, huh?

/me sits down.

Ah, writer's block... My amount of writer's block is directly proportional to how much I care about the subject, and inversely proportional to how much I know about it.

Case in point, when I write about paintball I can pump out 1,000 words in less than ten minutes. I know what I'm talking about and I don't care too much about being over-analyzed by my reader. Very little block.

But gaming material? While I'm moderately familiar with the subject matter, I'm by no means a subject matter expert. And, I really care what my reader thinks and want the final product to be "perfect." Writer's constipation.

Encounter 14. Secret Prison

- The stat block title should likely be singular: Dwarf Warrior Skeleton (3).

- In the TACTICS section it reasons that the skeletons attack with their natural weapons because "they have no scimitars." I couldn't figure out why this would be mentioned. Were the dwarves of this area known to wield scimitars? The odd thing is that this is _the only_ mention of a scimitar in the entire module. I'd just kill the entire phrase, unless there's something significant which we need to know :)

LINK TO STORY

Planet Stories is in the news. Surf on over to the Sci Fi Wire website and read their recent article about Paizo's new imprint.

In the encounter with Grung Knifetongue, should the stat block for the razorcrows read "RAZORCROW (2)," not "RAZORCROWS (2)?" As a reference, I point to the "Approaching the Ruins" encounter, and the stats for the wolves--"WOLF (2)."

/me admits this is a very minor deal, but figured "what the heck."

Speaking strictly from a design perspective, the idea of specialty domains didn't excite me at first. They do, however, allow you to assign a special set of spells, coupled with a more targeted domain power. Basically, it's the customization of two mechanics for the price of one. Not too shabby.

With the new gods, I hope with will see something along the lines of the initiate feats...

One of the articles that got caught in the death of Dragon Magazine featured a series of "domain" feats. While not initiate feats (the requirements for qualification made no mention of a specific deity), you might find them useful.

And I'm not-so-secretly hoping Paizo would as well. (If asked to resubmit the article, I'm sure the authors would be willing to share.)

Example: Dust Child required a cleric to take the Earth domain and, among other things, allowed him to spend a rebuke earth attempt to increase his natural armor bonus.

you don't want to wait for the USPS either, eh?

Negative. I won't be able to get the hard copy until I'm home from Iraq - which means a months-long wait. PDF is the only version I'll see until then.

I think the download will be available once D1 hits the stands, which seems to be on the 5th of July.

A pox on that policy!

Hmmmm. Today is June 27th. D1 ships to subscribers today. I even got an email saying I should expect it in the mail.

- When will I be able to download the PDF?
- Will I see a link somewhere? Where?

Here's another: Page 4 lists the ingredients for Laurel's cure, one of which is elderwood moss. On the same page, it is called elderwood mold. The name only appears once more in the text, on page 7 where it is called elderwood moss. I'm assuming it's a moss, not a mold.

Stop it already! I can barely wait for the PDF to go online... This is torture. ;-)

Join the club. It's already 6:45 PM on Monday (where I live). I guess I'll have to stay up tonight and keep reloading the Hollow's product page until a link shows up!

The SE region of Varisia hasn't had all that much development yet.

Fair enough.

If you had to guess, were there any monstrous tribes in the Yondabakari and Falcon river valleys when the Chelaxian colonists arrived? They obviously had to contend with the Shoanti, but I wonder what other likely regional obstacles stood in their way.

...the Shoanti revere abstract powers of nature, their ancestors, and tribal totems.

I believe the Shoanti might make a good stand-in, until you find a better solution.

Jason, will you be announcing the new PDF when / if you update the download?

The only real resistance to Korvosa's Crimson Throne ... are the barbarians of the Shoanti who mostly live up on the Storval Plateau. The barbarians once lived to the south too, but when the Chelish colonists came up to claim the region that would someday become Korvosa and its outlying regions about 200 or so years ago, they kicked the barbarians out. And the barbarians remain cranky to this day about it, but don't really have the resources or organization to do much about it but stew.

Are there any sizable Shoanti minorities in the towns of SE Varisia? Perhaps in Sirathu, or some of the (as-yet-unnamed) villages in the region below the Ashwood?

Also, while worship of "the 20" is fairly widespread, do the Korvosians tend to revere any one god over the others? In particular, I'm wondering if one expect to find more worship of Iomedae amongst Korvosian military personnel?

I realize Paizo might not be willing / able to answer some of these questions, but I'll ask anyway. "The squeeky wheel gets the oil."

From the current description, Magnimar "feels" like a new city--or relatively new. On the other hand, Korvosa feels like an older city, almost like it is a hold-over from days when Thassilon held sway in the area. Would this be an accurate statement?

I also wonder how long ago Korvosa started exerting its control over SE Varisia. Was this leadership a long-established tradition, or forged in through war?

Of the towns and villages of SE Varisia, would any of them be considered hotbeds of rebellion against the Korvosian throne?

That's what I thought, James.

You know, while reading through the list I began thinking "This could be a could analog for Syrul," or "I could use Zon-Kuthon as the god of the shadar-kai." Could you give us an indication of which deities we'll see the Core Beliefs treatment for in the next few months?

RE Lamashtu: When it says she's the goddess of nightmares, does that mean the monster or "bad dreams?" Or both?