We're less than a month from the formal release of the Shattered Star set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted miniatures! Here in the Paizo offices, things are very, very quiet, as it seems just about everyone but me remembered to take the day off to have a continuous holiday between Christmas and New Year's Day. Well, my mistake is your reward, as all this silence in the office during the "Winter Break" has given me more than enough time to whip up a brand new Pathfinder Battles Preview Blog!

When we first discussed the idea of letting the fans vote on their favorite wondrous items, we didn't know what kind of participation we'd get. The response has significantly exceeded our expectations! These numbers, current as of the posting of this blog, show just how excited people are about this contest:

As I sit down to write my last retrospective blog, I find myself in a bit of a quandry. This is about stuff that happened this year, sometimes mere weeks ago. It's not ancient history—it's what I'm living through right now! That makes writing it up as a restrospective a little weird. Instead of providing the perspective of hindsight, I'm hoping that this blog will give you some insight into why we did what we did this year, why we're doing the things we've already announced for next year, and perhaps a little strategic thought about where Paizo will go in the future. Plans could change radically as the future becomes the present, but at least you can see some of what I'm thinking about right now.

The most horrible sight is watching those cultists throwing the corpse back up while a vampire vomits. This latter is particularly bad when you remember who the priestess seated me opposite. If I ever hear a bard say the words "bathed in blood" again, I swear I'll kick him.

One of my favorite things about the Paizo community is seeing the creativity of our fans. This year we are particularly lucky because two of our fans sent in holiday gifts that they had made themselves.

A few weeks ago I gave Pathfinder fan and friend of many of us here at Paizo, Paris Crenshaw, a tour of our office. Last Saturday, Commander Crenshaw returned the favor by giving a bunch of Paizonians a tour of his workplace, the USS Nimitz!