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Kobold Quarterly 15 PDF

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OPDKQ15E

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Our Special holiday issue is loaded with new items for players, and new fiendish ideas for DMs.

    This issue includes:
  • New traps for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
  • New mounted combat rules for 4th Edition D&D
  • 3 new Druid variants for Pathfinder RPG players
  • 10 new weapons for fighters of all types
  • Ecology of the Giant Ant
  • Margaret Weis on world building, Monte Cook on simulation
  • A terrific cover by William O'Connor!
  • And yes, much much more!

The finest of fantasy RPG dedication and inspiration, Kobold Quarterly #15 is a treasure worth looting immediately.

Do not hesitate—get your copy today!

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

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Yet another solid issue!

5/5 —

The first thing that jumped out at me when I received Kobold Quarterly #15 in the mail was the cover. I've long been a fan of William O' Conner's work and this cover is just fantastic. Evocative, interesting, eye catching and extremely well done - everything you want in a cover!

The production value is top notch as always. Nice paper, well done lay out, great interior art. Kobold Quarterly is in every way a top flight, professional publication.

The articles and content are what readers have come to expect - well written and more than worth the cost of the issue.

In particular, I really enjoyed Ryan Costello, Jr.'s Nature's Orders - Variant Druid Orders for Pathfinder. Quite well written and full of great ideas!

Pits of Despair by Andrew Hind offers 12 cool new pit traps ready to drop into your Pathfinder game.

Those Dark Dungeon Blues offers a fascinating look into what it was like working for TSR. As someone who grew up in the early '80s playing AD&D (or First Edition) a LOT, TSR seemed like such an amazing, almost mythical place and I never tire of stories that take me behind that curtain ...

The interview with Margaret Weis was was a nice treat. Reading the original three Dagonlance novels as a teenager was a pretty important part of my youth, so seeing one half of the writing team in the pages of KQ was great. Now we just need to land that interview with Tracy Hickman!

I'm a fan of rangers and druids ... any kind of nature oriented gaming material really, so Children of the Wood by Stephen Styrsky was fun to read. Planty of new, nature oriented Pathfinder material = new bloodlines, domains and wizard schools. Good stuff!

All in all, another solid issue. I can't stress it enough: if you were even slightly a fan of Dragon magazine, you need to be a subscriber of Kolbold Quarterly. It's a great magazine that just keeps getting better!

5/5 —

If this mag had Phil and Dixie it would get six stars.

No tricks! All treats!

5/5 —

Kobold Quarterly 15 arrived in my hot little hand yesterday, and I have to say, this issue is solid.

The cover—Wow. Maybe its being a dad. No, this is just an absolutely gorgeous piece by William O’Connor. I loved his piece on KQ#7, and this one comes in a very close second. The swaddling cloth alone is a beautiful detail and the text does an excellent job of staying out of the way of the image—which has been a complaint of mine in the past.

For those still paying attention to the composition of articles to editions, let’s just get this out of the way, shall we? This issue has:

6 Edition Neutral articles.
6 Fourth Edition articles.
6 Pathfinder RPG articles.

Two years into this and the coverage still seems pretty balanced, which also means folks are submitting material for all of those options since KQ is driven on submissions.

So what looks ripe for pillaging and dumping across your game table like so much loot?

The obvious two choices for Pathfinder are the Druid article and the Children of the Wood article. These are great options for a GM and a player, and that’s why I’ve selected them. The Bestial Druid is shapeshifting done right. The Godai is a good update for a shugenja or a wu-jen, at least in terms of flavor. And the Purist is a fairly cool look at a cross between a druid and a cleric, and has me jonesing even more Zombapocalypse gaming. The opening for the Children of the Wood article leans a bit on the Open Design world of Midgard, referencing the recent project and some of the Zobeck canon pantheon, but that’s all cast aside for the uninitiated as we dig into the meat of the article. Offering up a Bloodline and its progression (Blood of the Green), two domains with powers (Forest and Harvest), and a school of Magic with three spells (Nature), this also has some great material which would make for interesting characters, and that’s what every table wants.

The ant, pit trap, and weapons articles are what they claim—and well written, but just not the sexy you get from the other two I mentioned. They’ve got more of a GM vibe, but I can certainly see rangers asking for giant ant animal companions and warriors of all stripes asking to use the weapons, but don’t they ooze the awesome you get from the first two articles I referenced. Honorable mention goes to the tactical maneuvers. I love these kinds of cooperative options, but I always worry about taking them unless I can discuss character generation with everyone at once.

For 4th Edition, the mounted combat and critical hit articles make this issue worth the price of entry. The art for the mounted material reminded me of Boudicca charging through Roman Legionnaires, and the sheer variety of gear, feats, powers, and a trio of mounts will leave you nodding and quietly mouthing, “Oh yes.” Not to be outdone, Quinn Murphy (of At-Will blog fame) offers up a great concept of expanded criticals which present specialized effects for scenes. This isn’t just hitting for full damage plus a die roll and some fluff. This is climbing all over the huge monster in Legolas-fashion, thunking away as you spider across it. This is shifting the battlefield or shifting multiple enemies trying to swarm you. It’s very interesting stuff, and that’s why it beats out its close competitor—the skill stances. These feed my desire to see combat incorporate the environment with more personalized actions through the skill tree. Set up as replacement utility powers, these clinch it for me on the 4E side of the house. The trap rigs or the whack in a box are ok, but they really only play to one or two classes or the GM, and the rest is goodies for everyone.

Everyone? Yes.

Every. One.

The neutral material is good for sweetening the pot and has some exciting discoveries hiding within its folds—like the sidescrolling dungeon concept or Monte Cook’s article on simulating reality. I like that the magazine is willing to find new ideas and ask, “What do you think, will it work?”

Overall, I have to give this issue top marks. The art is gorgeous. The bulk of the articles seem to provide a little something for GM and player alike. The editing is consistent and so good it simply melts into the background. And the production values are deliciously indulgent with a nice, heavy stock cover and glossy internal pages that make you want to just pick up the magazine and admire it. This is a Halloween treat you’ll be consuming for weeks to come.

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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

Finally!

The cover is revealed.
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Darkjoy wrote:

Finally!

The cover is revealed.

Nice Cover, who is the Artist?

Liberty's Edge
Dragnmoon wrote:
Darkjoy wrote:

Finally!

The cover is revealed.

Nice Cover, who is the Artist?

That would be William O'Connor (see last bullet)

RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
Marc Radle wrote:
Dragnmoon wrote:
Darkjoy wrote:

Finally!

The cover is revealed.

Nice Cover, who is the Artist?
That would be William O'Connor (see last bullet)

gave the name an URL, William is talented.

I'm looking forward to seeing this. My piece on 4e mounted combat was the first contribution I've had the fortune of making to this magazine.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
One Angry Monkey wrote:
I'm looking forward to seeing this. My piece on 4e mounted combat was the first contribution I've had the fortune of making to this magazine.

Good for you!

Best cover ever!!!
Scarab Sages
One Angry Monkey wrote:
I'm looking forward to seeing this. My piece on 4e mounted combat was the first contribution I've had the fortune of making to this magazine.

Congragulations.

The ant article is mine and I'm looking forward to seeing it in print as well.
Wicht wrote:
Congragulations.

Thanks. I only just started doing this freelancing stuff earlier this year, but I've been fortunate enough to have one piece already published in Dragon and now this one for Kobold. Its very exciting to contribute material to a hobby I love and imagine something I created enhancing the enjoyment of the game for others.

Hopefully you'll all be seeing more of me around, as I have a few more projects in the pipe.
Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

Congrats!

It's always awesome seeing all the new blood in the pages of KQ!

Singular Upset Simian

Spoiler:
Now would be a good time to fill out your profile. ;)

I've loved insect monsters ever since Slaves Pits of the Undercity.
One Angry Monkey wrote:
Wicht wrote:
Congragulations.

Thanks. I only just started doing this freelancing stuff earlier this year, but I've been fortunate enough to have one piece already published in Dragon and now this one for Kobold. Its very exciting to contribute material to a hobby I love and imagine something I created enhancing the enjoyment of the game for others.

Hopefully you'll all be seeing more of me around, as I have a few more projects in the pipe.

Good luck

Liberty's Edge

Yep, after working quite a bit with Last Unicorn Games back in the mid 90's, Kobold Quarterly was my first published freelance piece after I started writing and gaming again.

Kobold Quarterly is a great mag and it's an honor to have your work within it's pages!
Scarab Sages

Kobold Quarterly was my first paying RPG work (Gelatinous Cubes!) and getting published in KQ gave me the encouragment I needed to pursue other opportunities in the field. I suspect I'm not alone in that and many of the names I see in KQ are cropping up pretty regularly elsewhere. I'll be interested to see if its as big a stepping stone for the 4e writers as it is for us Pathfinder/OGL writers.
Adam Daigle wrote:
Now would be a good time to fill out your profile. ;)

You are entirely correct. I play around on Paizo sporadically and hadn't noticed my ommission. Rest assured that I have corrected it.

Wicht wrote:
I'll be interested to see if its as big a stepping stone for the 4e writers as it is for us Pathfinder/OGL writers.

I'm probably not a good example. After nearly a year of constantly bombarding WotC with proposals I managed to nab a spot in their magazine before I did anything else. I enjoyed the process and went looking for other opportunities, finding KQ as a result of my search. Its a very different experience. KQ offers more creative freedom in exploring the game's content while Dragon/Dungeon provide a lot of feedback during drafting and you often end up going in interesting directions you wouldn't have anticipated when you first submitted your proposal.

Of course the dream is to do work of such exemplary quality that you really build a reputation for yourself, with my personal goal being to find an opportunity to self-publish something like a small campaign setting. I have other pieces that I'm currently working on (both for Wizard's and KQ), so perhaps I'll reach my goals eventually. Mostly I'm just happy to be doing something I enjoy.
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Very cool issue and each future issue add always leaves me eagerly awaiting the next issue. The festivals sound really neat.
Shadow Lodge
Open Design wrote:


Side-scrolling dungeons

I know how to beat these. You jump over Bowser, grab the axe, and cut the bridge over the lava. He will fall in and die. Then a little mushroom guy comes out and tells you that it was the wrong castle.

Darkjoy wrote:

Finally!

The cover is revealed.

And frankly, I wasn't even expecting my "10 new weapon types for Pathfinder" article to get bold text billing on the front cover. xD

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

PDF available now!

Scene Criticals might be the coolest idea ever.
The Exchange Kobold Press

That article is completely awesome!

And it's not the only one: I'm also very pleased with the giant ant ecology (very freaky, and all based on real species).

Do we get more about the Midguard setting/world as promised in the previous issues solicitation for this?
The Exchange Kobold Press

Thanks for asking! Every issue does include some Midgard information, of course, and this one includes the Cartways section of Zobeck.

But I suspect you may be referring to the Midgard Open Design project, and that one's not ready to launch yet. A lot more information on that front in January.
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Wolfgang, you spoiled me with art. Three amazing colour pieces for my article, thank you.
The Exchange Kobold Press
Ryan. Costello wrote:
Wolfgang, you spoiled me with art. Three amazing colour pieces for my article, thank you.

Hey, three amazing Pathfinder druid variants! The article is great stuff, and I think druid players will appreciate it.

That, and I'm a sucker for druids. :D

KQ #15 is great. This one ranks in my top 3 of all of them so far. Keep up the great work!
Dark_Mistress wrote:
Very cool issue and each future issue add always leaves me eagerly awaiting the next issue. The festivals sound really neat.

Ah, but the future issue text is always a tissue of lies. It has to be, given it goes to print months before the articles are selected. It's usually a selection of what looks most promising from the pitch pool and the slush pile...but whether or not those articles will make it to the final cut, well, that's another matter.

-Ben.
Scarab Sages

The Kobold Website has supplementary material up today for the Ecology of the Giant Ants.

4 new variations and some real-world comments about ant species.

What I really want in KQ?

Zogonia.

Someone find Tony Moseley and put that man back to work drawing comics.

-Ben.
The Exchange Kobold Press

Funny you should mention comics. I've got a couple new ones under consideration.
Scarab Sages

Yay for comics!
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Wolfgang Baur wrote:
Funny you should mention comics. I've got a couple new ones under consideration.

...please be "Garfield" please be "Garfield" please be "Garfield"...

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy
Vic Wertz wrote:
Wolfgang Baur wrote:
Funny you should mention comics. I've got a couple new ones under consideration.
...please be "Garfield" please be "Garfield" please be "Garfield"...

Close...

Liberty's Edge

(Somewhat delayed ;) review of Kobold Quarterly posted!
Silver Crusade

Just started reading, but I wanted to show some love for Mario Podeschi's article on side-view dungeons(as well as Jonathan Roberts' mapwork for it). This is something I'm going to try and keep in mind more often. And as much as some people might knee-jerk, the suggestion of videogame inspiration is solid.

I am definitely going to start building some scenarios off this idea.

"1." and "a." through "d." on the Chase Map Key put a big smile on my face.
The Exchange Kobold Press

Mikaze, thank you for calling out that article! I have to say it's sort of an editor's favorite as well.
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