Vic Wertz's page

so, I am assuming this box only comes with medium bases? If so do we know how many?

It comes with 20 1" (Small/Medium) and 5 2" (Large) bases. (The NPCs are all Small or Medium, but some of the animal companions are Large).

I think when all the iconics are out that should be a builder set too.

That concept is challenging. We never want to do exactly-as-they-were-reprints of minis from previous sets, as that messes with people's value propositions. For example, if you spent a bunch of money or time tracking down a rare fig, and then we dropped it as-is into a set where you can easily get it for a couple bucks, you might well be annoyed. So when we reuse a sculpt, we always give it a very different paint app.

Unfortunately, you can't really repaint the iconics in a way that they're visibly distinct from the original, yet are still clearly the iconics. Give Seoni a blue dress, for example, and she's no longer "iconic Seoni"; she automatically becomes "wacky variant Seoni."

Now, this doesn't mean we'll never do new minis of the iconics... but it does mean, in my mind at least, that they're more likely to be resculpts than repaints, and that's not usually something WizKids is usually prepared to budget for a builder set—especially if there are 11 of them.

You know, when I have to remove posts or lock threads on the messageboards, it makes me feel very much the same way I feel when I have to clean up pet vomit from my carpet. I do it not because I want to, but because if I try to avoid it, it will only get worse.

Actually, if only once side is complaining and flagging, then a moderator that locks a thread is taking the side of those that complain (and not those that aren't complaining).

It takes multiple flags on a post to get a moderator's attention. If there are multiple flags on a post, odds are very good that somebody is indeed being a jerk.

So yes, I *absolutely* take the side of people who use the flagging system as it's intended.

And I can't imagine that moderation from Paizo staff members somehow exists in a vacuum, completely disregarding the personas of the posters in any given thread.

Speaking for myself only:

When my attention is pulled to a thread, it's usually because there's a storm of flags surrounding it. At that point, I'm very aware that my own attitude is likely to be "mildly annoyed at everyone" because things have deviated from my ideal that our community can collectively act like the responsible, thoughtful, intelligent people that I choose to believe we all can be. Because I don't want my attitude at that moment to color my impressions of people who may just be having a bad day, I actually try really hard not to even *look* at who is talking, and just look at what's being said.

I'll reiterate what I said in another thread:

If you don't like the moderation around here, you are welcome to leave.

Hey, if you don't like the moderation around here, you are welcome to leave.

I'm locking this thread, not because anyone is/is not a power gamer, but because it's loaded with pointless sniping.

In essence, Paizo wishes to portray its forums being subject to utterly impersonal moderation. I feel the need to occasionally step in and point out that human beings are, on the whole, not quite so detached from their own opinions, best interests notwithstanding.

The quoted text seems to suggest that moderators will generally fall on one side of an argument or another.

Frankly, for many of the threads that have forced me to step in with my moderator hat, I genuinely don't fall in on *any* side. In most of them, a small number of people are arguing that X must be true and anybody who thinks Y is an idiot, and a small number of people are arguing that Y must be true and anybody who thinks X is an idiot, and my own opinion is that the world would be a better place if people who believe in X would just go ahead and do X and let the people who believe Y do Y, and vice versa.

In short, my own personal opinion on most of the threads I moderate can be summed up with the phrase "don't be a jerk."

You'll usually get three of each common and one of each rare in a display.

The retail release date is June 26. (Never trust Amazon's release dates for our products; they have no bearing on reality.)

Going back to older APs is on the to-do list... but it is a fair amount of work, and there are other, higher priorities.

Mark: One makes you fly; the other one makes you undead.

We've recently announced that we've selected Offworld Designs as our apparel licensee. So far, only the Core Rulebook tee has been announced, but I'd expect to see a Year of the Demon shirt once the season actually begins...

Arcane Dungeons and Thieves' Guild were both printed on heavier stock than we want—that, not the folding method, is the cause of the warping you're seeing. We've got it fixed starting with Basic Terrain in August.

Wait, I'm confused.

Don't you once per week just roll a d20, add your bonuses, and look up the Profession skill rules to see how much you made as a company?

You need a lot of accounting skill to properly add up those bonuses.

Erik has already said we intend to work up to 3 per month. And we'll revisit things after that, of course, but the data does give me some hope that 3 per month (plus specials, plus sanctioned Modules, plus sanctioned APs, plus whatever else we come up with) will satisfy the vast majority of the community.

(Actually, the data gives me hope that 2 actually does now, but 3 will satisfy a slightly *vaster* majority.)

Percent of people who have reported playing sessions in the past year that:

Average 1 or more session per month: 90%

Average 2 or more sessions per month: 39%

Average 3 or more sessions per month: 17%

Average 4 or more sessions per month: 6%

Average 5 or more sessions per month: 3%

Average 6 or more sessions per month: 1%

----

Edit: This data is completely wrong. See this post for the real data.

But again, this is info Paizo can glean from their database: How many people are playing 24+ scenarios in a year? Anyone playing less than that isn't going to need more.

I'll tell you this: as of today, we've released 20 scenarios so far this season. The number of people who have reported playing 18 or more of those? 42.

I've removed more anti-D&D talk. Take it elsewhere, folks. (Or better yet, don't take it anywhere.)

Sara Marie wrote:

robot chris: especially don't add tequila to paizo.com

How about rum? Can we add 12+ year rum to paizo.com?

Ship it to me, and I will see to it that it's dealt with.

A Neil Spicer mini robot? ;)

That's a moneymaker—every time you turn it on, it gives you two cents!

Just for kicks, I tried to order a single die. ONE die. Cost of the die? $5.36. Cost of "shipping and handling" to send that one die regular postal mail? $3.83. Seems awfully high for a single die.

Doug,

Head on over to the USPS Postal Calculator.

• Leave Section 1 alone.

• In Section 2, for the "From ZIP Code", enter 98052. Put your ZIP code in the "To ZIP Code" field.

• Leave Section 3 alone.

• In Section 4, choose the next-to-last option, "Package".

• For Section 5, enter 8 ounces (that's the weight of that die, plus the box and packing materials we'd use to ship it to you).

• Hit "Continue."

• Click to view the First Class mailing options, as those are (by far) the cheapest for that package.
  

You'll see that the actual postage cost quoted by the USPS is $2.92. (The die does not qualify for the "Media Mail" rate.)

Subtracting $2.92 from the $3.83 S&H charge, you get $.91.

Now, let's buy a box*.

The die in your shopping cart ships in a package with outer dimensions of about 5.20 x 3.20 x 2.50 inches. This 6x4x3 box from Uline costs about $.25 when purchased in bulk.

Subtract the box cost, and you're left with $.66. Some of that goes into other direct costs—those are the costs that we're only incurring because we're shipping your package. The packing materials we add to make sure your die gets there in as good a shape as when it left. The tape to seal the box. The paper for the packing slip. The toner for the laser printer that prints the packing slip.

And don't forget the credit card processing fees. Those vary based on volume, so I can't give you an exact number, but it's a small percentage of the total charged to your card.

After adding up all the direct costs, we're left with maybe a couple of quarters to cover the indirect costs—the costs of doing business that aren't directly associated with your package, but still need to be paid to get your stuff shipped. Rent on the warehouse. Electricity for the computer that's used to ship your order. The cost of the shelves in the warehouse. The sprinkler system. Maintenance and training on the forklift. Insurance. Pennies here, pennies there.

And, yeah—not least—some of those pennies go to help pay the person who ordered your die from our distributor. The person who put it into our inventory when it arrived. The person who printed your packing slip, found your die in our warehouse, carefully packed it into a box for you, and shipped it out. The other people on my team and on the operations team who have spent countless hours making sure that our system gives you the best shipping price that we can offer—people who revisit every single one of those variables on a regular basis, because we know that those couple of quarters make a difference to you.

That's where your handling fee goes.

Our profit comes solely from the markup between the price we pay the distributor and the price we charge you. In our industry, retailers generally buy from distributors at about 60% of MSRP. MSRP on that die is $5.95, which means we pay about $3.57 for it. We discount 10% off of MSRP for you, so we're charging you $5.36. Our profit on your order? About $1.79.

It really will be out at Gen Con this year*! It has gone to the printer and everything!

This supirse product will people who dont go to the con be able to get it or is it exclusive to Paizocon?

People will be able to get it at paizo.com after the show. We want to make PaizoCon folks feel special, but we don't want to penalize people who can't attend!

Vic Wertz wrote:

There actually will be a special release of a product at PaizoCon, though it won't be anywhere *near* as big as the deluxe Runelords book. What is it? Sorry—you'll have to wait!

So...any word on this surprise special PaizoCon release!?! Please, please, please!!!!

I suspect we won't be saying a word until PaizoCon.

I want people to go into the PaizoCon store and see something that they had *no idea* existed until that very moment!

(For those who don't read Chinese, this is a translation of the Goblin Song. It's still a bit of a work in progress.)

Google Translate says it's the Leprechaun Song.

Chocolate dice are the perfect choice for GMs who fudge their rolls.

Cosmo has a Chinese name? Is it 咖死摸?

Google Translate says "Coffee Dead Touch".

I'd say that's spot on, then.

I... uh, what?

We'll be releasing a free PDF of the rulebook a few weeks before the game's August release.

I guess I'm an optimistically cynical realist.

Does the new 64 page format mean more art or is it all story/maps?

If you divide the number of pieces of art in a product by the number of pages, you get the average art-per-page count. That number should actually increase slightly with the higher page count. So, in general, expect fractionally more than double the art when compared to the old format.

(The reason for this is that doubling the page count actually gives us more than twice as many "content" pages, because we don't need to double things like the title page, OGL, ads, or the like.)

10. On tax return, list of dependents includes his wife, two kids, three mistresses, and four Cayman banks

9. Instead of (D) or (R) after his name, has ($)

8. His congressional washroom has taps for hot, cold, and light sweet crude

7. Keeps telling everyone his favorite color is green, but never wears green

6. You think you've spotted subtle clues in his autobiography, Taking America to the Cleaners

5. He can't say the phrase "my constituency" without giggling

4. His "business card" is just a deposit slip for his bank account

3. He keeps asking himself, "What would Blagojevich do?"

2. Always ends speeches with the phrase "Operators are standing by."

1. He's in Congress—what more do you need?

THey're still doing the maps, but the "homage" covers ended with the first story arc.

WizKids' goal is to have it in stores prior to June 15. Hopefully the gods of shipping and customs will play along.

For instance, page 120 of Rise of the Runelords collectors edition there is map. Can you tell me how I can extract the map using adobe acrobat (10.1.6)

First, make sure Adobe Reader is set to show you the tool you need. Go to the View menu, then Show/Hide > Toolbar Items > Select & Zoom > Show All Select & Zoom tools.

Choose the Select tool from the toolbar—it's the one that looks like an insertion cursor (aka "I-beam pointer") next to a selection cursor (aka "arrow pointer"). Click on the map, away from any text area. Copy and paste, or just drag it to your desktop.

I just did it with the map on page 120 of my watermarked PDF, and it works fine.

There *are* some maps where you need to do something slightly different. When a map takes up the entire page—that means no borders or anything—Adobe treats it as a page background, and to select a page background, you need to option-click (Mac) or ctrl-click (Windows) with the Select tool. (Our Flip-Map and Map Packs are generally set up like that.)

To be clear, 'episodic' in this context should not be equated to 'reset button', which was the biggest problem on VOYAGER (and to a lesser extent TNG). Not the lack of a big over-arcing storyline, but the fact that what happened last week was immediately forgotten about. No show can get away with doing that any more....

You've never seen The Simpsons?

Long answer: Sometimes things happen that make certain laws harder to enforce, but those things don't usually negate the reasons that those laws came to exist in the first place. In this case, it definitely doesn't do that—in fact, some would argue that anything that makes it easier for people to own guns is all the more reason to have well-thought-out, well-written laws about owning and using them.

Short answer: no.

I've removed a few posts. Please keep on topic in the product discussion forum. (On Topic: discussing the myths behind monsters in this product. Off topic: debating whether presenting myths to children as truthful is bad parenting.)

Me (to Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Designer Mike Selinker): Game Designers To Be Replaced by Computers. Sorry, man. Time to start honing your standup comedy routine, or maybe your hairdressing skills.

Mike: Where do I get me one of these "computers"?

Our PDFs are intended to reflect the current print edition, for good or bad. (Otherwise, we'd be spending too much time updating old products and not enough time making new ones!)

We'll update you when we can. The editorial team has just concluded the push to get all of our Gen Con products to the printer, so we'll have some breathing room to fit in things like the PFS boon soon.

To be honest, it's not really even a Paizo thing—we generally give our artists a lot of freedom, as we find that usually gets us better results. Dictating armor design on every piece of art is just not the best place to spend our effort.

... My guild invites are acting funny. I sent the details via PM to Cris Lambertz, Digital product Assistant, because he has been quick to jump on lots of technical difficulty reports. Was that the best person to contact?

That's fine... and Chris is a she. :-)

Main Kickstarter backers (who are not also tech demo backers) can purchase Thornkeep without worrying about also receiving it in the pdf pack.

Correct—Thornkeep is not part of the PDF Superpack, or indeed, part of the recent Kickstarter at all.

So the Superpack Dungeon PDF (and most others) aren't expected to be avoidable to us for more than a year, is this correct?

The PDF Superpack is one thing—it's a bundle of 3rd-party PDFs that can be fulfilled immediately. The Emerald Spire Superdungeon is another thing—it's a big book with tons of authors, and it's due next June.

Well it's not "officially official" but if I remember correctly Paizo has directly said they have no plans to make their own Psionics book any time soon because Dreamscarred Press did such a good job with it that it'd be kinda redundant.

You're correct that we have said that we don't currently have any firm plans to do psionics (and yes, that's still true). However, the reason has nothing to do with Dreamscarred's efforts—it's that we have other priorities. (This year, for example, our priority is Mythic.)

...can my character also look cool in addition?

There's nothing cooler than a nasty hacking cough that won't go away!