Dimitri Mazieres's page

Hi!

I was wondering if the Black Friday sale bundles will be extended until Cyber Monday (tomorrow), like some other online stores are doing (it might give me some time to convince my SO of purchasing these great offers... ;-)

I read an editorial in... I think Knights of the Dinner Table?

Someone had tracked Tony down to make an offer to publish another book, and he basically said he was out of the biz and had dropped off the face of the earth so people would leave him alone. Something about the industry had rubbed him the wrong way and he just wanted to forget about being an illustrator.

It's sad, but he was pretty adamant that it wasn't open for discussion. I only wish I could remember where I read this...

Are you sure this wasn't Dave Trampier's story? Because, according to Dragon #359, Trampier was tracked by Jolly R. Blackburn (of Kenzer & Co. - publishers of KotDT) for a compilation of Wormy comics, and was told to be left alone, just like in your report.

AAAARGGHHH!!! Please, extend the sale a few days more! I've just seen this offer (I really want the BoXM!) and it's impossible for me to purchase this before it expires!

...

Oh, well... And I thought missing the 1-2-3 Dragon/Dungeon sale deadline was the worse that could happen... :_(

AAAARGGHHH!!! Please, extend the sale a few days more! I've just seen this offer and it's impossible for me to purchase this before it expires!

...

Oh, well... And I thought missing the 1-2-3 Dragon/Dungeon sale deadline was the worse that could happen... :_(

Will the errata be incorporated into the next printing of the Pathfinder Core book? If so, when would it be available?

[...]Ravenloft is Strahd, Barovia, Madame Eva, Castle Ravenloft. As for Azalin and Mordent and Van Richten and Dementlieu and Richemulot, etc., they're great but only peripherally Ravenloft. These are names you can't change.

You can't have Ravenloft without Strahd.
[...] I wish Paizo could do Ravenloft.

I wholeheartedly agree with you :-)

[/daydreaming] :-p

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this setup can't access weapon specialization, since you need to be a 4th-level fighter to do so.

FFG's Dawnforge campaign setting had wrist sheaths that could house a blade or four bolts. Since the text was designated Open Content, here are the details (please let me know if this can't be done, in spite of being OGC):

Wrist Sheaths: Night elf assassins can walk the streets of Ersevor and many other elven communities without causing an uproar, simply because not all night elves are part of the ongoing civil war that has erupted within Sildanyr. This gives them an advantage that they

do not wish to counter by walking around with unconcealed weapons. Thus the wrist sheaths were born. A sheath is fitted to one or both of the night elf’s wrists that contains a spring-loaded blade or dart. The sheath can also hold pouches of poison, use-activated spells (see the Craft Magic Pouch feat), and other things that a night elf might wish to use in conjunction with her weapon.
A wrist sheath does not impede the wearer’s movement unless a blade is out, in which case that hand may not be used to cast spells or use skills. Putting a blade in the wrist sheath (or removing one) is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Popping a blade out is a free action, while resetting it into the sheath is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
A wrist sheath normally contains only one compartment, but it can be built with more for an additional cost. Normal wrist sheaths can have up to four compartments, while masterwork versions can have up to six.
Wristblades: A wrist sheath can hold a small blade that functions as a short sword. The wrist sheath confers a +10 bonus on any roll made to avoid being disarmed.
Wristbolts: A wrist sheath can hold a single dart-like projectile in each pouch. These special darts can be thrown at an enemy with a flick of the wrist. A character with multiple attacks can throw one dart per attack, up to the number of darts he has loaded at the time. Because of the ease with which these darts may be thrown, a character that makes only a single attack with a wristbolt does not reveal his position if hidden, although any character hit by the bolt can make an immediate Spot check to detect his assailant

Weapon / Cost / Dmg (S) / Dmg (M) / Critical / Range Increment / Weight / Type

Equipment / Cost / Weight
Wrist Sheath / 20 gp / 2 lb.
Additional pouch / 20 gp / 0 lb.

Now that you mention it, yes, he does look more like Dungeon's paladin.
Man, WAR draws the best action-oriented illustrations! :-)

A while back I found online a picture of the "missing" L3 - Deep Dwarven Delve module that was included with the 1999 TSR Silver Anniversary box. The illustration was made by Wayne Reynolds, and it features three adventurers fighting a naga, and the fighter looks suspiciously close to Pathfinder's iconic fighter, Valeros, don't you think?

I finally got around and bought the Wandering Monster compilation, so I could read the story from the beginning (I already had all the Dungeon issues that featured the "Fool's Errand" story arc), and read through it all (WM & FE) this afternoon. However, while it cleared a lot of things, I'm quite a bit confused with the series' conclusion. I realize that it might be in part due to the cancellation of Dungeon, which may have prompted Kyle Hunter to end things quicker, but I still don't get a few things:

Have any of these points been explained by Kyle Hunter, or anyone else related to the comic strip, previously?

I finally got around and bought the Wandering Monster compilation, so I could read the story from the beginning (I already had all the Dungeon issues that featured the "Fool's Errand" story arc), and read through it all (WM & FE) this afternoon. However, while it cleared a lot of things, I'm quite a bit confused with the series' conclusion. I realize that it might be in part due to the cancellation of Dungeon, which may have prompted Kyle Hunter to end things quicker, but I still don't get a few things:

Have any of these points been explained by Kyle Hunter, or anyone else related to the comic strip, previously?

(Sorry for the necrothreading :-)

I commissioned a sculptor to do some custom minis for my D&D campaigns, which included a Kyuss figure, 5 Overworms (WoTC pre-painted Purple Worms with green stuff modifications) and the Momma Carrion Crawler from the 'Kings of the Rift' adventure. If you like these, I could post links to all the other Aberrations I had sculpted (like Aboleths, Phaerimms, Cloaker Lord, Tendriculos, Remorhaz, a 'real' Purple Worm, etc.)

Please note: none of the minis were painted at the time these photos were taken and they were all (except the Overworms) crafted using wire armatures and Sculpy.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/Kyuss1.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/Kyuss2.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/Kyuss3.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/Kyuss4.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/Kyuss5.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/Kyuss6.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/OverwormMod-1.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/OverwormMod-2.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/OverwormMod-3.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/MommaWorm1.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/MommaWorm2.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj41/shoggothic/MommaWorm3.jpg

Regards,
Shogg

These are really great! Do you have pictures of the finished pieces? I'd love to see them in all their painted glory! :-p

I think one version has a "sword swinging action" with a button on the figure's back. This one has plastic robes.

There is a more authentic one out there with cloth robes that stands 11" tall, that's what I got :P

My Kyuss is gonna be BIG

Well, I got the RotK ringwraith and it also has cloth robes (except the head part - that would have been challenging with the figure having... well... no head :-p). So for anyone out there that thinks the 11' figure may be too big, this is a nice alternative.

Dimitri Mazieres wrote:

Would the RSS feeds alert us about sales' ending times?

I hadn't noticed that the Dragon/Dungeon magazines clearance sale finished yesterday and missed on the opportunity of getting some Dragon issues I wanted... :-(

Nope... the best way to see when sales end is to visit the sale page—if a sale has a specific end date, it will say so there.

Bummer... :-(

So... Any ideas about when Paizo will have another one of these "take away our remaining Dragon and Dungeon magazines" sale? ;-)

Would the RSS feeds alert us about sales' ending times?
I hadn't noticed that the Dragon/Dungeon magazines clearance sale finished yesterday and missed on the opportunity of getting some Dragon issues I wanted... :-(

Regarding the LotR Ringwraith figure, are there any differences between the "Fellowship of the Ring" and "Return of the King" editions?
I recently bought the RotK figure on eBay (at $0.99 plus shipping, nonetheless! :D) and I'd like to know if the only difference is in the packaging.

Thanks for the replies, guys! :)
How much bigger was the map in Dungeon #139 compared to that included in the Player's Guide? Is it worth it for me to hunt it down?

I got a used copy of Dungeon #139 a while ago (a great guy from ENWorld included it and other issues for free when he sold me his Age of Worms issues) but it didn't have the Sasserine map. I have the Player's Guide pdf, which includes one, and was thinking about getting a physical copy. So I wanted to know if the map included in the Player's Guide is the same as the one that was originally sent with Dungeon #139 (in regards to detail, size, and so on).

Thanks in advance for your help. :)

I would like to see art by Kevin McCann. He was, imho, the best b&w illustrator in the 2nd Edition era.

Age of Worms is available in PDF form and almost all of the back issues are still available in print form also.

-Lisa

Well, there are four issues that aren't available (or haven't been for quite a while, at least since I've been watching for the full series), which is what keeps me from ordering the AP. :(

And now I'm the happy owner of this beautiful book! :)

Today I received my copy of the Shackled City Adventure Path, which I bought taking advantage of the sale at Paizo's online store.
Although I'm ecstatic for receiving it so fast (it only took 2 weeks for an international shipping), I would like to advise about trying to use better padding on shipments, as my copy of the book arrived with a couple of corners quite bumped and the back cover's inside paper a bit torn.

Ok, I just wanted to leave this little advice, so Paizo can continue to provide us with their usual excellent service.

Now I'll be on my way to Cauldron. :)

Thank you, Vic, for the information. It's good to know that I'll have some more time to get my hands on SCAP. And I'm really glad that Paizo's products aren't under the d20 license. :)

Hi!

I have a couple of questions related to Paizo's sale:

- Is there a known end date for it (like the publishers that are having sales until December, 31st)?

- Specifically talking about the Shackled City Adventure Path, is the book subject to the termination of the d20 license? That is, will Paizo be able to sell it after December, 31st? I'd really like to buy it (specially at the discounted price!) but I fear I won't be able to do so until January.

Thanks in advance for the answers!

Following the general trend regarding the Fighter, I also think that the class needs something more to make it more unique and, from what I've read around some forums, more powerful at higher levels, so as to be comparable to other classes.

So I was thinking that maybe the way to get around this particular issue could be adding tiered traits to the Fighter, like Fantasy Flight Games did with their Defender and Wildlander classes (Monk and Ranger alternatives, respectively) for Midnight Second Edition.
(In case anyone is interested, they are designated as open content, and can be perused at the Darkness Fall site, which lists all the open game content from the Midnight line of products).
That way, the class could have access to, for instance, different combat styles, or further bonuses to maneuvers and certain attacks, making the class as a whole more flexible and providing a further level of customization for different character concepts.

Has this been considered?

One too want fighters to have a host of options to play with, I want to avoid making the class too complicated. It is important to have a few classes that are simple to play, either for beginners or casual gamers. The fighter should fill this role.

On the flip-side, I did make sure to add a host of combat feats for them to use, giving them some spice to their general tactics.

Those things said, is it enough? Let me know.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Have you considered adding tiered traits to the Fighter, like Fantasy Flight Games did with their Defender and Wildlander classes for Midnight Second Edition? They are designated as open content, and can be perused at the Darkness Fall site (which lists all the open game content from the Midnight line of products).

Why NOT get into their backstories? I've been reading them in the blog, and I think those little blocks of text could have a place in the finished product, especially since you're going to have an expressed setting rather than an implied one, it might be a good idea to get people thinking about how to integrate their characters into the world.

Maybe because of the available word count for the final book. Adding iconics' backstories and other unnecessary "fluff" would impact the amount of words available for the rules themselves.