h2ofowler's page

That is really weird. We'll need to look into this a bit and see what happened here, and figure out if the other items should be on their way still.

Do you happen to have the packages these came in? If so, can you please email us the pictures of the shipping labels on these packages?

Thanks!
Sharaya

I do have the packages. What email should I send pictures to??

I just received 4 copies of the Tomb of Golarion. I have a subscription and should have only received one copy. Also, I have not received any other item on my subscription. I have one item in my sidecart (Guide to Numenara).

Any ideas why I got four copies of the Tomb book? Also, what do you want me to do?

Thanks

There are 39 legal characters for OP. Plus 78 roles. Starter decks for all of them is not reasonable.

It's simple. If you don't have a deck, you have 7 options for quick pick up and play. If you want to play something else, get there early and buy a deck and put it together. Of course there will probably be user generated starter decks for all 39 characters in forums soon after OP starts.

This was kind of my idea. Have "quick-play" decks ready to go. If someone wants to customize when they are borrowing a deck at an event, have a couple of decks they can get to before the 2 hour time slot. I was in a session at Gencon that lost on time mainly because the first 25-35 minutes was consumed as newer players created their decks. Again, not a huge issue, but, sometimes too much choice is not good for new players.

Theryon Stormrune wrote:

I'd recommend that we have a demo to help teach newbies even though it is recommended that people have at least played the game prior. Hint, hint ... can we get the demo (played at GenCon) as an intro to S&S.

Yep—we're working on instructions for that now.

I also strongly recommend that at any event like Gencon where you will have people borrowing decks, have a completely pre-built deck in the box they are going to borrow. For someone totally new, it would be easier to hand them the character card and pre-built deck and let them play. Asking new players to build the deck took too much time in the slot.

Dang...should have read all the posts before I added.

Just got home from Gencon and wanted to drop my impressions of the PACG organized play. First, as some have said, 2 hours is too short if the people sitting down need to construct a deck. I strongly recommend having completely pre-built class decks if you run an event. In the room, they had the entire class decks to borrow, but the individual characters were not built. Yes, having an entirely built character deck reduces choices, but it would really speed up play.

Other than that, I had a blast. I played 5 sessions total and won 4/5. I played Scenario 1 twice with Valeros (failed first attempt and completed second) and Scenarios 1-3 with Ezren. I'm not in love with the Class deck version of Ezren, but I got to level him up a bit and think he will come into his own as he progresses.

I will say that it seems the class decks using the characters found in the base Skull and Shackles set do better at the scenarios. They are focused on barriers and monsters that appear in the new base set so this makes perfect sense. That does not mean that you cannot use the other characters. I do, however, suggest carefully reviewing the class deck variants to find one that has the most advantages in the S&S base set.

Overall, I had few complaints. The staff was great; the scenarios were very interesting. My only item I really want to know is when I can download the Gencon scenarios. I am itching to run this at a local game store and at my community college game club night.

I'm not telling you not to do it—I'm just telling you that that decision comes with some pain, or at least requires some creativity on your part! You sound like a creative guy as far as this type of thing goes, but others looking in on this thread may benefit from being warned off.

Dang, wish I had this warning before I bought all these sleeves and then realized...hmmm....this ain't gonna fit... :)

Welcome and good luck in the new job. Ashamed to admit it, but I've worked at a community college for 16+ years and had to look up Andragogy.
Of course, I am a techie...sooo..educational theory is not my discipline!

Can I just give you 40 bucks and get access? ;)Didn't make it to Paizocon this year!!!

By the way, great update. Really looking forward to the open beta on this.

-- How about a flipmat that gives you a vertical space, like a cliffside, a stepped temple set into a mountain, or scaffolding on a tall building? That would be new and tactically interesting.

I love this idea! A vertical cliff face flip mat. Or, some type of vertical flip mat for those flying encounters.

Yes, you are on the right path. Actually, it is the synergies that made me decide to add the maps to my subscriptions.

The group I GM for is about to finish book 2. As a GM, I have enjoyed this AP greatly. It is just enough sandboxy to allow for some open play without getting too out of control. As stated above, read all the books and weave in some of the metaplot early on.

Love the interactions and vivid areas that the PC's can visit. Rickety Squibs and Bloodcove were two areas I really fleshed out.

I give it a big recommend.

Liz Courts wrote:

Oh my poor chat server that day...I think I heard it die in a pyroclastic explosion all the way in Bend.

I kept a log from that day in chat.

goblins.txt

Our first awareness of what Paizo was doing came at 18/03/2008 21:52:19 in the log.

Pardon the PG-13 language throughout...

Extremely cool from a historical perspective. It is great you thought to keep a copy of the chat. It is this type of historical document that the digital age makes so difficult to keep. Well, it is not difficult to keep but we all too often forget to treat digital knowledge as worthy of archiving.

Played my very first PFS game at Gencon on Friday. Really enjoyed myself and quickly realized how addictive the Chronicle sheets could become.

I'm thinking the treasure generation tables would make a great candidate for a new iPhone/iPad app.

iCrit and iFumble have been too lonely for far too long on the AppStore.

Don't forget that it also needs to be an Android app!

Xp3ndable! wrote:

I appologize if I am hashing over details coevered elsewhere but...

I have a rather large gaming group and am getting ready to start this AP. Are there any suggestions for dealing with groups of more than 4 PCs?

I added an additional reefclaw at the reefclaw reef.

I added in a shark to the reefclaw encounter. It makes perfect sense that a shark would be attracted to the splashing and the blood in the water....

*That*, to me, is just about the best example of why I love Paizo.
And why I won't ever forget Jeff.
... Thanks, man. You're the best.

Yep, this is just another example of why Paizo is a very different kind of company with very genuine people working for it. Thank you for sharing this story. We need to make a bigger deal out of the good things people do in the world.

Happy Birthday!

Very good job to all. Way to go to Mike for bringing it home to NC!

h2ofowler wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

h2ofowler wrote:

Okay...quick question...if either Xanesha or Lucrecia had been given Magus levels...could they then deliver their wisdom drain or laughing touch via spear or daggers respectively?

Yes, because lamia matriarchs have that ability already, regardless of what weapon they're using to attack with.

James, I know I get the 1 point of wisdom drain on the first attack of each round via the lamia matriarch ability, but could you deliver the 1d4 wisdom drain via spellstrike if she was at least a magus 2?

No, not at all. Because the wisdom drain ability is a supernatural ability, not a spell.

Thanks for the clarification. Really looking forward to this AP, I've gone so far as to buy the PDF of Burnt Offerings so I can begin to get ready to run this one.

h2ofowler wrote:

Okay...quick question...if either Xanesha or Lucrecia had been given Magus levels...could they then deliver their wisdom drain or laughing touch via spear or daggers respectively?

Yes, because lamia matriarchs have that ability already, regardless of what weapon they're using to attack with.

James, I know I get the 1 point of wisdom drain on the first attack of each round via the lamia matriarch ability, but could you deliver the 1d4 wisdom drain via spellstrike if she was at least a magus 2?

Okay...quick question...if either Xanesha or Lucrecia had been given Magus levels...could they then deliver their wisdom drain or laughing touch via spear or daggers respectively?

Way to go NC contestants! Congrats on getting this far.

Good luck in the encounter design section from Albemarle, NC.

Hobbun wrote:

Mike,

I guess I don’t understand. Your agreement still (tentatively) states you are in the same area as last year? Even with the announcement that the RPGs have been moved out of the convention hall?

Our agreement does tentatively say we're in the same place as last year.

Can you point me toward the announcement that suggests RPGs are moving?

Vic,

This was what was sent out in an email by Gencon:

RPGs Moving Around in 2012

As we grow into the newly expanded convention center, we’re shifting a few things around this year and trying to consolidate RPGs so they aren’t quite as spread out.

In 2012, most RPGs will be in the JW, Marriott, and the Hyatt, so they will all be within a block of two of each other, making it much easier to get between games. There will be some exceptions, depending on event needs and overall submission volume, but the bulk of RPGs will be in those three hotels. In addition, Wizards of the Coast will be hosting the majority of their RPGA and Living Forgotten Realms events in the Marriott, where True Dungeon used to be.

Keep the new locations in mind as you are choosing your hotel room for 2012. You might want to try a new hotel to keep close to the events you want to play.

It's a paint master.

The Yeti is wearing clothes because of Original Yeti Sin, which brought shame and self-awareness to the Yeti community.

Less than a month into 2012 and I do believe we have a candidate for best Paizo employee post of the year...

Thanks for the post Sara. It has been the past couple of months that orders have been slow in the mail. It is definitely not a Paizo issue. It is something with the USPS.

Okay, this is just a general observation I've made recently. Is anyone else experiencing slow shipping with USPS and their Paizo products? It seems that my shipments are much slower than they once were. Normally, I would get the shipped message and the items would arrive in 5-8 days. It seems like the normal now is 8-10+ days. Right now, I am waiting for items that shipped on November 30 to still arrive.

Maybe I'm just more impatient, but it really seems the USPS has been slow the past three months.

Anyone else having a similar slowdown?

I have noticed that there were people with all kinds of disabilities there at the con last year. I was very pleased to see this and I had the pleasure of gaming with one of them. However, I also noticed that there were a few people who, while not rude in their actions, were uncomfortable with playing along side these people. My advice, get to know them and do what you can to make their gaming experience easier. You will find that by helping them, your own experience will be better. I had a blast helping one individual read their character sheet, and I certainly enjoyed playing with them.

CalebTGordan, with this attitude you would be welcome at my gaming table any time. Not to preach, but disabled is the one minority we are all only an accident away from.

Hopefully, I will make it to Paizocon this year. I have the airline miles for a free plane ticket....now...can I get off work.

I am really enjoying the story and characters. I like the way the characters are being thoroughly developed. The mystery behind Salim's past feels a little forced early in the story, but I must say I'm intrigue about how he came to this point in his life. Overall, it is a very good read. Looking forward to finishing it later in the week.

Guys, let's tone down the conversation a notch and not get distracted by this side conversation about an off-handed remark.

I agree with Erik on the conversation needing to be on the box set. But, this being the internet and all, did want to add a couple of quick items.

First, I bought these sets for my niece and nephews. I fully hope they will play with just their friends. However, young kids today have no clue how to play a real RPG. I do think they can learn just using the box set, but, my goal was to give a short introduction.

Plus, after they opened their sets, they basically demanded we play. You don't turn down a desire to play.

Last, and probably the most important part brought up, I grew up playing RPGs. I definitely think the single reason we learned to play ourselves in the 80's is because no one older than us then knew how to play. Now we do...so...let's teach the new generation. I want someone to come over to my house when I'm in my 80's and run my weekly game. I need to start that GM early so they will be really good by then!!

I plan to use the BB to let my 10 yo DM for the first time. I have played some old Red Box Basic and 4e with him so he has RPed before, but this will be his first DM experience. He is pretty excited. I had thought of letting him DM with the new Red Box but the BB has a higher replayable factor. Plus the BB rules are simpler than 4e.

I had to specifically tell all of my players, "Do NOT look at the GM guide yet." I did not want them spoiling the adventure before we get to use it. However, after looking at it, I believe it will be a great way to get your son to GM for the first time.

Okay, got my box sets in yesterday and luckily had a family gathering last night. I presented a box set to my 12 year old and 8 year old nephew and one to my 9 year old niece.

First impressions, they LOVED the pawns and fretted over picking exactly the one they wanted to be their character. My 8 year old nephew went so far as to try to keep the fighter pawn from my niece's set because it was the one he picked as his (I had to explain that he had one just like it in his set).

Second, they wanted to play immediately. Therefore, I had the mayor of Sandpoint send them out to Farmer Malachi's farm where a goblin raid had taken place the previous night. They made their way to the farm and nearly took out Malachi when he came around the farmhouse corner...they just knew that noise around the corner had to be goblins!!! After a short roleplay of meeting Malachi...the group set off in the direction of goblin tracks.

Since we did not have time for the full mini-adventure(and my 8 year old nephew kept saying..."Get out the Maps!!"), I used the open side of the flipmat to run an encounter where 5 goblins were laying in wait in the tall grass. The goblins succeeded on stealth against everyone but the rogue and combat began. It was a fun encounter with everyone killing at least one goblin. Everyone was involved and had fun. The night ended with a meal at farmer Malachi's house and an invitation to stay the night and return to Sandpoint in the morning.

Overall, the new character sheets were great. Everyone was getting to the point of knowing where their basic stats were by the end of combat.

Excellent job Paizo!

Toad is about 350 pages--stitch bound etc. Tsar will be about 1200 pages...not sure yet. Tsar postage will be requested once I know how big (that's why no postage fees are charged for Tsar). I have been unable to find a book mailer big enough--so it may be $12 or so domestic.

Toad will be $4 shipping as usual.

Okay, you far exceeded my expectations of the TOH. I'm in on the TOAD. Will preorder today.

Thank you for a great book.

While I prefer books also, it is hard to beat a quick rules search on the PRD. Great job and thank you for providing this resource.

The Tome of Horrors is giving the personalizer a real workout, even more so than the release of a Pathfinder RPG rulebook. Partly this is due to the insane one-day demand and partly due to the enormous size of the final watermarked file. I think that server had an uptime of like six months, but I had to reboot it this morning to get it to cooperate.

Ouch...being in IT I feel your pain. Seems it was more like an IT "Tome of Horrors!"

Okay, not to be too snarky, but Libra has created 1,116 words to state a dislike of the Beginner Set being in the subscription line. With about 30 words, you could cancel your sub and restart it after the Beginner Set ships. Simple solution to a simple problem.

You don't get the box set that many subscribers, myself included want, and you can easily restart your subscription. I really don't see how your needs and the wishes of the majority of subscribers could be more easily supported by Paizo. By the way, I have my subscriber set plus two more on order (one for my nephew and one for a friend's son). So, yes, I do think this will get a new generation into RPGs.

Todd Stewart wrote:

I would transport the chunk of NC that provides me with a good job to somewhere in northwestern NJ if I could, just to enjoy the cooler weather and the snow.

Pffft. Traitor. You're dead to me. ;-)

Neil,

Being native to NC (cannot say I'm a Tarheel as I went to NC State!)...you took the words right out of my mouth!

Wish I could have made it to Gencon this year. Maybe next year I can complain about Indy weather...

Actually, as Charles points out, there is a 2-round time limit on Crush Windpipe.

We've talked a lot about the art on this project because it's big and colorful and frankly cool, but the mechanics are actually very tight as well. The playtest, review, and development on Book of Drakes were all top-notch.

Wolfgang,

In the print version of the book the two round limit sentence is missing from the Crush Windpipe Talent on page 15. The two round limit is mentioned in the Close Windpipe talent, but not Crush Windpipe.

It seems that with the two round limit missing, Crush Windpipe is very powerful.

Still, love the book...adding an alehouse drake to my Kingmaker campaign tonight!

Bought the print/pdf bundle. After looking through the pdf, I'm really glad I bought the print also. The design, layout and artwork of this book is excellent. I cannot wait to see the printed book.

Looking forward to using some of these drakes in my Kingmaker campaign.

Congrats on a great product.

Brandon's adventure, From Shore to Sea, is very interesting. Crystal's upcoming module, The Harrowing, may be the most "creative" module we've done yet. Richard Pett's Carrion Hill is superlative. Cult of the Ebon Destroyers likewise has a lot of non-standard material in it.

Have to agree with Erik about Brandon Hodge's From Shore to Sea. Used it in my Kingmaker campaign. Good stuff.

Well, I have to agree with Lisa on this one. I have the Inner Sea Guide in pdf already (got it early because I'm a subscriber) and it is a beautiful and informative book. I also can say that Golarion is why I'm in Pathfinder now instead of another system. I love the world Paizo is/has built. It is an interesting place with a believable and unique history.

I don't think you can go wrong with the Guide to learn more about Golarion. Of course, you will probably want both the Bestiary books also once you start to GM.

Thank you! I was hoping any extra haunts not in the AP would come to the surface somewhere.

Layout and design does look great. This looks like it will be a beautiful book.

I also really like this article. As a former 40k player, I always liked the way terrain played such an important role in tactics. I would like to move those ideas into my RPG combats. Will you be covering anything like rooms filling with water or gas..or rat swarms as hazardous terrain possibilities?

My favorite web fiction series so far. Well done!

Somewhat unrelated, but I've found the SORD Pathfinder edition extremely helpful in my GMing and rule-learning. It is not available in PDF from Paizo's site (unfortunately), but RPG Now has it at http://tinyurl.com/5reaplu.

If you wanted to develop your own tests, you could create a Moodle (www.moodle.org) site (open source Learning Management System) and make quizzes using the information in the SORD.