Kobold Quarterly 10 PDF

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KOBOLD QUARTERLY + the PATHFINDER RPG Shadowdancer

The big 1-0! Double digits! Yes, Kobold Quarterly hits the big Roman numeral X with a splash with its Summer issue, which features:

  • Sneak Preview of the Pathfinder RPG by Jason Buhlman
  • Full Pathfinder RPG Shadowdancer class
  • Ed Greenwood's Dwarven Goddess
  • Ecology of the Hill Giant
  • Wicked Fantasy: the Haffun
  • Secrets of the Halberd
  • Monte Cook's Game Theories
  • And rampant Elf Lust. (Yes, it's true.)

This issue is packed with great material for any edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game.

Kobold Quarterly has been nominated for three—count 'em—three ENnie Awards this year, and the magazine has become a little gem of the RPG field. This is the finest issue yet. Check it out today.

88 pages.

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An Excellent Balance of Articles

5/5

I can’t believe it’s been 2 ½ years since the launch of Kobold Quarterly. This magazine has grown and matured as the page counts and issue numbers have swelled. Wolfgang has had a difficult path to walk since the release of 4th edition as he has tried to cater to multiple games and I think under his skilled editorial hand this issue represents a really good balance for all gamers of OGL Fantasy.

I’ve been going back and forth on how exactly to review a magazine and what I should focus on and I think what I’m going to do is talk about my five favourite articles in this volume.

First up on my list of articles to talk about is Swords Against Darkness – Dungeon and Underground Skill Challenges by Michael Brewer, Quinn Murphy and Jonathan Jacobs. If you are not familiar with 4th edition a skill challenge is a type of challenge that does not necessarily involve combat. This article presents three skill challenges – one for 5th level and two for 10th level. The three skill challenges presented here are very cinematic in nature involve chases on mine carts, moving through machinery and navigating submerged rooms and tunnels. They are clear “good action sequences” from a movie standpoint and with a quick renaming of some of the skills involved could provide a nice narrative challenge that isn’t bogged down by precise map movement. I think I’ll be stealing these skill challenges for my 3.X game and will look for more challenge-related 3pp niche products.

Second has to be the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game preview. In this section Jason provides an overview of some of the decision goals and some of the changes that did and did not occur as a result of the playtesting process. I’m very excited for the release of the Pathfinder RPG and since the Grand OGL Wiki did not receive a publisher preview copy (didn’t really expect to either) I’ve had to check the blogs, scan the forums and hunt down other pieces wherever possible. In this preview Kobold Quarterly also released the first glimpse of the shadowdancer prestige class. This is the first class preview that I’ve seen that we can look as the class format and not just a finished npc. There is also another article on protean magic (the salad-replacements) and an Katapesh location covered in another section.

Zobeck takes the third spot for me and this time the two articles that I like most about Zobeck are Ed Greenwood’s take on Ninkash the dwarven matron goddess of ale and Wolfgang article on the spring and harvest festival that are held on the edge of Zobeck. Open design has been focused on dwarves a lot lately so it is not surprising to see that another dwarven faith snuck into this issue. Both articles are concept rich and mechanics light making them very useable for gamers of any system. Okay, I know I’m cheating and lumping articles together but it is really hard to pick just five.

The coveted fourth spot goes to the Kobold Ecologies entry for this month. Richard Pett looks at the ecology of the Hill Giant and I’m really glad he did. I don’t remember ever using hill giants in my campaigns for some reason I always seem to go ogre, troll, stone giant, frost giant and stone giant – totally skipping the hill giants as nothing more than bigger ogres. There are a host of new giant-based feats that can make these opponents more devastating. It looks at the traditional view of hill giants as powerful but stupid, stupid opponents, as well as providing a rationale for having some hill giant tribes better prepared and better armed. What I like about this article is that it is forcing me to relook at a monster that I’ve traditionally glossed over.

The final article that made my list this issue is PCs without Backgrounds by Amber E. Scott. This is a game advice column that looks at the role of backgrounds for the development of player characters. In my campaigns, I’ve had problems on both sides of this spectrum I’ve have character sheet players who are not attached to their PCs at all and often have unexpected accidents then new rule supplements come out so they can bring in new


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Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Now available in PDF; we should have print copies by Friday.

Scarab Sages

Heh. Two days later and I'm still stoked about having made the cover.

Oh. And this issue does have Elf Lust in it (page 86).


I subscribe. PDF and print. Its another excellent issue.


Is there a way to get a subscription here, so the stuff is shipped with PF subscription shipments?

And concerning this issue: How much 4e content?

Scarab Sages

There is what seems like a bit more 4e content in this one but Wolfgang added extra pages. There are at two PF specific articles.

The Exchange Kobold Press

KaeYoss wrote:
Is there a way to get a subscription here, so the stuff is shipped with PF subscription shipments?

It's been discussed with Paizo. Right now, no way to make that happen. Maybe after PF RPG ships, they'll be able to consider it again.

Quote:
And concerning this issue: How much 4e content?

The Skill Challenges feature article, the reinvented Halflings PC by John Wick and Scott Gable, the Warlock article, and lots of general utility material like the PCs without Backgrounds, the Halberd, and Secrets of the Gelantinous Cube.

And the clockwork hounds/hunters will get a 4E writeup shortly as well.

So, more than last issue, but then, there's more of everything.


And not to amend Wolfgang, there's a good amount of 3.5 material.. An interview with Jason Bulmahn on PF RPG (with the finished Shadow Dance Prestige Class), and a Golarion approved article on Protean Magic (with magic items and such as well as spells).

Correct me if I'm wrong, KaeYoss will be concerned about how much 4E material there.. not how little of it there is.

So I'm accenting the positive in the context that KaeYoss is likely to be asking.

Scarab Sages

Watcher wrote:


So I'm accenting the positive in the context that KaeYoss is likely to be asking.

Yes. At least half of what Wolfgang mentioned is not necessarily 4e specific. The halberds for instance is all historical fluff. I wrote the cube article with 3.5 in mind. Etc.


And hey.. I forgot to mention that I did enjoy that Gelatinous Cube article, Wicht. Todd's Protean article grabbed my attention, but yours was great too. Just took me a little longer to get to it.

Scarab Sages

Watcher wrote:
And hey.. I forgot to mention that I did enjoy that Gelatinous Cube article, Wicht. Todd's Protean article grabbed my attention, but yours was great too. Just took me a little longer to get to it.

Thanks.

I forgive you for reading the front portion of the magazine first. ;)

Personally I tend to start closer to the back 'cuz I always flip to the comics first.

The Exchange Kobold Press

Sure, looked at the other way, there's only 2 articles that are 4E-only (because several I listed are either dual-stat or systemless).

All of it is directly useful for gamers who aren't system zealots; I've gotten a surprising number of notes from gamers who aren't using D&D as their main system at all. Which is oddly gratifying.


Wohoo!

Super-sized issue! Can't wait!

(Well actually I can, cause I'm one of those nuts who for something like this prefers to read their print copy. . .)


Ask a Shoanti wrote:

Wohoo!

Super-sized issue! Can't wait!

(Well actually I can, cause I'm one of those nuts who for something like this prefers to read their print copy. . .)

Downloading the pdf while I´m typing this... (agonizing slow, btw - I guess its due to much traffic) Still, a print copy would be much nicer. I guess I´ll have to find a way to make this work somehow.

Stefan


Wolfgang Baur wrote:

Sure, looked at the other way, there's only 2 articles that are 4E-only (because several I listed are either dual-stat or systemless).

All of it is directly useful for gamers who aren't system zealots; I've gotten a surprising number of notes from gamers who aren't using D&D as their main system at all. Which is oddly gratifying.

Well, I kinda am a Zealot. But let me explain:

  • Everything with or about 4e mechanics is useless to me. That skill challenge article, for example, sounds as if it is totally useless to me, since I don't use 4e or skill challenges.
  • Everything that is designed especially for 4e and its enforced points of light setting/theme, or is stuff that builds on the changes 4e made to D&D's history, is useless to me (though I suspect there isn't that much points of light in there).

    I understand that a lot of stuff can be useful regardless of system, but since I feel that 4e went too far away from what I consider "D&D Fantasy". Basically, if it doesn't fit into PFRPG, PF Chronicles CS, and its assumptions (stuff like "a lamia is tauric cross-breed between human and animal" or "archons are LG outsiders from Heaven"), I have no real use for it.

    So, regarding all that: If you subtract the stuff that talks about 4e rules mechanics, stuff that works best with 4e's PoL and setting, and that, how many pages am I losing from this?


  • Watcher wrote:
    And hey.. I forgot to mention that I did enjoy that Gelatinous Cube article, Wicht. Todd's Protean article grabbed my attention, but yours was great too. Just took me a little longer to get to it.

    Hm... I already have Dungeon Denizens Revisited. Can this be considered a follow-up, supplemental article, or is it incompatible?

    I think I lean towards getting this one (as a PDF - my printer has been bored lately, anyway). I'm curious about the Shadowdancer, and there's Proteans. Gotta support my chaotic brethren in their relentless struggle against order!

    Alright, I admit it: It's the elven lust part that sold me on this. ;-)

    Dark Archive

    Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
    KaeYoss wrote:
    So, regarding all that: If you subtract the stuff that talks about 4e rules mechanics, stuff that works best with 4e's PoL and setting, and that, how many pages am I losing from this?

    Five. The 4 page Skilll Challenges article and the 1 page of 4e stats for the Haffuns. The Warlock article would mainly appeal to 4e gamers, but there's no actual specifically 4e stats in it, or much of any stats at all for that matter. Just a pure fluff piece, other than a couple of brief references to skills by their 4e names, and talking about pacts. (I saw a couple of fan-made systems on the WotC boards for different types/allegiances/pacts of warlocks long before 4e, for what it's worth.)


    The warlock article sounds like it is tied too much to what they made out of the warlock in 4e. I'll have to read it, though.

    I don't like the warlock class, anyway. I prefer the sorcerer, which should kill the warlock and take its stuff.

    Sovereign Court

    The Haffuns are awesome.

    They're replacing Halflings in my version of Golarion.

    I'd love to see something like this expanded as a substitute for the fluff-free, drab halflings currently inhabiting Golarion. Paizo should get on to those writers for 'Halflings of Golarion'.

    Perhaps the mysterious background is too similar to the Gnomes... but it's a crying shame that it is too late to get these into the core PFRPG.

    I'm also definitely adding a Hill Giant encounter inspired by the ecology to my current campaign.

    More broadly, and despite the added 4e, this is the best KQ so far - Protean fluff and crunch, Shadowdancer PrC, Haffuns, ace Hill Giant ecology (love those feats) and the regular features are all going great guns (interview with Grubb, Monte, Ask a Kobold...)

    KQ has made my day and changed my game. Brilliant!

    Scarab Sages

    KaeYoss wrote:
    Watcher wrote:
    And hey.. I forgot to mention that I did enjoy that Gelatinous Cube article, Wicht. Todd's Protean article grabbed my attention, but yours was great too. Just took me a little longer to get to it.

    Hm... I already have Dungeon Denizens Revisited. Can this be considered a follow-up, supplemental article, or is it incompatible?

    Only one or two things in the Dungeon Denizens Revisited is contradicted by anything in my article - mainly the issue of whether or not Cubes can live underwater. But in fairness, I wrote my article before the other came out and I tried to make sure that everything I wrote agreed with what had been written before, even to the point of digging up a copy of Ed Greenwood's original Ecology on the Gelatinous Cube.

    My article though is on the care and feeding of Gelatinous Cubes. It provides rules for feeding them and raising them. You know, in case you wanted one for a pet. It also subsequently provides some alternate cube encounter ideas.

    The Exchange RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8

    Way to go Wicht. I'll have to see if my new FLGS carries Kobold Quarterly.

    Dark Archive

    Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
    Wicht wrote:
    ...It also subsequently provides some alternate cube encounter ideas.

    Such as the brilliant idea of the Gelatinous Sphere. I LOVE it.

    Scarab Sages

    Tarren Dei wrote:
    Way to go Wicht. I'll have to see if my new FLGS carries Kobold Quarterly.

    Ah, the joy of establishing new buying habits in a new place. Good luck with that.

    Scarab Sages

    Kvantum wrote:
    Wicht wrote:
    ...It also subsequently provides some alternate cube encounter ideas.
    Such as the brilliant idea of the Gelatinous Sphere. I LOVE it.

    Thank you very much. I'm glad it has been so well recieved.


    For those of you who favour Arabian settings (and with the Legacy of Fire adventure path going strong I know you're around here somewhere) there's an Arabian Inn with a dark secret in the caves below as the Map of Fantasy in this edition. Lots of great descriptive text and plot hoks built into it too.

    The Exchange Kobold Press

    Yeah, and that glorious Arabian Caravanserai is set in Katapesh, and was reviewed for use as official Pathfinder content.

    Just saying.

    Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

    Wolfgang Baur wrote:

    Yeah, and that glorious Arabian Caravanserai is set in Katapesh, and was reviewed for use as official Pathfinder content.

    Just saying.

    A standardized icon or something to denote "official Pathfinder Chronicles material" would be great for this sort of thing in the future. Once the rules are out, I could see confusion arising about articles written about the setting and those using the system. And I hope there will be lots of articles of both!


    yoda8myhead wrote:
    Wolfgang Baur wrote:

    Yeah, and that glorious Arabian Caravanserai is set in Katapesh, and was reviewed for use as official Pathfinder content.

    Just saying.

    A standardized icon or something to denote "official Pathfinder Chronicles material" would be great for this sort of thing in the future. Once the rules are out, I could see confusion arising about articles written about the setting and those using the system. And I hope there will be lots of articles of both!

    Yoda's got a good idea here. I'd love to see a Logo or something that signified whether something had been approved as offical Pathfinder/Golarion content.

    Do, we the fans, NEED to have something 'approved'? Maybe not. But fans do like it. They like that reassurance that come with it.

    Anyway, I second the motion that Yoda has put forward.

    Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

    Watcher wrote:
    yoda8myhead wrote:
    Wolfgang Baur wrote:

    Yeah, and that glorious Arabian Caravanserai is set in Katapesh, and was reviewed for use as official Pathfinder content.

    Just saying.

    A standardized icon or something to denote "official Pathfinder Chronicles material" would be great for this sort of thing in the future. Once the rules are out, I could see confusion arising about articles written about the setting and those using the system. And I hope there will be lots of articles of both!

    Yoda's got a good idea here. I'd love to see a Logo or something that signified whether something had been approved as offical Pathfinder/Golarion content.

    Do, we the fans, NEED to have something 'approved'? Maybe not. But fans do like it. They like that reassurance that come with it.

    Anyway, I second the motion that Yoda has put forward.

    If Wolfgang is running a Paizo-approved Pathfinder Chronicles article—which is the *only* way he or any other professional publisher can directly reference our setting—he can use the regular Pathfinder Chronicles logo.

    If he's doing something original, produced under the Pathfinder RPG Compatibility License, he'd use the Pathfinder RPG Compatibility logo.

    And if he's doing a Paizo-approved item tying into our official Pathfinder RPG products or content, he can use the official Pathfinder RPG logo.

    That should pretty much cover all of the circumstances...


    Vic Wertz wrote:
    If Wolfgang is running a Paizo-approved Pathfinder Chronicles article—which is the *only* way he or any other professional publisher can directly reference our setting—he can use the regular Pathfinder Chronicles logo.

    Do it Wolfgang!

    Thanks Vic!

    The Exchange Kobold Press

    Er, I was foolish not to ask for the Pathfinder Chronicles logo, since it was reviewed and approved.

    Rest assured I will not make this mistake a second time!


    Wolfgang Baur wrote:

    Er, I was foolish not to ask for the Pathfinder Chronicles logo, since it was reviewed and approved.

    Rest assured I will not make this mistake a second time!

    ~shakes my head and makes a "tisk"ing sound~ Wolfgang, Wolfgang, Wolfgang! We expected better out of you! ~I then find that my KQ subscription has now been deleted and all my older mags taken from me~ I am sorry Wolfgang! I am sorry!

    ~GRINS~


    Yes, Yoda, I was a little surprised it did not get the "P" icon. I guess this was because it was a flavor article, and basically system neutral.

    EDIT: And I see it was too long since I refreshed this tab...


    Wicht wrote:


    My article though is on the care and feeding of Gelatinous Cubes. It provides rules for feeding them and raising them. You know, in case you wanted one for a pet.

    Can't you just throw him a dwarf once a week?

    Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

    KaeYoss wrote:
    Wicht wrote:


    My article though is on the care and feeding of Gelatinous Cubes. It provides rules for feeding them and raising them. You know, in case you wanted one for a pet.
    Can't you just throw him a dwarf once a week?

    Some things even Cubes won't eat.

    And don't throw it a Korobukoro (Spelling, OA Dwarf) It will just be hungry a half hour later.

    The Exchange Kobold Press

    Actually, THREE Pathfinder-specific articles:

    1) The preview with the final text of the Shadowdancer class
    2) The Sand Dragon Inn in Katapesh, an approved locale with complete map and hooks
    3) Jason Buhlman's design notes and commentary on the RPG.

    EDIT: FOUR! Four main weapons!
    4) Pathfinder proteans to complement the Great Beyond book. Not sure how I overlooked the proteans, snakey chaos-mongers that they are.

    Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

    Wolfgang Baur wrote:

    Actually, THREE Pathfinder-specific articles:

    1) The preview with the final text of the Shadowdancer class
    2) The Sand Dragon Inn in Katapesh, an approved locale with complete map and hooks
    3) Jason Buhlman's design notes and commentary on the RPG.

    And the Proteans? 1 and 3 are the same, I think.

    The Exchange Kobold Press

    Wow, shipping KQ10, Dwarves of the Ironcrags, AND Halls of the Mountain King all in the same week seems to have made me a little punchy.

    Let's notch that back down to three from four, shall we?


    This afternoon, I talked a new store owner into ordering KQ. Just wanted you to know, WB, so you won't think I'm all complaints. Although, maybe I should have waited and told you when you weren't so punchy... ;)

    The Exchange

    Okay, I think some clarification needs to be made...

    I was reading the Kobold 10 pdf, and it mentions that the PF Game Mastery Guide is going to be released in October '09. Yet on this website, it says the release date is February '10.

    I am more inclined to believe this site.

    Sovereign Court

    Wicht wrote:
    There is what seems like a bit more 4e content in this one but Wolfgang added extra pages. There are at two PF specific articles.

    The 4e content, especially the amount, is a dealbreaker for many of us, regardless of the increase in page count.

    Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

    Feh, the smattering of 4.x content doesn't bug me.

    I've not read much of it, waiting for a) my dead tree copy or b) My Paizo PDFs for the month to DL so I can burn a new DVD for work.


    I'm hardcore 3.5/PRPG gamer but KQ is too good to pass because of some 4e content.


    The 4E content doesn't bother me in the least. KQ is a great resource!

    Silver Crusade

    *continues checking the mail a few times a day to see if my dead tree copy has arrived*

    Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

    Saying that the 4e content in Kobold Quarterly is a deal-breaker equates, in my mind, to saying that the articles are a deal-breaker in Playboy. I'm about as anti-4e as they come, but I'm not going to deny myself great 3.x and Pathfinder Chronicles content simply because there is support for another system. That's the very definition of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

    Wolfgang, as long as you maintain the same high standards of quality and keep the Pathfinder material coming, I will keep buying. And I hope KQ gains as large an audience and subscriber base as possible, of both 3.x and 4e players alike.

    Scarab Sages

    Three months ago there was almost an identical conversation about 3e vs. 4e content. The bottom line was - articles will be published based on who submits articles. I took up the challenge and submitted an article query. Others who want to support 3e material (or at least edition neutral material) should do the same.

    Doing so will be more productive then refusing to buy at all because there might be an article with rules that are different than the rules you prefer to use. Even the 4e articles might contain content that can inspire you in your game and thats the whole point of the magazine anyway for us, isn't it. I have no interest in 4e rules at this point, but I still read the 4e articles. Of course I read the shampoo bottles in the bath too, so maybe its just me. :P

    Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

    Wicht wrote:

    Three months ago there was almost an identical conversation about 3e vs. 4e content. The bottom line was - articles will be published based on who submits articles. I took up the challenge and submitted an article query. Others who want to support 3e material (or at least edition neutral material) should do the same.

    Doing so will be more productive then refusing to buy at all because there might be an article with rules that are different than the rules you prefer to use. Even the 4e articles might contain content that can inspire you in your game and thats the whole point of the magazine anyway for us, isn't it. I have no interest in 4e rules at this point, but I still read the 4e articles. Of course I read the shampoo bottles in the bath too, so maybe its just me. :P

    +1, now I just need to try again...

    Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

    yoda8myhead wrote:

    Saying that the 4e content in Kobold Quarterly is a deal-breaker equates, in my mind, to saying that the articles are a deal-breaker in Playboy. I'm about as anti-4e as they come, but I'm not going to deny myself great 3.x and Pathfinder Chronicles content simply because there is support for another system. That's the very definition of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

    Actually the fake, airbrushed and poorly photoshopped women was the deal breaker for me and Playboy :P

    Paizo Employee CEO

    Jacob Blackmon wrote:

    Okay, I think some clarification needs to be made...

    I was reading the Kobold 10 pdf, and it mentions that the PF Game Mastery Guide is going to be released in October '09. Yet on this website, it says the release date is February '10.

    I am more inclined to believe this site.

    We originally we going to try to have the GameMastery Guide out for Christmas, but realized that we were smoking crack and that would be insane and would probably lead to total burn-out of the staff, so we moved it back to February 2010. I assume that the article for KQ10 was written before it was switched.

    -Lisa

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