The ironic thing about these nostalgic moments is that it was much easier to create a workable adversary in less than 5 minutes statwise. This kind of simplicity is something I sometimes wish to go back to.
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Congrats, Paizo, I salute you. As Darrin Drader already said, it is good to see a company that gives a damn about customers and the game. Numbers are nice, but if you have numbers AND an ear to the fans, that is great!
I try hard not to mention a certain famous (and good) actor in a certain movie based on a popular role playing game...Marlon Wayans? oO I think he meant Jeremy Irons...but then again, I still have to wonder why he made Eragon... "I was young and needed the money" doesn't really count for him.
Congratulations, filks! I don't know how "important" the Ennies are, but you, as a team, have shown the way... home, since home is where the heart is.
Back before WEG lost the StarWars license most of my RPG collection consisted of WEG products (namely StarWars). It's sad to see the company "die" again... ... plus I never really got the chance to play much TORG back in the day
They needed to advance the timeline so that the new administrators and authors of LFR (as well as future novel authors) would not have to memorize tons of FR canon, a lesson they probably learned from LG. I wholeheartedly agree. We can just be thankful that they (Wizards) do not plan to start a Living Medieval campaign, or they'd have to rewrite/trash that "campaign" setting because there is just too much stuff to learn and keep in mind...
The pre 4e Forgotten Realms, minus some stuff I am correcting for my campaign (mainly plots from series I found a tad too detached/illogical). D6 Star Wars, before Episode I came out. Ravenloft. Even some Dragonlance... it was my first AD&D setting. The Known World (later Mystara) because I had the most fun playing there some 2 decades ago.
Hmm... Pax, you should point your friend to my rants at Candlekeep. They sum up what I (and a good many others) think of the changes. Also I was asked to change some key wording in one of my rants from your "first" verb (with the addition of the word "gang") to merely abused. For me, who'd love to feed people who commit such vile acts their own testicles, the verb you chose is (still) very fitting.
I think Mordenkainen received a nice treatment in the Epic Level Handbook. As for the Big B... has he ever been statted? In any edition? Not that familiar with Greyhawk :(
I and probably a couple of friends from Warsaw will be coming to Essen as well. I hope to run a Beta game and get to play in another. How many friends?
Look at the guy who asked Nick to write an adventure about hillbilly ogres and then proceeded to publish it. What I'm saying is that I'm probably more disturbed than most of Paizo's readers.I'd love to see the unedited version of that module. "Sick & Twisted", indeed :) Man, that would be something... a "Director's Cut" for Hook Mountain! Count me in!
I know it's still at least 4 months til Spieel 2008. However, if people are interested, please post here and/or email me to: ulff dot lehmann at t-online dot de We should start the planning soon.
I'd rather continue the thread in English, basically because there might be some other folks interested in this who do not hail from Germany and might not know German. I don't want to make this an exclusive thingy. If anyone from the EU or even from abroad wants to come to Spiel 2008 they should be aware of the going-ons.
I checked with the local customs guys in Essen a couple weeks/months back because of all the stuff I had gotten from Nobleknight for a total value of 25 €, and they explicitly told me that I can import a total value of 72 € in books (or something along that line) via mail etc. before I have to pay import-stuff. That's what I've been told, and so far the stuff has gone through without a problem.
Dude, you do know that there is a 72 € limit to what customs will allow without charge in terms of books? Btw, you gonna come to Essen this year? If so you should check out this: http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/community/gaming/connection/essenGameF airSpiel2008&page=1#633262
The way I envision the entire affair would basically be us going to the Spiel on, possibly, all days, for however long, and after a while go back to the appartment and game, or party or whathaveyou. So even if you just wanna hang out for a day or an evening, I doubt those who will participate would mind. The only thing I would ask of ya, since I host the 4 days is to provide food and non.tea/coffee drinks (be it beer or soda), if someone is interested in wine I can purchase it at 25% off the retail value at work. Still a tad expensive but that's wine for ya.
*bump*
I took a step back from gaming/DMing several times as I was burnt out; I still haven't started a new StarWars campaign after quitting 12 years or so ago. I DMed Dragonlance, and have an ongoing Forgotten Realms campaign, now in its 7th year and still going strongish. We only play once a month, that keeps it fresh (and kinda annoying since they have to recap everything time and again, but such is life) I usually start again because it is the one constant in my life, aside from music and reading. After a few months/weeks/whatever I just wanna DM again. Sure I also wanna play but that is more difficult.
In a few months the biggest game fair in the world is gonna open its portals again in Essen, Germany. Since I live rather near to Essen, and have a decently sized appartment, I would like to play host to fellow German and European Paizo-fans throughout the 4 days of the Spiel 2008. This should, of course, result in lots of laughs, gaming and general merriment. 4-5 places to crash would still be available. If anyone is interested, just reply here so we can iron out the arrangements and all. P.S. If any Paizo staffer should also come to Essen, I'd be glad to have you as a guest for partying and gaming as well, since I doubt you'd wanna catch the Zs in a sleeping bag on the floor.
Not to sound too snarky, but, ya'know, since DDM seems to bring in most of the D&D income to Wizards... I guess they are also being produced and painted in the US... no wait! They are ... well ... not. But them sweatshops are ok for that I guess...
I'm almost tempted to say "Welcome home, Sean"... maybe it is a welcome home, if home is where the heart is :)
Q: With the core classes receiving such an immense upgrade, what will prestige classes look like? And will I still be able to use the PrCs from various "older" books?
Been banging my head for 2 decades now, and I wanna add my favorites: (in no particular order) -Black Sabbath (saw 'em live back in 1990)
I will not mention Ozzy since I despise what he did to Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake!
I'd love to see XP awards for monsters in Pathfinder go down, so that characters can actually experience the levels and get to know their characters in years and years of play :)Even with the slow progression XP chart? The chart is ok, but I still don't like the hunking amount of XP certain critters of a specific CR get
To the OP... I'd also be at a complete loss for an answer... why even ask such a question?
Until 3e I gave XP at the end of each adventure... But as I said before in a thread I started, I dislike the 13.3 encounters per level rule... and dislike is a rather harmless word. In my group my players asked me to change the level progression, and so I did. For every character the switch comes at 12th level. I give them a bonus of 60k xp and start using the UA table, and only that table, still using the original DMG XPs for monsters. 12th lvl will be their hell level (to use an old EQ term), but they are happy with that. I'd love to see XP awards for monsters in Pathfinder go down, so that characters can actually experience the levels and get to know their characters in years and years of play :)
Considering that Mike has written a fair share of alternatives, add ons for OGL, he has been part of the (his perceived) problem. Many of the d20/OGL systems did improve the game, given a certain set of parameters. Example: Game of Thrones. The system was tweaked to reflect the harsh realities of a near-medieval world, where a swordstroke could indeed kill quickly. What's wrong with that? It just ain't "heroic" D&D, the OGL supplied the OS, if you want, and that code was changed to suit the needs of the operator. I highly doubt that stuff like that does not happen in the computer business. Without Mike's own contributions to "mods" so to speak he prolly would not be in the position he is in now...
I use Monte Cook's damage reduction redux in my game, since it only makes sense. A +5 weapon should be good, better than any +1 flaming keen weapon. It doesn't make a mess of downwards compatibility at all, it just provides a reason for the mere existance of +5 weapons. If you look at 2nd edition demons, they were only "hittable" by specific enchanted weapons, say +3 for Malirith (I think). This way you as player get a reason to wield a +5 longsword, because it does cut through anything, otherwise the "meager" 4 point difference to hit and damage do not make sense and I could see a scenario where a player puts a +1 enchantment on the weapon and then boosts it with flaming, keen, cold burst, acidic burst and giant bane. Sorry I'd rather have that fighter run around with a longsword +5 flaming, keen, it does away with the computergame thingy and makes a +5 weapon something you would want to keep/give to your players as a major reward.
Alternatively: just provide us with the "tools", meaning the master-prints, and we'll make our own foil-copied...um...copies, which is what I did with the Fiery Dragon stuff.
*uses scroll of Bigby's Pushing Hand*
I know, but a CR 20 monster gives some 300k xp or so...
My biggest beef with 3.5 in general is the 13.3 encounters per level rule. Maybe I am nostalgic but I love the way 1st and 2nd edition handled it: the more powerful you got the more difficult it became-- to a degree. In my campaign the players complained about leveling too fast, they want to play their characters for a long time. So I went to work with the UA, back before the alpha release came out. But I did not take the UA table and monster XP rewards as printed because they still stuck to the 13.3 (IMO) nonsense. Instead I decided to use the original CR/lvl rewards system as shown in the DMG. It will take a long time to level, which in turn keeps the players more motivated for playing their characters and the old-school fun in the game. Also it gives me the chance to award story- and RP-XPs more freely, which I think is also a better way to handle my style of GMing. What are the chances to do the same or something similar in Pathfinder? and If such a system were to be worked out, how would it influence APs if at all?
In Hook Mountain it becomes clear that those who have the Sihedron tattooed on them also fuel the runeforge, so the illusionist's death would feed that runewell also... once your group hits Hook Mountain they all should realize that something is definitely wrong with the symbol
The idea behind it is good, but I'd go one step further: on foil-printed objects that can be placed on any tile whatsoever. If that is at all wise in the cost department. I did almost the same with Fiery Dragon's Battle Box where I had the spell effect thingies color-copied on foil.
Wow, here I was doing this whole song & dance to translate the song into German for my soon-starting group when I figured I gonna check out the forums if someone else had done a translation. I used all your translations to mash it into one I think is more rhythmically aligned with the original one. I know this thread is receiving a revival this way, but hopefully someone will still comment on the fusion & original thingy I did. I omitted the "und" in the stanzas as they do not fit into the chanting sort of thing that goes on in the song, too many syllables and such. Also, while doing this I was almost falling out of my chair when I thought of an alternative to the first two lines of the last quartett, hope you like it. Goblins beißen, Goblins kauen,
Goblins prügeln, Goblins preschen,
Fang den Welpen, schnapp das Kind,
Alternative third stanza: Fang den Welpen, schnapp das Gör
For the record: I did part of the FRCS translation for Amigo and did some Dragonlance shortstory translations for Goldmann/Blanvalet back in the day, so if anyone just needs some lines and stuff fixed give me a holler. Can't/don't want to do any translations and such as I can't even find the energy to really work on my projects... depression is a b&&%!
That I don't understand, if a recipe requires 20gr of flour, for example, and you wanna double it, you double it to 40gr, or you take half the measure which is 10gr? Liquid ounces etc just muck things up IMO
OK, I read ya now :)
That would be a reason for me to take 3 days off of work and buy the 4 day pass for the entire Spiel... haven't done that in ages, )That's my yearly routine for ... 22 years now :-) ok, some years had only two das SPIEL in it, but most had 4. Costs me more than holiday and my car is always too small, no matter which car I use :) As I said, usually go there to catch up with some acquaintances, maybe buy a couple bargain items and be off again. A decade back that was different, but then again, I also worked at a booth some times. Thing is: back in the day I could hang out with some artists and vendors and chat, but it has become so bloody busy... there was more magic in it 20 years ago :(
Movement: 1-1-1-1 makes it more boardgame-like, don't want it, don't like it. 1-2-1-2 is far more geometrical correct on a square battlemap. Keep it that way, it is more realistic. Spells: ok, if you cast a fireBALL, it should be ... you know ... round/circular, it ain't a firesquare or firecube, plus it would do away with something that has been with (A)D&D since the beginning and is IMO "sacred". Plus, on the physical side, I've never heard of an explosion, be it grenade or whatnot, to be cubic. A gout of flame from a flamethrower does not go straight, at least not totally, otherwise it would be kinda pointless and you could better shoot a gun into a place, same effect much cheaper ammunition. Physics should always be taken into account. So, hell no! Actions: It could use some streamlining...
Or... depending on my general state of mind and all I could offer shelter for some folks and ask them to provide food and drinks as "payment" :Dbut with only some 20-30 minutes to get there it's quite easy for me :) I've never really GMed in English, but I would love to do that, as my English, spoken at least, is a little rusty. Spiel Essen is from October 23rd til the 26th 2008. Just email me: ulff dot lehmann at t-online dot de If we get enough folks to join up, we gonna have some PF gaming fun, and one HELL of a long weekend!
but with only some 20-30 minutes to get there it's quite easy for me :) Or... depending on my general state of mind and all I could offer shelter for some folks and ask them to provide food and drinks as "payment" :D
That would be a reason for me to take 3 days off of work and buy the 4 day pass for the entire Spiel... haven't done that in ages, I usually head there, check with some acquaintances, look around some, spend some money and head out again... but with only some 20-30 minutes to get there it's quite easy for me :)
Nice work! Thanks
It might have been an oversight... wouldn't be the first time someone at Wizards forgot about past publications in any way, shape or form. I don't think so, however. The "smear every previous edition" add for 4e might just have been more than just an attempt at (ill placed) humor. If everything that went before 4e was/is bad it would be easier to divorce yourself of said past. The Realms, Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Planescape, all booster packs... err campaign settings that will most likely appear in the future, thus transported into 4e. The Realms' past has been completely divorced from the new setting. It might just be that Greyhoawk is far too much linked to Vancian magic and stuff to be transported to 4e, which in turn would leave new players wondering what that Greyhawk thing is all about and might distract them from 4e. Or maybe Wizards did something similar to what Ozzy Osbourne did when he removed Lee Kerslake and Bob Daisley from the recordings of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman to avoid the continuation of an already long legal struggle? Maybe Wizards want to divorce themselves from some of its past? Which doesn't make much sense since in a recent article it was shown how easy one can convert a 1st edition module to 4e, I admit that much, but when someone messed up his lore in a FR novel, the error was fixed in GHotR.
I'd say come to the group I'm gonna start, it isn't as bad as going to Kaiserslauterrn, but Hattingen is still a bloody long way from Hamburg.
Seconded...or so, since this is not the second post :)
To the OP: a) I am German, hence I should feel insulted. I would've taken you a tad more serious had you been able to spell stuff correctly. You did not. And also because those who toss the term around like that do not really know what they are talking about. And if you did... that kind of shows me what type of person you are. b) I don't mind the consolidation as you can always add modifiers for noise, stench (was about to say ignorance but that is more of an INT thing) and visibility. I played StarWars by WEG for a long time and it never bothered me that there were no "specialized" perception thingies. If you don't like it, don't... you have a point though, but your attitude, tone and lack of basic historical knowledge really does not help you... 'nuff said
IMO 4e solves WotC/Hasbro's problem that sales didn't match their expectations anymore
+1 to fortitude sounds fine to me. |