Gotta admit, I miss this thread being more lively. +1 Just for my own sake, because I'm a spreadsheet nerd, I calculated the drop-off in posting intensity. Over the past year, this thread has averaged 0.6 posts per workday. For the six years (almost) previous to that, it average 5.9 posts per workday. That's a 90% reduction in intensity. I miss it.
I just finished listening to all 55 hours of Volume 3 as an audiobook. I'm surprised to see people complaining about "stilted" dialog; when read by a professional reader, it didn't feel that way at all. In Volume 3, Sanderson pulls off something that most fantasy authors would never even attempt: In a book full of magic and swords and superheroes, the central act upon which the entire plot pivots is an act of Spoiler:
self-forgiveness. That takes a lot more guts, and is a lot harder to pull off, than copying the nihilistic viewpoint of the latest dark and "edgy" author. I enjoy the writings of both GRRM and Sanderson, but the idealism of Sanderson's works will always speak to my soul in a way that the cynicism of GRRM's cannot. YMMV.
We consider reprinting all pawn sets that go out of print. When we do, we look at how well they've sold in the months prior to going out of stock, and we use that information to calculate how long it would take us to recoup the costs of reprinting it. In this case, we determined that it would take several years to make our money back. If you don't believe that, consider this: It took a year and a half to sell through the initial print run, and that was with the benefit of initial distribution orders (which are far larger than reorders) and of initial subscription shipments (which we don't get with reprints). For the record: I love the fact that Paizo is willing to explain business decisions to its customers, and does so without apologizing for the fact that businesses need to make a profit. I learn something each time. Most companies wouldn't bother, and frankly, I wouldn't criticize them for that decision -- it's tiring to have to justify yourself to people who know less about your business than you do. Thank you for taking the time, and for remaining positive even in the face of negativity.
I've noticed that all of the online retail stores (that I've checked) appear to be out of stock simultaneously. I'm curious: Is this a temporary situation due to holiday sales, or is the print run in danger of selling out?
Are there any non-coffee people left at Paizo?There are. We maintain peaceful coexistence with them. Tequila, when the walls fell.
Thank you! I was really hoping for some 5e conversions from people who know enough about Pathfinder to do it right. Would love to see more if you do them.
*How about surprise round? Does everyone participate in combat on the surprise round with the surpriser getting advantage on attacks and the surprised getting disadvantage?Again, no set rule that I know of. On the one hand, it makes mechanical sense, but it does step on the toes of the Assassin Rogue a bit, since he gets advantage against anyone who hasn't acted in combat yet. Limiting advantage to opponents who are actually surprised and only during the surprise round would probably be a decent compromise since the Assassin also gets it against anyone who's flatfooted, surprised or not. Another rule to keep in mind is that hidden attackers gain advantage. So for example, I would rule that in a surprise round, ranged attacks get advantage against surprised opponents, because it's reasonable to interpret that being surprised = didn't see the person aiming the ranged weapon. For the same reason, I might rule that melee attacks sometimes get advantage in a surprise round, but only in a close quarters situation where the attacker can reasonably "step up and swing" without being seen first. But if the attacker has to cover significant distance before attacking, I would rule that he's not hidden and therefore not eligible for advantage.
For those playing along at home, here's the final casualty count: Page 23 (1101-1150): 15 posts remaining, 70% casualty rate
Kudos to Chris for taking the more-or-less surgical route instead of bombing the whole discussion from orbit.
Yeah, it would cost significantly more. All the dice are in one steel mold, so they're made at the same time using the same plastic and then handled as a single unit. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I love the fact that Paizo actually talks about their business with customers, and not just their products. I learn a lot. But it must be time-consuming on your part.
I assume you're referring to the siccatite doors (with the rune puzzle on them). These doors lead to area B24, not to B23. I have to admit that I missed this on my first read-through, also.
I'm in a nearly identical situation -- I just finished running Crypt of the Everflame with my wife and 3 kids, directly after running the Beginner Box. I had a rocky experience in exactly the rooms you're talking about, but it got better after that. In no particular order, here are some things I learned over the course of the module to make it more fun for my players. Some of them pertain to your comments, but not all, so I'll avoid using your numbering system:
In addition, be aware that the printed module has two errors in it, according to the GM thread: (1) The stairs in area 4 and 9 are supposed to connect to one another. But I decided that allowing them to connect would make it possible to skip some important rooms, so I deleted the stairs instead. (2) Both the doors leading out of room 6 are locked, but only one of them has a key (the southeast door can be unlocked with the key from the fire in room 5). I changed the module so that the key from room 5 opens the southwest door instead. Then I added a key to the southeast door in the room where the PCs find all the gifts from the townspeople. As I said above, the module got better as I went along, partially because I got more familiar with the rules and comfortable with ignoring either rules or content that weren't providing a good time for the players. Good luck! |
