A New Way to Play the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Before we get into this week's blog, we have a couple of things we want to share with you!

First, we have a massive Pathfinder Adventure Card Game sale running through April 30. You can get complete PACG Adventure Paths—the Base Set, all 5 additional Adventure Decks, and the Character Add-On Deck—for the price of the Base Set alone. Choose the Skull & Shackles Collection, the Wrath of the Righteous Collection, and the Mummy's Mask Collection! You'll also find the first 19 Class Decks (up through Warpriest) on sale for 50% off through the end of the month!

Next, let's spill the beans on this year's Free RPG Day promo character, Nok-Nok:

Nok-Nok comes to us from Pathfinder: Kingmaker, the party-based, single-player, isometric computer RPG coming this summer from Owlcat Games! (Don't miss their new trailer here!)

Nok-Nok's PACG incarnation will initially be available for free at stores participating in Free RPG Day on June 16. We will then send him free to subscribers of the main Pathfinder Adventure Card Game line alongside the Ultimate Wilderness Add-On Deck in July. After that, he'll be available for sale on paizo.com and at our Gen Con booth in August.

Now, I'll cede the floor to Tyler "Cartmanbeck" Beck, our new Venture-Captain for Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild Online Play!

Tyler: It's hard to believe that the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game was released almost five years ago now. The game has evolved through four full base sets and dozens of character and add-on decks, and has been the focus of a successful organized play campaign.

Speaking of that organized play campaign, in the recent 5.0 release of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild Guide, the option was added for online play. I know a few people have been asking things like "What?" and "How?" and "Really?" Thus far, the answer to all of those questions has been "Let's take it slow." So to that end, the Card Guild has become a (relatively small) part of the OutPost play-by-post gaming convention, currently being held right here on the Paizo forums. We've currently got 11 tables running currently, with several box runners (BRs) each running one or more tables of PACG newbies and veterans alike. I'd like to introduce you to two BRs who will tell you a bit about how things work.

Ray (redeux on the forums): Most of my experiences so far have been as a player at one of the play-by-post tables. It's been a blast! Five of us has been working through Season of the Runelords, and over the course of several months we've progressed all the way to tier 5. I'm fortunate enough to also have a local group that gets together for organized play, but what I like about the online play-by-post is that it can be done from anywhere, and it takes much less time out of my day spread throughout a week rather than all in one afternoon. In that regard, it has been super convenient to get a little dose of PACG on a regular basis without straining my schedule. The format also makes it easy to back to look back and check what happened, like that time Kyra unleashed a fire attack with her sword, making sure her fire-loving goblin teammate Reta was nowhere in sight so she wouldn't get any heated ideas.

With the OutPost event, we have been working hard to expose more people to the play-by-post format for PACG. I'm currently running two tables for the event, and I have players from the US, UK, Asia, and Australia, which shows that the game can be played globally. Some of my players are fairly experienced with the ACG, other players have a lot of experience with the RPG but little ACG, and a few started with little to no experience with either. We all work together to help everyone learn and overcome the scenarios!

Let's tackle how it all works. As Tyler mentioned, one person runs the box. This is currently is being handled through a database that contains the card information for each scenario. The database is able to build locations, shuffle them, move cards around, and manage just about anything you need to do during a normal ACG scenario. The scenario is then posted on the campaign page, looking something like this:

The scenario post has all of the "During this Adventure" and "During this Scenario" text in it, as well as turn info, blessing deck info, and location/location deck info. All of the cards in the location decks are hidden through spoilers. This allows players to explore multiple times in their turn without waiting for a new card to be presented to them.

Players use a Deck Handler spreadsheet on Google Docs that handles drawing cards from your deck, discarding, recharging, burying, shuffling, etc. (Tyler provides some instruction on how to use it here. The Deck Handler includes only card names, so you still need to have a physical deck to reference the card text. It provides an easy way to let everyone know what cards you have in hand, and what blessings or other cards you are willing to let people use on their turns. When you finish your turn, it gives you templated text to paste into the forum to communicate your decisions.

Mark (MorkXII on the forums): During last year's online runthrough of the Cosmic Captive PFS Special, I was able to join one of two ACG tables run during the event and had an amazing time, and I couldn't wait to do it again. When I missed the chance to play in a Season of the Goblins game> that Tyler started in November, I asked him if I could run my own table. He agreed, so I recruited four players (and a fifth joined later) to play through Season of the Runelords. That campaign is still going: the group has finished 23 scenarios in roughly 100 days, and we're on track to finish the entire Adventure Path by the end of OutPost on April 30.

Playing the ACG by forum post is obviously not the same as playing in-person: the pace is much slower, and sometimes it's tricky to collaborate on group efforts, such as who's handling temporary closes and multi-check encounters, and who's supplying all the blessings. Some rules and scenarios are a little tougher to implement for forum play and take an extra bit of effort or creative thinking (I'm looking at you, Adventure #2-3C!). But overall the game still works well in this format, and the slower pace also means you spend more time getting to know the group than you would around a table. Early in our Season of the Runelords game, we moved most of our game discussion to a Google Hangouts chat to allow for more real-time discussion. This made it easier to plan out those group efforts, but also enabled more off-topic and personal discussion, and it's been wonderful getting to know some other Pathfinder fans from around the world.

The slower pace of play also means that everyone has more time to take their turns, and many players put in effort to go beyond just listing what cards they encounter and play. The roleplaying and storytelling are my favourite part of playing a game online because it's so entertaining to read! When Reta fell into a giant pit and dragged all her goblin friends along with her, it made for a series of very fun posts. And a different Reta seemed very pleased with herself when she clubbed the villain over the head with a Lamia henchman. (At least she didn't offer anyone any of her... questionable pickles that time).

And playing online, you still get the same exciting moments that you always get from Pathfinder. Who doesn't love clearing out an entire location deck in a single turn? Or blasting away the villain on a last-ditch effort with just one blessing left in the deck?

Tyler: We have a vibrant community of players on the Paizo play-by-post forums, and I'm excited that we've been able to add Pathfinder Adventure Card Game play to that community. As OutPost winds down at month end, watch for new developments on the forums and more ways to play PACG in play-by-post form yourselves!

Vic Wertz
Chief Technology Officer

Meet Reepazo, Your New Buggy Buddy

Thursday, May 11, 2017

You probably have guessed that we like goblin promo characters. To date, we've issued three of these rotters: Ranzak, Ekkie, and Tup. If goblins could read, they'd tell you to collect the set!

Today, we're just giddy about introducing you to your new best friend. Her name's Reepazo, and she's the new Free RPG Day promo character for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Mummy's Mask Adventure Path. You'll be able to pick up a copy at participating hobby retailers, or you can preorder her on paizo.com. She comes with a character card, a role card, a token card, and most importantly, LOTS OF BUGS. (Don't worry—postal regulations prevent us from shipping most of the poisonous ones.)

Best earring.

Reepazo is a Goblin Bugzapper. No, really. She combines two elements that surprisingly rarely coincide in the Pathfinder universe: she can turn herself into a bug, and she can turn you into a bug. Basically, everybody's a bug. It's Free BUG Day!

No, actually, it's Free RPG Day, on Saturday, June 17. Reepazo will be there. Will you?

(If you can't be there, don't worry: Reepazo will be for sale right here on paizo.com starting July 1.)

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Goblins Again?!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Before I jump into this week's preview of the upcoming Goblins Burn! deck, I would like to mention that several Paizo products have been nominated for ENnie awards, including the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Card Game Base Set. I encourage you to visit the ENnies 2016 Election page to cast your votes.

On to Goblins Burn! Three new goblin characters appear in this deck. Mogmurch earned his title of arsonist through his love of bombs and other thrown substances, burning a wide swath through his enemies. Poog, warcaster of the Licktoad tribe, goes everywhere with his trusty toad, Flybreath, and his prior pet, Dogfinder, calling on the blessings of Zarongel to see him through tough spots. And Zibini tells fortunes for a living, looking into her trusty crystal ball for what is to come. Be careful not to rouse her to anger, for her piercing gaze gives a headache to even the toughest goblins.

The characters in Goblins Burn! largely rely on spells to seize the day. One such spell, Burning Snot, really captures the essence of goblin spellcasting: take a deep breath and let it fly! Another awesome spell, Oozikinesis, allows the caster to cover anything in slime. Boon or bane, the goo gets them all!

Of course, spells aren't going to solve every problem. For those times the characters just cannot get out of the way, there are pot helms and horn armor to save their hides. These prime examples of goblin ingenuity and dumpster diving are made from only the finest junk—the helmet even doubles as a stewpot!

There are also plenty of new items to capture the goblin spirit. For those in need of a bit of extra assistance, the Skill Slug is a tasty treat that really helps out. And as with Goblins Fight!, each goblin has a frog ally.

Illustration by Javier Charro

Grab a copy of Goblins Burn! to bring an exciting twist to any Adventure Path or Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild event!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

Goblins! Free to a Good Home! Or a Bad Home! Please Take Them Away!

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Illustration by Andrew Hou

Everyone knows that the surest way to improve the quality of any tabletop game is to invite the wholesome goodness* of goblins into your home, and your heart**. For this year's Free RPG Day, Paizo did just that, by delivering the whimsical prequel to our We Be Goblins series of adventures: We B4 Goblins. This lighthearted coming-of-age tale takes your players back in time to adolescence of our iconic goblin heroes***, where they can help these young adventurers reach adulthood by claiming their toads and joining in on their very first raid in a scenario ideal for introducing new players!

And now, We B4 Goblins is available to YOU free of charge on your paizo.com account!

As happens alarmingly often with these adorable*** little tykes, we have more goblins than can reasonably fit in the space provided! So for those of you who plan to run a table with five or six players, we have two brand new goblin characters for your PCs to test drive: the warchanter-in-training Bisbee, and the ever-lovable Smuz, who so obviously a goblin that you shouldn't even consider the possibility that he might not be. Because, I mean, come on.

These two little champions are ready to join Reta, Mogmurch, Chuffy, and Poog as they brave the world for the very first time! Visit your friendly local game store today, and print out these handy companions to join your own game today!

Download Bisbee and Smuz!—193kb zip/PDF

Crystal Frasier
Developer

*For certain, nonbinding values of wholesomeness and goodness.
**Paizo Inc. assumes no responsibility for goblins applied to the heart.
***Heroism subject to change. Odds of winning 1 in 1s0,000.
***Adorableness not guaranteed. Consult your owner's manual.

Goblins Cut and Goblins Fight!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Ever since we published Ranzak as the first promo character, goblin fever has surrounded the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. And now that we are almost ready to release two full goblin decks into the wild, we can take a moment to peel back the (literal) veil on Goblins Fight!

The cast of characters include two faces familiar to fans of the We Be Goblins Pathfinder Modules: Reta, the female goblin commando with her stolen wedding veil; and Chuffy, the male goblin knifer covered in exploding pustules. Rounding out the triumvirate of fighting goblins is Ak, who comes to us from the fifth issue of Dynamite's Pathfinder Goblins! comic. Ak is a male goblin runt with the most wretched expression ever worn by a goblin—this stems from his being average at fighting and incompetent with magic, compared to his compatriots. Fortunately, he is blessed by the goblin gods and can bring some well-timed assistance to the table.

And what would the Licktoad goblins be without their tribe's namesake? Each goblin has a pet frog ally that helps cause mayhem in the most civilized setting. Chuffy carries Fat Frog, who is springy and sprongy like our favorite sneaky goblin. Spotol accompanies Reta, strengthening her Constitution. (Reta likes Spotol so much that she even gave him his own white veil!) Ak's favorite toad, Redbutt, confers Strength on his owner. Everything is easier to face with your pet at your side.

Illustration by Marko Horvatin

Goblins Fight! expands the choice of blessings. Many of the new blessings feature cool stained-glass art, including Blessing of the Boss, Blessing of Lady Lastbreath, and Blessing of Bark Breaker. Of course, what would a goblin deck be without a blessing just for them? Blessing of the Gobs is all you would expect: helpful to goblins; painful and chaotic for others.

The deck includes a good smattering of weapons, spells, armors, and items to help the goblins on their path to world domination. Well, maybe not enough to take over the world, or even the county, but enough to put them at the top of the goblin heap. And in case they get hungry on the way, we offer up some pickles!

So come try out the new Goblins Fight! Deck, releasing at Gen Con 2016 and at game stores on August 4. Inject some serious mayhem into the Season of the Runelords with Chuffy, Reta, and Ak in Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild play or send them to the Shackles in Skull & Shackles, to the Worldwound in Wrath of the Righteous, or home to Sandpoint in Rise of the Runelords. And in October, you can try out their tomb-raiding skills in Mummy's Mask!

Check back next week when we preview the Goblins Burn! deck!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator

Pathfinder and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Tup

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Free RPG Day 2016 has come and gone, and if you went to your friendly local game store or happened to stop by the ACG area at Origins, you got up close and personal with the Prince of Darkness! The Bale-flame of Naughtiness! The Dragon-Sired Master of Really Massive Bonfires! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you TUP THE TERRIBLE!

Master of stick-men! Rider of sheep!

As you can see, our friend Tup is a pyromaniac. He's got a sorcerer-style spell blast (but he's a goblin, so it's expensive). And if he uses a spell to trigger that blast, he gets a random spell from the box in return. In play, this results in a somewhat... erratic spellcaster, and with a hand size of 6, Tup tends to take it on the chin.

He's also surprisingly personable, for a goblin. When he was exiled from Thistletop, Tup wandered the countryside, stealing random clothes off farmhouse clotheslines to ward off the cold. He now tells people that he's a really short leper, and for some reason people buy it. Probably because he's so helpful. He really wants to help you. For me, Tup will forever be played by Mike Selinker, eagerly asking every time I attempt a check if he can help. I said yes once, and he grinned wider than I've ever seen him grin. Then he wiped out my hand.

But I did succeed at the check, so... all's well?

Tup has a role card showcasing two of his many ceremonial titles, as well as a cohort: his trusty riding sheep Deliverance. And by "trusty" I mean "startled by just about anything and prone to tactical withdrawal."

Make sure to read the role flavor text.

Tup the Bale-flame is all about the burning. Want help? He'll burn you. If he needs help, he'll burn himself. You got fire stuff? When you're done with it, he can still use it. Tup's a conservationist arsonist. There are even options for players who want to take Tup in a friendlier direction: he can take feats to reduce Fire damage dealt to himself and to others. The design team might look down its nose at you a little bit—after all, goblins are meant to live gloriously short lives and meet gloriously brutal ends—but we're a full-service organization.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game subscribers will be getting Tup for free (along with a fistful of other promo cards!) with the first Mummy's Mask shipment in October. Not an ACG subscriber, or just can't wait? He'll also be available for purchase starting July 1 right here at paizo.com, and we'll be bringing him to Gen Con as well.

I hope you've enjoyed this taste of Tup, because July might as well be named Goblin Month! Next week, you'll get a preview of one of the two July Adventure Card Game Class Deck releases: the Goblins Fight! Deck.

Until next time, Pathfinders!

Tanis O'Connor
Adventure Card Game Designer

Goblins Invade Free RPG Day!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Goblins have returned for this momentous occasion—Free RPG Day is here! Free RPG Day is a worldwide gaming event, aimed to bring new and exclusive adventures to local game stores to inspire new comers and long-time gamers alike. This year Paizo has contributed two new offerings for the event: Pathfinder Module: We B4 Goblins! by Crystal Fraiser and Tup the Terrible for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.

If you're running We B4 Goblins! at your local store, or if you've just picked it up and want to try it out, you can download the pregenerated goblin characters for your players right now. This module is also sanctioned for play in the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild. If you're planning on playing at your local game store, there's a Free RPG Day exlusive boon for your Pathfinder Society character—you can learn more about that in last Monday's blog.

Illustrations by Kiki Moch Rizky

Illustration by Dmitry Burmak

Ready for a goblin marathon? We B4 Goblins is the fourth Pathfinder Module to feature our band of miscreant goblin adventurers: Chuffy Lickwound, Mogmurch, Poog of Zarongel, and Reta Bigbad. You can follow their other harrowing encounters with horses, dogs, and other large monsters in We Be Goblins!, We Be Goblins Too!, and We Be Goblins Free!

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Goblin fans can pick up Tup the Terrible at game stores today, too! Tup is a Rise of the Runelords ACG character with just as much of an affinity for fire as his RPG companions. You can add Tup into your game right away, too! We've put together his character sheet below that you can drop into your own game below. And if you've got a hankering for more goblins in your game, check out Ranzak and Ekkie, or preorder a Goblins Burn! or Goblins Fight! Class Deck (due out this summer).

Download Tup's Character Sheet (108kb zip/PDF)

Won't get a chance to head out to Free RPG Day? No worries! Starting on July 1, we'll have We B4 Goblins! available as a free PDF and a $5 print product while supplies last. Tup will not available for purchase until the first day of Gen Con 2016, however, but you'll be able to preorder his promo pack soon!

Get out, game, and enjoy Free RPG Day!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

Watch Fantasy Authors Play Pathfinder!

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Last year at Gen Con, I had the opportunity to run a bunch of award-winning fantasy authors through We Be Goblins! in front of a live audience. Now we've teamed up with our friends at Tor to put the whole game online, unabridged and uncensored, so you can watch Elizabeth Bear (Karen Memory), Scott Lynch (The Lies of Locke Lamora), Wesley Chu (Time Salvager), Max Gladstone (Three Parts Dead), and Django Wexler (The Thousand Names) run around as goblins, riding pigs and setting things on fire for the glory of the Licktoad Tribe! Plus, watch me frantically try to accommodate plot twist cards thrown in by notoriously sadistic Editor-in-Chief F. Wesley Schneider. It's a spider-riding, horse-chopping good time for all involved!

James L. Sutter
Creative Director

A Little Comic Relief

Tuesday, February 3, 2016

Hiya! We skipped the ACG blog last week, so we've got a lot of stuff to share! Here are three big pieces of big news:

The Runelords Rise Again

We have been working hard on the soon-to-launch Season of the Runelords (we're previewing it this weekend at Winter Fantasy in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and it's not too late to get in on that!) and we're trying something a little different this time.

The Season of the Runelords storyline begins after the conclusion of the Rise of the Runelords. In that Adventure Path, the heroes defeat a Big Bad Guy (is it possible to spoil a story we published in 2007?). We're picking up the story of the world after that defeat, with your fresh party of adventurers operating near the familiar town of Sandpoint.

We're big comics fans, and we love the fact that several of Dynamite's Pathfinder Comics storylines take place in and around Sandpoint. Season of the Runelords Adventure 1: Dark Waters Rising and Adventure 2: City of Secrets looks to some of those comics to provide their story backbone and scenario art. Adventurers will experience the depravity of the Mosswood goblin tribe and the intrigues of the city of Magnimar, as filtered through the collective imagination of the Pathfinder Adventure Card game team. I'm not sure whether that should frighten or excite you.

Adventure 1, which will debut at Winter Fantasy, is based on the first 12 issues of the comics, Dark Waters Rising and Of Tooth and Claw. It all starts on the road to Sandpoint, where mutated goblins attack the hapless party. When they arrive in town, there's talk of a flying beast that eats the local livestock. And the town council is in turmoil. How all these things weave together into an intricate 6-scenario plot is for you to discover.

Adventure 2 is based on City of Secrets and Origins. This arc brings us to Magnimar, where the clerics of Sarenrae and nobles of the city are being targeted by mysterious forces. When you find yourself embroiled in the gang turf wars of Underbridge, you'll wonder if the big city is big enough even for you.

In adventure 3, we'll head off to Hollow Mountain, about which we can share little at the moment—the Hollow Mountain comic book arc is ongoing. The first 2 issues are out, and the next two issues can be preordered. Get them if you want a preview of the excitement to come!

Did We Mention Goblins?

Speaking of gobbos, we announced that our Class Deck subscription has been hijacked by goblins! The first Goblin Class Deck (yeah, we know "goblin" isn't a class, but they don't seem to care) is entitled Goblins Fight!, features the rotters Reta Bigbad, Chuffy Lickwound, and Ak the Survivor, whom you might have met in the Pathfinder: Goblins! comics. They're nasty and fun, and also nasty.

So where's Mogmurch and Poog of Zarongel? They're in the next Class Deck after that, entitled Goblins Burn!, naturally. It's a lot more spell-focused than Goblins Fight! is. We'll have that up on the site for preorder next month.

And who's in Goblins Burn! with Mogmurch and Poog? Well, that's a secret we'll keep to ourselves for a few weeks yet. But trust us, it'll be worth the wait.

But If You Just Can't Wait, We've Got You Covered

Maybe you don't want to wait for us to give you more goblin characters. Maybe you want to make them yourselves. So here's some big news: DriveThruCards has expanded their online Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Card Creator so you can now make your own character, role, and token cards!

This means that all major card types can now be made with the community card creator. Check out the Card Creator to make your own cards and see what other members of the PACG community have cooked up.

That's a lot for one blog! So check out Season of the Runelords, the Card Creator, and (when it warms up a bit) the Goblin Class Decks. Have fun storming the Goblin Fortress!

Tanis O'Connor and Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Designers

Fantastic Promos and Where to Find Them!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Illustration by Andrew Hou

The Paizo crew has begun to roll out for Gen Con 2015. Our trucks are loaded up with tons of Pathfinder products, including some fabulous promo items! Here's the run down of Paizo Promos, that will be available be at the show:

At the Paizo Booth

• Daily Button
  Each day we will have a unique button to hand out. These buttons are free, with no purchase necessary. Make sure you get yours early in the day as supplies are limited and they often go fast! Button designs are a surprise until the day they are released and will be featured during the Gen Con live blogging each morning.
  
  
• Pathfinder Battles Red Dracolisk
  This Pathfinder Battles prepainted Gen Con 2015 special figure is free with a $50+ purchase (before sales tax, does not include subscription pick up items, while supplies last).
  
  
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Promo Card
  The "Temptation of Big Die" promo card is free, with no purchase necessary, while supplies last.
  
  
• Discounted Occult Adventures PDF
  Purchase the Occult Adventures hardcover at the Paizo Gen Con booth and get the PDF for just $5.00! The $5.00 PDF cannot be gifted and purchaser must provide an email address. PDF will be available through purchasers paizo.com "My Downloads" page.

Pathfinder Society

• Unique Button
  The Pathfinder Society button will be available at the PFS HQ in the Sagamore Ballroom. (Free, no purchase necessary, while supplies last).
  
  
• Pathfinder Battles Mystery Miniatures
  Pathfinder Battles prepainted "mystery figures" for ticketed participants in the Thursday-night and Friday-night Pathfinder Society "Special" events.

Scotty's Brewhouse

• Pathfinder Minimate
  Limited-edition glow-in-the-dark Ghost Goblin Minimate figurine, available for sale ($5.00) exclusively at Scotty's Brewhouse. And while you're there, why not grab a pint of "Goblin Ghost Ale" or snack on something from the Pathfinder themed menu specially provided for Gen Con weekend?

In addition to our promos, we have a couple community and social media activities for attendees to join in on:

• Annual Costume Contest
  The Gen Con Costume Contest is back! If you plan on attending Gen Con in Pathfinder cosplay, stop by the booth and get your picture taken to enter.
  
  
• #GoblinHorde
  Have you gotten your hands on all of our goblin promos at the show? Share your finds using this hashtag!
  
  
• Pathfinder Iconic Standees
  Strike a pose! Tag your pictures with #paizoatgencon to get featured on Paizo's official social media outlets (Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter).

Excited to see you there!

Sara Marie
Customer Service Manager

Tanis's Best Character Ever: Goblins!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Yeah, that's right, I picked two characters. Like goblins, I am greedy and cheaty. Deal with it, humans! Below you'll find an overheard conversation between Ekkie the cutpurse and Ranzak the raider.

Ranzak sits on a rock, nibbling shreds of meat off what appears to be a thighbone. He occasionally feeds a morsel to the Magic Bird sitting on his shoulder.

Ranzak (humming): ...come on pirates, do your duty. Ranzak's ready for some booty!

Ranzak snickers. Ekkie enters, skipping and swinging a dogslicer in a wide circle as she moves. Ekkie's brother's skull, Plarg, is wedged under one of her arms.

Ekkie: Hiya, Ranzak! Whatchu' eatin'?

Ranzak: Bits of tiny flapping demon. Longshanks say "imp." Imp imp imp. Good with sauce.

Ekkie: Everything better with sauce!

Ranzak: What we do today, Ekkie?

Ekkie: Ekkie think we talk about how great goblins is.

Ranzak: Good way to start most days.

Plarg: ...

Ekkie: Good point, Plarg. Whole world should know why goblins is best adventurer party.

Ranzak: Especially when goblins find big dumb longshanks to stand near! 'Specially with big longshanks to stand behind!

Ekkie: Yes, is best for longshanks—I calls 'em shields of meat or "pre-dinners"—to think they is in charge and is being nice to goblins, protecting goblins from mean old monsters. Best longshanks for this is called pal-a-dims. Meat shield stand in front while goblins sneak around back, taking all the stuff.

Ranzak: When adventurer party is ALL goblins, sometimes things can be slow, because all goblins want stuff, but not all goblins want to stand in front. Better with paladims.

Ekkie: Ekkie see how Ranzak steals stuff real good then sneaks ahead to steal more stuff when he find good stuff. This good plan, but Ranzak gots to stay sorta close to the paladims in case a bigbad comes.

Ranzak (looking around frantically, prepared to hide): Reta? Where?!

Ekkie (sighing and bopping Ranzak on the head): She not here, dummy. Ekkie means big, nasty ol' monster.

Magic Bird: SQUAWK!

Ekkie: Exactly.

Ranzak: Ranzak see how Ekkie fight rats and cats and snakes real good by herself and scares bigbads away so they goes and fights at other places. That smart!

Ekkie: So together, Ekkie and Ranzak make bigbads run away to other places, and take all the stuff. Ekkie's pretty sure that's what it say in longshanks book under picture of "adventurer."

Ranzak: Eww, books!

Ekkie: Sometimes books are mixed in with stuff to steal. Longshanks trade books for meat; Ekkie learn this when she in Big-Time Thief Guild. That also where she learn to speak with semicolons.

Plarg: ...

Ekkie: Good point, Plarg.

Magic Bird: SQUAWK!

Ranzak (laughing): Truth, Magic Bird.

Ekkie: Hmm, with Ekkie and Ranzak, you get four adventurers for price of two!

Ranzak: That good bargain!

Ekkie and Ranzak stare out into space for a beat.

Ekkie: World should also know that because of stuff-stealing and bigbad-scaring, goblins search places really fast. Fastest of all adventurers!

Ranzak: And goblins maybe not good at clearing out all places, like temples or magic places, but good at most.

Ekkie: And when time comes to fight biggest bad, Ekkie turns to devoted paladim friend and cheers. While going through pockets for loose stuff.

Ranzak: So, in end, is clear that goblins is best characters ever. Accept no substitutes.

Ekkie: What's a character?

Plarg: ...

Magic Bird: SQUAWK!

Want to being these goblins into your Adventure Card Game? You can pick up Ranzak right now. Ekkie will be available for purchase from paizo.com on the first day of Gen Con, July 30. You can also get their playmats by UltraPro for the full goblin ACG experience!

Tanis O'Connor
Adventure Card Game Designer

Download Standard | Download Widescreen | Download Mobile
Illustrations by Dave Allsop and Jaime Martinez.

It's a Goblin Free-For-All!

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Free RPG Day is here! Today game stores across the world are participating in this event, bringing new and exclusive adventures to their area, and inspiring new comers and long-time gamers to new roleplaying games. This year we're contributing two new products to Free RPG Day. The first is Pathfinder Module: We Be Goblins Free!, a new adventure following the antics of select characters from the Birdcruncher goblin tribe. For Adventure Card Game fans, we've got a real tricksy treat in store: Ekkie the Goblin Cutpurse.

Illustration by Dave Allsop

If you're running We Be Goblins Free! at your local store, or if you've just picked it up and want to try it out, you can download the pregenerated goblin characters for your players right now. This module is also sanctioned for play in the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild.

Want to marathon some goblin fun? Why not add We Be Goblins! and We Be Goblins Too! to your gaming arsenal? These adventures all follow the same four goblin adventurers: Chuffy Lickwound, Mogmurch, Poog of Zarongel, and Reta Bigbad.

In addition to tables of the new Pathfinder Module, participating stores will also be running demos of the current Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Base Set, Wrath of the Righteous, or the new introductory scenario Demonic Politics. You can also download Ekkie as a free PDF and drop her into your game right now!

Download Ekkie's Character Sheet (116kb zip/PDF)

If you'd like to jump in right away as Ekkie, we've worked up some suggested deck lists below. You'll want to pick the 12-card deck if you're playing the short demo, and the 15-card deck if you're playing a full-length scenario. Either way, should should have the Mythic Champion mythic path card.

Deck Lists

12-Card Deck		15-Card Deck
Card Type	Card Name	Card Type	Card Name
Weapon	Heavy Pick	Weapon	Heavy Pick
Weapon	Javelin	Weapon	Javelin
Armor	Hide Armor	Weapon	Mace
Item	Blood Periapt	Armor	Hide Armor
Item	Caltrop Bead	Item	Blood Periapt
Item	Nectar of the Gods	Item	Caltrop Bead
Ally	Bat	Item	Nectar of the Gods
Ally	Frog	Item	Trapsmith Gloves
Ally	Vulture	Ally	Bat
Blessing	Blessing of Ascension	Ally	Frog
Blessing	Blessing of Ascension	Ally	Vulture
Blessing	Blessing of Ascension	Blessing	Blessing of Ascension
		Blessing	Blessing of Ascension
		Blessing	Blessing of Ascension
		Blessing	Blessing of Ascension

If you want to start a Wrath of the Righteous campaign and play Ekkie, build her deck by using her Cards List above after the other characters have built their starting decks. Remember that you may only use cards that have the Basic trait.

Won't get a chance to head out to Free RPG Day? No worries! Starting on July 1, we'll have We Be Goblins Free! available as a free PDF and a $5 print product while supplies last. While Ekkie will not abvailable for sale until the first day of Gen Con, you can pick up her character mat starting July 1 from paizo.com! Pathfinder Adventure Card Game subscribers will receive Ekkie in their July shipments.

Get out, game, and enjoy Free RPG Day!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

We Be Pathfinders!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Illustration by Dave Allsop

This Saturday, June 20th, is Free RPG Day! Participating hobby game retail locations and industry publishers will be giving away free adventures and other materials so that gamers can try new games and play exclusive content together. This year Paizo has contributed two special products. A few months ago, Tanis O'Connor introduced us to the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game's special treat: the adventurous goblin Ekkie. Of course, many of you familiar with Pathfinder Society have likely met the little warrior while dealing with a certain goblin guild. I have no doubt she'll get up to even crazier antics now that she's a playable character.

We're also debuting We Be Goblins Free!, a new adventure featuring the Licktoad tribe's champions Reta, Mogmurch, Chuffy, and Poog. As in past years, the new Free RPG Day module is also sanctioned for the organized play campaign, and we're releasing the sanctioning document today so that GMs have a chance to read over it and print out Chronicle sheets. If you're planning to play the adventure first, I encourage you not to peek and spoil the surprise, so I'll answer some of your anticipated questions now.

How many Prestige Points does We Be Goblins Free grant?
This module does have a secondary success condition of sorts, allowing someone to gain up to 2 Prestige Points for playing the adventure. Anyone playing this on Free RPG Day this Saturday automatically qualifies for the second point.

Is it bad if my goblin pregenerated character dies?
As was the case when I sanctioned We Be Goblins Too, it's still important that a deceased goblin's horribly squishy death be resolved, but doing so happens at a heavily subsidized rate: 5 Prestige Points completely clears up even the worst fate that you might inflict on your pregenerated character during the module.

Does the Chronicle sheet have lots of cool boons?
The Chronicle sheet has lots of cool boons, including one for Squealy Nord and owlbear enthusiasts.

Where can I download the sanctioning document?
On the product page or the right-hand side of the Additional Resources page.

John Compton
Developer

The Tax Man Cometh!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Hold fast adventurers! You may have earned your bounties chasing down bandits, or by slaying ferocious predators threatening farmers, but those roads you travel upon and the cities you spend your gold in require upkeep. Open up your money purses and remember—this is for the good of us all! It's time for a bit of lighthearted tax season fun!

Taxfest

On the 15th day of the month of Gozran, Abadaran priests accompany local tax collectors to ensure a fair and respectful collection of monies owed, as well as to ensure no foul play occurs on either side. The church does not believe in free handouts (indeed, going so far as to charge for healing services and scrolls), but on Taxfest, Abadarans put on a lavish feast to as many people as they can fit in their halls. In addition to the free meal, Taxfest provides a means for common folk to discuss directly with civic leaders on how best to spend the newly collected tax funds.

But while the celebrations take place, other members of the church are hard at work in the vaults and accounting offices of cities and nations everywhere.

Accountomancers

For some members of the Abadaran clergy, the truth held in Abadar's holy book, The Order of Numbers is more important than the rest of faith's trappings. Less often clerics, oracles, or paladins, in truth these "accountomancers" (as they refer to themselves) are folk who have mastered the intricacies of mathematics and numbers to further Abadar's purpose in Golarion. Residing in the banks and temples of Abadar, accountomancers ensure that proper procedures from The Order of Numbers are adhered to, and carry a ring of golden keys to indicate their rank. The most senior members of the order are addressed as Watcher, and bear a single large, unadorned gold key. Arbiter inevitables are the preferred familiar of accountomancers, as their flight allows the arbiter to assist accountomancers in the high shelves and expansive vaults, or any creature capable of climbing (like monkeys) or flying (like ravens).

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Upon the completion of their personal copies of The Order of Numbers, accountomancers usually keep to the church of Abadar, administering to the collection and allocation of city taxes, assisting inquisitors who seek out tax evaders, or offering assistance on business practices and employment to gain Abadar's favor. The best accountomancers are sought out by archbankers and merchant guildmasters to review the financial health of city and guild, and these different divisions work closely together to support accuracy, completeness, compliance, justness, and order in their cities.

Taxfest is the holiest day for accountomancers, for while the cities of Golarion are deep in celebration, they busily record all of the past year's data in The Eternal Ledger. A holy book for accountomancers, the Ledger is held in a new city each year, with accountomancers making the journey to the host city to take part in the Ritual of Transference. The rite copies the entries in The Eternal Ledger to a copy held in the First Vault, and the city's accountomancers enjoy the prestige—and magical bonuses to many of their skills—granted by the holy tome.

Known Powers

Over the centuries of their existence, accountomancers have developed unique skills that have use far outside their dusty basements and dim offices.

Massari Method

School divination; Level cleric/oracle 1, inquisitor 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (miniature abacus)
Range 30 ft.
Target see text
Duration 1 round/level

Developed by a pair of accountomancers dedicated to rooting out corrupt city officials in 4027 A.R., this spell was repurposed into combat applications when they had to chase down the offenders. When casting this spell, designate an ally within 30 feet. When you and your ally flank the same target, you gain an additional +2 insight bonus on melee attacks.

New Major Hex

In Triplicate (Su): As a full-round action, a witch can demand a target within 60 feet repeat its previous actions, or suffer the consequence. If the target fails a Will save, it must repeat the same actions that it did in the round previous, in the same order, against the same target (if applicable), for three rounds. If the target cannot repeat its actions, it suffers the effects of the misfortune hex for that round, but if it does manage to repeat three rounds, it gains the effect of the fortune hex for one round. If repeating an action would be suicidal or obviously harmful, the target may make a new Will save. You must have the fortune or misfortune hex in order to take this hex. This is an enchantment (compulsion) effect, and if a creature succeeds on their saving throw against this effect, it is immune for 24 hours. Cackle cannot extend the duration of this hex.

Fallen Accountomancers

Oaths taken by these Abadaran elite are not taken lightly, and oathbreakers viewed with a curious mix of derision, horror, and grudging admiration. Fraudulent and dishonest acts performed by an accountomancer while performing their duties are punished harshly, and immediately. Depending upon the crimes committed, stories tell of inevitables hunting down fallen members and permanently branding them, cutting them off from the source of their powers, or being cursed with poverty and ill fortune. Such axiomatic brands, often in the shape of a blackened and broken key of Abadar, are permanent, and even Katapesh merchants hesitate before dealing with one of these marked individuals.

Noted Abadarans

Archbanker Darb Tuttle (Guide to Korvosa), Black Olan (Pathfinder Adventure Path #8: "Seven Days to the Grave"), Howell Backus Talbot III (NPC Guide, Wayfinder #3), Jostlin Ferqyr (Guide to Absalom), Poss (Pathfinder Adventure Path #8: "Seven Days to the Grave").

Read more about the Master of the First Vault in Inner Sea Gods, and let us know what else you want to read about in the world of Golarion!

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Special thanks to our Counter of Magic Beans, Ashley Kaprielian!

Introducing: Ekkie!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Hello, Pathfinders!

This year's Free RPG Day is Saturday, June 20, and the card game team has whipped up something special for those of you who like free stuff. Introducing... Ekkie!

Ekkie, like her compatriot Ranzak, likes to eat, stab, and steal, not necessarily in that order. She comes with a character card, a token card, and a role card, and she can be played with any Adventure Card Game Base Set.

Ekkie will initially be available at stores participating in Free RPG Day on June 20. We'll be sending her free to Pathfinder Adventure Card Game subscribers with their July shipment, and she'll also be available for sale at Paizo's Gen Con booth and at paizo.com starting July 30.

Before you ask: We're still testing her to see if she'll be usable in Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild organized play. If she's allowed to join the party, you'll probably be playing her with the Fighter Class Deck or Ranger Class Deck. But first, meet Ekkie in her own words:

∗ ∗ ∗

Hello, Longshanks Hearing Ekkie's Words through Glowing Box! I first meet friendly longshanks in town named Magnimar. Ekkie was just trying to make ends meet, put food in mouth and roof on head, so Ekkie joined fearsome goblin guild named Nightsoil Marauders. Is good, scary name: Nightsoil Marauders!

Anyway, Ekkie was sneaking through a longshank house filled with shinies and foods, taking things for the guild and for Ekkie, when the mangiest, barkiest, poodliest of dogmeats sneaks up on me and starts barking. "Bark!" it says. "Bark bark bark! Bark bark bark!" Always alerting the sleeping longshanks. Poodles are the WORST. And poodles don't even taste good, mostly because the curly hairs get stuck between goblin teeth.

THE WORST!

Stupid poodle will not shut up, so longshanks come and chase me up and down and all around the town. That part is fun, but eventually they catch up to me and want all this talking and doing and not stealing and not eating. Nightsoil Marauders are—what is longshanks words again?—"unfortunate casualties," so Ekkie is alone again. But longshanks? Longshanks are "noble adventurers," which means sneaking and stabbing and eating, but with getting paid afterward. Seems like a good gig to Ekkie. So now, Ekkie is an adventurer!

Tanis O'Connor
Adventure Card Game Designer

The Goblin: An Unexpected Journey

Monday, November 3, 2014

In a condo in Florida there lived a goblin. Not a nasty, dirty, wet condo, filled with strange substances in corners and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy condo with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a gamer condo, and that means Cheetos.

This all came to an end when the human owner of the condo was summoned to the lands of the Northwest, there to take up employ in the kingdom of Paizo. And so began the goblin's 3,150 mile journey to the home of the Creators, a Quest fraught with peril and many a Subway sandwich.

Along the way there were inns for rest with a lovely stopover at Victoria Cottage in the Elven territory of Kansas where the human's sister provided hospitality and pumpkins.

The goblin took point with his keen eyesight and hearing, ever on the lookout for something interesting, like Bear Lake in Idaho/Utah, where there were no bears.

At other times, he just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery, something Ray, the human's travelling companion and driver, should NOT have been doing.

At last, they reached the point where they could travel no farther, the mighty Pacific Ocean.

His travels were almost over, but one last obstacle stood in his way.

Success!

Well, maybe more than one obstacle...

Until at last he made his way to the Cave of Finance and found a place where he could watch humans push dead trees about. And a big stapler.

A precious stapler. The one stapler to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, in the Land of Paizo where the Raptors lie.

So ends his adventure, as well as my own journey to become a new employee here at Paizo. I've always been an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction, but only discovered tabletop RPGs around four years ago. Since then I've fully immersed myself in roleplaying and am currently a 3-star GM in Pathfinder Society. I also enjoy board games, especially cooperative ones, crosswords, and puns. Which all means I think I'll like it here.

Scott Keim
Data Entry Clerk

Monster Mash

Thursday, October 16, 2014

If you have not heard yet, the newest addition to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is hitting subscribers and game stores now. The Monster Codex is a mighty tome, filled with some of the most iconic foes in the game. Each of the 20 monster types appearing in this book has an expanded ecology, new rules, and 7 pages of new stat blocks across a range of CRs. Each one gives you plenty of ideas and awesome crunch to make these monsters the feature of an entire adventure or even a portion of your campaign, while saving you the time it takes to come up with the mountain of stats needed to make it happen.

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Jason Rainville

Monster Codex has 12 pages of exciting new content for each of the following monster types: boggards, bugbears, drow, duergar, fire giants, frost giants, ghouls, gnolls, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, ogres, orcs, ratfolk, sahuagin, serpentfolk, troglodytes, trolls, and vampires!

Rather than show off a few of these stat blocks, I thought I might take this opportunity to highlight a part of the book you might miss on your first flip-through. The appendix for Monster Codex contains a new tool to help you make easily customized monsters of any type. These rules allow you to apply basic class features to a monster without having to recalculate all of its abilities and statistics. We call them simple class templates and we think they are going to see a lot of use at your game table!

Want proof? Check out the barbarian simple class template!

Barbarian Creature (CR +2 or +3)

A barbarian creature can fly into a rage, granting it numerous bonuses in combat. It also gains additional hit points and a few valuable defensive abilities. A barbarian creature’s CR increases by 3 if the creature has 10 or more HD. A barbarian creature must be chaotic.

Quick Rules: +2 on all rolls based on Str; can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + its HD + its Con modifier (this functions as greater rage if the creature has 10 or more HD); gains DR 1/- and uncanny dodge (DR 3/- and improved uncanny dodge if the creature has 10 or more HD).

Rebuild Rules: Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge (improved uncanny dodge if the creature has 10 or more HD; DR 1/- (3/- if the creature has 10 or more HD); Special Attacks rage (can be used a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + its HD + its Con modifier, functions as the greater rage class feature if the creature has 10 or more HD); Ability Scores +4 Strength.

So, if you really need a barbarian hill giant, now you can create one in about 5 minutes, instead of the 30 minutes it would take to add a bunch of class levels to the base stat block. Monster Codex includes simple class templates for all 11 of the base classes, from barbarian to wizard, allowing you to customize all of your monsters with ease.

Well, that about wraps up this preview. If you are a subscriber, you should find that Monster Codex is on its way to you now. For the rest, stop by your local game store to pick up a copy of this handy book.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Friday Publisher Preview: Out Sick

Friday, September 19, 2014

Illustration by Andrew Hou

Erik has been hit with some mighty fierce crud and is currently engaging in battle with the invading germs at home. In the meantime, you can check out the winners of this year's Gen Con Costume Contest in today's earlier blog. Be sure to stop by next Friday for more awesome Pathfinder Battles miniature previews!

Chris Lambertz
Digital Products Assistant

PaizoCon 2014 Announcement Round-Up

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Missed the annual PaizoCon Preview Banquet? Enjoyed too many cocktails while there to remember what we showed off? This post is your one-stop shop for all the important announcements you may have missed!

After a brief greeting from company founder Lisa Stevens and an introduction of the staff by Publisher and Master of Ceremonies Erik Mona, Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn took over the podium to share some juicy details on upcoming books in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game line.

Advanced Class Guide

Jason kicked things off with an overview of August's Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide, the RPG line's major release of 2014. The book contains 10 new base classes, each of which combines two existing classes to create a new hybrid that better serves a given character concept. The brawler, for example, mixes mechanical elements of the monk and fighter to create a scrappy martial fighter without all of the mystical elements or armor focus of its parent classes.

Jason's tour took us through eight spreads of the book, revealing details on the shaman class as well as arcanist archetypes like the elemental master, occultist, school savant, spell specialist, unlettered arcanist, and white mage. He also gave a preview of the book's numerous skald rage powers, a look at its feats, spells, and magic items, and finally a glimpse at the character class design guidelines included in the volume.

Monster Codex

He then continued with a tour of the Pathfinder RPG Monster Codex, a treasury of stat blocks, cultural details, and special rules for 20 of the Pathfinder RPG's most commonly encountered creatures. After a look at the fire giant chapter, Jason showed off several illustrations of the various creatures represented within, which are reproduced below.

Illustrations by Jason Rainville

Check out more monsters from the Monster Codex!

Illustrations by Roberto Pitturru

Illustrations by Alexandre Chaudret

Illustrations by Ben Wootten

Illustrations by Maichol Quinto

Illustrations by Jason Engle

Pathfinder Unchained

The big announcement for the RPG line came when Jason pulled back the curtain on Pathfinder Unchained, the spring 2015 hardcover that will take Pathfinder into exciting new directions. This tome of optional rules revisits the barbarian, monk, rogue, and summoner classes with entirely revised versions designed to improve their overall play at the table. The book also will include an optional (and much simpler) action economy for the game, as well as new ways of designing monsters and treasure on the fly that we think players are going to love. We'll have much more to say about this book going forward, but for now it's probably enough to say that we've been conducting some mad experiments here at Paizo Central, and we can't wait to share them with you!

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Following Jason's presentation, we were joined by Pathfinder Adventure Card Game designers Mike Selinker and Tanis O'Connor, who revealed more details about August's Skull & Shackles Base Set and the upcoming Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild Organized Play program. The highlight of the card game presentation was Mike's announcement that the NEXT Adventure Card Game base set will be Wrath of the Righteous, scheduled for a February 2015 release! We'll have full product pages for the whole path up shortly!

Sketch by Wayne Reynolds

Giantslayer Adventure Path

Following the Adventure Card Game presentation, Erik announced the name of the next Pathfinder Adventure Path: GIANTSLAYER! More details about the campaign will be announced at the Adventure Path team's Sunday seminar, and will hit the Paizo Blog in short order.

Licensed Products

Following the AP talk, I focused on a raft of upcoming Pathfinder licensed products, most so new that they do not even have product pages on paizo.com yet! They are:

• A metal Sihedron Medallion from our partners at King of the Castle/Campaign Coins.
• A look at the upcoming Rise of the Runelords soundsets from Syrinscape.
• Pathfinder Comics hardcovers for Volume 2: Tooth and Claw and the popular Pathfinder: Goblins! limited series.
• Pathfinder Iconic Heroes Minimates figurines.

Pathfinder Battles: The Lost Coast

The next section of the Preview Banquet focused on the Pathfinder Battles line of prepainted plastic figures we produce in cooperation with WizKids. In addition to showing off several of the already-revealed figures, Erik finally revealed the set's titanic case incentive figure—the mighty Shemhazian Demon.

Pathfinder Online

Following the annual presentation of our Volunteer of the Year Award (co-awarded to PaizoCon UK founders and masterminds Dave Harrison and Rob Silk), we invited Pathfinder Online executive Ryan Dancey to close out the ceremony with a look at the Alpha version of Pathfinder Online, which went live just last week. It's still very much a work in progress, but there has been a TON of progress in recent months, and it's been really cool to see people playing the game and having fun with it. Ryan and his team have been running demos all weekend, and it's become a great part of the PaizoCon experience to see the game grow from year to year.

Here's a look at the video.

And that's it for new announcements this year! We'll have a lot more to say about these products in the weeks and months to come. If you're at PaizoCon, it's been fantastic getting a chance to chat with and game with you. If you couldn't make it this year, here's hoping you get a chance to attend in the future!

Keep rolling 20s, everyone!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Goblins Ahoy!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Obviously we're not the only ones with pirate goblins on the brain! While we've been putting the final touches on Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull & Shackles, Pathfinder reader Jason A. Legg put together this awesome papercraft diorama. Check out the amazing detail on the little kobolds defenders, the goblin invaders, the bamboo field, and the shaman's fearsome dragon magic!

Thanks a ton Jason! The whole raiding party has found a proud home in Boss Lady Lisa's office.

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

Pathfinder: Goblins! #4: Mean and Green

Saturday, November 9, 2013

My adolescent comic book dollar was not well spent.

Growing up, we were terminally out of milk, meaning the circuit for any errand inevitably included a trip to the local convenience store. As much as my brother and I enjoyed the opportunities any store presented for squirming and line standing, my mother usually preferred to let her hellions run flailing to the nearby comic shop.

The baleful Comic Keeper had little patience for tweens in his store, and certainly not among the titles kept in mushy white-brown boxes on and under the store's mismatched folding tables. Rather, I was directed to a metal rack crammed in a back corner, one that displayed titles united by the Archie Comics logo: Archie & Friends, Jughead's Time Police, Koosh Kins, The Wild West Cowboys of Moo Mesa, and the like. I can't say I was terribly discerning at the time, but I certainly didn't scoff at what direction I received—the two dollar price stickers also went a long way to pique my interest (I was trying to make ends meet with a five dollar a week allowance after all). So I got in the habit of picking up the best from this collection, something I was familiar with both from television and mangled piles of action figures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures.

To clarify, these were not the Mirage Studios, 1980s, Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Rather, these were the the gritless and never grim, pizza loving, cowabunga crowing interpretations of Saturday morning cartoons, Nintendo classics, and KB Toys. I checked for the new monthly issue probably twice a week, and poured tens of dollars into that store over months and months, not resting until my 10 volume back issue collection was complete.

Eventually, though, the system failed. One day, unsuspectingly, I went into the comic shop planning to leave with something garishly colored, but instead got into the back of my Mom's van with pages of black and white. I don't remember why I picked up one of the Eastman and Laird volumes—maybe I just had fresh allowance burning a hole in my pocket, maybe I was more curious than I remember. Regardless, in this volume Raphael was dead (I think it was him, I was thoroughly confused on how to tell the turtles apart in black and white), being tormented through some horrible spire-filled afterlife by a foul-mouthed bone faced vulture.

This was not my comic. It also certainly wasn't from the cartoon. I was even fairly sure it wasn't the plot of the recently released TMNT movie. This couldn't have been from anywhere else, so what the devil was this?

That answer was something of a revelation. It was it's own thing—something that would never fly in any other format. These comics could tell stories other mediums couldn't. They could be visually bold and expressive beyond novels, but also mature and experimental in ways film and animation (that I was aware of at the time) couldn't be. Comics were different, and had unique tricks and potential. It wasn't a realization I expected for my $1.99, but it's stuck with me in the few years since 1990.

When the opportunity came around for Erik, Sutter, and I to contribute stories to Pathfinder: Goblins, I knew I wanted to tell a story I couldn't with a Pathfinder adventure or in a piece of fiction. It had to be a goblin story, but it couldn't just be goblins being quirky and fail-ready, it had to use the medium. That's where my story's main character got the personality trait that would land him in so much trouble, because Xoff—that's my gob—is a total liar.

In Pathfinder: Goblins! #4, along with Jeremy Holt's awesome tale "The Gobbling Goblin," you'll find "Horsechopper," a dual account of Xoff's encounter with the Lost Coast's most infamous inhabitant, none other than the Sandpoint Devil. I say "dual account" because Xoff's narration recounts his grand battle, while Jainai Jeffries's brilliant illustrations depict a somewhat less flattering reality. It's a creepy encounter about a goblin, a dashing hat, and—of course—one trusty horsechopper. I won't give away the ending, but things get messy and along the way a frog almost gets gobbled. Writing this, now I really wish I'd made that frog a turtle.

Pathfinder: Goblins! #4 is on sale now, a creepy pair of tales to share along with your other Autumn ghost stories, and one that backs up your Pathfinder game with an appendix including stats for our "hero" Xoff and details on a distinctly goblin haunted house. Order it here, or hunt it down at your local comic shop now!

Just remember, it's the one with the hairless green ruffians who aren't ninjas.

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!

Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 02:40 PM Pacific

Sara Marie
Customer Service Dire Carebear Manager

Goblins Burn, Goblins Fight, Goblins Wish You Happy Holiday Night!

Monday, December 24, 2012

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.

Becky Barnes (Corvidimus) made this little dude with a variety of natural woods (no stains) to get the different colors (red=padouk, yellow=yellowheart, green=poplar, teeth=aspen, white=maple, pink=lyptas).

From Becky: "We have such a fun time with Pathfinder, we wanted to give a token of appreciation." You may recognize Becky's name from her amazing Goblin pumpkin, which we featured on the blog a couple months ago.

Seeing this package with such an amazing piece of art was a very nice little surprise, and I certainly didn't expect to get another package a few weeks later from another Pathfinder fan filled with more goblin ornaments! This time adorable little crocheted goblins from Amanda Mickelson.

Plastic skull ring gives this cuddly little goblin some fancy bling.	Along with the goblins, Amanda also sent a fuzzy wuzzy Old One.	And she even made something especially for Developer Adam Daigle!

Amanda has graciously provided a PDF of the pattern as well as a little bit of backstory she wrote to complement the goblin ornaments.

Download the PDF - (1.3 MB zip/PDF)

Of course, I wasn't surprised to see such fantastic work from Amanda. Back in July at PaizoCon 2012, she showed up with an adorable little goblin for Wayne Reynolds, which, upon seeing, Paizo Art Director Sarah Robinson knew she needed to acquire more of for a special little someone.

Sarah's niece shows off her new friends.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Reynolds and his goblin Toofpaste.

The Pathfinder community (that's all you fine folks reading this!) continues to astonish me. You all are some of the nicest, most wonderful customers, fans and friends a company could ever hope for. In recognition of your awesomeness, we'd like to give you something special for the holidays and that's why right now, on the Store Blog you can find a special Holiday Discount code to use with one paizo.com order along with some great goblin holiday art from Tyler Walpole.

Happy Holidays!

Sara Marie
Customer Carebear

Gobloween is Coming!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Goblins trick and goblins treat,
Time to smell some goblin feet!

Ghosts and ghouls, nice and spooky,
Goblins like to dress up kooky!

Give us sweets, don't be a jerk,
If not have candy, pickles work!

Bar the windows, lock doors tight,
'Cause Gobloween is hallowed night!

It's drawing near to Halloween and that means it's pumpkin carving time! If you're looking for some inspiration, check out this pumpkin carved by Becky "Corvidimus" Barnes last year:

Didn't max out your ranks in pumpkin carving? That's okay! Here are some simpler designs to inspire you:

These pumpkins were carved using images from the community use packages (Runes and Faction Symbols).

Have your own Pathfinder Pumpkin? Or maybe a Golarion-inspired costume? Email pictures of pumpkins or costumes to cosplay@paizo.com. Include with your picture how you wish to be credited (username or real name) and description of your costume or pumpkin. We'll post pictures up on the Paizo Facebook page and do a follow up blog to show off the best ones.

Happy carving!

Sara Marie
Customer Carebear

The Year of the Risen Rune Launches at Gen Con

Monday, July 30, 2012

Illustrations by Miguel Harkness and Jason Rainville

As players and GMs familiar with the Pathfinder Society Organized Play program surely know after four full seasons of adventure, each year a new season of the campaign launches at Gen Con, and this year is no different. Over the last few seasons, we’ve worked to increase the amount of continuity within the campaign such that each season has a clear theme and plot arc, and so that participants in the campaign will be able to see the effects of their actions as the campaign evolves over several years. I think Season 4, which we’re calling the Year of the Risen Rune, will be the best season yet!

The Year of the Risen Rune will take the focus of the campaign to Varisia, land of ancient ruins, powerful magic, and political forces competing for control of the largely untamed frontier region. We’ll visit such classic Pathfinder locations as Korvosa, Riddleport, Magnimar, and Kaer Maga, as well as places no published adventure has yet trod, including the dwarf city of Janderhoff, the orc outcast city of Urglin, and unplumbed Thassilonian ruins that have never been mentioned before. The Pathfinder Society will truly be exploring uncharted territory.

The season will also see the return of several ongoing villains, including the rogue Shadow Lodge dissidents who threatened the entire society 2 years ago (and who were first encountered in Kaer Maga), the Aspis Consortium, and several yet-to-be-revealed blasts from the campaign’s past. There will also be new foes making life tough for Pathfinders, including the cult of Lissala—forgotten goddess of runes, fate, and obedience—whose gift of rune magic to Thassilon’s founder paved the way for the evil runelords to wrest control of the ancient empire. The Year of the Risen Rune will culminate in a confrontation with the campaign’s most dangerous and powerful threat yet, though who or what that force of malevolence is will have to wait for a reveal later in the season.

We’ll be debuting the season with four brand-new scenarios at Gen Con, written by fan-favorite authors Matt Goodall, Mike Shel, Larry Wilhelm, and Dennis Baker. Whether it’s Rise of the Goblin Guild, which pits the Pathfinders against the Pathfinder campaign setting’s most beloved little psychopaths, or In Wrath’s Shadow, in which the PCs will explore an ancient ruin at the foot of Hollow Mountain, seat of power of the Runelord of Wrath, there’ll be no shortage of potential adventure for players at Gen Con.

And for over 500 participants in the annual Pathfinder Society Special on Friday night, the 75-table event Race for the Runecarved Key, Tim Hitchcock and Kyle Baird will pit teams against one another to qualify for an exclusive second part of the event on Saturday night.

Check out a few pieces of art from these forthcoming scenarios to hold you over for another two and a half weeks, and we’ll see you with your dice and minis in hand on Thursday, August 16 at Gen Con Indy!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Sing, Sing, Sing!

Friday, June 15, 2012

The August release date of the new Rise of the Runelords Pathfinder Battles miniature set approaches, and you can tell by the rising sound of chittering and singing on the horizon. "Goblins chew and goblins bite! Goblins cut and goblins fight!" the chanting goes, growing nearer and nearer. Your dog begins to bark with anxiety, casting watery eyes toward the back door. Out in the yard, you hear your horse whine in fear.

The goblins are coming. Their song haunts the darkening skies.

With the first adventure in the now-classic Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, our own James Jacobs created a brilliantly demented twist on goblins, and their haunting (and yet somehow hilarious) song about killing dogs and horses, bonking baby heads, and stewing flesh solidified goblins as the Pathfinder monster in the minds of roleplayers everywhere. That song put us on the map.

In the goblin raid encounter that starts the campaign, all the goblins attacking Sandpoint sing James's little ditty, but the one leading the song is the Goblin Warchanter, a female bard with a whip and a nasty attitude.

Here she is in all her plastic glory, screaming at the top of her little lungs. This common miniature is a great addition to the several other goblins in the set, and helps to set the scene in style with the campaign's very first series of encounters. We've even drawn out the location of Sandpoint's Swallowtail Festival on the new GameMastery Flip-Mat: Town Square, which has several perches and crannies for the Goblin Warchanter to seek refuge once the player characters interrupt her song.

But here's hoping they don't do it too rapidly. The last line of the song goes "We be goblins, you be food!", and it's always important to remind the player characters of their proper place in the world.

Don't you agree?

Erik Mona
Publisher

Field Report: Book Expo America

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

This week, Paizo publisher Erik Mona (that's me in the picture!) and Sales Director Pierce Watters are in New York City for Book Expo America, an annual conference of booksellers, librarians, publishers, and book distributors that's one of the largest conventions in North America. We've been attending Book Expo for about five years, and in that time it's been amazing to see how the profile of our favorite roleplaying game has changed.

Back when we launched, we had to really explain Pathfinder to just about everyone who approached our booth. To make matters a bit more complex, we're in the "Diamond Alley" of Diamond Book Distributors, our book trade distribution partner, who mostly distributes comics and graphic novels. With a booth next to the likes of IDW, Image, and Oni Press, most folks coming to our booth wanted to know about our comics and trade paperbacks.

These days, things have changed considerably. Not only is Pathfinder well known to book distributors and librarians as a highly successful and very popular tabletop roleplaying game, but many of them come up to tell us about their Pathfinder RPG campaigns! Oh, what a difference a half-decade makes, as they say (they do say that, right?).

This year we've got some absolutely wonderful treats for Pathfinder fans at the show, including early looks at actual printed samples of HUGE summer releases like the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition, the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary Box, the Player Character Folio, every single page of the first issue of the upcoming Pathfinder comic book from Dynamite, and more!

If you're one of the lucky folks attending the show this year, please swing by the booth to say hi and check out the cool new products! (In the likely event that you are NOT at Book Expo America, don't despair, we'll have all this stuff at PaizoCon and Gen Con as well (where you will even get to buy most of it—there are no book sales at BEA, which is first and foremost an industry trade show).

But even though most of you can't make it to Book Expo, I wanted to drop by the Paizo Blog today with some sweet pictures of some of the most exciting products we're showing off at this year's show.

And I don't mean books, or comics, or even little plastic figurines.

I'm talking about GOBLIN PLUSH, BABY!

Say hello to my little friends:

That's right, later this year these cute little monsters will be making their way to the marketplace! They stand 10 inches tall, and while soft and adorable, they're rigid enough to stand on your game shelves or on guard over your bed, protecting your dreams from evil dogs and horses. We've got three goblins in production right now. The ones in the background are prototypes, and will change a bit before production, but I wanted to at least hint at the variety in store.

This guy looks exactly like he will when he ships later this year, complete with his eerie smile, earring, arm band, belt, and shorts. The other two goblins (with slight variations to their facial expressions) will follow shortly thereafter, with the plan being to release all three varieties by the end of the year (and more in the months to follow!).

Since the cameras are flying fast and furious at Book Expo, we wanted to take this chance to let the goblins out of the bag ourselves, lest you find the news too incredibly awesome to believe.

Believe it, my friends. The (plush) goblins are coming.

And they are hungry!

Keep your eyes on the Paizo Blog for more details about these awesome plush creatures as they develop, and post your suggestions for additional goblin looks you'd like us to try out in the future in the comments below!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Advanced Race Guide Preview: Kill it With Fire!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Everyone knows goblins have an unnatural love of fire. They love to see it flicker and burn to the sounds of their enemies' screams. While goblin adventurers, in an effort to get along with other more squeamish races, may control their pyromaniac urgings, others learn to harness that power and focus it into devastating force.

Of course, since the goblin section of the Advanced Race Guide has plenty of options for fiery destruction, an alchemist archetype focusing on fire seemed like a good fit, so this week we present you with the fire bomber. As you'll notice from this archetype, there are many more options for goblin mayhem in this book, from a host of feats to some new discoveries, but you will just have to wait until the book comes out to check those out.

Fire Bomber (Alchemist)

Fire bombers are exceptionally good at using bombs to burn creatures and blow things up, but are not quite as good at creating other types of bombs or extracts. A fire bomber has the following class features.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A fire bomber treats torches as a simple weapon.

Illustration by Andrew Hou

Fire Bombardier (Su or Ex): At 1st level, when a fire bomber throws a bomb that deals fire damage, all creatures in the splash radius take an additional point of damage per die of fire damage dealt. Fire bombers only add their Intelligence bonus to damage from bombs or alchemical substances that deal fire damage. This otherwise works like the alchemist's bomb and throw anything abilities. This ability alters bomb and throw anything.

Bonus Feats: A fire bomber can select the Burn! Burn! Burn!, Fire Tamer, or Flame Heart feat in place of a discovery.

Fiery Cocktail (Su): At 4th level, whenever a fire bomber uses a discovery that deals damage other than fire damage, he can split the damage dice evenly between the bomb's primary damage type and 1d6 points of fire damage; when there is an odd number of damage dice, the odd die of damage comes from the primary damage type. For example, an 8th-level fire bomber could throw a concussive bomb that deals 2d6 points of fire damage and 3d4 points of sonic damage. Additional effects from the bomb still apply, but the save DC for admixture bombs is reduced by 2. This replaces the alchemist's 4th-level discovery.

Fire Body (Ex): At 8th level, a fire bomber adds elemental body I to his extract list as a 3rd-level extract. Elemental body extracts prepared using fire body are limited to fire elementals only. This ability replaces poison resistance +6.

Improved Fire Body (Ex): At 10th level, fire bombers add elemental body II to their spell list as a 4th-level extract. Elemental body extracts prepared using improved fire body are limited to fire elementals only. This ability replaces poison immunity.

Greater Fire Body (Ex): At 14th level, fire bombers add elemental body IV to their spell list as a 5th-level extract. Elemental body extracts prepared using greater fire body are limited to fire elementals only. This ability replaces persistent mutagen.

Discoveries: The following discoveries complement the fire bomber archetype: fire brand, rocket bomb (see sidebar); explosive bombs, fast bombs, inferno bomb, precise bombs (Advanced Player's Guide); breath weapon bomb, explosive missile, immolation bomb (Ultimate Combat); bottled ooze, confusion bomb, strafe bomb (Ultimate Magic).

Next week, WARK!

Stephen Radney-MacFarland
Designer

New Year, New Goblins

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Illustration by Miroslav Petrov

Everyone loves goblins, right? And by extension, folks are keen on their goblinoid brethren, the militaristic hobgoblins and the sadistic bugbears. Well, this month we introduce a new goblinoid subtype humanoid to Golarion—the kijimuna, a native of the Dragon Empires of Tian Xia. These CR 2 creatures are known for their wild, bright red hair and their wide, mischievous grins, and enjoy fishing almost as much as playing pranks and practical jokes on unsuspecting targets. Much like their Inner Sea cousins, kijimunas have a deep-seated fear of a single creature, in this case the octopus, and when faced with an octopus, a kijimuna either flees in terror or desperately fights. Unlike the other goblinoid races, however, kijimunas are not innately evil, and typically have chaotic neutral alignments.

The kijimuna receives a full write-up in the forthcoming Pathfinder Adventure Path #53: Tide of Honor, due to hit stores and subscribers’ mailboxes later this month, and appear in one of the two new Pathfinder Society Scenarios released last week—Pathfinder Society Scenario #3–11: The Quest for Perfection, Part II: On Hostile Waters—in which the intrepid Pathfinders journey through kijimuna territory as they sail down a great river.

Mark Moreland
Developer

He Sees You When You're Sleeping...

Friday, December 23, 2011

Brick up your chimney and hide your dogs and horses! The Holiday Goblin is coming to town!

The Paizo staff are taking a break today. The blog will be back to normal on Monday, with some important information for Pathfinder Society members. Happy holidays, everyone!

Pathfinder Battles Preview: A Gaggle of Goblins and Gargoyles

Friday, December 8, 2011

Today’s preview blog marks an important milestone for the Heroes & Monsters set of prepainted Pathfinder Battles miniatures. With this preview, we’ve revealed all 40 miniatures in the set! In the few more weeks leading up to the formal release of Heroes & Monsters (looking like very early January, at this point), I’ll go back through the set and show off painted versions of early unpainted preview sculpts and digital renders, but with the images below, you will have seen (in one form or another) every single miniature in our first Pathfinder Battles set.

The most elusive preview image for Heroes & Monsters has been this Gargoyle, based on art from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary. Like his counterparts perched upon gothic buildings, the Gargoyle blended in well with his surroundings, and I never managed to add him to the preview pile until now. There’s no reason we’ve been holding him back—he’s a really cool miniature, with sweeping wings and big curved horns. If you’re feeling adventurous, a coat of paint on this guy could make him into a demon or devil too.

Next up we have all four goblins in the Heroes & Monsters set. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we had to remove the Goblin Mystic sculpt for quality control reasons (his noggin was way, way, way too big), leaving us in a significant pickle. Unfortunately, there was no time to add a full-on new goblin sculpt, so we made the best of a bad situation, and decided to add a re-decoed Goblin Hero in place of the badly sized Mystic. The four goblins in the set, from left to right in the image above, are Goblin Warrior, Goblin Hero, Goblin Hero, and Goblin Warrior.

We’ve painted these similar miniatures in two distinctive paint schemes, making it possible to imagine them as members of different goblin tribes. The two Goblin Warrior sculpts are very minor variations with very slight pose differences. The Goblin Heroes are the same sculpt painted differently.

The goblin minis come two to a pack, so you should be able to start your goblin horde fairly quickly. The next set, Rise of the Runelords, has several more goblins on the way, including a Goblin Warchanter, Goblin Commando, Goblin Commando on Goblin Dog, and a goblin chief astride a giant gecko.

But those will have to wait for a future preview!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Happy Gobboween!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Joy to the world on this glorious, sucrose-fueled nightmare night! And if you Paizonians are anything like the Paizo staff, then you know there’s only one way to celebrate Halloween: By hiding your face so evil spirits can’t find you and make you learn to read.

But this year is different! This year you can hide your face in style with your very own Paizo Pathfinder goblin* mask, free of charge. To bring your goblin face to life, just follow these easy instructions:

1. Download this handy goblin-face PDF and print it out on your home system. Don’t have a color printer? No problem! Goblins print just as fiercely in black and white, and then you can color it in yourself and fool your friends and neighbors into thinking you have crazy, Paizo-level artistic talent. Don’t have a printer at all? Also not a problem! Just grab a piece of paper, draw a circle, add two red eyes and approximately fourteen thousand teeth.**
2. Paste your goblin face and ears to poster board for added stability.
3. Carefully cut out your goblin face and both ears along the dotted lines, then snip out the dotted eyeholes in the face. Kids: Always remember to get an adult’s help when using scissors! Adults: Always remember to get a kid’s help when following dotted lines! To make your goblin performance more authentic, do not cut out the eyeholes and instead cut out a tongue-hole.***
4. Glue, staple, or magically bond the ears to their appropriate sides of the goblin face. If you can read the abhorrent letter guides, you are not a true goblin and should stop this farce immediately!
5. Use string, tape, rubber bands, or spittle to secure the goblin mask to your face. Drool to excess.
6. When evil spirits come looking for living to torment, simply cock your head toward someone not wearing a goblin mask and give them a wink. They’ll understand.

If you want to make your goblin appearance more genuine, try a few last-minute, so-easy-an-elf-could-do-it goblin costume tricks:

• Roll your rattiest clothing around under the car. Alternatively, roll your clothes around in rats.
• Smear a little black makeup around your eyes to help them blend with the mask. Or to reflect the darkness in your soul.
• Eat a pickle.
• Brush your clothing’s elbows, knees, and cuffs with rough sandpaper or a wire brush to make it appropriately goblin-esque.
• Grab a paper towel tube and stuff one end with red crepe paper, wrapping paper, and ribbon for an impromptu (but sadly not enflamed) torch. Tape a small flashlight in the other end to give it a bit of a glow! For a more authentic goblin torch, melt pitch and bear fat and use a bigger flashlight.
• Hose your forearms with a little hairspray or spray adhesive, then run them under the bed!
• Eat another pickle.
• Practice your crazy laugh. 90% of goblin is attitude (much of the rest of snot and belly-button lint); the laugh is half the attitude. So if you master the laugh, you’re like... 97% goblin.

Download the Paizo Pathfinder Goblin Mask!* - (864 KB zip/PDF)

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

* Any resemblance to actual goblins, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
** Fourteen thousand is merely a rough estimate. Goblins mouths range anywhere from seven to twenty thousand teeth. Shazo the Grinny currently holds the record for most teeth in a single mouth at 21,337 (not all his).
*** Paizo does not advocate this approach for anyone without the Blind Fighting feat. Or anyone. Ever.

Celebrating Jestercap

Monday, October 24, 2011

Since I have been involved with Pathfinder Society, one thing I have heard mentioned by players on numerous occasions is that they wish they could learn more about Golarion and incorporate that knowledge into their Pathfinder Society character. After thinking on different ways to make this happen, it occurred to me that Golarion has quite a few holidays mentioned in Faiths of Balance, Faiths of Corruption, Faiths of Purity, and The Inner Sea World Guide. As in the real world, where holidays are important to all of us, holidays in Golarion are important to our characters and the NPCs spread out across the world.

Every so often, I will write a blog that details a holiday in Golarion to help Pathfinder Society characters share in the spirit of the holiday. Creative Director James Jacobs wrote the description below for the first holiday in this series: Jestercap, mentioned on page 249 of The Inner Sea World Guide. At the end of the description, you will find a special Pathfinder Society Chronicle sheet you can download and apply to a Pathfinder Society character.

Jestercap occurs at the end of the month of Lamashan, traditionally on the 27th (although a few regions have taken to moving the exact day around slightly so it always falls on the last Starday of the month, allowing people who wish to celebrate in excess to have the following day of rest to recover). While Jestercap has been embraced with excited open arms by the gnome communities of the Inner Sea region, its original genesis is said to have been in one of Taldor’s coastal cities not long after King Aspex the Even-Tongued broke from the nation, significantly weakening Taldor’s power and beginning that nation’s long decline. The holiday was originally intended to distract the distraught Taldan populace with a night of revelry and comedic entertainment, but the antics of jesters simply weren’t enough. Over the course of the first few years, Jestercap evolved from a holiday of observation to a holiday of participation. Today, the holiday is a time where anyone can pull pranks or jokes or japes on companions, on neighbors, and (most typically) on rivals, with the understanding that provided no lasting harm is done, any humiliations inflicted before midnight are to be taken in stride. Of course, come morning the day after, there are inevitably jokes that went too far, and grudges and feuds borne from Jestercap antics have a way of lingering for months to follow.

Download the Jestercap Boon! - (115 KB zip/PDF) This Boon is no longer available as of 11/14/11.

Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Goblins on the March!

Friday, September 30, 2011

When we put together the set list for our first major Pathfinder Battles set, Heroes & Monsters, we knew it needed to contain several goblins. Ever since James Jacobs and Wayne Reynolds reimagined these classic monsters in the very first Pathfinder Adventure Path volume, “Burnt Offerings,” these little green-skinned bastards have been sort of unofficial mascots for the Pathfinder brand. They just had to be represented in the set.

The behind-the-scenes images below show the unpainted master sculpts of two of the goblins included in the Heroes & Monsters set. As WizKids’ sculptors pretty much translated our critters directly into three dimensions, we did not require any changes to their look.

The image below shows the goblins in their full-color glory. We asked WizKids to darken the greens a bit on these little guys, so the final production models will come off a little less day-glo than they appear here, but you can get a good sense of how nasty the goblins will look when they come chomping into your life in December!

They be plasticrack, you be food!

Next Week: I have no idea which images we’ll preview next week, but I am confident they will look awesome. Let me know what minis or Pathfinder Battles information you’d like to see, and I’ll do my best to reveal it here in seven days!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Golarion Day: Where Do the Goblins Live?

Thursday, July 7, 2011

There's a lot of fun information about goblins in the upcoming Pathfinder Player Companion, Goblins of Golarion—things like new character traits, goblin spells and magic, goblin feats, some new subdomains, and lots of fun tidbits about what it is to be a goblin in the first place. One thing I'm particularly delighted we got to do, though, was include a section that talks about all of the significant (and some not-so-significant) goblin tribes of the Inner Sea region. Check out this map that lists their locations. They're all over the place!

Cartography by Rob Lazzaretti

James Jacobs
Creative Director

We Be Goblins—You Get Free Stuff!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Cover Illustration by Tyler Walpole

Tomorrow, retail stores around the globe will open their doors and hand out free RPG materials from some of the game industry's most well-known companies. Why? Well tomorrow is Free RPG Day and once again Paizo is taking part in this great program and has produced We Be Goblins, a most unusual (and fully sanctioned for use in the Pathfinder Society) adventure for 1st-level goblin characters.

In this adventure, the Licktoad goblins of Brinestump Marsh have stumbled upon a great treasure—fireworks! Yet unfortunately for them, the tribe member responsible for the discovery has already been exiled for the abhorrent crime of writing (which every goblin knows steals words from your head). To remedy this situation, the Licktoads' leader, His Mighty Girthness Chief Rendwattle Gutwad, has declared that the greatest heroes of the tribe must venture forth to retrieve the rest of the fireworks from a derelict ship stranded in the marsh. In order to prove themselves as the Licktoads' bravest goblins, the PCs must complete a series of dangerous dares, from swallowing bull slugs and braving the dreaded Earbiter to dancing with Squealy Nord himself. Yet even once they've proven their mettle, the adventure is just beginning. For the ship in question is far from uninhabited, and Vorka the cannibal goblin would like nothing better than a few tasty visitors...

Check out the Free RPG Day website for more information and a link to participating retailers. Here in the Seattle area, Pathfinder Lead Designer Jason Bulmahn will be running a few sessions of We Be Goblins, at his local store—Card Kingdoms out in Ballard. Stop on by, say hi, and then roll some dice!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustration by Tyler Walpole. Widescreen version here.

PaizoCon Is Here!

Friday, June 10, 2011

PaizoCon 2011 starts today! The massive event schedule lists all of the awesome activities attendees can expect to take part in, but here are some of the real gems that I'm looking forward to.

At the show guests and Paizo staff will have the opportunity to wine and dine together during Saturday's banquet. One of the reasons I'm excited about the banquet is the opportunity to meet and hang out with fellow Paizonians. Having gotten to know so many of you on the messageboards, it will be fun to finally meet some of you face to face! In addition to CEO Lisa Stevens's welcome and Publisher Erik Mona's preview of upcoming Pathfinder products, James Jacobs and Jason Bulmahn will be showcasing some really cool things about our upcoming products. I can't say here what they'll be, but you all should be very excited!

One of the neatest things about PaizoCon is the myriad opportunities to get the inside scoop on Pathfinder, Paizo, and the old days at TSR. Between “The Future of Paizo" on Friday, and seminars on writing for Paizo throughout the entire weekend, on Saturday there's a seminar on the "Secrets of TSR" with the likes of Ed Greenwood, Lisa Stevens, Ryan Dancey and maybe even Jeff Grubb himself!

Speaking of seminars, there are quite a few about the history of the industry, how to begin writing for RPGs, and breaking into the game industry. Here's a brief list of some of the seminars that you should try and get to: "Publishing in Kobold Quarterly," "Secrets of a Small Press Publisher," "Writing for the Pathfinder Society," and "Auntie Lisa's Story Hour" with Paizo CEO Lisa Steven's herself!

Finally (and perhaps best of all), expect to play lots and lots of games. Pathfinder Society scenarios will be run every day throughout the convention, and special events such as Stephen Radney-MacFarland's "Shootout in Old Korvosa," Jason Bulmahn's "Cursed Lot IV," and master of horror James Jacobs's "The Siege of Windy Hollow" (a Pathfinder RPG variant set in an apocalyptic earth ravaged by the Elder Mythos) are sure to be crowd pleasers. I might even have to sit in and watch some of these games being played—they sound that awesome.

We're super excited about this show and will be updating the blog throughout the weekend with news-bites, pictures, and updates. For those of you who can't make it, here's a wallpaper of the PaizoCon 2011 mascot: Unk the goblin!

See you at the show!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustrations by Andrew Hou, Michael Saas, and Florian Stitz. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

Goblins for All!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Because you asked for it, the following changes are coming to Pathfinder:

1. Introducing the next in our popular Players Companion line of products: Goblins of Purity!

   Goblins are popular. But they're not popular enough! With "Goblins of Purity," we're giving you what you've been asking for—the chance to fully embrace all of the madness and mayhem that is being a goblin—but in a way that allows you to still be a hero. This book is jam-packed with all manner of fun and exciting options for goblins dedicated to fighting against the rise of evil (as most often personified by greedy adventurers, slavering dogs, and those hateful horses with their sharp, sharp hooves and soulless eyes), all while maintaining the rip-roaring fun that being an arsonist or a baby-eater brings.

   Goblins of Purity includes:

   • Two dozen goblin archetypes, including the Dog Hunter ranger, the Friendly Picklechucker rogue, and the Peaceful Beachcomber paladin

   • An extensive discussion of brand-new goblin versions of your favorite deities

   • An exciting reworking of the alignment system that allows you to play arsonists and baby-eaters while still being good-aligned

   • A brand-new 20-level base class built especially for would-be goblin heroes—the Goblin Babysitter, a class that gets extensive use out of this book's new "innocent accident charts"

2. We're not there yet, but when we send the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook back for another reprint, we'll be adding goblins to the list of core player races. Now everyone can be a goblin!

3. Starting today, goblins are now mandatory for play in the Pathfinder Society. Every group must have at least one goblin in the party. I expect some awesome stories from your games this weekend!

4. Later this year, we'll release the Goblinomicon, a 64-page book that outlines the foes goblins confront in daily life—including true and accurate stat blocks for dogs and horses!

5. Spoiler:

   And... if you haven't figured out already, Happy April Fools Day!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustration by Andrew Hou

Introducing Squealy Nord!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Among the Licktoad Goblins, fame doesn't come easily. If you want to be taken seriously by His Mighty Girthness Chief Rendwattle Gutwad and allowed to undertake a dangerous mission—such as retrieving a load of fireworks from a goblin cannibal—you need to be ready to prove yourself. That means engaging in any number of deadly and disgusting dares, from eating a bag of bull slugs or braving the dreaded Earbiter to the most fearsome challenge of all: attempting to ride the infamous Squealy Nord himself! (Presented above is an artist's rendition of one such attempt. Images of the aftermath have been deemed too graphic for public display.)

For more information on Squealy Nord and your chance to join the Licktoad heroes on their epic quest, be sure to stop by your local game store on June 18th to pick up your free copy of our Free RPG Day adventure, We Be Goblins!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Illustrations by Andrew Hou. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier.

We Love Goblins!

Friday, February 4, 2011

We definitely love goblins here at Paizo. In fact, more than anything we love them blinded, helpless, and fascinated. And with this new wallpaper, you can too! This wallpaper uses artwork from the soon-to-arrive Condition Cards, the latest Game Mastery card set from Paizo. With these cards you'll be able to easily keep track of the Pathfinder RPG's most common conditions, making it so you'll never miss a modifier again!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

We Be Goblins, You Be Food!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

One of the hardest things about working at Paizo is not talking about the awesome products that are being worked on but haven't been announced yet. Especially when you're the marketing guy and it's your job to tell people about the awesome products that we're working on. This year's Free RPG Day release, We Be Goblins! is a perfect example of this; it's been in the works for months but I haven't been able to say anything until now.

Cover Illustration by Tyler Walpole

We Be Goblins! is an adventure by Richard Pett for 1st-level characters in which you get to play a horde of malicious and murderous goblins that have stumbled upon one of the greatest treasures in goblindom—fireworks! Unfortunately, the tribe member responsible for the discovery has already been exiled for the abhorrent crime of writing (which every goblin knows steals words from your head). To remedy this situation, His Mighty Girthness Chief Rendwattle Gutwad has declared that the greatest heroes of the tribe must venture forth to retrieve the rest of the fireworks from a derelict ship stranded in the marsh outside Sandpoint in order to prove yourselves as the Licktoads' bravest goblins. And yet even once you've proven your mettle, the adventure is just beginning—for the ship in question is far from uninhabited, and Vorka the cannibal goblin would like nothing better than a few tasty visitors...

We Be Goblins! is a complementary adventure to August's Pathfinder Player Companion: Goblins of Golarion (which I also just announced right there—sneaky, eh?) and an optional prequel to Pathfinder Adventure Path's upcoming Jade Regent Adventure Path. This special 16-page Pathfinder Module will initially be made available as Paizo's contribution to Free RPG Day on Saturday, June 18. Print editions will be available for sale exclusively on paizo.com beginning the following Monday, and a FREE PDF will also be released that day.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

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

Where’s the “Gassy” Condition?

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

For some time now James has been warning the rest of the office of his general cheeriness or crabbiness with a printout of the goblins from the GameMastery Condition Cards and a Post-It arrow hanging on his door. Without the cards themselves, though, some of the meanings have been mysterious. Like the goblin below, for example: are his ears loose? Is he using mind powers? Could he be trying to keep the demons out? Yesterday it was hard to say, but not today, with the printer proofs of the Condition Cards that just drifted in.

Illustrations by Andrew Hou

Deafened, James? If only it was that easy to make the screaming stop.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

The Sandpoint Devil: Slain?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Reports are coming in of a doughty band of adventurers facing off against the legendary Sandpoint Devil in bloody battle beneath the stones of western Varisia. Could it be true that the infamous beast, cow killer and hermit spooker, has been slain? Tune back in next week for the full report.

Until then, gird your sanity as we page through the journal of that chronicler of terrors and outrages, Styrian Kindler.

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

These Goblins Are _____, _____, and _____.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Goblins have the worst luck! Check back here in the coming weeks for more malicious misadventures from the upcoming GameMastery Condition Cards.

Sketches by Andrew Hou

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

The Foxes Have Landed (part II)

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Sara Marie: Those were some delicious biscuits! Over.

Crystal: This time we should say something less confusing and less likely to end with us eating biscuits. Like "Hedgehog."

....

Crystal: Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: I like porcupines better. Porcupine.

Crystal: Where are you, anyway? I got lost when the cave raptors were chasing us. Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: Let me turn on a light... Looks like I'm in Sarah's office. There's art all over the place. Porcupine.

Crystal: She must have left in a hurry. Does it look trapped? Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: I don't SEE anything that looks like a trap. Where are you? You're better at spotting traps than I am. Porcupine.

Crystal: I don't know. I dropped my darkvision when that lurking ray grabbed at us. Where ever I am, smells nice! Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: There's a folder marked "TOP SECRET" sitting right on top of her desk! I'm going to see if I can get a closer look. Porcupine.

Crystal: No wait! The "top secret" folder is Midwestern family recipes! It's almost certain to be booby-trapped!

Sara Marie: Where else should I check?

Crystal: Check the refrigerator. I think that's where she keeps the special art. Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: You're right! This thing is chock full of art-like pictures. Most of it seems like stuff that's already released. Porcupine.

Crystal: You should see what's in the dishwasher!

Sara Marie: Oooh wait! .... What's this! .... It's marked "Future Cover Art". Porcupine.

Crystal: Stuff from the future, huh? Sounds neat! Open it and see if a paradox destroys us all! Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: Wow! These are amazi-- ...Umm... I just heard a "click" sound. Is that bad? Porcupine.

Crystal: You've either stepped on a mine, or else let her lucky cricket out of its cage. Possibly both. I'm not certain if the cricket explodes. Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: PORCUPINE IS LEAVING THE NEST! REPEAT PORCUPINE IS LEAVING THE NEST!

...

Crystal: Sara? Sara, are you okay?

...

Crystal: SARA?!

...

Sara Marie: I'M OK! COPY THAT? I AM OK!

Crystal: Stop yelling or the cave raptors will find us again. Hedgehog.

Sara Marie: Where ever you are... Watch out! These people know how to lay traps! On the up-side, I made it out with two incredible pieces of artwork!

Limited edition button

Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 06:33 AM Pacific

unique!

Sean K Reynolds
Developer

Oh, Yes We Did!

Monday, July 26, 2010

PRESENTING! The action scene you’ve all been waiting to see!

Illustration by Andrew Hou

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Illustration by Alex Aparin

Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide Preview #1

Thursday, July 1, 2010

The start of Gen Con 2010 is five weeks away, which means that the Advanced Player's Guide will be hitting game stores and subscriber mailboxes in just over one month. To celebrate the release of this impressive tome, we are going to be previewing parts of it every week until its release. Last week we recapped the information from the PaizoCon APG Preview Banquet. This week we are going to dig into some details with an extensive look at the races chapter.

As I mentioned last week, each of the seven core races receives a two-page spread of information. Each spread starts out with information about adventurers of that race, taking on each of the 17 classes available (that includes the six new classes found in the APG). This is followed up by alternate racial traits that allow characters to portray members of the race that are a little different than the rest, but still well within the theme of the race. To take one of these alternate racial traits, a character has to give up one or more existing racial traits. For example, take a look at this dwarven racial trait.

Stonesinger: Some dwarves' affinity with the earth grants them greater powers. Dwarves with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the earth descriptor or using granted powers of the Earth domain, the bloodline powers of the earth elemental bloodline, and revelations of the oracle's stone mystery. This racial trait replaces the stonecunning racial trait.

Or how about this Half-Orc racial trait.

Toothy: Some half-orcs' vestigial tusks are massive and sharp, granting them a bite attack. This is a primary natural attack that deals 1d4 points of piercing damage. This racial trait replaces the orc ferocity racial trait.

Each replacement racial trait is made to explore one facet of the race's inherent theme. Elves get abilities that tie them to nature, gnomes get abilities that explore their fascinations, half-elves can take abilities that help them live in both worlds, halflings can focus on their sneaky talents, and even humans are not left out. Humans can take racial traits that reflect their upbringing.

In addition to a host of racial traits, each race also receives a number of favored class options. These options are tied to a race's theme in most cases, meaning that races only receive options for classes that are racially common. Possessing one of these options just gives your character an additional choice whenever he gains a level in his favored class (instead of a skill point or a hit point). For example, take a look at this elven wizard favored class option.

Wizard: Select one arcane school power at 1st level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + the wizard's Intelligence modifier. The wizard adds +1/2 to the number of uses per day of that arcane school power.

Once an elven wizard takes this power twice, he gains an additional use of that ability. Want more, take a look at this gnome bard favored class option.

Bard: Add 1 to the gnome's total number of bardic performance rounds per day.

Of all the races, only humans have an option for all 17 classes. Here is the human sorcerer favored class option.

Sorcerer: Add one spell known from the sorcerer spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the sorcerer can cast.

Although this chapter is only 18 pages long, in a 336-page book, it is absolutely crammed full of new rules for characters of any race and class, a philosophy we took with the entire rest of the book. Next week, we will delve into the classes chapter, starting off by taking a look at the six new base classes in the book, and I might even go into some detail on the changes made to them after the playtest was over.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Ach! Goblins!

Sat, Jun 19, 2010 at 07:46 AM Pacific

They've taken over our sales area!

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

GameMastery Guide Preview: It's Here!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

	Illustration by Andrew Hou

As I write this Cosmo is standing in our warehouse, shin deep in packing Styrofoam, yelling about "peanuts" to anyone who passes by. Such strangeness might be chalked up to the daunting nature of his task—though it is hard to tell with Cos—as he's surrounded by huge walls of boxes filled with books. Guides, of a sort. GameMastery Guides, even. Which he's helping to ship out right now. That's right, the GameMastery Guide is shipping at this very moment. Tomorrow at PaizoCon hundreds of gamers will pick up their copies of our newest hardcover, getting one of the world's first looks at this indispensable new arsenal for Pathfinder GMs. In the days and hours to follow, subscribers and game stores should also be receiving their copies (if they're not there already), so keep an eye on your mailboxes and store shelves. And if you don't have your copy spoken for already... well, I won't get into numbers, but you might want to speak up soon! They're on sale now, so the time is finally here!

With the wait being almost over I could close this out here... but that seems lame. But what's left to talk about? We've looked at the rules, the art, the crazy extra elements, the dozens of pregenerated NPCs, the hundreds of charts, the art again, and tons more. Well, how about we look at it all again—in a totally new way. Below is the complete index for the GameMastery Guide, listing every topic, every table, and every NPC in this giant. That's it. That's everything. The whole book. How's that for a preview?

So thanks to everyone for reading, commenting, and being so excited about one of this year's biggest releases. And if you haven't checked out the GameMastery Guides and my past previews already, just click on the "Game Mastering" tag below for a look back at what everybody's been talking about.

As for what's next, next week it's time for something completely different.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Tim Hitchcock Is Insane

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Here at Paizo, we understand that our fans, friends, and contributors (and the sizable cadre of folks who combine all three categories) are a little different than most companies' communities. It's not uncommon for Paizo fans to send us pizzas out of the blue as a thank-you gesture, or offer to buy us drinks when they run into us somewhere in the city. (Both of which initially confused us—you're giving us presents for selling you books?—but we aren't complaining.) We've seen a room full of Paizo trivia champions, Paizo cosplay, and a whole darn Paizo theater performance from an extremely talented grade school (and their supremely cool teacher). It's humbling and awesome at the same time.

Tim Hitchcock, however, may have just taken the cake, at least for me personally. You see, a while back, Tim and I were talking about music in the Tuesday-night Paizo Chat. Tim, a musician who retired from touring in order to become a teacher, was asking me about the bass rig I used in my metal and hardcore band, Shadow at Morning, and my opinions on distortion pedals. I said that I thought they were cool, but I'd never gotten around to picking one up.

"Why don't I build you one?" he asked. Apparently Mr. Hitchcock knows a thing or two about electronics.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's not every day somebody offers to build you custom gear. I said sure, and promptly forgot about it for about six months.

And then today, I got this in the mail: proof positive that Tim Hitchcock is totally insane, in the best possible sense of the word. (When I originally opened the package, the glowing light made Wes think Tim must have finally had enough and decided to send us a letter bomb.)

Photograph by Christopher Carey. Goblin illustration originally by Kyle Hunter.

Without question (at least until I get it home and plug it in), my favorite part is the little goblin that Tim etched into the steel of the faceplate. (And in case you're wondering, the goblin is referencing the classic Big Muff bass pedal, upon which Tim based the electronics.)

Though Shadow at Morning unfortunately disbanded a few weeks before the pedal's arrival, I'm already in the process of recording with a new project, and you can bet that when we're ready to hit the stage, Tim's phenomenal creation will be front and center...

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

The GameMastery Guide: Mascots & Masterpieces!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Aside from a metric ton of advice, new rules, charts, tools, and the like, one thing the GameMastery Guide has in spades is awesome new art! As you might have seen on the snippet from the credits page last week, a horde of fantastic artists contributed to this tome. We also did something a little unusual. Rather than illustrating every topic with our iconic heroes or scenes of battle or whatever have you, Andrew Hou created a host of murderously adorable little mascots. A host of murderously adorable little goblin mascots. So, guiding you through the ins and outs, the perils and the pleasures of the GM's art, you'll find these mischievous little menaces causing all sorts of trouble.

Illustrations by Andrew Hou

But the goblins aren't alone. We've got an entire gallery full of incredible art, with quite a few familiar faces, to preview over the coming weeks. For now, check out a few of our mascots' hijinks, along with a sampling of some of the GameMastery Guide's other full-body illustrations.

Illustrations by Eva Widermann	Illustration by Florian Stitz

Next week, check in for a first look at one of the things sure to get you GMs drooling, a preview of the GameMastery Guide's expansive NPC Gallery.

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Trollin' on the River

Friday, February 19, 2010

We've had the cover for Pathfinder Adventure Path #32: "Rivers Run Red" (written by our own Rob McCreary) up for sometime now, but it bears another mention, as this cover sees the climax of a long and interesting evolution. It's little surprise that we were only three months into the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path—and Pathfinder's life in general—when it came time to order art for our first troll. How to handle this got a little tricky, though, as it's important to us that our creatures walk the line between familiarity and distinctiveness when it comes to earlier incarnations of the game. What we ended up with was the gnarled, lanky, long-nosed fellow from "The Hook Mountain Massacre". Neat! And totally a cool piece of art. But definitely nothing ground breaking.

Illustration by JZConcepts

Several months later, against all odds, we found ourselves ordering a cover for a Bestiary. Attempting to follow in the tradition of the "a whole bunch of monsters about to getcha!" covers from classic gaming bestiaries, we wanted a swarm of little monsters, one or two medium monsters, and a big monster. Creature ideas went around and around, then sketches did their circles, and what we ended up with was goblins, a maralith, and WHAT THE HECK IS THAT! OMG, that's a TROLL! Awesome! You don't get an incredible Wayne Reynolds cover and then say, "That looks amazing, but could we get this guy to look a little ganglier." This was our new look for the troll.

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Flash forward a few more months and we're ordering Kingmaker covers. So we want a cool bandit and a sexy fey and a barbarian dude and a—hey, how 'bout a troll boss! Okay, that'd be cool. And thanks to Vincent Dutrait, here he is.

Illustration by Vincent Dutrait

So our trolls have come a long way over the course of the past few years, but without a doubt, things are settled now. And if that nasty claw-claw-bite wasn't enough to send your PCs running for their alchemist fire, just wait for "Rivers Run Red" to see all the nasty tricks Chief Hargulka has in store for the Stolen Lands.

Looking back, trolls actually had it pretty easy. You should have seen the backstage identity crisis the ogre had before its debut. But that's a story for another day…

F. Wesley Schneider
Managing Editor

Fan Made: Miniatures

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

As the new Reaper Pathfinder minis roll into (and just as quickly out of) the warehouse, it makes me appreciate how crafty Paizo fans can be. With all the miniatures, sets, props, and stage plays we've seen kitbashed together around here, it's easy for even the unstoppable Paizo warband to feel humbled. And of all these projects, miniatures occupy a special place in most gamers' hearts. Something about having that 25mm scale representation of your character touches a special, squishy place in every geek's heart. My own collection of painted minis rivals even that of Czarina Catherine the Great (little known fact: Cat was gonzo for 1st Edition, and ran a game of Traveller every other Thursday), but EPA lead regulations and simple goblin humility prevent me from sharing them here.

To get you geared up for your brand new Pathfinder Reaper minis, here's a quick collection of links to help teach and inspire every crafty Paizo fan.

In the last few weeks, the Paizo messageboards have been buzzing with painting tips, tricks, and (most of all), examples. With active discussions and a welcoming group familiar with the Pathfinder line, this is your best place to get started and learn from a friendly group you might already know. Even the official Paizo Paintmeister, Sean K Reynolds contributes to the discussions and offers insider tips. If you don't need to pick up the basics, it never hurts to hobnob with fellow Paizonians, show off your work, bask in the admiration of the faceless masses, and know for just a brief moment how it feels to be a world-famous goblin blogger and production specialist. Also it facilitates that sense of community that makes Paizo fans the best of the best.

If you love the idea of having a tiny metal avatar of yourself, but don't know where to start, then one of the best places to learn is the Miniature Painting Guild. They feature several handy tutorials for all skills levels, as well as forums and a large gallery. My personal favorite: a catalog of "restored" miniatures, rescued from terrible paint jobs by the Guild's loyal members. And if you're simply one of the Paizonians with more time than money, the Miniature Painting Guild also offers professional paintings services on commission.

Once you're comfortable with the basics, Reaper Miniatures offers some of the best figures in the industry, covering hundreds of niches and character archetypes. Searching the Reaper catalog the old-fashioned way, while exciting, can take weeks, so be sure to try out their Figure Finder to pick out exactly the right miniature for your character needs. Or just browse through their Inspirational Gallery for ideas to customize your own painting work. Once you know what models you want, you can order most any of them here in the Paizo storefront and combine them with the latest Pathfinder supplements and GameMastery items you'll doubtless be using with them.

Of course, old-fashioned pewter miniatures are only the beginning: everything from repurposed game tokens and children's toys to your favorite illustrations can be turned into prime gaming minis with a little creativity and know-how. I've seen a man run a game with nothing but miniatures molded by his own, gnarled hands from Sculpy, and my great-grandmother ran tactical table wargames with an entire Napoleonic regiment made from the piled entrails of her fallen enemies. The smell was horrendous, but it gave her a certain psychological edge. As gamers, we share a lot of creative outlets, but few that are so easily appreciated and constantly in play as our minis. For some of us, minis were even that neat little gimmick that first got us into gaming. So lay your hands on some lead and show off your skills in the forums, and let us revel in this common facet of gaming culture. As the immortal Steve Martin put it: Let's get small.

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Dramatis Personae: Software Developers

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

As we all know, the business environment changed radically when the Internet achieved sentience back in '03. Suddenly, the clean, predictable world of code became a tangled, heaving jungle of logic chains and creeping ads. Companies suddenly found themselves in want of both a competent programmer and an experienced survival expert. Luckily, Paizo has both.

This week I caught up with Ross Byers, Paizo's assistant software developer. Though he rarely disconnects his neural link to the server, he agreed to share what he could about the inner workings of Paizo's cyber-bwanas.

"It's a blast! I love working here." Ross had just finished carving out a virtual farmstead for the PaizoCon '10 protocol, and allowed me to interview him while he relaxed with a few protein pills. Originally hailing from the primordial swamps of central Florida, Ross is no stranger to life-or-death struggles against an oppressive environment. Now instead of wrestling 'gators, he turns his life experience toward Paizo's digital settlement. Like any small settlement in a strange world, the Paizo website and forums can be challenging to oversee, but Ross considers them among the better places to code a family. "Sometimes people get a little crazy, but generally [they] keep it on an even temper. They're nice to one another."

Software development is no easy job: from plague-bearing mosquitoes to deadly jungle predators, Ross risks his health and safety keeping Paizo.com prosperous. Though his duty is life threatening, he still finds time for fun. The smurf filter, beloved by the messageboard regulars, started as an April Fool's Day gag, but is now maintained and lovingly updated by Ross. "I also get to see the blogs 12 hours before they go up."

Ross first approached Paizo during the 2008 RPG Supersar competition, where he landed as one of the top 32 finalists. Having been a regular face in the frontier saloon that is the Unofficial Paizo chat room, Ross and his rugged style impressed the Paizo founders, and he eventually found himself shanghaied to the remote digital outpost he tends today.

Paizo's web presence, even in these turbulent times, is a factor in its success. Or, as Ross phrases it: "We require the [online] store for people to give us money. If we didn't have the store, people couldn't give us money. That's very bad for a commercial enterprise," although even he readily admits that Paizo's success hinges entirely on "high quality products to sell." Still, the Paizo website combines quality products from dozens of companies, including treasures that even the Amazon.com Imperium doesn't stock. With Ross's loving care and everything carefully organized by Jeff Alvarez and Vic Wertz (more on them later), this holdout frontier town has blossomed into a thriving community under some of the worst conditions.

Ross serves as the right hand of the unphotographable Gary Teter.

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Happy New Ears'!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

The holidays are an important time in every culture; they remind us of the things that really matter in life and remind us why we stay far, far away from our families most of the time. But aside from those core elements, every culture celebrates its holidays differently. As Paizo's only practicing member of the Reformed Church of Lamashtu, it falls upon me to explain Lamashtan holy days. In the interest of spreading tolerance and understanding, it seems a good idea to share that information with Paizo's fanbase as well.

A lot of myths and slander float around about Reformed Lamashtans. Rumors about blood sacrifice and stealing babies. Most of it is true, but we obsess far less over boring ceremony than Orthodox Lamashtans. A few quick cuts, a muttered "death to all," and then we move on the dinner and drinking, and we haven't used real baby since I was in junior high. Within the hour, Uncle Rax is drunk and telling his old stories about the '70s and the kids are torturing the holiday halfling. Good times, and not altogether different from the family celebrations of friends I've visited.

This past weekend marked one of my favorite family holidays: New Ears' Eve. One night a year, goblins gather together to celebrate the passage of another 12 months in the traditional way: By comparing the ears they've collected that year. Ear collecting, as you well know, goes back thousands of years. Young goblins receive their first Heary-Thing Jar during their earmitzvah, which marks a goblin's coming of age. Though the brine is changed out periodically, and few gobbers can resist the lure of the occasional pickled hearing, the jar itself is treasured and kept safe for a lifetime. Ears of victims, debtors, and civil servants are collected as keepsakes of important events or remarkably gassy days, then added to the preservative fluid. By the time New Ears' rolls around, most of us can boast half a dozen or more new additions.

Traditionally, the pecking order for the coming year is hashed out by comparing the number, size, variety, and stories surrounding the most recent audial acquisitions. Orthodox Lamashtans settle ties with the holiest of rituals: the drunken knife-fight. In the Reformed Church, the family order is largely unaffected by collections, aside from determining the favorite child for the year to come. New Ears' Eve instead gives the family an excuse to get together, talk, and enjoy ear-based cuisine (like grandma's cochleabread men and shepard's pinnea). Noisemakers are passed around so everyone can be sure they have both ears. Festive hats are worn both to gloat over the continued possession of both ears and because hats are the most sacred of head coverings. As midnight approaches, we pick the juiciest trophies from the winner's Jar, set them on fire, then let the delighted children throw them around the room. The smell of burning earwax fills the home and reminds us how lucky we are to still have a loving family. And our ears.

This lovely tradition not only brings families closer together, but it associate a sense of community and togetherness with an activity everyone loves anyway: cutting off ears and stuffing them in a jar of cold, stagnant vinegar. To this day, whenever I mutilate the body of an enemy or someone who has served me cold coffee, I can't help but think of my loving family and smile.

So, from all of us here at Paizo, to all of you out there in the Internet: Happy New Ears', and may your Heary-Thing Jar never grow waxy!

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Dogslicer vs. Cantaloupe

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

James Jacobs came home from the Burnt Offerings play with his very own metal dogslicer prop. In the interest of science and general vengeance against hostile melons, we decided to test how effective this (unsharpened) dogslicer is.

Behold, the innocent cantaloupe. It looks so happy!

Behold, a hideous goblin. (Burnt Offerings goblin mask courtesy of Wes.)

Chop!

Midair chop!

Dogslicer wins! Not bad for goblin craftsmanship!

Sean K Reynolds
Developer

Illustration by Tyler Clark

Goblins Terrorize Bathhouse: Cunning Plan Revealed As Many Local Hunting Dogs Found Dead

Friday, December 11, 2009

Earlier this year, fellow intern Matt and I were invited to begin playing in a Pathfinder RPG game run by local resident Crystal Frasier. We accepted, and Matt, Ross Byers (later to leave us for reasons involving Will saves and girl-cooties), and I began our quest to become... The Stuff of Legends. Deciding to make my life difficult, I made Klar, the burly and buff bluffing bard, Matt rolled up Zirithanis the hobo druid and Destroyer-of-Worlds-Fetcher-of-Dreams-Maxwell, his longtime friend and goblin-hating murderous dog of war, while Ross Byers began his quest as the excessive sorcerer, Aurelis. Our team assembled, The Stuff of Legends' first dabble into adventuring follows.

Meeting with the mayor, we understood that we were to stop mysterious sabotage attempts on a hopeful resort town in the Varisian Gulf. Naturally, our business powwow was interrupted by screams: Goblins had invaded the bathhouse! Having studied Goblinoid languages in a Chelish Opera College, I tried to negotiate with them, but their crude language and dubious use of the honorifics "dog-lover" and "ugly-face," made communication difficult. While I eventually gained their trust, my inquiries into why they would invade a bathhouse were met with confusion over failed translations of the words "bath," "clean," "soap," and "hot water." They began to suspect that I wanted to cook them, eventually leading us to armed conflict.

After Maxwell the Dog dispatched two of the goblins (Aurelis proved his worth as an electric stove, cooking one with shocking grasp), we entered the bathhouse, only to be ambushed again! Two stirges and a goblin sniper were difficult foes, yet, with the ever-suspect "oh, are you still singing?" of bardsong, Maxwell destroyed all opposition. Afterward, finding the public bath infested with vipers, we left them for the town's pest control. When we later realized that was Zirithanis' job, we went back and he charmed them into a wicker basket and left them at the edge of town. When we later heard a picnicker was killed by vipers, we blamed Zirithanis.

However, being playtest time, an unexpected enemy followed us into town: the Goblin Oracle! She was one of the most feared enemies we have ever fought, especially since we lacked Aurelis's help (he was sleeping off breakfast in his 100-gp suite on the coast). Perhaps it was her big hat, or maybe the threat of goblin rash from her two mangy rat-dogs, or maybe her fury over the sacked child she took hostage that was greased out of her hands, but the strength of her unusually fearsome blows felled both Zirithanis and me at different points. Our leapfrog healing tactics took her by surprise, however, keeping us both in the fight. In the end, Maxwell the Dog killed her, jumping over a mountain, stopping a flood by barking, and then arriving home in time to snap her neck and take the glory for himself. Next: Maxwell Defeats Giant Wheeled Eidolon and Eats It.

Tyler Clark
Editorial Intern

Dramatis Personae: Customer Service

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

In our never-ending quest for complete fan transparency (or "fansparency"), we here in the Paizo dungeon like to know that our readers understand our diabolical machinations and vile lieutenants so that they may truly tremble in terror before our slavering horde. And while it's easy to quake in terror before those bold names printed on the front of our books, there are just as many wicked creatures slaving away behind the scenes, without whom our ink and pulp empire would come crumbling down.

Enter customer service: the key to Paizo's unstoppable march to the sea. Cosmo and Sara Marie tag-team problems with orders, website issues, and general customer complaints, applying their terrifying cheerfulness and resiliency to wearing down even the most dissatisfied of clientele. Longtime fans will recall that Cosmo first joined Paizo's ranks after claiming the fey crown by slaying Lord Oberon in ritual combat. Sara Marie came to Paizo through PaizoCon '09, where her mastery of the hat entranced our leadership and secured her future position in the company (as you well know, hats have been an important aspect of goblin culture since the Outerwear Wars of 3505).

To gain some insight into their jet-setting lifestyle of glamour and danger, I followed the daring duo for several hours. After they parachuted from an exploding mail plane (saving customer orders from crashing in the Andes), they stopped for a moment to grant some insight into their role in Paizo's success.

"One hundred percent of Paizo's success is all me," says Cosmo (exp 2, rog 4), who has been with the company since its magazine days. "And the secret to my success is emulating Sebastian in every encounter." He refused to expand on the subject of "Sebastian," but went on to confirm that he was, in fact, not an octopus.

"The less people have to deal with us, the better." Sara Marie (ari 4, brd 2) dodged all my octopus-related probing to continue on customer service's role in Paizo's success. "You've never heard of me? That's good! It means you've never needed to contact us." Obviously, customer service, much like assassins and trapdoor spiders, do their best work when no one needs them.

"We are part of the community," Cosmo added while repacking his parachute and radioing for pickup. "We're here to interface with the fans. Customers and customer service are what Paizo is all about." He pointed out that the website, the messageboards, the blogs—all are there to give customers better insight into Paizo, and Paizo better insight into the customers. PFS Open Calls and RPG Superstar were created to help turn the Paizo fanbase into the next generation of Paizo writers, and customer service is there to make sure Paizo customers become the next Paizo fanbase.

"There are constantly new challenges," concludes Cosmo.

"Dealing with Cosmo is a challenge." With Sara Marie's final comment, the interview evolved into more of a blood feud, with each stealing the other's earpiece and hurling literary invectives.

Without the customer service team, Paizo would have little insight into the minds of our victims, nor would we be able to best tailor our psychological assaults where we know it will hurt most. Sans Cosmo and Sara Marie, we would be forced to rely once again on the phone-answering monkey, whose courtesy is notoriously lacking, whose typing speed in unacceptable, and whose coffee is substandard at best. They are the glue that binds Paizo to it's customers and ensures that any dissent is stamped out, lest it foment uprisings and attract adventurers.

So, join me in celebrating Paizo's customer service department! Plant a customer service specialist in your back yard today!

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Sci-Fried: How to make Friends and Influence (fictional) People

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

There's a peculiar quality to the Florida swamps.

Bear with me here, because this story does eventually come around to science fiction.

More than a few feet down, the swamps and bogs of central and southern Florida are just acidic enough and just the right temperature to kill bacteria without destroying delicate tissue. This means that anything organic buried in the swamps (and keep in mind, swamps account for roughly 119% of Florida's land mass) is pickled and preserved for hundreds of years. While in college studying anthropology, I assisted on a dig (more of a 'bail,' really) in one of these swamps. We were excavating the remains of an indigenous Calusa settlement. Our professor uncovered an amazing find: an intact human skull over 1,000 years old. He gathered us all around, brushed away the mud, and raised the skull dramatically.

With a nauseating schlorp, something fell out of the foramen magnum: a one-thousand year old human brain. And that fascinated me: everything this late-adolescent male experienced, every skill he'd learned... It all laid there as a jellied grey-brown puddle in the mud. And it would have remained intact for even longer if we hadn't clumsily stumbled across it and suffered from our Indiana Jones fantasies. Ancient history always fascinated me, but seeing that brain in the mud felt almost like meeting a time-traveler. Since then, the idea of meeting people from the past has fascinated me.

Illustration by Kieran Yanner

It must be a common fascination, because that's what the science fiction classic The Ship of Ishtar covers in incredible detail. The setup is classic: Contemporary John Kenton discovers an artifact that hurls him sideways into a strange new world; but this premise is worth mentioning because A. Merritt's The Ship of Ishtar (written in 1924) is one of the earliest stories to use that device that became such a staple in later pulp. After his arrival, Kenton proceeds to beat up, ally with, or seduce everything on board a magical ship cursed by the Babylonian gods six millennia ago. Merritt narrates with both fists as Kenton interacts with an entire crew who remember a real-world culture long since vanished.

Abraham Merritt's writing style is complex and conversational, more a dramatic old man recounting the story to his grandkids between slugs of whiskey than a piece of literature. His love of exclamation points is almost poetic, and provided a host of new things that my roommates and I now yell at each other from opposite ends of the house. Probably not the most academic endorsement, but it certainly proves The Ship of Ishtar's entertainment chops.

So, in lieu of reconstituting the battered and filthy remnants of a long-dead Calusa's brains, now so much jello mold, I think I'll continue to sate my need for historical contact with fiction. Preferably of the pulp variety.

Seriously, it was disgusting. You should've been there! Seen—brains!

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Sci-Fried: Pucker Up

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

Back when I was a little ankle-chewer in the distant 1980s, there weren't a lot of strong female role models to choose from. Most of the women on TV were simpering damsels in distress or so fashion- and boy-crazy that they triggered my normally resilient goblin gag reflex. Then in 1985, Mattel rolled out She-Ra and my youthful, violent fanaticism found someone to latch onto. She-Ra still had a lot of fashion doll in her, but she had something that no other female character did: a friggin' sword! For a long while, She-Ra was my favorite show, and I still remember it fondly today, even if the series hasn't aged well.

And why in Lamashtu's name have I forced us all down this horrifying stagger through memory lane? So that it will really drive home the point when I say quite plainly: Jirel of Joiry would kick She-Ra's alabaster ass!

For this week's installment of Sci-Fried, I picked up a copy of the Planet Stories collection Black God's Kiss. Last time around, I enjoyed Kuttner's work on The Dark World, and in my research (and by research, I mean dumpster-diving in Wikipedia) I discovered that he co-wrote most of his later novels with his wife, C. L. Moore.

Illustration by Arnold Tsang

So, major spoilers: C. L. Moore is a woman!

Armed with the knowledge that women can write science fiction, I eagerly dove into Black God's Kiss. And I was not disappointed. The intrusion of pesky adventurers kept me from finishing all six thrilling tales, as their larcenous halfling made off with my copy in the fracas. But the first three short stories were more than enough to whet my appetite and have me picking up a replacement copy today at work.

Black God's Kiss collects Moore's six Jirel of Joiry stories into one convenient volume. The original badass, no-excuses warrior woman before Xena and Lara Croft made it cool, Jirel is the military commander (and later queen) of Joiry, a medieval French territory. She's the best swordswoman in the kingdom, the toughest brawler, and supremely focused on whatever her goal might be. She's every bit as violent as I am, but with all the self-confidence and human emotions I usually use my violence to compensate for.

But like an octopus without its legs, a cool character isn't much to look at if the writing is sub par. And Moore is par excellence. Moore's writing is like an expensive meal. You get the nourishing plot, of course, but what you really love is just putting the prose in your mouth and chewing, savoring those flavorful descriptions and the rich balance of analogies. It's like eating a pickle made out of tasty Halfling toes.

"But the darkness that bandaged her eyes was changed too, indescribably. It was no longer darkness, but void; not an absence of light, but simple nothingness."

That is art. It combines such simple ingredients to create an elegant whole and makes me understand a concept I could never personally experience without visiting family. It makes me want to backtrack, taste it again, and learn how to cook it myself. Jirel's travels beyond reality are so lip-smackingly vivid that they pull me in, despite the book's glaring minority of cephalopods.

Black God's Kiss is an exciting and fun collection of adventures with the kind of action-adventure hero that anyone can enjoy, and any gamer girl and empathize with. This isn't just a book I enjoy reading, this is a book I'm going to enjoy reading to my daughter some day...

Provided I can override my natural instincts to eat my young.

Well, third time's the charm.

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Crystal's Story Time: Sacrifice

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

My father taught me a very important lesson as a young goblin: never try to eat a live cat. He also taught me that anything that is truly important to you requires sacrifice. And not the fun sort of sacrifice, where you get the family together for dinner and grandma bakes stollen and we all sacrifice a bound-and-gagged human for the greater glory of Lamashtu. No, it demands the unpleasant sort of sacrifice.

Gaming is important to me, and this weekend, it took its sacrifice. While running my favorite Pathfinder campaign, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and pantomiming the grisly death of a moderately important NPC, I took a pratfall that resulted in the unthinkable: my glasses were snapped like so much optometric seagull bone.

With my uncanny goblin skills (and a healthy supply of glue and wire), the break was easy to patch, but the damage has been done. I now sport the Prometheus Unbound of eyewear, and my shame is without end. No longer am I the office beauty, as any goblin should be, but rather a misshapen and hideous creature, no better than a common kobold. My game took a sacrifice of my dignity...

It also made a sacrifice of the 2d6 copper pieces I have jealously guarded since I was declared a 'combatant' at adolescence, but until we get into silver pieces, money just doesn't compare to dignity.

But I am not alone. Any serious gamer has had to make at least one sacrifice or compromise for the sake of roleplaying, and if I have to wear my sacrifice on the bridge of my nose for a few days, so be it! That delightful Tom Hanks fellow sacrificed his dignity for gaming, and look at him now! Sacrifice is an important element in the stories we tell around the table: it adds the cost that makes a victory valuable or the pathos that makes an encounter memorable. And the little sacrifices we as players make are no less important or memorable than the spectacular tragedies our characters make, and probably mean more to us in the end.

Roleplaying is worth a little hassle now and then for the happiness it brings, the friendships it forges, the occasional romance it inspires, and the birth of Warduke, who will unite us all beneath his iron fist. My sacrifice amused my friends and made their table experience that much more real, and I'm sure it will give my coworkers a few laughs as well. So as oxymoronic as it may be, I'll wear my wounded dignity with pride until I can get to the optometrist this weekend.

But until then, I can't see jack.

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Sci-Fried: It's a Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark World

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Cave Raptors are sated; It's time to blog!

Time for a little back history on everyone's favorite literate goblin (and by that, I mean Golarion's only literate goblin): I love science fiction, but I am woefully ignorant of the subject. I sat on my mother's knee and watched Star Wars and Star Trek, I read through my father's dog-eared old copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and a few of my Saturday morning cartoons were set in space. That's about it. I remember reading some John Carter of Mars in junior high, but it didn't leave enough of an impression on me at the time that I even remember it that well. As embarrassing as it is for any goblin to admit, I just don't know much about this subject I enjoy, least of all its mysterious origins.

I supposed that's why Erik Mona, Pierce Watters, Christopher Carey, and James Sutter, the quartet behind Paizo's Planet Stories, line, asked me to start reading and reviewing this classic science fiction. Without any fond childhood memories (literally; my childhood involved being locked in a rabbit hutch with my 27 siblings), I wouldn't be viewing any of our Planet Stories fiction through the lens of nostalgia. Instead, I can dole out honest thoughts and observations on twentieth-century classics from a twenty-first century perspective.

Illustration by Emrah Elmasli

From my perspective, this is both thrilling and terrifying, like riding one of those blood-thirsty horses humans are so fond of. Now I get to read the classic origins of science fiction from almost a century ago for work, but at the same time, these are books that my boss loves. If I don't like them, will he feed me to the dreaded bandersnatch? Plus the library of Planet Stories is huge, and getting bigger every other month! Growing like a well-fed literary octopus (and you thought those metaphors were dead and gone). For my very first Sci-Fried, I decided to look at Henry Kuttner's The Dark World.

Time for another confession that will get me laughed at in the forums: I selected Mr. Kuttner because I really enjoyed the movie The Last Mimzy, which is based on Kuttner's short story Mimsy Were the Borogroves. I imagined that Dark World would be somewhat similar, familiar, and comforting in this strange new land of fiction.

But no. There was nary a stuffed rabbit to be found.

Instead, the story follows Edward Bond, who is not a little girl but rather a World War II veteran who feels strangely out of place in his own skin. It turns out that Edward Bond is not Edward Bond at all, but rather the wizard Ganelon from a parallel world, trussed up with Edward Bond's memories and life as a prison. I don't want to share too much of the story, but obviously the majority of the book takes place in the bizarre titular "Dark World," and many of the descriptions of this setting are both psychedelic and believable.

Kuttner's writing style is distinctively "chunky;" very intricate descriptions and bulgy sentences that can be a little difficult to handle at first if you're used to the "say it all now" style of modern authors. But The Dark World drew me in after the first chapter, and I had trouble putting the book down once that happened. What at first seemed like a fantasy story instead took a sharp turn into sci-fi as Kuttner tried to explain everything from vampires and werewolves to Cthulhian gods with the science of the 1940s. Some of the theories stretched my suspension of disbelief, but never quite broke it. Having finished the book now, I almost wish it were longer, with more time to examine the uncanny science and history of the Dark World itself.

The narrator is probably the best part of the book. We see everything through the protagonist's eyes, but until the very end we're never told for certain whether it's Ganelon with Edward's memories, or Edward with Ganelon's memories. Control switches between the two personalities, and bits of memory bleed through to the other, which makes what could've been an obnoxiously perfect hero into an underdog I could root for. I really want to spoil the ending, because it made me cackle with delight, but instead I will demand that you order your own copy and read it for yourself.

My final impressions of The Dark World are that it can be a difficult book to start, but once you get into the pace and get used to Kuttner's narrative flavor, it's an impossible book to stop. Once all the pieces are in play, the action flows fast and furious, with only occasional chapter breaks to let you catch your breath. The Dark World is relatively short, making it a great first step into the genre of pulp that you can read in one sitting. If you love science and history as much as I do, then some of the genre explanations will make you positively giddy. A fun book, even 63 years after it was originally published, and definitely one I'd recommend.

Dark World may have lacked hyper-advanced stuffed bunnies, but that's only because this book is for grownups.

Crystal Frasier
Production Specialist

Ecology of the Pathfinder Product, Part 6: Move 6d6 Tons, and what do you get?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

So far, we've uncovered the shocking details of raising an innocent idea into a rebellious roleplaying product, but if your beloved book never moves out of the house, then it will never really make anything of itself. Now is the time when a PDF, so self-important, must go out into the world by itself. And sure, it may come back wrinkled or torn, or even upside down, but without that life experience, it will never truly be its own book. It's time to talk about the physical, blue-collar side of game design: printing, warehousing, and distribution.

For all intents and purposes, Dwarves is ready to pack up and head off to college. Out of sight of its overprotective developers and even its best friend, the art director, it will grow into a bearded adult of glossy pages and the comforting scent of ink. Then it comes home, where its loving parents criticize its dress, notices it's gained weight, and implies that it should cut its hair because it looks like a hippy. Then it leaves again.

Printing of RPG products is arranged through horrible, arcane methods, often via deals with unseen and unknowable supernatural powers. Paizo prefers to deal through the fey, who are both adept at weaving physical products from ideas and accept readily available sandwiches as payment (in truth, lead developer Jason Buhlman's most important contribution to the company is his astounding egg salad, which pleases the fey queen Titania and ensures a lasting business relationship and a minimum of ironic curses). Once the electronic layout of a book is finished, it is transferred through a series of tubes to the distant faerie courts. The attending pixies immediately spin it into gold, and then press the gold itself into physical books and arrange for its return. Total elapsed time to print a Paizo product: 14 minutes. Sadly, due to the unstable chronological connection between the First World and our own mortal realm, upwards of two months may pass in our world during that 14 minutes.

Eventually, sprite couriers, glamered as UPS drivers, drop off multiple tons of product at the Paizo warehouse. This fabulous structure, adjacent to the production offices, is the realm of warehouse manager and 10th-level monk Jeff Strand. The warehouse stores not only Paizo's catalog of products, but also much of the stock for the online store, and so organization is vital. Inhuman physical strength is also important, as every pallet of products can weigh up to an Imperial ton (which is to say, it weighs as much as 2,000 pounds worth of emperors). Jeff and his able-bodied assistants work tirelessly to ship orders out as soon new product arrives, focusing first on Paizo's thousands of loyal subscribers. During these rushes, Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens and Vice President Jeff Alvarez can even be found braving the warehouse's icy trenches and lurking glabrezu in order to send books far and wide.

The enormity of Paizo's distribution efforts is staggering, especially to a little goblin. In addition to sending out literally tons of product at a time to subscribers and fans, pallets of each and every product to come through the door immediately goes back out to retail distributors like Alliance and Diamond. Like NBA scouts, these distributors then ship our MVPs all across the U.S. of A. and beyond, across the ocean to Europe and even north into the fabled Canada. And this volume doesn't even include our licensees who translate Paizo products for non-English-speaking fans.

Printing and distribution are vital to the lifecycle of a gaming product. Without that final kick out of the nest, to plummet or soar, pages would be doomed to constant revision. Roleplaying is built on a spine of pulp and glue, and losing the physical quality of the game book means losing an important piece of our heritage. Without that healthy respect for the past, the next generation will grow up cold and mechanical, controlled as they are by the fluoride in their computer screens. By the end, we'll bow before our PDF overlords, and soylent green will be people!

Plus, if you drop your latest Pathfinder in the bathtub, you can fix it with a hairdryer—try doing that with an e-reader!

This wraps up our quick review of the Paizo publishing process; you now understand as much about creating new products as I do. Starting next week, we'll take a look at existing Paizo products with our new feature, Sci-Fried.

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

Ecology of the Pathfinder Product, Part 5: Layabout

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

There comes a time in every game product's life when a developer has to learn to let go; to let his sweet, innocent babe go out, make mistakes, and grow into a book. A game product needs to stay out late, crash the car, and hang out with the wrong crowd. And that wrong crowd is the art director, in Paizo's case the amazing Sarah Robinson and the undefeated James Davis.

Welcome to the jungle we call layout.

When last we saw Dwarves of Golarion's's art director, she was a childhood friend helping to tutor the infant sourcebook in good grooming and healthy posture. But now that editorial puberty has hit, the art director becomes a corruptive influence. She'll introduce the book to page composition, gateway fonts, and the pagan ways of design. While the developer cares about making a good text, the art director (or humble-yet-beautiful production goblin) is only concerned with tarting the book up.

Once development and editing are finished, layout is everything else. It means making an attractive page that doesn't remind the reader of a junior-high science textbook. It means making sure the words, the art, and all the stat blocks don't trip over each other. It also means constantly harassing the developers and editors to cut or add words and send material to work with in a timely fashion. The process is arduous, often checking a work line by line for tight spacing or dangling widows (who hang around poorly laid-out products to get their kicks; during last month's move we uncovered no fewer than thirty-eight widows cleverly concealing themselves in the recycling bin). For any given product, the process may take hours, days, or even weeks, depending on how recently the art director has been fed.

In ye olden times, layout was performed by hand, using glue and a layout churn to mock up a page and send it away to the printer by horseless carriage. These days, much of the hard work of layout is performed by computer, where all the trimming and gluing are handled digitally. The common computer terms "Cut," "Paste," and "Churn" actually hail from these pre-computer layout processes.

This is the basic workspace, with the guides for page and column sizes. Boring enough.

Our text needs to live somewhere fancy, so first we design an attractive page.

We drop in the formatted text from the developer next.

Now we switch everything to a dwarfier font and adjust the text spacing a little.

Add some frames and titles, so we all know what we're looking at.

Now we drop in our artwork, wrap the text around it, and make sure everything fits.

And that's a finished spread!

Like a fancy show octopus with a mastery of sign language, a well laid-out product is a joy to look upon and easy to understand. While the prose might make a book beloved, its layout makes it popular, and often the only difference between a bestseller and a discount special is how well each page presents itself. Without good layout, even well-written books would languish in exile, their hideous countenances creating a wall between themselves and the general populace. Resentment would set in, and as their numbers grew alongside their discontent, murmurs of revolution would spread. Cries of "Viva la Composicion!" would echo through the winding streets, followed by bloody, horrific riots. Heads of editors and writers alike would roll as the dispossessed texts yearned for justice, but settled for vengeance.

To dodge that bloodshed, make sure to follow up your writing and editing with a loving layout. The bourgeoisie will thank you for your effort.

And now our baby manuscript has grown up into a finished book! Or has it? Still nothing more than a digital file and a pile of black-and-white printouts, Dwarves won't be it's own book until it has returned with a diploma from one of several prestigious printers. Next week, we'll examine what goes on once the book is out of Paizo's hands.

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

Ecology of the Pathfinder Product, Part 4: The Editor's Compositional Fitness Challenge

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

Yes, editing: the sport of grammatically minded kings. So far we've examined the natural growth of Dwarves of Golarion, as well as its invaluable hours of education, and yet we've ignored physical fitness. Without a steady regimen of editing, our little manuscript could turn into a clumsy butterball, drawing ridicule and cruelty from other game products.

To keep a product trim, healthy, and happy, it's going to need editors to run it through its paces.

According to Paizo's editorial tag-team of Christopher Carey and James Sutter, an editor's job involves neither crushing the dreams of authors nor blindly hacking away at text, but instead is a carefully crafted routine to burn off flabby text and improve narrative posture. Like a cephalopod, any quality Paizo product needs to hit the gym regularly to keep it healthy. Just like any fitness-obsessed octopus will hit both the free-weights and the treadmill, Paizo products will rotate their editing to catch problems with grammar, spelling, word choice, continuity, voice, and even the occasional rewrite to adjust the word count. Even the greatest authors will occasionally dip into the candy-coated bacon of purple prose or forget to tie their punctuation, so a good editor can help make sure every product can fit into its cover before the big class reunion.

The amount of editing any given product needs is easily determined with the formula n+1, where n is the amount of time you actually have to edit the book. Because of this conundrum, it's important for editors to make the most of the time they do have. At Paizo, the ideal grammatical specimen sees four editorial passes: two from each of Paizo's own hard-nosed prose-wranglers. A 'pass' is a single read-through. Obsessive-compulsive as any wild pack rat, these editors greedily gobble up any mistakes they sniff out, trading it for proper spellings or active voice. And because anyone, even editors, can make mistakes, multiple passes and different editors help to ensure that no errors go unexamined.

For Paizo products especially, the editors also serve the dual role of security. They stand constant vigil over continuity of Golarion, ensuring that dead NPCs don't crop back up, that cities don't spontaneously shift location, and that worst of enemies aren't running around as BFF. The editors have the blessing and curse to read every product Paizo releases, from thrilling Planet Stories to mysterious modules, and serve as living repositories of the universe.

And yet they stay so svelte, just like the products they care for.

Editing is necessary for the health and longevity of a product. Without it, mistakes, typos, and plain, old dead wood can slip through into the final product, clogging intakes eventually leading to frustration overheating in readers. The heat released by frustrated readers contributes to the inconvenient truth of global warming, melting the polar ice caps, flooding coastal regions, and causing alligator populations to explode. Ultimately, mankind devolves into primitive tribes of swamp dwellers, hiding in terror from the maurading ultra-gators that have made this marshy, dystopian Earth their own!

So to keep your writing trim and healthy, and to ensure the survival of the human race, edit!

Now that our product is happy, healthy, and knows where its going in life, next week we're ready for that special time in every product's life when it truly becomes a book. Next week, we examine layout!

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

Ecology of the Pathfinder Product, Part 3: An Outbreak of Art

Tuesday, October 5, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated; It's time to blog!

As it stands, Dwarves of Golarion is now written and assembled by its loving developer. Though awkward and gangly, we can see what it will finally grow up into. But at this point, this happy child is nothing more than a text document in the daycare that is a documents folder, happy rolling in the mud and receiving bowl cuts from mom. But there's an ugly truth for gaming products that this little production goblin's learned at her junior prom: you can be creative and brilliant, but if you don't look good, nobody'll pick you up.

Enter the art order, the good grooming of game design.

The majestic octopus mates for life, and hopes to find a sensitive and intellectually compatible lover that shares its appreciation of American Gothic poetry, but it will make its initial judgments based on appearance and health. Similarly, good art can make a product seem interesting and romantic before the first words are even read. It can make the difference between a product you don't tell your friends about, and one you take home to mom. But like an attractive octopus, a quality illustration must be carefully cared for if it is to be worthwhile.

The art order begins once the text for a product has begun development. By now, the developer knows how everything will shake down, even if the specifics remain a mystery. The developer will sit down with the decorator crab that is the art director, and with careful attention to the budget, they decide how much art the book can stand and what compelling elements to call out in pictorial form. With that list completed, the task is kicked back to the developer and his editorial cronies, who write up brief descriptions of all the illustrations they'll need to get their product a seat at the popular table during lunch.

By now, the art director is already comfortable in its den, combing through the preferred artists list and thinking about what to assign to whom. Just like writers and tutors, different artists' styles lend themselves better to different moods and fit different products*. A happy, bubbly, or wacky artist would be a terrible fit for Dwarves of Golarion's "quiet and cool" attitude, and would be better suited for its goofy sidekick, Gnomes of Golarion. Once the art orders are written, the art director mails them along to the illustrators of choice, together with the promise of great riches.

The first thing received from the artists are those embarrassing family photos we like to call 'sketches.' These are passed out among the editorial and art staff, who make crippling judgments about cowlicks, large ears, and crooked teeth that will haunt the product well into adulthood. They also make note of any changes the artist needs to make.

Finally, the finished images are received from the artists who, like the octopus, die shortly afterwards. This cruel cycle of nature provides the few glimpse of a grown-up, mature product that needs to be home by ten because tonight is a school night.

Illustrations by Jeremy McHugh

The art order is vital in a product's life cycle because it prevents the normally docile artists from breaking free of their enclosures and wandering the streets, mauling and tagging innocent civilians at random. It also serves as the cranial implant that prevents the art directors from seizing the reigns of power and assuming their rightful places as god-kings, directing the entirety of a company's funding into a single, penultimate illustration that makes children weep and grown men fall to their knees in prayer. Very important if you are a company looking to put out more than one product.

By now in the life cycle, our game product has begun to grow up and go through some awkward changes. Suitors have come calling, and its started wearing makeup. Tune in next week when we'll examine how to cope with your precious first draft's frustrating period of editing!

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

*Except for Wayne Reynolds, whose art is universal and can bring peace to warring nations.

Ecology of the Pathfinder Product, Part 2: The Awkward Development Years

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave Raptors are sated; It's time to blog!

When last we left Dwarves of Golarion, it was a mere egg of an outline, being fussed over by attentive parents and waiting to hatch. But now it is time for that blessed moment when an idea emerges into the world as written words! It is time for… the development phase!

Development is the process of growing a book from an idea and a few rough notes into written text, rearing the infant outline into a rebellious and hateful teenager who will keep you up at nights, drinking your secret stash of scotch and praying to god it turns out alright. Much like the rearing of the noble octopus, a game product requires two separate parties: the designer and the developer. Designers are the writers and artists (more on those wily and attractive artists next week), while the developers are the core who tie everything together. Where developers are comparable to an overprotective parent, designers are more akin to teachers: chosen carefully by the developer to impart information and direction to their snot-nosed offspring.

Of course, this is not an insult. Both octopi and game developers are widely known for their post-nasal drip.

Choosing a writer is a careful task. Like parents, developers want someone who will make their job easier. These choices are made by means of an arcane formula that takes into account past products, punctuality, and relative position of the stars. Managing Editor Wes Schneider admits that Paizo relies on a small, incestuous lot of authors to rear our products. Putting new designers through their paces requires time and branding irons, both of which Paizo has in painfully limited quantities*.

For roleplaying products, the ideal designer can fill three vital roles for the juvenile product: author, game mechanic, and artisan. Telling a good story and having a firm grasp of the mechanics are important, but just as vital and oft overlooked is the role of player-friendly artifacts in a young game's life. Like a sweater vest, legible maps and gripping player handouts are those little touches that decide if a product rides along on the bus or resides at the cool table at lunch.

The developers' job is just as challenging and vital to give their books the best chance at happiness. They need to organize everything those precious bundles have absorbed from their designers and make sure they play nice with the other products. A developer needs to tweak the mechanics to balance with the system at large, rewrite some fluff to keep the narrative canon, and embarrass the product in front of its friends. Even the best writing needs at least a week or two in development, says Schneider, because "folks aren't here every day, and they don't know exactly what we need."

Dwarves of Golarion and similar anthology products are like troubled foster kids: they get bounced between several authors and other corrupting influences. A firm and loving eyeball is needed to guide them through this troubled time. The twitterpated Sean Reynolds, developer in charge of this problem child, has had his hands full. Every line written by its savage gang of authors needs to be reviewed for balance and continuity, and he must occasionally search its room for illicit substances and pop culture references.

Without proper development, a game product suffers. Its already-overworked Paizo parents stretch themselves too thin trying to write thousands of words a day while maintaining their backbreaking day jobs in the grammar mines. Neglected and uneducated, the books would fall back into dull narrative habits and eventually turn to crime to make ends meet. Crime rates skyrocket, property values plummet, and we are all left unprepared for the forthcoming invasion of the reptimen from the Earth's core!

So, for a happy and contributing addition to the RPG landscape, make sure you follow the example of the methodical octopus. Keep a close group of talent to help raise your products, but don't give away your own parental responsibilities!

Tune in next week, when we examine the art of art, and stretch the octopus metaphor to it's breaking point!

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

*Wes also mentions that if you're a newcomer who'd like to write for Paizo and has a high pain threshold, you should still write and submit. Both the Pathfinder Society Open Call and RPG Superstar are Paizo's favorite tools for reviewing new blood in an organized setting. Publishing your own material online through a blog or website is a good icebreaker as well (check out Paizo's Community Use Policy for more details). Being on productive and nonviolent terms with other publishers also helps, as the RPG industry is made up of a mere 73 people, all of whom know each other personally and frequently gather for the imbibing of caustic organic solvents.

Ecology of the Pathfinder Product, Part 1: Hatching an Outline

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Cave raptors are sated, so now it is time for blogging!

Few things spring into the world fully formed, and game products are no exception. And if you aren't involved in the publishing industry, you might expect the life cycle of a supplement as unknowable as that of an octopus.

And it is.

As a neophyte nanny in the Paizo maternity ward, my elbows-deep, on-the-job training has been a real eye-opener. And if I have to suffer through that experience, then there's no reason not to share the pain. Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look at the stages of development of a young sourcebook, show off embarrassing baby pictures, and generally demystify the miracle of life as we follow Dwarves of Golarion from Outline, to Development, through Art Orders, Editing, Layout, Extra Editing, and finally Printing and Shipping.

The octopus knows it is time to reproduce when the seasons are right. Similarly, Paizo Publisher par excellence, Erik Mona, explains that a product first emerges when the various carriers demand a season's previews for their catalogs. At this point, the development team enters a furious ritual to determine whose memes are passed on to the next generation of Pathfinder canon.

Once the product ideas are agreed upon, each one goes on to outlining.

As a book egg, the outline doesn't tell us much, except that the book is healthy and to start preparing the office for its blessed arrival. We know who the proud papas are, and the outline hints if the book will grow into a fluffy nerd or crunchy jock, but nothing is set in stone just yet. Developers dig out warm nests in a hard drive to house the outline, lining it with file folders and sticky notes until writers can be assigned to help the book hatch and develop. A title (and adorable nickname) is decided upon, the chapters are parsed out, words counts are decided, and a handful of notes give developers and contributors an idea what the baby book will look like all grown up.

Unlike the noble octopus, the developer does not hover over the outline, constantly blowing salt water over it. Sean Reynolds occasionally spills latte on his, but more in a crude ritual to beg the gaming gods for the product's continued health.

Some things are immutable: Companions and Modules are Small sized (32pages), while Chronicles and APs will grow to Medium size (64 and 96 pages). Much like octopi, the largest, healthiest writers get first claim to the larger, healthier books, though until the outline hatches into development, even it's parentage can change.

Dwarves of Golarion Outline

As we can see from these adorable Dwarves of Golarion baby photos, the prenatal book doesn't resemble the adult product except in title. As the final draft of the outline, it's already showing the beginning signs of development: Exact words counts for each chapter have been decided and writers have been assigned to sit on the project until it hatches. We can also see in the bottom, left-hand corner that a goblin has chewed on this outline: an obvious indicator of superior product!

Without the outline, development would grow higgledy-piggledy, with chapters repeating each other, growing like tumors until they stretched the page count to breaking. Writers would run free, uncontrolled and burning things they shouldn't burn. Chaos would spill into the streets, and civilization as we know it would crumble.

So remember kids, be like the mighty octopus: plan your books carefully before getting started and save us all unneeded anarchy.

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

They appreciate my mastery of fire...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Illustration by Crystal Frasier

Greetings from the new Paizo caverns! As the newest addition to the war party, it falls on me to write today's blog. I am Crystal, and yes, I am named after a shiny rock. We can all thank my grandfather and his love of all things shiny.

When I first met the very talented Sarah Robinson in a hotel restroom and asked her about layout and design, I never expected that to turn into a real internship, let alone a job. My own experience in production work has been limited, but my enthusiasm, wit, and mastery of fire have impressed the Paizo staff enough to bring me into the fold.

It's hardly surprising, of course. Much of my life has been spent gaming or burning down peasant villages, the two skills the gaming industry demands.

My first experiences with roleplaying come from junior high, where I was none-too-politely barred from joining the gaming club for 1) being a girl, 2) never having played before, and 3) mauling the faculty advisor (see issue #1 and #2). My first play experience came in high school, thanks to Palladium Books' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness. As a poor country goblin, I didn't even have my own fancy dice; instead I used paper lunch sacks. I filled them with numbered chits, and just drew my results instead of rolling for them. Some days I miss my "b20." Since then, games have filled my life, even to the point of writing and developing a few projects for small companies. Some of the stellar games I obsess over include Green Ronin's Mutants and Masterminds, Wizards of the Coast's d20 Modern and Ghostwalk, Hijinks (created by Paizo for Polyhedron #158), and Margaret Weiss's Serenity RPG, as well as the obscure and unheard-of Pathfinder RPG.

My mastery of fire is a meandering, unlikely tale and will need to wait for another day.

Working with the Paizo crew is exciting; these are some of the best writers, developers, and designers in the industry, and they work hard at jobs they love. Never have I seen such dedication in any career that did not include the words "chocolate factory" or "brewery." The offices themselves are delightfully non-Euclidean, and I've learned the hard way to keep my distance from the impossible corners and ignore the whispers.

As a production assistant, I help fill in the cracks and manage the grunt work for Paizo's savage art directors, James Davis and Sarah Robinson. This usually means managing the digital archives, making changes the editors want, and topping off the coffee. The harder I work, the easier it is for James and Sarah to weave their arcane rituals, transforming the mad, gibbering scrawls the editors create into those glorious Pathfinder and Gamemastery products we all know and love. Also, twice a week I descend into the sub-basement and feed the cave-raptors, lest their terrible hungers overwhelm them and they rampage through the offices, making books late.

And none of this would be possible if I hadn't worked up the nerve to talk to Sarah about learning the layout arts. So remember, if you really want to work for Paizo Publishing, the secret is propositioning someone in the bathroom!*

Crystal Frasier
Production Assistant

* The secret is not really bathroom propositions. Neither the author, nor Paizo Publishing, LLC endorse this course of action. Paizo will not be held liable for resulting criminal charges or civil lawsuits that may result. Offer not valid in Minnesota. Side effects include nasal discharge, headaches, and dice bags under the eyes.

Pathfinder Swag!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It's already starting to feel like a ghost town here at Paizo headquarters as the majority of the staff packs up and heads off for Gen Con Indy. With the debut of the Pathfinder RPG, we're totally excited, but also expecting the convention to be four days of absolute madness. So what are we doing? Oh, we're adding fuel to that fire, of course! There's already going to be tons of opportunities to get Paizo swag just by stopping by our booth, but in addition to the Pathfinder RPG, the annual Paizo delve, tons of Pathfinder Society Events, and way more, we're adding buttons! That's right, special, collectible Gen Con '09 Pathfinder Buttons. For as long as they last on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we'll be giving away a different button, allowing you to show your love for the grim gray maidens, those madcap goblins, or the lovely Seoni. So hurry on over to the Paizo Booth (#2312) every day to pick up the whole set!

And that's it! We're off. We'll see you all at Gen Con Indy!

Wes Schneider
Managing Editor

The Mad Artist of Manifest!

Monday, November 17, 2008

A few years back Sean K Reynolds had a hand in writing a particularly morbid and unusual book. That's probably not too helpful a statement considering that he cranks out like 35 a year*, so to narrow it down a little more, it was about ghosts. And to narrow it down even further, it was called Ghostwalk.

Since moving into the desk next to mine (and covering it with enough miniatures to give the tarrasque lead poisoning), Sean's been brimming with artistic fervor. To help with that, a few weeks back Lisa dropped a few big boxes of Ghostwalk at his desk and asked for signatures. That way, anyone who buys the book through the Paizo store gets a neat little collectors item.

But oh no! Sean "The 'K' is for Kreative" Reynolds couldn't just sign a box of books, he had to get out his colored pens... and pencils... and oil paints. Just check out a few of his unexpected masterpieces here. And if you've ordered a copy of Ghostwalk recently, good luck, 'cause there's no telling what you might get!

F. Wesley Schneider
Pathfinder Managing Editor

*(Expect more details on the SKR Book of the Week Club in the distant future.)

A little history for Falling: The Goblin Edition

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Sometimes it truly amazes me how things work in real life. Most of the time, there's a strategy behind our product releases. Many months of scheming and preparation go into each Paizo product. Sometimes, though, there's a project like Falling that... falls into our laps.

A few months ago we were sitting around the conference table brainstorming new products for the Titanic Games line. Somebody, I think it was Mike Selinker, said "What about Falling?" That was all it took!

"Let's set it in Golarion!"

"Let's use goblins!"

"Yeah, goblins falling from the sky!"

"Goblins falling from the sky and fighting! We can make another goblin song!"

That turned out to be a perfect fit! A re-envisioning of one of James Ernest's most popular card games, now out of print for many years, was suddenly slated to be our next release.

Coming up with the idea is sometimes the easiest step in producing a great product. Really, it's the quality of the writing or the style of the art that makes or breaks a game. In this case we knew that it was crucial that the art style spoke to the fun and silly aspects of the game while keeping true to the world we were building in Pathfinder. Fortunately for us, we had just the guy to stay true to our vision. Our own in-house Drew Pocza did a tremendous job on our Christmas card last year and we knew his cartoonish style would work perfectly for our version of Falling. Drew jumped at the chance, and the rest just fell together.

Here are another couple of cards from Falling: The Goblin Edition. We hope you like them!

Jeff Alvarez
Titanic Games Brand Manager

Last Gobby Down, Wins

Friday, April 18, 2008

We are still working on it, but we wanted to give you a look at a couple of cards from Titanic Games' upcoming remake of the popular card game, Falling. Falling was an incredibly fun game and, unfortunately, isn't in print anymore. We thought it'd be fun to re-imagine it and, once again, enjoy the downright frenetic game play. So, we set the Golems to work! Here is a taste of the juice from the fruits of their labors. Do you have what it takes to be the last to kiss the ground?

Jacob Burgess
Online Retail Coordinator

The Birth of Bugbears

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

What horrors and fearsome bogeymen await in Classic Monsters Revisited? Among the creatures presented in that savage-filled volume are the cunning and fear-mongering bugbears. And what spawned these foul creatures? Read on, gentle readers, and quake in fear!

"Bugbears are the loners of goblinkind. One creation myth claims the first bugbears were born to goblin parents, but emerged from the womb covered in shaggy fur. They soon proved far different from their kin, delighting in terrorizing other children and eventually murdering several members of the tribe, until they were cast out to wander aimlessly forever alone. Some skulked in the shadows surrounding their parents' communities and preyed on their own, savoring the fear. On occasion, adventurers discover goblinoid settlements reduced to ghost towns. Some whisper that such places are laid to waste when a family in the tribe birthed a bugbear and it hunted them to the last."
—Classic Monsters Revisited

Mike McArtor
Editor

Sneak Peek: Classic Monsters Revisited

Friday, March 14, 2008

Get a quick glimpse of Paizo's reimagining of some of your favorite monsters featured in Classic Monsters Revisited. Goblins and trolls and ogres, oh my!

Carolyn Mull
Pazio Sales & Marketing Assistant

Happy Holidays from Paizo

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Here at Paizo we are pleased to bring some joy, with a little ditty that was on our Holiday Card. Seasons Greetings!

(Sung to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Sneaking through your yard,
Going through your stuff,
Hope you didn't like your dog; we got a little rough!
Tied him to a stump.
Lit the stump on fire.
Maybe you'll wake up in time to put out puppy's pyre!

Now we're in your house,
It's fancied up so nice!
With shiny things set all about, there's lots to break and slice!
Here's a stocking full,
And there's a gift-wrapped toy,
For a bit we stand agog—there's so much to destroy!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

In a pile, Goblin style!
What could be more fun?
Breaking toys for girls and boys
Until we're finally done!

When you wake, hearts will break;
Because we've had our way!
This is great! Let's celebrate!
A Goblin Holiday!

Rise of the Item Card Contest, Part 1

Friday, November 2, 2007

With the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path well underway in the pages of Pathfinder, and a special Item Card deck tied specifically to those adventures soon to be released, we here at Paizo Publishing have decided to give you a chance to score one of these great accessories.

One question about Pathfinder will be presented each week. Answer it correctly and get entered into a drawing to win a free deck of Rise of the Runelords Item Cards, shipped to you when the set releases. Just send an email with your answer, your name, and your paizo.com screen name to contest@paizo.com. Make sure to put the phrase "Runelords #1" in the subject line of the email.

This week we're going to take a look at some of the items your PCs might encounter in part 1 of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, "Burnt Offerings." While many of these are wielded by pesky goblins, a number of them might end up in the hands of your adventurers.

Question #1: How many creatures in all of Thistletop can speak the goblin tongue?

All answers for Question #1 are due by 12:01 PM Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, November 8th. Good Luck!

Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager

Kyle's Magnificent Menagerie

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Some of you may have already noticed a striking stylistic similarity between the fun cartoon goblin illustrating Pathfinder #1's introduction and those strange little monsters that used to appear in Dungeon to illustrate the Dungeoncraft column and the table of contents. That's because both series are done by one of our favorite artists and creative minds, Downer creator Kyle Stanley Hunter.

Much as he did in Dungeon, each month Kyle will be giving us his unique take on a key monster found in that month's volume of Pathfinder. For "The Skinsaw Murders," for instance, he's produced a fearsome ghoul, and future adventures will bring ogres, giants, and more.

We're all super-excited to have Kyle onboard for this and some other super-exciting secret projects a bit farther down the road, and for those of you unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend checking out Downer: Wandering Monster or his personal website at www.superunicorn.com/kyle/, both of which contain galleries featuring dozens more of his trademark "mini monsters."

James Sutter
Assistant Editor, Pathfinder

Monsters Are to Pathfinder What Icing Is to Cake

Monday, April 23, 2007

I've made no secret of my obsession for new monsters. I love them. I can never get enough of them. Will I ever use all the monsters I've collected through my decades of RPG enthusiasm? Absolutely not. But I wouldn't give up any of them.

Unlike magic items or spells, new monsters are things that a GM can introduce into a game without fear that they'll disrupt a campaign. If they prove too lame (as was the case of my home campaign's flying, slavering eradu—a sort of warthog-shark intended to be the "new bulette," but who ended up being glass-jawed, one-hit loser), it's easy enough to never use them again. But once your PCs get your hands on things like new spells and new magic items, it's much harder to back them out of the campaign without a lot of tears and thrown dice.

With Pathfinder, we're embracing the new monster completely. Every volume will feature a bestiary that spotlights roughly six new monsters. Some of them will have roles in that month's adventure while others might just be there to add flavor to our new campaign setting. A few might even be previews of an Adventure Path years down the road. Some will be drawn from real-world myth, some from cryptozoological reports, and some wholly from the minds of our authors. Hopefully we'll all have some new favorite monsters in the months to come!

But talking about monsters isn't enough. We don't have art in yet for the six new monsters that are going to be in the first volume of Pathfinder to support the first adventure, "Burnt Offerings," but we do have descriptions of them. And while names of these monsters are placeholders in many cases, their descriptions are locked in. Check them out! (Warning: as with most of these blogs, spoilers below!)

Attic Whisperer

This undead thing resembles a child's skeleton with the paws and grinning skull of a fox. It is gray and covered with cobwebs, and dust falls endlessly from its mouth. It holds a ragged stuffed child's toy, its eyes pierced by pins, in its skeletal, fox-like hands. The creature is dressed in a small sleeping gown that looks like it was partially burned in a fire, as if it were the remains of a child who had died in bed.

Giant Gecko

There are two breeds of giant gecko in Varisia. The first is the size of a small horse or pony, maybe 8 feet long from head to tail. His eyes are bright blue and his body brightly colored. His open mouth holds hundreds of fangs, and his feet have large flat toes.

The second breed is much larger and more muscular, running about 14 feet long from snout to tail tip. This gecko has horns and a ridge of spines running down its back. Its eyes are bright red, and green smoking drool drips from its mouth, indication of its venomous bite.

Goblin Dog

While goblins ride worgs, wolves, and giant geckos when they can get them, most goblins are stuck with these disturbing mounts. Shaped like a limber greyhound but with a feral, ratlike face and tail, goblin dogs share their masters' hatred of real dogs. Their front two paws are tiny, black, ratlike hands, and their attitudes are all snarls and froth.

Goblin Snake

This strange snakelike monster is about 6 feet long and coiled around the roots of a tree that hang down from the roof of a cave. The snake has a black body with a thin racing stripe down its flank. Its back is a ridge of tiny horns. Its head is actually that of a goblin, but with a forked tongue and no ears. It has wide white snake eyes and a large mouth with two large viper fangs in the front. Some sages hold that goblin snakes are atrophied, deformed nagas, while most goblins believe that they're reincarnated heroes sent back to this world to punish goblin enemies.

Runespawn

Humanoid but deformed, the runespawn is an emaciated horror with unnaturally long arms and legs. Its hands each have two talon-tipped fingers and a thumb, and their legs bend like those of a dog. It's dressed in tatters and rags that expose much of its skin; veins bulge all over their bodies, forming dark blue or red patterns that look like twisted runes. Their flesh is pale and hairless. The runespawn's heads are curiously elongated. They have only a pair of slits for a nose, and their eyes are bulging and red, with no visible eyebrows. Yet for all this horror, their mouths are the most disturbing, for their lower jaw splits in half at the chin into pedipalps that end in tiny three-fingered hands that writhe about, eager to feed delicious morsels into an open gullet with a lolling tongue.

Sandpoint Devil

This critter is heavily inspired by the northeastern U.S. legend of the Jersey Devil. The Sandpoint version of this monster is a horrible horse-like creature with a fang-filled mouth, large bat wings, and a reptilian tail. Rumored to have been birthed by a woman cursed by Lamashtu, goddess of monsters and madness, the Sandpoint Devil is one of the most famous local legends. Despite long-standing rewards for its capture, it has never been caught. But when hunters and travelers go missing, chances are you'll hear tell that the Sandpoint Devil got them.

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief

Cover illustration for volume 1. Click to enlarge.

Reinventing The Wheel

Friday, April 20, 2007

Originally, the main menace in "Burnt Offerings," the first Rise of the Runelords adventure, was going to be a tribe of kobolds, because let's face it—everyone loves kobolds. So much so, in fact, that they ended up being the bad guys for the first GameMastery Module, which hits the shelves two months before "Burnt Offerings." Which is cool for Crown of the Kobold King, but left "Burnt Offerings" without a pint-sized menace.

Enter Wayne Reynolds.

The decision to have Wayne paint the first dozen covers for Pathfinder had the exciting side effect of making Wayne the one to design the look for our goblins. "Make our goblins look almost as cute as they are scary," we told him, and he more than accomplished that goal with a swarm of flat-headed, toothy, red-eyed monsters wielding crazy jagged swords (which Editor-in-Chief James Jacobs immediately named "dog-slicers" because, as you'll see below, goblins hate dogs!). Based entirely on their look, Jacobs—who's also the author of "Burnt Offerings"—was able to come up with all manner of weird goblin affectations (the current staff favorite being the song they sing while marauding). Based on what Wayne did with goblins, we're all understandably excited to see his designs for our stone giants, ogres, and dragons... which you'll of course find sneak previews of right here.

Ten Fun Facts About Goblins

1: Horse Hate: Goblins excel at riding animals, but they don't quite get horses. In fact, their hatred of all things horse is matched only by their fear of horses, who tend to step on goblins who get too close.

2: Dog Hate: Although goblins raise horrible rat-faced doglike creatures to use as mounts (and ride wolves or worgs if they can get them—goblins are quick to explain that wolves are NOT dogs), their hatred of ordinary dogs nearly matches their hatred of horses. The feeling is mutual, so if your dog's barking at the woodpile for no reason, chances are good he smells a frightened goblin hiding in there somewhere.

3: Goblins Raid Junkyards: Garbage pits, gutters, sewers… anywhere there's garbage, you can bet goblins are nearby. They're weirdly adept at crafting weapons and armor from refuse, and are fond of killing people with what they throw away.

4: Goblins Love to Sing: Unfortunately, as catchy as their lyrics can be, goblin songs tend to be a bit too creepy and disturbing to catch on in mainstream society.

5: They're Sneaky: An excited or angry goblin is a noisy, chattering, toothy menace, but even then, they can drop into an unsettling silence in a heartbeat. This, matched with their diminutive size, makes them unnervingly adept at hiding in places you'd never expect… stacks of firewood, rain barrels, under logs, under chicken coops, in ovens, etc.

6: They're A Little Crazy: The fact that goblins think of things like ovens as good hiding places reveals much about their inability to think plans through to the most likely outcome. That, and they tend to be easily distracted, particularly by shiny things and animals smaller than them that might make good eating.

7: They're Voracious: Given enough supplies, a goblin generally takes nearly a dozen meals a day. Most goblin tribes don't have enough supplies to accommodate such ravenous appetites, which is why the little menaces are so prone to going on raids.

8: They Like Fire: Burning things is one of the great goblin pastimes, although they're generally pretty careful about lighting fires in their own lairs, especially since goblins tend to live in large tangled thistle patches and sleep in beds of dried leaves and grass. But give a goblin a torch and someone else's home and you've got trouble.

9: They Get Stuck Easily: Goblins have wiry frames but wide heads, and live in cramped warrens. Sometimes too cramped.

10: Goblins Believe Paintings and Writing Steal Your Soul: The walls of goblin lairs and ruins of towns goblins have raided are littered with pictures of their enemies. They never draw pictures of goblins, though—that's mean. Writing steals words out of your head. You can't get them back.

The Goblin Song

Goblins chew and goblins bite,
Goblins cut and goblins fight,
Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force!

Goblins race and goblins jump,
Goblins slash and goblins bump,
Burn the skin and mash the head,
Goblins here and you be dead!

Chase the baby, catch the pup,
Bonk the head to shut it up!
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We the goblins—you the food!

-The Pathfinder Staff