Sebastian's page

I am available to serve (and, by "serve", I mean "rule over you pathethic bastards with an iron fist") as the Chairman of the Socialist Committee that runs the country.

Viva Revolution!

please let it be something fatal, please let it be something fatal

The position of Organized Play Manager at Paizo seems to be cursed. First Nic, later Josh and now Hyrum...

I hear that next year, Severus Snape is finally taking the position. I expect good things to result.

Dan Bong?

Puts on some Bob Marley

Yo, man, why do we need to fight all the time. Let's just take a minute to watch the bard cast dancing lights and eat some funnel cake.

I'd classify it as a neutral act, leaning evil, depending on the nature of the race. If you're talking about killing all demons/devils, that's a pure good act in my book (also, good luck with that).

There's no correct answer to the question though. Just consider what's best for the story, the characters, etc. and play off that. I'm not sure if you're DMing, but one nice thing about being in that role is the ability to manufacture facts that support your conclusion. So, if you want this to be a good act, have the PCs learn that all members of the species are evil, that they pose a constant threat to innocent creatures, and cannot be reasoned with or trusted. If you want them to have a hard time committing genocide, through in some adorable baby evil creatures and maybe a handful of good members.

Alignment questions don't typically have an objective, correct answer, which is why I focus more on the group and the fun of the game than making an absolute determination of good or evil. The reason humans have dieties to begin with is to outsource that crap to them.

I heard that UC was born with a vestigal third arm and causes nearby animals to whimper in terror. It currently dwells in the darkest shadows of the Paizo warehouse (behind Cosmo's Moustache's Crate), arguing with itself about whether it will ruin the game with rules for (*gasp*) FIREARMS!!!

So, it's not that they are ashamed of UC; it's just that the book seems poised to usher in a rain of blood and locusts which will engulf the Earth and destroy life as we know it.

Or, so I hear. My sources are notoriously unreliable in terms of the information they provide and as to their basic existence.

At that point I'm getting a little tired of him implying that a megadungeon AP would be roleplayingless hack'n'slash because dungeon crawls are synonymous with roleplayingless hack'n'slash, and try to make it clear again that it's not the dungeon format's fault that he finds dungeon crawls to be roleplayingless hack'n'slash, because you have to play them that way to make them that way.

Get angrier and more abusive. I bet that'll convince him he's wrong and make him stop implying things you don't want to read (but that he's not actually saying).

Is anyone a member of Dungeon a Day? How well does that handle NPC interactions/roleplaying?

To me, what makes the Mega Dungeon interesting is if the monsters/NPCs react to what the PCs do. I loved Gygax's articles about the game he would run at conventions where everyone would roll up OD&D (or maybe AD&D, I'm not grognard enough to know for sure) characters and try to take them out. Of course, being Gygax, he routinely got TPKs, and, being Gygax, he had the kobolds take the gear from the dead PCs and leveled them up to face the next group. It's that sense of a contained environment that reacts to the PCs that I like.

pours out a 40 for Gary

Anyhow, while megadungeons can be boring, it's been a while since I've seen one and I think Paizo could do it well. Maure Castle could be an apt point of comparison. There's nothing inherently wrong with the format, and I'm fairly certain Paizo will do a lot of work to address the potential weaknesses that limit the appeal of such adventures.

Crimson Jester wrote:

Kthulhu wrote:

Sebastian wrote:

I'm functionally illiterate as you may recall...

Remind me never to hire you as my lawyer...

hey he did pass the BAR... of course I think he did the Limbo. But that is just a guess.

I'm pretty sure he didn't pass the bar...i hear he stopped and had a few drinks.

I'd go down that threadjack with you, but last time I did, we ended up with a lot of dead bodies and deleted posts. Let's just say that the bar was in Limbo, and I walked in with a priest, a Slaad, and a 12" pianist and leave it at that.

I dunno, I just think that for a good, proper treatment, a megadungeon would need a nice thick hardcover (or two) or an expanded AP of maybe 9 issues. But maybe I just have an overly ambitious definition for megadungeon.

I know it's a bad idea to mess with success, particularly given that the first few issues of an AP are likely the best selling ones, but I'd love to see Paizo mix up their AP schedule at some point. A 9 part Epic 20 Level Mega Dungeon followed by a 3 part Mini-AP would be cool.

Or, better yet, a 6 part full AP and two mini-APs. My campaigns tend to go fallow around volume 3 anyway, and it'd be neat to have a short campaign with some closure at the end of that volume.

There's probably a bunch of logistical problems with this approach as well (I imagine that building the shell of the AP requires a lot of work, and this would increase the number of shells that need to be built), but I hold out hope.

Sebastian wrote:

I'm functionally illiterate as you may recall...

Remind me never to hire you as my lawyer...

I thought it was well known that I'm an official Internet Badass. My services are best used in a trial by combat. My law degree, which, if you must know, does have a word search on the back, enables me to practice in all 63 states, but I'm much more effective as a killing machine.

gigglestick wrote:

If you're talking about that horrible movie about the spelunking girls and the really bad ending...that's exactly the kind of thing I'd avoid. But yes, using that movie as an example, if you have a group of cookie-cutter, uninteresting, I-can't-wait-until-they-all-die characters, then that would be a boring adventure. (Much like the movie).

Please note that I am directly quoting gigglestick, not Gailbraithe. While he's talking about the characters in the movie, there seems to be a clear indication that he would expect no better from his player's PCs. Perhaps he simply thinks that if he say "megadungeon" that's all the effort that his players would put int their characters, I dunno. But he was the one who implied the characters would be "cookie-cutter, uninteresting, I-can't-wait-until-they-all-die characters", not Gailbraithe.

EDIT: And he's right, an adventure with such characters will suck, whether it's a megadungeon, a more typical Paizo AP, or a one-shot.

Okay. If everyone's agreeing, why are things getting so Very Angry? I couldn't be bothered to read the entire exchange - I'm functionally illiterate as you may recall...

Edit: Or am I literally illiterate? It's been a long day.

If anyone is trying to start a flamewar, it's you.

No, he's not.

1) I haven't insulted your players.

Yes, you did. See also, your comments below.

At all.

See above. And below.

All I've done is agree with you that if you have "a group of cookie-cutter, uninteresting, I-can't-wait-until-they-all-die characters" (i.e. boring and stupid) that you'll have a boring adventure. How am I insulting your players by agreeing with you?

You agreed with him that if his players are a~~!@*%s, his campaign will suck? Did he say that?

What would you have said if you were disagreeing with him?

2) You're the one who came into this thread and more or less called anyone who runs dungeon-based adventures a bad role-player. You even used "dungeon crawl" as a synonym for "Kill-Loot-Levelup."

Oh...wait...now I get it. He said something, and then you made up something, and attributed that to him, like the above quote, and then got angry about it. Okay, that makes a lot more sense.

Did it just not occur to you that some of us actually enjoy role-playing while running dungeon crawls?

I think it's safe to say he didn't. No one in their right mind would ever make that assumption. I think. I'm really having a hard time following the thrust of the post other than you are Very Angry. And then you made some stuff up.

That some of us might be offended by the way you casually assume that groups that like dungeon crawls are automatically mindless hack'n'slashers?

You made that part up too...

I'm not sure if he can be held responsible for things he didn't say which caused a disproportionate reaction in you. Not only did he not say them, but there's only so much that can be done to shield a fragile ego from damage.

(Not that there's anything wrong with enjoying mindless hack'n'slash gaming.)

Did he say this, or did you say this, or did you say that he said this?

Is there a program I can get to follow this post?

Just because you don't know how to run a dungeon adventure so that it's more than "Kill-Loot-Levelup" doesn't mean that no one else does.

Ah! Here's a direct insult. Okay, this one I get. He's dumb because he said stuff he didn't say and you're right to be angry about it. I completely agree.

If you're not up to the task, that's your failure as a GM, not a failure of the type of adventure.

Still angry. Still insulting. Still non-sequitor.

Only a bad craftsman blames his tools when his own lack of skill is at fault.

One last dig as we reach the end.

Well played. Not many posts combine anger, fabrication, and insults so readily. Some people settle for 2 out of 3, and to see someone go for the trifecta warms the cavity which once contained my heart.

If you need an NPC in a scene for it to be a roleplaying encounter, then I'd suggest that you really don't know what roleplaying is and aren't doing anywhere near as much of it as you think. You're missing more than half the game. If a scene only involving PCs is "search, kill, disarm, loot, lather, rise, repeat," and not a roleplaying encounter, then that's not the fault of the type of adventure. That's just your failure as a group to actually, you know, roleplay.

Ouch, Ed. Does everything need to be a flamewar?

I wouldn't be surprised to see it after Skull & Shackles.

Bite my shiny metal ass!

(sorry, it had to be said)

Oh, I get that in my job as well.

"Several hours to read and analyze a legal document, really? I could probably read that during one toilet break! Are you guys lazy or what, it's just a few pages of bloody text!"

This.

You all need to get some serious perspective. Take a public offering of securities. Those documents are reviewed by the highest caliber lawyers and bankers, and a series of regulators. The process is adversarial in that each party involved has their own team of lawyers looking for mistakes in order to protect (and show off to) their client. These offerings can be for hundreds of millions of dollars and a mistake in these documents can result in significant financial and, potentially, criminal liability.

They are very, very, very close to perfect. But not 100% perfect; they will have typos. Plus, they cost well over a million dollars to draft.

That's what perfection looks like - it takes two to three dozen people, six months of time, and over a million dollars. And it's still not perfect.

Welcome to the real world folks. I'm sure you could also throw touchdown worthy passes every time you tried, but your perfect abilities and position of authority from the comfort of your armchair are unimpressive and egotistical.

I think it's cute that everyone believes that Cosmo and Erik Mona (a) exist and (b) aren't really the same AI. Between the two of them, they have a single pair of eyes. It should really be obvious.

You should see what I put on my Bestiary.

I'll take 14 copies.

The OGL and Pathfinder OGL exist for a reason. And that reason is to allow a third party publisher to provide you with your rpg rules wrapped in pages, upon pages, of hardcore pornography.

Or, at least that's what Ryan Dancey said when it was released. Google it yourself, the press release is easy to find.

Best pet trick ever:

I told my cats I was going to take them to Disneyland, but instead I drove them to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "Disneyland burned down." They cried and cried, but I think that deep down they thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

Incanús Kindler wrote:

But the general response I received was "Being the GM is dumb and its not fun and its dumb you do it."

You count these jerks as -friends-?

Not all of us are as naturally friendly and fun to be around as you, which makes us less likely to abandon those who do like us.

I'm not clamoring for an epic book. I'd probably be happy living the rest of my life without one. But, I'm also not going to start posting "OMG! An epic book will ruin Paizo. If they release it, I will cancel all subscriptions and mail them toenail clippings for a year."

It'd be a big, heaping helping of "meh" to me.

Same goes for psionics too.

So, I'm not against it, but I'd prefer something else in its place. However, there's always that chance that Paizo will (yet again) create a product that changes my mind entirely and has me drooling to run an epic level campaign.

I demand an AP built entirely around the Egg Sucker tribe.

On a side note, yay for Tito Leati coming back in Jade Regent.

Agreed. Tito does some high quality work.

Don't we need someone new to take his place in the Vaughan-Pett-Logue love/feud triangle (henceforth, the lofrangle)? My reading of the Book of Revelations and the Mayan Calender indicates that, without Logue, Vaughan and Pett will combine to form a demogorgan-esque creature which will consume the stars and void.

Sebastian wrote:

I am now accepting worshippers, though I can't guarantee you will receive anything better than lemons. But (no pun intended), if you really like skittles, you'll be very happy in my flock.

I broke the glass in a vending machine for Skittles. Does that count?

Rest assured that, upon my ascension, I'd strike you down with a bolt of pink lightning, leaving nothing but a charred patch of fur and badger musk, as my first divine action. Before filling a swimming pool with hookers and blow, before tearing the banhammer from the pmg's tenticled grasp to wield it as my birth right, before traveling back in time to force feed Hitler his own toes, I would smite you with all the rage of the old testament god stuck in 5:30 traffic on the Friday before the 4th of July.

Unless you literally did break the glass in a vending machine for skittles. That's close enough to looting to be awesome.

I suspect you may be talking past each other.

I read Scott as saying that commercially successful mods are very rare. Which is a difficult point to argue against - those rare instances (such as counter-strike) are a product of talent, diligent work, and a lot of luck. Getting a hit like that happens, but you can't bet on it.

But, what I read Studpuffin, Ambrosia Slaad, and others saying is that it doesn't need to be the next counterstrike to be successful. They believe in the strength of the world Paizo has built, can imagine the type of video game they'd like to play, and can picture making it real. The talent represented on these boards has found success in the rpg field already - several have begun freelancing careers, published 3p supplements, and/or moved on to full time positions at Paizo. Could they make a game? Damned if I know, but I wouldn't take a bet against them, even if it is several orders of magnitude more difficult.

The discussion reminds me of an Econ joke. An Econ professor and student are walking down the street when they see a $20 bill. The student says to the professor, "Thats a $20 bill, aren't you going to pick it up?". The professor responds, " it can't be a $20 bill. If it were, somebody would've already picked it up." Can you make a career out of walking the streets finding $20 bills? No (but if you do, it was my idea, and my cut is 68%), but if you find one, pick it up.

That's my take. If I am mis-stating your position, feel free to revise it to match what I've written.

Cave Johnson wrote:

I reminds me of a certain rant: "When life gave you lemons, you make lemonade."

No, when life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back. GET MAD! I DON'T WANT YOUR DAMN LEMONS! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THESE?! DEMAND TO SEE LIFE'S MANAGER! Make life RUE the day it though it could give Paizo lemons! I'm going to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that's going to BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!

I believe the proper quote is "When God gives you lemons, YOU FIND A NEW GOD!"

I am now accepting worshippers, though I can't guarantee you will receive anything better than lemons. But (no pun intended), if you really like skittles, you'll be very happy in my flock.

Scott Betts wrote:

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

Did Scott just cast a spell?

Indeed! 10 points for Gryffindor!

I think what ProfCirno is trying to say is 4e's competition is D&D!

It hought he was saying soylent green is people...

My experience is that I always start a campaign meaning to track them, but when I see how easy it is to make survival rolls and feed the party, I give up.

One thought on making them fun is to have them provide +1 temporary hp/day. That's a pretty tiny bonus, but very helpful at lower levels when rations tend to be the most important.

I suggest this like 2 pages ago. ;)

Clearly, you used some sort of precognitive power to read my post before making yours.

I always thought rogue would be the perfect engine for Pathfinder.

grumble

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Woot!

I love War of the Wielded, and the adventure where the PCs need to travel into the underdark to recover an explorer's corpse (Final Resting Place?).

His work fits better into my campaigns and my way of playing than just about any other - particularly back in the days of Dungeon, where the lack of a common world meant a greater degree of variation in the assumptions underlying any particular adventure.

Sebastian wrote:

...I believe the PHB, MM, and DMG are woefully out of sync with the official rules in the online tool and are not an appropriate starting point.

That is my opinion as well. However, them there are fightin' words 'round these parts...

If that statement, coupled by my invitation for someone more knowledgeable than me to chime in, consitutes fightin' words, then I say to such hypothetical person: "You, sir or madam, are an epic caliber dick, and should f%~! off and die."

Those are fightin' words.

Were I live i find Pathfinder non existent. both the game store near me sell the books, they sell fast I am told by the shop keep, but neither store runs a game.

I have purchased the core book, advanced plays guide, ultimate magic,game mastery guide, inner sea world guide, bestiary 1 and 2, and also some module, i planed on starting my own game. No takers. I can not get it off the ground.

I am actually considering buying into 4e because at least I can play at the local store that way.

Did you look into Pathfinder Society? I have no idea how it works, but it's function is to bring together gaming groups. Maybe there's someone at your store who runs a game, and you just haven't run into them yet. Or try posting in the gamers seeking gamers section of the boards.

If you're interested in 4e, you probably want to get a subscription to their online toolset rather than purchase the books. Or start with the Rules Compendium or a similar product. Hopefully, someone who has purchased a 4e product within the past 2 years will step in and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the PHB, MM, and DMG are woefully out of sync with the official rules in the online tool and are not an appropriate starting point.

lynnfredricks wrote:

Hey, if you didn't want to read idle speculation and armchair quarterbacking, why post this? ;-)

I should clarify that this thread is kind of a weird edge case of bugs. Someone originally posted it, someone else replied, and then the first poster and the first responder both deleted their posts. Diffan didn't actually create this thread, just replied to somebody else's post (which nobody can now see).

Plus, the in-flight entertainment was cancelled.

Either way, the point was more market share than sales. How many people play the game? I won't have any numbers more than anyone else would, but all you need to do is walk through the Pathfinder vs. D&D gaming areas at a neutral con to get an idea.

Uh, you do know that Lisa is not some rube who fell off the turnip truck and wandered in here to share anecdotal evidence about sales at her local gaming store, right?

Also, the plural of anecdote is not data. Walking into a "neutral" con (whatever that is) and seeing who's playing what is about as useful as going to your neighborhood bar, asking who everyone will vote for, and claiming you conducted a presidential poll. Further, given that revenue for Paizo and WotC is generated through books/products sold, and not per game played, I have diffculty believing that market share is the more appropriate measure, particularly if you can't tie it back to purchases. At least insofar as you're concerned with the ability of the game to continue existing because it generates sufficient revenue.

Ogre, you aren't a charter subscriber (or a subscriber at all - I can't tell due to your Superstar tag)?

Damnit, now I have to start shunning you.

Sebastian wrote:

That'd be cool. Maybe it could include a character sheet type thing for them too...

Like THIS ONE? :)

Yeah, but I can't be a true fanboy unless it says Paizo at the top...

FYI - It's a pity add.

That'd be cool. Maybe it could include a character sheet type thing for them too...

That sounds nasty.

Also: Losers.

Sebastian wrote:

Can we get an ignore all requests for an ignore feature feature?

Did you say something?

This reminds me - can we get a feature that lets us atomatically post "Losers" on every page of a particular thread? I'm always forgetting to do that...

Can we get an ignore all requests for an ignore feature feature?

slow clap for the brilliance above.

Sorry for derailing the thread Evil Lincoln!

But, in the end, it is a game. Like Parcheesi.

IT IS NOT LIKE PARCHEESI!!!!

I swear to god, the next time a player sits down at my table and says "I roll to move" because all those damn kids these days are rocking out on parcheesi, and snorting it, and sexting to it, and generally ruining everything cool ever for everyone because they are young and stupid, I will tear out their liver with a spoon.

Sebastian wrote:

Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Sebastian wrote:

Dude! Winky face absolves comment of all malice. Sheesh.

Hey, there's perfectly good malicious smiles...

I told you this in the other thread, but I think you have some berries in your ears:

Don't be a dick! ;-)

(See, winky face absolves all malice!)

(Wait...can you even absolve malice?)

That's what absolution is for, lapsed RC.

Yeah, but isn't it sin that's absolved, not malice? Or is the existence of malice in the past a sin, and therefore capable of absolution. Don't you have some type of advanced degree on point? You have like 30, right?

Wait...isn't sin a giant ball of water that destroys cities?

Vocabulary is hard.

Sebastian wrote:

Dude! Winky face absolves comment of all malice. Sheesh.

Hey, there's perfectly good malicious smiles...

I told you this in the other thread, but I think you have some berries in your ears:

Don't be a dick! ;-)

(See, winky face absolves all malice!)

(Wait...can you even absolve malice?)