Illustrations by Eric Belisle and Wayne Reynolds. Widescreen version here.

Release the Hordes!

December 31, 2010

It’s the last day of 2010, and once again the Paizo offices are closed, this time in honor of the new year. It’s been an amazing 2010 here at Paizo, and we managed to cap it with a great new hardcover book. Bestiary 2 has begun to arrive in stores and in hands around the world, making it easy to surprise your players with new monsters during your games this weekend. Bestiary 2 is full of some great adversaries for you to defeat, and the poster we recently released will help you keep track of which ones have met their demise at the hands of your players. In honor of both the new year and the release of Bestiary 2, here’s another great wallpaper from our art team!

Hyrum
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

The Kobold King Says Get Your Superstar Entry In!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Illustration by Warren Mahy

Tomorrow at 2pm PST the first round of RPG Superstar™ 2010 will end. The judges will go over the entries and pick the best 32, and the winners will move on to Round 2. Ultimately, we'll get down to the Top 4, who will all receive a contract to write for us. The ultimate winner will get to write a Pathfinder Module, while the remaining members of the Top 4 will get to write Pathfinder Society Scenarios.

Last week, Sean told you we'd give you a sneak peek of the Round 2 rules, and here they are: In no more than 450 words, design an archetype for one of the 11 core classes in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook or the 6 base classes in the Advanced Player's Guide. Note that we mean actual archetypes, not new domains, subdomains, alternate classes or subclasses (such as the antipaladin), sorcerer bloodlines, or wizard schools.

Don't know what an archetype is? Check out page 72 of the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide, or start reading here in the free online Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PRD).

There is no twist in Round 2! We'll reveal the full rules next week, but first things first—you can't compete unless you pass Round 1!

If you've ever wanted to be published in the RPG industry, this is your chance. Three hundred words isn't a lot, and if your dream is to write for Paizo, you owe it to yourself to get that idea in before time runs out. And really, what do you have to lose?

Besides, you don't want to make the Kobold King angrier than he already is...

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Power Word Resolution

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Like it or not, it's the time of the year when we reflect on the past and make plans for the future. Often this means resolutions. Sure, there are the typical resolutions. You promise yourself to avoid the temptations of gaming snacks (yeah, right!), exercise more (break out that Wii or Kinect), and quit your favorite nasty habit (yet again). But what about gaming resolutions? Have you thought about any of those yet? Well, to get you in the mindset, here are a few from around the office.

Game more! An impromptu poll around the office showed this was the most popular gaming resolution at Paizo. While we're surrounded by games every day, and some of us play in more games than our families might like, we're always hungry for more.

Mark Moreland wants to play more systems in the New Year, and he is not alone. That's always a goal here. If you couldn't tell, we all have a geekish curiosity about games in general, especially RPGs, and are always willing to play whatever game a brave and patient GM is willing to run.

As for running games, there are many of us who are looking to start new campaigns in 2011. Hyrum Savage wants to get his "The Dregs" campaign off the ground. It's something he brainstormed with Owen Stephens a couple of months ago. The premise is that everyone in the group was kicked out of their former adventuring group for being, well... not very good at adventuring. That's right, we're all going to playing the scrubs. Abilities are generated with 3d6s going straight down the line on the character sheet. I've already rolled up my stats: Str 11, Dex 7, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 6. While I don't expect my fighter—Muckle the Chucklehead—to live very long, I do expect the game will feature much telling of bad jokes and laughter, not necessarily in that order.

I'm trying to finagle my way into running a Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign. I know this will come into conflict with my wife's resolution of not have me run another campaign, but I've already started collecting miniatures for this game, so that's bad news for her.

Almost all of us are looking to be more productive in our geekery come 2011. Crystal Frasier is looking to release more Pathfinder and Mutants & Masterminds PDFs, and many of us want to get ahead on our multitude of projects, both at work and on the side. Everyone in the Tuesday minis-painting crew is hatching grand plans for next year's painting. I'm sure that group's ranks will swell at the start of 2011 when folks who are sorely behind on their minis painting (Bulmahn!) will make the effort to turn over a new leaf in the New Year.

Some of our resolutions are just downright odd. One of James Sutter's resolutions is to continue to spend James Jacobs's Sandpoint games yelling things like "BLOOD FOR THE BIRD GOD!" and "THE DARK LORD COMES!" every time his character, Kirin, sees a seagull. That and the well-meaning (but maybe futile) goal of not being the flakiest person in whatever game he's playing. Good luck with that, Sutter!

What about you? What gaming resolutions do you have for the New Year? Talk back at us on the Paizo messageboards and don't get upset if we end up stealing some of your resolutions as our own.

Stephen Radney-MacFarland
Pathfinder RPG Designer

Karzoug Defeated

Tuesdasy, December 28, 2010

After almost three years of gaming every Wednesday evening, the six players in my weekly Pathfinder game finally defeated the Runelord Karzoug and saved Varisia from almost certain devastation. Not only did my group defeat a pesty group of goblins, solve the Skinsaw murders, recapture Fort Rannick, discover who was behind the stone giant uprisings, find the Runeforge and then Xin-Shalast, and finally defeat Karzoug and his minions, but they also transitioned from D&D 3.5 to the Pathfinder Beta and eventually to the Pathfinder RPG. One of my gamers, Jamie Fristrom, loved to tell his young daughter Sofi the tales we spun each week, and she got so excited by the tales that she had her father help her build LEGO versions of all the characters.

Our adventuring group, from left to right, starting in the front row:

Sevashti, Varisian sorceress played by Vic Wertz. Sevashti was the niece of Madame Mvashti in Sandpoint, and she plied the Harrow cards as well as she plied her spells.

Elena Foxglove, of the Absalom branch of the Foxgloves, rogue extraordinaire.

Marbury Foxglove, foppish cleric of Cayden Cailean, also of the Absalom Foxgloves.

Elsid, ranger, who was raised by the Shoanti when his parents were killed by giants. Blood brother to...

Karnack, Shoanti barbarian, who ended the campaign with two wives and two children, with his eyes firmly set on a third.

Jamek, half-orc druid, with his faithful tiger companion Furball (companion not pictured).

Bonus points if you can figure out what Jamek is holding in his left hand.

Now that Varisia is safe, our group is running Kingmaker and trying to establish a kingdom in the wilds of the Stolen Lands. Stay tuned for stories of Tazbo (halfling paladin of Desna), Sifroth (human cleric of Nethys), Asti and Tao (half-elven summoner and eidolon), Sabriel (elven witch), Ergum (dwarven inquisitor of Desna), and Anton (human magus Aldori Swordlord).

Lisa Stevens
CEO

Illustration by Matt Dixon. Widescreen version here.

Happy Holidays!

December 24, 2010

None of us are in the office today, we're hither and yon, fording rivers and traveling through woods, celebrating the holiday weekend with family and friends. However, we hope you enjoy this week's wallpaper and that you have a wonderful holiday, eat as much great food as you can, and have the chance to decorate your home with the finest crystals available.

From all of us, to all of you, may you have a joyous crystalhue!

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Webmaster's Note: Due to popular demand, we are also providing a widescreen version of last Friday's wallpaper. Thanks, Crystal!

Illustration by Craig J Spearing

Out of this World!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Inner Sea World Guide, our revised, reorganized, and expanded look at the world of Golarion, is off to the printer! While it won't be back and ready to share in all its hardbound glory until sometime in March, we've done the heavy lifting and put together a beaut of a book we think is going to blow away both those visiting Golarion for the first time and all of you who practically live there. But for those who think they know what to expect out of our refreshed and 100% Pathfinder RPG infused World Guide, now seems like a great chance to give away five things about the The Inner Sea World Guide that you probably didn't know.

1. Shoanti. They're in the races rundown in Chapter 1: Races, right along with Chelaxians, Kellids, Tians, and all the rest.
2. The Darklands. They get their own four-page write-up now, right along with all the other countries and regions in Chapter 2: The Inner Sea.
3. Languages. A TON of them, listed, detailed, and divided into Modern Human Languages, Ancient Languages, and Other Languages, in Chapter 4: Life.
4. Guns. The Pathfinder RPG's first stab at rules for firearms shows up in Chapter 6: Adventuring, along with a ton of Golarion-specific gear.
5. Monsters. All of Chapter 7: Monsters is dedicated to investigating some of the deadliest denizens of Golarion, along with 9 complete write-ups for some of the Inner Sea's most notorious beasties.

If you knew all that already, well, then check out the new art for the Worldwound by Craig Spearing! I know you haven't seen that before!

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Illustration by Eva Widermann

Dancing with a Monster in the Pale Moonlight

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Early last year a promise was made, a promise to those GMs who go beyond the call of duty. The promise was a special scenario, exclusive to 4-star Game Masters and Venture-Captains. Hints were dropped by Mark Moreland back in October that something special was coming, and now I can tell you that the special 4-star GM scenario will be released in January and enjoyed worldwide soon after.

"The Midnight Mauler," a Tier 1–7 scenario written by the always amazing Crystal Frasier, sends members of the Pathfinder Society to the former crown jewel of Ustalav's royal courts, the decaying city of Ardis. Tasked by the Society to look into the fate of Absalom's former Master of Blades Vonran Vilk, what they find will lead to exploration, diplomacy, murder, haunted pasts, and tragic love. Can the PCs discover the identity of the Midnight Mauler before it kills again? Find out in 2011!

Hyrum
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

RPG Superstar 2011: Time Is Running Out!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Have you ever wanted to be a published professional game designer? We're two weeks into Round 1 of this year's RPG Superstar 2011 competition and have less than two weeks to go, so you still have a chance!

Judges Ryan Dancey, Mark Moreland, Neil Spicer, and myself have waded through hundreds of item submissions so far, with the expectations of hundreds more, and overall we're very impressed with the quality level of this year's wondrous items! Normally it takes us to the end of the Round 1 submission period to get enough cool wondrous items to build a strong Top 32, but we already have over 40 items in the "keeper" pile.

But don't take that as a sign that you shouldn't participate! We're going to continue adding good submissions to the pile, and only when the submission deadline has passed are we going to whittle those down to just the Top 32. So warm yourself by the fireplace, have some eggnog (or your favorite winter beverage), design a new wondrous item, and submit it using the above RPG Superstar link!

The deadline for submitting your wondrous item is December 31, 2010, at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. And be sure to check the sticky post in the RPG Superstar message board listing a lot of advice about designing a wondrous item for the competition, and be sure to check out some of the helpful links in this November blog post.

Do you want to sit around eating your "sad ice cream" and moping that you never submitted an item to RPG Superstar 2011? Or do you want to do victory laps around your gaming table, holding a Paizo-published module with your name on the cover? The only way you can win RPG Superstar is if you submit a wondrous item in Round 1!

(Next week, we'll give you a sneak peek at the Round 2 challenge!)

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, RPG Superstar Judge

Illustration by Dave Rapoza.

Wallpapers Are Back!

December 20, 2010

Last Friday, Managing Editor extraordinaire Wes Schneider spoke a little about the upcoming Carrion Crown Adventure Path. This amazing AP starts with Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: "The Haunting of Harrowstone" and a stellar cover by Dave Rapoza. In honor of the upcoming AP, and as a new feature on the Paizo blog, we're proud to offer the first of many new wallpapers. Just download the image below and in no time you'll be able to gaze at Feiya and Merisiel kicking the snot out of skeletons to your heart's content, all from the comfort of your office chair. This might be the first new wallpaper in a while, but it definitely isn't the last, so keep an eye on the blog for more in the coming weeks.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustration by Dave Rapoza

Carrion Crown Is Coming

Friday, December 17, 2010

In a flurry of crunched stat blocks and flung pages, the last two weeks have seen us send two volumes of Pathfinder Adventure Path off to the printer, Pathfinder Adventure Path #42: "Sanctum of the Serpent God" and, right on its heels, Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: "The Haunting of Harrowstone". While the former brings the Serpent Skull Adventure Path to its climactic close, the latter marks a total shift, taking us from the wild jungles and hidden ruins of the Mwangi Expanse to the foggy moors and haunted ruins of Ustalav, the seat of gothic horror in Golarion. Longtime readers know that every new campaign gives us the opportunity to not just explore new themes, lands, and menaces, but to also reinvent Pathfinder's look for a new series.

And Carrion Crown looks incredible. Beyond Dave Rapoza's fantastic cover and the work of numerous talented interior illustrators, art director Sarah Robinson and graphic designer Andrew Vallas have put together something really amazing that perfectly captures the brooding menace of this grim campaign.

I'm probably more than a little biased, though, as besides the fact that gothic horror is my preferred cup of tea, the campaign is taking place in Ustalav, one of my favorite corners of Golarion. While Carrion Crown continues our long tradition of sword-swinging, spell-slinging high adventure, its inspirations come more from the pens of Bram Stoker, Mary Shelly, M. R. James, Shirley Jackson, and H. P. Lovecraft than J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and Jack Vance. Think of it as a campaign set in Transylvania rather than Camelot or the Hyborian Age.

In the weeks before the Carrion Crown Adventure Path begins, check back here for more previews on what to expect from the campaign. Things kick off in the coming months with "The Haunting of Harrowstone," a ghost story that sets the tone for the series perfectly. That same volume also includes details on the sleepy town of Ravengro, new rules and examples that vastly expand the haunts presented in the GameMastery Guide, a creepy new series in the Pathfinder's Journal (by yours truly), an outline of the entire campaign, monthly details on the legends and superstitions of Ustalav, and something a little bit different added to the campaign's Bestiary to increase your toolbox of classic horrors. We've also built a ton of support for the campaign into our Pathfinder Campaign Setting and GameMastery lines, but I'll show off some of that awesome insanity a bit later.

So get ready to start wrapping up those Serpent Skull campaigns, as the Carrion Crown Adventure Path kicks off 2011 with terror.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

How About Some Pathfinder Society for the Holidays?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

It's a crazy busy week here at Paizo HQ, as we all strive to get a jump start on the holiday season. At the moment, we have the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide hardcover in the final approval stages before it heads to the printer, as well as the first wave of Ultimate Magic showing up on the editorial wall. Despite these major projects and the impending absences of many staff members as people head home for the holidays, we managed to slip a few little Pathfinder Society projects in between the cracks!

While we generally release Pathfinder Society scenarios the final Wednesday of the month, this month we've got two scenarios ready to go live weeks early, in anticipation of the hectic nature of that final week of the year. It's not yet clear when they'll go live for sale, but keep an eye out for Pathfinder Society Scenario 2–11: The Penumbral Accords by Owen K.C. Stephens (which sees the Pathfinder Society return to fan-favorite location Blakros Museum for yet another adventure) and Pathfinder Society Scenario 2–12: Below the Silver Tarn by Crystal Frasier (which pits the Pathfinders against the imprisoned spirit of a pit fiend in a rugged mining village) within the coming days.

If two new scenarios aren't enough to sate your hunger for Pathfinder Society over the holiday break, why not get in on a game of The Godsmouth Heresy, the first adventure in the Pathfinder Modules line sanctioned for Pathfinder Society credit. It's a longer adventure and doesn't conform to many of the standards of Pathfinder Society scenarios, and thus requires additional rules to supplement its play for PFS credit. We've put together a free PDF document that includes these additional rules and the module's Chronicle, which will be available on the module's product page by the end of the week.

Finally, we've made a few changes to the Heresy of Man series by Greg A. Vaughan and Kevin Wright based on customer feedback. These revised and clarified scenarios will be replacing the existing PDFs, so if you've purchased any of the three scenarios already, you'll get an email detailing what changes we've made and be able to download the updated version from your My Downloads page.

What are your holiday PFS plans? Drop by the Pathfinder Society messageboards and let us know.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Sound the Guns of Alkenstar

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

One of the great things about being an editor at Paizo is not just working with some of the best new folks in the gaming industry, but also having the opportunity to approach some of the best old-school folks, those writers and designers who influenced you as a young gamer, or whose imagination set a stage that now feels too large and organic to have ever been created from whole cloth.

Ed Greenwood is one of the latter. While still very much a public figure in the fantasy world, continuing to publish novels in a variety of worlds, Ed will forever be known as the man who created the Forgotten Realms. It was from the depths of his brain that the world got one of the longest-lived and most vibrant settings ever to come to gaming (not to mention the highly recognizable character of Elminster, who looks suspiciously like Ed himself). For decades, Ed's creations have inspired novels, video games, comic books—and, of course, RPG products.

And now that same creativity has been trained on Golarion. While we've worked with Ed in the past, particularly on the Kingmaker Adventure Path, I was particularly pleased to invite him on board to do some web fiction for us—in this case, an extra-long tale of murder and intrigue that starts today and is set to run for the next six weeks. Knowing Ed's particular talent for breathing life into a region, we were also happy to temporarily turn over the keys to one of our most frequently asked-about nations: the Grand Duchy of Alkenstar, that tenuous holding deep in the Mana Wastes where magic is shaky at best, and a relatively new invention called gunpowder attempts to usher in a whole new era in warfare, even as its inventors cling tightly to the secret of its manufacture.

Click here to follow Ed on his journey down into the strange and dangerous world of Alkenstar's Gunworks, trailing along in the shadows of those elite investigators who maintain the region's delicate balance...

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Ultimate Magus Feedback

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

As you can imagine, life around here is all about Ultimate Magic. So being the new "entity, " I get to write a bit in the blog about the project. I know; it's a rough life.

You rules junkies will already know all about this, but one of the great parts of the book is the new base class—the magus.

If you're anything like me, some days you wake up and ask yourself: How do I kill my enemies today, with steel or spell? Now I don't have to choose. The magus is a slayer dilettante extreme, using both to beat down the bad guys.

I know, I know, you've seen your share of multiclass spell-swords. You're not easily wooed, but the magus is worth checking out, if you haven't already. While it has a respectable spell list that is very wiz-bang and a little bufferish, the key to the class is the arcane pool. While some arcane magic comes from ancient bloodlines or the rigor of magical formulae, magi are among the creatures blessed with a well of arcane energy that they can learn to focus with flair of a swashbuckler, using a spell as dirk. This pool allows the magus to enchant weapons with a touch, mimic the abilities of other arcane classes' spells (like calling a familiar, or using metamagic feats), and even recreate entire spells. It's arcane power mixed with weapon mastery at its most fluid.

With just a little more time left to go, we are working on the finishing touches for the class, and one of the things we have to do is finish the archetypes. We have a good list right now, but we're interesting in hearing what you have to say. What is your dream archetype for the magus? What interesting flavor of magus character are you looking to play?

Talk at me here. And if you are playtesting the magus, and you haven't posted your feedback on this class yet, make sure you post to the Round 3 – Revised Magus: Playtest. You have until December 20th.

Stephen Radney-MacFarland
Pathfinder RPG Designer

Misfit Monsters Podcast

Monday, December 13, 2010

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to speak with the folks at Know Direction, a monthly podcast devoted entirely to all things Pathfinder, brought to you by the folks from 3.5 Private Sanctuary and the Tome Show. We talked at great length about Misfit Monsters Redeemed (which I had the privilege of developing), as well as the Pathfinder Chronicler fanfiction contest and Paizo's recent hires from the Pathfinder community. If you're curious about what exactly went into Misfit Monsters, head on over to the episode's webpage to listen. (The interview takes up approximately the last quarter of the show.)

For the record: That high, goofy quality to my voice is just my cell phone. I sound way manlier in person, kind of like a young James Earl Jones. Just ask Wes! (On second thought, don't ask Wes.)

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

What Does It All Mean?

Friday, December 10, 2010

Developer Rob McCreary needs to know.

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Webmaster's Note: Due to technical concerns, we've been forced to remove the tags #Double Rainbow, #It's So Beautiful, and #Sobbing Uncontrollably.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The past year has been a great one for Paizo and Pathfinder and we've been happy to help spread the Pathfinder message far and wide. Last week we had the opportunity to sit down with the fine folks from the Atomic Array podcast. It's their 50th episode and they wanted to make it a Pathfinder show, so we had James Jacobs take the time to talk to them about the upcoming Inner Sea World Guide hardcover (due in February). They also had Greg Vaughan on to talk about his just released module, The Witchwar Legacy. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

With the holiday season already here, we couldn't be happier to have been featured on Wired.com's Geek Dad Holiday Buying Guide. Every year the Geek Dad site puts together a list of the coolest products available that year. This year we had 5 products mentioned, a Paizo first!

Guide #2: Yetisburg

Guide #3: Falling

Guide #4: Pathfinder RPG Corebook and Advanced Player's Guide

  

Guide #5: Prince of Wolves

If you're looking for the perfect gift for your favorite gamer, you could do worse than checking out Geek Dad's recommendations.

Until next time True Believers!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Winter Witch Preview

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

As you may have already noticed if you're a regular follower of the free weekly Pathfinder Tales web fiction—and if you're not, you should be—this week's offering is a little bit different. Normally, each Wednesday brings you a serialized chapter in a brand-new Pathfinder Tales short story by a promising new author or established fan favorite.

This week, however, we're trying something new. We realized recently that while the web fiction stories have hopefully been rousing some enthusiasm for Pathfinder fiction as a whole, we've ironically shown off very little of our flagship novels. To that end, from now on, each time a new novel releases, we'll choose one of the book's chapters and reprint it here in its entirety as a free sample (usually with additional art—we didn't come up with the idea quite in time to order new art for this round). After that, we'll make the sample chapter available in perpetuity both here and as a free downloadable PDF from the product page.

First up in this new plan is the just-released Winter Witch, for which we've selected the prologue as a perfect example of the kind of barbaric fun this book has to offer. Back when Elaine was first pitching the story to us, this chapter was the first thing she wrote and sent to us as an example of where she was headed. Once you've read it for yourself, I think you'll understand why we immediately knew we had to publish this book.

Normal web fiction will return next week with Ed Greenwood's explorations into the corrupt and combustible politics of Alkenstar, but for now, head over to the web fiction and get a first glimpse at Winter Witch! And as always, don't be afraid to comment on this blog or head over to the Pathfinder Tales messageboards to tell us exactly what you think.

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

The Gorilla King Wants You to Game!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I've been a gamer for most of my life, starting with 1st Edition when I was a wee lad. A couple of years later I distinctly remember walking into a Save-On (now CVS) Drug to buy the original Red Box edition. After that I gamed throughout junior high and high school, (Go Gondos!), and even when I was in Argentina for a couple of years and didn't have the opportunity to game, I thought about gaming a lot, and when I got back and went to college, the gaming continued. Since then I've continued to game, including after I got married and even after the arrival of the various members of the Savage Horde. (Hi kids!) I'm currently playing in Sean K Reynolds's high-level drow game, playing Daeanu Azrinae, a 15th-level drow noble rogue (swashbuckler) who's working for the Matron in an attempt to keep the other PCs focused on who attacked us; I'm co-GMing Kingmaker with Lisa and her group at Chateau Stevens-Wertz; I'm gearing up to run a Gamma World game during lunch using the new version just released by WotC; I've just made a character for a 4e game being run by some new friends here in Redmond; and I'm in the planning stages for a Pathfinder game tentatively titled The Dregs, where the PCs will be made up of adventuring group outcasts created by rolling 3d6 for stats, straight down the row, old school style. In fact, just about everyone in the office plays in a ton of games somewhere, with Rob McCreary and James Jacobs the current leaders, with somewhere around 20 hours a week each spent gaming.

Why am I telling you all of this? It's because I'm a firm believer in the importance of actually playing games, and I'm hoping to have this The Gorilla King Wants You to Game! blog idea become a semi-regular feature were I talk about the various games going on here at Paizo. After a decade in the industry, it's become clear that too many game designers and industry folks don't play games anymore, of any kind. But that's not how we roll here at Paizo. We're all HUGE gaming geeks and we love all kinds of games, from boardgames to TCGs, to video and standard card games. There's even talk of setting up some Warhammer 40k battles once the craziness of the holiday season settles down. It's refreshing to work for a company where we not only make games, we play them too. (I also think that playing games helps you make awesome games, but that's for a blog on another day.)

So this holiday season try to get some gaming in, of any kind. Don't have a local group? Head down to your local store and play in a Pathfinder Society scenario or two. Don't have a local store nearby? Try Infrno, d20 Pro, Skype, or some other virtual tabletop. Technology today makes it easier than ever to find a way to game. If all else fails, I bet your Aunt Martha knows how to play Monopoly. Although I bet she might like Settlers of Catan better.

And while you think about ways to get your gaming grove on, check out this very cool piece from the upcoming Inner Sea World Guide hardcover, due for release in February.

Illustration by Mauricio Herrera

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Magus Revisited

Monday, December 6, 2010

Today begins the third round of the Ultimate Magic playtest, with another look at the new magus base class. This is a class that many of you have already been playing with since the first playtest round a few months ago. We took a great deal of your feedback and heavily revised a number of elements of this class. While it is not yet perfect, it is a huge step in the right direction.

The magus blends the powers of both a fighter and a wizard, and the revised version cleaves a little closer to that theme, focusing on the ability to make melee attacks and cast spells at the same time. The biggest change comes in the addition of an arcane pool that fuels many of the classes iconic abilities. You can find this revised class as a free PDF at this link. Once you have downloaded the class and updated it in your game, check out the messageboards, where you will find a new board dedicated to this round of the playtest.

This playtest cycle will last two weeks, until Monday, December 20th, and this version will be the last version released until the book itself comes out in April.

So update the magus in your game today. I look forward to seeing your comments and ideas concerning these changes. See you on the boards.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

RPG Superstar 2011 Begins Today!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Later today, Round 1 of this year's RPG Superstar 2011 competition begins! If you've ever wanted to be a professional game designer, this is an incredible opportunity—and all you have to do (for now) is think up a cool wondrous item and submit it!

Two big reminders:

1. If you want to participate in the competition, you have to get involved in Round 1!
2. The deadline for submitting your wondrous item is December 31, 2010, at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time!

There's a sticky post in the RPG Superstar messageboard listing a lot of advice about designing a wondrous item for the competition, and be sure to check out some of the helpful links in this November blog post.

Give it your best shot—the Top 4 finalists in the competition get published by Paizo!

Good luck, and have fun!

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, RPG Superstar Judge

Give the Gift of Gaming

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Last night marked the first night of Hanukkah, and today is the seventh day of the traditional holiday shopping season. Christmas carols have invaded my car radio on the drive to and from work, and the flood of wishlists from friends and family have my inboxes overflowing. But this past weekend, I saw some of the spirit of the season exhibited in our own community and wanted to remind everyone of the tools paizo.com offers to help you show your appreciation for your online friends!

This weekend, one of our generous Pathfinder Society members gave the gift of several scenarios to a fellow board member so that she could review them. Gifting products (either downloads or physical merchandise) was a new feature introduced to paizo.com around this time last year, but anyone can do it! When looking at your shopping cart, before proceeding to checkout, be sure to click the "show gift options during checkout" button to gain the ability to give the contents of the order as a gift to a fellow Paizo customer, either anonymously or with a message.

I know that I, for one, love wishlists, and used to fill my Amazon wishlist up throughout the year to send to family and friends around the holidays and my birthday so they could see alternatives to getting me socks, calling cards, and scratch-off lottery tickets. Paizo offers the same thing, and whether you use one to list products to buy yourself in the future or to list for others, wishlists are a great way to organize your desired products. When someone (either a relative you direct to the site or a random friend from the messageboards) orders something for you from your wishlist, they'll be able to send it directly to the address you specify and it will be removed from the list so you don't get duplicated items. Start your own wishlist by going to the "My Wishlists" tab at the top right of any page on the site. Who knows who out there on the boards wants to share the holiday spirit with you.

And because I'm feeling extra generous today, here's some new art from the forthcoming Pathfinder Player Companion: Halflings of Golarion by Mike Sass!

Illustration by Mike Sass

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustration by Daren Bader

It's a Bug Hunt

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

When we ordered art for Lost Cities of Golarion, I criticized the wisdom of ordering a cover that was just "Kyra fighting some bugs?"

Thanks to Daren Bader, I stand thoroughly corrected.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor