OWEN STEPHENS's page

Now available, The Pirate Haven of Blackrock!

The Pirate Haven of Blackrock is the first in a series of Pathfinder-compatible locations designed for a GM to bolt into any campaign (and with enough details they can be useful for any roleplaying game system). Featuring artwork and map by Gillian M. Pearce (Moon designs- Glorantha project, Mongoose Publishing, etc.) text by Darren W. Pearce (Lone Wolf, Doctor Who), and art and colors by Jacob Blacmon (Rise of the Drow, the Talented Barbarian) we hope both the GM and players will enjoy the location and associated plot hooks of this supplement! Contents include, map, key, the history of Blackrock, vivid descriptions of locations and denizens of Blackrock, possible plot hooks, stories for players, and a blank color map for player/ GM use.

Pages: 29

Similarly, I'd be interested to see what you have planned for the Paladin. I could see you potentially creating a holy knight that would cover the paladin, anti-paladin and other alignment based holy knight types all under the one umbrella. My first impression is that you could link certain powers to the codes of conduct, which would allow you to recreate the core classes using the talented system, but expand the class offerings somewhat and make them less linear in nature.

Yep. :)

Antipaladin will be included in the Paladin class. As will my ideas for Partisans and Tyrants.

David knott 242 wrote:

the summoner himself not so much -- the class itself is very much a fixed progression.

That's sort of splitting hairs. The summoner is a fixed progression because of the huge amount of customizability of the eidolon.

Yeah... but what if I wanted to include options for summoners who didn't HAVE eidolons?

Because I do. :D

Actually this product is the EXACT reason why I'm not terribly interested in Talented Alchemist. Just buy it. It has been the single best alchemist option product I've yet to buy.

So first, THANKS~! That's awesome feedback.

Second... what if I promised I had similarly good new ideas I'd add into Talented Alchemist? ;)

Can i vote for wizard?

ABSOLUTELY!

So now for "what comes after ranger and witch" that's:

Alchemist: 9 vote
Gunslinger: 7 votes
Magus: 8 votes
Paladin: 2 votes
Summoner: 3 votes
Wizard: 1 vote

(And two votes for the Dark Mistress vote above, which will have to wait until the Talented Bestiary [by RPG Superstar winner Steven T. Helt and his Four Horsemen group] is published)

Alchemist. I would love to see where you take with the Talented line, and with what Malwing said...I think that is one class that needs it (in terms of being an actual lead-to-gold type of alchemist).

Well if THAT is what you are most interested in, you might want to take a look a Advanced Options: Alchemists Discoveries, which includes options for alchemical metamorphosis (ie turning lead into gold... or silver, or salt, or water... )

Malwing wrote:

I don't want to be a downer but I'm probably going to quit the line after Witch. In my opinion Fighter, Cavalier, Monk, Barbarian, Rogue, Witch and Ranger NEEDED to be talented while with the other classes it would just be nice.

I'm going to continue buying the Talented line as long as the classes keep being made. My opinion is that more options on how to create and build your characters is always a good thing.

On the one hand, I am obviously in favor of people buying as many rogue Genius products as possible.

On the other hand, I totally understand being satisfied with just a subset of any given rules options.

I'm hopeful that everyone who buys any of the Talented class books will find something useful and interesting that makes each class new and exciting but still familiar and balanced. So if anyone is on the fence with a specific book, I encourage you to pick it up.

But if you have no interest, by all means save your money for something else Rogue Genius has to offer. :)

So now for "what comes after ranger and witch" that's:

Alchemist: 7 vote
Gunslinger: 7 votes
Magus: 7 votes
Paladin: 2 votes
Summoner: 1 vote

I didn't note the Dark Mistress vote above, because that is definitely going to have to wait until the Talented Bestiary is published. RPG Superstar winner Steven T. Helt and his Four Horsemen group are working on that, and I am really, really excited by it!

I just like the EK better, and that's really a shame, because the magus really ought to be all chocolate chips and brown sugar. It's a base class, yet somehow seems to end up more specialized and constrained than a character built toward a prestige class.

I absolutely know where you are coming from. And my plan is to roll EK options into the Talented magus, in much the way some assassins options were rolled into Talented Rogue.

I think there's a viable system to allow a base class able to fulfil more than one fighter/spellcaster role.

Shadow warrior?

It is on the Master Project List. It does not yet have a date associated with it. It remains a planned product. :)

So now for "what comes after ranger and witch" that's:

Alchemist: 5 vote
Gunslinger: 7 votes
Magus: 5 votes
Paladin: 2 votes
Summoner: 1 vote

I didn't note the Dark Mistress vote above, because that is definitely going to have to wait until the Talented Bestiary is published. RPG Superstar winner Steven T. Helt and his Four Horsemen group are working on that, and I am really, really excited by it!

A somewhat related question for you Owen; How would you have the Talented classes interact with the Archetype Packages concept (like in the Archer Archetype Book)? Would it be fair to let players swap out an Edge or Talent at the appropriate level and gain the archetype ability.

I've actually been looking at that recently, and eventually I'll do a revision of the archetype books that addresses this is a sidebar. Where possible, I think it would be fair to pay the same cost as it would take to gain the ability being traded away. In other words if an archetype power replaces something a rogue gains as an edge, a rogue can take that archetype power as an edge.

That's not a perfect answer, but it works most of them time.

Also on a tangential note I would love (and buy) any technology based material you make when the Technology Guide hit the public.

Noted!

I have a feeling Owen favors gunslinger because the Grit book means it's already about 30% written... :)

Actually I'll have to make the same call with Gunslinger and Grit and Gunslingers I am with Ranger and Ranger Knacks. Do I duplicate material because it's appropriate (making those tweaks needed to be talents), or do I point people to the original as an additional source, like I have with some of the previous books.

For these two products (and sorcerer options: beyond bloodlines when I get to sorcerers) its a little different, because the product is class talents by another name, written before I thought to totally rework the class.

So now for "what comes after ranger and witch" that's:

Alchemist: 4 vote
Gunslinger: 6 votes
Magus: 3 votes
Paladin: 2 votes
Summoner: 1 vote

We already did this but here we go again

After such a huge hiccup in my life, and the long schedule that went with it, I thought people's opinions might have adjusted over time. After all new material comes along, campaigns change, the ACG looms... :)

Gunslinger could be interesting, if you had some edges that took away the focus on guns. That might sound odd, but in light of the Cavalier that has no mount, and the ACG Swashbuckler who is built around grit/panache, there are possibilities.

Not to mention the "Did it before Paizo" rules for alternate grit as panache and guile, and the no-need-for-firearms Fusilier class that uses panache that I wrote in Ultimate Options: Grit and Gunslingers

So for "what comes after ranger and witch" that's:

Alchemist: 1 vote
Gunslinger: 4 votes
Paladin: 2 votes
Magus: 1 vote

Sort of a side question, more of a curiocity on policy then anything else. I would imagine your position in paizo would give you early access to new material, particularly if say, an upcoming module was going to have an order of holy warriors, it would make sense for you to see the warpriest and include it (or some similar situation).

How does that interact with your responsibilities with RGG. Obviously you cant release anything prior to the release of the underlying product, but does that mean you have to wait to start development on advanced options new swashbuckler deeds or whatever?

That’s a fair question, and a tricky issue. But it isn’t actually a new tricky issue.

I’ve often had access to the hardback rules expansions for Pathfinder before they were released. As a freelancer, I wrote chunks of the Advanced Class Guide, Advanced Player’s Guide, Advanced Race Guide, Bestiary 2, Monster Codex, and Ultimate Magic. In a few cases my work on non-core books meant I got early access to unpublished core books so I’d be drawing on the finished rules for supplemental material. So I have often had the physical opportunity to begin designing supplemental 3pp material (at this point most likely for Rogue Genius Games) before the related books are released.
But I never have, and never will. No work begins on any supplemental material until the book it ties in to is publically available.
There are a few reasons for this, the most important being that I have been under a Non-Disclosure Agreement with Paizo since 2007 (and when I signed it, I may have already been under one from 2005) . That means I have agreed not to disclose any confidential material Paizo gives me, or to use it for any purpose other than the advancement of Paizo’s best interests.

It’s obvious to me that doesn’t include using the material to write for another game company (no, not even one that will sell it’s products on Paizo.com, giving them a cut of its income). Also, I generally have access to those things in order to write neat things for Paizo. It would be intellectually dishonest to “reserve” any of those for use by other companies while I’m writing or developing Paizo content. So if I have a neat idea I can work into some Paizo product I am involved with, it goes there. If it doesn’t match anything I am working on, I ignore it. Only after the source material is generally available do I write such ideas down and begin writing and developing for side projects.

Of course now that I am an on-staff developer for Paizo I have access to pretty much everything long before it’s generally available, whether I’ve worked on it or not. But the same rules apply. Yes, I’m dying to pop open the files for the Technology Guide and read them over. But I have no need to in my current Paizo duties, and no spare time at the office to do so anyway. If something I was working on for Paizo needed me to look at the Technology Guide I wouldn’t hesitate to do so, but any thoughts I had would go into the Paizo product, or languish until the book comes out in August.
This “firewalling” of my knowledge as Paizo developer and my resources as publisher of RGG or developer for Green Ronin also goes well beyond building supplements for specific rulebooks that haven’t been published yet. I am now privy to the publishing schedule well beyond what has been announced, and I can’t use that to plan or plot future projects, either. That isn’t always easy to do, but it’s a necessary part of deciding to work for three game companies that all produce material for the same game system. It is an amazing vote of trust from Paizo and Green Ronin that both companies accept that I can, in fact, keep their secrets to myself even while I work for other companies doing similar stuff.
So, can I say I’m looking forward to working on how to best fit the Advanced Class Guide material into the Talented line of books? Absolutely, because I know that looking at the publicly available description and playtest. Can I mention that I am considering just making the new abilities of the new hybrid classes talents available to their parent classes? Sure, for the same reason. Can I start trying to figure out how to balance a warpriests blessings with my edge and talents system?
Nope. I won’t tinker with ideas on that AT ALL until after Gen Con.
In no way am I complaining, by the way. Working at Paizo while being under contract with Green Ronin and remaining the publisher of Rogue Genius Games is awesome.

Have you decided what class is going to be after the ranger and witch?

No, not yet.

I am leaning towards gunslinger or paladin, since I'd like to get all the full-attack-bonuses classes done and I already have barbarian, cavalier, and fighter, and am working on ranger.

Anyone have something they'd especially like to see after ranger and witch?

Havent heard anything in a while, and while I know you have alot on your plate I was wondering if we could get atleast a status update.

That's ENTIRELY reasonable.

As I alluded to back in March, I got hired by Paizo to be the Developer for the Pathfinder Modules line, and that meant I needed to pack or sell everything I owned, put my house on the market, wrap up all my outstanding freelance projects, find an apartment in the Seattle area I could afford while still paying my mortgage, move halfway across the country, settle in at the Paizo office...

So yes. Delays to RGG were inevitable.

We *just* got out our first RGG project since my arrival in Seattle, Ultimate Options: Story Feats, and I am finally posting new #Microfeats on the Rogue Genius Facebook Page.

So, I am finally getting back to RGG work in between Paizo and Green Ronin projects and needs.

My #1 RGG writing priority is Talented Ranger, and I hope to have it out before the end of the month.

Talented Witch comes after that, though it'll be available through the Strange Brew Kickstarter before it's available for general sales.

And of course come August I'll start looking at the classes from the Advanced Class Guide to see how they fit into the talented line.

Does that cover you questions? :D

(Anyone else have anything they want to ask?)

Our second 5-star review in less than a week, this one from Ssalarn!

Many thanks to Megan Robertson for the 5-star review!

He's pretty cheap as a character because he is immune to the effects of antimagic field, greater dispel magic, and mage's disjunction.

Do you mean immune, or do you mean he has dispel resistance, and thus has SR against dispel and antimagic effect? because if the later, he's only got about a 50% chance of being immune to his own antimagic shell.

The first new Rogue Genius product since I moved to Seattle, Ultimate Options: Story Feats offers DOZENS of new story feats.

And it's co-written by designer and editor Rich Howard and the 2012 RPG Superstar winner Mike Welham!

I am thrilled by this product, which was developed by Christina Stiles. Ever since story feats were first introduced in Ultimate Campaign I have felt they were a great idea that needed more space. The small number of story feats made it difficult to find one that truly tied to a wide range of character concepts, limiting their utility.

By vastly expanding the number available, Ultimate Options: Story Feats opens story feats up to a much wider range of PCs, and allows GM sot more easily tie story feats to their campaigns.

Chris Pramas had originally envisioned having a booth to sell things at PaizoCon, and obviously wanted to premiere his new Pathfinder-specific stuff at that show. As it happens Green Ronin won't have a booth, so that's not going to happen.

The backers have seen the text (though there is still time for use to make changes if we need to), the art is arriving as we speak, but it hasn't been sent off to print yet.

Third party producers; I have a few questions.

I love questions!

1) Which of you products seem to sell more than others?

how did that product come about and why do you think it did well or poorly?

I've got between one and four years of data to pick from, and around 250 product for sale by Rogue Genius Games. Obviously older products have had more time to sell copies, so I generally wait 18 months or more before I declare something a best-seller.

In each case, the initial products of the line grew out of my sitting back and thinking of an interesting and reasonable character idea that there was just no way to represent well in the Pathfinder rules of the time. Both drawing on deific sources of power and manipulating time are tropes I've seen more than once in fantasy, and I wanted to create rules to allow GMs and players to do that in Pathfinder. The follow-up products came along as their was fan demand for more support for those classes.
I think the fact that those *are* both pretty popular character ideas (along with the hope that I wrote them well) is why these products have done so well, year after year.

2) Which of your products failed to sell as well as you hoped?

how did that product come about and why do you think it did well or poorly?

All our poor Cardstock Figure Sets have performed well below expectations. I was involved in a company called IDAdventures many years ago, and they did cardstock heroes licensed from the same artists, and those sold very well. But for some reason, despite having had fans specifically ask for some of these (like the Mighty Dragon Turtle) they've never sold well.

I am mystified as to why.

3) Which of your products, for better or worse, defied your expectations?how did that product come about and why do you think it did well or poorly?

The entire Talented Class line (currently Barbarian, Cavalier, Fighter, Monk, and Rogue, as well as follow-ups for each of those) has sold amazingly well, and if they were a bit older I'd likely have picked them for my answer to "sell more than others." I plan to cover all the classes over time (with ranger, and then witch, next in line).

These books all started with me thinking that the hair-splitting between feats, talents, class features, and archetype class features was too fine, and often lead to frustration. By turning everything except feats into talents (defined by power level and rarity), I thought I could make much more flexible character classes without creating power creep.

The response, not just in sales but in numerous positive reviews and emails from people thanking me for allowing them (or their friends or children) to create *exactly* the characters they wanted, suggests to me I've hit a need. :)

This is a good deal. The Rogue Genius books alone are priced above 9.99!

I'll add it to the list!

even if it's just as uncreative as being able to spend arcana points to gain back daily uses of inquisition powers. Maybe 1 for 1 for powers that you get multiple uses per day (rage rounds, powers that give 3+stat/day) and 2 for 1/day abilities

You mean like the new arcana they gain access to? "A tovenaar also has access to this magus arcana:

Why inquisitions instead of arcane schools?

Inquisitions are designed to be useful for a hybrid fighting character. Arcane schools are designed to be useful for a full 9-level spellcaster. The inquisitions are must more useful, in general, with mounts rather than familiars, and rage rather than 1d4 claw attacks.

The tovenaar balanced quite nicely in playtesting, but class balance can be heavily influenced by play style. If your group finds it underpowered, by all means add a new magus arcana.

I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of the relative power levels. Having a cavaliers mount, rage, a +4 to confirm threats (yours or allies), and automatically healing when you fall below 9 hit points (perfectly possible for a 4th level tovenaar) compared to one 2nd and three 1st level spells.

Wow, it's awesome to see so many of the RGG classes get into folks' top 5!

For the curious, here's where to find the RGG classes that have been mentioned so far.

Justicar -- Advanced Options: Inquisitors' Judgments
Mighty Godling -- The Genius Guide to the Godling
Riven Mage -- The Genius Guide to the Riven Mage
Magister -- The Genius Guide to the Magister
Time Thief -- The Genius Guide to the Time Thief and Genius Options: Masters of Time
Talented Fighter -- The Genius Guide to the Talented Fighter
Talented Monk -- The Genius Guide to the Talented Monk
Templar -- The Genius Guide to the Templar

As for my own top five? In no particular order:
Inquisitor. It's an interesting, flexible class that makes an awesome "5th man" when an adventuring party is already full, but can also step up to be a primary front-line or divine caster.
Armiger. Speaking of loving your own stuff, this defense-first, martial support character is one of my favorite projects ever.
Sorcerer. Not only do I enjoy making themed sorcerers (who often feel like they need to go to Xavier's School for Wizards and Witchcraft), but I love the class as a GM, since it lets me run effective arcane villains without spending a lot of time worrying about preparation.
Alchemist. I love the ability to create some classic fiction tropes without being like any other d20 character. I prefer the flexibility provided by Advanced Options: Alchemists Discoveries, which lets you swap bombs, or extracts, or mutagens for other alchemical tropes, but even the unmodified class is a lot of fun.
Fighter. My first love, and still one of my favorites.

I know this is a bit late but finally got to see the Cabalist and think about it. I do like the concept of a spontaneous magus but my concerns are:

Replied over at the New Magus Arcana page.

A Genius Guide to Time Magic is still very much in the works... as soon as I find the time!

Both time thief and time warden do benefit from some expansions mote and aevum abilities in Genius Options; Masters of Time.