Olaf the Stout's page

Now that I have signed up for Pathfinder I am excited to see the first issue. What date does the first issue ship? I thought it was in July or August but I'm not 100% sure.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf the Stout wrote:

Lisa, I checked just a few minutes ago and there are still the same 2 options available. Do you know if Gary has had a chance to rewrite the code yet?

Olaf the Stout

Gary expects to roll the new code early tomorrow. Based on our testing, I think you'll see that, despite the fact that postal rates are generally increasing, we've managed to decrease shipping costs for a lot of orders.

-Vic.
.

Vic, Gary and the rest of the Paizo gang,

I just wanted to say that you have done a great job with the shipping charges. Previously if I wanted to buy 1 back issue of Dungeon it was going to cost me $15.50 in shipping. The same item now costs $6.41. That's a very big difference and much more in line with what I am being charged for shipping from other US stores.

Keep up the good work,

Olaf the Stout

P.S. I also just signed up for Pathfinder, see my shiny new title!

Email customer service to get shipping & handling updated for orders that have already been placed but not yet shipped. I just built them a nifty "Reset S&H" widget that will choose the best delivery service and recalculate shipping & handling based on that.

Thanks for updating the code Gary. It is a lot clearer now which shipping option to choose for Pathfinder.

Another related question, why does USPS First-Class Mail cost $2.10 more than USPS Priority Mail when the delivery time is twice as long (12-20 days for First Class vs. 6-12 days for Priority)? That doesn't seem to make sense.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf the Stout wrote:

Nope, month-to-month subscription is your only option. Personally I would love to have a 6-month or 12-month sub option as exchange rate fluctuation can really hurt us Aussies sometimes.

The big reason we are only offering month to month subscriptions is because the cost of reminding people that their prepaid subscription is expiring and to renew is SO expensive that for some people, the cost Paizo had to pay to get them to renew ate up all the profits from that subscription. Which you really can't do too much if you want to stay in business, pay salaries and stuff. With month to month, we never have to worry about getting people to renew. We just keeping charging their credit card until they tell us not to. Much easier on Paizo and a heck of a lot less expensive.

-Lisa

What about 6 or 12 month subscriptions with only e-mail notices to renew? E-mails aren't costly.

I can understand you wanting to use an option that is easier and cheaper for you. However, you may be missing out on some subscribers because they only want to subscribe if there is a 6-12 month up-front subscription option. Surely the fact that you get the all the cash flow up front must be worth a little to Paizo?

Olaf the Stout

Lisa, I checked just a few minutes ago and there are still the same 2 options available. Do you know if Gary has had a chance to rewrite the code yet?

Olaf the Stout

Nope, month-to-month subscription is your only option. Personally I would love to have a 6-month or 12-month sub option as exchange rate fluctuation can really hurt us Aussies sometimes.

Olaf the Stout

Thanks for replying Lisa. I'll wait until Gary has updated the code in line with the new postal rates and see what options are available then.

I also share your hope of a lot less lost issues. When I was a subscriber to Dungeon and Dragon a few years ago I had 3 issues in a row go missing and then suddenly all magically appear about a week after I received the replacement copies that Customer Service mailed out to me. :-/

Olaf the Stout

I have succumbed to temptation and I am going to sign up to Pathfinder for at least the first AP and see how it goes from there. When I get to the "Confirm Your Order" screen I am given 2 postage options:

USPS Global (Parcel), 12 to 20 days, $5.00

or

USPS Air Mail, 12 to 20 dats, $5.00

Both options list the shipping time as 12 to 20 business days in transit and both cost the same amount so what's the difference between the 2?

Since I live in Australia should I be picking one over the other or is there no difference between the 2 options?

If they are the same thing then why do I have a choice in the first place?

Thanks in advance,

The slightly confused Olaf the Stout

I've got about 115 RPG books in dead tree form. Add to that over 60 RPG PDF's (all paid for) and a whole stack of Dungeon and Dragon magazines. Add to that the Dungeon Magazine Archive, Campaign Cartographer 2 plus add-ons and over 500 minis.

No, I don't have a problem. :-)

Okay, maybe just a small one.

Olaf the Stout

Erik Mona wrote:

Actually, after thinking about this for a while I think a quarterly or bi-annual book is probably the way to go, too.

--Erik

This sounds better and better.

Have you guys considered doing a monthly one, perhaps with 3 adventures in it?

Hilarious! :)

Erik, if you did a quarterly or bi-annual one I would probably buy it. Of course I imagine that finding the time to actually make the book in the first place will be a challenge all by itself.

Olaf the Stout

I pronounce it "aww-ta", as in "why I oughta..."

Olaf the Stout

There has been a lot of great discussion on this thread, particularly by Olaf (who started it off). Some of the concerns are understandably very real, but then Paizo has a fantastic head on its shoulders and a loyal fan base (as well as a lot of game cred and fame), so they have a better chance than a lot of other d20 companies to do well. The staff are also highly adaptable and will be able to see from looking at sales figures, etc whether or not Pathfinder is a failure or success and have enough time to set things in motion to make the necessary adjustments/changes. Remember also that they have the GamesMastery Line and the possibility of collaborating with WotC in the future, so we'll just have to wait and see.

I agree with you in many respects Phil. I also think that Paizo have at least as good a chance as any 3rd party company of making this work. Although I may have sounded a bit negative about the chances of Pathfinder in this thread, it is more out of concern than anything else.

Still, the people at Paizo aren't dumb. I'm sure they'll do their best to overcome any of the challenges that they may face. Whether that will be enough I guess we will find out in the coming months. I hope that it is.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf the Stout wrote:

My credit card statements get sent to my Petworth Parade address but the magazines are going to be shipped to my Sussex Court address. Will this be an issue in authorising my credit card?

It shouldn't be a problem, as we've already done an authorization (but not a charge) when you submitted your order, and that went fine.

And should anything go wrong with charging your card in the future, we'll let you know while you still have a couple of days to correct it.

-Vic.
.

Cool. Thanks Vic. I just wanted to make sure.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf the Stout wrote:

My only question now is, if I start month-to-month subscriptions to Dungeon and Dragon today, what will be the first issues that I will receive?

Olaf the Stout

If you subscribe this week, your first issue will be Dungeon #148 and Dragon #357. We will be processing Dungeon issue #148 next week, though, so after that your subscription will be gin with #149.

Thanks,
cos

Thanks for that Cosmo. I signed up for the last 3 issues of Dungeon and Dragon just now.

I have another question though. My credit card statements get sent to my Petworth Parade address but the magazines are going to be shipped to my Sussex Court address. Will this be an issue in authorising my credit card?

I just don't want to miss out on an issue due to an admin problem. If they absolutely have to be shipped to my Petworth Parade address I can deal with it (it's my parents' address) but it wouldn't be my first preference.

Thanks,

Olaf the Stout

My only question now is, if I start month-to-month subscriptions to Dungeon and Dragon today, what will be the first issues that I will receive?

Olaf the Stout

Thanks to everyone at Paizo for making this happen. I'm sure a lot of international subscribers will be very happy about this. :-)

Olaf the Stout

Why not give them away with preorders of Gamemastery's first module? Gives people an extra incentive to get off their butts and order the Crown of the Kobold King, which will, with the extra exposure, grab more people and smack them in the chin with a nice line of products.

I would think more people would buy D1 if a whole extra adventure was bundled with it and once they get a taste.....Muuwwwwaaahhaaaahheeeeh aaaaaaahhhh sweetnesssss... They become diehard fans of the line.
Just a thought.

FH

I wouldn't even make them preorder the first module in order to get it. Getting the first taste for free will entice more people to order the module. A great idea still Fake Healer.

Olaf the Stout

I don't see why there can't be comics in Pathfinder. I think most people would be happy to have them in it, even at the expense of a page or two of campaign setting info.

Of course, whether or not it is financially viable is another thing.

Olaf the Stout

I've spent months trying to figure what PAIZO stands for. I think I've got everything but the Z.

I'm not quite sure if you're trying to be serious or sarcastic.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf the Stout wrote:

Firstly if you want a campaign setting, there are much cheaper and effective ways to get exactly that for less than $216 USD (what it cost you if you subscribe to Pathfinder for a year). You could get much more value for your money by buying a campaign setting and some setting books. The setting information would also be in a couple of books, not spread out over a whole heap of issues like Pathfinder is.

Yeah, but then after you buy all the campaign books, you either have to write modules, or buy them. Pathfinder is a campaign setting and modules rolled in to one. You're getting 2 whole APs a year, which is a lot of modules, and has been pointed out repeatedly, you will be able to run them as stand-alone adventures.

Let's compare your "campaign setting and some setting books"

Eberron: (Purchased through Paizo)

Campaign Setting book: $35.96
Player's Guide to Eberron: $26.96
Sharn City of Towers: $26.95
Adventure: Red Hand of Doom: $22.46 x 12 = $269.52
Total: $359.38

So that's only the three main Eberron source books. There are others that look very cool that I imagine Eberron groups would be using. I've used the Red Hand of Doom adventure because we have been told that each issue of Pathfinder will be about the same, and you get 12 of them is a year. And of course, that doesn't include shipping.

I really don't think that there will be as much campaign information in 12 issues of Pathfinder as there is in those 3 Eberron books that you list. I imagine that the Eberron Campaign setting book would have as much, if not more information, all by itself.

As for the adventures, I don't think that 1 issue of Pathfinder will provide as much adventure as Red Hand of Doom. Yes, Paizo said that it was a roughly comparable product. However RHOD is 128 pages for starters. Paizo have said that the adventure portion of each Pathfinder will only be about 50 pages long, less than half the length of RHOD.

Olaf the Stout

In this post here in a thread on EN World, Erik Mona talked about the idea of producing an annual equivalent of a "Best Of Dungeon Magazine" (obviously with a different title though). It would have about 30 or so new adventures like you would see in a typical issue of Dungeon and be about 150-200 pages long.

Here is a quote:

Earlier today, while pondering this issue, I came up with the idea of a fairly sizable annual collection of, say, 30 or so of this type of adventure, written 100% by "new" authors who query and submit the modules to us. In this case I mean "new" authors who have not yet been assigned a Pathfinder adventure or GameMastery Module. This would be a stand-alone softcover book, most likely. Let's say 150-200 pages long. Anyone think that would be fun?

Personally I love this idea and would definitely buy it if they decided to go ahead with it. What do you think? Is it a good idea? Would you buy it?

Olaf the Stout

I have seen Erik Mona post here in a thread on EN World about the idea of producing an annual equivalent of a "Best Of Dungeon Magazine" (obviously with a different title though). It would have about 30 or so new adventures like you would see in a typical issue of Dungeon and be about 150-200 pages long.

Here is a quote:

Earlier today, while pondering this issue, I came up with the idea of a fairly sizable annual collection of, say, 30 or so of this type of adventure, written 100% by "new" authors who query and submit the modules to us. In this case I mean "new" authors who have not yet been assigned a Pathfinder adventure or GameMastery Module. This would be a stand-alone softcover book, most likely. Let's say 150-200 pages long. Anyone think that would be fun?

Personally I love this idea and would definitely buy it if they decided to go ahead with it.

Olaf the Stout

Okay, back on track.

I've seen (here and elsewhere) people complain that AP's aren't sustainable in the long run, and/or that two AP's in a year is too much too soon, and it occurred to me to point out that we are looking at this the wrong way.

These are (imho) _not_ AP's like what we had in Dungeon. Consider that Paizo is building (with us) a brand new campaign world! Pathfinder, rather than being just a string of unending AP's, is actually a series of Campaign Source books, or gazetteers if you like, that describe the new campaign world to you. The BONUS is that they describe it by actually giving you adventures to play in!

You don't have to play a single adventure from the AP's, and you will _still_ be able to read them and get the info about the world that you need to write your own adventures! And it doesn't stop there, no, there will also be separate articles about the world and its inhabitants.

These aren't just AP's, they are the building blocks of what promises to be an extremely cool new campaign world.

Firstly if you want a campaign setting, there are much cheaper and effective ways to get exactly that for less than $216 USD (what it cost you if you subscribe to Pathfinder for a year). You could get much more value for your money by buying a campaign setting and some setting books. The setting information would also be in a couple of books, not spread out over a whole heap of issues like Pathfinder is.

I imagine that there are also some people that don't want a new campaign setting. They might be happy with Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Eberron or their own homebrew.

I understand that Paizo can no longer use Greyhawk (or FR or Eberron for that matter) so it makes sense on their part to create a new campaign world to set their adventures in. As cool as this new setting may be though, it won't be 100% useful to all Pathfinder subscribers. Some people will just want the AP adventures. The fact that they also get a campaign setting at the same time may not add any value to the product for them.

Olaf the Stout

zipdrive wrote:

How can I get a month-by-month international subscription? the only options seem to be US and Cananda?

Hmmm, we seemed to have missed that one! :) When we get back in the office next week (we are all at the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas this week) I will rally the troops and figure out how to offer a month-to-month sub for our international subscribers. So keep watching for it in a couple of weeks. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

-Lisa

Any updates on this Lisa?

Olaf the Stout

P.S. Lisa, any update on my question asked earlier in the thread?

Olaf the Stout

One of the reasons I can subscribe to Pathfinder is the fact that the Australian Dollar is stronger. The Charter subscription discount of 30% pays for postage and handling which makes the whole thing that more affordable and costing about $25 AUD including credit cards fees for $US conversation.

There was a time when the Dungeon went to $17 dollars per issue at the local Newsagent and at Border it was almost $25 for some reason. At the time the average WoTC hard cover book was about $50 to $60. Books prices have always been quite high in comparison with the rest of world and the government here in Australia loves to place high taxes on them.

I am concerned that the Australian dollar will fall and the price for the books becomes untenable. Dollar fluctuations have wiped out many FLGS in the past, and only those diversifying into comics have been successful in those hard times. In another post I mentioned that I was keen on a paid subscription for Pathfinder say a 6 issue or 12 issue subscription. This may be complicated for Paizio to organise but good for us Ozzies when the dollars is strong.

Cheers

DDM (Pathfinder Charter Subscriber)

Yeah, while the Month-to-Month Subscription may be good for Paizo to deal with, it sucks for us Aussies (and other internationals, I imagine) who have to deal with fluctuating exchange rates. I would gladly buy a 1 year subscription now while the Australian Dollar is as strong as it is now (over $0.82 US). If the dollar drops back to $0.75, which is likely, it will cost me an extra $2.15 per issue.

This may not seem like much but it adds up over the course of a year. It makes the price of Pathfinder almost beyond the amount I am willing to pay. I really have to consider whether it is still worth getting.

Olaf the Stout

Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

I subcribed in US dollars (I'm in the UK) on my credit card, which will convert it to sterling. The books will be posted from the US to wherever they are going, and postage is an extra $5 on the cover price for non-US subscribers (an extra $4 for US ones). So as far as I can tell, all subcriptions are pretty much the same apart from that, be they US, Australian or Tongan.

I'm sure the Paizo crew will correct me if I am wrong.

You're right—for Pathfinder.

Dungeon and Dragon month-to-month subs work differently, since we're still using Periodicals rate postage for that, and postage is included in the Dungeon and Dragon offering. Unfortunately, postage costs made it impractical to offer month-to-month subs to Dragon and Dungeon outside of the US and Canada.

If you're interested in the remaining issues of those magazines, and live outside of the US and Canada, you can look for them on local newsstands, or purchase them as back issues (they'll be available shortly after they ship to subscribers).

Lisa, on this you now said that you will try to work something out for international subscribers. Does this now mean that you might be able to come up with a way that I can get the last few issues of Dungeon and Dragon in Australia via a month-to-month subscription?

Olaf the Stout

I'd have no issue waiting if it meant that I saved on shipping. I don't plan on running Pathfinder and time soon (I still have to run SCAP and AoWAP first! :-) ).

Olaf the Stout

The negative was merely to the claim that WotC owns Paizo, as far as I can tell. Because they don't own Paizo any more than the sun owns the moon or Santa owns the Easter Bunny or I own a Wii (grrrrrr).

After re-reading his comment I get it now. I think I read it as 'bit' rather than 'big' the first time. Do you have any comments in regards to my post James? I'd be interested to hear Paizo's thoughts.

Olaf the Stout

I was about to re-subscribe to Dungeon and Dragon after a couple of years break when the announcement was made. I understand that month-to-month subscriptions are now all that is being offered. However all I could find was US and Canadian options for these subscriptions. How do I get a month-to-month subscription here in Australia?

Olaf the Stout

There was a company that did this with 3.0...I forget which one... apologies to them.

They released a set as Arcane and Divine.

Don't need the art... need the convenience... and I know everyone seems to love those baseball sized cards, but they are really hard on these old eyes... bigger cards would be nice.

For my sorcerer I played (very briefly) I used 4x6 cards and copied the text from some SRD source for every spell I knew. Made it nice and easy to read.

Bigger cards for us old folks please.

I'm pretty sure you are thinking of The Other Game Company, the company that I referred to earlier in the thread. They also have 3.5E spell cards.

Olaf the Stout

While I applaud you on your effort Olaf, all I can personally respond with is "ugh."

I hate most pdf print-outs. They work great for wanted posters, or menus or other trivial things, but for something that's a) Supposed to have a WOW factor and b) going to be reused a ton, they suck (w/o either wasting more ink or going to great lengths, such as Mr. Stout).

Another note to point out. We want versatility too. Please don't make a separate card for a "divine" Bull's Strength, and an "arcane" Bull's strength. Blech!

Personally I don't think cutting them out and laminating them was that much of an effort. Personally I like the fact that they are in PDF. I can print out as many copies as I need that way.

While fancy pre-printed spell cards would look much nicer, they would cost a lot more than I would be willing to pay for them. These cards cost me about $10-$15 from memory (plus whatever it costs to print and laminate them - basically nothing in my case). I can't imagine being able to get a copy (in some case multiple copies) of all the SRD spells for anywhere near that much. Each to his own I guess.

Olaf the Stout

Keoki wrote:

Olaf the Stout wrote:

In addition some people are supporting Paizo and subscribing to Pathfinder just to stick it to the man (WotC).

This would be a silly way to accomplish this, since WotC owns Paizo.

That's a big negative, my friend. Paizo is a privately held company that is not, in any way, owned by Wizards of the Coast. It has always been this way. Paizo published Dragon and Dungeon under license from WotC, not as a division of WotC.

Wanted to clear that up.

Josh, are you saying that you found my comments negative or are you referring to what Keoki posted?

If you are referring to my comments, what exactly did you find to be negative? I'm interesting in hearing your (and others within Paizo) thoughts on this matter.

Olaf the Stout

Thanks, Olaf!

For my part, I have to say that we at Paizo are very bullish on Pathfinder. :-)

I imagine that you are. And I can understand why too, it looks like it is going to be a great product. I just hope that there is a market out there big enough to sustain it.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf the Stout wrote:

In addition some people are supporting Paizo and subscribing to Pathfinder just to stick it to the man (WotC).

This would be a silly way to accomplish this, since WotC owns Paizo.

As Sebastian stated, I am pretty certain that Paizo is a totally seperate company to WotC. Some of the Paizo staff may freelance for WotC but I don't think that WotC owns Paizo.

Olaf the Stout wrote:

Subscribers that switched their surplus Dragon and Dungeon subs find that Pathfinder doesn't fill the same role that the magazines did.[/B] Many people that converted their extra Dragon and Dungeon issues to Pathfinder would have considered it to be a free look at the new product.

This is exactly what I did. I'm not totally sold on Pathfinder. One of the reasons I enjoyed Dungeon was because the adventures could make use of all WotC material, not just OGL stuff. This made it much more varied than most d20 products. I was able to convert my remaining subscriptions into two issues of Pathfinder, but unless it's really stellar, I don't plan on renewing.

I imagine that there are many people in your position. If too many people choose not to renew then it may make Pathfinder no longer viable. I think this is a very real issue.

P.S. Enjoying your minis?

Yes I am thank you very much! :-) I haven't had a chance to use them in the campaign as yet but hopefully I will soon.

I hope that you are also enjoying yours.

Olaf the Stout

I really don't think things are going to be all that bad. The success of companies like Malhavoc Press or the Game Mechannics has already proved that as a customer base we know how to follow the talent and not just the brand.

Both magazines have been better since Paizo took the helm, and better yet since Erik took the captain's chair. People know that. That same level of talent is going to be driving Pathfinder and as you say it has a guarenteed early win. I suspect that the team at Paizo is dynamic and savvy enough to keep Pathfinder evolving if it does not show signs of sustainable longevity.

I have absolute confidence that they can do it, whether or not people will or can afford we shall see, but the business model is something that can be fine tuned as time progresses.

Plenty of third party publishers have fallen by the wayside, but the best of the bunch have become very successful by comparable industry standards. Paizo have an established record and loyal customer base. They already lead the pack.

I think that you make solid points, but the only thing that concerns me a little is that no other third party publisher has managed a monthly book release (perhaps Mongoose, but their quality is varied to say the least and doesn't require a subscription).

Hopefully Pathfinder can remain on the shelves and not vanish as store returns as a magazine might?

Cheers
Ian

Ian, you are correct in regards to Pathfinder evolving and being continually finetuned. Paizo are obviously smart enough to spot any issues with Pathfinder and deal with them as they arise. Hopefully they can find (or have already found) solutions to many of the possible problems I have highlighted.

I still wonder though if there is a big enough market to support a monthly $20 adventure book subscription. As you also mentioned, no-one has really tried before so it is a bit of unknown territory.

Olaf the Stout

Thread recreated. And it showed up the first time too! :-) No need to go digging for the other one Gary.

Thanks,

Olaf the Stout

Before we start let me just say that I hope Pathfinder is a big success for Paizo. This thread is not about me knocking their new product, it is about me wondering whether or not it is sustainable for them in the long-term. I'm sure that the people at Paizo have done their homework on this one and think that it is. I really hope that they are right, but I have my doubts.

In the short-term, Paizo (and Pathfinder) should do just fine. Paizo have deservedly built up a good reputation over the last few years. They have come out of the whole Dragon/Dungeon fiasco looking like the unfortunate victims of a WotC business decision (which I believe they are). They have also been able to take advantage of current subscribers surplus Dungeon and Dragon subs by convincing them to change them over to Pathfinder subscriptions. In addition some people are supporting Paizo and subscribing to Pathfinder just to stick it to the man (WotC).

Howver, in the long-term things are different. Here are some issues which I think will result in lower subscription numbers in the longer-term for Pathfinder which could make the product unviable:

1. Subscribers that switched their surplus Dragon and Dungeon subs find that Pathfinder doesn't fill the same role that the magazines did. Many people that converted their extra Dragon and Dungeon issues to Pathfinder would have considered it to be a free look at the new product.

Yes, I realise that they have actually paid for the issues but a lot of people would have perceived it as money that they had already spent so it didn't matter. Once these pre-paid issues have run out and they have to start paying for Pathfinder they may decide that it isn't providing them the same value for money that Dungeon or Dragon did and stop subscribing.

2. The price is too high. $19.99 USD for 96-pages may simply be more than some people are willing to pay for a monthly subscription. Yes, you can get it for $13.99 USD if you subscribe. However $4 shipping for US subscribers and or $5 shipping for non-US subscribers means that you are still paying $18-$19 USD for each issue. That works out to somewhere between $215.88 (US Subscriber) and $239.88 (Full Retail) to get all 12 issues each year. This is more than it cost if you had 1-year subscriptions to both Dungeon and Dragon.

Yes, I know that 1 issue of Pathfinder is still cheaper than a product Paizo have compared it to, Red Hand of Doom. I also know that there will be more actual content per page compared to Dungeon and/or Dragon now that advertisements no longer fill half the page. Despite this I believe that some people will not subscribe as the price is higher than they are willing to spend on a monthly subscription.

There are also others for whom $215-$240 USD represents a significant percentage of their yearly gaming budget. Some people may not be willing to commit that much of their budget to just one product. They might, for example, prefer to spend a bit on sourcebooks, a bit on minis and a bit on adventures instead.

3. 2 adventure paths per year is too much. Even if Pathfinder produces the best adventures on the market (which I think is possible), some people just won't be able to keep up with the speed at which they come out. Even if my group played on a weekly basis (which we don't), I still don't think that my group could complete an AP in 6 months. This means that we would never catch up and I would always have adventures which I never ran. I don't think that I am alone in this situation.

Some groups have yet to finish the AOW AP, even though most of the ST AP has been published. Eventually DM's will reach a point where they have so many unrun adventures that they just don't need another adventure path, no matter how good it is.

Of course all of this assumes that people use AP's exclusively. If you like to run stand-alone adventures or something of your own creation as well as AP's then you get even further behind. This will mean that you will reach AP oversupply even sooner.

4. It is easy to lose subscribers for 6 months at a time. If someone doesn't like the concept of a particular adventure path in Pathfinder it is unlikely that they will buy any of the 6 issues that feature that AP. Yes, I do know that roughly half of each issue of Pathfinder will include other information that will be useful to any campaign, such as spells, monsters, feats, campaign locations, etc. However, I doubt that many people will spend $20 to buy a product that they know up front that they won't be able to use half of.

I know that the adventures are being designed with the idea that they can also be used as stand-alone adventures. However, the common perception (at least from posts I have read here and on the Paizo boards) is that the AP adventures aren't really used unless you are running that particular AP. Part of the problem is that once you decide to use a particular AP adventure, you are effectively eliminating the ability to use that particular AP with your group. Either that or you have to come up with a substitute adventure to fill in the one that you have used.

5. The WotC Digital Initiative. This is a bit more of a wildcard that the others since we don't actually have much information on what this will actually be. However I think it is reasonable to assume that some people that previously subscribed to Dungeon or Dragon will be interested in it. They may not have enough money to get both Pathfinder and the Digital Initiative. Some will choose the Digital Initiative, meaning fewer Pathfinder subscribers.

In summary, there are quite a few issues that I feel need to be addressed for Pathfinder to be an ongoing, long-term success. Some of them may have simple solutions, others are a little more difficult to solve. Personally I hope that I am either wrong about some of theses issues and they turn out to be non-events. I would hate to see the end of Paizo and AP's now that they have lost the Dungeon and Dragon licences.

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Have any solutions? Post and let me know.

Olaf the Stout

Ok, that explains where my other post went. I thought that the messageboards were playing more tricks on me. Luckily I still have the post on my computer so I can just re-post it.

Olaf the Stout

Just checking if this shows up. I tried posting a new thread in the Pathfinder General Discussion forum and it didn't show up.

Olaf the Stout

Just like to add my support to both a GameMastery Module subscription option and a Pathfinder/GameMastery Module joint subscription option.

Olaf the Stout

I would go with "The Other Game Company" Spell Cards. I bought them and use them in my games. Very useful. I also think they are great value for money. I print mine out and then laminate them to give them a bit of durability.

Olaf the Stout

E is for event.

J is for journey.

--Erik

I take it that I got the other 3 correct then?

Perhaps you could list what the different letters mean on the GameMastery product page?

Olaf the Stout

In all of the GameMastery Module titles they have a letter and number preceeding the title. I know this harkens back to the 1st edition modules but what exactly do the letters stand for?

I could figure out some of them.

D = Dungeon
U = Urban
W = Wilderness
E = ???
J = ???

What do E and J stand for?

Olaf the Stout

I don't think there is a problem Gary. You're just doing this to up your post count!

Olaf the Stout

Also remember that since Silence is an emanation, all that someone needs to do is cover it up to stop the effect. A mook could pick up the silenced object and put it in his pocket/belt pouch or someone could just throw a blanket over the item.

Higher-level Spellcasters should also have encountered the Silence problem previously in their lives and have developed tactics to counter it (they are highly intelligent after all). This may mean memorising Silent Dispel Magics or some of the various other tactics listed above.

Olaf the Stout

Olaf,

You're pretty much correct; adding other lower-cost options for international postage is fairly high on our to-do list.

-Vic.
.

Glad to hear it Vic. I imagine that adding Letter Post and Surface Mail options would make things much more affordable for international customers. The lower shipping charges will then hopefully lead to more sales from those of us living outside the US.

That's a win for Paizo and international customers.

Olaf the Stout

Any response to the question in my last post Cosmo?

Olaf the Stout

Yes, you roll again. You don't keep the 1 grapple roll.

Olaf the Stout

Reading the posts definitely are a challenge! I still think that it is a good April Fool's prank, despite the inconvenience. It makes you want to type extra to see what might happen to your post!

Olaf the Stout