William Ronald's page

I am curious how characters from different races, faiths, and cultures would approach different situations.

A fitting and enjoyable end to a good tale!

I found an interview with Paizo Project Manager Jessica Price online where she discussed how gaming and the gaming industry is growing less sexist. I found the interview to be very interesting, even if I was a bit distressed by some of the things that Price went through in the gaming industry -- including sexual harassment, sexist remarks and assumptions that she and other female managers were receptionists.

In the interview, Price shared several of her experiences with employers and co-workers. She noted that there attitudes are changing, both in terms of how female employees and managers are treated at companies nad how games portray women. As someone who started out with AD&D a long time ago, I found the article to be refreshing in that we are seeing better treatment for women and female characters in games. (I remember the strength limits on female characters, a lot of cheesecake art, and other things that made me shake my head.) There were usually female gamers in most of my early groups, and I think that most were as happy with their experiences as their male counterparts.

How are attitudes changing? I would like to see RPGs and other games grow, and I think our tables have to be open to everyone. There are some female gamers in my local Pathfinder Society group and I think that they feel welcome. One thing that I do like that Paizo has done is to have strong female characters who are not stereotypes.

So, how do we make our tables friendly for female gamers, as well as everyone else? How has Paizo and other publishers tried to show that attitudes are changing, both in terms of products and (more importantly) what happens at their companies? Personally I find that Paizo has strong female characters in their products. (For example, all of the female iconics are as competent as their male counterparts. Female leaders of countries and organizations are commonplace.)

(Moderators: Feel free to move this thread if it is in the wrong forum. Also, I hesitated to use the name of the magazine with Price's interview, just in case someone would have a problem with the name of the publication.)

I have enjoyed reading the previous work on the magic items and the archetypes. I would ask people to vote in each round of the competition.

Perhaps a good question for the judges are what makes an interesting monster? Perhaps we can discuss this as we wait for those who are building the perfect beast, if I may steal a song lyric from Don Henley.

One thing that I think is important is something that is memorable. (For a classic example, I remember playing the old TSR module S1: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and the shock over the first appearance of what is now the froghemoth.) Another consideration is how useful the monster is going to be for GMs. So, we will see what is being built fairly soon.

As for archetypes, I like good flavor but I also like something that can be used without too much confusion. Rules should be clear to both players and GMs. I think that a designer can have very good flavor and superb mechanics.

Well, if the Rasputin in the AP is anything like the real life version, killing him will not be easy.

I enjoyed the story, but I am curious as to why our protagonist did not accept amnesty from the new regime in Korvosa. Hopefully, we will find out. (I have not picked up any of the APs related to the Gray Maidens, but this story intrigued me.)

Thanks to Karim and Benoit for their efforts! I am glad to see that PFS is doing well in France.

Paizocon in Paris would be a good idea, as many gamers from througout Europe could go to the event. Perhaps the various European Venture Captains and Venture Lieutenants could meet up.

I just logged in and don't see a photo. Hmm, time to cast detect invisibility.

I officially have my second star as a Pathfinder Society GM. So, I would like to thank the GMs who have helped me, my local organizers, past and present, and everyone here for a lot of advice.

Pathfinder Society Organized Play in my area is attracting some new gamers and I think that Paizo has done a very good job in trying to bring people into our hobby. Maybe some more good introductory modules for those new to RPGs or Pathfinder Society might be a good idea, but I know that several are out there.

This looks very interesting, and will give GMs a chance to build races for their own worlds. (I would love to see a conversion using the ARG of the races for Arcana Unearthed/Arcana Evolved.)

I am sure that we will find out what, if anything, is legal for Pathfinder Society.

Also, I imagine that for those GMs who are ready to have characters explore the rest of Golarion's solar system, they now may have a good tool kit.

I am enjoying this story, and the characters. I think that Alaeron has a lot of challenges ahead of him, and I am curious how Rodrick will fit in.

If you are looking to meet a few gamers and enjoy a few games, you might want to consider the EN World Chicago Gameday 31 in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

There has been some talk about a major announcement from Wizards of the Coast. I checked EN World earlier, and found a link to Board Game Geek stating that the announcement will be the subject of a story in the New York Times:
[Major announcement coming from WotC

Morrus, the owner of EN World, did say that there will be a major piece of news from WotC at 10 Eastern -- and there is a countdown clock on the front of the site today

We will know the news in a few hours.

Happy New Year!! Let us hope for a wonderful year for all of us and a great year for gaming!

If you are in the Chicago area and wish to have a day of free gaming (and meet some good gamers), the EN World Chicago Game Day 30 will be this Saturday at Games Plus in Mount Prospect. You can learn more at the sign up thread.

If you are interested in a free day of gaming in the Chicago area and a chance to meet several other gamers, check out the Chicago Gameday 29 Sign-Up Thread over at EN World. The games will be on July 9th at Games Plus in Mount Prospect. I will run two Pathfinder Society Games, "The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit" and "The City of Strangers—Part II: The Twofold Demise."

If you are interested in a free day of gaming in the Chicago area and a chance to meet several other gamers, check out the Chicago Gameday 29 Sign-Up Thread over at EN World. The games will be on July 9th at Games Plus in Mount Prospect. I will run two Pathfinder Society Games, "The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit" and "The City of Strangers—Part II: The Twofold Demise"

There is still room in some events, if people are interested.

Last fall, I had volunteered to run a Pathfinder Society event -- the Pallid Plague as a back up event when some people had to cancel. On February 26, I will run the Pallid Plague at the EN World Chicago Gameday 28.

Here is the sign up thread -- Chicago Gameday 28 Sign-Up Thread

We still have openings for my event and others at the Gameday, in case anyone is interested.

Morrus posted this as a rumor at EN World

Here is a link to the original source:

Exclusive: Wizards Not Reprinting Core Dungeons & Dragons Books

If this is true, why would WotC do this? What effect would it have on their existing customer base?

I am trying to understand the business logic behind such a potential move. Mind you, it is in the rumor stage as for now.

My main Pathfinder Society character has run into Grandfather Torch. I hope that we will see some more figures of notable personages from some of the supplements.

I am planning on creating my first Pathfinder Society character and regularly attending the Thursday night game at Light Speed Hobbies in Portage, Indiana.

So, far here is what I have. I would appreciate any feedback that you can give me. (I have not played Pathfinder, but I also ran a Pathfinder conversion of Keep on the Borderlands at an EN World Chicago Game Day back in February.) I am taking some ideas from Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards.

Character concept: Ellestron is a male human wizard, divination specialist. He is a native of Absalom (I have to pick which district), and concerned about the welfare of his city and nation. His heritage is rather diverse, and there are some interesting stories (probably apocryphal) in his family history. (I am not going to reveal the character's faction.) He tends to be a strategist and a planner, and always tries to find some way to make sure that everyone has a part to play in a good plan. Ellestron tries to think about the long term consequences of actions. Issues of morality and the common good are a concern for the character. (I am also thinking of adding a bit more to the name of the character.) The character tends to be diplomatic, so I may give him a rank or two of Diplomacy down the road. (Most wizards are not going to be great diplomats, but it might pay to have a few ranks in Diplomacy for social situations.)

Also, I try to give a character a craft or profession. I am thinking Craft, Painter so that Ellestron can send back a few paintings back with his journal and maps. (I was inspired by John James Audubon in this.) Is Craft, Painter the right skill to create works of art? Also, having a skilled painter in the party may be one way to get invitations to a few places.

Ellestron had some challenges in his childhood, sometimes seeing things in dreams that disturbed others. He sometimes has weird or disturbing dreams, including about past and possible future events.(Just doing this for character flavor. If GMs are fine with this, I may use this for a few running gags.)

Alignment: I am debating between Lawful good and neutral good. The character will likely try to be a peace keeper in his party, and try to help others find some common ground.

Deity: I am trying to think of one appropriate to the character. Torag, Shelyn, Desna and Saeranrae seem like some choices. Or I could have the character honor several deities, and perhaps wonder if there is something beyond them, the First Gods and other things referred to. (I plan to have the character take Knowledge, Planes and Knowledge, Religion eventually.)

Now for some stats.

I am thinking of two possible set of statistics:

I:18 W:12 CH:10 S: 10 D:14 C:12

I:18 W: 10 CH:10 S: 10 D: 14 C: 14

I am tempted to go with the first set of stats, to boost skills like Perception slightly and to go with the concept of a thoughtful diviner. There would be some impact on hit points. Or should I try to push intelligence up higher by sacrificing in other areas?

Arcane Bond: I have played RPGs since 1980, and have had characters stripped of everything. So, I think I will go with a familiar for Ellestorn, either an owl or a rat. (A bonus to Perception checks or a bonus on fort saves sound like good ideas.)

Feats: Toughness, Improved Initiative. As per the rules for PF Society play, I will go with Spell Focus, Conjuration. (I like the conjuration school, and will go for the Augment Summoning Feat.)

Traits: Focused Mind and Reactionary.

Skills: Swim, Perception, Knowledge, Arcana, Spellcraft, Knowledge, Local, Knowledge, History. (Down the road, I plan to add Appraise, Fly, Knowledge Planes, Climb, Ride, and several other skills.)

Languages: Common (Taldan), Osirian, Keleshite, Draconic, Infernal.

Okay, what do you think?

I plan to run a version of Keep on the Borderlands at the ENWorld Chicago Gameday on February 27th. So far, my conversion is coming along well (especially considering I can't find my copy of the original module and had to use a Fantasy Hero PDF and a 3E conversion document. However, I thought I would ask some questions and share some of my ideas.

I am planning to set the adventure in Golarion, specifically in Lastwall in or near the Fangwood. The Keep and a small surrounding village with farmland, is a stop on a road that goes through the wood and ultimately towards the border with the Hold of Belkzen. The humanoids in the Caves are being directed by the followers of Lamashtu to destabilize the region and weaken Lastwall. Does this scenario sound reasonable? Lastwall would obviously take any humanoid incursions seriously. However, I would imagine that they would not send armed forces everywhere for all problems -- hence the need for adventures. Does this scenario sound reasonable?

Is there a good list of common trade goods beyond what is in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook?

I have run previous events but is there any particular advice that anyone can give in converting an adventure to the Pathfinder rules or running an adventure for the first time with the rules system?

Thanks in advance for your responses.