I’m pretty sure the P1 Bestiary was a stretch goal, but I may be misremembering.
Interesting, so @Aaron Shanks, why not entertain the idea of making non-standard versions of Pathfinder adventures as crowdfunding campaigns? Certainly that would solve the resource problem, at least when it comes to the bread needed. Also it's free market research. Want to run Rise of the Runelords in 5e? Or is there any interest Council of Thieves in 2e? Age of Ashes in 1e? Back em on Kickstarter (or whichever site you guys choose)
The strategic reason to convert a few select Pathfinder adventure products to 5e is to give players a taste of Paizo quality. Does is give a us cash injection to sell to the huge 5e community? Maybe. Does it woo them into playing Pathfinder rather than or in addition to 5E? Hopefully. But this is a far cry from converting all our products to 5e. This product was delayed because of our capacity needs. Resources are a factor when one is the most prolific tabletop roleplaying game publisher in the industry.
Alternatively, Pathfinder First Edition players have already experienced Paizo quality. We woo them with the elegance of Pathfinder Second Edition and its ever-deepening options and lore. We continue to keep First Edition rulebooks in stock because it is profitable and because Lisa said we would until demand ended. Someday it might end.
We appreciate the passion on all side—even Pathfinder for Savage Worlds. We are focused on making Pathfinder Second Edition as vital as it can be. It is a great time to play Pathfinder in all its forms.
So this begs the question. If you say that Paizo doesn't backport content to 1e because 1e players have already had their taste off of the honey dipper, why did Kingmaker Anniversary get a 1e Bestiary? I would imagine that enough market research was done to warrant its creation.
I am also of the opinion that all Paizo's APs should also get 1e and 5e treatment, as pie in the sky as it may be
A quick note. The Pathfinder version has addt'l content for the Kingmaker AP in several places (although it doesn't reference it by exact name), and the 5e version does not. It's kind of a bummer, as now that Kingmaker is in 5e, I would love to have that info in this book. In LG's defense, this did come out in 2017, years before the new Kingmaker re-release. Maybe a PDF errata would be a boon, just so us GMs who want to run Kingmaker in 5e don't have to shell out money for both versions
I have the 5e version. Are there any differences from the Pathfinder version? (such as not having references to Kingmaker, like the Forest Kingdom book)
Scott Betts (a user on this forum) made an awesome conversion of (of 4 out of the 6 modules of) Rise of the Runelords to 4th Edition back in the day. Putting it here for posterity purposes
Hey everyone, we just started our new 4e campaign set in the world I've been working on for the past couple years this past Saturday. The footage is up on YouTube, so please feel free to comment and let us know how we did.
Where did you get the cool looking tiles from that you are using in your game?
The Dungeon Tiles from the first session were the Dungeon Tiles Master Set: City from the D&D Essentials line. There's also a Paizo Map Pack in there, although which one it is I forget. The map in the very first fight I believe was from King of the Trollhaunt Warrens module(Amazon link). Every thing else is various D&D Dungeon Tiles I've collected over the years, most which you can find in those Master Sets. Here's all WotC put out:
FYI, I'm in the process of re-encoding these videos and moving them to my personal YouTube account (and closing down the houstonpathfinder channel), so if you still want to watch these, please subscribe to my personal channel
I have to underscore Scott Bett's statement. 4e is a combat heavy game only if you make it a combat heavy game. Most people who throw their nose up at 4e weren't playing at a table where the DM wasn't playing a role-playing centered game, and I was guilty of this myself at one point. Once I started running 4e games in a more old school fashion, the system really didn't matter anymore.
The major shining point for me (and this was mentioned before in the thread) is the prep. It is just way too damn easy to build encounters, hell I've built them during play! And that gives me more time to focus on story. My current gaming schedule consists of two 4e campaigns that I run on alternating Fridays and a weekly Pathfinder game I play in on Sunday, and that's the way I like it. I just simply cannot get into DMing 3.5/Pathfinder. The rules for monster building, magic, weather, and practically physics all make my head hurt. But I love playing my PF Half-Orc Barbarian and I'm lucky enough to have a DM who gets all that.
Oh and don't touch the WotC modules. They suck. From what I hear, ENWorld's Zeitgeist is really good, or check out Scott's Rise of the Runelords 4e conversion at Tales from the Rusty Dragon
And if you would like to see what I consider a 4e campaign done well, check out Chris Heard's Stormhaven campaign podcast. -> Icosahedrophilia
As for RP and encounters it is exactly the same with PFS in my experience. It all depends on the players. Some of my encounters tables are heavy RP some aren't and the same goes for my PFS tables.
I have to agree with Angela here. My first season of D&D Encounters was a great party, full of RP, and a spectacular DM. All in all it was a blast.
The past couple of seasons....not so much. Same spectacular DM, but the players were obnoxious, obscene, and generally rude as can be.
Back to the subject at hand, I guess one option would simply be to shorten the modules. From what I can tell, there is usually 1-2 encounters that can be skipped in a module, but is this legal to play this way? Obviously my players would be getting the same XP and credit as tables that ran the full gamut. Take for example scenario 2-11 the Penumbral Accords. In that module:
Plot Spoiler:
You enter a mansion to save daughter(daughters?) of a noble merchant, if memory serves correctly. The Encounters are:
[Fight] Entryway: Fight a skeleton dinosaur
[Fight] Right Room: Two torturers
[Fight] Door 1 in Right Room: Some shadow dog-like creatures
[RP] Door 2 in Right Room: Blakros servants taken prisoner.
[Fight] Left Room: An Iron Cobra
[Fight & RP] Door in Left Room: Some crazy chick doing experiments on
one of the servants
[Fight] Final Boss
So of those encounters, I think the only ones really necessary to keep in would be the two torturers, the servants room, the crazy chick doing experiments, and the final boss. Obviously leave in the rooms with all their objects of interest for people's faction mission, or if a combat encounter is part of a player's Faction mission, just take the combat part of the encounter out.
Kerney wrote:
Run Games on Saturday.
Saturday's the date day with my fiancee, and Sunday is my home game, so those days are out. Also the store has a huge MtG following on those days, so trying to squeeze in a table would be a nightmare.
Thanks for the input, guys. I'm trying to see about running some PFS at the local shop that just opened up, but unfortunately the owner, being the only employee at the moment, can't stay past 8. And since the soonest I can start is 6, well you can imagine the predicament. I currently run Encounters there, and that works there because each session is meant to be 2 hours in length, but other than shortening the PFS modules (and for the most part depriving them of depth), I can't think of much to do.
The only other option would be to split them. I guess this could work, but then comes the problem of attendance. If Judd, July, Jack, Jacob and Jennifer show up at the table for the first week 1 of the module, and the next week, John, Jack, Judy, Judd and Jason show up, did Jacob, Jennifer and July get full credit? Same with John, Judy and Jason? Does everyone get prestige for their faction mission, even if their faction mission didn't occur during the part of the module they attended?
Hopefully one of the Paizo staff with have some input on this.
9th Pathfinder Rise of the Runelords session finally up on YouTube at http://bit.ly/RiseOfTheRunelords. This was 9 1/2 hours, so it took awhile. Sorry for the wait.
Hey everyone, due to a few requests, I'll be posting updates in a single thread. Which brings us to our 7th session, which is live. Please subscribe and comment as usual.
So a few new changes. First we're now recording in 1080p (although the frame rate sucks recording on my laptop, next session is using another machine, so the FR will be better). Unfortunately we were using Logitech Webcam Software with the new camera, and it crashed after the first hour and didn't save the video. Sucks to lose an hour out of the campaign, but it is what it is. We may consider redoing those videos someday just for continuity.
Also, for the time being Jeremy (plays Aerodus) has taken over DMing and I will be playing Brug the Half-Witted Half-Orc Barbarian. He's on a quest to find his goats and the holy totem symbol taken from his tribe's village in the mountains :) (was told during the video that was lost).
Writing a proper 4e module requires learning (and actually, mastering) a whole new system. It's not a 2ed-3ed switch, you have to write adventures while aware of things such as no flying PCs etc etc.
I won't even get into whole GSL side of the problem.
I perfer for Paizo to keep their energy focused on developing the PF ruleset and Golarion, rather than to spread themselves thin over two or more rulesets.
True, then again a 3rd party publisher could possibly pick it up. And yeah, the GSL is a b&+!$, but it is what it is.
The route I'm taking with this game, is just to simply houserule the things out of 4th edition that don't make sense in Kingmaker, like the PC's not being able to fly at epic level, and them still being mortal at level 30.
As an alternative, I will let Aerodus (the warlord) take the Epic Destiny that he got from the Dark Sun campaign setting, called "Immortality". It basically means, if you die, another potential hero a la The Talented Mr. Ripley, will take up your armor, and continue to fight under your persona (mechanically with the same stats). I thought it would make a cool story if his character did die after 21.
Well, if you listen to the videos, you'll hear a lot of disinterest in Pathfinder. And plus, as I mentioned before I'm already running a group in Kingmaker using the PF rules. Thus, I wouldn't want to do the same campaign using the same system twice a week. It already feels like I'm repeating myself.
This is merely an experiment (and I do love me some experiments :). Can the Paizo modules be run in 4e (or any other system) and still hold up as compelling, immersive campaigns? I think the answer is yes, and I think Paizo should consider printing 4e versions of their APs. Yes, I know what I just said is probably outright treason, and probably heresy, but think about it. WOTC modules are absolute garbage, with little story and even less depth. Paizo's modules are absolute brilliance, and full of roleplaying and clever story and hooks for the GM to create amazing campaigns. 4e, like it or not, has a huge player base. And like Apple does with iTunes and Safari for Windows, Paizo could simply use this as a tactic to either A: lure 4e fans over to Pathfinder, or B: at least make them fans of Golarion, even if it means it's under the 4e rules.
Personally, I'm a fan of both systems for different reasons, which is probably another topic. I also have friends who are firmly set in both camps, and I enjoy gaming with them much more than being set in one system.
So, you probably now know that I run a Kingmaker campaign and am recording it on my HoustonPathfinder channel. Well, I have a group of friends who are 4e diehards, and after singing to them the praises of Kingmaker, I decided to try out a bi-weekly KM campaign, with 4th edition mechanics. I recorded the first session, and plan on doing so for the entire campaign. And they're starting at level 5, btw (not my choice). Currently uploading said session to this playlist:
Anyway, this is my D&D channel, so please subscribe and comment on how I am doing. Maybe for once we can actually see two simultaneous campaigns side by side with Pathfinder and 4e, and see how they fare. Might put a stop to edition wars once and for all.
Playlist is here: 3rd #Pathfinder #Kingmaker session now up on YouTube. Playlist at: http://www.youtube.com/user/houstonpathfinder#grid/user/C536EA79EC39EDD9
This game was short, as we had a ton of technical difficulties with Skype, d20Pro and the interwebs in general that night. Anyway, please subscribe and comment as ususal.
This one was a bear of a video to edit (almost 5 hours), and the next one is a good size as well. Will have that hopefully up soon. As always, please subscribe and comment.
Unfortunately this is Zoji the Half-Blind Oracle's last session, as he has given in to this thing called real life.
However, we have a new player as of Session 4. In the meantime, get it at the usual place.
Link to Playlist (3rd session is videos 34-52): Rise of the Runelords Playlist
Also, due to the fact that I'm now recording/uploading/editing two campaigns (and possibly a 3rd one on the horizon) a week, I won't be able add any more Society games on a weekly basis anymore. I will still record and archive them, and perhaps if I take a vacation someday, go through them and get them up online. But then again, I think people prefer the home campaigns anyway, so my focus will be on those.
No problem. I would usually stick to minis and battlemats, but having online players, paired with (as you'll hear in the remaining videos) the insane lag coming from Flash Live Media Encoder over Justin.TV, we had to go to a digital medium. I think the players will lament the lack of minis on the table, but it does look cool on video, I must say.
WotC minis for the standard fare mobs. PF/Reaper for the iconics and BBEG's and paper counter stands from Litko Aero for minis I dint have or don't exist.
Seriously though if you don't have a lot of minis, this stands are a life saver. Video on it:
Yeah, sarokcat pretty much said what I thought. The half-nude fey wasn't exactly what I meant, and really is such a small sliver of the story.
I'm referring to the rise to power of a fledgling nation. Let's face it, high fantasy has been done to death (in games and movies), and RotRL, as great of an AP as it is, falls under the "done to death" category. Kingmaker, while it is nothing new, certainly is the record less played in the collection when it comes to HF, and would certainly be distinguishable enough to be popular.
And no, a single movie could not capture an entire AP. Something like an HBO series, would be perfect, as it would be long enough to include all the minor details, and have a realistic enough of a budget to be carried out long term by a small studio.
Yeah, I agree with Demoyn. While not new to DMing, I am new to 3.5/Pathfinder (less than 6 months), and as such, prefer to stick to RAW as much as possible. Thanks again for your help guys.
Thanks for the kind words. I think Azmyth from the Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast coined it best when he said "this kind of 'gaming voyeurism' seems to be quite popular amongst the community of role-players". And it makes a lot of sense. I want to run all 6 Adventure Paths (and even their old Dungeon Mag stuff) every time I hear or read something cool about one of them, but it's completely unrealistic as an adult to play (and prep for) that much. But I can certainly pull up a podcast on iTunes or a playlist on YT and play it in the background while I'm working.
And if I'm GMing a game then these playthroughs are a wealth of ideas. With the page count per module being what it is, it's impossible for Paizo to cover every situation and explain all manner of ways to tell their story. So in that case I think these playthroughs kind of "fill in the gaps" and show GMs what other GMs do, and to me learning by example is the best way to learn.
Also, I think it helps strengthen the Pathfinder brand. The problem with the industry is that Wizards of the Coast is sort of the grand ole Steamship of RPGs and Paizo, White Wolf, Fantasy Flight, etc. are all the tugboats attached to it. So, given the turbulence WotC has experienced lately with 4th edition, if the S.S. known as D&D tanks, Paizo and Pathfinder are gonna drown with it. Now, to be fair, I don't expect my little YouTube channel to expose roleplaying to the world, or even go viral (although it has done decently well for it's meager 6 weeks of existence). But if others follow suit, and suddenly there's lots of Pathfinder material on the web (not just playthroughs), then maybe someday I can walk up to a stranger on the street and ask him if he knows what Pathfinder is, and not get a blank stare up until I say "It's like Dungeons & Dragons". -_-
Anyway, thanks again. And I believe the guys from the podcast are doing Carrion Crown and recording it on Justin.TV. It's unedited, as I imagine with the podcast on their hands, they probably don't have the time to, but still interesting to tune into.
Forewarned (Su): You can always act in the surprise round even if you fail to make a Perception roll to notice a foe, but you are still considered flat-footed until you take an action. In addition, you receive a bonus on initiative checks equal to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum +1). At 20th level, anytime you roll initiative, assume the roll resulted in a natural 20.
In our Kingmaker game Tuesday night, neither sides were surprised, but our divination wizard pulled up that ability and said he could act even if there wasn't a surprise round, essentially his ability creates one, regardless if anyone is surprised or not. As the GM, I ruled no on this. Was I correct?
Hey everyone, as you probably already know we've been recording our local Pathfinder Society games and Rise of the Runelords Campaign and posting them on YouTube for a little over a month now, and those we use a camera and a traditional tabletop with minis and tiles, maps, etc.
Just this past Tuesday we started a Kingmaker campaign, and since we have 2 online players (the other 4 in person), we decided to try out d20pro, and just screencast it. With all the handouts and screen sharing we would be doing with people over Skype, we thought it would be a good fit. Plus there aren't many d20pro actual play examples, so I decided as badass as this app is, it needs to be pimped a little more. So anyway, the first session's videos are uploading as we speak. Please subscribe and comment, as we would like to know how badly we're screwing this Adventure Path up. :)
NOTE: At first, we were going to do a traditional table top for the local players, and I would mirror the player's and monster's miniature positions on d20pro behind my screen. Well, after the first fight, that became too much of a pain in the ass, so we switched over to a camera streaming the game board over Justin.TV, which became even more of a pain in the ass (Anywhere from 20-30 second to several minutes of lag). What didn't help matters was the screencast software I used for the first half of the game (Camtasia Studio) ended up garbling the video and leaving nasty pops in the audio. So I decided after all was said and done to "re-perform" all the actions taken during the session using BB Flashback Express, which is also a great free app for screencasting. Anyway, so if what's going on in the video doesn't seem to match up with what we're saying, that's why. Next week, we'll all be using d20pro, local and remote alike, so we won't face the same issues.
