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Paizo is not publicly traded, so no shareholders here - just two owners, Lisa and Vic.
BUT because the RPG industry is one of the least profitable industries you can imagine, you gotta swim to survive. Not swimming = drowning. You can't say "oh, we did enough books, let's stop making new content and just earn those bazillions from what we already made". You could say that in some mainstream creative industry, but RPGs are not mainstream by a long mile.
Besides, I'm quite sure that Lisa and Vic are pretty damn proud of being able to provide classy jobs for geeky people who were otherwise stuck doing something they don't have much love for. IIRC most of Paizo employees were doing things completely not related to gaming before they got the opportunity to combine work with fun @ The Purple Golem.
I admire this, and I believe that any right-minded True American Patriot (with this whole carve your own destiny with your bloodied hands thing you folks have over there) should clap in approval every time Paizo has the resources to get a new cool person aboard. Doubly so in the current state of the economy over there.
You often make it quite clear that I don't tow the party line as closely as you think I should, but please don't misconstrue my comments as "Paizo should stop making new content." I have never said that. And while it is true I find the pace of new rules releases set in 2011 to be undesirable, unsustainable, and possibly even unhealthy, that is a separate contention (and one that I've conceded most don't agree with).
It is simply that, after working for big companies for roughly fifteen years, I'm convinced most are too big for their own good. I also believe it is a fallacy that many activities scale all that well...it's rather easy to put yourself in a situation where the management/coordination overhead that comes with growth is greater than the productivity gain. In fact, I'd say the question isn't whether it is possible to get too big -- it is -- but whether or not Paizo is there yet. I am concerned that the lack of consistency in rule clarifications may be a symptom of that sort of problem. At the very least, I believe that Paizo should slow down and re-evaluate the relative priority of establishing and keeping a stable foundation of rules on which to build.
...I actually like most of the things you say, just in this case, not really the way you said this one.
That seems to be an unfortunate trend with my posts.
Probably the customer. The fan is already happy.
I'm a customer too. A customer who literally owns every core product and the vast majority of the ancillary products as well. This gives me astonishing insight into the sheer volume of material Paizo produces, as well a great understanding of both how many members of the community contribute to the product, and how small the staff actually is for a company whose products (released on a near monthly basis) are purchased and enjoyed at an international level. You can have an unhappy customer, and life goes on. Fans are the ones who buy the things you put out, the good and the bad, and share them with their friends, creating new fans, and new customers. Who would you keep happy?
In general, if you are making customers happy, you are at the same time making fans even happier. This isn't always true, but it's a good way to bet. And even in the cases where you make customers happy, but may alienate fans, from a business perspective the question may come down not to "how do I keep both fans and customers happy?" but instead to "does this generate enough new customers that I can afford to alienate fans?" If the answer to the second question is "yes, in spades!" then all that does is generate a whole new set of fans.
That seems to be an unfortunate trend with my posts....I actually like most of the things you say, just in this case, not really the way you said this one.
You ain't the only one man... But it's nice to have you around so people can see that I'm not really as bad as I seem sometimes. So I appreciate your posts more than you know RD. :)
A wizard with craft wondrous item will have almost double the effective wealth as one who doesn't. How is that not broken?Fix the magic item system and I'll forgive a whole lot of feat/ability synergy issues. :)And for the record... I for one don't think the magic system is broken.
johnlocke, not sure if you read through all of James' response to this. He had initially misunderstood my comment to mean I considered the magic system broken and he was defending that.
We clarified later in the thread that I was referring to the magic item system, and he agreed there were things in that system that need to be addressed. This, I am sure, would be one of them.
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I can tell you from personal long time experience that a great quality product will always keep your customers begging for more faster than just pumping out product after product of less than stellar quantity.
This.
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Fix the magic item system and I'll forgive a whole lot of feat/ability synergy issues. :)And for the record... I for one don't think the magic system is broken.
But that doesn't mean it's not broken I'm afraid because there are areas that do need fixing and I don't mean with that giant bandage called "house rules".
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I can tell you from personal long time experience that a great quality product will always keep your customers begging for more faster than just pumping out product after product of less than stellar quantity.
Of course there is a difference between anecdote and data. While this might be your belief, actual data suggests that this is not always true.
The history of marketing is littered with the ruins of companies whose products maintained the highest possible quality, but were overrun by lower priced lesser quality items.
In fact you might even call that the entire business model of the "big box" stores that have more or less taken over the entire retail market.
Have you opened up a cell phone to see how it's made lately? "High Quality" is not a term I would use to describe any of them. They are mostly held together with glue, tape and friction. They are designed to last 18 months at best. But they have completely overtaken the market because they provide people with what they want at a price they can afford.
Where's my adversary?Man I would step up all battle-rap style and call a sucka out onto the dance floor but I actually like most of the things you say, just in this case, not really the way you said this one.
A rap battle between Ravingdork and A Man in Black would be kinda awesome. Both are rules-savvy, both are often haughty in an entertaining way, and both could probably be over the top obnoxious if they put their mind to it. Don't know about their rhyming skills or flow though.
A rapping Haiku duel?
A rap battle between Ravingdork and A Man in Black would be kinda awesome. Both are rules-savvy, both are often haughty in an entertaining way, and both could probably be over the top obnoxious if they put their mind to it. Don't know about their rhyming skills or flow though.Where's my adversary?Man I would step up all battle-rap style and call a sucka out onto the dance floor but I actually like most of the things you say, just in this case, not really the way you said this one.
I've always respected AMiB.
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Your DPR is weak like a level one kobold
Like a Rime Spelled chill touch my style is so cold
I'm taking you to school, straight Acadamae at Korvosa
You roll for iniative, but my sneak attack just dosed ya
Hybrid fighter/rogue, 67 page thread
Man I already went Alchemist instead
You think you're hot for going Dawnflower
But man I'm the only one here with mad Words of Power
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There ain't no point in rap attackin ya
Yo armor so bad I be zap smackin ya
I send my ho to be bi**h slappin' ya
Don't need no magic ta do a tap on ya
Gold be mine ya gots no cred
Keep to y'sef o else be dead
Gonna lay smack upside yo head
Yeah, dat's what my bada** self jus' said
Back in the hood yo talkin all boutchya
Self like yo got the right t' shoutya
Got no guts ya nothin' but mouthya
Gonna get yo own sef six feet south ya.
Get this done so I go on killin'
Not gonna waste it, keep on chillin'
Haul yo butt and all yo chillen
My hos be waitin an' dey be willin'
Gold be mine ya gots no cred
Keep to y'sef o else be dead
Gonna lay smack upside yo head
Yeah, dat's what my bada** self jus' said
Gold be mine ya gots no cred
Keep to y'sef o else be dead
Gonna lay smack upside yo head
Yeah, dat's what my bada** self jus' said
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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A wizard with craft wondrous item will have almost double the effective wealth as one who doesn't. How is that not broken?Fix the magic item system and I'll forgive a whole lot of feat/ability synergy issues. :)And for the record... I for one don't think the magic system is broken.
Pure theorywank. Crafting doesn't happen in a vacuum, and by in a vacuum, I mean without GM adjudication.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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Your DPR is weak like a level one kobold
Like a Rime Spelled chill touch my style is so cold
I'm taking you to school, straight Acadamae at Korvosa
You roll for iniative, but my sneak attack just dosed ya
Hybrid fighter/rogue, 67 page thread
Man I already went Alchemist instead
You think you're hot for going Dawnflower
But man I'm the only one here with mad Words of Power
I am so sad that I can only favorite this once.
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Pure theorywank. Crafting doesn't happen in a vacuum, and by in a vacuum, I mean without GM adjudication.A wizard with craft wondrous item will have almost double the effective wealth as one who doesn't. How is that not broken?Fix the magic item system and I'll forgive a whole lot of feat/ability synergy issues. :)And for the record... I for one don't think the magic system is broken.
If the question is what the rules allow, this falls into the general area of "if the GM disagrees then they can house rule".
By the rules as written, johnlocke is essentially correct.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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A rap battle between Ravingdork and A Man in Black would be kinda awesome..Rap battles are old. It should be a Hai Ku duel.
My haiku cuts you
Like weeaboo katanasMad ninja style skills
EDIT:
For unknown reasons
The boards put an extra space
Dis haiku deflates
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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Pure theorywank. Crafting doesn't happen in a vacuum, and by in a vacuum, I mean without GM adjudication.A wizard with craft wondrous item will have almost double the effective wealth as one who doesn't. How is that not broken?Fix the magic item system and I'll forgive a whole lot of feat/ability synergy issues. :)And for the record... I for one don't think the magic system is broken.If the question is what the rules allow, this falls into the general area of "if the GM disagrees then they can house rule".
By the rules as written, johnlocke is essentially correct.
It isn't a question of houseruling. WBL is squarely the purview of the GM. Crafting only lets you beat WBL insofar as the GM lets it. And any kind of crafting requires GM adjudication, unless you're doing some DPR comparison build on the Internet, which, as I said, pure theorywank.
Those raps weren't Haiku at all!
But that Haiku was nearly a rap!
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At this point it's clear this thread is a wrap.
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Critical Fumble
Draw from the deck in terror
Death by your own hand
Lead Designer
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Hey there Folks,
First off, my thanks to everybody for calming down a bit in this thread. I understand how these sorts of topics can turn into a firestorm and I am glad to see it has abated a bit.
Second... when it comes to rulings on the game and internal consistency. I want to be clear on something. The buck stops with my department, and more specifically with me. I thought we had some of these issues under wraps, but it appears that there is still some confusion in the department. I am working to get them cleared up and fixed so that they do not happen again.
The NPC Codex issue was an error and it is one that we are going to fix in the next printing of the book. I am also going to put up an FAQ on it as soon as I am able.
As for the Monk issue. We have decided to reverse our previous ruling on using Flurry with one weapon. You can now do so. This change has been in the works for a little while now, but I have not had the chance to announce it. There are a few other changes coming to the monk as well and I am investigating a good venue for making those announcements.
I work very hard to try to make our rules system as tight and clean as possible, but with a rules set this complex, mistakes are bound to sneak through. That's not an excuse, its just a reality. Me and my team endeavor to solve these problems as they are found and as time permits. Its not easy, but I appreciate the patience that you have concerning these issues.
Expect more on this later today as I add some quick issues to the FAQ.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
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...good things...
You are a good person and should feel good accordingly.
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Joyous cheers from Monks.
Downtrodden no more, they rise.
Now they bring the pain.
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Thanks Jason! I went looking for the monk change in the FAQ and was hit with a multiple sunder attack FAQ. Lets the sunder bots begin!
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Thank you Jason!
Thanks Jason! I went looking for the monk change in the FAQ and was hit with a multiple sunder attack FAQ. Lets the sunder bots begin!
On that, where can I find the pathfinder FAQ? I know the one on pfsrd but I have a hard time finding paizo's own (other than the paizo company/marketing faq)
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I can tell you from personal long time experience that a great quality product will always keep your customers begging for more faster than just pumping out product after product of less than stellar quantity.Of course there is a difference between anecdote and data. While this might be your belief, actual data suggests that this is not always true.
The history of marketing is littered with the ruins of companies whose products maintained the highest possible quality, but were overrun by lower priced lesser quality items.
In fact you might even call that the entire business model of the "big box" stores that have more or less taken over the entire retail market.
Have you opened up a cell phone to see how it's made lately? "High Quality" is not a term I would use to describe any of them. They are mostly held together with glue, tape and friction. They are designed to last 18 months at best. But they have completely overtaken the market because they provide people with what they want at a price they can afford.
I can say that my observation comes from working in marketing in marketing so it's not just a feeling. Also owning your own business helps. I have a custom built PC business on the side and I can tell you that I do better making better quality high end machines than I do low end but at a faster rate ones.
Now if you can put out a lot of high end products then you''re doing good but this isn't easy.
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Thanks Jason! I went looking for the monk change in the FAQ and was hit with a multiple sunder attack FAQ. Lets the sunder bots begin!On that, where can I find the pathfinder FAQ? I know the one on pfsrd but I have a hard time finding paizo's own (other than the paizo company/marketing faq)
At the top of the page, there is a link for Help/FAQ. Click on that. It brings up company/marketing FAQ, but on the right side of that page (close to the top) are links to the FAQs for the products.
Hope that helps.
MA
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SO that means IUS is one weapon again right?
Jason,
thanks so very much for the clarification I feel like a load has been lifted off my chest.
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Hey Jason, as long as you're cleaning house, are there plans to add these FAQ blog posts to the FAQ? The FAQ That Time Forgot & FAQs of Life
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I personally didn't see anything out of line in your posts, James. We're all just people, and sometimes people are at a point in which they just don't handle other people's snark well (or what is just perceived that way). Business or no, you can't defeat the human condition, and everyone needs a reminder to be aware of that and chilled sometimes.
That said, it is nice to both have the team unified on answers to unclear rules questions presented as well as to receive answers to those questions at all. Overall, I feel like you guys do a pretty good job of that. You can't tackle everything, though.
We'll scream about the important stuff if it gets missed though, so no worries. :p
[screaming]
JASON! YOU'RE AWESOME! THANKS! WOO-HOO!
[/screaming]
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Wow this thread is really a monster^^
So i can´t keep my mouth shut for once and have to add some comments too.
-As someone from europe and not so familiar with US behaviorism, there are some points that seem strange from time to time. Like what people consider to be rude or not, or to be excited or to be calm. This is an international forum in the meantime and some people are not using their native language and might also stem from different cultures, where customs are differnt. So, tone is a pov-related thing and one should most probably not think others are trying to derail or hurt them, but are trying to express something, perhaps in an emotional involved state or have just problems finding the right words. Like me from time to time too and my english is surely not that bad.
On the other hand some people´s posts sound pretty much like "kissing someone`s back" for me. I often wonder about that because where i come from you don´t express yourself like that. No reason derail that though. Just i would express myself different. The fact that i´m reading stuff and posting here though shows a lot of my involvement already.
I´m pretty curious to see what´s happening with the monk. I have to make a point though that there still is the rogue waiting for some love as well as stealth and easing life for medium BAB classes that don´t have access to spells and rely on DEX, stealth or mobility, not speaking of sneak attakcs or even ranged sneak attacks. And i´m not talking of turning them into little Terminators.
Clarifications from Paizo side are really important! Because on many tables, GM don´t want to be jerks either and say: "Not at my table! I´m God here! Submit or go!" (I hate that for myself and there are always some facts that one doesn´t know about rules or is not aware of). A clear official Paizo statement helps people there to get along well together, have an easier time and enjoy the product more, what will lead to more satisfaction and probably more bought new products. It´s pretty frustrating if some GM says i think thats stupid and i houserule it, like it or leave, because maybe i think different, but want to play. Official statements can be the rainbow bridge there.
As for qualitiy control, perhaps Paizo could some day think about hiring one or two guys who have a special position. Harmonizing all old and new stuff with the other stuff you produced. For the mechanics as for all things Golarion.
So, i hope i didnt step on anyones toes^^
Woot! Thank you Mr. Bulmahn!
Unless you are playing society, why does it matter? Just issue a table ruling and go with it.Because some people don't want to spend money on a system that they feel they have to change and houserule.Hate to say this but no one system is perfect for everyone, there will always be a need to have a collection of house rules.
Just because one person thinks a feat like vital strike should be able to be used with an option like spring attack does not mean everyone does, because of this one group may need to house rule a rule set.
This is the same for all the people that cry bloat every time a new book comes out. Not every option will be liked by all players, that does not mean it shouldn't be created. Again by choosing to use or not to use a class, selection of feats etc is in affect house ruling.
I have patience with this and happily house rule anything that will increase the amount of fun my players will have. So far it has not been too bad.
Sorry but fixing things with houserules is a fallacy and something I don't want in a game system.
I want the "option" of houserules which is a big difference.
I know that RPG's are not perfect but that doesn't mean the team shouldn't try to fix the errors, especially the ones that are blatantly obvious.
I say again, what may be broken or flawed to you may not be broken or flawed to me. A role-playing game system is going to have flaws, it is also going to have rules that conflict with different types of gamers. It will not have everything every player will want or need, so in effect every single rpg out there has a group of people that will house rule things to make it more in touch with their needs. A good deal of the OMGWTF they nerfed the monk/rogue/(insert any class that you feel is under-powered here) I don't actually see as underpowered, a lot of the x class is over-powered I don't agree is overpowered. I do house rule a few things though. Like brass knuckles they scale with unarmed damage for Monks in my games, it gave the monk player in my game a useful boost that did not kill game play.
GM arbitration has always been a part of D&D first addition 2nd edition, 3rd edition, Pathfinder, 5th edition. Pretty much every game I've played or owned has been house ruled to some degree.
Why? because if I waited for the perfect game in which nothing needed to be house ruled then I would pass away never getting to play.
I can't name a single GAME SYSTEM that fits your category of game, they all have some flaw or another, they ALL have a few rules I disagree with or house rule and for the most part Pathfinder is one of the games I own that I house rule the least.
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Wow, those latest FAQs are exactly the sort of thing I've been wanting to see for a while.
(apparently some of them are more like previews of Errata, e.g. the Sunder/Attack Action wording)
I did have some more questions, one related to the 'in place of an attack' wording we see in Trip and Sunder to indicate weapon usage (and substitutability for ANY attack if no other action is given), which seems like the last outstanding 'action issue' related to Combat Maneuvers AFAIK.
You can make a bull rush as a standard action or as part of a charge, in place of the melee attack.
Does the bolded part mean that when charging (but not otherwise), a Bullrush can be made in place of the melee attack granted by Charge, meaning it can be 'delivered' with a weapon (using appropriate attack bonuses and Reach stats of said weapon)? I'm not certain of intent there, it seems like it could go either way, a Charge Bullrush might be the 'true' Bullrush and thus can gain some additional benefits vs. a Bullrush without Charge movement... OR this could be a case of 'poor wording' like Sunder was. The same 'in place of melee attack' wording as Trip/Disarm/Sunder does shows up here, so it seems like it should work like them (using a weapon) even though Charge Bullrush wasn't specifically mentioned in the FAQ covering weapon usage for Maneuvers...???
About the Flurry clarification (2.0), I take it that this means that even if you take 2WF Feats like 2 Weapon Rend (needing to take Improved 2WF normally since Flurry doesn't grant that as pre-req), those won't work when Flurrying, since it's no longer really like 2wf (with an implied off-hand)?
And that 2wf's normal variation in attack modifiers depending if you use a Light Weapon as the off-hand/bonus attack(s) DON'T apply to Flurry either? I am kind of expecting the next print run's version of Flurry to not really be mentioning 2wf any more...
...I know there's a bunch of other pending FAQ/Errata issues, but the above ones seemed related to, or 'completing' the FAQs that have just been issued. Again, it's really a encouraging sign to see such long-standing issues finally addressed in the FAQ... THANKS.
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Thank you Mr Bulmahn, this is what got me interested in Paizo and Pathfinder in the first place, you have a crew that listens to the people that play your games and you guys often come in and answer said questions in person.
I am curious to see if the Errata'd Flurry rules will preclude using 2wf along with it...