Danse Macabre

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Apologies if this has already been covered in a previous thread, but I was just drooling a little over the write-up on The ESSD and one thing...concerns is too sharp a word, not sure of another more apropos, however. The write-up says the dungeon can be used to run a complete campaign around, focusing on trips into the ES, with returns to the nearby settlement to sell items and replenish supplies, no doubt.

What I'm wondering about is whether the mechanics have been covered to introduce the ES into a pre-existing game without unbalancing too significantly either way? Meaning, if the lower levels are perfect for 1st level characters, but you don't introduce the dungeon till your party of characters is 7th or 8th level, will they simply blow through the first 8 levels with no challenge? Obviously, I know that as a GM you can make any change for the needs of one's own game, which includes toughening up "weaker" areas of purchased adventures, but I was hoping the designers might have taken this eventuality into account and come up with some measures to handle such situations.

The other thing, while I love the concept of gigantic dungeons, most players I've ever played with would grow a little weary of being in the same locale (even if the levels were greatly varied,) for almost the entire lifetime of their character. Unless the designers factored this in, I'm going to have to come up with the initial reason for them to go to the ES in the first place, and then return once, or twice, or however many times it takes for them to finish the dungeon.

These are minor quibbles, certainly, but I am curious to know if the designers might have already planned for some of these issues?


First, let me say I am not attempting to sow dissension or disatisfaction, or anything like that with this post. I am a loyal Paizo supporter, and have purchased a singular amount of Pathfinder/Inner Sea products (originally hard copy then switching over to PDF in the past two years) and have been extremely satisfied and impressed with the majority of my purchases.

That being said, and I will of course reserve final judgement until the actual products are in hand, but has anyone else noticed the "fall off" in the interest level/potential value of the listed upcoming releases, or even of the products that have recently been released? Inner Sea Combat? What makes this a necessary book? Is there really that much of a difference/addition of combat features in the Inner Sea that warrant an entirely new book? Or an alchemy book?

The reviews on the desert material (People of the Sands and the new Osirion book) were so universally mediocre I chose not to acquire them, which is actually a big deal, as I've been rabidly awaiting and purchasing each monthly digital release scheduled for pretty much the last two years, and have been happy with every one, even the "Blood Of" books.

I hope there will be such a significant surplus of NEW information to warrant a large, hardcover book devoted to the Gods of the Inner Sea when there have already been, what, five publications devoted to that area?

Speaking for myself, and I reiterate, this is for MYSELF, I'm really not trying to start any $hit here, I would be much more well served by some more area books that haven't been covered yet. Nidal, perhaps?? And I'm ALWAYS down for a new Monster Manual, I don't care how many I have. New monsters will ALWAYS get my money.

I guess what I'm asking is, does anyone else get the feeling the new releases are reaching for the pocket book? Maybe there are a lot of folks clamoring for an alchemy book...or an Occult Mysteries book. I'm not, that's for sure. But I'm just one guy.

With a pretty stellar buying record...

Just saying.


Apologies if this has been covered already, but is there really nothing but comics being released in November? Just curious...


Not sure if this is the right section of the forums for this topic. It doesn't pertain to the Pathfinder game, per se, but I am curious how other GMs have handled this philosophy.

I was just watching the opening of 'Tourist Trap'. For those not familiar, it's a cheesy 80s movie about a telekinetic serial killer. There are some incredibly eerie and even disturbing moments throughout the film, thanks in great part to the mannequins the killer animates with his powers. As I was watching the first killing, I was struck by just how bothersome the mannequins really are, and I started imagining how I would handle the interpretation of such a threat in a PF scenario.

This is hardly a new idea, of course, and has been covered extensively in the past, I'm sure, but oddly, when I went onto Google to search for the topic, not much came up. So, I put it to the always helpful and insightful members of the Pathfinder forums.

How do you differentiate between horror and fantasy horror? In other words, the zombies in Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead' or Fulci's 'Zombi" are supposed to be terrifying, eliciting true repulsion and horror as they shuffle implacably towards our heroes. On the other hand, zombies in a PF game are often slow minions to hack through as the heroes make their way to the BBEG.

What is it about the distinction between "traditional" horror and fantasy horror that makes certain elements frightening, creepy, disturbing, grotesque, etc, versus the straight-up hack and slash, good-old swashbuckling yarns. Why are the Deep Ones of Lovecraft really eerie and threat inducing, while the Sauhaugin are just murderous fish people? They're very similar in their make-up. I know it's based on how any particular GM runs their game, but what is it about horror that allows one element to be truly scare inducing in one setting and merely a threat to defeat in another?

Does this make sense?


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Following what I hope is an enticing subject line, allow me to clarify...

I am a soon to be Pathfinder GM. Own most of the books in PDF form, and many in hardcover. Have never gotten the chance to play or run yet, though. I've been buying the books like crazy because I love the system, and the world that Paizo has created.

My question is, though, for many of the posters on the boards. I read thread after thread where all people talk about is DPS and DPR and how to build the most effective/damage causing/stat maxed whatever possible. "Don't play the monk cause they're underpowered", or "What build is best for a sorceror to cause the most amount of damage in the least amount of time?"

I'm really not trying to be a jerk or start a flame war (is that term even used anymore?), but I really am curious...what happened to players playing a character? Now, before anyone jumps all over me, I know there are a ton of role players who don't hang the success of their character on how how much damage they do. But there are obviously enough statisticians on the boards for this to be a legit query. Why is it SO important to so many people, apparently, to maximize a character's damage potential? If it's that much about numbers and combat effectiveness, why not just go play WoW?

I'm just curious, like I said. What is it about the numbers that drives so many people? When did the #s replace character?

Anyone? Bueller?


Not sure if this is the right board for this question:

There has been a considerable amount of information regarding the Runelords published throughout a number of the adventure paths and supplement material. Has there been any thought to collecting that information into one book specifically oriented to just the Runelords? While I'm sure the APs are great, I've never been a big one for running pre-made modules. I prefer to take material and craft my own storylines and adventures. I'm currently working on designing a campaign that involves the RLs return, building to the eventual release of the WT. To that end, I'd like to have access to all the material published about the RLs to date, but I'd rather avoid having to buy a bunch of the APs just to access a small section of RL lore in each. Having it all in one book or source would be invaluable.

Any thoughts?


I collect images of fantasy art for use as character portraits, descriptives, etc (as I'm sure most of us do). I make fairly routine sweeps of the typical art websites and grab new images every couple of weeks, and have amassed a pretty impressive collection. However, I keep seeing posters on the Paizo messageboards with some incredibly cool avatar art that I've never seen before. Where does it come from? Where did you get your badass imagery? If you know of a great site for art, please consider linking for those of us who collect images this way.

Thanks!