Anthony - Griffon Lore Games's page

Hi gang!

Met some of you at PaizoCon 2019 where we ran the module Burials of Teganshire.

We've turned it into a product, that you can now back on Indiegogo!

If you played it a PaizoCon, we've done a dramatic expansion of it.

Check it out! https://igg.me/at/teganshire

Hi gang!

Met some of you at PaizoCon 2019 where we ran the module Burials of Teganshire.

We've turned it into a product, that you can now back on Indiegogo!

If you played it a PaizoCon, we've done a dramatic expansion of it.

Check it out! https://igg.me/at/teganshire

I am unsure of how this room works - we have not played their yet.

However, you don't need to muster. If you've signed up already (or sign up at the Con) you can go right to the table.

Be sure to stop by our booth!

Best Regards,

Anthony
Griffon Lore Games

Our first adventure on a new adventure path is cruising up the stretch goals! Here's a link to the Kickstarter page.

We have an active YouTube channel. Check our Pathfinder Mad Love Video.

Thanks guys!

Anthony (Griffon Lore Games)

Thanks Zaister!

Let me know if you have any questions.

--Anthony (Griffon Lore Games)

WE ARE FUNDED!

Just reached 104% funding after the first 48hrs mark. Some dreams do come true after all! Onward to our lovely and substantial bang-for-your-buck stretch goals.

To our backers: thank you!

If you have not backed us yet - here's your chance! You can now back a great Pathfinder adventure on a new Adventure Path and get a high quality product with the comfort to know that we're funded and not vaporware anymore. :)

Curse of the Lost Memories on Kickstarter.

Our thanks,
Anthony (Griffon Lore Games)

Hi gang,

Curse of the Lost Memories is new adventure on a new adventure path.

Check out our Kickstarter page! We're totally excited to be running this campaign. Curse of the Lost Memories will be an AWESOME high quality product for Pathfinder.

Available in hardcover and PDF. Map folio also available.

Thanks!
--Anthony (Griffon Lore Games)

Let's see...

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• Give every unique NPC an alignment. This is the quickest shortcut to me playing the NPC with limited prep time.
  

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That's a good one. Thanks!

This is indeed, a great document that every GM should read.

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I accept that in game maps that there may be some deviations from the versatility of "reality" for purposes of necessary simplification. For game purposes, I will always choose a map I can easily to use compared to one I can't, no matter how prettily drawn.

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Same. As a GM I use artistic maps as inspiration. But at the game table, I have to be able to draw the battlefield or have a physical map that I can use minis with. Sitting there contemplating how the heck I am going to translate an unfriendly map so the players can dance around the battlefield is no fun.

I gotta say, I really appreciate everybody's opinions and feedback. Now I feel I lucked out finding a cartographer who actually started out drawing battle mats. Last night at 1:00 AM I decided, based on this thread, to see what types of battle mats we could do and sent a file off to a couple of printers. I'm going to pick up the prototype right now.

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I actually had an online discussion with an AP writer a year or so ago, and he said that it was done to make the maps more "interesting."

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OUCH. My love of Pathfinder stems from "the dance." That is, the tactical battlefield combined-arms aspects, which as a GM you hope is book-ended by role-playing. Maps should be interesting because they play on the strengths of the Pathfinder system, not ignore it!

Hey! I've been annoying enough to change my avatar name. WOO WOO.

Thanks everyone for the great discussion. I'll add my take on GM friendly modules, most of which has already been talked about above:

Prioritized Lore: Lore that directly impacts the PCs has priority over descriptive text that has no consequence to the current adventure but may be beneficial to the GM in other ways (such as modifying their own game world). The Dame with a lore-based secret isn’t as interesting as the Dame with a lore-based secret that motivates her to help or hinder the PCs based on what they do and say.

Prioritized Setting: Related, setting the PCs most likely will be interested in receive priority with description and narrative (and maps!).

Impactful Encounters: All encounters are impactful and have weight. There are no fluffy-bunny fro-fro encounters of attrition shoved into the module either as filler to get the PCs experience points so they can challenge the Big Bad (that the module writers are over-enamored with to the exclusion of the journey to get to the big bad), make some narrative point rather than the PCs making the narrative points, pad the page count or other dubious reasons not having anything to do with adventures GMs want to run. There should be little to no encounters designed to test if the PCs can properly manage resources in a series of combats. Most encounters leave players with a sense of accomplishment and sense of heroic wonder that they talk about away from the game table. The majority of the combat encounters have the capability of dropping heroes to the ground, and if the players don’t combined arms, death or TPK.

Dynamic Plot and Villains based on PC Actions: The PCs do things, and it impacts the world in “real-time.” They do more on their day-to-day interactions than change the life of a stable-boy tipped 100 GP. PCs can influence, and be influenced by, the story’s movers and shakers because they themselves are movers and shakers. Good plot and good villains in a living, breathing game are dynamic based on motives. Rather than dedicated pages for lore for the sake of world-building, let the PCs build their own world by dedicated pages in anticipating common adventure party directions and actions--let them build the world. If the players wanted static quest givers with explanation points over their heads, they would play a MMO designed in the early 2000’s.

Friendly Book Mechanics: PDFs for free when buying the print version. Quality hardcover book printed in color on thick paper you can write on. Module text dedicated to describing dynamic monsters and NPCs that could change tactics based on their overall motives and PC actions. Good stat blocks that are easy to read. Clear maps that can be used in a Virtual Table Top (VTT) program by having the map key in the module text rather than on the map. Proper developmental editing from an experienced RPG-savvy editor and comprehensive, not token, play-testing.

Cohesive Adventuring in an Adventure Path: An adventure path should take a character from Level 1 to Level 20 (or several levels beyond) with a distinctive end. Doing that without putting PCs (or, just admit it, the players) on rails is no easy task, but it is possible with hard work and play testing. The adventure should provide a foundation for the next in a manner that seems organic and plausible. Modules that come next should anticipate several major possibilities of the prior adventure and dedicate text to help the GM transition her players into the next part of the game world without negating their prior hard-won efforts.

snarky answer: one where the first encounter TPKs the party, minimal paperwork and stuff to do.

reasonable answer: There are board similarities with plays but player action makes it participatory and dynamic. Parameters; player engagement, details that lend believability, challenging players without overwhelming them unless that's the goal, cohesiveness and arrangement of plot actions and responses, believability of characterizations and usually developing sympathy with the players (much like story telling or a play).

Modules or scenarios should be self contained(for ease of use) but that doesn't make them better. It does lend itself to customizing some individual characters in the product. It also tends to cut down on variety as printing the stat blocks takes up page count.

I will snark back: I have an introduction encounter where if a Level 1 PC starts using lethal force against the wrong person in a bar fight, the assassin sitting in the corner eating his dinner drops a smoke bomb and kills whomever drew blood.

I have yet to have that happen. But a bad part of me has hope.

But I digress.

Reasonable answer was reasonable. It's hard for a module writer to divorce himself from the narrative and work on the module attributes that support the PCs narrative.

But that should always be the goal.

Hi Moonclanger,

I buy adventures because I don't (always) have time to write my own.

For me the ideal adventure - the ultimate time-saver - is a full-length campaign that takes a party of novice-level characters right up to retirement level. So as the GM I don't have to worry about inserting the adventure into my campaign, because the adventure is a campaign unto itself. All I need to do is read it, ask my players to generate beginning-level characters, and run it.

Sounds like a Paizo Adventure Path, doesn't it? And the ready supply of Adventure Paths is what I like most about Pathfinder, because before Paizo came along such adventures weren't that common. Adventures tended to be stand-alone affairs or campaigns written for experienced characters.

Unfortunately I've yet to find a really great Adventure Path. Different writers means that quality varies from adventure to adventure (a typical AP might include one excellent adventure, two good ones, and three that need work). Nor am I fond of the physical product - they tend to fall apart, the maps are over-detailed and hard to read and you can't write on the glossy paper.

Inconsistent quality from one part of the AP to the next happens a lot, doesn't it? I've also noticed editorial and play-test issues. As in, the module had play testing by veteran players with experienced DM and not new players, or play tested by new players and not veterans. Sometimes in the same module. At least I think that is what was going on.

I am super interested in the physical products you are buying. Are they the softcover or hardcover versions?

Hi DQ,

So, to sum up: lore/NPC/setting fluff is bad. Module red-meat the DM can use is good. I totally agree.

On the subject of statblocks

I agree with whoever said upthread that all statblocks should be in one place. While overall I generally like how Paizo's modules and APs are laid out, one thing that drives me crazy is how they put key NPCs and monsters in the back of the book, but "lesser" statblocks in with the main text. Then in some fights you have to flip back and forth between the statblock in the main text and the one in the back. Since I've been using Plunder and Peril in a lot of examples of what not to do: the final fight requires you to flip between the final encounter page, the NPC appendix, AND the monster appendix, all quite different locations. It's easier to do digitally--especially if have the pdf and you can copy out the stats into another document, but even that takes a little reformatting work (runs into the "saves time" problem). I'd be frustrated if I were trying to run a fight like that the "old fashioned way" at the table though--and I feel like, even though more and more gamers are using digital tools to assist them, we shouldn't yet assume everyone does.

So I am just going to toss this out there because I have spent hours (and hours) (with some more hours) on statblock design and placement.

Would this work for you?

**Statblock of minor critters and NPCs that aren't part of encounter appear in the text as abbreviated. DM gets a description of NPC or critter, along with attributes and other things to help describe the setting

**At the end of the chapter (section), the statblocks are printed in their entirety

**For encounters, all statblocks are full and appear in text with the encounter (even if they take up a lot of space)

For stat blocks:

I want to know what the base stats of the NPC are before all the prep spells and potion consumption. Sometimes the PCs don't give the NPCs 5 rounds of prep time. YET, I also want to know what the stat block looks like after all of the preparation. In short, I don't want to be going through stat blocks on the fly.

At this point in Pathfinder's complexity, I'd like digital copies to link to feats, abilities, and spells. It's already a pain in the prat to look up what each ability is to make sure I know whether it's a stat bonus already baked in or a maneuver that has special rules.

If a martial has several combat options that impact the math, expand the melee/ranged attack line for my convenience. So regular sword, Power attack with the sword, Vital Strike with the sword, Power Attacking Vital Strike with the sword, etc. It's extra space, but it's helpful and martial stat blocks are usually shorter than casters anyway.

Hey roguerouge,

A statblock that list all combinations eat pages like no tomorrow. In a PDF, as long as it is bookmarked, that isn't a consideration, but then the printed module doesn't have page number parity with the PDF (a minor annoyance to some players), which then increases the production cost of the module.

For PDF, would an appendix at the end of the module consisting of nothing but all-combination statblocks be helpful to you?

Flameamaxextreme Meltyourface

Hey DQ, no need to apologize for any part of your epic reply. I was expecting commentary like "hey statblocks need to be formatted properly" or "map keys not on the map so I can VTT a cut of it" etc. You made a lot of valid points and criticisms of where modules are distinctly not friendly. I hear you.

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2) Loads of useless fluff that is irrelevant to the PC's adventure. The PCs are the heroes of the story. All information should be interesting and/or relevant to the PCs, or provide insight on RPing key NPCs that in turn, help the PCs' adventure be more interesting. I do not want three paragraphs wasted about the lengthy backstory of that pebble on the ground that the PCs don't even walk near. I don't care what a person did in that building 100 years ago if it isn't important information to what the PCs are doing now. Again, examples of "doing it the way I find useless" in the module I am running: there is a whole dungeon that was the secret hideout of a pirate that the PCs are looking for. Apparently before it was the secret hideout, it was an old fortress belonging to a dead cyclops empire. There are zero (0), absolutely no cyclopes in the adventure, and what they used the building for, save for one or two rooms, is entirely superfluous. Their history has NO bearing whatsoever on the story. That they built the building could have been covered in a sentence or two. And yet hundreds of words are wasted on stuff like "and here in the dungeon is where the cyclopes ate their apples" (<-a hyperbolic, made up sentence to illustrate the pointlessness of the information), but yet there is no information on, for example, Diplomacy DCs to talk down an important, frantic/gone-mad NPC, or where the big bad is actually specifically located on the map when terrain and visibility really matters. There is hardly even information on how it was used as the hideout, and THAT would actually be far more relevant to the story and what the PCs might do with the area afterward. Word count is crucial in module writing, where you also have to leave so much room for art and handouts and stats and maps, and wasting it on backstory that isn't even relevant to the module is a criminal act in my opinion. (Note: do not allow professional editors to determine what is and isn't a criminal act, as their priorities may be skewed.)

I know a lot of folks buy modules as reading material and enjoy rando seemingly irrelevant narrative and I'd just remind anyone who has gotten this far that I am answering the question, "what makes a module GM friendly in your opinion?" I do not believe lengthily described fluff that a GM can't use, especially when it's there in lieu of other campaign-relevant info, is GM-friendly--in my opinion of course.

I will admit that when designing and writing a module, this area is tough. It has been my experience that modules that define an area in a "sandbox" way without making assumptions or putting down rails needs to describe areas and NPCs carefully and with enough detail, because the entire point of that area is not driving the PCs to one particular person or place in a specific order (the Village of Homlet comes to mind, where, technically, the PCs do don't need to interact with anybody after find the location of the Moat House).

So, one GMs fluff is another GMs saving grace.

But, all your examples I myself have encountered, so yeah, filler that introduces conflict that has no benefit to the narrative (or the PCs), or worse, no conflict as all is just that, filler. And the lore without PC context is just as bad. It's super important for a superior, quality adventure module to have a great setting. But if the lore only enhances the setting without any relevance to the PCs, well, that's just rolling the dice that some GM, somewhere, will find it useful. Its called an adventure for a reason.

These module shortcomings are indicative of poor editing, rushed design or the whole not being thoroughly play-tested (perhaps a too short of a feedback loop). Sometimes all three. And fluff that has no use is actually a sin that spirals out of control--I've encountered modules that repeatedly failed to provide enough context to provide me a way to have my PCs care about an area and/or the people within. And the reason was obvious--too much time talking about the wrong topics, usually related to the villain, and not enough about motivation, or setting enhancement.

Wow, all these replies are great. Thanks!

If there is a complex encounter, I want an explanation of the intent. Worst possible thing is not knowing where to find things.

Hey Sissyl,

Yeah, intent is pretty important to me on a complex encounter. I dislike the "this encounter is complex because the previous two were simply to drain some resources for the PC" formula. I love me a crunchy encounter. Not so much if it is crunchy for the sake of being crunchy. And encounters where the monster/villains have no motivation make me sad and turn the PCs into simple murder hobos.

For not knowing where to find things, is that like mechanical aspects of the module like where is the custom magical item detailed at?

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Most of the time if I have to change something it's more because of the group I'm GM'ing for.

Are these role-playing based changes or mechanical changes to things like CRs or statblocks because the group is fairly advanced (for example, a table of all veteran players)?

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Consider what happens when the PCs use reasonably common spells to bypass encounters or get information.

Oh ya, not anticipating common spells drives me batty! My personal pet peeve is an interesting situation or encounter that breaks completely with simply having a Paladin in the party. Not anticipating dimension door in mid-level encounters is just as annoying.

RE: Stat blocks

Are you rebuilding statblocks because you don't like the format or because you're modifying the critter/NPC?

And related, are you embarking on module modification because you are providing a very customized experience, or do the modules you use consistently not meet a particular need or even standards?

The last off-the-shelf module I ran worked well for me up to the point my PCs deviated wildly from the encounter areas and I didn't have the heart to put them back on a rail because they were having so much fun. So it turned out I paid for a full module but ran only a third. Heh.

As a GM I've always been on the lookout for "Role Master" friendly material.

I was talking to my GM friend and business partner the other day and realized my definition of "RM Friendly" and his did not quite match, and where it did match the priorities were different. I placed "Distinctive Maps" as my #1 followed by "NPCs with clear motivations".

For the GMs out there, what game mastery attributes to a module do you look for or wish there was more of in the products you buy?