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James Sutter's page
Senior Editor/Fiction Editor. 1,791 posts (1,822 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 2 aliases.
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Hey everyone!
I'm sure by now you're all familiar with my latest project, the Pathfinder's Journal in Shattered Star. It was a really fun gig--Kostin's always a blast to work with (can that guy ever party!), and Tal and I go way back, so whenever we work together in a new Bill Ward joint, it's always something of a family reunion. But given that the books are actually reaching folks now, I thought I'd hop on the boards and do a little Q&A. Feel free to ask me about whatever--my life, past projects, the club scene in Riddeport, whatever you want to know about. (I know my publicist would prefer I focus on Shattered Star, but whatever--I'm all about the fans, not The Man.)
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Did you know there's currently a Pathfinder Fanfiction Contest going on over at Pathfinderchronicler.net, with *cash prizes* and a chance to get read by Paizo's Fiction Editor (yours truly)? You still have until September 30th to get your story written and turned in!
If you've ever been tempted to write Pathfinder fanfic, now's the time!
http://www.pathfinderchronicler.net/
Hey everybody! Today at 1:00pm, Paizo Art Director/Graphic Designer Andrew Vallas is going to be answering questions on Reddit about graphic design and art direction in the gaming industry.
Want to know what art directors love and hate in illustrators, or what they look for in a portfolio? Curious how to break into the industry? Wondering how it is that certain art and styles get chosen, or how all this crazy Pathfinder stuff gets brought together into such an attractive package (and by an art team with just three people)? Go post a question! He'll be back to answer them live today at 1:00 PST.
Check it out!
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I thought some of you might be interested in the video for my new hip-hop single, "Do Your F***ing Dishes." :)
Link
We've talked to the good folks over at Starship Sofa, and they've done a free podcast version of this month's web fiction, "Faithful Servants," which you can listen to here.
Listen during your commute, while walking across campus, during long meetings, while cleaning the house... the possibilities are endless!
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Aw yeah, son. Mordimer Jones is here to keep these messageboards clean, civil, and full of delicious grubs and earthworms.
Can you dig it?
Hey tweeple!
I realize I'm pretty late to the game, but after seeing how much fun people like Jason have on Twitter (sometimes even while you're talking to them!), I've hopped on there myself. You can find me at @jameslsutter.
So where's the twitterparty at? Whose tweets should I be checking out for maximum awesomeness? Feel free to answer here or send me an @ message to point me toward your favorite feeds.
Thanks!
Hey everyone! Out of idle curiosity, now that the anthology's been out for a little while, I'd love to hear from folks who have read Before They Were Giants regarding what their favorite parts were, whose interviews they liked the best, which stories they enjoyed most, etc. Anybody have comments?
Behold, a new avatar arises! All shall bow before his levitating, reptilian glory!
Hail, carbuncle! Hail!
Hey folks!
So I'm trying to help my uncle update his website, and I freely admit that I don't know a whole lot about web design. I was able to originally build and publish the site several years ago using FrontPage without a problem (using HTTP, rather than FTP)... once it was published, I'd simply navigate to the page in Internet Explorer, hit "edit in Microsoft Frontpage," enter the username and password, and be good to go. (Incidentally, this process still works with the other three websites I maintain, all of which are hosted by different companies.) When I try to do the same thing for his website, I get this error message:
500 Internal Server Error
Internal Server Error The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to Cannot open /home/billc/htdocs/_vti_pvt/service.pwd uid=32258 gid=32260 32260.
When I contacted the host's tech support, they said that I was somehow logging into an old server, and was given an ftp address and login. I'm able to navigate to the ftp site and log in to view the files in IE, but clicking on "edit in Frontpage" causes frontpage to prompt me for the username and password... then hangs and tells me that it's timed out and that the website doesn't exist. Going to one of the individual ftp documents (index.html) and selecting "edit in Frontpage" causes it to prompt me for password, then eventually time out as well. (I didn't really expect either to work, as I'm presuming you can't do that with ftp files.) I also can't seem to upload anything to the FTP site, or even open it with Windows Explorer, despite being able to log into it in IE (though not in Firefox).
Essentially, I'm looking for an easy way to edit the website using Frontpage 2003 without downloading the whole thing and then republishing it - editing it live in HTTP, the way I do with my other sites. (The company tells me that they have Frontpage extensions turned on, and therefore I should be able to edit the site without doing anything via FTP.)
When I originally created the site, I could access it either by going to any of the pages in IE and clicking "edit in Frontpage," or by going to "File > Open Site" in Frontpage. That was on an older computer that has since been replaced, however, and the new one doesn't have this site in the "my network places," and anywhere I try to enter the URL for the site, it tells me that it's unavailable, protected by a password, or something else. (Incidentally, I HAVE the username and password, but it won't give me anywhere to enter it... the message seems to be more like the standard message you get from Windows Explorer when looking for something that isn't there.) I also can't seem to get into the whole "remote web site" view thing... it's always grayed out when I try to select it. And to top it all off, I've pretty much forgotten everything I once knew about publishing a site, so even importing the whole damn thing and starting over seems like a monstrous headache.
I know this is a little scattered, but so am I at the moment, and any help would be greatly appreciated (especially if I'm missing something obvious). So... go go Paizo knowledge base! Help me keep from losing my marbles!
Thanks, everyone!
Anybody see this?
http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/11/23/the-new-risk-for-men-only/
So I don't normally post about politics, and I almost never post to the site from home, but I thought this was interesting enough to be worth pointing out. John McCain's campaign just took a fairly significant swipe at Dungeons & Dragons for no apparent reason.
From the campaign's website:
"It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others."
link
Crazy.
Hey folks! For those of you going to GenCon next week, I'd just like to point out that our booth will be hosting an AWESOME author signing for Worlds of Their Own on Saturday. In one spot, you'll find:
Ed Greenwood
Mike Stackpole
James Lowder
Paul S. Kemp
Greg Stolze
How's that for an all-star lineup? Plus, though he'll be elsewhere in the hall, R. A. Salvatore will be at GenCon as well, so you could always grab a copy of the book and go track him down. Last but not least (okay, probably the least), I'll be around, as will Erik Mona, so if you want to come talk Planet Stories, stop by and say hi!
The author signing will be Saturday, 2:30-3:30 at the Paizo booth (#2221). Hope to see you there!
Happy Blogiversary!
As of Friday, October 19th, the Paizo Blog will have been in action for six whole months. There’s been laughter, there’ve been tears (mostly mine), there’ve been sneak previews, setting information, contests, and a boatload of new art, and it’s generally been a good time for all involved.
But now we’re coming up on that crucial six-month mark, that time in every relationship where we have to look hard at each other and ask some serious questions: Are you satisfied? Are your needs being met? Do you think the blog has what it takes to keep you interested in the long run, or are we just a casual thing?
While we're always open to suggestions, this thread in particular is your chance to let us know what you like most about the blog, where we could improve, and what you’d like to see more of in the months to come, so why not take 30 seconds and let us know what you think? Communication is, after all, the key to a healthy relationship, and we’d really like to make this work....
Today's blog talks about Paizo's new stat block format. Check it out and let us hear your feedback!
Got an idea for a themed item card set (ala "Relics of War" or "Dragon's Trove")? Post it here and let us know!
Today's blog post discusses Jason Bulmahn's take on fey, as presented in W1: Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale. Check it out, then post and let us know how YOU think fey should be treated!
Read today's blog post and let us know your thoughts on how to handle the mysterious yellow kobold!
Anyone have any interesting stories as a result of using the Crit Hit deck?
BEGIN TRANSMISSION 6:02 pm
As those following the news in the Pacific Northwest may already know, an inch or so of snow has completely locked down everything in Seattle - including Paizo. Thanks to steep freeway on-ramps, there's currently a small group of staff survivors stuck in the Paizo compound with no way to get home. The current roster:
James Sutter
Wes Schneider
James Jacobs
Mike McArtor
Jeremy Walker
Sarah Robinson
Phil Lacefield Jr.
Jason Bulmahn
Things are getting desperate. We've been here for twenty, maybe thirty minutes. People are starting to lose it. There's nothing to eat but beer, soda, and chocolate-covered macademia nuts sent by Nick Logue. Tensions are high.
No word yet on the expedition leader, Capt. Erik Mona, who left perhaps 15 minutes ago in an attempt to reach "the outside." On his way downstairs, he passed Phil Lacefield - a rather mountain-y midwestern man who owns a chainsaw - on his way back in and had the following exchange:
Erik: "You?! But you left already! You're not afraid of the snow!"
Phil: "I am now."
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: There's now an official poll up on EN World - who should Paizo eat first? Please vote now at:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=184964
Keep in mind that Wes and I weigh far less than the others.
END TRANSMISSION
SECOND TRANSMISSION 6:13pm
Something appears to be wrong with the environmental controls at Paizo. Despite the icy conditions, the heat continues to rise in the building. Possibly psychosomatic. People shedding clothes. Not pretty.
Pray for us.
END TRANSMISSION
Hey everybody - I realize that this is a long shot to the nth degree, but as this is the only web forum I regularly participate in, I thought I'd give it a shot:
Do you love metalcore? Do you have savage double kicks? Do you live in the greater Seattle area? Do you know what those first two sentences meant? If so, please visit http://seattle.craigslist.org/muc/129669429.html for further details.
The abridged version: an old bandmate and I are starting up a new melodic metalcore project (ala Killswitch Engage, Thrice, etc.), and we need a quality drummer. If you have any leads, please email james.sutter@paizo.com. (You can hear an extremely rough instrumental demo of the sort of things we're writing at http://www.jmcarroll.com/DeadliftGuitars.mp3.)
Rock!
-James
Hey everybody-
I know this is a long shot to the nth power, but as this is the only web forum I actively participate in, I thought I'd throw it out there:
Do you love metalcore? Do you have savage double kicks? Do you live in the greater Seattle area? Do you know what those first two sentences meant? If so, please visit http://seattle.craigslist.org/muc/129669429.html for further details.
The short version: I'm starting up a melodic metalcore group with some old bandmates, and we're looking for a quality drummer along the lines of Killswitch Engage, Thrice, etc. If you, or anyone you know, fits that description, please drop me a line at james.sutter@paizo.com. (You can hear an extremely rough instrumental version of the kind of thing we're writing at http://www.jmcarroll.com/DeadliftGuitars.mp3.)
Rock!
-James
Have you received a false expiration notice in the mail? Are you right now viewing your subscription and saying "But I have 36 issues left... what's with this letter?" Are you worried that something has gone horribly, dreadfully wrong with your renewal?
If so, you're not alone! A recent bug in our mailing system caused subscription expiration letters to be sent out to roughly a 6th of our subscribers. And let me tell you, that's a lot of folks.
If you've received one of these letters and aren't sure whether to believe it or not, please first check your subscription on our website and see how many issues you have left. If you've got plenty - throw it away! If you're still concerned, please send an email with your shipping address to customer.service@paizo.com. (To save time, you don't even have to write much of a note - just throw "False expiration notice?" in the subject line.)
Thanks!
-James Sutter
Customer Service
Hey guys-
As I've been wading my way through the latest flood of Dungeon submissions, I've come up with a few new tips for contributors (in addition to those that I posted on the "Query Response?" thread). Check it out:
*PUT YOUR NAME AT THE TOP OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT - Make life easy for the editors - put your name at the top of the first page of the manuscript. Subs usually get printed out, and if we have to go back to your email, figure out who sent what, and write your name at the top of your manuscript, well... after fifty repetitions or so, we start to get grumpy.
*INCLUDE THE SDF FORM AS A SEPARATE FILE - It makes filing a lot easier if you attach the SDF form as a separate file. And while we're at it - what's wrong with Word documents for the query itself? Why ya gotta be flossin' the PDFs like that, makin' me open a new program?
*DON'T JUST PASTE YOUR QUERY IN THE EMAIL BODY - I presume that if you're going to be writing the adventure, you have a word processing program. Use it. (If you have no other option, well, okay, paste the query... but Santa Claus knows if you're lying.)
*PROOFREAD - Yeah, I said this before. I still mean it. "Mary, (had) a lid, tell lam" will get by spellcheck, but it makes us poor copyediting folks die a little inside.
Last but not least, one quick stylistic thing:
*SHOW, DON'T TELL - Instead of saying "a really cool trap" or "a mind-bending puzzle", give us a QUICK idea of what it involves ("a trapped tea kettle that explodes when someone says 'crumpet'" or "a musical puzzle based around a theremin-like orb" is plenty long enough for us to get the idea). Okay, neither of those examples are partiularly cool, but we get a dozen proposal a day saying "these items/traps/puzzles are so incredible that mere words cannot describe their glory". Some, invariably, are not. Describe accordingly.
There's plenty more where that came home, but it's Friday and I'm going home... happy 4th of July, everybody! IN YOUR FACE, KING GEORGE!
-James Sutter
Dungeon Editorial Intern
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