Immaculate Brutal Hammer's page

My only specific question is "when will I see this in my FLGS?"

Saw it saturday night and had a blast. The gamer section applauded louder than the parents! Everything about it exceeded my expectations. Every part of this play comes across as a love letter to High Adventure.

Favorite parts:

-The Innkeeper and the Gnome. Those girls were absolutely adorable!
-The Cleric of Desna actually had some decent comedic chops.
-The set and costumes were TOTALLY AMAZING.
-Gamer shout-outs. I could actually tell what spells they were casting!
-It has to be the first theatrical production in history to name check "Vancian Casting" in the dialogue. That's worth five bucks right there.

I went with ten people, and all of us were utterly giddy through the entire play. I think our enthusiasm might have bummed out some of the parents in our section though, which I feel a little bad about. Nonetheless, I'll be back next weekend. If you have any love for D&D and you live in PDX you need to support this. I mean, I still kinda can't believe I live in a city where stuff like this happens.

I think the feel has changed for us a bit. At first it was a LOT different, but that was mainly due to us focusing too closely on combat. It actually turned me off at first and we dropped it for a B/X campaign.

Now we're trying 4e again and I think I've found the right balance to achieve the feel I prefer. I will say that I miss the way magic used to work, and that the instant effect based design of 4e magic loses some of the mystique that magic used to have for me. This is 4e's primary turnoff for me. I pretty much enjoy the rest of it.

We're playing in Eberron (I thought it would be the best setting to highlight what 4e does well) and the characters just made 3rd level. I find myself wishing I'd stuck to my initial instincts and chosen Golarion, but the die is cast. We're about to finish up Seekers of the Ashen Crown, and I must say none of us are all that impressed with it. I'm actually fast-tracking the adventure to it's conclusion just to be done with it.

Next, I'm going to try running one of Paizo's APs in 4e. I'm trying to choose between CotCT and CoT, right now I'm leaning more toward the latter. I'll have to start it with the PCs at lvl 4 though. Once we have a few sessions of that under our belts, I'll have a definitive opinion on whether the gaming aesthetic I prefer is still possible in 4e.

I suspect it is, but I'm finding I need to work harder to achieve it.

I"m digging on Goodman Games Sellswords of Punjar. Some real old Sword and Sorcery feel to it with a lot of grimy beggars and rogues and a ton of interesting traps along with some cursed magic!

I'll second this one. It's got a great Fritz Lieber/ Lankhmar feel. I wish it would've been available when my group first started 4e.

If there's anything message boards have taught me, it's that you should never allow a moment's thought or rationality to slow down the spread of FUD.

FUD, the internet's #2 export since 1999! :P

Ha! I never realized it was an actual business term until I looked it up!

Seems like people are already getting pretty uptight about something that hasn't even had a single preview posted. I know that 90% of the Paizo boards think WotC is the D&D-wrecking antichrist, but it is at least minutely possible that they're not going to destroy Eberron. Even if people hate what they do (once we actually find that out), it's not like anyone will come to your house and force you to include Dragonborn, or to advance the timeline, or anything else that you, as the DM, have complete control over.

The Points of Light comment was pretty vague, anyway. It's possible that they'll even redefine what they mean by the PoL concept for Eberron. Besides- in a world like Eberron, player characters are the Points of Light.

Hi all.
I've never participated in Organized Play before, so forgive me if this comes across as a dumb question:

When playing Pathfinder Society games, are parties organized by faction (i.e. everyone in the group belongs to the same faction) or can a group be composed of different faction members (and if so, would that cause internal conflict within the party)?

Also, anyone know of any PS events happening in Portland Oregon? I run a serious weekly campaign (3 years and still kickin!) so my gaming time is quite limited, but I'd like to check out an event if I can make it fit into my schedule...

Yeah, too much NPC betrayal can ruin a game. Paranoia can be fun, but when players go from not trusting anyone to seeing everyone they meet as an enemy then things are just going to go down the s%@+ter.

I haven't read the adventure yet, but would it be possible to have the PCs star out as undercover operatives planted in the Golden Goblin casino by some other agency? Then at least they'd be prepared for the screwing-over. Sorry if I'm re-hashing what tbug just suggested. I might have more ideas when I get a copy of the book.

We do. While we tend to take a pretty hands-off approach to moderation here, the only time I've seen that approach go away is when someone here at Paizo's had to step in to handle something related to a pointless edition-war type argument. One possible solution might even be to just close down the 4th edition boards and disallow discussion of the game, but that's basically the worst form of giving up we could do. AND it would annoy/estrange Paizo customers who DO want to talk here.

But yes. It bothers me. One of my best friends started posting on these boards, but because he's a big fan of 4th edition, he pretty much quit posting here and moved on elsewhere, and I was put in the awkward position of having my friend tell me that Paizo's boards are full of hate and vitrol.

Another thing that's frustrating is that these boards AREN'T filled with hate and vitrol; they are, for the most part, quite friendly and calm and mature. Before the whole 4th edition thing hit, that was more or less the case across the boards. It REMAINS the case in threads that aren't about 4th edition for the most part, and it does indeed sadden me that people (4E AND 3E fans alike) can't get along better.

Because the industry is big enough for both Paizo AND WotC to prosper. We don't have to "win" for the PF RPG to be a smash success. Wotc doesn't have to crush us for 4th Edition to be a success.

*Rest of post snipped for space...

Well said James, thanks for replying.

Rest assured that I'm still picking up the Pathfinder Campaign setting. I understand that it's largely crunch free, and I'm looking forward to raiding it for my homebrew. I use Lemuria for my setting, and a lot of Golarion fits my conception of the world.

I love D&D in all its forms. I've even got a full color tattoo of Dave Trampier's Altar of Mammon from the 1e PHB on my arm. Thanks for your reply, and thanks for turning out some of the best products in the RPG industry.

I love Paizo as well and enjoy the product.

There have been statements about this in the past that have not originated with "4e fans". Certainly not his opinion on the Pathfinder paragon path.

I am tired of coming here and feeling like a pariah, even when I stick to the 4e forums. There is enough flaming going on here that I don't think we need staff adding fuel to the fire.

I thought I expressed my opinion on the subject and feelings on the issue with at least a modicum of grace. If everyone disagrees, fine. I am not threatening anyone and I want to make sure the staff understands I love their product.

But that aside, I just wish the overall tone of the boards were a bit more respectful to 4e fans who are also Paizo fans. And perhaps I am a touch oversensitive when I see things like this. I can accept that.

Agreed. I actually don't come to this board much anymore because of all the hate going on. I've been a Paizo customer for many years and, to be completely honest, these boards are beginning to have an effect on that. I don't feel comfortable posting here because I AM a 4e fan and the general tone of these boards makes me feel that my opinions are practically unwelcome. Therefore I visit the site less and miss out on discussion of the new products coming out, which ultimately leads to fewer Paizo purchases at the FLGS.

I know that Paizo values their forumites (and they should) but I wonder if they realize that there are people like me who feel affected by the vitriol that their forums seem to tolerate. RPGs are a small industry and no company can afford to lose customers (except maybe WotC). I think all the hate that goes on in these forums does a disservice to the excellent work that these guys are doing and I wish the more vocal flamers could see that.

Anyway, I just stopped by here on a whim and saw this thread and I was compelled to voice something that's really been bugging me for a long time. I wish you guys the best of luck with the PFRPG. I'll come back occasionally to check and see if things cool down, but until they do you won't be hearing much from me.

No problem—I've cancelled both your subscription and your order. (Good timing on that one!)

I hope everything works out well for you.

Thanks very much, Vic.

I just got some difficult news about my health, and it looks like I'll be out of work for some time. Consequently, gaming products can't be a high priority for me right now. I subscribed on July 4th, so my order hasn't even been processed yet. If you could cancel that order, as well as my ongoing Pathfinder subscription I'd really appreciate it.

If it's too late to catch order # 886105, it's no big deal. Just don't send any further issues.

I'll be returning as a customer as soon as I've got things sorted out.

Thanks very much.

Well, obviously I'm in the overwhelming minority, but I don't really like this idea. I thought the idea behind Craft: Construct was that you had to actually, you know, BUILD something. You need to stitch a flesh golem together, you need to sculpt the body of one that's made of metal or clay, etc. The animation would be part of the construction process. I can see a boy genius with a "How to Make a Golem" manual and all the ingredients being able to make a Shield Guardian.

Undead, on the other hand, should be the product of a magic spell, preferably a very evil one. Necromancy should be soul-blackening magic, not a purely mechanical process (which is how I see most of the Craft skills working). Little Jimmy the Boy Wonder needs to study the Dark Arts before he can raise a dead cricket.The difference is minor, and mainly one of flavor, but I just can't really see it any other way.

But I'm obviously in the overwhelming minority.

I think it would be nice to see some less traditional art on the covers, and something a little more neo-retro. Like the Planet Stories logo is very much the style I'm talking about. But if you were to put that high contrast red and black logo on any of the books covers, rather than the more subduded blue-green tone one that is used, it would look out of place. It shouldn't! The whole cover should be slick, glossy and LOUD.

The current covers are good, but...I dunno. There all a little "Been there, done that." They look very Generic Fantasy. It'd be cool if Planet Stories really stood out on the shelves.

This is the point I was fumbling to make. Covers with the same careful design as the logo would practically scream "this way to...ADVENTURE!" from the shelf.

Cool. Thanks very much.

Since my FLGS (both of them) seem to be on a personal crusade to bum me out no matter how much money I throw at them, I've finally thrown in the towel and subscribed to Pathfinder! I've been meaning to do it for a while, and the prospect of never again having to make the trek to either of these s+$!holes to get my books is like a weight off my shoulders.

Anyway, I'm wondering how soon I can download the pdfs after my orders process? (It's 4th of July weekend so I'm assuming monday at the earliest). I'm only asking because I'm friggin' dying to read #10.

Does anybody else notice the chick at the end's total lack of a belly button?

There's sort of a shadow where one would be. Maybe that's it.

Hey! Maybe we can get a "Do Eladrin have navels?" discussion going to go with the one about Dragonborn boobs.

Okay, I shouldn't post when I haven't eaten.

I've given that cover a second chance. I still don't like it much, but I spoke too harshly (and unconstructively) of it before. It's not really manga-esque at all. I think it's actually the color palate that irks me. It's colorful, which I like, but some of the tonal values seem a bit haphazard to me (if that makes sense). The Mignola comparison, which I didn't see at all earlier, became immediately apparent once I dug out my Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser issues.

Nonetheless, I think Planet Stories is still batting a very high average in terms of both content and presentation, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Out of curiousity, is there a submission process for artists at Paizo?

For instance, we just got in the cover sketch for Infernal Sorceress (a never-before-published Gygax book, the last written before his death), and I'm more excited about that than anything I've seen from the line so far... it reminds me a lot of Mike Mignola and the old Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser covers.

I must respectfully disagree. I think that's by far the weakest cover of any Planet Stories release so far. I hate to bash another artist's work, but that cover is awful. It reminds me of bad american manga or something. It's going to be the first Planet Stories I don't buy, sadly. (And, having already read some of Gygax's fiction, I can't say that the prospect of an unpublished book by him holds any excitement for me. Don't get me wrong, securing the book is a coup for Paizo, but I'll count myself out this time. YMMV, of course...).

On the other hand, the overall quality of Paizo's art output is so high that it makes the few weak pieces stand out more than they might in the pages of a lesser company's product.

Starting RotRL this weekend (converted with help from the 4e conversion thread somewhere on here. I might mash up the Paizo goblins with the Bile Spider tribe goblins from "Roll vs. Role", mostly because they're both amazing.

I think we're getting a:
Elf Ranger
Human Rogue
Tiefling Warlock
Eladrin Wizard
and one more TBD (Dragonborn Fighter is a likely candidate, though).

I'll repost after chargen with a final tally.

What do you guys think?

As written, the XP is the same as that of an Elite monster. I don't know what happens when you apply a template to an already Elite monster, though. I'd doubt that would make it a Solo but I could be wrong.

Just wanted to throw in and say I'm a sucker for Logue's work as well. His name on a product pretty much guarantees I'll enjoy it. Even if I don't end up running them all (I'm about to plunge headlong into an AD&D 1e campaign), they're always a good read. Then again, I prefer "the Satanic Rites of Dracula" to LOTR, so I'm an easy sell.

Nice.

I spent a day or so looking over my Saltmarsh notes and tightening up a few things (my DM skills have improved a lot in 20+ years). Some of the personalities will get more depth or be changed slightly. At the time, I played NPCs in a rather broad, more simple style.

Anyway, I was also rolling up some pregenerated characters to fit in with the area (south-west Keoland). I was going to allow better than "normal" characters (to appeal to the 3.x crowd): roll 4d6, drop lowest, six times; arrange as desired; sacrifice 2 points from one stat to raise another by 1, cannot reduce a stat below 10 or raise above 18 before racial adjustments; maximum starting hp; UA, DSG, and WSG rules in effect; allowed races human, hill dwarf, sylvan elf, gnome, half-elf, half-orc, and halfling.

My dice were possesed or something. First set of rolls: 18, 14, 15, 11, 17, 15! For six characters (36 rolls), I ended up with 2x18, 5x17, 2x16, 9x15, 4x14, 3x13, 6x12, 4x11, and 1x10; every single one had a 17 or 18 for the highest stat and at least 3 rolls of 14 or higher. The first character became a paladin (cavalier) with 18/52 Str, 11 Int, 14 Wis, 15/32 Dex, 15/15 Con, 17/94 Cha; rolling on the social class table in UA gave me 88 (Lower Upper Class), which let the paladin start as a 1st level cavalier with plate mail, shield, lance, longsword, dagger, a medium warhorse, and 70-180gp. Then, for the other character with an 18 (a ranger longbow specialist), I rolled a 98 for percentile Str. The rest of the set includes a cleric of Xerbo (Suloise deity of sea, travel and trade; main temple in Saltmarsh; clerics can use tridents and switch out Fire Walk for Water Breathing and Flame Strike for Conjure Elemental [water only] on their spell lists), half-elf druid (with two guard dogs), magic user (apprentice to the local herbalist/sage), and gnome illusionist/thief. What a powerful bunch.

We're doing standard chargen, but I'm allowing the Bard from 2nd edition AD&D. I've got a player who really wants to play one, and the 1e version is just too damn hard to qualify for. Also, What's your overall opinion of UA? A few people have warned me that if you use UA you want to stick very close to the rules as written (a lot of people find it unbalances easily, I guess). The idea of the UA Barbarian trying to destroy the party's magic gear at early levels cracks me up, though.

Oh yeah: Once, in a fill-in Saltmarsh game I ran, Oceanus (the captive sea elf ) ended up posthumously becoming one of the most important npcs in a campaign that went so far off the rails it wound up turning into a brief Spelljammer series. None of us saw that coming!

Immaculate Brutal Hammer wrote:

So screw you, 4e! The Village of Hommlet awaits!

For some really cool maps!Check Out This Link!Click on maps! then go into Sections

/toee.htm

I've been slowly stitching Toee/Slavelords/Queen of Spiders into a Adventure path. (The Drow are mentioned as coming to the Temple in it's history notes and Lloth had sometype of interest there...Then you have Elcavdra of the Slavelords (female drow)so there's another thread. The Slavelords deal with the Temple bringing in slaves and monsters.

Also during the party's attack on the Temple, I plan on having Npc's from the Temple attack Hommlet like Smignal Redhand, Barkinar and Deggum and a horde of bugbears,gnolls and ogres. I'll have my players play villagers and important npc of Hommlet to battle the evil forces.

WOW. How long have you been working on those? I do all my maps by hand and then run them through photoshop/illustrator, but I've never attempted anything with that level of detail. I love how you've got the lighting worked out. I've never even really thought about displaying light sources/shadows on a map. Definitely makes a rogue's job easier (or more difficult, depending on how you look at it). Nice work!

Also, I like the idea of playing out the attack on Hommlet. I read a post somewhere (Dragonsfoot maybe?) where someone had Robilar bust into the Temple while the PCs are on the lower levels. He ended up freeing Zuggtmoy, which is kinda funny.

The DMG is titties, so what are the PHB and MM?

man what?

Very Long Update:
I've been reading interviews with Gary, and I'm still making my way through T1-4, but these are my plans so far:

My first aim is to make Hommlet as richly detailed as possible. Fortunately, Gygax did most of the heavy lifting already. It's a relatively simple matter to give names and "one-line personalities" to the unnamed NPCs, but I want to make the important ones as distinct as possible. I've got one of those Mead composition books where each page is half graph paper and half notebook paper, and I'm making little maps of all the houses in Hommlet and adding details as I go.

I think the best way to approach an old module like Hommlet is to strive to create a rich environment in which the PCs create their own stories, rather than attempt to propel the characters through some labyrinthine plot (something that many modern adventure writers would do well to remember). If you look at a place like Sandpoint, you'll find a unique, atmospheric town where a hundred interesting things could occur every week, even if the PCs never go off to face Karzoug. That's the feeling I'm hoping to create in Hommlet. If I can pull that off, then the Temple of Elemental Evil will just be icing on the cake (should the PCs decide to go there).

I've got a few subplots and personalities for some of the NPCs lined up, in addition to those suggested by the module:

Elmo- He's pretty interesting as-is (an agent of Verbobonc masquerading as the town drunk), so I'll wait for the party to interact with him a bit before I start to flesh him out, but for his personality I'm steering well clear of Aragorn and Faramir and looking instead toward someone like Sherlock Holmes.

Ostler Gundigoot, Innkeeper at the Welcome Wench- My first thought was to play Ostler after the manner of Al Swearengen on Deadwood, but Ostler's a family man. Then I thought about my other favorite HBO series, Carnivale, and I settled on Stumpy. Done and done.

Rannos & Gremag- not too sure on these guys yet. They're basically there to screw the PCs and keep track of things for the Temple. They've each got okay Intelligence, low Wisdom, and really low Charisma, so I'm not sure the PCs should really have a hard time sussing out their motives. Any suggestions?

Jaroo Ashstaff- Although the Church of St. Cuthbert counts many denizens of Hommlet amongst it's flock, it is widely apparent that the Old Faith still holds sway in the hearts of the locals. Jaroo is the sagacious representative of the Old Faith in Hommlet, and this makes him an unofficial leader in the village. At 7th level, he's also one of the most powerful. Jaroo has a secret network of fieldmice that act as spies and keep him fully apprised of events in the village, which he in turn reports to the druids of the Gnarly Wood. (This is specifically inspired by the Jethro Tull song "The Mouse Police Never Sleeps" and the similary-titled issue of the comic book series Fables). It's also got me thinking about portraying Hommlet as a slightly less sinister version of Summerisle (the town in the 1973 horror masterpiece The Wickerman. Avoid the 2006 remake like mummyrot, however).

Canon Terjon- I'm just not feeling Terjon as the module portrays him, so I'm swiping his personality directly from Derek Jacobi's portrayal of Brother Cadfael (perhaps grafting the stern personality onto Calmert, his assistant). I think Terjon's in Hommlet as some sort of reprimand by the Arch-clericy. Terjon is the moderate voice on the Town Council, he is developing a close friendship with Jaroo, and he attempts to get away from the church as often as possible. He is aware of the secret between Rufus & Burne (see below). I'm considering a murder subplot in which Terjon reveals himself as a swashbuckling amateur sleuth, possibly as a springboard for the Ruined Moathouse). I've also got a vague idea about Terjon being an analog to Captain Clegg from the Hammer movie of the same name.
( Since I'm still not through reading the module, I guess this is a good time to ask if Terjon is intended to be a villain or anything like that? If so I'll have to rethink it)

Burne & Rufus- I'm strongly considering having a discreet homosexual relationship between these two, which I'll leave to the players figure out on their own. The pair are well loved by the community, but many of the locals may not be as tolerant as Terjon if they were to find out.
The PCs are probably going to need the aid of these two if they plan to assault the Temple, and the way they are portrayed in the module I can't really see my players asking them for help. I've chosen to add the relationship to make them a bit more interesting in a way I believe my players will identify with. (Actually, none of my players are gay but they are mature and I know them well enough to be assured that I can pull this off tastefully).
(*Also, if anyone has a problem with this choice, I'd prefer to refrain from fussing about it here. I respect your opinion, but it's my game and it's a minor detail anyway, so no threadcrapping please).

Burne's Badgers- 18 men-at-arms in service to Burne & Rufus. I can see my players spending some time carousing with this bunch, so they'll need names at the very least. Cross the Musketeers and the Merry Men and I'm good to go. Of course, it's only right if one or two of them is a traitor working for the Temple...

Denizens of the Welcome Wench Inn:

Zert, the CE fighter - Just for fun, Zert is going to have a shield and ceremonial armor that resemble Warduke's, though his helmet will be a bit different. (I'm planning on having the 8th lvl Warduke from the Shady Dragon Inn supplement show up in the campaign at some point, possibly as the mercenary who kidnapped Prince Thrommel! BOOYAH!).

Spugnoir, hapless magician- Spugnoir is good to go as written. I immediately thought of Schmedrick from the Last Unicorn (voiced by Alan Arkin, IIRC). Comic relief, he'll probably end up dying horribly...

Furnok of Ferd- Sounds like Alan-A-Dale to me. He might get into some trouble with Kobort and Turuko so that the PCs can rescue him and expose the pair for the scumbags they are.

Kobort & Turuko- Turuko fancies himself to be quite clever, but with an Intelligence of 9 he shouldn't be much of a threat to anyone. I'm not too interested in concealing their motives, the PCs will have enough trouble as it is...

And our villain,

Lareth the Beautiful- the Dark Hope of Chaotic Evil. And here, we see the first weaknesses of modules from this era. Gygax spends nearly 20 pages developing Hommlet but neglects to give any reason for the PCs to venture to the ruined moathouse to face the bad guys (or even any actual events that would lead to the PCs seeking it out on their own). Sigh.
Well, I'm assuming I'm supposed to rely on Rannos & Gremag (or maybe Zert or the aforementioned bad seeds in Burne's Badgers) to get the ball rolling. I suppose the PCs could stop a bandit attack (they might even get to see Elmo kicking some brigand ass and come to his aid, or vice versa). Alternatively, they might mix it up with Zert in the Welcome Wench and afterward be invited by Ostler to a meeting of the Town Council (who ask for the PCs help). Or, I could rely on the murder plot I was kicking around (but have yet to develop).
I'm not *too* worried about that yet, though. As I said, if I do my job as DM well enough, the party will want to become involved on their own...

As for Lareth- he's easy. Ziggy Stardust, with a dash of Huilliam D'Averc (the hilariously over-the-top villain from Moorcock's Hawkmoon). Shake over ice, and serve. Huzzah!

Anyway, that's what I've got so far. Sorry for the overlong post. I'm thinking that this thread no longer belongs in the 4e forum, but there's not much I can do about that. I'll be keeping a blog elsewhere and posting my notes once the campaign begins. Chargen is this weekend, so I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

I'd love to here some of Paizo's opinions on what they would do if they were going to run Hommlet at this point in their careers, but I know everyone's busy as all hell these days. I gather from Lisa's post that the staff isn't really frequenting the 4e forums anymore, which is a shame, but I can hardly blame them at this point. No need for further editorializing on my part, though.

Be aware that if you play through ToEE, that the levels will probably not fit for starting the Slavers campaign - ToEE is set to end at level 8 roughly, while Slavers starts out at level 4 and goes to 8 as well. (roughly, I don´t have the details at hand) It would fit better to go from ToEE to QotS level-wise. You might to set the levels of Slavers higher, but might end up too high for QotS again at the end. Review the three campaigns in advance and keep watching the PCs levels closely.
You could write a backstory linking the drow appearing in all three campaigns into one big conspiracy.

Just think of writing a campaign journal :-)

Stefan

Yeah, I forgot to ask about that. Those modules are often lumped together, though. It seemed like level-appropriateness was a looser concept back then. I guess ToEE and QoTS are the parts I care the most about (though the last module in the Slavers series is pretty sweet).

I welcome suggestions any suggestions in this regard.

Sorry, I'm not too sure of how to manage multiple quotes.

Re: Orcwart:
Though nostalgia cannot be discounted, I think it came down to the fact that I still remember the rules like the back of my hand. I've been running 3e for 2 years and I doubt I'll ever reach the same level of confidence with those rules.

Re: Kruelaid:
Had it been anything other than a one-shot module (and ToH at that), we wouldn't have found the betrayal as funny. The cleric's player would have never tried it in an ongoing campaign.

Re: Dragonchess Player:
Yes, we'll do Scourge of the Slavelords/Queen of Spiders. I'm torn about the lead in though. I love Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, but I didn't really like the others in that series (i'd probably use the Assassin's Knot to fill the gap). The only thing stopping me is that our 3.5 campaign has been kind of heavy on pirates (I've used a bit of Savage Tide for the basis). Our group has six players, half of which have played 1st edition and each of those has managed to somehow avoid any of the Temple/Slavers/Drow series. So maybe It's best to start with the Temple. I've never run ToEE, though. ToEE ranked higher on the "30 Greatest". Anyone else care to chime in on this one?

We'll be using all the books except OA. None of the players has shown any interest in being a Monk anyway. I've managed to lose my wilderness and dungeoneer's survival guides over the years but I'll try to score copies of those this week. I've got all the rest.

Re: Chris Perkins 88:
I've played C&C and have both books. It's pretty cool, but I'm kind of meh on the Primes. It looks good on paper, it's easy to use, but it just not right for me. It's hard to explain. I guess it's an primarily an aesthetic thing and I know that it's probably mechanically superior to some of AD&D's weirdness but I figure if I'm playing a retro game I'm going to all the way.

In honor of Gary's life, my group played Tomb of Horrors today using 1st edition rules. Obviously everyone died (except the cleric*), and everyone had a blast (even the two players who've only used 3e). I haven't had such a good time behind the DM screen since I was twelve years old.

When all was said and done, the group unanimously voted to shelve our 3.5 campaign (which is currently between adventures) in favor of a new 1st edition campaign. I nearly wept with joy. I've been an ardent supporter of 4e, but it's looking like I won't be buying the books just yet.

So screw you, 4e! The Village of Hommlet awaits!

*Oh yeah, the cleric. This was amazing. The group had been whittled down to 3: The gnomish fighter/illusionist, the elven magic user/thief, and the cleric. They had decided to camp in the Chapel of Evil to regain spells. The cleric announces that he has a few cures left and the others line up to be healed. The (secretly Lawful Evil) cleric casts Cause Serious Wounds on the gnome, killing him outright. The elf figures out what's happening too late, and the cleric bashes her head in with a +3 mace. The cleric whistles his way out of the Tomb of Horrors carrying everyone's stuff.
Somewhere in the Outer Plains, I think Gary was smiling.

1) Yes, I plan to convert.

2) If Paizo converts its RPG products to 4.0, I will begin subscribing to Pathfinder. I will continue to purchase Gamemastery modules that interest me as they appear in the store (which is what I'm currently doing for both lines).

3) If Paizo does not convert its RPG products to 4.0, I will likely still be picking up some Pathfinder and GM stuff, but only to convert it to 4e.

I'm excited about 4e (though I feel I'm in a minority on these boards). I also think that, while many may not switch from 3rd edition, the vast majority of people playing D&D over the next decade are going to be playing 4e.

You're pretty much guaranteed to keep me as a customer either way, but I really, REALLY hope you guys choose to convert.

I realize that this is pretty far out, but for a while I've been taking notes for a campaign using the King In Yellow as the BBEG. I was kicking around the idea of having a king who gained the throne via the Unspeakable Oath (described in CoC D20 as a pact in which you gain a boon from Hastur in exchange for allowing the possession of your body by the King in Yellow at some future date).

The king dies before being possessed (possibly through assassination), and so the burden of compensation falls to his daughter. She becomes possessed soon after her coronation and brings a regime of madness and terror to the kingdom.

Now, I realize that yellow is a few shades from crimson. But the previews for CotCT have got me thinking about using this AP as a basic framework for this idea. Granted, it's not even out yet, but it was the first thing that sprung to my mind.

Anybody else thought of something like this?

Wow. Ask and ye shall receive!

Thanks very much for such thorough consideration. That's more help than I could have hoped for.

Fair enough. I guess I'll be making a visit to the shop tomorrow.

I'm a huge Paizo fan, but I've yet to delve into Pathfinder (heresy, I know). I've flipped through the first volume, I follow the previews, but I've yet to invest because my group still has maybe three more months plotted out in our current campaign.

I'm pretty keen on the pulp aspects I've seen so far, and I've got an idea that the Paizo team has similar sensibilities to my own when it comes to adventure writing. I am all but certain that I'll enjoy Pathfinder.

What I'm looking for, however, is a short synopsis of the overall themes and mood of Golarion (at least what has been shown thus far). Something along the lines of the advertising copy on the back of Planet Stories, for example. Something I could use to sell my players on Golarion without asking them to scan dozens of threads and blog posts to learn about the world.

Any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I was excited about Richard Sharp Shaver for about a month as I researched the Shaver Mystery in the complete Amazing Stories archive outside my office, until I actually read I REMEMBER LEMURIA. Saver's writing (filtered through Amazing editor Ray Palmer) is an absolute disaster, with meaningless footnotes, nonsense words aplenty, and a genuine lack of narrative structure.

I'm pretty sure that the Shaver Mystery era was a very, very low point in the life of science fiction, and especially in the life of Amazing Stories.

So I don't think we'll see much of Shaver.

Yeah, I suppose my interest in Shaver has more to do with my interest in the General History of American Weirdness than anything else. Of all the pulp I've read, I think the Hollow Earth genre may have had the highest "literary turd per author ratio".

On a more planetary note, can any one on here give an opinion on deCamp's "Planet Krishna" stories?

It's a toss up between Cugel the Clever and The Grey Mouser, with Cugel in a miniscule lead.

Kathulos wrote:

Another series that, IMO, would be worth getting is the Kane series by Karl Edward Wagner.

Erik Mona wrote:

The Kane books keep coming up on this thread and others like it. I've never read them, but I will definitely give them a look soon.

Nightshade Books has issued a two volume complete collection. One volume collects all the Kane short stories and the other collects all the Kane novels. KEWagner's Kane is IMO the last of the classic S&S heroes and, after Conan, my hands down favorite.

I discovered the Kane stories last fall and I have to agree they're amazing. They're kinda like a grindhouse Conan. All the magic is Black, and the blood only comes in hundred-gallon servings.

I'd love to see: Gardner Fox, Dennis Wheatley, Richard Shaver (not a great writer but a VERY weird writer), Manly Wade Wellman, or Norvell Page. Any of those would probably result in Nerdgasm for this humble reader.

1. So far, I've only bought City Of The Beast. I'll probably get Black God's Kiss because I love that cover, but it would be the third copy of that book I own, so we'll see.

2. Of the authors I've seen solicited, Leigh Brackett interests me the most because she's the one I've read the least of.

3. Order of preference:

Sword & Planet
Space Opera
Sword & Sorcery
"Weird" Fiction
Jungle Tales
Lost Worlds Tales
Science Fiction
Horror/Gothic Fantasy

4. What can I do to get you to buy more Planet Stories books?
I'd love to see some Doc Smith! Otherwise, keep finding weirder, even more obscure stuff. Anything by Gardner Fox or Richard Shaver would blow my mind. I've got loads of this stuff already, but the ability to own these books under beautiful new covers (and not have them fall to bits as I read them) is pretty keen.

5. If we offer a monthly subscription with, say, a 30% discount off the cover price, would you consider subscribing?
I could probably get talked into that.

This is my first post here, despite having been a Paizo fan for many years now. I'll tell you this: In their ownership of D&D, WOTC have never reached out to their supporters in the way Erik Mona did in this thread. That, in and of itself, is the reason I'll follow Paizo where ever they decide to go. And if the path they choose happens to be "3.75", then so much the better.

Again and again, Paizo have proven themselves the rightfuls heirs to the Gygaxian Throne. Paizo's vision for D&D is the D&D that I want to play. WOTC reaching out to a "new generation" of gamers is well and good, but Paizo are MY generation of gamers, and I'll play the game they make.

None of us know what 4th edition will really be, but I know that Pathfinder will lead me to a place I want to be.