Pathfinder Adventure: Malevolence

Honest question, if you have them in your warehouse already why do they need to stay there for another ~5 weeks before being shipped? Why not ship them now?

Honest question, if you have them in your warehouse already why do they need to stay there for another ~5 weeks before being shipped? Why not ship them now?

Because it takes time and money to get them all sorted and labelled and boxed and, and, and... Also they have a 4 day Con starting today.

Also that is the street date, they will begin processing preorders in another week and shipping a week after that.

Honest question, if you have them in your warehouse already why do they need to stay there for another ~5 weeks before being shipped? Why not ship them now?

Kelseus is kinda correct, in that we do have a process for releases and it isn't throw them out the door the minute they hit the dock.

We have a multi-tiered distribution system to interact with as well as our direct to customer fulfillment and short-circuiting the system doesn't help anyone. We are following the same processes that we always do, month in and month out, you just don't see it because it all occurs outside of the general paizo.com customer experience.

Why not ship them now?

Do you want it done fast or do you want it done right?

The old adage holds true: your options are cheap, fast, and good. Pick two.

The old adage holds true: your options are cheap, fast, and good. Pick two.

Maybe. If you're lucky.

Why is this listed in the new releases if it is being delayed again to July. Also could we get some sort of response from the Devs as to the nature of the delay of all this months Pathfinder products?

Why is this listed in the new releases if it is being delayed again to July. Also could we get some sort of response from the Devs as to the nature of the delay of all this months Pathfinder products?

Hello. Sorry for the delays. They come from extreme shipping delays and are addressed in the Customer Service threads. (The Devs have nothing to do with the delays). This Adventure is now targeted for July 7. Customer service is available to assist you via email and our forums. Thanks for your patience as we ship to our distributors, subscribers and individual customers.

Since June's scheduled to release on July 7th, does that mean there is no actual June release and a double release in July?

Since June's scheduled to release on July 7th, does that mean there is no actual June release and a double release in July?

I understand the release dates are now June 2, July 7, July 28, and August 25.

H2Osw wrote:

Since June's scheduled to release on July 7th, does that mean there is no actual June release and a double release in July?

I understand the release dates are now June 2, July 7, July 28, and August 25.

Thank you.

This comment isn't directed at this specific product, but it's a suggestion for all of the adventures:

The adventures list what level the characters will start at, but don't give any direct information about what level the characters are expected to be when the adventure ends. Would it be possible to include that information?

I understand it's not always cut and dry. Many/most PFS adventures aren't even a whole level. Depending on how the party calculates XP, how many encounters are played vs skipped, etc... all of those are variables. But certainly the adventure is designed with an idea of whether it is a 1-level adventure, 2, 3, 4 levels... All of the APs have a guide that indicates "you should be about this level by the end of the book," for example.

It would be very useful information, for me at least, to know how many levels (or fraction thereof) I should expect a product to serve me for. I typically GM with a mix of published and homebrew content, and it helps me plan ahead to know (or guess, at this point) about how long an adventure will be.

If this information is available somewhere, then my suggestion changes to "can this information be made more accessable? I can't find it.."

:)

An interesting suggestion—we could certainly say something like "An adventure for 3rd–6th level adventurers" pretty easily (which is the case here). I'll see what I can do to get that included going forward.

It'd be pretty cool, Modules like this one are actually really nice for slotting into a larger campaign for those of us that don't run APs, especially since its so location based, so having an explicit level range for it and being able to shop through them with that information in mind would be lovely.

This'll actually be my first real adventure from you guys! I'm eager to run it.

I saw the answer about no pregens (of course I'm already brainstorming some anyway), but couldn't find anything on custom backgrounds for the adventure. Do we know one way or the other?

I saw the answer about no pregens (of course I'm already brainstorming some anyway), but couldn't find anything on custom backgrounds for the adventure. Do we know one way or the other?

Have we ever seen an adventure with Backgrounds in 2e? Feels weird for something that doesn’t start at level 1 and isn’t an AP.

Matthew S wrote:

I saw the answer about no pregens (of course I'm already brainstorming some anyway), but couldn't find anything on custom backgrounds for the adventure. Do we know one way or the other?

Have we ever seen an adventure with Backgrounds in 2e? Feels weird for something that doesn’t start at level 1 and isn’t an AP.

To be fair, Malevolence would be the 3rd ever Standalone Adventure for 2E. Only other 2 we've had are Fall of Plaguestone and The Slithering. But no, The Slithering didn't have any backgrounds, and I doubt this one will have backgrounds either if it's starting from 3rd level.

EDIT: Technically 4th, since Troubles in Otari count too, even if it's more of a continuation from the Beginner Box.

Basically that's where I'm at; roughly even odds given other 2e adventures thus far, and it's mainly a question of whether or not there were going to be particularly thematic story hooks at play. I mean, 3rd level or not, the background is part of character generation.

I do not see any new backgrounds for Malevolence.

I appreciate you taking the time to check; thanks very much, Aaron.

Yeah, thanks for checking

We generally don't include backgrounds in standalone adventures, because the idea is that the PCs in those adventures are already existing and have backgrounds that were created for their ongoing campaign. If you're making new characters, then any backgrounds the GM approves are good to go.

That said, some of the adventure hooks for "Malevolence" do make some assumptions about some PC histories that the GM can use to work in to the story. These hooks don't work if you know about them before the adventure begins, and as such they make awful backgrounds for players to read and choose. But also, since they're not backgrounds, they're purely flavor and don't offer rules benefits.

A creative GM can, of course, always attach benefits.

James, thank you for the additional insight, both about standalone adventures generally and about this one in particular. I'm really looking forward to reading and running Malevolence - July can't come soon enough.

I am super looking forward to this one. Coming out in summer, this gives me ample time to find players and prep it by the time the days get shorter again.
And this being James Jacobs, I expect some hellish fun, mean NPCs and a lovely adventure experience for everyone *evilgrin*.

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Any player options hiding in this? I doubt it, but it’s nice to ask.

Any new baddies from a particular alien Dominion?

Anything super unexpected?

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Any player options hiding in this? I doubt it, but it’s nice to ask.

Any new baddies from a particular alien Dominion?

Anything super unexpected?

Player Options - Not really. A rare spell that afflicts the target with a supernatural disease. As well as the magic items that appear in the adventure.

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Id love to hear a little about the special research mechanic! My copy shipped but it was preorder not sub.

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Id love to hear a little about the special research mechanic! My copy shipped but it was preorder not sub.

It takes up 7+ pages, there's quite a lot there. Here's a tidbit:

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Any player options hiding in this? I doubt it, but it’s nice to ask.

Any new baddies from a particular alien Dominion?

Anything super unexpected?

There's also a ritual that's pretty fun and should give some folks some interesting things to think about!

keftiu wrote:

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Any player options hiding in this? I doubt it, but it’s nice to ask.

Any new baddies from a particular alien Dominion?

Anything super unexpected?

There's also a ritual that's pretty fun and should give some folks some interesting things to think about!

I see what you did there. :)

The-Magic-Sword wrote:

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Got my pdf copy. At work, so won’t have a chance to thumb through it till later, but if people have questions I’ll answer tonight.

Id love to hear a little about the special research mechanic! My copy shipped but it was preorder not sub.

It takes up 7+ pages, there's quite a lot there. Here's a tidbit: ** spoiler omitted **

Damn, 7 pages? Thats really cool, we'd heard about the dream bit, I wonder if it uses the research subsystems in the GMG at all.

It does, yes. Most of the 7 pages are various "libraries" (or more accurately topics) that can be researched.

Wonderful, I'm stoked to run this adventure, I'm gonna have to pick up the pdf when its available to yeet it into foundry as well.

Tomorrow! The PDF for Pathfinder: Malevolence will release on Wednesday at paizo.com.
Syrinscape's SuperSyrin and Pathfinder Subscribers will gain access to their Pathfinder: Malevolence SoundPack on Wednesday as well! Subscribe now and get all the immersive audio you'll need for this horror adventure on day 1!

still haven't received any of my pdfs as they haven't been shipped. I'm waiting on this, fist all 3 books and mwangi expanse. Will I be able to download those tomorrow if not shipped?

still haven't received any of my pdfs as they haven't been shipped. I'm waiting on this, fist all 3 books and mwangi expanse. Will I be able to download those tomorrow if not shipped?

I don't think so. Please contact Customer Service tomorrow if you have not received a notice.

Waiting until payday for this one… how are folks liking it?

I'm gonna play this one(hopefully) so I can't read it yet :'D

Waiting until payday for this one… how are folks liking it?

Very nice explore-and-research adventure, with lots of little creepy tidbits sprinkled throughout, giving it a very atmospheric and slow-burn kinda feel.

One of my favourites is

I need to give it a more indepth read.

keftiu wrote:

Waiting until payday for this one… how are folks liking it?

Very nice explore-and-research adventure, with lots of little creepy tidbits sprinkled throughout, giving it a very atmospheric and slow-burn kinda feel.

One of my favourites is ** spoiler omitted **

I need to give it a more indepth read.

Is there any good spooky

Rysky wrote:

keftiu wrote:

Waiting until payday for this one… how are folks liking it?

Very nice explore-and-research adventure, with lots of little creepy tidbits sprinkled throughout, giving it a very atmospheric and slow-burn kinda feel.

One of my favourites is ** spoiler omitted **

I need to give it a more indepth read.

Is there any good spooky ** spoiler omitted ** ?

There is indeed

Feel free to message me if ya want a more thorough breakdown or questions :3

...eagerly anticipates reviews with excitement and dread!

...eagerly anticipates reviews with excitement and dread!

I'd review if it not for fact I'm planning to play it first ;D So I can't read it until I've played it

...eagerly anticipates reviews with excitement and dread!

You've talked it up so much that I just had to buy it. Can't wait to dig into it

James Jacobs wrote:

...eagerly anticipates reviews with excitement and dread!

I'd review if it not for fact I'm planning to play it first ;D So I can't read it until I've played it

Fair enough... that's one of the frustrating part about writing adventures though, is that most of those who experience it will do so as a player, at which point if they DO eventually write a review, it's as much if not more a review of their GM.

In any event hope you enjoy it!

Had a chance to scan it. Pretty excited so far. Really looking forward to getting a chance to dig in.

CorvusMask wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

...eagerly anticipates reviews with excitement and dread!

I'd review if it not for fact I'm planning to play it first ;D So I can't read it until I've played it

Fair enough... that's one of the frustrating part about writing adventures though, is that most of those who experience it will do so as a player, at which point if they DO eventually write a review, it's as much if not more a review of their GM.

In any event hope you enjoy it!

I am aware of that, hence why if I review stuff I play, I only review them once I have read the adventure myself :D

(heck I might even wait until I've run it myself, but sometimes when I read adventure I'm hyped enough to review it right away)

Is there a strong story reason why this has to be in the geographical location it is? Or could I plop this haunted house down on the Isle of Kortos and still run it just fine?

You would have to do a lot of rewriting on multiple characters.

Not impossible, just a lot of work.