CastleDour's page

Battle of the bears.

Lost Omens Hellknights seems closer now, exciting!

Yeah and we haven't had any previews about NPC Core and I'm a lot more interested in this

Is this really coming out before the lost omens book?

The problem with art is I don't like having iconics in them. They now all have their own personalities, novels, biographies and history, and it's harder for players to replace them. Just show me the city, temple, monster, whatever. I don't need to see iconics in every image. That's the good thing about Lost Omens.

id prefer age of ashes or agents of edgewatch, SoG is really good as is

This is an interesting point. Do folks WANT us to provide maps for areas of importance where no combat or no tactical stuff plays out? I do love maps, but... they're the most complicated part of an adventure to create (since the authors we hire are generally experts at writing... not always at cartography, so that means that for a LOT of advnentures the developer ends up having to create the map turnovers themselves to send to the professional cartographer to do). The balance of text space to map space is also complicated, since adding maps not only takes up space text could have taken up, but often requires more text to contextualize the additional maps.

And they cost more; the more maps we put in, the less budget we have per volume for text and art.

It's all a balancing act, and the number of maps you generally see in a volume are all part of that balance. Adding maps = having to cut content in other areas, and vice versa.

That said... the idea that folks would prefer maps of areas where there's no need to do tactical combat stuff that requires maps is kind of a new request as far as I've seen over the past 20+ years of doing this, so that's why we chose not to include maps for these areas.

Yes, I want maps for non-combat encounters for Player Headquarters. This felt very much missing in Spore War and in Wardens of Wildwood. And Stolen Fate. Make less "generic forest / bridge / wasteland" maps, we can use the generic ones for that. HQ maps are always useful because the GM sometimes has to deal with things devolving into combat in their own base, or players want to bring back prisoners who can escape, or any number of events. It really helps set the context and immerse, especially with foundry vtt now.

It would be interesting to play as some sort of high level diplomatic corps type of character. I'm not sure for this one what I would build.

Please Paizo, I need character token art you made for Stabbing Beast human form in War for the Crown released. I can't find it anywhere.

We need a proper villains campaign where we actually fight angels, heralds of good deities and their champions, not villain vs villain again

I'm very happy with the heavy dose of Razmir content, and the focus on multi-lateral diplomacy. It felt well thought out and works.

What map are they using for the meetings at the estate in the Foundry VTT module? I half wish there was budget to include an original map of it since we spend so much time there this book.

Nice! Hoping for Cheliax next:) then we will have everything for the war

I'm more interested in being in service to evil powers for my own reasons than actually being evil.

I agree with ch2, I was impressed by the execution.

We've had years more practice at integrating Victory Point type stuff into Adventure Paths since Fist of the Ruby Phoenix; that feedbak's great, but I'd love to hear some similar feedback from more recent Adventure Paths that use this stuff. Curtain Call is a great example; with that one's focus away from lots of combat, I ended up using all sorts of Victory Point style rubrics for encounters there.

I'm critical of the research subsystem in curtain call, wasn't super interesting as a game system. Story was great but would rather less math.

so how much of Razmiran do you guys think we will see?

As James said, Paizo doesn't know which NPCs the group will connect with.

It's up to the GM to find ways to include the "important to your group" NPCs in the later books. Replacing new NPCs with the older ones is (typically) pretty easy, which is on the GM to do. Or the PCs checking in with the NPCs every once in awhile is a good, proactive way that the players can ensure that the NPCs feel like they're still around in the later books.

People on either side of the screen can help to keep NPCs around. It shouldn't be put on the shoulders of the writers.

A short story arc description can help guide a GM on how this NPC can get character development or make important choices. In 1e, we got this with many APs so it's nothing new to ask.

I enjoyed this book, but in almost every Paizo adventure, I feel like my players will side with the opposite NPCs that the adventure presents. I'm glad that there was text in the adventure offering the PCs to side against the orcs from the Darklands, and with the surface dwellers. The nastier, meaner, and stronger looking NPCs are always the cooler ones to ally with for some reason.

Overall, I quite like this book for its open-endedness, clear objectives and many ways to achieve them, the art is incredible as always, and the maps were interesting as well.

I'm sorry to the technology fans to say that I like the lack of guns in this one (I am not a fan of the orc deity who is a gun-totter).

Sometimes, you just want the orcs to be presented as magnificent bastards and cruel savages so you can enjoy allying with them and they won't be judgmental about your choices and mistakes lol

This AP is now fully published. Does it end well? Satisfyingly?

I hoped the siege of Wyvernsting would be longer and involve more large scale battles. Suffice to say I didn't like book 3 much...

Yes. The one thing I DON'T want is for the war to kick off and end in the same adventure. Things must change, but a war should take 3+ years to resolve. And Paizo can get feedback from the community before deciding where to go to resolve the war. I feel strongly that Geb is the more interesting faction to ally with, because I want to fight the horrors and mages of Nex more than more undead again.

Let the good vs. evil fight against undead campaign be against Tar-Baphon. And in Geb we can be the group of adventurers that joins undead.

I think we should fight Nex, and the adventure should be raising an army in Geb and scouting Nex in book 1, then full scale invasion of Nex in book 2, and in book 3, finish off the leaders and partial occupation of Quantum.

If we side with Nex, it would be very similar to Blood Lords where you fight Blood Lords in Geb. So more of the same.

But siding with Geb fighting in Nex is different and more interesting.

CastleDour wrote:

It would have cheapened the setting if the most prolific villainous deity was a meme conjured by the fandom. I thought it was amazing, I hope they make a novel to flesh things out.

Arguably it cheapens the setting for the super duper mysterious god Norgorber to have literally been a dude named Gorb.

I was always picturing like 4 halfling slaves from Cheliax scrabbling to become a god from nothing; Gorb literally is just the meme of the surprisingly well adjusted rogue.

And in any case, we didn't need outright confirmation that all of the ascended are, indeed, humans. Even just a halfling or gnome in the mix would have helped.

What did you find interesting about the revelations in his backstory besides your disappointment that he wasn't halflings?

I like that he has a stupid name, is polite, and has a sense of humor. He was just a regular human before he became an edgelord villain. It's cliché that every villain must have a deep voice, be tall, menacing and abusive, with an ultra on the nose evil name like Starscream.

Also, Gorb is his last name. His first name is Jaxter, which is fine.

Necromancer class makes me want to kick some Nexian butt!! Burn down the flesh forges! All hail king Geb!

It would have cheapened the setting if the most prolific villainous deity was a meme conjured by the fandom. I thought it was amazing, I hope they make a novel to flesh things out.

Is the vampire fully statted as a vampire? From what I remember vampires are notoriously difficult to kill for low level players. (Not a critique, in fact I kinda hope he is statted as a full vampire)

Yes, he's a vampire count from monster core.

It took a third party (shout out to MythKeeper on Youtube) to point out just how connected Belkzen could be for multiple trade routes and how their positioning is one of Ardax's primary motivations.

Yes, we need a lot more political context for these types of APs that present a region.

The maps are very cool. Not a fan of the majority of NPCs, the pathfinder one seems particularly out of place. I don't like the Lastwall one. Exceptions are the vampire who is a delicious addition, and the berserker lady who wants to hulk smash but she's also a secret Ardax supporter.

Honestly, we needed a lot more backmatter to flesh out the politics of Orcs. I don't understand what's going on, what's happening with the rebels, it doesn't feel all that immersive to me. Can I request the backmatter be linked to the adventures again, instead of being about more deities or mini adventures or a region that the PCs won't even go to. This would make the books much more valuable in my opinion.

Book 2 is a lot better than book 1 imo. Huge fan of the One Eye hold, the Oathsworn orcs, and the last boss. Beautiful art for each of those 3.

I am disappointed there are no grave orcs mentioned.

I would be excited to play an Anakin style switch from good to evil playthrough.

Ancestries would be the easiest, and I'd be interested to see what might be done with a "gnome" or "halfling" AP as they don't have particular homelands. Religions could be very interesting, though I'd do pantheons or accords rather than solo deities unless said deity is the ultimate villain, e.g. Norgorber in Curtain Call. A Radiant Prism three-parter makes all kinds of sense in all kinds of ways (bonus points if it either kicks off or concludes in June).

I adore Strength of Thousands, so I'd be up for an organization AP. The only snag is that an AP centred around one of the bigger organizations should probably be a six-parter. The scope of SoT showed a lot what the Magaambya does, and I greatly appreciated that. A Pathfinder AP (as in, the players are officially Pathfinders) deserves no less, and it could easily have that same mix of overarching plot and side stories. However, you could get into smaller organizations with a three-parter. A high level Riftwarden AP could work very well, as would a low or mid-level AP that gives us Eagle Knight or Lion Blade intrigue.

I'm also hopeful for a nation AP. The Runelord trilogy, Rebels/Vengeance duology, and War for the Crown are excellent, and a number of others have touched on such matters as well. I've wanted an Andoran AP for quite some time now.

Highly political APs are complicated to develop, but they pay off, because they do a lot of work for GMs. Especially paired with a Lost Omens region book.

I would love a full on morally grey or evil AP. Let us work once again for Geb! Or Cheliax. Or Norgorber!

Man..

My DREAM themes are...

TENGU.

HELLKNIGHTS.

And this is something really out there, but a new 6-part Kingmaker in a new region, new story, new everything... this would make me super excited. Building your own kingdom is the ultimate wish for players, conceptually, if you can pull off the army battles.

When you eventually turn your attention to political / war theater / intrigue heavy / deep dive on one region APs, I think the model for Wrath of the Righteous worked really well and hope to see more of, where the NPCs get an arc and work on their agendas. Just an idea!

I'm noticing this pattern.

Book 1 introduces NPC side character allies
Book 2 never references them again, and introduces new allies
Book 3 never references them again, and introduces new allies

You usually only have the main NPC questgiver that stays around.

Would it be difficult to have follow through on these characters without them being GMPCs following you everywhere (like the hated Sakuachi in Gatewalkers)?

Razmir cultist on the cover?

I agree that the writers should choose more judiciously what to focus on. Often times, the main story feels disregarded because the author thought it would be cool to have a scene in an arena, a casino, or make an obscure reference to an old film, and take up a lot of word count on that scene, rather than weave the plot around the main attraction of the story.

Sometimes, it works. You clearly enjoyed the devil gambling scene, for example.

But overall, it ends up feeling like everything is a bit disconnected and recycled for me.

What I love about the adventure path line is the fantastic art, the maps, the backmatter when it lifts the story (I don't feel the backmatters in book 1 and 2 were satisfying to read) and the main ideas for the AP are always strong (even though the execution usually strays from the main plot).

What I love about Bring the House Down, and why I think it's the best of the 3 books, is that I don't feel there's any self-indulgent side quest self-insert with quirky NPCs from the author's live game. There's no distractions. It stays with the story it wants to tell and executes on it.

I am really in love with the idea of A Story of Secrets, and I would kill for a fully-fledged theatrical text with all the "The text is dense, complex, and riddled with deliberate confusion and contradictory elements, but a close study of its pages can reveal very real secrets about Norgorber’s early childhood in Vyre." part.

I think it would be a blast to just give the text to my players and instead of rolling checks for the research subsystem let them dissecate the book and compare notes with the information all other sources could present "in roleplay" with dialogues and interactions to slowly let them put Norgorber backstory together by themselves.

PS: Please I would also kill for a portuguese translation that kept the lyrical aspects of the text such as metric and rhymes. I'm awful translating lyrical textes.

I'm dying for the full length novel where Norgorber meets his djinn friend and gives him poisons to transform him into Venomfist. Passes the test of the Starstone. Looks for his missing sister. And rescues his sickly friend and mentor Thamir from the river of souls.

CastleDour wrote:

Predictions on what evil god is in Belkzen?

Urgothoa? Demon Lord? The God of the Ghouls?

Based on the title?

Zagresh.

Well done lol

so any official word yet? are they waiting a few weeks before explaining what's going on?

The audiobook investment is impressive, Samantha Moon did a fantastic job voice acting everybody. I can't imagine anyone else trying to do Kyra. Maybe use some music you have available, since you have a large library of sounds and music at your disposal?

Mark, can you tell us if the sales are encouraging you to do more novels? I need more pathfinder novels...badly.

Also, when you click on godsrain on the main page, the link doesn't work.

Aren't the vampires in Shades of Blood trying to destroy the sun?

What about Jaethal? Wouldn't that nake it 5? But now there is an inquisitor class finally. Hope we get a statblock for her.

I REALLY hope more Norgorberite Vancaskerkins show up in adventures. Best family in Golarion.

Stolen Fate has a chapter set in Absalom. Dead God's Hand, releasing in next year, will happen under Absalom. Outside of those you mentioned...that's it!

I hope we get more adventures set in Absalom!

My interest goes Inner Sea > Impossible Lands > Elemental Planes > Tian Xia > Casmaron > Arcadia > Mwangi Expanse > Other planets

Centaurs are so back!!!

Unfortunately no city battle maps

No I'm using Geb and Shenmen as examples of a micro region (as opposed to macro like Impossible Lands). Ideally, Paizo can organize products around a theme (like Godsrain or Absalom) and have more support for regional adventures happening in that theme (setting book valid for more than 1 adventure) within a 2-3 year timeframe.

In my opinion it's about spacing things out so each area gets enough depth before moving on to the next.

The current pace is too fast for me and leaves me less invested in Golarion.

When we get to a new area, I want to be immersed in it for a longer time. Not back to back APs, but more than one over the course of 3 years.

The reason I don't want Arcadia YET is that it didn't have any seeds / plot hooks in the World Guide, or Legends, or the Character Guide (although I concede it did in Monsters of Myth).

So let's say Paizo delays plots they set up in 2019 for another 2 years. After 7 years, like Leon said, I've moved on.

It's more urgent to resolve the Razmir storyline, and kick off the big wars of the Inner Sea.

I am very interested in Ah Pook, Arcadia, but not if it's going to have such a short release window and with limited adventure support. The setting is best utilized in my opinion when it can support many adventures, like how Lost Omens: Absalom supports Extinction Curse, Agents of Edgewatch, Abomination Vaults (I assume, as I never read or played AV), and Stolen Fate.

I want depth, so I can take my players into a micro region (Geb, Shenmen, etc.) and have more than 10 pages of setting material. At the moment, it just feels not deep enough, with each region just being quick flashes in the pan.

Ultimately I'm not in marketing, analytics, or sales, I'm just expressing my opinion as a customer.

I don't want to colonize. I don't want to get involved in converting the local orcish culture to a different culture, in subjugating orcs, or in extracting their resources and treasure in exploitative trade. I don't want to settle their lands with people from my nation.

What I want is to help the friendly orcs build a nation, to unify the orcs that want to join the international community, those that wish to live under common laws with their neighbors.

Orcs' propensity for violence needs to pacified by force if they are hostile, and security must be established for safe travel to and from the orcish holds.

Right now, Belkzen is a bunch of disparate tribes who don't consider Belkzen to even be its own region.

We have to support and enforce some kind of power structure we can work with so we can have fair (non-exploitative) trade. For example, we help them with their problems and they send us mercenaries to help us with ours.

But as a mercenary, I would stay out of the politics of trade policy and focus on the mission of bringing order and security, and hope to make some friends.

Niktorak wrote:

It's taken over 30 years to get some of the answers to questions that were laid out at the beginning of Warcraft and we're still not even close to done. It's exhausting.

You have roughly 5 years I think to put forth an answer to a mystery or to flesh out a faction you've prototyped in your fiction.

After that, the community has created its own answers, and they find them more interesting than whatever you can come up with. I think with TTRPG's, where GMs are constantly required to have answers to questions not contemplated by line developers, this is even more true.

Yeah, this is why I want to focus on the Inner Sea region and Tian Xia rather than go to Arcadia in the Adventure Path line. I prefer to resolve existing plotlines rather than expanding ever outward to brand new regions again.

CastleDour wrote:

Envoy from the Order of the Nail.

The Order of the Nail is typically pretty straightforward violent colonizers. Do you have a twist there, or is the aim to just be a real bastard for this one?

I like that they have a centaur hellknight, it looks cool! Not a fan of colonizing in general, but taming the wild and savage lands of Belkzen does have a certain appeal.