Dalvyn's page

Thank. You.

That's SUCH a relief.

Hi!

Unearthing this thread to mention that I had two recent subscription packages for which I had to pay additional taxes (March 2024 and July 2024), so the old problem might be back again (from what I have been told, "the IOSS number on the package was not known in their ITMATT system or missing").

I kept the invoices in case the policy mentioned by Brian above is still applicable (Paizo reimbursing the additional charges for packages for which Paizo has already collected VAT) - it would be nice to know if it is still the case.

With the increases in shipping fees those past years, those extra costs really make it hard to justify keeping the subscriptions for EU-based clients, even if I would rather make sure that the money goes directly to Paizo instead of other sellers, so I hope that this can be fixed quickly.

Thanks in advance!

Ah, okay, so that one would have to be under the ORC license if I understand them right. Which could be untrue, I have no need of understanding the licenses.

The ORC license would be usable if the document didn't reference any names from Golarion or the adventure.

As it is, under the new policy, it would have to be published on Pathfinder Infinite... which means that, most likely, it wouldn't be shared at all.

So I think that emky is right: the new policy means that such side quests, changes to AP and other ideas to add to the published modules would not be shared anymore.

...

Also, add to that the fact that fans who wanted to share free Golarion-themed short adventures, quest ideas, additional side quests or variants for APs or modules, or other creations (a new wizard school, a new archetype, a new organization...) can no longer do that outside of Infinite (not just for PF1/SF1 but also for PF2/SF2).

Many (most ?) of them will simply decide not to produce/share anything, instead of having to go through all the trouble to rework and format their creations for Infinite. Or they might simply not feel like their creations is good enough for such a big official commercial site. Thus, a globally much poorer pool of shared creations and resources (since the CUP allowed for those free rpg products to be shared more easily, without having to wade through complex and intimidating legalese considerations).

Just to be sure... only the first three panels will also be live on Twitch, but not the last four (which will be available on Youtube later), is that correct?

Although this whole thing has been (and still is) incredibly stressful and disheartening, considering that huge parts of the work done during the last 15 years might have to be scrapped or simply discontinued (since, like other fan communities I guess, we simply do not have the resource or manpower to go through all the content to scrub out all the things that the CUP allowed and that are no longer legal under the new licence), I would like to thank you, Mark, for taking the time to answer each and every comment in this thread. The answers might not always be what we hope for, but the fact that they exist is very much appreciated! We'll wait for an update.

(And we even got a bonus answer from James Jacobs. – No, I’m not fanboying. YOU are fanboying!)

Hi! I’m part of the same group as rectulo_Fr who posted above, and we have been working to promote and share our passion for Pathfinder and all Paizo products, and to create a community for the French-speaking players for more than 15 years now.

This includes sharing news, translating articles, creating and sharing game aids, homebrews, adventures, AP add-ons and other products made by the community under the PCUP. Most of those things are no longer possible under the new policy, which is a really harsh blow both in concrete/practical ways and to the morale of all the fans.

And not everything can simply be ported to Infinite, either because it is not intended for an international audience (e.g., for products not written in English) or for mass publication (e.g., “I made a short adventure, but I do not feel confident enough to share it on such a large platform.”), or because fans simply might not desire to go through the hassle of such a formal system just to share a short creation of theirs. All in all, this will unfortunately lead to the loss of potential content, with people simply choosing not to bother sharing their creations since there is no legal, simple and efficient way to do it anymore.

So, naturally, anger and frustration ensue… but the main feeling many of us get from all this is one of deep disappointment (and, from the various discussions I have read here and there, it is shared by many other content-producing fans who helped bring up the community).

It is hard not to draw parallels with what happened when WotC suddenly decided to change their OGL, even though I see 2 main differences:

(1) While it could be contested whether WotC had the right to change the policy, the (abrupt) removal of the PCUP is entirely in the purview of Paizo, so it’s entirely in your hands whether or not this unfortunate change stands.

(2) While the changes WotC tried to enact mostly targeted people who made money from the licence, the change in policy here affects fans who share their creations for free, fans who are motivated only by passion for the game and not by financial gains (which might actually make the blow even harsher).

It’s difficult not to feel some sort of “breach of confidence” in front of such a deep change in policy, when the fans who supported the game and helped it grow for so many years are suddenly told they are not allowed to do so anymore.

I have been a fan of Paizo for more than 15 years (heck, I started by translating the alpha version of Pathfinder 1 and promoting the very first AP back in 2008, mainly to let the French-speaking community know that very solid alternatives to D&D4 existed). And my passion for the game was and is based on the high quality of the adventures/world and the system… but also (and maybe mostly) on the ethic decisions and behaviour displayed by Paizo in how they treat their community and fans. That might be why I feel so affected by this change, which sadly seems inspired by disrespect and disregard for the work of the fans – something that I would not expect at all from Paizo.

I still cling to the hope that this might be a mistake or an error in judgement and that Paizo (as they have done before) can identify the problem and maybe revise the change in policy concerning free fan-made game products that helped grow the game.

H2Osw wrote:

Is anyone else not been getting their free pfs scenarios from their subscriptions? I've had to email that last few months.

Have not received 5 6 or 7.

Same here: the last ones I got were #5-03 and #5-04 in early October.

Since the subscriptions started shipping 4 days earlier than announced (July 13th instead of July 17th), I am wondering whether the estimate for the end is still July 28th, or if I should start worrying that my (standard, no sidecart) subscription order is still pending?

Nice work, UnforcedError!

And thank you very much for sharing!

I will most likely get the Foundry module since this is the VTT that I use to play, but I would also like to add my voice to those who deeply regret the decision not to offer a separate digital version (PDF, webp, jpg, png, whatever).

This is especially bad for those of us who do not live in the US and already endure very high shipping costs to keep our subscriptions and have the money go directly to Paizo instead of using other - sometimes cheaper - options.

Did they meet Otari?

In my game, I had him warn the PCs that he felt the presence of a very powerful entity in this area, and that they should better avoid the place for now. Since his ghost is kind of obsessed with completing his main unfinished task (removing the menace over Absalom) and he sees the PCs as the heroes who will do that, it makes sense that he would do all he can to keep them alive and insist that they do not put themselves in unnecessary danger.

Just as a follow-up to my previous post...

The PDF file for the adventure has been updated, and the image embedding has been fixed.

I had to click on "Problems downloading this file? Click here" (in the Digital Content page) to refresh the download to the new version (the zip file for the single file version is now 51.49 MB instead of the previous 180 MB).

Thanks for the fix!

I really hope this is just a mistake.

Same here. I really hope it is just a mistake as well.

The VTT modules porting the adventure paths can stand on their own without having to make the PDFs hard/impossible to use. Taking the excellent modules created for Foundry VTT as an example: not only do they save a lot of time to GMs but they also contain high quality tokens, maps (complete with walls and lightning), integrated journals with the adventure text, and even scripts. All this, in itself, is already a high added value.

I will send this feedback to the CS as well, as requested above.

Hi!

There seems to be several problems with the PDF version of The Seventh Arch (Gatewalkers volume 1), both the all-in-1-file and the 1-file-per-chapter versions:
- wrong labels for bookmarks
- 170MB (instead of the usual 20-40MB)
- images are merged with the page border decorations and cut into rectangular parts (with, sometimes, thin but visible white lines between those parts)
- the merging of the images + their being cut into small parts make it impossible to select an image and export it for use on a VTT

I hope this is just a mistake (wrong version of the file maybe) and not an intended change?

If the Foundry team in charge of making the Foundry module for Kingmaker 2 keeps the very high standards of quality they have shown for the Beginner's Box and Abomination Vault, we should be able to get high quality tokens and high quality maps some time next year.

I would really like Paizo to up their game for all things regarding digital distribution (as in: improving the quality of the illustrations and maps for all those who play online), but it does not look like it's part of their immediate plans unfortunately.

Hi!

Both as a suggestion and a question: along with the price modifications, is there any plan to work on providing a better experience for the digital products like PDFs?

Two examples of improvements that I would welcome:

1) include higher resolution images (mostly for maps) ;

2) include - perhaps in a separate zip file - complete versions of the illustrations used in the book (for those cases when an NPC or monster is placed on the edge of the page and the image is partially cut ; many examples in the Bestiaries but also in adventure path books)

For what it's worth, I got the last two subscription packages with no problem, and without being required by the Belgian customs to pay any extra taxes. I am now waiting for the September package to arrive, hopefully with no problem either.

Sorry to see that Eledriel and Zaister still have troubles with their packages though. Crossing my fingers for those to be fixed quickly.

Thank you for your continued efforts, Brian, and for communicating and actually doing something about this problem. I got a mail from someone else more or less taking the credit for the fix, but the exchanges on this thread make me think that you are the one who got things moving.

I believe they said Q1/H1, which is a little odd phrasing, I'm taking it to mean they're probably aiming for March, but telegraphing it might slip latter.

I'm starting a group up in the early Oct. So I know I'll need to prep all of the prologue myself and have been working on that; which has been going well. I'll probably need to do some of the hexploration aspect too, and I'm kinda dreading that part, since I'm completely unsure how to even tackle an interim solution until the module comes out.

Might I suggest you take a look at Supe's World Explorer module for Foundry (Foundry page - GitHub page).

This module basically allows you to add a layer on top of a hex map. The layer can be a picture (e.g. a blurred version of the real map if you want to give your players hints about the general configuration of the area) or simply a colored layer. The GM can see through this layer, but the players can't.

The module also allows the GM to easily (one click, really) make each hex of this layer transparent or not, in order to reveal the map hex by hex following the exploration.

I plan to use this module for the hexploration parts of Quest for the Frozen Flame but I think it would be perfect for any hexploration adventure. And it also seems to be v10-ready.

Same for my July subscription package. I got it without having to pay extra taxes this time. Let's hope the same goes for this month's package and the following!

Many thanks to Brian for taking the matter into his hands and paving the way for a solution that, I hope, will be confirmed to work in the following months!

Just for the record... I'm in the same boat.

I was planning to buy those modules to support even though I have no plan to run them currently, but I am not going to, because of the new pricing policy where the full price of the PDF is not discounted.

Just to be clear... I do not mind a price increase: $7 for the Foundry module was clearly too low for the amount of work and the quality of the work, and I would not have any problem with the module price going up to maybe $12 or $15 in addition to the price of the PDF.

What I don't really get (or agree with) is having the price increase weigh more on subscribers and customers who have bought the PDF earlier than on customers who buy both the PDF and the Foundry module at the same time.

(And, by the way, I'm not trying to start a debate or convince anyone... I'm just sharing my point of view on here, just as I did on the PF2 Foundry Discord server.)

Thank you for everything you've done up to now, Brian!

Hoping that you can resume the very much appreciated efforts once you are back from GenCon (and have taken time to recuperate from it).

Have fun!

Thank you, once again, Brian, for your continued involvement in this issue!

Know that it, and your daily updates, are very appreciated!

(And thank you as well to the CS employees who, in my experience, deal very efficiently and very kindly with the mails sent to the get the additional taxes reimbursed as store credit!)

Welp… I've just got a mail requesting that I pay additional taxes if I want to get my June subscription package (with Outlaws of Alkenstar 3, the Smoking Gun).

Just to give you an idea of the extra costs that result from this tax problem.. that has been ignored for several months by customer service higher-ups (I do not blame in any way regular customer service employees who deal with day-to-day problems):

- The book itself: $17.49
- Shipping fees: $17.75
- Taxes paid to Paizo: $2.12

- Additional taxes due to lacking information : €21.88 ($22.76)

I'm not sure whether I should refuse the package and wait till the problem is fixed, or once again pay those additional taxes, or simply buy the book again from another cheaper source.

So, once again, thank you Brian for your continued prodding! I'm incredibly glad to see that someone at Paizo is finally considering that this problem affecting several EU customers is worth investigating!

Thank you for the regular updates!

Even knowing "Nothing new yet, but we're still on it!" helps.

Hi Brian, and thank you for taking the time to answer and for actively stepping in to help fix this problem!

I posted the ticket numbers I got above in this tread, right after Tonya's request. If I can assist in any way, feel free to let me know.

The regular updates will also be very appreciated!

The current situation is very sad indeed.

It might be worth pointing out that Paizo's Customer Service used to be renowned for being fast, helpful, caring, understanding and efficient. From my personal experience during those last 15 years and from what I read on these forums and everywhere else, the many qualities of the Customer Service played a significant role in Paizo's success.

That makes it even more disappointing to see how customers are dealt with currently and have been dealt with during the last few months. Especially at a time when we see everywhere on the internet more and more players getting interested in trying Pathfinder 2 and other creations from Paizo.

I have been very pleased with Paizo's products, attitude, values and customer service for 14 years ; I have accumulated a lot of goodwill during those years, and that incites me to be patient and give Paizo a second/third/... chance even though I feel like I (and my complaints) have been completely ignored for the past few months (see the thread about the European taxes).

But newcomers will rightfully have much less patience! (Positive vibes to you, Mebrilia83)

So, please, Paizo, get a grip on this problem. Examine what bad decisions led to the current situation and fix it as soon as possible!

Good to hear, tomeric!

I've just got the mail requesting that I pay €36.71 in additional taxes in order to get my May subscription package. And still zero assurance or even mere feedback from Paizo that it will not happen again for the next package.

So... PaizoCon has come and gone. And another week has passed. But still no significant answer.

Soon, it will be 3 months since the first mail I sent about this topic (on March 9th).

I want to continue to believe in Paizo, given how good they used to be with their customers, but it's becoming increasingly harder to justify this position. I understand that this is not a simple problem and I do not blame in any way the customer service representatives (who continue to be efficient, fast and friendly), but the lack of communication and consideration for EU customers is really disappointing and depressing.

Had I not come to the public forum, I guess my three mails would have remained unanswered (much like other people's mails). And even here on the forum, after the initial answer, there's nothing but silence. Is it necessary to take the problem to Twitter and other social media to finally get some feedback? That's really not the Paizo I've known for the last 14 or 15 years!

Really disappointing and depressing.

I hear you.

My first mail about this particular topic was sent on March 9th (so, 2 months and 2 weeks ago).

I was already kind of disappointed (polite euphemism) that, after seeing my first two mails being ignored, I had to come and post publicly on the forums in order to finally get some feedback. Then again, the feedback was mostly to ask me for more information so they could find out what went wrong. I provided the information (my ticket numbers) 12 minutes after it was required.

And since then, more than two weeks later, still no other answer.

I guess that many people at Paizo are busy with the PaizoCon preparations for this week-end (which might explain the current lack of answer but not really why there had been no answer before). I really hope that this topic will finally get some attention and that the IOSS problem can be solved very soon.

Also, thank you Cyria, Tomeric, Mimski and Jason Nelson for sharing your experiences in this thread and breaking the otherwise deafening silence. It really helps to know that other people too have been confronted with the same problem. :)

Sorry for bumping this thread but... since I've just had to pay, once again, around 30€ in taxes that could have been avoided (otherwise, I wouldn't get my subscription package), I thought I would post again and ask for an update?

Did you manage to get a hold of the previous mails I sent on this topic (on March 9th and April 17th) and seem to have been ignored? (Looks like Mimski had the same problem with the mails they sent.)

Could you determine exactly what missing steps are required for the IOSS process to work (digital registration, as Mimski suggested)?

Thank you in advance for any information and help you will be able to provide!

I tried several times to find out exactly what the problem was, to look into why exactly the customs demanded extra fees, and it seems to be a problem with a missing information that Paizo should provide but does not. I could not get anything more precise than that, though...

Getting a VAT refund from Paizo is not really a good long term option... it would be much better to have a system that works, where all the required information is given, since that would also allow us to avoid the extra administrative tax.

BTW, a friend from France who got a package with the new label (with the IOSS number shown on it, package sent around April 19th) had similar troubles with the French Post... so I guess that means that it does not solve the problem, and that more information than that is required.

Thank you for your answer!

My previous ticket numbers were #149279 (from March 9th) and #153350 (from April 17th). I also sent another mail earlier today about the same topic.

When was this update on shipping labels made exactly? Was it after sending the subscription orders for April?

If it was, I guess I'll pay those extra €34.44 to unlock my April order and see what happens when my May order ships... but it will be the third time I pay double VAT + additional taxes in the hope that "it will be fixed next month".

I tried contacting Customer Service twice about this topic during the last two months (first mail was in March) but I did not get any other answer than the automated one, so I thought I would try my luck here and see if any other Paizo customer from Belgium (or maybe other EU countries) have the same problem and/or ideas to solve it.

A few months ago, Paizo started using the IOSS system and including VAT in the price of the orders (mine are mostly subscription orders). If I understand correctly, this process is supposed to allow the customers to pay the VAT along with the order instead of having to pay it later when the goods enter the EU (from this web page).

It's actually much more interesting than that for the customers, since most customs add special/administrative taxes when you pay the VAT later. So, it's not just a quality of life improvement allowing you to pay only once, it's also about having to pay less... much less in most cases, since the difference can be quite significant (e.g., my last subscription order, for Book of the Dead + Punks in a Powderkeg has books for $59.98, plus $35.66 shipping and $5.74 for the VAT paid to Paizo... and the customs demand that I pay €34.44 more in additional taxes!).

Even since Paizo started using the IOSS system, each time I get a package, BPost (Belgium Post) demands that I pay additional taxes, as if the IOSS system was not used at all. I contacted BPost but they said they couldn't do anything about it since "the IOSS webshop" - that is, Paizo - "did not provide all the information required".

Do other Belgian customers have the same problem? Any idea what needs to change to solve this problem? I would really appreciate any help on this topic!

I also sent mails on March 9th (ticket #149279) then again on April 17th (ticket #153350), and another one today but, aside from the automatic responses, I did not get any answer.

Hi!

The final scene at Rimecrag Pass mentions frost giants in the mountain, and Iversa commanding them to "pick up the scraps and make sure the Tusk runts die after [...] the avalanche", but there's no other mentions of them.

Did I miss something?

... And my order just went through, just a few minutes after posting.

Thank you Logan! :)

Same here. The order is still pending, and I had the same problem last month.

I was compiling a list of loot (to check what might need to be changed to use the Monster Part system I alluded to in another thread) and I noticed that there seems to be no treasure listed for area G4 (Open Barrow).

Since this is where Hiajor died, I would think that there would be a few things to be found there?

Mark Seifter's Battlezoo Monster Part System allows characters to craft and improve weapons, armour, and skill boosting items by using "monster parts" that they collect from monster corpses, get given by peaceful monsters, or obtain by "un-crafting" items. I was thinking that it might be a very good match for this adventure path, since there are very few opportunities (actually, none in the first book) to visit a shop, sell things and buy runes and other magical items.

The Monster Part System is actually quite flexible as presented in the Battlezoo Bestiary, since it comes in three variants, replacing completely the standard PF2 loot system, replacing it partially, or replacing only the currency in the loot.

Many encounters (at least in the first book) can be resolved either through violence (thereby producing monster corpses that can be salvaged) or through more peaceful means (which, I think, is a really great idea), generally by recruiting creatures into the following. Peacefully recruited creatures might actually grant a few body parts (feathers, quills, hair, or more symbolic "body parts" like tears) to allow the PCs to collect an adequate amount of "monster parts" no matter how they choose to resolve the encounters.

In order to imbue the monster part items with magical properties, characters need to have monster parts with the corresponding trait (e.g., parts from fire-based/fire-using enemies for fire properties, and so on), so it might be necessary to replace some enemies with other enemies that would have rarer traits, or modify some part of the loot.

Anyway, it's just ideas for now... but I was curious to know if other GMs had thought about using the Monster Part system in their Quest for the Frozen Flame and maybe started working on the changes needed to do so?

Thank you, artjuice!

To make this part of the adventure more interesting, you can intersperse the characters’ tasks with minor complicating events that occur around the Broken Tusk’s camp. Three such events are detailed under Events Around Camp on page 18.

It looks like one of those 3 events was removed (lack of space I would guess?), since only "New Snares" and "Porcupine Nest" are presented in the adventure.

Any hint/idea you can share about a third (or more if you want!) possible event(s)?

It's really disappointing that the maps included in the Paizo PDFs are not high quality enough to be used on a VTT (especially now that VTTs are much more common).

One shouldn't have to buy an adaptation of the PDF on one of the pay-again VTTs providing them (like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds) just to get usable maps, in my opinion. I'm not sure whether it's due to a technical limitation / a current lack of know-how, or a deliberate decision to incite players to "buy again" in order to get a quality map (which wouldn't really fit with Paizo's history of being "fair" towards their customers).

That being said, like other posters above, I generally find Narchy's maps much more immersive, high-quality... and free (though you can tip Narchy on his ko-fi account). They are also available both as stand-alone images (thus easily usable with any VTT) and as Foundry modules (with walls and lights already set - and boy, does Foundry provide good options for walls and lightning!)

Edited, because I've just seen the previous post

Checked with Narchy btw and at least for now he's not going to create maps.

Other people in the community might rise to the challenge, hopefully. It's one of the greatest advantages of this forum in my opinion: all the "let's share our creations/ideas and enhance everybody's games" threads.

Aventhar wrote:

Got my subscription pdf copy yesterday. This book is awesome! I did notice the the large version fold out map was not included at the end of the pdf as has been the custom with other products with included maps.

I'll pass that along.

The map is now included in the new version of the download... but it has a very low resolution. As soon as you zoom in a bit, the roads and buildings become all blurry.

As it is, I find that it is unusable unless you just want a very broad overview of the whole city, so you lose all the possible benefits from having such a detailed map.

Is it possible to get a higher resolution please?

This is great news.

Thank you for taking the time to answer!

Thank you to the members of the Customer Service who answered above. I know that they are not the ones responsible for this kind of decision but they still endeavoured to answer and not simply ignore the question.

On the other hand, I cannot help but find it both quite disheartening and frustrating that not a single person in charge of sales could find the time and motivation to post an update about this topic in the last 3 months.

Are EU subscribers really that insignificant to Paizo?

Well... It's been more than 2.5 months now, and still no news on this topic.

I know that some people at Paizo have had many other urgent and important things to consider (not to mention many feelings to cope with), but it would be nice to have an update about whether or not those in charge have given the OP's suggestion some thought.

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

Hi!

I can't speak for everybody in the EU, obviously, but such a sticky would be very appreciated.

Even simply letting us know whether things are in the work and whether alternative solutions are being looked into would help a lot!

Thank you greatly!

Alright. Colour me very surprised, considering the geographical location of France and Belgium, but thank you for checking and letting me know!