Rob Vermeulen's page

Pathbuilder is free (or adfree and with advanced options very cheap) - continuously updated and awesome.

Having played Eartthdawn - flying is not often an issue. I know I also played PF campaigns where individual characters had flight early on.

In my experience the situation where a single character having flight creates significant issues in a campaign is quite limited. (Provided they can’t carry others…). Of course it depends on the GM and campaign - but it is manageable in my experience.

I would welcome golems which have more flavour to them. We know paizo can do it - they have done it in PF1 like for the Tophet.

Wishing everyone the freedom to be who they want to be, be open about it, and take pride in it, wherever they are.

I do applaud Paizo for supporting this in their publications. Will we see a Blog Post on this?

I am going to leave this one here (courtesy of Hillary Moon Murphy).

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs43ip8?How-we-can-disagree-without-being-disagr eeable

Thanks for all the clarity and transparency James.

While I feel somewhat for the Fall of the Drow, my home made setting already made serpentfolk the dominant underempire, so it does not affect me negatively. (And then you also publishing centaurs and Minotaurs in the same year - almost feels like you are personally catering to me …..).

However I do feel for the people who are losing “their” Drow - but hope they can adjust and understand that this is part of the further evolution of Pathfinder away from its D&D origins into its own thing.

It effectively is an edition change indeed (at least similar to a 3.0
to 3.5) between alignment changes, class changes, ancestry changes - even if the backwards comparability and transitioned change are clearly made to make it more palatable and a bit lighter (you can keep using your adventures and setting books).

However I agree them beating about the bush about it does not work so well. Just own up to this. Transparency beats politics / marketing in the long run……

The schools I recall the names of:

School of Battle Magic
School of Civic [Engineering?]
School of the Protean Form
School of Unified Magical Theory

I partly wonder if any of these schools are going to be tied to actual physical locations in the world, or if for example the Korvosan Academae will have within it several schools of magic taught, while maybe omitting others. It seems like a School of Battle Magic is something that could be taught at any military college around the world since everyone has utility for blowing stuff up, while maybe certain other schools are more unique to certain regions.

The system/principle seems to be very much what “the Dark Eye” has done for decades - however as I liked that very much I also like this change.

Have other schools (besides the 4 above) been mentioned already?

I am sorry to hear that. It is difficult to judge the “why” for your personal situation and I don’t know where you live.

However, Role players are like all people are a mixed bunch. Depending on where you are at, it might be a group of old friends, fanatical power players, a very open an friendly bunch, a lot of antisocial figures, amateur thespians, people mainly socializing with a game as an excuse or anything else or in between.

Not all groups (or game stores) are friendly regrettably. Hopefully one location does not irreversibly turn you away from gaming and I do hope you eventually find a group / place that is more open and friendly. There is the risk that the one game store (and the groups based out of it) have a certain “culture” that is less than friendly to say the least….(like tends to attract like….)

I know in my area we have multiple groups, actual gaming clubs, an organization organizing a small gaming con every 2 months etc…. all providing (different) options. Hope you also find something for you.

I would say providing explicit options for representation is good. How you handle eg prosthetics, chairs, etc. would be for the GM to discuss with the players.

Some players may indeed not want these to be impacted at all by the game (as they have plenty of struggles irl) and others may consider having to contend with the (temporary) loss of an aid to be part of the story.

In the end it is for the player to indicate what they are comfortable with when it comes to that - not for others to assume.

Well - it is only the stuff under their brand (which includes infinite). You can still use other routes and include AI art - just not under the Pathfinder brand…. which is their prerogative.

Great to hear this. If it anywhere near as inspired as Mwangi expanse it will be great. And it is great to have a diverse crowd of authors - to ensure we also get to experience a more diverse game world - really awesome!

I do think a morality clause would be a bad (and hard to enforce) idea.
Morality is so subjective and so dependent on culture, country (in the US even in states…) and local law.

What is considered moral and legal in West Virginia would be considered illegal in more developed countries (and vice versa). And then I am not even talking about what constitutes morality in countries like Qatar. Let’s please stay away from “morality” in the ORC.

The is also the battle zoo ancestries dragon if you are open to using that.

Mine switched to my own language automatically - but I can read German so if helpful can try and help. However it is hard to test how to change an adress as mine got delivered already.

However as far as I could see you could go to DHL.com select France and enter the tracking code they provided (I did get my delivery status that way….).

Hope everyone gets their package still before Christmas. My package has arrived yesterday evening - very nice books.

I actually got my shipping confirmation - so it may (should…) still arrive before Christmas. Looking forward to doing some reading over the holidays …. thanks for all the updates and follow-up.

I admit I like the flavor of 16th and 17th century history - and think it is in any case closer to what most RPGs aim to emulate. Guns are part of that flavor to me. I tend to introduce traits that make guns more accessible (ancestry feats or backgrounds) so that they are used a bit more.

The reload mechanic still keeps them suboptimal as a main weapon for anyone but a gunslinger - but this makes them a preferred ranged weapon.

For me 5e had the (way) better 3rd party support - with truly awesome settings and books (of course it is a fraction of all 5e books - but they are there). From something inspired by pre colonial Philippines to the Silk Road - and much more. The massive market has made that possible.

I also like the system for players who are less into complex rules: 5e is much more of a simple system with limited character options.

Pathfinder is what I play with my friends who have gamed (almost) weekly for 20 years. 5E is what I use for gaming with my kids, and GM for my players who play every 2 months…..

Thanks - but please take your days off to enjoy the holiday with your family!

Thanks for the update Jim. While it is frustrating to see the delays - your prompt responses are appreciated.

Still no EU shipping details? I can order and have it arrive from Amazon to Ireland by tomorrow. Kind of frustrating.

Yeah here as well. Even if order from Germany it arrives tomorrow……… but still no news.

As the last update on EU is one month old. Anything news on delivery? Has been awfully quiet….

True……. which would be a drawback. I might actually want to get the foundry module eventually - so it would help there.

Still it is massively annoying how paizo “supports” European customers over the last years (decade maybe even?) somehow they are either unwilling or unable to improve.

I find it massively disappointing that still nothing concrete on a delivery date for Europe - 2 months (approx) down the road.

However if I order from Amazon (in Germany …. You know where the shipping of the Kickstarter would come from) it arrives tomorrow.

It is becoming a farce…….. at least it confirms not to buy or preorder via Paizo directly.

Crappy service from Paizo. Complete disregard for international customers - after delayed completion of the Kingmaker crowdfunding you are now selling the product before delivering it to your backers. No message on delivery in Europe yet.

About the crappiest service of a gaming company possible. I love some of your products (Mwangi expanse, and impossible lands looks promising) - but this project is truly horribly managed.

Luckily I never buy PDF. It does appear strange that PDFs will now be as expensive as actual physical copies if you look for a somewhat discounted seller. However in any case Paizo direct sales were non competitive outside of the US so impact is minimal.

It does make me wonder why they can’t deliver the same service and quality level as eg Free League (Vaesen is truly a work of beauty) - which being in Sweden should be at least as expensive. However if the money goes to improving wages and their international distribution system - the price change would be of value.

For Kingmaker I find it painful that they will ship to US non-backers while we still await the deliveries in Europe…. but their disregards of anyone not in the US has become part of their business model….

I assume Paizo won’t have the audacity to start taking orders until they have fullfilled the Kickstarter. It is still awfully quiet for the non-US markets….

Thanks for the update. Regrettable that it takes so long ….. but indeed shipping is unpredictable - in any case thanks for the transparency.

Any news on European shipping actually starting? All still quiet (no news at all…..) here.

Any update on European orders? (Or other non-US orders)? It is quite quiet on those….

I think the games serve a different population and need. D&D has some nice 3rd party settings, and works for people who don’t care much for structured and developed game systems.

Pathfinder has a bit of a kitchen sink setting (although newer materials are a lot better …) but is a more structured and thought out system.

I use both - one as a player and GM for my long time game group (people who like complexity and rules) and the other for my kids.

And then there are some settings that I like using 5e (isles of Sina UNA, and looking forward to empires of the Silk Road).

Thanks so much for the follow-up and reassurance Jim!

Given that it is the EU I am also a bit concerned. But let’s what paizo comes back with.

You can’t win but I vainly still once in a while try to get Paizo thinking internationally vs. a US first approach….. guess it is some professional deformation. Them trying to coordinate and service international customers better would be a win - and one where no one has to lose.

I will admit Brian Bauman is making an ace effort - although an EU hub would be appreciated even more…

It is what it is. Even companies like Paizo do apply the America first principle …. it is just so ingrained in American thinking. Not much to be done about it.

If the materials would have arrived in Australia or Europe first (not impossible from China) i expect they would have held the shipping until US was ready, as not to annoy their US customers. That they don’t do the reverse is telling enough.

However happy that the PDFs were distributed in parallel everywhere.

Berhagen wrote:

FWCain wrote:

Do the rules on kingdom building have "backwards compatibility" with the first edition rules (in "Ult. Campaign")? Did they just revise them for compatibility with second edition? Or did they rebuild them completely from scratch?

Thanks,
Franklin

Completely revised, much more streamlined. But also very different.

I would say it is a lot more manageable for the majority of groups though. I did originally create a relatively advanced spreadsheet (lovingly improved, updated and maintained by others - in particular Chemlak) but even if with that it the 1st edition was very involved to use…..

Is the spreadsheet still available somewhere online? My searching has failed me this time.

It is found on these forums in the “community” section.

In further review it is streamlined - more consistent. But not really easy still …… probably still needs a spreadsheet for settlements…… more consistent with PF2 rules though.

Do the rules on kingdom building have "backwards compatibility" with the first edition rules (in "Ult. Campaign")? Did they just revise them for compatibility with second edition? Or did they rebuild them completely from scratch?

Thanks,
Franklin

Completely revised, much more streamlined. But also very different.

I would say it is a lot more manageable for the majority of groups though. I did originally create a relatively advanced spreadsheet (lovingly improved, updated and maintained by others - in particular Chemlak) but even if with that it the 1st edition was very involved to use…..

I only care about the PF1e portions so I just want the Bestiary for it when it comes out for everyone later. Glad Legendary Games cares about PF1e players unlike Paizo, who ditched us and won't make more game material for us. LG seems to be the only ones so far producing PF1e content still.

Can someone share the ToC of the Bestiary by any chance?

I have never seen any game company support two editions at the same time - except when there was a d20 and original version of the game. Otherwise with these iterative editions it does not make any sense for the company to continue supporting an older edition…… still happy to see a 3rd party serving those needs.

Now that they also issued the 5e version PDF to all backers I might hoever actually consider using that to take my kids through a (modified) version of kingmaker.

Not being in the US - I did get my PDFs (and then some - great service to provide all the PDFs…… truly appreciated).

However no updates whatsoever from ulisses here either.

Yeah would be nice to hear - also here in Europe still waiting for a notice.

Which is understood - but I do understand the frustrations on paizo’s model for non-US sales - indeed makes subscriptions. Would be awesome if they could do some EU distribution via a local company. (Which is what they did for Kingmaker - so there it isn’t an issue to me).

I thought I had backed this, but I guess I didn't, so I'm waiting for it to be available. October 1st, was it?

Or if you are not in the US you won’t have had your message yet either…. hopefully soon a message from the EU distributor.

I have the books in print - but subscriptions have become unfeasible it is a nice way to get the PDFs. I think this one that is supported by the PDF to VTT (foundry) module…

I think they both have their uses (for me). However indeed the overlap for people who prefer only one style of game could be limited. D&D is mechanically simple (could have gone simpler) and good for stories and I like it for gaming with my kids. It is (generally) a bit higher on the role playing axis of role playing game.

PF2 is mechanically complex - and effectively more on the game axis of role playing game.

But then I have played dozens of different RPGs, and don’t see the need for them to be exclusionary. So while you can explain differences and what you like about a game it isn’t like a monotheistic religion or Highlander…….. there can be more than one.

Only personal challenge these days is that I have less time…….. so end up doing more limited different games - but even then I don’t dislike the others.

My issue with guns in Pathfinder is not the gunslinger. It is the gun for everyone who is not a gunslinger……. it is supposed to be the easy, everyone can use it well weapon (well comparatively). That it clearly is not in PF2.

I am not particularly fond of the mechanics. They work - but they are a awful lot more work to get functional vs. most classes (fighter, Ranger). They are a good support class though.

I would have preferred a more accessible gun type/approach, but then also acknowledge that is not what they are in Golarion. I prefer my settings to be 17th century inspired….. so do adjust the rules to make them stronger as a back-up weapon (simple weapons) while not overpowering (or changing much) the martial weapons.