Lyingbastard's page

I'd like to refocus this post and add something: Please, if you do the crossover, don't make yet another steampunk setting. Currently, 3 different kickstarter projects are devoted to it AND there's teh Zeitgeist AP. I'd love something more far-out come out of such a collaboration. Add to that the fact that a collaboration Campaign Setting might detract from the individual campaign settings, I'd rather see the individual worlds exist in continuity parallel to each other, but that's just my 2 cents. Cheers!

I just found this thread. It's very fascinating, and a neat concept with the big cross-over AP idea. Right now, because last year's production delay - uhm, delayed production... we're backed up and I'm not committing to any new products until we get everything currently in the pipeline out the door (which is going to take a while *sigh*). That said, I would be more than willing and happy to let others play around with some 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming IP, if it were done right.

While we do not have a campaign setting of our own, our adventure Albion Armitage's Astounding Arsenal does feature a dimension-hopping archmage and a weapons and magic items shop that can be in multiple dimension and worlds at once. If another 3PP wanted to incorporate Albion, his shop or any of his minions, I think we could work that out easily enough.

*listens to the thread* Pay no attention to the gninja in the corner.
1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20

Agreed! It's pretty much the best group of publishers around--very respectful and interested in what the other is up to. But why bother teaming up with just one other publisher? Let's get 4+ together and have an Avengers-like crossover event!

You have my attention...

But you are not a Jedi yet!

(Well, maybe. Probably, given your SW experience.)

Actually guys named "Owen" don't fair well in Star Wars...

The spirit of the OGL seems very strong with us...

Agreed! It's pretty much the best group of publishers around--very respectful and interested in what the other is up to. But why bother teaming up with just one other publisher? Let's get 4+ together and have an Avengers-like crossover event!

That being said, I'd love to see a Genius Guide to Psionic Archetypes...

Deal! I'm now working on it!

And let me say I have *loved* what crossover efforts I've seen and been part of. Rite and SGG play with each others toys fairly often (I've referenced 101 Renegade Class Feats more than once), ususally after a very short email. But I've also had dealings with several other 3pp, and everyone has always been polite and accommodating.

The spirit of the OGL seems very strong with us...

I feel gypped thinking that someone tried to turn this into a racial generalization.

Whether it's a retcon or a clarification is not that relevant. For a few people it is a clarification, but considering that the non-TWF version is actually USED by Paizo, it's a retcon.

Either way, it's a hit with the nerf-bat to a class that already struggled in combat. The monk with FoB the way most people (including many at Paizo) interpreted it was far from broken. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Nothing but Trouble.

I mean Dan Akroyd is a funny guy and all, but really, I mean... really.

I'll admit that I purchased the Time Thief because (after working with Jentronic on the Seoni outfit), I wanted to support someone that I regard as a friend. With that said, I'm actually quite impressed with the thought that has gone into the class itself. It's well-done and allows for a character concept that was (IME) previously unachievable using any of the existing base classes.

That alone is an important contribution and not one that is easily made.

As for critiques about Veronic or the photo shoot, I suppose with the name change, it's possible some folks didn't realize they were speaking negatively against a fellow Pathfinder fan. In fact, a few posts I've seen suggest as much. In terms of verisimilitude for the outfit, I think it works just fine and I'll elaborate on why.

Veronic basically looks like a harem girl. No she doesn't have dark hair, but you need to realize that someone with the wealth, influence, and desire to have a harem probably thinks that variety is the spice of life. Acquiring an exotic girl from another culture would not only satisfy that desire, but it would be a symbol of his wealth and far-reaching influence.

Keeping that in mind, it is the perfect cover for a thief. Pose as someone desirable and let them walk you in past the walls and guards and you've accomplished nearly half your goal! As for hip-scarves and other flowing bits, remember that this is a thief we are talking about! She's armed and obviously expecting a fight yet clearly relies on her agility to strike and remain unhurt.

Overly long hair, drapey skirts, and scarves are a real liability in combat. They're just one more thing someone can grab onto. The fact that she uses a rope baldric to hold her weapons indicates great practicality. As someone who routinely dresses up in "period" garb, I can tell you that it is MUCH easier to get out of a baldric than a weapon belt. Plus, if that is silk rope, she's also got a convenient way of carrying another of her tools.

IMO, the outfit not only works, but works well for an iconic Time Thief.

Props to both Veronic and Owen for conducting themselves with great enthusiasm and professionalism. Props for this being a supplement with solid content that can stand on its own regardless of what's on the cover. Not many fantasy supplements with provocative covers delivery on the content side.

Dreadfox... I don't think there's a "win" for you here. I hear what you're trying to say, but it won't work. I applaud you for even trying, but it still won't work.

You're trying to explain why your products cost X while other companies' products cost Y. By definition you're comparing yourself to others... through our expectation of pricing. Nobody's going to read anything different from this thread.

That brings you down to: we have a process that is such-and-such and it costs twice as much as the process everyone else is using.

Okay.

I'm pretty darned happy with whatever the "everyone else" is doing. I'm also pretty darned with the price of their products. Given $5 burning a hole in my pocket, I'm more likely to buy two of theirs than one of yours.

Understand that some of the 3PP companies out there have raised the bar very, very high. It's difficult to fathom that while SSG and FGG and Dreamscarred Press and a few others are a 10/10 you redefine the scale up to a 20/10.

Maybe instead of telling us how awesome you are, you should be showing us that. I'd guess if there's truth in what you're saying, you should be playing drug-dealer and making the first one free, to hook us, so we don't want to buy the lesser-value products from your competitors.

I'm not trying to argue... just explain what this thread does and doesn't convey to a reader.

Have you ever been to Sovyrian? And have you ever gotten snuggly with a lashunta girl?

Nope, and not yet, although both are on the to-do list.

While it does in fact appear that you are doing a fair amount of research, design and development, I would point out that every step you mentioned, short of your companies open roll call for playtesters is all part of what every good 3pp does with their products.

The price range you are within is not that far off from the standard of pricing, although I can't help but think you would do yourselves a world of good by encouraging more folks to review your products, as at the time of this writing the only review of your work I could find was Endzeitgeist's 3 star review of Gypsy. In a market dominated by books averaging twice the size for less money, or the impulse books that are half the price but the same size, a handful of reviews would help folks make that decision to give you a try.

The fact that there was a firestorm of comments for that product did not detract from the fact that every question regarding the actual product was answered by you, as you obviously are of the business mindset that communication with your potential and existing customers is a good thing.

Something I've noticed in a lot of Paizo products, is how little they make use of 3rd party material in their products. Third party content tends to only show up as a limited number of bestiary monsters that get used in the Adventure Paths. I'm happy that Paizo does use the 3rd party bestiary entries, but it would be nice if there was a bit more use of other 3rd party content. In both Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic, there were several feats that had been done better in third party publications.

I realize that the Paizo staff and freelancers may not have access to every 3rd party publication (obviously), however you can find a lot of content online at d20pfsrd.com in pretty much every category you can think of. All I'm requesting is that designers take a quick look through and 3rd party resources to which they have access to see if something has already been done. If so, the OGL allows Paizo to republish the feat/spell/item/rule with proper credit given.

It's always disappointing to see a bunch of time and effort put into writing something that has already been done by another. Especially so if the 3rd party offering is better written and works better mechanically and in actual play.

/climbs off his soapbox.

Threads like this bring out the need for an ignore option.

One or more new suppliments using model Veroic F!

In case you didn't know, Veronic F is a nom de game for model Jenny Poussin, who has pretty much given up the Veronic F name.

I have a photo shoot she sent me, and it may well see the light of day next year...

(Rich Burlew is Rembrant compared to my work)

I'd just like to point out for the record: Rich Burlew is actually a very, very talented illustrator. He *chooses* to use stick figures for his comic. And he uses that medium very, very well.

If you want to see how well he does so, I encourage you to draw a series of stick figures doing the following:

Being sad
Being angry
Sleeping
Fighting

Once you've done that, then tell me what Rich does is easy.

Edit: if you want a cheat sheet for my above challenge, see this guide by the amazing Tracy Butler: http://tracyjb.deviantart.com/art/Lackadaisy-Expressions-193978013

Its funny, someone none of us have ever heard of comes in here, asks their target audience some questions, then gets hateful when their target audience responds to those questions. He then proceeds to talk about stuff but with vastly wrong information only to be corrected by people in the know, and he still wants to doubt.

You want to know how to succeed as a 3pp? First: Don't alienate your target audience. Act like an adult. Don't be rude to potential customers, especially the ones trying to help you out. Second: Watch what Rite, SGG, 0One, and the rest do. Emulate them. Third: Don't talk negatively about stuff on which you have no clue. This includes insulting 3pp who sell their publications for $3.

To the original poster of this thread: I said this in the other thread you recently started but I think it's worth repeating here as well:

Your posts are kind of ... I don't know ... odd. The tone is very self-serving and almost antagonistic in a strange way ...

Maybe I'm reading too much into it but if you want to try and break into the Pathfinder 3PP market in a successful and meaningful way, I'm not sure the tact you are taking is doing you any favors ...

I am working with Louis Argesta on a patronage/kickstarter project to publish "Fire As She Goes!" as he retained the rights to his manuscript.

As a GM, I would flat out refuse to let a player do another player's character sheet - creation or leveling up. Do it yourself or don't play in my game, is my attitude. I'm certainly willing and happy to help my players, but I expect each and every one of them to keep track of their own character. It's next to impossible to really know the rules without building and leveling your own character on your own sheet.

Just my 2 coppers.

Hama wrote:

Yeah, i allow core races only in my games...and to be honest, it is a little difficult to have my players play anything else then humans...sigh...i want to see a dwarf in one of my games...i love dwarves...

.

.
Humans have 3 advantages; bonus Feat, Bonus Skill point and no negative racial ability modifier... only reason to play other races (in some cases) is for special abilities/senses.

And maybe, just possibly, roleplaying flavor.

Raging Swan is looking for a few good freelancer designers to contribute to the “So What” line. The “So What” line of products are a GM's Resource designed to enable the busy, time-pressured GM to answer a specific question such as “So What’s For Sale, Anyway?” or “So What’s It Called, Anyway?”

The products enable a GM to effortlessly add depth and flavour to the campaign or adventure by providing randomised lists from which a GM can quickly draw. Hit the links above for free samples and examples if you are nor familiar with the line.

Successful applicants need not have designed products before, but should have a cracking imagination, work well to deadlines, be communicative and have a good working knowledge of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game system. Finally, they should be ready start designing almost immediately!

Interested freelancers should contact Creighton at creighton [at] ragingswan [dot] com with a sample of their work of between 500 and 1,000 words.

Daily Cheesecake and Fan Service! ;-) (I don't have problem with daily Beefcake, to keep everyone happy)

I usually let Craft and Profession skills serve as a combination of Appraise and Perception for anything reasonably related to the skill.

Detect Magic wrote:

I hate it when people suggest a good rolepay character has to have ranks in Profession. It's a stupid skill with only one mechanical use - making money.

Why do you see profession so limited?

This.

I love to reward players who take profession skills. One that comes right to memory is when PCs were searching a dockside warehouse for some macguffin in some crate, I let one of them use his profession/laborer skill check in place of a prodigiously lengthy search via a mundane perception check. After all, as a professional laborer he'd know how crates are organized in a warehouse, especially ho to differentiate piles of crates just offloaded from crates waiting to be loaded.

Not only did he get to have some use for an obscure skill, he ALSO saved the party tons of time by bypassing the search check time based on area (an entire warehouse) and degree of details involved (full of thousands of crates).

I hate it when people suggest a good rolepay character has to have ranks in Profession. It's a stupid skill with only one mechanical use - making money.

Why do you see profession so limited?

Just think of your own profession and what it offers you besides a pay check.
There are large amount of stuff that are directly tied to your profession. A stable master knows how to look after horse. i.e.their profession check can be used to identify common poisons and diseases that affect a horse (which normally would be a heal check). He might even be able to cure some basic afflictions.
Furthermore, if there is something like a 'stable master guild', he knows about it and probably is a member of the guild offering benefits when associating with other members or stable masters.
As a last point, he can make knowledge check relevant to his profession. Disregarding what type of knowledge check this would normally be. If you know your society is highly sailor based, many secrets will have a relevance to sailors. You know the famous other sailors (knowledge local), know the location of important isles (knowledge geography), you know about the mystic ghost ship (probably knowledge arcana),...

imho, if you see profession as limited to just earning cash, I think that is more based on your experience with the skill and not what a dm/player could do with it if he wants to.

OP - I don't think you're viewing this in quite the right light.

If your PCs don't fit in with the local culture, if they aren't viewed as functional members of mainstream society and if they stick out like a sore thumb - THAT'S A GOOD THING.

I'm going out on a limb here and thinking you might want to be running a campaign focused on adventure. Color me crazy, but I think that's what Pathfinder is best at.

You don't want the NPCs to view PCs as a good future son-in-law or business partner, promising able hand or good neighbor. They NEED to be seen as outcasts, layabouts, troublemakers or threats. You NEED to let the PCs know that they are discriminated against by the locals, just enough to make them think "someday, I'm gonna prove that they were wrong about me" but not so much that they think "someday, I'm gonna burn this whole wretched place to the ground". (unless you were aiming for THAT sort of campaign...)

You need to give them that one ray of hope for a happy ending. The mayor's daughter, who thinks that a PC is nice, even though her father thinks that the Sheriff's son is a better match. The Wizard's apprentice who has a not-so-secret crush on a PC, even though the wizard wants to marry them off to the GuildMaster's kid for political gain, etc.

The PC has to know that they have a rival with all the establishment advantages of higher class, more money, better gear, political power, etc. They have to think out of the box to get what they want.

They have to answer the call and go to the places that civilized people avoid. They have to do things that townsfolk won't.

They have to go become adventurers.

Let us not forget ...

Christina Hendricks is where I go for curves nowadays.

I would be tempted to buy a few of their books if they only offered them in print.IMO paying 20$ or more for a PDF is outrageous.

Normally I keep my nose out of this but this statement confused me.

Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting Print-On-Demand

The PDF ($19.99) above is half the price of the print product ($39.99) which is standard pricing for the industry.

Its also a 290 page pdf, that's less than 7 cents a page for the PDF, a Pathifnder AP PDF by paizo is generally more than double that at 0.14 cents a page ($13.99 for 96 pages), so by my estimation their books are extremely cheap.

I just don't see it being anywhere near "outrageous", and they do offer them in print, perhaps you could explain your point of view, as I am just not seeing it.

More role-playing encounters, more puzzles, more riddles, more mysteries, more exploration and much less combat. Really the same thing I recommend for every game.

KQ#19 is now the #1 bestselling non-Paizo release on the site 3 weeks in a row! W00000t!

Thanks everyone for checking the issue!

I'm NOT a rules guy

how in the hell did they get through playtesting?!:

Pretty sure his DEX is 30.

All PCs have uber stats.

PCs are 13th level.

A picture emerges. Maybe the guys who did the playtesting were actually rules guys, so they knew they were talking about. And probably they didn't test everything with "uber stats".

Because if you test things in a more moderate environment (where balance isn't right out of the window to begin with) and with actual rules knowledge, these feats aren't that bad.

Dragon Style? Sounds good, but not too good. The bonuses fit for a dragon-themed feat, they're not nearly worth a feat by themselves (unless you happen to come up against enemies that inflict those conditions regularly). The charge stuff is neat, and I could even see someone taking them by themselves, but considering we're talking about a monk here, they're not that great for them. They don't want to charge - they want to be next to the enemy to make a flurry, or else make a combat manoeuvre. And, finally, getting extra damage on one attack per round. Nice bonus, but not that spectacular really.

And the feat that allows you one attack against someone who missed you, provided you use up your one and only immediate/swift action? Please.

I'm not saying you should become a rules guy. I'm just saying that until you do become one, don't pull off big rants. Sounds like the guys ranting against evolution because they don't understand the thing about half an eye. Only worse :P

Hmmm, what should I take at 3rd level, TOUGHNESS gives me 3 HP and an HP every level. Or, Dragon Style...?

If you want to honestly compare feats, you need to learn how to benchmark: You don't use a mediocre feat as benchmark - one you are doing wrong, by the way. You get 1 HP per HD, but at least 3. You don't get 1/level PLUS 3.

Compared to a mediocre feat, many feats look like the clear winner. That's normal. That doesn't make those feats too good. Just better than mediocre.

Not that Toughness is bad. But it's not a must-have super-feat, either. That's okay. Not all of them need to be MHSFs

I have such a low esteem for gaming rules.

And such low knowledge. That's a bad combination. If you want to rant about something without looking silly, you should know what you're talking about! :P

But then again you're one of those order types, they apparently love looking silly and being made fun of. Otherwise they wouldn't be order types. ;P

Well, in real life I do have to admit to being really quite arrogant.
People like that about me, though.
;)

I don't.

This goes against the entire point of the paladin class.

This thread went on way to long. None of the things listed are realy "dick" moves. The bad guys are "dicks" by thier very nature! Why would a villain sunder your sword? Becuase he is a dick! Why would they steal a spell book? Becuase the villain is a dick! If you don't like night time encounters then you can cross off half the bestiary becuase half the monsters are nocturnal! And at this point if you can't figure your alignment out then it isn't worth explaining again...

If all of the above sounds "dickish" to you then turn in you hero card. "Mom! the DM/Villain broke my sword, make him stop! Mom!"