Pathfinder Legends—Rise of the Runelords #1: Burnt Offerings

Now available for preorder! Digital versions and subscription information will be forthcoming.

Can't wait, just wish there wasn't 2 months in between each one!

Yeah, I just started running ROTRL last weekend ... This would be handy and fun prep!

I can honestly say I've never listened to or purchased an audio book. Ever. But this will soon change. I never thought I'd see the day where an audio product (not counting actual music, obviously) would fill me with anticipation.

Bravo Paizo, yet again. Another first for me. First the minis (never collected them before other than my Games Workshop stuff, but never bothered to for TTRPGs), then the adventure card game (never bought or played an RPG card game before), and now this. You guys keep going at this rate and I'm not sure how many "cherries" I'm going to have left.

Big Finish is incredible - they've produced some outstanding Doctor Who dramas, going so far as to get the likes of Tom Baker and Paul McGann on board.

Oh 8th Doctor, you may never had stood a chance with that made-for-tv-Fox movie, but you were still fantastic in the audio dramas <3

This intrigues me....Though to be honest, between it being only an hour (Is it possible to fit a drama of the entire events of an AP module into an hour?) and the price being 3/4 of an AP anyway, I'm not likely to buy. Will pay attention to. Stunning reviews may change opinion.

Yeah, that’s my concern, too: if this were a movie, rather than audio-only, I’d be worried about doing justice to all of Burnt Offerings in *two* hours of screen-time.
That said, I’m cautiously optimistic, so I’ll wait and see what happens.

I'm also a little concerned about the run time but I'm sure big finish knows what there doing. When I subscribed on their website they had a release date of 2/28 and here on the blog it says expected in march, did this get pushed back again?

I had a good deal of interest in this production, but seeing that it is only a 1 hour run time does make it seem far, far too short for the price. As much as I like Pathfinder I can't see myself spending half the price of an audiobook or more for less than 1/10th the content of most audiobooks. Are the other 5 parts going to be equally short?

As a comparison, the shortest audiobook in my library (The Gunslinger by Stephen King), is 7 hours and 54 minutes long and cost $2 less than this. I don't know anything about radio dramas compared to audiobooks, is it common for 6 hours of programming to run almost $100? I was very much looking forward to having this, I listen to audiobooks all the time, but at the moment even if it gets fantastic reviews I can't see myself getting it.

I had a good deal of interest in this production, but seeing that it is only a 1 hour run time does make it seem far, far too short for the price. As much as I like Pathfinder I can't see myself spending half the price of an audiobook or more for less than 1/10th the content of most audiobooks. Are the other 5 parts going to be equally short?

As a comparison, the shortest audiobook in my library (The Gunslinger by Stephen King), is 7 hours and 54 minutes long and cost $2 less than this. I don't know anything about radio dramas compared to audiobooks, is it common for 6 hours of programming to run almost $100? I was very much looking forward to having this, I listen to audiobooks all the time, but at the moment even if it gets fantastic reviews I can't see myself getting it.

The fourth book is also available for preorder I think and it is also 1 hour in length.

Interesting project, but I can't see picking this up. Even the download-only on the Big Finish site is $12.99, and I still consider that too much to pay for an hour-long audio drama. Best of luck though.

Also:

There's a trailer for episode one to download, for those interested.

Also:

Steve Geddes wrote:

There's a trailer for episode one to download, for those interested.

Hmmm...I'm...the trailer doesn't impress me.

I had a good deal of interest in this production, but seeing that it is only a 1 hour run time does make it seem far, far too short for the price. As much as I like Pathfinder I can't see myself spending half the price of an audiobook or more for less than 1/10th the content of most audiobooks. Are the other 5 parts going to be equally short?

As a comparison, the shortest audiobook in my library (The Gunslinger by Stephen King), is 7 hours and 54 minutes long and cost $2 less than this. I don't know anything about radio dramas compared to audiobooks, is it common for 6 hours of programming to run almost $100? I was very much looking forward to having this, I listen to audiobooks all the time, but at the moment even if it gets fantastic reviews I can't see myself getting it.

It is expensive, which is one of the complaints made over at Big Finish Production's own forum, usually for them each episode is apparently 2 hours long rather than this, I am hoping this will be awesome enough to make up for that (and the many many delays).

Does anybody knows if we get the written transcript of the audio drama as well? I am not a native English speaker, and it would be easier for me to read while I listen to it!

Tirisfal wrote:

Also:

Steve Geddes wrote:

There's a trailer for episode one to download, for those interested.

Hmmm...I'm...the trailer doesn't impress me.

No, me neither.

As someone who listens to a lot of radio dramas (good ol' BBC Radio 4) and especially enjoys the more fantastic of them the trailer was not what I was expecting.

However, there are some promising signs: very clear distinctions between voices to establish separate characters (vital in an emsemble piece).

The trouble is that it felt, music, voice-acting and all, like the kind of thing non-fantasy fans imagine when they think of fantasy. If that makes any sense.

I'm actually more confused about the sudden change in gender ratio? Why not Seoni instead of Ezren? I love them both, but I'd prefer a more balanced cast.

I was kinda hoping we'd get Kyra and/or Seoni as well.

I am also a bit surprised at the character changes. Why not have the featured iconics?

Why only four Iconics? And no Cleric in your party?

I don't think I would like to play the Runelord campaign with only a wizard/fighter/ranger/rogue party.

I'm guessing because the people who made this are not fantasy fans. This party is basically "you've seen that Lord of the Rings film, like that but no little ones".

The wizard will probably cast very few spells but read things and be the clever one.

I'm guessing because the people who made this are not fantasy fans. This party is basically "you've seen that Lord of the Rings film, like that but no little ones".

The wizard will probably cast very few spells but read things and be the clever one.

That....makes a surprising amount of sense.

While I'll wait and see the reviews for the final product before throwing my opinion in the ring (though I'll more than likely still buy it to hear it for myself), my optimism is slightly dimmed by all these comments. Normally, I tend not to be too cautious of a product based on comments alone, but I have absolutely no experience with audio dramas (for example, I didn't realize the hour run-time wasn't standard for Big Finish or price appropriate), and those who are much more experienced with these products all seem wary. Hmmmm, here's hoping I suppose. :(

P.S. On another note to you Brits, BBC Radio has regular old-school audio dramas? That's awesome! Slightly jealous. (:

I think it is good to be cautious, but then they do have a good track record with Dr. Who so they can handle extraordinary/magic stuff.

Block Knight, yep, we do get audio-dramas. We have a radio station which has zero-music but is not 'talk-radio' in the sense of phone-ins and disc-jockeys. Instead you get a lot of news radio, plus comedy (usually topical satire), two books a week ('book of the week' and 'book at bedtime') and a weekday audio dramas ('Afternoon Drama'). Plus a lot of topical half-hour shows (Gardener's Question Time; The Film Programme; The Media Show; Thinking Allowed, which is social sciences; All In The Mind, psychology; In Our Time, cultural history; The Food Programme)

This Friday we had the first part of a Torchwood audio drama.

This is Radio 4 but you can often find the dramas on iTunes or Audible.com if you come across one that takes your fancy. I recommend 'Pilgrim'. They're excellent gothic fantasies.

All of the BBC Radio stuff is free to stream (live and for a week after) in the UK, I don't know about the rest of the world.

And, as this is the BBC, no adverts.

Tirisfal wrote:

Also:

Steve Geddes wrote:

There's a trailer for episode one to download, for those interested.

Hmmm...I'm...the trailer doesn't impress me.

.

I like the trailer. The switch to Harsk is probably a character development decision. I like the idea of several races. If Kyra is included we get three humans...boring. I can deal with specific choices in voices and styles. I love the noise. If I could do anything for my own game night I'd hire a three person GM team: a male, a female, and a sound person. The dynamic of conversations and situations would deepen dramatically. The performance I sampled has that depth I wish I could create at our table. The specifics will have to pile up negatives before the general feel is offset. I eagerly await.

From the original announcement I vaguely remember a subscription mentioned. Is there still going to be one?

Any update on when this will be out. I checked the big finish website just now and its still showing a march release. As a subscriber on the big finish site will I get contacted when its released and ready to download?

I too am surprised at such a short running time for the money. I have a number if other audio books (Lord of the Rings, DragonLance, all the Harry Potter books) and I also check out many audio books from my library. They are all much longer than 1 hour.

I really want to like these, but ... $15 for only a single hour long audio book? It feels like we're all missing something here ...

$15 for an hour does seem steep. I may be spoiled because the likes of "The Thrilling Adventure Hour" are absolutely free and hugely entertaining.

I'd be willing to pay $15 for 2 hours.

Will this only be published via CD? Are there any plans for marketing these as direct audio files--through itunes or Audible.com?

Well... I had been rather excited by this when I'd first heard of Big Finish doing this project.

Unfortunately, after listening to the trailer, I am much less enthusiastic.

Hopefully the finished product will be better than the trailer indicates. However, based on the trailer, I can think of a few free dramatic podcasts that I'd rather listen to. (e.g. Welcome to Night Vale.)

I am also very disappointed that the character lineup doesn't include Kyra or Seoni.

So... I am going to take a "wait and see" on this one. If the reviews are outstanding, I may pick it up and check it out for myself. If not... I'll probably by a Campaign Setting PDF instead.

Will this only be published via CD? Are there any plans for marketing these as direct audio files--through itunes or Audible.com?

Pretty sure this will be downloadable from big finishes website.

To those asking why no Kyra or Seoni, I posed that very question to James Jacobs in his epic thread of epicness. His response was that it boiled down to the actor's stable that Big Finish uses. Fewer women than men means fewer female iconics to male iconics in this first one.

Color me cautiously optimistic, since Paizo almost never steers me wrong, and I've heard good things about Big Finish.

I appreciate that folks are mixing in some "cautious" with their optimism regarding the audio dramas, but as I have heard the whole episode and have been working with Big Finish on the first five scripts (so far), I wanted to pop in and encourage you to keep an open mind about this product line.

For starters, these are NOT audiobooks. Big Finish has produced full-cast audio adventures, with music, sound effects, and a large cast including four regular characters and numerous supporting roles and bit players. While of course everyone will need to decide if the asking price makes sense to them, comparing Pathfinder Legends to an audiobook isn't really a fair comparison. These are not audiobooks.

The cast has been reduced from six to four due primarily to Big Finish's experience with more than 200 Doctor Who audio dramas that it's difficult for listeners to follow the storyline when there are so many characters fighting for screen time. Even making sure that six characters each have "character moments" means that much of the plot could get crowded out. Don't worry too much if your favorite character is not featured in this series. The plan is to produce additional adventures that will feature some different characters, too.

I don't think there's much rhyme or reason to the gender balance of the party. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with Big Finish having more male actors available than female actors. They have access to hundreds of top-talent voice actors, and all of the folks working on the Burnt Offerings audios are great.

The actors portraying Harsk and Ezren, for example, are _wonderful_. Those voices "are' the voices of those characters in my mind, now, so when I'm reading a line from a Pathfinder Comics script or an upcoming Big Finish drama, their voices are the ones I hear in my head. They really do a good job to add to the iconic characters.

As you might imagine, given the running time a lot of the minor elements of the story of the Adventure Path have been condensed or cut out entirely. Big Finish has used the modules as a basis, and then produced an _adaptation_ of the material. Everything in the audios will be familiar to folks who really know Rise of the Runelords, but folks expecting the equivalent of a "shot-for-shot" remake of the Adventure Path are likely to be disappointed.

But folks who keep and open mind, who are interested in the characterizations of the iconic characters, and who are eager to hear the Pathfinder world come alive are going to find A LOT to like about the audio dramas.

Big Finish has done a terrific job.

Subscriptions are coming, by the way. The tech team needed to roll the site with a lot of other features first, and setting up the subscription is high on their to-do list.

Thanks, erik. Keen to try something new. You guys have so far got me hooked on comics, novels, card games and (hopefully) these....what's next? :)

I've subscribed to Big Finish audios in the past, both on their main Dr Who range and on other series. They are hugely experienced and are more than capable of turning out top quality audio drama, as Erik says. I'd concur that you can't really compare an audio play with all the voice talent, music, sound effects etc and a recording of someone reading a book, which can easily take 8 or 9 hours. The price point is a little on the expensive side, but it's certainly in keeping with their product line overall.

Having said that... generally speaking, the most successful of Big Finish's audios are the two disc ones, an hour and a half to two hours. I find they often struggle to achieve the same level of storytelling on the one disc, one hour stories. In those instances though, it's usually a factor of what the source material demands. I'm currently listening to season 4 of their Jago and Litefoot series, and have found the previous three seasons - each consisting of four one hour stories - to be magnificent; tightly plotted, great acting and excellent direction and production. They have had many successful productions across a range of genres, so I'd be very hesitant to label them 'not fantasy fans.' So I'd also echo Erik, and urge folks to keep an open mind - they are more than capable of producing something of the highest quality. Whether they will or not, or whether other constraints will undermine it, remains to be seen. I'd love to know how this range came about though, who approached who, and what the decision not to produce it as a two disc range was based upon (I'm guessing cost and uncertainty about the saleability).

Oh, and all of their products are generally available for download as well as in physical form.

Thanks, erik. Keen to try something new. You guys have so far got me hooked on comics, novels, card games and (hopefully) these....what's next? :)

New next year!

Pathfinder: The Cocaine!

New next year!

Pathfinder: The Cocaine!

Well, it *has* been said recently that we might be on drugs...

Erik, thanks for the explanation. This certainly helps me understand things a little better.

Digital downloads will be available on paizo.com ($12.99) and BigFinish.com (£8.99).

They have had many successful productions across a range of genres, so I'd be very hesitant to label them 'not fantasy fans.'

Upon reading the first script, it was immediately very clear to me that Mark Wright, the writer for this episode, is very much a fantasy fan—and even more specifically, he "gets" Pathfinder.

I'd love to know how this range came about though, who approached who, and what the decision not to produce it as a two disc range was based upon (I'm guessing cost and uncertainty about the saleability).

Big Finish approached us. As a Doctor Who fan and collector, I'm a regular customer at Who North America, and at Gen Con 2012, WhoNA had brought in Big Finish executive producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nick Briggs—also the voice of the daleks, don't ya know—as special guests, and Jason asked WhoNA's Keith Bradbury to introduce him to me at the show. Jason, Lisa, Erik and I spent several hours talking that weekend, and it was pretty much immediately clear that both Big Finish and Paizo were very interested in making this happen.

I'd really hoped for these to be two-disc sets, but Big Finish—the ones taking the most risk here—really wanted to make sure that our audience is interested before they committed to 12 CDs. I'm hopeful that if sales are good, they'll consider doubling up in the future. That said, I've been really impressed with how much they manage to pack in to each disc.

I've heard Burnt Offerings in fully finished form, and will be hearing The Skinsaw Murders soon; we've already had in scripts for 3, 4, and 5, and seen the outline for 6, and I have to say that I'm very happy with how it's turning out.

To those asking why no Kyra or Seoni, I posed that very question to James Jacobs in his epic thread of epicness. His response was that it boiled down to the actor's stable that Big Finish uses. Fewer women than men means fewer female iconics to male iconics in this first one.

Color me cautiously optimistic, since Paizo almost never steers me wrong, and I've heard good things about Big Finish.

James wasn't in on that discussion, but I was. As Erik mentioned, Big Finish wanted a primary cast of 4.

Keep in mind that our 6 iconics for Rise of the Runelords were Valeros, Seoni, Merisiel, Kyra, Ezren, and Harsk, so we wanted them to draw from that pool.

Ezren was probably the first obvious choice, as he's able to explain all the setting-specific stuff to the party (and thus to the listeners). And since he fills the spellcaster role, that reduces the utility of Seoni and Kyra in a dramatic sense, which leaves us with our four. Not to say Valeros, Merisiel, and Harsk were automatically locks at that point—they each had other things going for them. Merisiel gets to bring both "female" and "elf" to the party; Harsk being a dwarf makes for great audio, and Valeros's personality makes him an excellent choice (especially for a storyline featuring an episode entitled "Sins of the Saviors").

I appreciate that folks are mixing in some "cautious" with their optimism regarding the audio dramas, but as I have heard the whole episode and have been working with Big Finish on the first five scripts (so far), I wanted to pop in and encourage you to keep an open mind about this product line.

For starters, these are NOT audiobooks. Big Finish has produced full-cast audio adventures, with music, sound effects, and a large cast including four regular characters and numerous supporting roles and bit players. While of course everyone will need to decide if the asking price makes sense to them, comparing Pathfinder Legends to an audiobook isn't really a fair comparison. These are not audiobooks.

The cast has been reduced from six to four due primarily to Big Finish's experience with more than 200 Doctor Who audio dramas that it's difficult for listeners to follow the storyline when there are so many characters fighting for screen time. Even making sure that six characters each have "character moments" means that much of the plot could get crowded out. Don't worry too much if your favorite character is not featured in this series. The plan is to produce additional adventures that will feature some different characters, too.

I don't think there's much rhyme or reason to the gender balance of the party. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with Big Finish having more male actors available than female actors. They have access to hundreds of top-talent voice actors, and all of the folks working on the Burnt Offerings audios are great.

The actors portraying Harsk and Ezren, for example, are _wonderful_. Those voices "are' the voices of those characters in my mind, now, so when I'm reading a line from a Pathfinder Comics script or an upcoming Big Finish drama, their voices are the ones I hear in my head. They really do a good job to add to the iconic characters.

As you might imagine, given the running time a lot of the minor elements of the story of the Adventure Path have been condensed or cut out...

Hey Erik,

I am trying to keep an open mind about this product and have subscribed on the Big Finish end of things but the one issue I have is the hour run time. Was there a reason they decided on that length? My concern is that to much would have to get cut from a great adventure to fit in that time? Seeing how you have listened to this did the adventure feel rushed/to condensed? Would there be any possibility to get this pushed out to an hour and a half or 2 hours?

Hey Erik,

I am trying to keep an open mind about this product and have subscribed on the Big Finish end of things but the one issue I have is the hour run time. Was there a reason they decided on that length? My concern is that to much would have to get cut from a great adventure to fit in that time? Seeing how you have listened to this did the adventure feel rushed/to condensed? Would there be any possibility to get this pushed out to an hour and a half or 2 hours?

I suggest you read Vic's 2 posts prior to yours for an explanation to your very question, as well as further insight.

Any more information on when the digital download will be available here?

Also what is the plan for the DRM on the digital file? Will it be restricted to playing on the computer you download this on, or can I put this on my my non internet connected iPod and listen to it in the car?

Just trying to figure out if I need to buy the cd or if I can get digital download which I would greatly prefer.

When can I get a digital copy?

Big Finish has a cast list on their site for the first volume, so you can get an idea of what secondary characters are involved...

That can't be a full cast list, as there are no goblins. We heard goblins in the teaser didn't we?