Matthew AC's page

[Snapshot Critique] They seem a pretty stock and standard organization. A bit cliche' -- Arm dealer wants to profit from war and will even instigate war to increase his power/wealth/etc. However, you do throw in some catchy details - how they got their name, the dueling bit, even the symbol for the group seems evocative.

Unfortunately, those cool elements are too minor to overcome the relatively basic or expected nature of the group as presented. If revising, I would recommend working on motivation. It is fine that group was neutral but is slowly darkening their dealings . . . but why? And that answer should be more meaningful than the stock answer of wealth, I think.

Congratulations on making it to the TOP 32; however, I don't think I will be voting for this organization. Best of luck.

Jeremy wrote Psionics Unleashed :)

Ha! So much for close reading. Um, well then, Jeremy likely knows what I am talking about.

I had Psionics Unleashed printed through RPGNow (proof to make it available for sale). The only difference I found in it from them vs from our normal printer was that the front cover was slightly higher in color saturation - which would not have been noticeable if I hadn't had both copies side by side.

The binding, paper, and printing quality were comparable to any other softcover RPG book you might find in a gaming store.

If you enjoyed Psionics Unleashed, I think you'd like what Alluria had in the pipeline before some misfortune befell them. . .

Dark Mistress and others, I think the attention you are showing a Pathfinder PP speaks very well of the community that's cropped up around Paizo and their products, and, of course, I think it also speaks well of Alluria's production values, etc to have garnered such a response.

I mentioned this in the Xmas giveaway thread . . . but it is a damn cool community here.

Aeshuura - I was wondering that too. May be [i]just enough[i] justification to make him huecuva . . . because I think I really want him to be a huecuva. ;)

Would also be cool to raise him as huecuva . . . although, his story doesn't quite fit.

Great work there - I hope we'll see more Cerulean Seas-books - more performances for the Siren would be awesome! And some Mariner-exclusive PrCs... Plus psionics and Cerulean Seas sounded like awesomeness and win...

I hope my review brings at least a bit attention to Alluria's great work.

You know, I will fire off an e-mail to Alluria and see what's happening.

I turned in a good amount of content for psionics + Cerulean to them earlier. Also, I may be sitting on a few more Siren performances that could be cleaned up and posted here.

I forgot - reviewed here, on RPGaggression and sent to GMS magazine. Cheers!

End, thanks for the kind review.

I designed the classes (base + prestige) and some other smatterings here and there for this book, and I am glad to hear you enjoyed the trio of new base clsses. One of the challenges for me was creating unique mechanics as opposed to simple underwater bards, druids, etc. Moreover, I think with just a little work, the siren, kahuna, and mariner could easily become viable, unique, and enjoyable additions to an above ground game.

This book is beautiful and detailed. Hats off to Alluria's design team. Their ability to create gorgeous products aids this book and my other with them, Fey Folio, to no end.

As for Alluria's halt, I am just a freelancer. However, I hope they come back soon -- I've more manuscripts to submit!

Again, thanks for this review and all others you do. They're thorough and informative.

I tend to like what Bad Axe games did in their 3.5 patch, Trailblazer. Introduce Combat Reactions that allow combatants to dodge, block, etc. It scales dependent on your BAB. Thus, it is a reflection of your combat skill.

I do like the idea of a scaling defense bonus too. And, I am a big fan of the 'you are not your gear' philosophy.

However, if you simply abstract HP, you can easily handwave and say that it is not that you can take an arrow in the throat at level 15 but not level 1 - instead you are more careful to avoid deadly strikes and the like.

This threads reminds me I need to poke Bad Axe Games about the Patrons of the Monstrous Arts project. Haven't heard anything about it in almost a year, I think. Well, I think they posted a art piece a few months ago, but that's it.

Just did that about 2-3 weeks ago. They said IT IS COMING. For what it's worth . . .

Matthew AC wrote:

1) This thread really dovetails into something the Paizo developers said during the WRITE FOR PAIZO panel at GenCon. Essentially, freelancers occasionally disappear into the void. Nick is likely very busy with X, Y, and Z, and it is unfortunate for those of who liked his stuff that this happened. It all kind of abruptly halted for him . . . did he ever finish Blood of the Gorgon for Open Design?

Yes, I have my copy. I definitely would hate to have Nick's failure to deliver a product make others shy about joining patronage products from Open Design or Rite Publishing. Both of those companies have had a long track record of putting out excellent products. Even when the project lead for a title had to leave Wolfgang hired others to finish it and brought it to market.

I think the problem with Nick (and too many others who have never produced a final product) is he underestimated how much work a publisher does. From editing to layout, there is a lot more to creating a book than simply writing.

Cool. Thanks for the correction. Yes, everyone should do an OPEN DESIGN patronage. I've done two and enjoyed both.

I thought they nailed the Smallville setting and feel admirably.

M&M2nd is still the most near and dear to my heart supers RPG, but I'm definitely intrigued by this one.

Much as I love what Green Ronin is doing with DCU, I'm a Marvel whore lifer.

Me too. Eager to see what they do here.

Interesting stuff here . . . likely not adding anything new, but feel compelled to write:

1) This thread really dovetails into something the Paizo developers said during the WRITE FOR PAIZO panel at GenCon. Essentially, freelancers occasionally disappear into the void. Nick is likely very busy with X, Y, and Z, and it is unfortunate for those of who liked his stuff that this happened. It all kind of abruptly halted for him . . . did he ever finish Blood of the Gorgon for Open Design?

2) Interesting to hear JJ speak about products that never made it despite the writing. While I've not done 1/1000th the freelance work as some who visit this site, I too have had to stay my tongue as something I poured a lot of work into got shelved because of $$ issues. Happened to me twice . . . once on a PF project and once on a 4e project.

Frustrating when it happens - but, oddly comforting to hear other, larger-scale issues in a similar vein.

3) Back to the matter at hand . . . the thing that really, really bites is I think there was a feeling that Razor Coast was going to be an epic piece of work. From the art, to the story lines, to the early enthusiasm, I felt that Razor Coast was going to be a must see RPG supplement.

Perfect timing. Today is mow the lawn, trim the apple tree, stain the deck, powerwash the siding day . . . .

Despite the risk of being a self-serving shill, I have to mention the Fey Folio I wrote. 5 stars from a number of sites. Ennie-nominated this year. It has ~14 fey or so. A wide range of CRs. Each with an interesting backdrop, and it has one BBEG - Jack in Irons.

I have the book, and it's pretty interesting.

One major question though:

The Dullahan doesn't have a head, as this version has it merge their heads with their shields (I've seen "disembodied head under the arm", "floating head", "no head at all" and even "head merged with weapon"). Vorpal weapons will definitively won't work, but what if the shield gets sundered ? What happen then ?

That is propably the only question I have, as the rest is accurate. Nice work !

JiCi . . . sorry for the late, late response:

I'd think that the best option is to not have a sundered shield totally incapacitate a dullahan, but if it conferred some weakness that would be awesome & fun. Make it nauseated, or take penalties, etc.

Perhaps cause it to go blind?

True but I think it has a real shot at taking silver. Not to mention I think Cerulean Seas has a real shot at taking the gold in it's category.

Thanks for the kind words. They were both fun projects. Just to compete against some of the other products is reward enough.

icarr,

Conversions like the one you suggest are daunting. I too am frequently bored/disintrested/frustrated with the d20 rules engine and look elsewhere for other systems.

While I think some systems (Green Ronin's AGE system comes to mind) are perfect for adopting Golarion to, others are much more difficult.

Especially WFRP in its current edition. Not sure how you could mesh the two systems . . . but I bet you could easily play in Golarion with the WFRP rules.

Just a quick note in case you are on the fence on this or my other Alluria offering, Cerulean Seas (I was one of many on that) - They've both been nominated for Ennies.

This one has the unfortunate job of competing with the Bestiary 2 in the Adversary/Monster book category, but just getting the nod for a project I had a lot of fun with rocks.

Hmm . . .

I've been fortunate enough to write a few things for 4e and Pathfinder, and it is clear to me that Pathfinder has a larger appetite (or a table more open to) 3rd party offerings.

That being said, I think it is a tricky proposition of filling in the niches. Paizo puts out a lot of quality offerings that cover a lot of ground:

Adventures: They have the much-loved AP, modules, and PFS offerings. Seems like directly competing with Paizo in this regard could be tricky. Are there 3rd party adventures out there that are doing well?

DM Material: Monster books, Campaign Settings, etc. I've worked on a few of these, and they've seem to do well. But again, Paizo puts out new monsters with every adventure, and a bestiary once-a-yearish . . . How are campaign settings and these books doing? I know Open Design is rolling with the Midgard setting, but I wonder if the patronage aspect is what grants them the freedom to complete something that competes with Golarion.

Player Material: Options, Feats, new classes, etc. From what I've seen this is the biggest 3rd party offering, which leads me to believe it is doing well. I also imagine it is the source for the complaint of 'rules bloat.' Still, it is not like Paizo doesn't offer lots and lots of player options.

None of the above should be misconstrued as reasons why not to publish 3rd party material, obviously a handful of companies are doing very, very well. I imagine aside from solid creativity and production, these companies excel at hitting niches in the space that Pathfinder/Golarion present.

And, as often happens when I write longish forum posts, I've completely lost my train of thought . . . I guess for those of you who buy 3rd party material, is there a secret to what you buy? Brand loyalty, certain types of books, etc.

Okay, this book is called "Clans of the Fey" and made my top ten of 2010-list - I want MORE Clans. Now. Get to writing and publishing. ;) (Yes, I want more - I'll get back to writing about CC... now.)

All the best,
Endzeitgeist

Thank you sir! Exactly the sentiment I needed to hear right now. Thanks again.

Nice review End, and you have officially passed me in number of reviews.

End, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this product. It was a hell of a lot of fun to write. And now that the print products out, woot!

As for wanting to see more books like this . . . Well, I've got a bit of work to turn into the fine folks at Alluria first. But I've got something similar I want to pitch them. Soon.

Matt

I play a lot of games. As work and family life demands more of my free time, I've realized I've had to cut back on some games. Setting 4e aside for now, Fantasy Craft is too mechanical for me to get lost in currently . . .

Long story short, I've settled on Pathfinder for my "complex" fantasy gaming needs and Dragon Age for my "simple" gaming needs.

One thing I've noticed however, is that, despite PF's clear popularity, it lacks as solid a presence on the internet as one would think.

4e gamers/amateur designers have countless blogs, podcasts, and twitterfeeds dedicated to discussing that version of D&D. Heck, even Dragon Age has a burgeoning online community through twitter and a few blogs.

I know Paizo has this messageboard, weekly chats, and some fan podcasts (2), but am I missing worthwhile discussion elsewhere? Does this forum replace 4e's use of twitter as a haven for discussing the game? Are there few blogs because of the prevalence of 3rd party publishers?

Or am I missing something?

Thanks

MAC

I'd like to toss my vote in for this as well. Really, I'd love to just be able to print these PDFs and bring them to my table. Pathfinder has a lot of feats, class options, etc. spread out over books, and being able to print and then present them to my group in an organized fashion would be AWESOME.

That being said, I still love the layout and quality of the material, it would just be nice to have the variant as well.

I'm really, really good with the ladies.

I mean it. Like, keep me away from your wife or gf good.

Just recently purchased this.

INTITIAL THOUGHTS

- NPC Design is well-thought out.
- PC options are varied and flexible.
- Love some of the blatant changes (spell points, wounds/vitality, DR, strong differentation between a mage and a priest, more open-ended character concepts)

Also, I think that you could fairly easily convert 3.5/PF modules over . . .

For a bit, I was planning on running RotR with this. I still may. But one of the best parts of the book is the World-building and Adventure design chapter . . . the game practically begs you to make your own world, monsters, and adventures.

Either way, as I get more familiar with the system and play it (character creation next week), I will post my thoughts here.

In return, I'd love to hear other's, more recent, thoughts. Especially anyone who's kept the PF setting but changed the system.

Matt

I've added my review over on RPGNow.

Glad to see you liked the kahuna!

Anyone else still having iTunes problems? Can't get it to update.

And here I was thinking that this is probably the least drama-filled the Paizo boards have ever been. But then, I tend to frequent the Store area, the 3rd party area, the Kingmaker area and the superstar area.

I just it just depends on which "neighborhoods" you visit regularly.

Co-sign.

What are the new races like? What's the siren class, and how is the kahuna different from the druid?

I did a lot of the work on the classes. I assure they are VERY different than simple rehashes of classes made to work in an aquatic environment.

The Siren = harnesses the power of song for magic. However, they can do much, much more than simply charm with it.

The Kahuna = Calls upon the primal spirits of the sea (a plethora of options here) to invest himself and his allies with aspects of certain spirits.

The Mariner = The master of movement. The ultimate skirmisher.

Hey! My latest contribution to the fine folks at Alluria is up. A lot of people wrote a lot a quality stuff here.

Undersea rules, totally new base classes, races, and monsters, new feats, spells . . . it is a full-blown campaign setting. If you like the art from the Fey Folio or Creepy Bestiary, you will love the art, and abundance of it, in here as well.

Matthew AC

My question arises in part because of this quote from Amazon regarding the latest generation of PDFs:

Image-heavy PDF files are presented in landscape orientation and don't work with devices that have auto-rotation, so those will be delivered in the Kindle format.

In the end, neither will likely handle rpg PDFs well enough to sell me on them.

Sorry to revive this old thread. However, any more opinions on this? I'm getting either the Nook or Kindle soon, and I know they both can read PDFs but wonder how they handle, say, the Core Rulebook PDF.

Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback. That is what I assumed.

Scenario:

PCs fight off a bunch of bandits who are on horseback.

When figuring the XP budget would you count the horses total as well?

My inclination is to leave the horses out of it; they are essentially non-combatant except as directed by the bandits.

However, I'd like to hear other opinions before deciding.

Thanks in advance.

Not to compete with Paizo's version . . .

but if anyone is looking for a CR 6 Fey version of the dullahan (and thier dark mare) look no further than my Ennie-honorable mention Fey Folio (sold here on Paizo).

All fey. All badass. I promise.

/end shameless self promotion

Hey,

I'm just throwing this out there, SRM - If this job means less NeoGrognard, then please quit. ;)

Seriously, don't let that blog flounder. Good, insightful stuff there . . . and it is hard to find quality blogs amongst the overwhelming quantity.

Matthew AC