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So, D&D has its own official server ran by WotC, PaizoCon Online Discord was a roaring success (I felt like being there, down to warnings about not stirring flamewars), XX century is over, Joey started checking his e-mail twice per month (he still downloads all attachments, but he has moved on from 3.5" floppies to CDs - go Joey!). Which brings to ... Paizo Discord server when? With the world falling apart, I've moved all my games online and Discord is my platform of choice for voice comms, so it would be great to pop into a Paizo server, chill out with nice people and ask some innocent questions, such as what happens when a Paladin walks into a burning goblin orphanage and... ....you get the idea. Discord server plx.
Dear Paizo, I've been trying, for 3 days, to add a review of Bestiary 2, but the website goes 404 on me every time I try to save the review. Yes, I've tried all the browsers - Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Opera. I've fortunately saved a copy of it, knowing how cantankerous Paizo.com can be, but it's becoming frustrating.
Welp, he's a little teary-eyed moment: some 12 years ago, I bought the first issue of Rise of the Runelords. It was written by James Jacobs and the adventure path outline included therein described 5 other upcoming stellar adventures written by dashing and fantastic gentlemen. There were, over the years, questions as to how and when could we perhaps see a lady among the authors. Everyone nodded when Paizo folks explained the situation: the talent pool for D&D-ish adventure writing is virtually entirely male. Things slowly began to change as the hobby started to evolve and slowly climb out of the basement. 2020 and here I am, opening my copy of The Show Must Go On, first episode of Paizo's newest AP and what can I see? The author lineup is Lyz, Jenny, Kate, Greg, Mikko and Jason. 3/3 perfectly balanced, as all things should be. This was a long road and some of its turns were ugly *cleans the flamethrower, fresh from today's little tussle downwards*, but we got here.
Forbes, yes, the business magazine, lists its favourite RPGs of 2019, quite succinctly describing PF2 as the game for 5e fans ready to move on from D&D.
Considering the recent events in Hong Kong, the intimidation tactics used by Chinese government against business (NBA, Blizzard) and the well known general track record for trampling human rights, as with the Uygur minority recently, is continuing to print your products in PRC truly reflective of a company which has, to much well-deserved praise, stood insofar for several universal values of inclusivity, employee rights, tolerance and non-discrimination? I'm fully aware of the fact that moving printing out of the People's Republic of China towards some more exotic place such as the eastern marches of the Godless United Communist Ripubliks of Yurp would likely result in the printed matter getting more expensive. I'd be more than happy to pony up the price hike. I've insofar enjoyed the fact that throwing my money at Paizo helps a business that treats employees fairly and eschews many idiotic policies (excuse me, sound capitalist practices) the American entrepreneurship is famous for, the "printed in China" issue sticks out. These days I believe we can safely discard the whole "well at least it makes Chinese people richer and if they'll get richer they'll inevitably go democratic and abolish their authoritarian government" argument, as it's plain to see that it's not happening.
Inspired by some recent threads, I've thought to compile a list of things which one can easily assume based on 3.5/PF1 rules, but are different/don't exist in PF2. In other words, things you can trip over easily. The list isn't exhaustive nor it even isn't in any way structured, the idea is for people to highlight anything they come by. I'll start: 1. AoO aren't a universal ability everyone has any more. 2. Neither is charge (you can move twice and attack...but it's not the same) 3. Undead have Constitution score. 4. Wielding two weapons doesn't give you an extra attack. 5. mirror image creates always three images. 6. Things you can achieve using skills are no longer limited to "peak normal human ability". Legendary Acrobatics allows you to balance on a sword's edge or a falling chunk of debris, Legendary Athletics allows you to climb a perfectly smooth surface (flat out impossible in PF1 no matter what's your score). 7. You don't get a free 5-foot step, it takes an action now. 8. PF1 dazzled is -1 to attack and Perception, PF2 dazzled means everyone is concealed from you. 9. Incredible Initiative is +2 to initiative rolls, not +4 as PF1 Improved Initiative. 10. +X magic weapon means it's +X to hit, not damage.
*bursts out of a shipping container* SURPRISE, MOTHERSCOOTERS! *Jon Bon Jovi's 'Bad Medicine' plays* Ya'll thought I'm gone for good? I saw those effigies and celebratory gatherings. Well bad news, bubbles, it was only a prolonged vacation which I took off to do some meditation and take some medication and now I'm ready for standing ovation because I'm not the hero you deserve, nor the one you asked for, but you're stuck with me. *snorts a line, drinks a bottle of rum* Now, where was I? So, about paladin alignment in PF2, if a Redeemer Champion happens upon a burning orphanage full of goblins that refused to be redeemed, does she fail if...
Aloha, I've tried setting up a subscription for the setting line starting with the first PF2 book (Lost Omens), but despite selecting it twice during the subscription process I ended up wit a confirmation e-mail that my sub will start with the last PF1 book (Druma). Halp plox.
Portrait-oriented screens forever! Death to landscape philistines who taint and ruin our hobby with their carelessly casual "it's easier to use" rampant fanboyism of landscape screens! That's not what Gary wanted, that's not how we rolled in 1978, it's those video games and anime that poisoned your brains into thinking that portrait screens are inferior! Attica! ATTICA! DON'T TREAD ON ME!!!!
Welp, it seems like XXI century has caught up on to some of the slimeballs within the hobby. After repeated accounts of sexual harassment and abuse gained traction WotC decided to remove Zak Smith from 5e rulebook credits. Zak was (in)famous for his "D&D with Porn Stars" video series, reverence for old school high lethality gaming and being a goth creep at a point where being a goth creep has long quit being cool. In other news, Luke Gygax and the GaryCon staff made the decision to remove the renowned author and game designer Frank Mentzer from GaryCon guest list. As far as I understand, sexual harassment was also the issue at hand here.
So! I'm building a level 7 Fighter using the rather nifty Spear Fighter archetype from Martial Arts Handbook. I've got the big six covered and have 4k gp left in his budget for miscellaneous magic items. I'm looking for useful/fun/zany off the wall items to round out the budget and give him something novel and funny to use. The campaign is Strange Aeons and the party is about to board the boat in adventure 3. Paizo sources only. Hit me with your best shots!
*is this thing on?* So, let's talk bloat, release schedule and were are we going with 2PF. I'd honestly hope that Paizo will adapt a publishing strategy that's more aggressive than D&D 5e BUT less hectic than PF1. PF1 was supported by no less than five product lines, in order from most crunchy to least: Hardcovers, Player Companions, Campaign Setting books, APs and modules. There's no denying that 5e is running on a very tame publishing model. Hardcovers happen once per year, and so far most of them were bestiaries. There are no monthly or even bi-monthly product lines. The flip side of this mode is obvious as well, 5e has far fewer player-side content. Paizo's opportunity is to provide a system which has much more content, both for players and GMs, than 5e has. It's something that I see as one of major selling points of PF2 over 5E. But Paizo's rate is too fast. The amount of bloat accumulated by PF1 towards the end of its lifecycle was obscene. Some of that bloat was welcome (monsters), some less so (grazillion feats, of which many didn't really matter). I'd personally prefer for Paizo to adapt a more timid schedule, focus on elements which were popular in PF1 (Witch, Oracle, furry ancestries, aasimar & tielfings) while still putting out more material than 5E. "But Gorbacz", you'll ask, "Paizo needs to make money!". Well, first of all, these days they have Starfinder, which by all indication is selling really well and sits in a rather secure market niche. Second, the new edition of PFACG is coming next year, so that's another stream of revenue. I sincerely believe that there's a middle ground which will make us able to play that kitsune Antipaladin of Desna shortly AND not drown us with highly situational feats and racial traits which you can barely keep track of.
Howdy, how come it's one week until this AP starts shipping and there isn't yet a thread full of people losing their minds about how there's no Players' Guide out yet and how will this situation destroy their campaign which they plan to start soon? Asking for a friend.
I love the streamlining of environmental rules. I love how Weather is now just -1 to -4 penalty to appropriate checks. I love how the Is The Wind Strong Enough to Blow a Halfling Off Her Feet? table is dead. I love you gain resistance to acid and fire underwater - because seriously, 1e physics were dumb in places. I really, really like this part of rules. The one thing I can't stand is of course that strange Fahrenheit thing ... *sighs*
First of all, please disregard my e-mail I've sent yesterday to CustServ. Second, I have a strange account problem. I've somewhat got logged out on my home desktop and I can't log back in on that machine, I'm getting a "no account exists with this email" message when I try. BUT I continue to be logged in on my phone and my work PC (shhh, don't tell anybody!). PLZ HELP FIX :)
So, the d20pfsrd did something nice, which is a survey of 10.000 Pathfinder PCs. Actual real statistic data, wohoo! We don't have much of those around. Anyway, few takeaways: Races: Tieflings > Dwarves! Classes: It seems Paizo's decision to include the Alchemist in PF2 core was indeed grounded in actual popularity of the class. I'm kind of shocked how low did the Inquisitor end up - maybe it's the name? Archetypes: Some quite expected results (Grenadier, Archeologist, Invulnerable Rager) and some surprise (Two-handed Fighter, Winter Witch) Levels: This is why there isn't that much high level content out there, folks.
Deer of Paizo, Unfortunately, with some hefty investments in a new apartment ahead I need to cut back on my monthly frivolities. Towards this ends, please: KEEP Pathfinder AP Subscription
CANCEL Pathfinder Player Companion Subscription
I'll get back to those once I settle down at the new place (and sell the old one :P) Cheers!
Well, so we live in The Age of Playlists. If it ain't on Spotify/Apple Music/Tidal, it ain't. I have an idea for a very-not-immediate product: Playlists by Paizo. Both Pathfinder and Starfinder could have a couple of those. I'll just throw some ideas: Combat
Since the streaming services have recently picked up with game soundtracks and obscure sci-fi/horror/fantasy movie OSTs, they have become a much welcome alternative to borrowing through your mp3 collection and assembling playlists by hand.
OK, long story short, a 5 PC party was going through The Thrushmoor Terror and got into Spoiler:
Fort Hailcourse where they have decided to pull all aggro and basically entered an escalating encounter against everything within the place. Which, among others, left them fighting against two dozens Spoiler: Faced with the prospect of a nightmare fight between over 30 combatants, I've decided to run enemy units as troops, modifying the existing troop statblocks on the fly.
Juju Zombies and Deep Ones. And it worked. We did have an excellent, cinematic battle with me having way less to handle. It still did take half an hour to resolve, but was much smoother, fun and interactive than having each individual mook resolved separately.
1. This sounds a lot like D&D 4th edition, i don´t know if i like this yet. 2. This is a definite betterment. 3. So i guess fireing a chain-gun is now reflected by very much damage, if you fire at one target only OR one attack roll counts against each of the 20 targets if you fire a broad salvo? 4. Okay i guess. 5. Not great. Individual spell-lists are unneccesary complicated. One arcane, one divine and one psychic distinction would have been way easier. These are my initial thoughts. Of course i´ll have to check out the finished product before i can make a real meaningful review. ;-)
OK, I won't beat around the bush - the Map Folios have taken a nosedive recently. First reason is that recently they tend to feature "in character" maps of countries/regions which have no landmark names but instead feature doodles of monsters, NPCs and locations. They're cute. Obviously, somebody at Paizo HQ is going all giddy when he/she sees one and orders the next one right away. "Oh look, this tiny winy devil on the map of Cheliax, I want to pet him and hug him and call him George." But there's a problem. They're not very useful in game. A boring plain normal map with city, river and mountain range names is ten times more useful. And a BLOODY DISTANCE SCALE. The Inner Sea Folio and its derivates (like the Shackles map) are AWESOME. Pure gold, maestro. These put the competition to shame. Please go back there. The second problem is that the folios continue to be a part of the campaign setting subscription. This is illogical and frustrating, as I need to cancel my AP sub for the upcoming Ironfang Folio, as I fear that it will feature the same problem with a "cool in-character map full of tiny soldiers" map that will have me sigh and break out the Inner Sea Map Folio again.
First of all, having read all the Hell's Rebels adventures, I think it indeed is the best Paizo AP. It's consistent, coherent, doesn't deviate from urban environment too much, has a great BBEG and feels like it was written all by one author (or a group of authors). Second, I'd love to discuss how people handled situations like the one I have right now, which is having multiple secret identity PCs. Specifically, a Vigilante and a Mysterious Avenger Swashbuckler. We've have had some rough moments during the second session where both "superhero" players tried to keep the secret identities secret from fellow players, but we kind of shaked that off. New challenges arise, however. One player wishes to smash Dottari skulls as his vigilante persona AND romance a Dottari sargeant as his meek barrister persona. Any experiences with having the Scarlet Pumpernickel and the Boy Wonder in one party that you folks could share? :)
I see people asking for Youtube uploads of Paizo Twitch livestreams. Youtube uploads take time and while you're waiting for them, Twitch has all Paizo vids neatly archived here. You don't need a Twitch account. Paizo, get a Full HD cam, please. Erik K, don't ever stop cosplaying.
...when suddenly, out of the blue, despite me being REALLY NASTY THIS YEAR, somebody drops some Paizo store credit on me. Anonymously. Without any message or hint as to their identity or intentions. I appreciate the gesture, but if this is some elaborate romantic plot, I'd like to re-state the following, I am: a) married
Anyway, thanks a lot, anonymous scoundrel/scoundrelette.
Aloha! I'd like to part ways with my copy of Shackled City AP Hardcover. Condition is mint, I've only read it through once. The price is 90 USD + shipping. I accept Paizo store credit as payment and I can ship virtually everywhere BUT if you want your copy sent to a CIA blacksite in Oman you'll have to help me out with it, as I have little experience in shipping to all those weird American military overseas addresses. If interested, contact me through PM or via e-mail (in my profile under the spoiler tag).
Howdy, One of my players wants to play a straight full-BAB non-spellcasting martial (preferably a Fighter) and asked me if there's any way his character could be able to cast a limited (2-3 max) number of 0/1-level spells/SLAs/psychic powers without resorting to multiclassing or to playing a Magus. Are there any feats/archetypes that grant such abilities? Paizo and 3PP sources are all welcome.
Disclaimer: I am a manga/anime fan, currently halfway through Macross Delta and Seven Deadly Sins. So yeah, if you hope for some quality harping on how weaboo wuxia bullcrap killed Gary Gygax, not here. Anyway. I've noticed a conjecture. Several of the most outspoken "martial-caster disparity/Fighters need to be more awesome/Failzo failed us again by failing" people are big on action anime. Either they profess it openly here, or a cursory glance at the Internet reveals their passionate presence on anime forums or their YouTube channels full of Ninja Scroll clips or their 18+ Sailor Moon tumblrs. Also, Book of Nine Swords was the bestest d20 supplement ever. This got me thinking. Perhaps, after watching this, this and of course this, their expectations regarding sword-swinging characters are at a level which Pathfinder, a game designed mostly by non-anime-watching folks who apparently envision high level Fighters more something like this, cannot quite satisfy. Which leads to frustrations elaborated in all the locked threads. Maybe there is a game out there which caters better to running barefoot on clouds, swinging your sword so that mountains are torn assunder, EXCEPT YOUR SWORD DOESN'T EVEN TOUCH THESE MOUNTAINS, IT'S THE SONIC WAVE OF MANA WHICH THE SWING GENERATES THAT TEARS THE WORLD APART?
The title says it all. Everybody's favourite uncompromising fan of Lovecraft and everything that is *not* 3e/Pathfinder has not been seen for some time. Does anybody know if he's fine and safe? I can't PM him because his profile page is apparently borked. I'm a sad, sad panda.
Now that we pretty much know what will be and what won't be in Bestiary 5, it's about time to speculate about B6! My picks: Daemon Horsemen
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