About 99% of the "glitches" that appeared in Paizo's pdfs when using the default pdf viewer on Ubuntu (evince, which uses the poppler) will likely be fixed with the next release, Karmic Koala 9.10. I'm running an updated alpha of Karmic Koala on my netbook, and I only see a few (I believe the term is) masking issues with some graphics in Paizo's pdfs and that's it. I don't have my hardcopy of the book handy, but as far as I can tell the image on page 25 is fine.
Erik Mona wrote:
I have not picked up Paizo's old minis, but Reaper Minis are my one definite buy when I hit up a FLGS. Pathfinder/Paizo + Reaper is just win. Ideally I'd want my subscription to come from Paizo instead of Reaper, but man that could put a hurt on the shipping. I'd be happy with plastic or metal, but my preference is honestly metal (might finally get me off my keester and get to painting them).
Today the USPS dropped off a package, which contained one item from my several Pathfinder subscriptions. Due to the time-sensitive nature of August's big release, should subscribers expect separate shipments if they subscribe to the Pathfinder RPG and other lines? If so, will this separate method of shipping continue, or is it just for this month? Otherwise, if everything should have come in one package, I seem to be missing a few items...
Sorry to resurrect an old thread. With the latest alpha of Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope (9.04), the missing A problem is no more. Hopefully this means that regular Ubuntu users won't be hassled with the missing A in poppler-based pdf readers (including evince) from Jaunty onwards. Evince still isn't perfect (I still get a few glitches on maps and other images with transparency), but at least everything should be legible.
Vic Wertz wrote:
I appreciate the y'all doing that--it was a minor annoyance but nothing more. I would just take out the 's' from the https to get to the page I wanted. The only reason I mentioned it in this thread is that it looked like the card was at some point referring to a secured page on your site that didn't have the 'secure.' prefix. (How ridiculous is it that my iPod can get to the pdf but Internet Explorer cannot?)
Gary Teter wrote:
The second link works for me using Windows XP/IE7. The first link spits out the same error seen elsewhere. I tried disabling the pdf link helper for IE that installs with Acrobat Reader 9, but I still get the same error after disabling it. Both links work on linux and windows with Firefox, as well as with Safari on my iPod touch.
I've seen this message before, although it's usually when I search google for something on paizo and google directs me to https://paizo.com/~yadayadayada (while security is nice, it isn't really needed if I just want a messageboard post). It looks like the security certificate on the site is only for https://secure.paizo.com - but clearly the url above is just https://paizo.com. I think the same thing is happening with the id card (I had the same problem when I just tried to download it). I was able to add a security exception, which allowed me to download the pdfs. If you don't want to do that (even temporarily), you can copy the link to your card and remove the 's' from https--I was able to download my card that way as well. Any other fixes will have to come from the fine tech folks. My system info, if needed:
Spoiler: (I'm running Firefox 3.0.5 with a few add-ons on Ubuntu 8.10.)
Dryder wrote: I loved the "Volo's Guide to XXX" books for the Forgotten Realms. Such a thing for Golarion would be too cool not to have. As well as some "real" PF-Chronicles... Seconded! The Volo's Guide to... series are still some of my favorite books, and among only a handful of previous edition books that I still actively flip through. Heck, even some "genuine" Pathfinder chapbooks (embellished bootlegs or not) would rock! Although I guess this would be more for the Golarion Pathfinder than the PathfinderRPG.
James Jacobs wrote:
I'm glad to know there's a strategy beyond the wishlist of monsters, awesome as many of them are. Coupled with the other posts you all have made about MM2 (and on), I'm really, really looking forward to seeing all these wonderful monsters! Speaking of, I guess this means we're not going to see ManBearPig until Bestiary II? That's cool, I can wait.
This is a bit off-topic from the undead discussion going on now, but I hope there are at least a couple of high level monsters in there or plans to include such creatures in future Bestiaries. In a world of 20 level characters, it seems like there should be more than just extraplanar creatures to battle above level 14 or so.
I think a lot of people would love to continue their adventures and, more importantly, their characters past level 20. The problem with the 3.x epic rules seems to be similar to the problem with 3.x psionics--the whole project seems to have been created in a vacuum. In the games I've played and gm'd, the real slog has been to even approach level 20. It's been widely stated elsewhere, but a lot of adventures tend to peter out around the mid teens. If PathfinderRPG can improve the upper "quarter" of character advancement, I really think that there will be an increased demand for adventuring beyond level 20. Looking back, my plays through the Baldur's Gate trilogy were the only time I've had fun playing high level characters. I think part of that is I didn't have to worry about the math, but a larger part was the truly epic story. Outside of that game, I really can't think of much published material that really outlines a good epic adventure, certainly nothing that has caught my eye. It's tough--dancing with the gods is not everyone's cup of tea, nor is riding tarrasques across the planes in hunt of some crazy uberlich. Mechanically, I'd just like to see something that makes sense with what levels 1-20 bring to the table, and I'd hope it won't require a CPA to be able to play at a reasonably pace. Conceptually, I'd like epic rules (and the handbook) to have scope. Aside from just the basic rules, maybe it could include advice on what characters can do, from running a kingdom to plane walking. Since there aren't going to be (m)any books to support epic play, any sort of help and guidance in the book would be great outside of just basic mechanics.
I kind of agree with what's been said above. What really turns me off is the perceived separation of magic from psionics. Part of the problem is that psionics have been an add-on to the game, and you don't want to spend half your psionics book talking about how telepathy and telekinesis affect your plain jane wizard or barbarian. Additionally, the few times I've seen psionics played, it seemed unbalanced as the next splatbook. I believe I've read somewhere that psionics are speculated to be active on either Castrovel the green and Akiton the red (ie, Golarion's celestial neighbors). I really wouldn't mind that from a Pathfinder/Golarion standpoint, but I don't know that I would want even a whole adventure path dealing with crazy psionic insanity. (Hey, you guys can prove me wrong!) Would I buy a PathfinderRPG book on psionics? I would buy it if one of the major project goals was to achieve balance with the PathfinderRPG core book, and if it received a fair amount of playtesting (public or otherwise). Skimming through my library, I don't think rebuilding psionics would affect my 3.x library much (if at all), so backward compatibility for psionics is frankly not an issue for me. If you want the book to see use in my group, create a psionic book that's integrated, balanced, and tested with the PathfinderRPG core, and make a book that maintains the high quality that I've seen in Paizo's other products.
I would really like to thank the judges for commenting on this thread and elsewhere on the RPG Superstar forums. Your comments on last year's "bad item thread" helped me avoid a few mistakes I made with the early items I chose not to submit. I'm not exactly holding my breath at this point--I picked out a few things on my submitted item from this year's list. Still, all this great advice will help out my magic item creation skills for my home campaign.
The only thing more exciting than this book is the possibility of more Malhavoc/Paizo teamups to come. (I know, I know. Monte says maybe, but I can hope!)
I recently dumped Vista to the curb in favor of Ubuntu, and I've seen the infamous missing A in Paizo's pdfs. After some searching, it looks like the problem is with freetype and not poppler. I have not tested the development version of freetype myself, but here are the details:
While I understand the feeling that there are a lot of subscriptions (certainly my wallet is feeling it), the ability to *own* a paper copy and *use* the pdf copy is awesome for me, and I'll sign up for the PFRPG Rulebook Subscription as soon as it is available. (Gotta keep up that Superscriber tag, after all.) Also, I'm soooo excited for this book!
Vic Wertz wrote: Planet Stories books come from a different printer, so Hounds of Skaith isn't in same shipping container as the other stuff. So, we have PF 15, D4, Elves of Golarion and Gods and Magic scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but Hounds of Skaith isn't expected until the last days of the month. Thus, if you're a Planet Stories subscriber holding for a monthly shipment, or holding for Planet Stories, your shipment won't be going out just yet. (emphasis mine) That makes me a sad panda, even if it does give me another week or two to get caught up on my non-Paizo reading. Elsewhere on the forums it was stated that the Pathfinder products will eventually shift to a start of the month schedule--will this also be true for Planet Stories?
Quandary wrote: molrak: do you then oppose the sorceror bloodline granting a class skill at 1st level? I don't have a problem with making class skills for bloodline skills or hypothetical domain skills at level one. Were it my decision, I would not give bonus skill points at level 1. However, I can certainly understand why it would make sense to do so, and I agree with your line of reasoning. Regardless of its exact makeup, I hope some version of this makes it in too!
Aside from the level 1 dipping problem with giving away skill points at that level, there are two other reasons I would not give skills so early (although I would make the new skills class skills if there were not already). First, players with trained class skills in PfRPG add +3 to their rolls--so a cleric could effectively gain +4 to a skill by taking a single point in it. That's a lot of skill as is, without a huge investment necessary. While clerics don't have a lot of skill points to go around, I'd imagine most PCs would have at least a +1 modifier for their intelligence since spellcraft is now the concentration check. I don't think that sacrificing a few skill points early on to be proficient in one's domain skills is too much to ask. Second, I think this new found knowledge would fit in well with how divine casters gain new spells. Basically the Beta says that divine spells at new levels are gained by undertaking a certain amount of study (pg169). It makes sense that during this divine magic study, they would also become a little more skilled in their domains. I do agree that clerics would lose these divine skill points if they venture too off their holy path.
I was intentionally vague about how much of a bonus clerics should get, although I don't think my original suggestion was too far off: at +2 skill points per domain per 5 levels, that would equate to a total of +8 each at level 20. That seems a little heavy at first, but +16 skill points across 20 levels would equate to less than a bonus skill per level (effectively the cleric would gain 2.8 skills per level + int modifier). As for balance issues, acrobatics, climb, disable device, escape artist, fly, ride, sleight of hand, stealth, and swim all have armor check penalties, and I don't often see many clerics in light armor, let alone no armor. Reasonably equipped 10th level clerics with domains skills affected by AC penalties would be around break even for those skills, which doesn't seem too far off to me.
Adding a class skill per domain would be wonderful, ala the bloodline class skill for Sorcerers in the Beta. But as others have noted, most clerics I've played and played alongside don't have a lot of skills points to spread around. My first instinct was just to give a bonus when domains were declared, aka at first cleric level, sort of following the skill synergy mechanic. However, that could encourage a player to pick up cheap skill points with a single level of cleric. Adding a domain skill bonus at levels levels 5/10/15/20 would be another incentive to keep plugging along as a cleric without breaking the game (hopefully), and it could fill "holes" in the cleric's special column at levels 5/10/15.
I really like the idea of giving clerics skills based on their domain, maybe modeling it after the skill synergy mechanic in 3.5. Make it/them a class skill at first level taken, then add a skill bonus in the cleric's special column (perhaps +2 per 5 levels?). The reason I would prefer to attach it to domains rather than deities (which was my first thought) is that the domains should be OGL--I believe deities are not open gaming content.
I agree with a lot of the above attributes for a good GM, but one skill I didn't see listed that any good gm needs is basic math skills. I've been stuck in games where I saw the gm counting on his fingers, and let's just say it makes for really long games. Failing the ability to basic math quickly in your head, use a calculator!
It had its ups and downs, the biggest problems were the bugs still lingering behind. There is a fan restoration project to add stuff back into the pc game that was cut (at http://www.team-gizka.org/), but it hasn't been released publicly and the site is laden with spoilers. I've kept my install around in the hopes that they'll release it one day and create a more satisfying experience, as the end was the biggest disappoint in the game for me. Bugs aside, I enjoyed the game. It could prove interesting to see how the BioWare/LucasArts KotOR MMO relates to the first two games.
The problem with gleemax is that they were trying to be a niche facebook/myspace/livejournal/wordpress, when they should have just tried to be a niche meetup.com (at most). Most teens to twenty somethings (and on up) have more than enough social networking at this point, the last thing I would want is yet another thing to keep track of. Frankly, a Facebook (or other platform) app would be fine for me, although it would expose one's gaming tendencies to your non-gaming friends. Then again, I don't know what the point of gleemax was at any point, nor do I know what the point of a WotC social app would be. Ideally it would be a way let your freak nerd flag fly, maybe with trophies or something. *shrugs*
James Jacobs wrote:
This jogged a memory of some news I read earlier this summer, that Google, in conjunction with CMU, Project Gutenberg and PG's Distributed Proofreaders, created a searchable list of copyright renewals for the United States. You can read more about it yourself at the Inside Google Book Search blog. The short version is that a lot of copyrighted content was not renewed from 1923-1978, and thus would fall under the public domain now. Lovecraft's work has been under a lot of 'who owns what' controversy. So I decided to download the good work from the Google, and after sifting through the 300mb(+) xml file, I found 11 titles with Lovecraft listed as an author. Some of them seem to be compilations of previous/shorter work, although I am by no means an expert on Lovecraft. As I understand it, anything not listed as renewed is public domain material in the United States. (Per the wiki article, the EU copyright length is just 70 years after death, so any work published during his lifetime is public domain now. It varies in other territories, many nations having a 50 years after publication/death term.) For those interested, these were the titles that were renewed and thus may be under copyright still:
Gary Teter wrote: Maybe we need a non-game-system-specific forum for talking about gaming in general.... As a relatively new GM, I've had a few thoughts that I couldn't fit into a category as they exist now (like designing gaming tables) that would work a lot better in a general gaming advice forum. So this is one vote for a general gaming forum.
I'm more a lurker than a poster on most rpg forums (and forums in general). In my casual observation, the increase in Paizo bashing is more an indicator of Paizo's increasing popularity in the rpg community than a dissatisfaction with Paizo's product. Paizo's ENnie nominations should be proof positive that they're doing *something* right in their first year of Pathfinder. As for the Pathfinder RPG, I wonder how many people have actually played the Alpha rules, and how many just flipped through the pdf looking for something to dislike. (For that matter, I would not be surprised if many of them have never even looked at the pdfs.) I find some irony that 4e fans would bash PfRPG, as there was no truly open playtest at all for 4e. I guess it's easy to forget that the PathfinderRPG is still a work in progress. But this is the internets, if we can't complain about pointless things without cause or reason, what else would we do?
James Jacobs wrote: The fiction line decisions are still being made, though, so anything's possible! Maybe I've just been on the Paizo rumormill slowboat, but this is the first that I have heard that decisions *are* being made in the fiction line, apart from the nebulous "We'll get to it some day." Good news indeed.
I've been listening to a podcast called You Look Nice Today, pretty much on a continuous loop for the last month or so. To say it is bizarrely hilarious would be an understatement in my estimation. I found out about it because one of the ... performers?... is Merlin Mann, of MacBreak Weekly and general GTD fame. I've also been watching (er, at least listening while I browse to) Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Pathfinder isn't DnD to me--the consistent high production values (art, writing, editing) and, most importantly, the amount of fun I have playing Pathfinder far exceeds the standards TSR/WotC traditionally set. These values are amplified in the Pathfinder RPG project thus far, especially the level of community involvement in the creation process.
Guh, I'm an idiot, some of those were honorable mentions. (Also, totally posted this in the wrong forum.) Here's the correct list:
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