Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: GameMastery Guide (OGL)

I know this has been asked before, but I found the replies rather unsatisfactory.

What are this book's main selling points for someone who has both the DMG and DMG2? The product summary covers what seems to be just more of the same, and I don't really care if it has "more" content if "more" content just means that it has some new stuff and the rest is just an updated version of the previous two books' tips and advice. I am also unimpressed by the touted number of tables, as it kinda screams "filler" to me, with the manifold random X generators available out there.

Don't get me wrong: Pathfinder RPG is one of the best things that has happened to this business in a long while, and I really want to support the product. I jumped aboard because it would enable me to make use of my considerable 3.X library without having to buy everything all over again except for the Core Rulebook itself, but this sounds just like the type of overlap I *didn't* want PF to be...

I'd recommend you listen to the latest episode of Know Direction. In that episode, F gives a rather comprehensive description of what the book's about.

I'm really curious where you have Pathfinder haunt and city statblock rules "covered before, some of them twice". Because as far as I know, both of those will be introduced in GMG.

haunt and chase rules are both from the APs. I would imagine there will be more detail though.

I can see viriatoe's point though, and the book won't suit everyone. This isn't a DMG, it's a different beast and some people will want to wait and see.

The random tables might be neat, though.

That's the section Richard Pett and I worked on. I think we turned in something like 120 to 130 pages worth of lists and tables (and nearly 40,000 words).

Wes told us to make these lists useful for both beginners and old hands at running games so there's quite a range of stuff in them. I don't know if I should get too specific before the book actually comes to light but there's some really fun stuff in it.

I'd recommend you listen to the latest episode of Know Direction. In that episode, F gives a rather comprehensive description of what the book's about.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Viriato wrote:

I want to be sold on Pathfinder rulebooks, I really do, but from what is presently known, there's nothing in this book that would lead me to preorder it. Guess I'll be waiting to know exactly what "AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!" is...

For that I can only suggest keeping an eye on, and looking though, the Paizo blog as the release of the Gamemastery Guide gets closer. It might just reveal what you are looking for.

Yep—what he said. We've really only just started to reveal what's between the covers.

I can't wait to get my copy, have it pre-ordered. :)

quick question, I know that if we subscribe we get the pdf for free, but I was wondering if we get the free pdf if we preorder, (I personally am hoping it is a yes but doubting that will be the case.)

No, but you can pre-order by subscribing :)

quick question, I know that if we subscribe we get the pdf for free, but I was wondering if we get the free pdf if we preorder, (I personally am hoping it is a yes but doubting that will be the case.)

No but you can as mentioned subscribe and get the PDF for free and then if you really wanted to you could cancel afterwards if you didn't want the Advance Players guide which is the next book.

All of which have already been covered before, some of them twice, *and* in a fashion that's compatible with the current PF ruleset. I'm not saying it can't be done better, but that's the type of stuff one might expect in a rules conversion web enhancement, or the like. I am more than capable of getting my own fluff (not even intended to be a pun), so crunch is what I'm mostly after in a product like this, and thus far it doesn't look like I'll be gaining anything new from it.

Also, remember that part of what we are trying to do with the PFRPG is to keep rulebooks in print so that new players and GMs can have access to this information. We can't make any assumptions that all of our customers have all the 3.5 era books you mention. All of them are out of print and thus not available at retail stores. GMs with huge libraries to draw upon will find more overlap in our rulebooks, but after looking through the GMG this weekend, there is a LOT of stuff that I don't have in my 1,000 book collection. Whether this is enough of a difference for somebody who has a big library to make the new book worthwhile is a decision only you can make. But you will see a mix of new and old going forward as we bring back into print rules that we feel need to be in print for a vibrant game system.

-Lisa

but after looking through the GMG this weekend, there is a LOT of stuff that I don't have in my 1,000 book collection.

Dang, that's a lot of books!

Lisa Stevens wrote:

but after looking through the GMG this weekend, there is a LOT of stuff that I don't have in my 1,000 book collection.

Dang, that's a lot of books!

If only I could have afforded to keep all the books I've ever owned throughout my gaming life, an 1k collection would most likely be small compared to what has passed through my fingers.

Oh well, this book will have to make up for what I have squandered away out of necessity.

Stray thought but I wonder how well this will go to recreating aspects of SpellJammer using Pathfinder.

Stray thought but I wonder how well this will go to recreating aspects of SpellJammer using Pathfinder.

oddly enough I am working on doing just that, with a game I will be running this semester up at my University. there is a site that has space ship combat, and design rules for 3.0, and what I love about pathfinder is it doesn't take long to update everything. Still it would be nice if they did have rules for spelljammer in their as all i have from the site are basics for ship building and space combat.

Lisa Stevens wrote:

but after looking through the GMG this weekend, there is a LOT of stuff that I don't have in my 1,000 book collection.

Dang, that's a lot of books!

Sure is. I'm pretty sure she has me beat, though I've got so much stuff packed away and/or not entered into the computer that it's hard to tell.

If only I could have afforded to keep all the books I've ever owned throughout my gaming life, an 1k collection would most likely be small compared to what has passed through my fingers.

If you published RPG books for a living you'd probably have held onto them. =)

Me, I don't have an excuse for my shelves of books...

No but you can as mentioned subscribe and get the PDF for free and then if you really wanted to you could cancel afterwards if you didn't want the Advance Players guide which is the next book.

...except of course that you DO want the Advanced Player's Guide.

My question is will this book present more uses for skills? I've always been a proponent for the players to use their skills more often, but it can get tedious trying to be imaginative all the time and for a GM to come up with an on-the-spot ruling without giving it proper balance. I know my players tend to use their skills for whatever it published. (and WotC's 3.5e books and Dragon Magazine content have new skill uses placed randomly everywhere, had to put them together in one file).

An expansion on new skill uses, particularly with Craft, Profession, Knowledge, and Perform, is always welcome. Uses for Profession (herbalism) has always been a huge topic that needed expansion. Granted, I was happy to see Profession get real good use in DMG2 thanks to the "Running a Business" rules. I now have players willing to invest in Profession. One wants his wizard to run a chain of restaurants with Profession (cook), and another wants her character to eventually settle down and own her own tavern and brew her own alcohol, but would like for it to continue making money as she is out on adventures from time to time. I have another with Profession (gardener), too. I was glad to see Pathfinder RPG Corebook explain that the Profession skill can be used as a more specific use of the Knowledge skill, too.

I pre-ordered mine as well. But now that it's June, it would nice to know when it's going to be released. Are they waiting for the last second???

I pre-ordered mine as well. But now that it's June, it would nice to know when it's going to be released. Are they waiting for the last second???

Last second before what? Since it's the beginning of June, there are still four weeks in which it can be released and still fall within the estimated release date. They've said it will be available for subscribers to pick up at PaizoCon, and that's two weeks away, so chances are good it'll be out before then.

keltic1701 wrote:

I pre-ordered mine as well. But now that it's June, it would nice to know when it's going to be released. Are they waiting for the last second???

Last second before what? Since it's the beginning of June, there are still four weeks in which it can be released and still fall within the estimated release date. They've said it will be available for subscribers to pick up at PaizoCon, and that's two weeks away, so chances are good it'll be out before then.

From my reading of the PaizoCon pickup post, GMGs won't be shipping before the con...

From my reading of the PaizoCon pickup post, GMGs won't be shipping before the con...

:( *sad panda*

From my reading of the PaizoCon pickup post, GMGs won't be shipping before the con...

Actually the way I read it is that the June shipments are going to start shipping a week from today. And it should be all shipped before the Con, thus the requirement to select the pick up option by next Monday.

I pre-ordered mine as well. But now that it's June, it would nice to know when it's going to be released. Are they waiting for the last second???

What I have seen on subscription page has been mid-June. Also, Paizocon attendess can pick up their subscriptions there and that begins on the 18th. So, around Paizocon either just before or just after I would suspect.

keltic1701 wrote:

I pre-ordered mine as well. But now that it's June, it would nice to know when it's going to be released. Are they waiting for the last second???

What I have seen on subscription page has been mid-June. Also, Paizocon attendess can pick up their subscriptions there and that begins on the 18th. So, around Paizocon either just before or just after I would suspect.

Ah! I didn't check the subscription page. I was was only looking at the GMG page itself. It makes sense to release it on or around Paizocon. I just wish the would put that on the GMG page and not have to hunt around for it. Thanks for the heads-up. Now if I can only get Paizo to nail down a firm date for APG release! <grin>

Ah! I didn't check the subscription page. I was was only looking at the GMG page itself. It makes sense to release it on or around Paizocon. I just wish the would put that on the GMG page and not have to hunt around for it. Thanks for the heads-up. Now if I can only get Paizo to nail down a firm date for APG release! <grin>

On our product pages, we just put the month. Why? Because "release date" means different things to different people. Some people would be looking for the date we'll start shipping out preorders and subscriber copies, and other people would be looking for the date on which they should start looking in retail stores—and those dates tend to run two to three weeks apart. But we don't really have the room to explain all that on every product page, so we just put the month.

Our product schedule page, though, is geared towards subscribers and online purchasers, so we can afford to be a bit more specific, and tell you whether it will ship to subscribers in the early, middle, or late part of each month. (People looking for retail dates can just add half a month to those estimates.)

There are a number of reasons why we can't be more specific than early/middle/late. The big one is that, due to the vagaries of shipping and customs, we often don't know the exact date things are going to arrive until they actually arrive... and the other main one is that is takes several days to fulfill all subscriptions and preorders, so providing an exact date would be misleading anyway.

Now, one time per year, there's an exception to all this, and that's Gen Con. We knock ourselves out to make sure that we have our August products in hand so that we can debut them on the first day of Gen Con each year. So, barring catastrophe, the release date for the APG will be the first day of Gen Con Indy: August 5.

GMs with huge libraries to draw upon will find more overlap in our rulebooks, but after looking through the GMG this weekend, there is a LOT of stuff that I don't have in my 1,000 book collection. Whether this is enough of a difference for somebody who has a big library to make the new book worthwhile is a decision only you can make.

My point exactly, ms. Stevens, which is why I asked for a more precise answer as to what exactly I could expect concerning new content, as the product's description is necessarily vague in its spielishness. "And much, MUCH more" and "a LOT" doesn't really cover it. Even the interview Ravenmantle helpfully pointed me to doesn't really go much beyond "it has tables, lots of tables, tables about everything!" and merely elaborating on what the short product description already says. A superficial overview on the new stuff would be enough for me, but so far it just looks like lots of tables, a helping of common sense, and a couple of new rules or rehashed subsystems.

I guess I'll just have to wait for a detailed review before deciding whether or not the book is worth an investment. Thank you for your reply, nonetheless.

Here it is June... and it is not out whahawha!!! :)

Any news on the day it is coming out yet??

I'd check a few posts above yours. :)

Here it is June... and it is not out whahawha!!! :)

Any news on the day it is coming out yet??

Patience is a virtue.

Deanoth wrote:

Here it is June... and it is not out whahawha!!! :)

Any news on the day it is coming out yet??

Patience is a virtue.

BAH! I demand my copy *NOW* or else I'll curse all Paizo staffers with baldness!

I have pre ordered this in the Uk. 30th June according to Book Depository

Twin Agate Dragons wrote:

Deanoth wrote:

Here it is June... and it is not out whahawha!!! :)

Any news on the day it is coming out yet??

Patience is a virtue.

BAH! I demand my copy *NOW* or else I'll curse all Paizo staffers with baldness!

You mean they will all look like Sean???? OMG !!

-- david
Papa.DRB

Asgetrion wrote:

Twin Agate Dragons wrote:

Deanoth wrote:

Here it is June... and it is not out whahawha!!! :)

Any news on the day it is coming out yet??

Patience is a virtue.

BAH! I demand my copy *NOW* or else I'll curse all Paizo staffers with baldness!

You mean they will all look like Sean???? OMG !!

-- david
Papa.DRB

Hey, that's a great idea! I will polymorph everyone into SKR clones (without the 'Sunglasses of Extra-Coolness', though) -- brilliant! :P

Ohh gambling rules? Is that what I read on the description? I hope it's a good set of gambling rules, I always felt that was lacking in the game was a solid set of gambling mechanics. Especially since I have a few players who have PCs with Profession (gambling) ranks.

PDF available at 30th June! I can't wait! 8)

Aww at the end of the month? More like July LOL Lame.

Awwww what happened to mid-June :(

Wait.... what happened to the hardcover version? Why did it go from preorder to unavailable?

I really hope this doesn't affect me being able to pick up my copy at PaizoCon.......The burning desire for this book knows no bounds.

Er...it's still mid-June and my subscription page still says I can pick it up at PaizoCon. Not that I'm going to PaizoCon. So yeah, I'm sure they'll start shipping out subscription copies very soon.

Flying out to Seattle is not in the budget. I still need to call a hotel in Pittsburgh about my reservation for Anthrocon. This would be nice to read on the train. And this book sounds like it could help with my thoughts of running either SpellJammer or Dragonstar with Pathfinder.

Awwww what happened to mid-June :(

I know nothing and may be 100% wrong.... so don't sue me.

I'm pretty certain the June 30 date is the date it will be released for general purchase as a PDF. This has no bearing on the ship date / pdf availability date for subscribers.

Xen wrote:

Awwww what happened to mid-June :(

I know nothing and may be 100% wrong.... so don't sue me.

I'm pretty certain the June 30 date is the date it will be released for general purchase as a PDF. This has no bearing on the ship date / pdf availability date for subscribers.

And is in fact about two weeks after it ships from paizo.

Wait.... what happened to the hardcover version? Why did it go from preorder to unavailable?

Uh, its still preorder.

Jim Strebeck wrote:

Wait.... what happened to the hardcover version? Why did it go from preorder to unavailable?

Uh, its still preorder.

That is because it changed. It was unavailable for a day or two, at least.

And I just got my "in the next week or so..." e-mail.

And I just got my "in the next week or so..." e-mail.

Huzzah! That means their in the offices or will be soon! Shipping might start monday!

And I just got my "in the next week or so..." e-mail.

I just did as well. WOOT!!!

BryonD wrote:

And I just got my "in the next week or so..." e-mail.

Huzzah! That means their in the offices or will be soon! Shipping might start monday!

The "unavailable" status was the result of somebody flipping a switch that shouldn't have been flipped. We are indeed preparing to fulfill subscription copies and preorders starting next week.