|
First, I have reviewed the upcoming Gamemastery materials. I am sure that they will be of the highest quality. They are being put together by Paizo afterall. However, I'm reluctant to buy into a chain of adventures, particularly because (a) at $12.99 a pop, that can get to be pretty costly over time, and (b) I'm already forking over $20 a month on Pathfinder. Add to that any other money going into gaming, and I seriously have to start gauging how to best allocate my resources.
That said, the one item that I have unquestioningly devoted financial resources to has been Dungeon. With WotC taking up the gauntlet on Dungeon, I must consider moving my resources over to them. Alas, given that WotC has said nothing about what it intends to do with Dungeon (or Dragon for that matter), except some wariness-inducing talk of a subscription that does not promote downloads and "take it with you" friendliness of use, I remain uncertain on this move even. (OT: It sounds like a mess over there. Check out the EN World Message board. They haven't even clarified whether Dragon will remain in a magazine format, or whether it'll be a pay-for-use web page with a conglomeration of stuff.)
BUT, if Paizo would put out a Dungeonesque monthly periodical - three adventures each month, I wouldn't care that it's OGL. I'd care that it's from Paizo and I TRUST Paizo's quality of workmanship. (I don't trust WotC's anymore.) And whether Paizo would make it as user-friendly as Pathfinder, i.e., book AND .pdf, you'd still have me.
Now, I understand that creating a new magazine is a mighty obstacle that Paizo would rather not take on.
Moreover, I understand that Pathfinder is going to consist of a solid adventure path in a new world that will contain both content for the DM to run the adventure and players to immerse themselves in the world. (The comparison has been made with Red Hand of Doom.) Of course, this is great, so long as you like the adventure path. (And at around $20 an issue, getting into any adventure path may take some serious consideration.)
Further, Gamemastery appears designed to function either as a one stop adventure, like perhaps Barrow of the Forgotten King, or perhaps a link to its own sort of adventure path. (Recall the Sunless Citadel to Bastion of Broken Souls connections that tied those adventures together?) Of this, I'm not yet completely certain. (Still, as mentioned above, at about $13 an adventure, getting into this investment requires some serious consideration.)
But frankly, I'm less concerned about the money issue with something like Dungeon. If Paizo would consider Gamemastery Minis (3 short adventures in a book), or perhaps a periodical that combines the spirit of Dungeon (3 adventures and DM support) and Dragon (Player and DM support), on perhaps a lesser scale, I'd be sold. The magic of Dungeon was that there was always something of interest. (The same goes for Dragon.) Granted, my hope would be for a reasonable price. But comparing Gamemastery at around 32 pages, if Paizo put three mini-adventures at 10 pp each, and used the remaining pages for PrCs, feats, spells, etc., $12.99 would remain reasonable in my eye.
So, is this a possibility that Paizo is willing to consider? Or am I just wasting my hopes and my energy posing this question?
If Paizo would consider Gamemastery Minis (3 short adventures in a book), or perhaps a periodical that combines the spirit of Dungeon (3 adventures and DM support) and Dragon (Player and DM support), on perhaps a lesser scale, I'd be sold. The magic of Dungeon was that there was always something of interest. (The same goes for Dragon.) Granted, my hope would be for a reasonable price. But comparing Gamemastery at around 32 pages, if Paizo put three mini-adventures at 10 pp each, and used the remaining pages for PrCs, feats, spells, etc., $12.99 would remain reasonable in my eye.
So, is this a possibility that Paizo is willing to consider? Or am I just wasting my hopes and my energy posing this question?
Another great idea! Paizo, if you're listening, I already subscribe to Pathfinder; I'd love to subscribe to a GameMastery set of modules (perhaps to be shipped with Pathfinder each month); AND I'd love to subscribe to a NEW magazine described as Saurstalk lays out above. Please let us know!