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 Recent Posts
Hey everyone - thanks for all the great feedback. It's very encouraging, and I'm glad the interview entertained. It's easy when you've got guys like Jason on the mic. Just want to let you know the download link on the podcastery page works. You just click the link and Save As. For a Mac that's control-click. For a PC, right-click. If you just click download (not a Save As click) it opens in another window and starts playing. Rone's blank page would have become a player after a bit. @Jason - sorry I missed out cross examining you, my friend, but I did contribute to some of the questions, so at least you were partially cross x'ed by proxy. :) Next time!
Hey Sahandrian, Greg's right. I've never had anyone's money and I've never been more than a work for hire for Nick. I also don't recall your email, though I'm sure you sent it. I forward requests like that to Nick, which is all I can do for the moment. I'll point him at your post too. Wish I could do more, but I'm simply not part of his company nor have I ever touched anyone's money. Except Greg Vaughan's. I like to rummage in his wallet when he's not looking. :)
Short little review up here. Mostly focused on the Archer. Full disclosure: I'm a KQ fan but not a contributor. And I really wanted to hate the Archer because, well -- because its John Ling :) -- but I couldn't. Keep up the good work, please, Wolfgang. You gave me my mag back and for that I want to have your love child.
BTW Lou, I'm very excited to get the your adventure that Frog God will release! Hope it comes out soon.Thanks, man! It was the first piece I ever collaborated on, when Nick was still showing me the ropes. Hey Chuck! It's on Greg's desk, so give him a poke. :) Hope I didn't speak out of turn.
Thanks, everyone! FaSB is tricky, organizationally. The piece needs to communicate with the clarity of a good board game manual for the tactical combat bits, while remaining a fist-pumping, blood and cannon blast RPG supplement. Grrr. Tougher going than I thought, but I'm making progress. I've got my hip-high pirate waders on top of my orange tux, a flintlock in both hands, and my Jolly Roger swinging away! Look for more detailed updates on RPG Aggression by the end of the week or so. KUG as Savage Worlds -- hmmmm. I also love me some FATE. It's really all about demand. Among other things, for every system I'll have to pay someone to do the conversion, redo the layout, etc. etc. If there is enough interest to support that so I'm not out of pocket? Sure, why not? However, I don't have a plan to do so at this time. I'm contemplating running some polls after FaSB to see what systems (besides some flavor of Pathfinder Modern) folks want for the KUG. Wish I had a better answer, just now, but broadsides and boarding parties are calling me...
I don't know who would run it, but a 3pp Pathfinder awards ceremony would be a great event for Paizo Con. Ok! Now we're collaborating. Take my notion of an Ennie like award, turn it into a Paizo Con event, and nudge Paizo into putting up a vote page. The only things it seems to need are (1) an independent -- non Paizo employee -- judging panel, arrived at through an independent process and (2) a way for 3pp to submit one product to each category. Problem #1: Perhaps we can convince Wayfinder to run a judge election process each year, and the first time out of the gate, maybe non-Paizo Wayfinder staff get to be the judges? If Wayfinder was up to it, Liz might serve as the bridge since she jumped from uber fan to staff? I'm sure there are better solutions out there. This one just jumped to my head. Alternately, maybe whoever posts the most reviews on Paizo.com weighted for how often the reviews receive comments could become a judge automatically? I bet we could devise a formula for that. Just noodling here. Problem #2: This one is easy, I think. Submission is PDF only, regardless of whether the product was originally print or pdf. After that it follows the Ennie pattern:
Boy do I like this. PS DM - I like your categories. Seems like a few short tweaks to a win on that score.
Thanks, everyone. It'll be a while, still, before they are available but I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate the encouragement and support. @mearrin69 - As for adventures? It's hard to say just now. If the response to the KUG is solid, if there is an audience for follow on product, and the writers among the Cabbages are interested? Sure - I'd love to do that. Just can't say right now. The good news is the writers on the KUG are prolific, and I'm betting we can get 'em going again if you out there in Paizo land like the product enough to want more. No promises, but I got a feeling... >:^)
Fair disclaimer: I wrote on two of the adventures in the Great City AP. That said I'll try to be objective: Chunks of the Great City as a campaign setting I believe would be easy to include within Korvosa. Sort of like adding a specific curry spice to the Korvosa stew. You could easily extend Korvosa with the Great City maps, interesting places, institutions and characters from the Great City Campaign setting, the Great City bestiaries could add zest, and especially new urban classes/races/etc. from the Great City Players Guide. The Gutter Mage would rock in Korvosa, I think. However, significant parts of the Great City AP's plot is tied to specific institutions and even map conventions, as well as to the campaign setting. I think Skullcrackers and Bloody Fix would be challenging (but doable) to adapt -- but at the cost of rich flavor. Punctured the Blackened Vein and Usurpers would be very tough and not likely worth it. In summary if you want to enhance Korvosa there is a lot of Great City stuff that would rock for your Korvosa Enhanced or Korvosa Redux campaign. However if you are looking for another AP to set in Korvosa, I don't think the RtR is what you want. However, if you want another urban campaign, I think RtR rocks (see earlier disclaimer about conflicts of interest). Hope that helps. Would love to hear how it works out for you. @Endzeitgeist -- Hey man! I owe you an email. Hope you are well. Will write soon.
Since Nick's back in Hawai'i, do you think he'll return to writing rpg fray? No idea. Sorry. Thank you all for the good wishes. I moved further discussion of the KUG and Fire as She Bears (including answers to your questions Damon Griffin) to here. Thanks again - this enthusiasm is deeply encouraging and uplifting. Happy New Year!
Just moving the thread over here as promised, as these products-in-the-works, are now separate and distinct from their Sinister roots.
Oops - sorry to miss this in the shuffle. The KUG is sandbox space opera/space horror with a drizzle of both cyberpunk and the truly alien. It's set in its own corner of the universe. Sorry, but its not near future/near space. It is, however, grounded in hard science and set in a barred spiral galaxy. Technology has been set so that as you tool between the inhabited zone (an area centered on a barbell shaped zone at the galactic core) and the frontier (a cubic region enclosing the barbell) travel times are roughly equivalent to Age of Sail travel times. Venturing beyond the frontier to the tip of one of the two unexplored galactic arms and back might take a decade, round trip -- and no one lives who has ever done so. No one credible. After all who believes that crazy old ancient mariner with the funny black alien tentacle leaking from the back of his head? The farther one ventures from the civilized bar at galactic core, the stranger and less predictable the cold void grows.
@Coltaine - g'waan! You're makin' me blush. I have considered kickstarter. Put it aside as too closely resembling a pre-order, but you've made me think about finishing the whole book then seeing about a kickstarter to add more art. This way I've still got the product to release if the kickstarter doesn't make the numbers. To tell you the truth though, I'm focusing on Fire As She Bears. Have to get that to Rite Publishing as the first order of business. Hopefully before the next pirate AP shows up! @BenS - I can only offer my sympathy Ben. I don't have his money, and I'm not part of his company. However I will specifically email him for you and recommend he pays you back pronto. Best I can do. If/when he does, please post and let us know. And you are definitely right -- I don't wish to bring up pain for anyone or raise false hopes; so, after this post I'll shift to a new thread about the various projects -- Sinister roots or no. @Alzrius - absolutely. If/when I get this out, if you didn't pre-order the KUG you can definitely buy the PDF. Thanks for the tip on Myths of the Far Future. I'll check that out.
Any reason why he thinks that Razor Coast will never be released? Its so strange that the one that is most complete is the one that will never see the light of day. Oops - I wasn't clear enough. Regrets. I never meant to say Nick believed Razor Coast would never be released. I meant to convey that the last time Nick talked about his plans he intended to publish RC but not any other settings or adventures -- including the space stuff like the KUG. I have no information on the Anarchist Gamemaster's Cookbook. This is the danger of talking for someone else. I'm going to stop that now.
Wow - it's exciting to see so many interested. No pressure, right? :) I shall do my best to never disappoint. Here are my best answers to your questions. @Damon Griffin - My understanding is that Nick believes he's paid back most everyone who has requested a refund. My opinion is that he knows he hasn't paid back everyone who gave him money. I don't speak for Nick or his business. I never was a member or employee of his company, just an interested friend and fellow freelancer. But I've again, and recently, encouraged him to review his books after he settles in HI and revisit his repayment. I'm going to stop talking about this, though, because its outside both my responsibility and control. And, like I said, I just don't speak for him on this or anything -- and I don't wish to accidentally create the false impression that I do. @ThatEvilGuy - Exactly right. A free PDF of the KUG for anyone who pre-ordered the KUG. Nothing to do with Razor Coast. @JoelF847 - Cold Black was an adventure Nick and I planned to co-write. It reached the outline phase but no farther. I have no plans to complete it, sorry. However, if the KUG as a sandbox setting generates enough interest (and sales) that it appears adventures and/or supplements would let me pay the freelancers over at the Werecabbages then I'll definitely consider more products. I wish I could speak with greater certainty, but this is all pretty new to me, and I'm loathe to make commitments I'm unsure of my ability to keep. @Zaister and JoelF847 -- Wow, guys. I greatly appreciate that. The good news is that profit in this case doesn't change anything about my willingness to do this or not. Numbers of interested people, however, does. In some senses putting this out inexpensively probably increases the likelihood of follow-on product because it (theoretically) increases the number of people I know will want more books/adventures/etc. If I could afford to (I can't) I'd probably put the KUG out for free just to maximize the installed base (so to speak) and reduce my risk without doing pre-orders. Bottom line: lets see how this goes one step at a time, deliver a real product, and see how many folks like it. If enough folks do, I'll definitely talk to the Cabbages about follow-on material, adventures and supplements. This initial show of support is very heartening -- thanks again! PS Oh - here's something I'd love to know. My understanding is that there currently exist a few flavors of "space pathfinder" from 3PPs. What's the consensus on which are good? Anyone have any preferences? Suggestions on which I should take a hard look at?
I understand your concerns. Answered to the best of my ability, here.
Fire as She Bears was never offered for sale and no pre-orders exist; so, Rite Publishing and the esteemed mister Russel are not involved in any pre-order mess. For the KUG? Well, its sort of like this: Nick stated he was going to put out Razor Coast then shut down. My information indicates this property would never be published, ever. Nick told me he believes he returned all the pre-order money for this product. I believe he believes that. I'm not in a position to assess the quality of his record keeping. Since this is a not-for-profit venture on my part, I plan to give anyone who simply tells me they made a pre-order a free PDF of the product. Period. Honor system. Could lots of people "rip me off"? Sure. Do I care? No. So there is no need for anyone to prove anything to me about a refund. You tell me you made a pre-order and didn't receive a refund, I give you a pdf. No questions. You want the print version? The price will be whatever my cost was to produce the book -- so it doesn't include Nick's art, etc. - not a red cent more. For costs that vary by the number of units sold, I'll apportion them across a low number of units on a per unit basis. Not sure what that number of units will be, but I'll publish it in advance. My goal is to price the print volume more cheaply than the early price, at the same time that the size of the book has tripled. By not making a profit, I hope to set the price such that a person who pre-ordered and then also buys the new POD book receives a book at a combined reasonable price. Not sure if that made sense, so here's an example: If my new KUG book is worth paying $20 for at market, and the pre-order price for Nick's version was $11, then I plan to try my best to hit no more $9 for the new book (if per unit cost is $8, then its $8). That way if a pre-order person buys both, they still receive solid value for their money -- despite buying twice. Will I succeed at this attempt? No idea yet. Does this plan make sound, for-profit business sense? Nope. Not a lick. And not the point. Side note: those numbers above are not the prices, just an example. I simply don't know what the price will be yet. Will I be totally transparent along the way and try to provide people an independent means to verify what I'm doing? Sure will. Maybe access to whatever invoice the POD of choice gives me? Not sure yet, but I will try to figure it out as I go. A game changer will be if Nick provides me with his paypal records and, in the event he is mistaken, any money he took for the KUG. Then I can simply honor the pre-orders. I'm willing to pour time and sweat into this. I'm willing to call in favors, and I'm even willing to lay out some of my own money -- despite having neither an ethical or legal obligation of any sort to do so -- because I think the creative value is there and the sweating writers at least deserve their audience. I'm also haunted by the lack of creative closure. However, I'm not willing to create an open funnel into my wallet and take a bath for trying to pitch in. Here's the alternative: I'll give this back and people can keep chasing Nick. If that emerges as a consensus on this thread, I can absolutely go that route. The absolute worst darn thing would be to further anger or disappoint the very fans and good Paizoans I'm hoping to please! I hope that plan (such as it is) makes sense. If there are logical flaws in the approach or any issue that occurs to any of you, please share. I'm very open to whatever helps me get this right. PS The difference between versions (the original Nick took pre-orders for and the one I plan to put out) will simply be more material by the same authors. A lot more. PPS This will definitely be an art-lite book, but if anyone knows a cartographer good with Astrosynthesis or space mapping in general, please let me know :)
Here's the latest update. Not ready to say anything about Razor Coast, because I've got nothing concrete to say. But I've made a little forward motion...
Oooh it's going to be 5th "Nic Logue is a cool guy who hit a snag, wish he will come back" vs. "That Logue person is an abomination who stole my money, violated my puppy and now hides from justice" thread? That's so new and refreshing there folks. I thought your puppy was recovering nicely, what with the therapy and all?
My understanding is that he did return money, but inconsistently. Some received theirs back upon request, some did not. I have no way to know which group is larger (got money back - did not get money back). Also, it was products, plural. The Razor Coast product was completed. I know, because I completed it. :)
Nick is back in Hawaii, and I'm in touch with him. For what it's worth, I'll have an update on the results of conversations with him and some other tidbits on my blog, shortly. Perhaps I shouldn't have called you "Shortly".
Hey, Running Pathfinder game in a home-brewed world (Kingston NY)and we're looking to add some fresh blood to the campaign..... Interested? I run my game at the Dragon's Den during the day (11:30am - 4:30pm). Mostly college professors. But if that ever changes and you haven't been fully engaged by the Cleric of Caffeine (LOVE that handle), I'll throw the word up here. Good game to you both and a merry holiday!
I love the suggestion about playing a paladin -- I'm sure any pure, ethics driven class (or one that can be interpreted as such) will do. for the sake of argument and illustration, I'll run with the Paladin example. I suggest creating a personality -- or at least a speech pattern -- not too far from your natural bent. You said you have trouble with conversations? Create a (in this example) paladin who has trouble with conversations. Run with that. Run far and hard. Give yourself a 'why' for having trouble with conversations. Maybe you're character is a stuttering Paladin. Maybe you Paladin believes words are the devil's work. Maybe your gorgeous paladin suffers severe body dis-morphia, thinks he's ugly, and is shy around all those people so much more beautiful than he; ie everyone. Whatever you come up with, if its riffed off your natural bent, it'll flow more easily in game. Then prep it. For example, write yourself a list of one liners on a sheet of paper. Then read them woodenly at key moments -- precisely because your character is wooden. Play him wooden at _everything_ ...ordering a drink, asking directions, whatever it is. Or if he's a stuttering, wooden Paladin then just break into a stutter every time you, the player, start groping for words. Maybe your Paladin laughs inappropriately and has a real honker of a hoot -- use that whenever words fail you. Don't forget your 'why' for (for example) stuttering. Maybe girls make you stutter. Go stutter-nuts around the barmaid. Maybe your stuttering Paladin writes poetry. Write some. Then start stuttering in the middle of his wooden attempt to impress the barmaid (and your attempt to read it without laughing). My point is to turn your speech pattern in game/life into a feature of the character -- then magnify it and make it larger than life. Exaggerated is the key. Prep helps. A behavior pattern with a good 'why' and an exit strategy from conversations yet it remains true to the character? Those should help too. Good luck! PS I know paladins are supposed to be charismatic, which goes beyond looks. But I think its a much more interesting character and makes for more enjoyable RP when your Paladin is pretty but essentially suffers from Aspbergers (sp?).
Ever the optimist, Skeld. Ever the optimist.
Ernest, carborundum: for what its worth (not much, obviously), let me say again how much I appreciate you joining me in putting out our all for this. It's very disappointing to say the least...
Most of these have been mentioned already, but chiming in to contribute to consensus. Not in any particular order, these are my faves: Super Genius
In the interests of full disclosure, some of these publishers have or will publish some of stuff of mine. Also, some may have been reviewed on my blog by EZG, DM or myself.
Awesome, and thanks! And if you do insert a sidetrek to Rogthandor, Citadel of Pain into your Kingmaker path, I would love to hear how that plays out. Kingmaker is pretty unforgettable. What PCs can do to themselves in Rogthandor is pretty unforgettable (IMHO) -- the combo? Just would love to hear about it if you've the time one day.
Hey Leonal, Great question but a tricky one, right? It depends on so many factors. Take these four for example: 1. How far into 7th are your players? Just arrived? Almost at 8th?
But I want to give you an answer, so here it is: If you have 4 players, they just reached 7th, they prefer a balanced play style (ie are neither mad kill-bots nor talk-and-never-fight types), and are on the slow or medium track, then very likely this adventure will bump them 1 level to 8th. If they are on the fast track Citadel of Pain will still likely bump them only 1 level to 8th, but 9th would not be inconceivable. Just so you know I came to this conclusion by
Hope that helps!
Will Citadel of Pain ever be put out in stores? Or can we only ever get it in PDF? Me personally i will probably never get the PDF, but would purchase the print version. Hey Gaming Paper Guy, when Paizo restocks is that when the Print/PDF Bundle goes from unavailable to available?
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