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From that standpoint, requiring the Black Blade to be a melee weapon is bad, why not throwing stars, or a musket even. 
Funny how one SKR's post gets more favorites than some of his "critics" have accumulated over their entire posting career. Note that some people "favorite" any developer post so they can track it easily by referring to their favorites list later. (There are certainly posts that I "like" but I do not favorite them because I don't want them showing up in my list later, because I use that for referring back to things later, and posts where I don't necessarily agree with someone, but will favorite for easy tracking. Yes there's listing as an option too but it's easier to get at favorites by a couple clicks.) I'm not saying that other people should be favorited more, and I am not saying that people don't like Sean or favorite his posts for other reasons than he is a developer. I am saying that number of favorites--especially when looking at the number of favorites on a developer post--isn't really a reliable way of confirming the veracity or popularity of someone's statements. After all, even MY posts get favorited sometimes. Now back to your regularly scheduled monk discussion. 
I've seen it mentioned here and there... ...but magic ammunition is great for two things: 1) For relatively inexpensive NPC gear—you can give an NPC five +2 unholy arrows and that really helps bolster his punch, for example, without spending all of his money on a +2 unholy bow (which he'd be unlikely to afford anyway). 2) As treasure the PCs find, be it in an old armory, on a dead body in the woods, or whatever. They're the potions of the weapon world—one shot "OMG WE NEED AN EXTRA PUSH FOR THE BBEG!" type devices. I often drop in things like a +3 wounding arrow or a +4 human bane sling bullet or two in low level adventures when I get bored of handing out the same old treasure. AKA: Not every single rule in the game needs to be a great choice for player characters. Some of them work better for NPCs or adventures. 
It has its uses for 1st or 2nd level characters (PCs or NPCs) who can't afford a magic bow. Also, having a few specialty arrows could be useful (e.g. specific Bane arrows to use against certain creatures, Seeking arrows in case you're blinded or something). 
Great read, again. I must say I didn't know Paizo had gone through these kind of rough times. First off, thank you for all the kind messages on this blog. It is appreciated. I wanted to comment on this post. I worked very hard to make sure that our struggles weren't known outside of Paizo. Heck, I don't think that many of our employees knew how hard the struggles were, because I kept that info confined to the top ranks. No sense having everybody worrying all of the time. I think that is why Erik's closed door meeting mentioned in Jason's sidebar was such a shock. People didn't really see it coming. They possibly had a hint or two or three, but not all the details. And we definitely didn't want the public to know. Two Christmases ago, I ended up telling the whole company and their spouses the two hours story of Paizo at our annual holiday party. I didn't sugar coat or leave anything out. They got the whole gory story. The ups and the downs. That was cool. These blog posts are pretty much my attempt to do the same thing now for you guys. You deserve to know now. Without you, we wouldn't have made it to where we are today. So enjoy! Spoiler:
Things get better...:) -Lisa 
I'd say the other reason the door to the Editorial Pit was never closed: It was <bleeping> HOT in there!That's only natural you put so many great minds to hard work! Turns out, great minds smell a lot like armpit when the air conditioning is busted. That office had some positive attributes, though. For instance, Jacobs and I shared a giant window that looked out over a forested creek/swamp, complete with the occasional terror bird. 
I believe this was the year when Jason started up the Eberron game, shortly after his arrival. So, also the year I started to get to know folks at Paizo, at least the ones around the table on game night. I'd say the other reason the door to the Editorial Pit was never closed: It was <bleeping> HOT in there! 
Guys, as long as these miniatures are based on Adventure Paths, we're going to pick the appropriate creatures to run the campaign, whether they're humanoids OR monsters. I get it. I get that a lot of people don't want any more humanoid miniatures. So noted. But you're going to get loads more of them over the next several years, so harping on the issue is not going to change much. You're also going to get TONS of monsters. TONS of creatures you do not already have, and TONS of creatures that have never been made before in plastic. Be patient, please. This is not a one-and-done thing. This is a set of miniatures designed to support a complete campaign that involves monsters AND humanoids. We are in this for the long haul. If this strategy does not appeal to you, I invite you to purchase singles. 
In my experience, the people who state that there's no need for ethnic diversity in "x" are generally straight white males between the ages of 18 and 35. Please note, this is not the same as saying all straight white males between the ages of 18 and 35 say there's no need for ethnic diversity. 
The effort to show diversity in artwork is more than just to try to replicate a specific real-world spread of various races in a given location. It's to provide people who may not identify with a particular gender or race to have a better chance of seeing art with which they can identify with in a given product. I'm a straight white male, so I can't relate to not seeing something I can relate to in, well, just about everything from movies to books to gaming materials. But for women, folks with a non-heterosexual identity, or people of color, seeing an aspect of one's self represented in a non-stereotypical or non-patronizing way in media can add a connection to that material. And that's what we want to do as a brand and as a community: be welcoming, accepting, and affirming of diversity so that everyone can see this as a game and a community that they can join and call their own. 
Just wanted to chime in on how great the Beginner Box is. A few years back, I purchased the Pathfinder core books in PDF format to give the rules their due. Honestly, I thought that there was way too much complication for a casual game with my kids. So I moved on. I'm a sucker for Quick Starts/Fast Play rules though, so when I saw the Beginner Box video on youtube, I got excited. I put off picking up the Skyrim soundtrack and bought the Beginner Box instead. I am glad that I did. From my perspective this is the perfect product. This is what I was looking for when I bought the crappy new Red Box from Wizards. That the authors were able to distill the core concepts from the Pathfinder Core rules into an easily digestible form is amazing to me. The layout and fonts were a big plus too. My first game was last Thursday. It was an immediate hit. The wife and kids loved the pre-gens and we quickly picked up the rules as we went. I think the detailed, section by section descriptions really helped. Having the maps and minis were also great. I have plenty of plastic minis, but it was nice not having to pull down the big fishing box full of them. I had dice already, but another set is always welcome. These dice are pretty cool too. I'm not sure if the sales and reception are good enough to warrant, but I would personally love to see another boxed set that is analogous to the old Expert set. 
Please, stop the RFC-speak madness. ;) Honestly, though: Which do you prefer? - Petrifying Gaze (SU): Target is PETRIFIED (with PERMANENT duration), RANGE 30, FORTITUDE SAVING_THROW DC 16 NEGATES. CHARISMA based SAVING_THROW. - Petrifying Gaze (Su): Turn to stone permanently, 30 feet, Fortitude DC 16 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based. The first one might be clearer, but the later gets the same point across without both screaming at me, and an ever-bloating list of reserved words. 
The price is definitely scary, but... my anniversary is the end of July. I can just tell my husband he's buying me minis instead of jewelry. :) 
I don't mean to sidetrack things (and I haven't gone through your writing in detail), but this is exactly why I rail against writing advice that emphasizes things like "avoid passive" or "avoid to be". The verb 'to be' is a useful verb - it exists for a reason. Sure, it shouldn't be overused, and if used poorly does contribute to a feeling that writing is weak and not very exciting (which I think is really the issue that the judges want people to avoid). But if it's used well it won't even be noticed, whereas a sentence that awkwardly tries to avoid it stands out like a sore thumb. I'm sorry that this issue might have tripped you up, but if you want to avoid avoiding them in the future, and instead master their use, I highly recommend this book: (avoid Strunk and White - they'll tell you to avoid passives but don't identify them correctly themselves - it's like taking medical advice from a doctor who calls morphine an antibiotic) 
Yep, this is to you. I'm a single parent of two kids. I'm also a gamer, and have been since elementary school. I know that when my kids show interest in something, I like to check it out first. I like to see what I'm getting them into. Since I frequently check official forums, I figure that some of you will end up here, trying to decide whether this RPG hobby is something you want to get your kids into. Maybe you want to find out whether this hobby has any real-world value. Maybe you're like me, and grew up during that raging paranoia of the early 80s that had parents thinking that a game would have their kids hiding in the sewers and sacrificing to dark gods. Then again, maybe you don't know the first thing about it. Like I said, this is for you. What RPGs are: They are, essentially, interactive storytelling games. Think of them as a mix of telling ghost stories around a campfire and improvisational theater. One person (called the game master, or GM) is in charge. He has an outline for a story. He sets the stage by describing the situation and the players take part in the story by describing their responses. Conversations with characters in the story are simply acted out between the players and the GM. If you imagine a game of cops and robbers for big kids (and yes, even adults) you won't be too far off the mark. All those papers and dice? The papers list equipment and abilities every character in the story has access to, and they rate each character's strengths and weaknesses with a number. A powerful warrior might have a strength rated 18, but an intelligence rated a mere 9. The numbers are used by essentially (simplifying for clarity) adding them to the roll of a die. The higher the rating, the higher the result of a die roll. 18+(1 to 20) is usually higher than 9+(1 to 20.) The higher the result of a die roll, the more effective an attempt to use an ability or skill is. That warrior's attempts to use his 18 strength will be much more effective than his attempts to use his 9 intelligence. Ok, now to the nitty gritty. Now that we know what these games are, what do they actually do to your kids? I'm going to use myself as an example here, mainly because I know myself well and keep myself close at hand. I rolled my first 20-sided die when I was nine years old, and am still rolling as I inch ever closer to the big four-oh. Here is what it did to me and how it affected my life: ~I got constant practice with on-the-fly mathematics. This is obviously less relevant as an adult, but when I first started, the numbers I was adding and subtracting a hundred times a game were as complex as what I was getting in school, and I had to learn to do them quickly, accurately, and in my head. ~On a similar note, the game introduced me to the concepts of probability and statistics. Trust me, after you've played for a while the difference between a 5 in 20 chance and a 7 in 20 chance becomes significant. Is it worth it to take a chance on that slippery rope now when it makes it 15% harder to succeed, or is 15% too much to risk? Can your kids answer that? They will after playing RPGs for a while. ~They got me to read. I don't just mean I was reading the rules, I mean that I was reading everything, and constantly. You never saw me without a book in hand. By the time I was ten years old I was pouring through novels like mad, and this was in a time before Harry Potter, when 'young adult' fantasy novels weren't available. Along those same lines... ~...They got me to study, and to love studying. I'm not kidding. Playing and loving a game full of exotic cultures and medieval settings made me want to know more about those things. I started studying in elementary school, continued with courses in college, and still study and learn every chance I get. What am I talking about? These games led me directly to study, at various times: Art and art history, music history, ancient and medieval history, social and cultural anthropology, philosophy, military history, archaeology, mythology, folklore, literature, sociology, zoology/botany/biology, linguistics, language (I still have a smattering of ancient Greek and Latin), numerous historical crafts and skills, and more. I have numerous bookshelves filled with everything from medieval histories to Shakespeare, from mythology to language texts. Being introduced to a fantasy world based on our own creates a hunger to understand, and that can blossom into a love and fascination with our own world that last a lifetime. ~A strong imagination. That may not sound like much as an adult, but a strong, practiced imagination is the number one tool for problem solving and innovation. Problem solving is all about looking at a problem and thinking of a solution that can solve that problem. That's called imagination. Innovation - the ability to find new approaches and methods - is an invaluable tool in almost any profession or industry. In a society that tends to downplay imagination in adults, a tool like RPGs that constantly and actively exercises one's imagination can be a huge advantage. ~A social life. All of my best friends growing up were people I met through gaming. That's true as an adult as well. It may seem counter intuitive, but you can't game and stay a loner. I doesn't work. You meet great people in gaming. The game requires imagination and a healthy intellect, and the people with those qualities are the ones you end up spending your free time with. In fact, I met my wife and the mother of my kids when she was a player in one of my games in high school. We may be divorced now, but we were together for nearly 15 years. That isn't bad for a hobby. As to the bad stuff? Well, I didn't ever sacrifice any of my friends to any dark gods, although when I was a teenager, I did sacrifice a great deal of junk food to a dark gullet. Anyway, my kids are eight and ten. I got them the Beginner's Box a couple of weeks ago, and we'll be playing our first game together this week. After all, I have to look to their future, don't I? What better way to do that than to introduce them to something that will, essentially, trick them into doing extra, voluntary homework for the rest of their lives? 
The adventure continues. Our heroes head back to town for another rest. After stopping at Savah’s Armory, they head to the Brown Tooth Inn and meet the proprietor, Amond. Amond explains to them that the Brown Tooth Inn is one of the premier adventurer’s inns in Sandpoint besides the Rusty Dragon Inn. Pathfinder Venture-Captains have been known to come to the Tooth looking for recruits even! Kayla goes off on a holy task, mumbling something about removing curses and spells at a local hospital... Merisiel and Benzeren are left at the Inn to discuss their future plans. As they sit at the bar, a dwarven barbarian approaches them and offers to join their fledgling party. After explaining to them that he can give as good as he takes, Dagmar the Restless joins Merisiel and Benzeren on their quest to discover what is in Black Fang’s dungeon. Approaching the entrance to the dungeon, Merisiel notices fresh tracks in the dirt. Dagmar immediately recognizes them as goblin tracks……fresh goblin tracks. Our heroes proceed into the dungeon cautiously and come upon a group of four goblins. “Give us our wooden wyrm!” one of them shrieks. “Why not come an get it maggots!” yells Dagmar. A brief skirmish ensues with two of the goblins fleeing for their lives after Merisiel splits one in half with her rapier and Dagmar caves the cranium of another one. Benzeren on the other hand…well…let’s just say he had a little trouble aiming his staff with apprentice hand. That thing was flying all over the place! As our heroes approach the 20 foot high cliff, Merisiel attempts to climb it, almost making it to the top but a rather large centipede crawled across her hand, freaking her out and causing her to fall, bruising her hip…and her ego. Dagmar gives it a go, making it halfway up before the same centipede crawls across his hand freaking him out as well. “What?? I can’t stand things smaller an’ quicker ‘n me...” Bruised but not beaten, Dagmar climbs the cliff and throws down the rope to the others so they can climb up. The skeletons were no match for Dagmar and Benzeren, who finally got his staff to obey his apprentice hand. Merisiel just couldn’t figure out why her rapier kept slipping between the rib cage of the nearest skelly but had no effect on it at all. Upon entering the lair of Black Fang, Merisiel drew forth the dragon bane sword, Dagmar rushed to meet the beast head-on, and Benzeren fired off some magic missiles. With some excellent init rolls by our heroes, they were able to draw first blood, which only enraged Black Fang even more. Rearing back its glistening black head, Black Fang belched forth an intense stream of bright green acid, catching Dagmar full in the chest. If it wasn’t for the thick wolf pelts strung about his chainmail, he would have been turned into dwarf pudding. Instead, the blast knocked him unconscious. While Black Fang was preoccupied with Dagmar, Merisiel leapt into range and plunged the dragon bane sword, hilt deep into Black Fang’s belly. Screeching in pain, Black Fang took flight and escaped the battle, with Merisiel hanging onto the sword till it slipped free of the dragon’s flesh. Our heroes had done it! They chased off the dragon! GM notes: Again, the kids had a BLAST with this session. I had some fun too. Knowing my wife wouldn’t be here for this session, I whipped up a 1st level dwarven barbarian to assist the kids. I managed to keep it fair without divulging too much. Upon encountering the dragon, I used my knowledge of nature to identify it as a young black, also noting that the weakest point on any young dragon is its belly. The Black Tooth Inn: I had gotten a free pdf from drivethrurpg for a generic inn and wanted to work it into Sandpoint so the kids had a home base. I know, I know, the Rusty Dragon is there and there is an AP involving the proprietor. I want to keep these first couple of adventures simple. It also gave me a hook or two for future adventures. Dagmar the Restless: yes…I played a PC as I was GM-ing. I know there are two schools of thought on this. I can guarantee that this is only temporary. Once the kids get more experience with RPGs, I will step away from using a PC and move to an NPC, or the PC will just become an NPC. Anyways, both kids were worried that they wouldn’t get to finish this adventure before bedtime. Their reactions when the dragon started to fly away is something I will always remember. Both kids cheered….CHEERED. My 14yr old daughter actually called her friend to tell her to stop texting because “I am playing Pathfinder with my dad and brother and I have to fight this dragon, I’ll call you later.” It was priceless. 
I bought the beginner box set to play with my 3 boys (ages 6, 10, and 12)and with my wife. None of us had ever played D&D or any other RPG, so this was a totally new experience for us. I spent a day studying the handbooks, and then played the Black Fang scenario. All three of my boys loved it, and beg every week to play again. We had so much fun sitting around as a family basically telling a story together. I loved the creativity it inspired. At one point one of my boys was caught in a spider web. The boys came up with the idea of tossing the fire ruby (makes the holder impervious to fire) to the guy in the web, and then having the wizard blast him with fire. Not bad for a bunch of young boys on their first adventure. Later I created my own quest that had them stuck in a dark cave with no light and being attacked by a giant rat. They couldn't see anything. I then had different members of the party randomly roll perception checks. At first they were confused and didn't know what to do. They kept trying to swing in the dark but missed. It was my 6 year old who, without any prompting decided to throw his dagger once he "heard" something with his perception check. He skewered the rat and has been bragging about it to anyone that would listen. He tells everyone "man, I have crazy perception skills...you should have seen how I got that rat with my dagger." We play a lot of board games in my house, but all of my boys agree this is their favorite game. Days after an adventure they sit around and tell stories of their exploits. I can't think of a better family activity. The "Beginner Box" is perfect for people who have never played before and have no experience, even if they're as young as 6 years old. Amazing product. 
Hi all. I just wanted to take a quick minute to let you know I have added both the Beginner Box Introduction and a Kid's Track using the Beginner Box into this year's Gen Con Schedule. For the Beginner Box Introduction, players will get to experience the Beginner Box first hand over 5 hours. A one-hour intro to the rules, including an experienced GM that will answer all of your rules questions and review the provided pre-generated characters, is followed by playing the four, one-hour demo adventures that will be run back-to-back. We plan to have 4 tables of each in 9 of the 10 slots over the course of the four days. It will require the purchase of a ticket as it is a scheduled, five hour event. At the end of the five hours, each player will be provided a copy of the Beginner Box Pathfinder Society Character Creation Guide if they want to move from the Beginner Box straight into Pathfinder Society and give it a try during the convention. For the Kid's Track, we will have a different session each day, using one of the demo adventures each day (Relics on Thursday, Ruins on Friday, Terrors on Saturday and Tomes on Sunday). These specific sessions will be geared towards players ages 6-12 only. Tables will be limited to four children. A parent or guardian must be on sight to supervise their child at all times. The first hour teaches roleplay & rules with provided characters found in the Pathfinder Beginner Box and explained at a child's attention level. In the second hour of the day, the four children get to play the one hour adventure for the day. If they play all four adventures (1/day), they will receive a custom certificate. Also, each child will be able to use one of the iconic minis that matches the pre gen they are playing. After the session is over, the child gets to keep the mini. I've also been very selective in who I have chosen to GM these Kid's track sessions. Each GM is a teacher or works with children as a part of their career (forensic interviewers, counselors, and the like). Finally, I have several people who work at the University level, drafting up a lesson plan of sorts, with suggestions for the GMs on how they should approach explaining the rules to children in two different age categories (6-8 and 8-12). One ticket will cover the child playing the game and for the parent to sit with their child during the two hours. We will be running 8 tables of each Kid's Track session each day. Both the Kid's Track and Beginner Box Introductions will be hosted at dedicated tables in the Pathfinder Society Gaming Hall. I wanted to make sure kids got the full con experience of mustering for a slot, being assigned to a table, and playing with all the other tables, instead of them being singled out. All in all, I am very excited for both of these programs and hope that some of you coming to Gen Con will seek out to add one or both of these to your Gen Con experience. If you have been curious about whether you should pick up a copy of the Beginner Box, this is a perfect opportunity to test drive it and see what it is all about. 
I'm going to be me. I like me. A bunch of other people like me. Women tend to like me. So, if you don't like something about how I act, that's on you. I've been pretty successful making friends and finding lovers being me. And I'm not a paragon of PC behavior or anything, I just don't give a s!&~ what people think. I don't care for the company of people who get offended easily. I don't care if they like me. So there's no reason for me to change to make myself more accessible to those type of people. They aren't worth my time. Now, if you are horrible at interpersonal interactions, then maybe you should change. If people don't like you, people you're attracted to don't want to be with you, then maybe you should take a look in the mirror and figure out why. If you care what people think, change. No one has to like anyone, respect anyone, or any of that. But, if the way you act and relate to others prevents you from achieving your social goals, it's on you to change, not the other person. 
Actually, as an anthropologist, a feminist, and a member of the Paizo art staff, I'm happy you brought up some of these issues. They've been on my mind a lot lately, as well. Seoni dresses provactively. There's no denying that. Part of that is the same reason you mentioned: Sorcerer = high charisma, and the easiest way to convey that in a single illustration is making someone attractive and confidant. That being said, being confidant and attractive doesn't mean also being stupid, and being intelligent (as Seoni is) doesn't mean being an introvert or not caring about appearances. In-game, Seoni was raised in a very visceral culture that encourages music and dance and physical fitness. Out-of-game, her outfit was design primarily to show off the Varisian tattoos. While Seoni's look was designed by a guy (The incomparable Wayne Reynolds), everything is created with input and feedback from our female art director, and even me on rare occasion (I'm quite proud of getting to add some input into Reiko and Lirianne's designs). In the end, what Seoni wears is revealing, but her design was released alongside Meresiel and Kyra, a woman who is fully clothed but tight, and a woman who is bundled up like there was a fire sale at the scarf-and-chainmail-emporium. All three are awesome examples of womanhood in their own ways. Since then, Paizo's female iconic have run the gamut from badass warriors who won't take your s%%$ (Seelah and Imrijka), to tough-and-hot adventurer chicks (like Lirrianne or Amiri), to eye-candy (Alhazra), to... other (Lini). Seoni's outfit on her own fits stereotypes of what women have been told they should be, but all our female iconics, taken as a group, provide an awesome cross-section of what it actually does mean to be a woman. To leave out women who like to look and feel hot would've bordered on slut-shaming. As to the lack of support... yeah, that makes me wince, too. Thankfully, most of our other women are less endowed and better supported. Prestidigitation, perhaps? 
Hey Sean, Thanks for posting this topic. I appreciate the news available on Ultimate Equipment and I know that there is a lot of time and effort going into the compilation, organization and finishing of this product. That being said, I implore you to add some rules text to the items that require it. I realize that this may increase the cost by adding more pages to the book, but I will gladly pay a little more for this :). This may be against the original slant of your topic - or not, I'll let you decide. Things I'd like to see from Ultimate Equipment (equipment rules wise): 1. Adding the "cannot be disarmed" reminder text to item descriptions that require it - the Gauntlet weapons have this text and more weapons require it. For example, this would apply to shields (buckler, light, heavy, tower and quickdraw) based on the Disarm FAQ, Armor Spikes, Shield Spikes and the Cestus. There may be more, but this is an example. 2. Text update to Throwing Shields that sort of covers that you can't quickdraw and throw a billion throwing shields as a continuous string of free actions. 3. Extension of the Buckler Rules to all shields. Let me explain.. there is a problem where by stacking quickdraw and/or quickdraw shields folks argue they can use two hands to attack then draw the shield to gain the defensive benefit of the shield while attacking with the force of two-hands. This is currently nebulous in the rules because light/heavy shields do not carry the same text as a buckler: "In any case, if you use a weapon in your off hand, you lose the buckler's AC bonus until your next turn." 4. An update to the Brace weapon feature that makes it more usable in game. Right now, the text implies that you need to explicitly ready an attack vs a charge, this is a very limiting use of the ready action that would result in the readier not being able to strike an opponent that entered their reach by any means other than a charge. 5. An update to the Trip weapon feature that gives +2 on trip attempts. This would make the Trip weapon feature continue to have value after the Tripping FAQ & errata. Things I'd like to see from Ultimate Equipment (new items): 1. A repeating hand crossbow. We have all other kinds of repeating crossbows. 2. An update to whip type weapons that using them two-handed doesn't increase their damage dealt. (Something like what is written on the Rapier). Thanks for listening, I'd be interested in your comments on the subjects above.
I want editorial consistency on two things:
For example, a hammer gets listed as "adventuring gear" (in the Core Rules) but an anvil gets listed as "Tools" in the APG (even though both equipment sections have both "adventuring gear" and "tools" as categories). Everything needs to be sorted out in a consistent and intuitive place. Further, I think items specifically needed for class features need to be in their own section, away from other listed items (for example, Alchemist's Kit, Spellbook, Spell Component Pouch, Holy Symbol -- these should all be on their own list, away from other tools or adventuring gear).
For example -- we have on the equipment table in the core rulebook the following items: sword, short
Further, "sword, short" is listed as "shortsword" in the item descriptions (the others are listed as sword, [specific], matching their table entry). So either "longsword" should be "sword, long" or the other items should be shortsword, bastard sword, two-bladed sword, etc. Then we have in the CRB "dagger" and "dagger, punching." But then in the APG we have "swordbreaker dagger" (as opposed to "dagger, swordbreaker"). This is especially where it gets ticklish because in UE, if I understand, all these items are being reprinted, so if a reader sees "dagger" they think, "okay for all kinds of daggers, I will look it up under "dagger" first and not by a descriptor--and then they might miss swordbreaker dagger entirely. I am sorry if this is pedantic, but it really drives me crazy, and it really makes it difficult to look for items in compiled lists sometime. (I made my own combo list of CRB and APB items for my players, and half the time I spent was just trying to make everything read consistently and be easy to find -- but it makes finding things SO much easier and is so much more player friendly.) ---------------------------
Banners - For cavaliers. Well, for everyone, really, but if you're carrying a banner, there should be a weight and cost and whatnot associated with it. Those things are heavy! If a cleric's gotta buy a holy symbol and a wizard's gotta buy a spellbook, a cavalier should buy a banner. Wondrous Items for neglected body parts -- What I mean is, is there's lots of generally very useful cloaks and amulets and boots, but I'd like to see more shirts and bracelets and circlets, for example. (Heh, when I typed that, I accidentally typed "shorts." I guess we could use more of those too. ;) ) Packages -- like the "Standard Adventurer's Kit" others have mentioned. I think there could be others like the "spellcaster's pack" and "the dungeoneering pack" and the "mountain climbing pack" etc. More special materials. I recall the old Arms and Equipment guide had an elven leaf armor thing that was sort of like mithral but for non-metal armors. Something like that would be cool, as well as other special materials that might give bonuses to certain kinds of movement or protect from certain kinds of attacks, etc. etc. I DON'T want more general types of weapons or armor; I think we've got it pretty well covered by the existing books. We're even pretty good for general enchantments for weapons and armor -- although specific magic weapons and armor are always cool, including artifacts. 
If there is no third dimension, does this mean enemies can attack him from an adjacent space on the battlemat regardless of his altitude? Pick one, you can't have it both ways whenever it's convenient to you. (RD made the right call) 
Its no more a plot device or a "kill the favorite thing of the class" than a rust monster is to a fighter. 
This is a very good decision, to hire a position like this. Again, coming from the corporate world I greatly admire good business acumen, and Paizo seems to have it in spades. Whether or not the AP's (and possibly other things, I don't know) falling behind is a problem in truth or merely a bump on the road, you're taking the steps necessary to correct it, and doing so openly. I salute you for it. I hope you get a real butt-kicking PM. . Wes has been doing the job—and quite well too—for quite a while now, but it turns out that we really need Wes to focus on doing things that only Wes can do. 
There are some serious issues with the physics of giant humanoids. That much mass vertically stacked would likely result in their own body weight crushing their internal organs. This is a real threat that elephants have to deal with. Zoo keepers go into panic mode if an elephant has been lying on its side for more than a half hour. The atmosphere is considerably thinner today than it was even just a few million years ago, and thus provides less buoyancy to organisms, a factor that prevents the existence of any land animals today much larger than an elephant being able to survive. This is a big obstacle in trying to create a modern day Jurassic Park. Most of the thinning of the atmosphere happens from hydrogen loss, blowing off into space: about 95,000 tonnes a year. That is countered by "space dust", which is a mix of solids and gases, but still at only 40,000 tonnes a year the net result is a thinning atmosphere. Giant insects and arthropods would have to be tossed out as well. One of the first land creatures on Earth was giant spiders. Massive little buggers the size of a large dog. As more and more animals appeared on land and began sucking up all the oxygen, spiders were forced, yes, because of physics, to go smaller. Spiders have no heart nor lungs. They absorb oxygen through their outer surface, which is why their design requires they have such a large surface area to body mass ratio. The absence of a heart means no circulation, so they need to be able to absorb a large enough quantity of oxygen that it can get around everywhere it's needed by absorption and diffusion. It also meant giant spiders were terrible runners, and got exhausted very quickly after trying to chase their prey - thus the evolution of spider webs. This explains why the spider's and the scorpion's aquatic cousins are still today so much larger than their land relatives. Anyways, just want to point out that you need to be careful how much you want to focus on proper physics when discussing a fantasy setting. 
I'm sorry if I don't care for dex and chose to be a (insert class that wears heavy armor here) at level 1. Maybe if I went more mainstream I wouldn't be mocked on the messageboards. 
Nobody in their right mind would buy it. The absolute optimum corner case for splint mail is low level, no dex bonus, and no more than 249 gp (including trade-in value) and NOTHING better to spend it on. Which means it's perfect for warrior henchmen. My sorcerer's security detail consists of a 5th level rogue (cohort) and 7 2nd level warriors. Spending 1400 gp to give them armor was well-worth it. Spending 10500 for full-plate is out of the question, and the 1750 for banded mail would only reduce their check penalty by 1, which I don't really care about. Now, MASTERWORK splint mail on the other hand... 
Also, for a Large quadruped, +2 splint mail barding is cheaper than normal full plate barding. (4950 gp vs 6000 gp) 
It took a 4 man committee of gamers to find a way to say dhampir are treated like undead. The next time someone tried to rush a dev to answer a question I may just have to point them here. 
While I understand that, it just seems that a wrap up after voting is closed for a round would be a better method to explain the reasoning behind how a judge views an entry. Suggesting that people not read the judge comments is nice but human nature tends to head the other way in contest related situations. Just the existence of this thread proves that people think with, or because of, the judges more than one would like. If I may add a postscript to Vic's excellent comments. Serious contestants should really do their best to maintain perspective. This is not a zero-sum contest where the results are strictly binary ("pass/fail or good/bad"). I'm not trying to self-promote here, but in 2010 I wrote an ambitious adventure pitch ("Doom of the Dream Thieves") that, as Vic described, could not be written in 32 pages. Judges universally said that, and encouraged people not to vote for my proposal. I was too inexperienced to recognize the scope of what I was pitching, and Matt Goodall won the contest that year- and he deserved it. But the story didn't end for me. I went on to write some mechanics, and then two PFS adventures, and eventually a 32 page module. Everything I could have gained from the contest, I ended up getting/doing anyway. It took a little longer and I had to work my way up a little bit. The judges ended up doing me a favor. The judges really are looking out for the best interests of everyone, and even if you don't win the "jackpot", it doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost. Try to keep that perspective. 
I'm really thrilled by how many people are using the Beginner Box to introduce their daughters to gaming! About seven months ago, my brother-in-law, my daughter, and I played through a short homegrown Pathfinder campaign using my Pathfinder books. My daughter is now nearly ten which is about the age I started playing D&D in 1978. She loved the gaming sessions and leveled her Fighter up to sixth level before the conclusion of the campaign. For Christmas, I bought her a Pathfinder Beginner Box (also purchased one for my nephew.) The day after Christmas, she walked up to me with her arms literally hugging the Beginner Box and with tears running down her cheeks said to me "Daddy, I really love this present!" No Joke. She was earnestly choked up and I think honored to be given her own set of Pathfinder rules which I so obviously revered. I recall preaching "Honey, careful not to write in the Pathfinder books". During the campaign with Brother-in-law, she had carefully put sticky notes on some of the pages of my Core Rulebook so that she could easily get back to the pages she wanted to find without damaging the book. A week after Christmas, she had invited one of her friends over to our house and convinced her friend to give the Pathfinder Beginner Box game a try. I was so proud of her efforts to Dungeon Master the session for her friend. 
perhaps Sean could make a big list of which spells and effects use positive or negative energy (and keep updating it as new books come out) I mean it is not like he has other questions to worry or think about instead of this rare ability that only affects a handful of creatures that many (if not most) GMs probably won't use unless they happen to appear in a module they are running anyway. 
I bought two Beginner Boxes, one for my 10-year old son, and the other for my 12-year old nephew. Both boys have spent the past month delving into their boxes. At the behest of both of them, I GM'd Black Fang's dungeon for them with my sister and brother-in-law filling out the party. This is pretty significant, since I began roleplaying with the D&D Erol Otus Cover Basic Set in 1981. At the time my lifeling obsession began, this same sister would gripe incessently about my silly, pointless hobby. So here she was, with her son and husband ready to willingly step into my realm. Now, my nephew, sister, and brother-in-law live in Ohio, while my son and I are in North Carolina; so, we played over Skype - webcams pointed down at our dungeon maps. It worked marvelously, and we completed the lair in 4 hours. I decided NOT to have Black Fang flee the fight, as I wanted them to have the satisfaction of killing the dragon rather than just chasing it off. The party succeeded, but every one of them had a brush with death (negative HP) at some point in the quest. They had so much fun playing that they are already looking forward to the NEXT adventure for their intrepid band. 
I had one each under the tree for my girls (10 and 5). They got some dice for Christmas too. We played the next day and they both LOVED it. My oldest took some time to read over her section and the solo adventure, as she decided to play Ezreth the Wizard (nice, easy sex-change for the pregen), while my youngest went for Merisiel because she's 'stabby.' Something about all the daggers, I think. A quick briefing on the 'd20+modifiers' basic concept and we were off to Black Fang's dungeon (joined by my stepson (22) playing a fighter, and who has some RPG experience). They took out the goblins, fought the goblin King and his minions, and had a bit of a rough go with the sea creature. This was all on Boxing Day. They were a bit worked over so retreated to Sandpoint and we stopped. I also gave them some roleplaying encounters from RotRL summary of Sandpoint, which definitely helped frame the 'not just combat' concept of the game, though my 5 year old definitely loved kicking butt. The next few days were busy with the holidays, but not a day went by without exhortations from both girls to play more Pathfinder. We got another game in before school started and they made it to the dragon, but had a rough time with the dragon. The heroes went down one by one until finally, my youngest picked up the magic sword from the fallen fighter and lays a max 'to hit,' max damage (and almost critical) on Black Fang, who flies away vowing never to forget them. One last game session before I had to leave on a posting to the east coast. In this one I had to write in a 'connecting' adventure as they head for Kaer Maga and "The Godsmouth Heresy." As they poured through the box contents, it was like reliving the days when I started, back with the 'Red Box' D&D basic set. That sense of wonder, the seeking to understand what this game really was, then that point where all the possibilities open up. It was pure magic. Sadly, I am on the opposite side of the country for a few months, due to the necesseties of the Service. However, we are going to try to play by Skype on weekends, and my oldest is planning to start a campaign with her friends. The moment I gave her a PF GM screen and 'handed over the torch' was purest, most fully distilled awesome (I was the GM for my brother and I, as we knew no one else who played when we started. Playing came much later for me). Not only did the kids love it, but my wife had several hours of blessed solitude. She likes all the geeky stuff (and we even found her old D&D character binder while sorting ancient boxes), but is not of a mind to play. Suits us all just fine. Roleplaying is now part of family game night, and I couldn't be more thrilled. The BB is one of the best products of the year. Soon they'll be at level 5 and I can open the door to the full rules. My oldest has already been eyeing my Pathfinder shelf. This was the long-winded way of saying: Well done, Paizo! Edit: Quote of the game: "Dad, this is lame. We need some music." Spoken by my 5 year old (utterly, deadpan serious) as we normally play with appropriate music (LotR, Conan, etc) when gaming. It just hadn't been turned on yet. 
This was extremely well done - the Downfall meme thrives on detail and wit, and I LOLed muchly. But somehow, I dunno, I kept expecting SKR to break into the room waving his sword... 
Pharasmian Tomb Stone Oh well, you can't win 'em all...even if your contribution was entirely brilliant and "tomb stone" is two separate words for a reason and- *ahem* Can't win 'em all! A big congratulations to the winners out there, and thanks to Neil for taking the time to fish out the judge's feedback. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to learn how to accept defeat with dignity and poise. Hitler, however, is going to need a minute... 
I admit a bit of conflict when I read things such as, “If this is how the judges are going to be I just won't enter next year.” The selfish bit of me is glad – less competition and all that. But the rest of me, the bit normally in control, thinks such an attitude is awful shortsighted. Each man (and women too) should strive for greatness and pursue dreams. If one of your dreams is to produce RPG material, the RPG Superstar contest is a good way to gauge your current abilities in the field. It is made even better by the fact that the judges are willing to provide feedback on what kept you from being in the top tier. You get the benefit of seeing what you did wrong (or right) but also, and even better, you get to see how everyone else did and therefore you have a hundred critiques to learn from instead of just one. I do think that those who are complaining about the judges feedback being too short, or not enough, are wrong. Or, rather, you are looking at it in absolutely the wrong way. Think of it in terms of roofing. Some people seem to want instructions on how to better swing the hammer, but they are having problems climbing the ladder. To make it worse, they are getting frustrated by the teacher's fixation on the ladder. But the teacher has it right: the hammer does you no good if you can't first learn how to get on the roof. Two illustrations. Say your item was disqualified. You do not need to know anything else about your submission. You instead need to go back and figure out why it was disqualified and fix that problem. Our beloved Mr. Reynolds has stressed this for some time now: If you can't follow instructions he doesn't want to work with you. It doesn't matter how creative your ideas are, how flowery your prose. A disqualification means you need to work on one of the most fundamental of skills for a writer: reading comprehension. “But!” you exclaim, “It doesn't tell me what else was wrong with my entry, or how to improve.” But here you are wrong. It doesn't matter what else was wrong. If you can't climb up the first rung of the ladder, you have no business working on the roof. I also notice, and its not unique to this year (and we all are prey to the temptation) complaints that the judges misunderstood something about your entry and that their feedback is therefore insufficient to help you improve. But regardless of whether they did misunderstand you, and even assuming you understand the rules and how your submission conforms to the rules better than the judges, it doesn't matter for you have a deeper, more fundamental flaw. Your writing was not good enough to convey your ideas. End of story. That sounds harsh but it is not (because I'm not saying your writing can't improve). Its a simple truth and you need to admit it before you can improve. Consider this: if the judges, with their expertise, did not understand the nuances of your submission, you are pretty much guaranteed that the average reader will mess it up too. This is due to the inherent cheapness, in my opinion, of the Paizo Accounting department. They have refused to include a cloned copy of the writer in every book they sell. Until such time as the bean counters see fit to adapt with the times, the writers have to write in such a way as to allow everyone to understand their work the first time through, everytime, without the benefit of their presence at the table. That's not always easy, but the sooner and better you can accomplish this, the better for you. So don't argue with the judges about how they misunderstood you. Learn to write in a way where there is no doubt as to what's what. Once you have mastered those rungs, you can start to worry more about the whole hammer and nail aspect of the business. 
Not true. Take a real life example: If I'm camouflaging myself and my gear, I'm going to have my fellow soldiers constantly checking my work (and I'm also going to be checking theirs as they camouflage themselves)-- time permitting, I'm not going to stop working on it and getting it checked until it's absolutely perfect (or as close as mere humans can get to perfect, anyway). It's done in real life and it works in real life. Disguising yourself (or someone else) is very much like applying camouflage to people (it's disguising ourselves to look like the environment, rather than to look like a different person). Having someone else (who happens to be a friend and comrade) really does work to produce much better results, especially if all of your lives are dependent on everyone getting by without being spotted (really motivates you to make sure your and your fellows' efforts are spot-on if anyone's failure, oh, say, will get artillery called in on your whole group and will get you all killed). I do not know why you think it's metagaming to presume that characters might think the same way about disguise that Soldiers and Marines routinely think about applying camouflage. I also do not consider it metagaming, to presume that it will work, the same way it works effectively in real life. And, since adventurers are supposed to be experienced people who live a life of danger (and are usually fairly professional, calm, cool, collected, and competent at it)-- I do not expect less from my adventuring characters than I expect in RL from Soldiers.
You have a bit of point, in that sometimes people do overdo a project-- which is why it usually works much better to have someone else check your work, rather than do all the checking on it yourself... but double-checking yourself is considerably better than not checking at all. From my RL examples above-- having a mirror and using it to see if I've left any spots uncovered when I'm applying camouflage, works pretty well if I don't have a buddy to check my possible missed spots. In game terms, that should be enough to tell me when I really haven't done a good job (player rolled low) and give me the idea that maybe I'd better re-do the camouflage (for that matter, in RL when I do have buddies to double-check my work-- I'm not going to waste their time until I've checked myself in a mirror and made sure I haven't completely failed to cover some area of my face, neck, ears...). I don't know what RAW says about that, but I do believe being able to check yourself in, say, a mirror, should at least ensure that you notice if you rolled less than, say, 10, and need to re-do the job because it just sucks. RAW may support your point. Real life does NOT support you, the way you think it does ("give it up" isn't the right phrase to use at all in presumably respectful discussions).
Hey everyone. It's almost Top 32 reveal time. It is an exciting time! Lots of hope and expectation. Passions run high. Heck, I don't even know the identities of those who made it, so I am excited too! So, given that state of emotion, I thought I might share a few ideas from my experiences over the prior years. First, Congrats to everyone who entered! Whether you made it or not, just trying is winning in my book! You should be proud of yourselves. Second, I made a (soon to be) locked placeholder thread for our traditional "critique my item" thread. Please don't post there yet. Let's let today be about the people who advanced. Third, there will be a few of you who are miffed that your item didn't make it. As a designer myself, I understand that feeling. Please keep in mind the amazing nature of these boards, their civility and collegiality. Every year, it seems, we have one epic flameout. Don't let that be you. Even if you are upset. Take a day, step away, breathe. There will be time to get feedback. If you are really upset, it might be smart to wait a day or two to post comments. If you didn't make it, please do so with dignity and grace. Fourth, there were a lot of good items this year and our job was difficult. There were a bunch of items in the keep folder that, but for want of a judge championing them, could have made the cut. So please know as a community my observation is that you are all getting better as designers. Fifth, and finally, to those who make it--be cool. You will be understandably excited. But the vast majority of people didn't. So while some understandable excitement is obviously in order, now begins your time in the spotlight and how you conduct yourself can impact your success at RPG Superstar. So much like my thoughts for those who didn't make the cut, if you did advance please do so with dignity, grace and humility. Just a few thoughts. I've been doing this for a couple years now :) 
All I can add from my own experience is that I ran this for a group of non-RPG friends, myself a completely new DM. I now own the Bestiary, GameMastery Guide, and Core Rulebook plus several adventure modules and the first part of Rise of the Runelords. :) Considering I had never even considered an RPG before seeing the Beginner Box, I would say that in my case it worked like a charm (spell). I like how simple the BB is, but I know my own players will want more options. I have no intention of doling out reams of information to them that they cannot process, instead I'll do it as they grow and handle the rest. They just need to know what their characters can do, I get to sweat what the world can do. I dunno, as the GM, I just kind of assume that's my job. Besides, in the event of something I don't understand yet or if I'm left flat-footed on a question/scenario, I'll just wing it. It's a game and I am putting fun above and beyond all other considerations, not whether I correctly worked out range. The more options I can give without overwhelming players, the more robust it becomes for them, the more interaction they have with the game, the more fun it becomes for them. I'm sure a second offering would be nice, but I don't know if it's really necessary. 
I balance out my online meanness by being very pleasant in person. :) Apparently, Sean has Clark's forum password... :)
Please read this thread and listen to the audio from the panel. If you want to enter this contest, it's an hour well spent. Plus, we are pretty freaking funny.
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