Chief Technical Officer
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Over the past several months, our brands and products have been evolving, and we're making some changes to help keep things clear.
We'll be using the Pathfinder brand to designate products that are specifically designed for the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, and the GameMastery brand to designate setting-independent roleplaying accessories.
Accordingly, the GameMastery Modules line will be renamed Pathfinder Modules, beginning with Pathfinder Module W3: Flight of the Red Raven, due in May.
Further, the Pathfinder Modules line will be switching to a bimonthly release schedule following July's Pathfinder Module LB2: Treasure of Chimera Cove. Pathfinder Module D4: Hungry Are the Dead will be released in September.
We've also just announced the November release for the Pathfinder Modules line, Pathfinder Module J4: The Pact Stone Pyramid, by Michael Kortes. It's a sequel to GameMastery Module J1: Entombed with the Pharaohs, which has been the best seller in our Module line.
As we'd previously announced, the January release will RPG Superstar Christine Schneider's Pathfinder Module S1: Clash of the Kingslayers.
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Over the past several months, our brands and products have been evolving, and we're making some changes to help keep things clear.
We'll be using the Pathfinder brand to designate products that are specifically designed for the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, and the GameMastery brand to designate setting-independent roleplaying accessories.
Accordingly, the GameMastery Modules line will be renamed Pathfinder Modules, beginning with Pathfinder Module W3: Flight of the Red Raven, due in May.
Further, the Pathfinder Modules line will be switching to a bimonthly release schedule following July's Pathfinder Module LB2: Treasure of Chimera Cove. Pathfinder Module D4: Hungry Are the Dead will be released in September.
We've also just announced the November release for the Pathfinder Modules line, Pathfinder Module J4: The Pact Stone Pyramid, by Michael Kortes. It's a sequel to GameMastery Module J1: Entombed with the Pharaohs, which has been the best seller in our Module line.
As we'd previouisly announced, the January release will RPG Superstar Christine Schneider's Pathfinder Module S1: Clash of the Kingslayers.
Great! Definitely buying the Pyramid and Kingslayers.
My question is this...
How will this affect my subscription to Gamemastery Modules? Does this mean that you all will be adding another subscription to your list? i.e. Pathfinder Modules and GameMastery Modules? ~thinks and realizes that my pocketbook can only handle so much~
~still confused, but that is normal~
A bit of a shame about going bimonthly, but I would rather they kept the quality up and the frequency down than the other way round. And a good decision about renaming the modules.
I agree about quality over quantity. Plus, even my pocketbook has a breaking point. In addition, what the Hell am I going to do with all of these modules? I already have more than enough as it is.
My question is this...
How will this affect my subscription to Gamemastery Modules? Does this mean that you all will be adding another subscription to your list? i.e. Pathfinder Modules and GameMastery Modules? ~thinks and realizes that my pocketbook can only handle so much~
The last product with a GameMastery Module branding on it will be April's The Demon Within. In May, that brand becomes Pathfinder Modules and after July they go bi-monthly.
If you're currently a GameMastery Modules subscriber, you will be a Pathfinder Modules subscriber.
There will be no GameMastery Modules subscription as that product brand will cease to exist.
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So if I'm a Gamemastery subscriber now, I'll automatically be a Pathfinder modules subscriber instead?
If I want setting nutral modules, I should subscribe again to Gamemastery modules when they become available? Or will my current subscription automatically become a subscription to both?
My "My Account" page shows me to be a Pathfinder Module (& Chronicles) subscriber whereas it was Gamemastery before.
edit: Mr. Joshua J. Frost beat me to it :)
Happy with the name change (well ambivalent really).
there was some comment on a Chronicles thread to the effect that they were concerned that perhaps the quantity of material may lead to quality suffering.
I would be happy with bi-monthly. And will take quality over quantity any day.
My order of preference for things I would like monthly rather than bi-monthly are
1 Pathfinder
2 Modules
3 Chronicles
Just so you know.
So if I'm a Gamemastery subscriber now, I'll automatically be a Pathfinder modules subscriber instead?
Yessir.
If I want setting nutral modules, I should subscribe again to Gamemastery modules when they become available? Or will my current subscription automatically become a subscription to both?
The GameMastery Modules, to be clear, were never setting neutral. They all take place in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting. The Pathfinder Modules will be produced exactly like the GameMastery Modules -- this is only a branding and frequency of release change.
I should note, however, that every Module/Adventure Path/setting book etc that we create is designed with the idea in mind that they can be plunked into any campaign setting -- homebrew, Eberron, whatevva. :-)
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Chief Technical Officer
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To be clear, there are only two changes here:
1: In the title, we're putting the word "Pathfinder" where the word "GameMastery" was. We're not introducing an additional Module line, we're just renaming the existing line. And nothing about the content is changing. All Modules are still set in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, just like they've always been.
2: It's going to a bimonthly schedule after August. There are a couple of reasons for this, and one of them will become obvious in just a few minutes after we make some other announcements.
Is Hungry are the Dead 3.5 still, or up in the air?
We hope to have a public decision about this next week.
~sighs sadly~ Twice a month? Ummmmm..... Joshua and Vic, might that be just a little bit too much? I can handle one module a month, but two?!?
To be clear, there are only two changes here:
1: In the title, we're putting the word "Pathfinder" where the word "GameMastery" was. We're not introducing an additional Module line, we're just renaming the existing line. And nothing about the content is changing. All Modules are still set in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, just like they've always been.
2: It's going to a bimonthly schedule after August. There are a couple of reasons for this, and one of them will become obvious in just a few minutes after we make some other announcements.
~doubtful tone in my voice~ Ok Vic. ~shakes my head and mumbles about trusting Paizo~
2: It's going to a bimonthly schedule after August. There are a couple of reasons for this, and one of them will become obvious in just a few minutes after we make some other announcements.
Holding breath....
turning blue...you said a few minutes....
Is that a 4 on the horizon? or have you completely wrongfooted me again.
~sighs sadly~ Twice a month? Ummmmm..... Joshua and Vic, might that be just a little bit too much? I can handle one module a month, but two?!?
No no one every 2 months.
~sighs sadly~ Twice a month? Ummmmm..... Joshua and Vic, might that be just a little bit too much? I can handle one module a month, but two?!?No no one every 2 months.
~thinks~ Ummmm..... Well, er, um. Ok. So I screwed up on my calculations. One module every two months I could handle. Hell, one module every month I could handle. I was just worried about there being more than that.
After your Yetisburg comment that sent myself and Mike Selinker into fits of outrageous laughter, you can get away with the hard questions. :-)
Josh, can I have a linkie to that post that Heathy did that was so funny? ~winks~ I need to prove to myself that the were-poodle has a sense of humor!
2: It's going to a bimonthly schedule after August. There are a couple of reasons for this, and one of them will become obvious in just a few minutes after we make some other announcements.Holding breath....
turning blue...you said a few minutes....
Is that a 4 on the horizon? or have you completely wrongfooted me again.
I am replying to myself after seeing the pathfinder companion stuff
Pumpfake!
Ok. I will give a few points to Heathy for that one. But JUST for that one!
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CEO
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If I want setting nutral modules, I should subscribe again to Gamemastery modules when they become available? Or will my current subscription automatically become a subscription to both?
Pathfinder Modules will be just as setting independent as the GameMastery modules were. We aren't planning on making them any more or less tied into Golarion than they already are. So really, nothing is changing except us replacing the word GameMastery with the word Pathfinder. :)
-Lisa
Ok. I will give a few points to Heathy for that one. But JUST for that one!I don't wanna um....stress your counting skills too much.
Heaty, why are you complaining? So you get a few extra points. Enjoy them, you ingrate!
Ok. I will give a few points to Heathy for that one. But JUST for that one!I don't wanna um....stress your counting skills too much.
(Original post appears to have been eaten, so here is a repeat.)
What are you complaining about, Heathy? Be glad that I gave you a few extra points, you ingrate! ~grins~
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If I want setting nutral modules, I should subscribe again to Gamemastery modules when they become available? Or will my current subscription automatically become a subscription to both?Pathfinder Modules will be just as setting independent as the GameMastery modules were. We aren't planning on making them any more or less tied into Golarion than they already are. So really, nothing is changing except us replacing the word GameMastery with the word Pathfinder. :)
-Lisa
Okay. I knew that Gamemastery modules have been 'Golarion'. When I read the announcement I thought you were planning on creting two lines of adventures. Those set in Golarion (Pathfinder modules) and those that are completely neutral (Gamemastery). So, Gamemastery is just going away. Not a problem.
But I would have bought both if they did exist....
I suppose it is easier to put everything in Golarion, but as you've been doing, make sure that just about everything in Golarion could work somewhere else.
So, I'm happy about what I've been hearing. Now to get my players to subscribe to the Pathfinder Companion.
Bimonthly would not be my choice of words for clarity here, as it means both “twice a month and “every other month.” One will strain my pocket book, the other will allow me to come up for air between modules!
I’m guessing the companions are the equivalents of “Savage Tidings” and “Wormfood.” My only real question is, will the side information now featured in the Pathfinder modules be moved there, with the adventures becoming longer?
Bimonthly would not be my choice of words for clarity here, as it means both “twice a month and “every other month.” One will strain my pocket book, the other will allow me to come up for air between modules!
Except for us linguistic prescriptivists, for whom the former is "semimonthly."
</pedant>
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I’m guessing the companions are the equivalents of “Savage Tidings” and “Wormfood.” My only real question is, will the side information now featured in the Pathfinder modules be moved there, with the adventures becoming longer?
actually the adventures are becoming shorter, but a side adventure is most likly going to be added in (i think that was what was said - read the last two chat logs for confirmation)
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I’m guessing the companions are the equivalents of “Savage Tidings” and “Wormfood.” My only real question is, will the side information now featured in the Pathfinder modules be moved there, with the adventures becoming longer?actually the adventures are becoming shorter, but a side adventure is most likly going to be added in (i think that was what was said - read the last two chat logs for confirmation)
Nope. You are thinking of what is happening with the Pathfinder Second Darkness AP.
The original question is a good one. Do we need as much info on Osirion in each module when we have an Osirion book, for example?
Except for us linguistic prescriptivists, for whom the former is "semimonthly."</pedant>
Your hidebound obduracy will clearly doom you to a life of darkness! The day of the descriptive linguist is nigh, REPENT!
Ha! I was so tempted to reply, “I sleep nude,” but I assumed by the time you had finished gagging it would be too late to say I really wear old blue jeans. Oh, and everything is combustible if you really try (I come from a line of fire fighters). ;)
Ah crap, I’m hijacking again. Back to my real question: “Is it safe?”
No wait, that wasn’t it.
Ha! I was so tempted to reply, “I sleep nude,” but I assumed by the time you had finished gagging it would be too late to say I really wear old blue jeans. Oh, and everything is combustible if you really try (I come from a line of fire fighters). ;)
Asbestos?
Asbestos?
It’s listed as “non-combustible,” but get it above 1500 °C and you are ready to rock.
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Creative Director
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I’m guessing the companions are the equivalents of “Savage Tidings” and “Wormfood.” My only real question is, will the side information now featured in the Pathfinder modules be moved there, with the adventures becoming longer?
Comparing the information in there to the stuff in "Savage Tidings" and "Wormfood" is close... but this product won't only be supporting the Adventure Path in this manner. It'll support the Pathfinder Modules, the gazetters, and all other products we release in the Pathfinder line. This information will be usable by players and GMs alike, but it'll be spoiler-free, so that it won't totally ruin adventures or world secrets.
The Pathfinder Adventure Path will continue to present gazetteers, deity articles, ecology-style stuff, and other expansion material for the adventure path, just as it has from the start. The material presented in Pathfinder, though, will be more focused at the GM; there'll be adventure spoilers and world secrets in there.
And yes, the individual adventures in the Adventure Path are getting a little shorter. We'll be dropping from an average of 50 pages down to 40 pages, and we'll use the extra space to present a short side-quest adventure in each Pathfinder that's tied thematically to the concurrent adventure.
(The primary reason we're shortening the adventures is one of simple resources—it's very difficult to develop and edit a 50 page adventure and stay on a monthly schedule. I suspect that a 60 page one would be IMPOSSIBLE to do on a monthly schedule. A 40 page one, on the other hand, is easy mode.)
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So let me get this straight...
GameMastery becoming Pathfinder Modules. Still set in Golarion.
Pathfinder Modules one month. Pathfinder Companion the next month. Basically PM, PC, PM, PC, and so forth.
Pathfinder AP every month.
Pathfinder Chronicles they feel like coming out. (Hopefully 1 item a month eventually!)
I wonder when the novels and anthologies will get worked in. :)
So between this and the new pathfinder companion line, this is a more a change in the mix of products than anything else. One month I'll get the pathfinder module, the next the companion, etc?
That seems pretty cool.
I think you understand it correctly Sebastian. That is my understanding.
I think it's a good idea. I wish I needed a module every month, but frankly I don't. They would just stockpile. Also I think it takes a strain off the Editorial Team, and allows some of the background material to get out there, that folks have been crying for..
Also I think it takes a strain off the Editorial Team, and allows some of the background material to get out there, that folks have been crying for..
This is my main reason for appreciating this change, though we were getting some setting material in each module.
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Creative Director
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So let me get this straight...
GameMastery becoming Pathfinder Modules. Still set in Golarion.
Pathfinder Modules one month. Pathfinder Companion the next month. Basically PM, PC, PM, PC, and so forth.
Pathfinder AP every month.
Pathfinder Chronicles they feel like coming out. (Hopefully 1 item a month eventually!)
Correct. I'm not sure how many Pathfinder Chronicles products we'll be doing on a yearly basis, but it'll probably be something like 9 or 10. Maybe one per month once we get up to steam.
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I think it's a good idea. I wish I needed a module every month, but frankly I don't. They would just stockpile. Also I think it takes a strain off the Editorial Team, and allows some of the background material to get out there, that folks have been crying for..
Yeap! Something that bothers me about the GameMastery modules is that while they take place on Golarion, most of them take place in areas that aren't the focus of the PF line... which means if we use them, we've got no supplementary information to continue our play in those areas.
Perhaps this new schedule will help change that. I know I liked how Seven Swords and Bloodsworn Vale can work into the APs.
I do like Falcon's Hollow.. it's very cool.. I just wish it were in Varisia officially, not just my "patch" suggestion of putting it on the island on the western part of the Gulf.
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Creative Director
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Yeap! Something that bothers me about the GameMastery modules is that while they take place on Golarion, most of them take place in areas that aren't the focus of the PF line... which means if we use them, we've got no supplementary information to continue our play in those areas.
Perhaps this new schedule will help change that. I know I liked how Seven Swords and Bloodsworn Vale can work into the APs.
I do like Falcon's Hollow.. it's very cool.. I just wish it were in Varisia officially, not just my "patch" suggestion of putting it on the island on the western part of the Gulf.
Note also that once we finally get out our gazetteer and the Hardcover campaign setting book, the non-Varisia parts of the world will have a LOT of information too. That said, yes; the PF Companion products are going to be a major place for us to explore parts of the world that are featured in modules, chronicles products, and other non-Adventure Path stuff.