Creative Director
|
Of course you don't. But no matter - unrelated fiction (and pre-gens) still does. And the first couple of APs, at least, had unrelated fiction. But please let me know (since I currently ignore the fiction after I noticed it was entirely irrelevant to the APs) - is the fiction now finally related to the AP? For example, does the fiction in the Legacy of Fire AP actually take place in Quadira/Khatapesh, at the very least?
Yes, the fiction in the Legacy of Fire AP takes place in Katapesh and Osirion. The fiction in Council of Thieves takes place in Cheliax.
Which is the same way we've been doing things all along. When the APs were set in Varisia, the journal took place in Varisia. When those adventures moved toward Belkzen or Korvosa, the fiction did as well (sometimes serving as a preview to said locations). When we had an AP that featured a fair amount of Darklands content, the journals did as well.
But if you don't like the fiction, that doesn't matter. You can go ahead and keep ignoring those six pages and your APs will still work just fine.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
I think pages of crisp, $100 bills, would be a fitting substitute for the fiction and/or set pieces. Please consider the matter...
I don't generally read the fiction and I'm not in love with having it in the AP, but I've more or less made my peace with it. I feel like short fantasy fiction is a good thing to encourage, even if I don't particularly enjoy it much, so I'm okay subsidizing it.
I don't think the fiction or the Pre-gens dilute anything.Of course you don't. But no matter - unrelated fiction (and pre-gens) still does. And the first couple of APs, at least, had unrelated fiction. But please let me know (since I currently ignore the fiction after I noticed it was entirely irrelevant to the APs) - is the fiction now finally related to the AP? For example, does the fiction in the Legacy of Fire AP actually take place in Quadira/Khatapesh, at the very least?
If so, then I will admit that fiction has a place in the APs. So, is the fiction (again, finally) related to the specific AP that it's found in?
I don't agree that the fiction and the pregens "dilute" the AP. In fact, IMO, the fiction is very much related, and has always been so, to the AP progression. Perhaps not always the specific one, but often the one coming up. By reading the Journal from Runelords and Crimson Throne, I gained, as did the others in my group, a much better understanding and feel for the areas in Varisia that those two APs go through.
A lot of information about the Shoanti, from the story where Eando gets himself captured by the Skoan-Quah, was invaluable to one player, who is running a Skoan-Quah in Runelords. We've had to tweak a few things, but we were no longer running in the 'vaccuum' that we were based on the very small snippets that had occured prior to that.
The Pre-gens have been helpful in eyeballing what the adventure may be expecting from characters, and what is considered balanced at particular levels. Again, IMO. Obviously, YMV.
Especially since, as I've mentioned many times elsewhere, the fact of the mater is that on a monthly schedule there's a physical time limit to the amount of time a person can dedicate to developing the adventures. /snip/ Fiction, for example, helps us maintain an AP's presence in book storesI'm sure there's many reasons why. But all completely irrelevant when talking specifically about the topic of dilution, as I was. *shrug* You're better of saying that yeah, it does dilute the AP, but there are greater benefits that make up for the dilution (but then Marketing will give you a smack, I guess...). :D
Increasing adventure length would NOT cure the problems that you say arise when the adventures are cut for length,You've said that before, and it's not what I was talking about. See your recent past comments on the removal of set pieces and how it will improve the AP.
Any dilution is your opinion, and that is probably why James is not going to say that it does dilute the AP, since in his opinion, it does not. On a matter of differing opinions, it isn't really fair to ask the other person to just accept your stance, especially when they don't.
Why am I wading into what's turning into a political discussion?
Personally, I like all the stuff they're currently serving up. They don't have to all be 100% useful to the AP in question. What would be the point? They were doing a great job running APs in Dungeon when only a fraction of the magazine was devoted to the AP. You know what? I still bought the mags month after month and I consider those the best days Dungeon ever saw.
But really, this isn't about my opinion. We all have opinions. We'd all do this or that a little bit different if we had editorial control over a publication. There will never be complete consensus on anything. Fortunately there are only two editors and they get to make the final decisions. The rest of us have the pleasure of either happily following along, or not. Sure, offering feedback is fine. It's helpful for the editors to know what their readers want. But after the editors have made their decision, it really doesn't serve anyone's interest to have one or two rabid voices nagging them to about the same points. The decision is made. You either buy it, read the fiction, ignore the fiction, or don't buy it.
As far as I'm concerned, as long as Paizo keeps giving me one huge adventure a month alongside some support material, I'll keep giving them my money.
Those extraneous bits dilute my AP like mint dilutes my mojito.
Yes, the fiction in the Legacy of Fire AP takes place in Katapesh and Osirion. The fiction in Council of Thieves takes place in Cheliax.
Not to completely derail, but...
Since Council of Thieves is the first AP in the new game system, is it continuing the fiction from Legacy of Fire or will it have new fiction for people jumping on at the start of PFRPG?
New fiction, courtesy of Dave Gross. Discussed in this thread.
I believe the plan is for every AP to have its own 6 part fiction, instead of the longer Eando Kline 18 parter.
New fiction, courtesy of Dave Gross. Discussed in this thread.
I believe the plan is for every AP to have its own 6 part fiction, instead of the longer Eando Kline 18 parter.
Sweet. I like that better. Means my commitments to the AP are determined by the length of an AP rather than the length of the fiction.
And the first couple of APs, at least, had unrelated fiction.
Wrong.
In your opinion but just as many people enjoy the fiction and pregens (I should know I'm one of them.)
*shrug* "Dilute" and "enjoyment by a fan" are not mutually exclusive. Why would you possibly think otherwise? It turns out I might enjoy a bunch of new magic items... doesn't stop it from diluting an Adventure Path.
Wrong.
Please let me know more - if I'm wrong about the fiction, I'd like to maybe go back and try it out so I can get more out of that specific AP.
I don't really remember the fiction in RotRL taking place in Sandpoint and Magnimar, and I don't really remember it having to do with the Runelord antagonist. Am I misremembering?
I know James says above something about "Varisia", but that seems like a big place, and not very helpful. He also mentioned something about "previewing" (eg. Korvosa), but that does, of course, prove me right - certainly fiction about Korvosa in the RotRL path is completely unrelated and unhelpful, which is exactly what I was talking about. (Now, if all of the fiction in CotCR took place in Korvosa - now we're talking. Is this true?) Hell - James above even said part of the fiction in the LoF AP takes place in Osirion. WTF does that have to do with the LoF AP?
My position isn't really difficult to understand, unless one is being purposefully obtuse.
- Fiction directly related to the AP it's found in = good.
- Fiction unrelated to the AP it's found in = dilution of that AP. (With the acknowledgement that doing so, as James mentioned, has other benefits for Paizo.)
Not a tough concept.
|
I don't really remember the fiction in RotRL taking place in Sandpoint and Magnimar, and I don't really remember it having to do with the Runelord antagonist. Am I misremembering?
Eandos Journal started in Magnimar (PF #2). From there, he describes his travel to Wartle which may be the route the PCs are taking in PF #3, when they are on their way to Fort Rannick. Which i think relates quite directly to the AP. PF#3 was about Kaer Maga. While this is in no way related to the AP I remember that there were quite some folks thinking about including "the Seven Swords of Sin" into the AP. And at least for them, this article was highly interesting and usable.
#4,#5 and #6 play in Korvosa which serves as a nice introduction to the next AP (and holds quite some tidbits which can be used there). #5 and #6 may be the best sources to imagine the appearance and behavior of a red mantis assassin and a hellknight respectively so far.
So according to your definition of what is diluting material, the journals from #3 to #6 may be seen as such. I for myself was really glad to get the information about Korvosa before COtCT started because I already had an insight in the place before they threw all the other stuff at me.
Apart from that, I just like fiction. Do I care about if Elaine Cunningham's story is AP-related? Not really, it's Elaine Cunningham, that's enough for me. In fact, the fiction is the part of the AP I read first and foremost and without it I had quite a staple of AP issues I had yet to look into for the first time. For me, they are a portal into Golarion without all the necessary but sometimes boring statblocks and other technical information (boring meaning: boring to read, not boring enemies or NSC).
Wrong.Please let me know more - if I'm wrong about the fiction, I'd like to maybe go back and try it out so I can get more out of that specific AP.
I don't really remember the fiction in RotRL taking place in Sandpoint and Magnimar, and I don't really remember it having to do with the Runelord antagonist. Am I misremembering?
Skimming over my issues, here is a fast synopsis of information/locations each chapter of the Eando Kline story deals with. There may be spoilers here, so read with caution anyone that is running in those games.
Runelords 1 - Information about Pathfinders.
Runelords 2 - Travelling from Magnimar to Kaer Maga via the river, information about the Mushfens and Boggards.
Runelords 3 - Kaer Maga. Gave me a very good 'feel' of the city, and introduces Bloat Mages ::shudder::
Runelords 4 - Outside of Korvosa and entering the city.
Runelords 5 - Korvosa, Red Mantis, the Acadamae.
Runelords 6 - More on Korvosa, meeting the Hell Knights.
Crimson Throne 1 - Cinderlands, Skoan-Quah.
Crimson Throne 2 - Urglin, Orcs, Bulettes.
Crimson Throne 3 - The wilds and mountains of Belkzen, a really cool ancient ruin (cannot remember if it is named in another source) that appears to be a dragon wrapped around a mountainpeak; more information about orcs
Crimson Throne 4 - Avoiding being killed in an orcish skirmish in the wilds of Belkzen; more information about the orc tribes
Crimson Throne 5 - The Skittermounds, an Orc keep that was built by defenders of Lastwall (apparently the like one plan for such outposts)
Crimson Throne 6 - Urgir, originally the dwarven Sky Citadel of Koldukar, lots of information about orcs and dwarves
Second Darkness 1 - Darklands below Urgir, Rust Monsters
Second Darkness 2 - Exploring the Darklands, discovering more of its dangers and creatures
Second Darkness 3 - Continuing in the Darklands
Second Darkness 4 - Discover of the Ancient Serpent City, what the Ion Stones are also for
Second Darkness 5 - Chasing/Racing to Absalom, travel through Gallowspire, Razmiran, Galt ::shiver::, Kyonin, Cassomir, learning bits about all these locations
Second Darkness 6 - Absalom, Pathfinders, choices of right and wrong, dealing with lots of intriguing information.
So, in one sense, I would say you are right. There is talk about Magnimar and some good information about the city as Eando leaves it, but the stories do not deal with Sandpoint and the Runelords. The AP deals with that information. The stories tell you about the world, about what is out there besides the areas the first AP takes place in. It leads us to Korvosa and the Cinderlands (the locations of the second AP) and beyond finally to the Darklands (the third AP), as well as being an all around good story, which gives a feel for more than the "narrow" confines of one adventure path.
Personally, I would have been disappointed if the story had only dealt with the actually events in the AP. Doing so would have made it unreadable by anyone except the GM until the path was completed, and would give a sense of 'how' the story should progress instead of letting each group of characters paint their own version of the adventure. I much prefer fiction that gives me the world rather than tied to adventures like the FR Avatar Trilogy.
The fiction in Legacy of Fire does not tell me the story that the AP does, but it gives me a rolicking good tale and gives me a feel for that portion of the world. I can allow my players to read it freely, with no worries they'll get hints of things to come, but will give them the feeling of the cultures and mores of the socities they are going to be rubbing elbows with. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I would add that a good story is worth more than the best write up of a setting, as you get so many bits that your mind can grab onto and run with.
|
If the fiction has a role in relation to the AP it is to give a sense of the wider world - to show the reader how it is experienced in a way that the AP might struggle to.
It's probably more useful the more off-AP your PCs go, especially if they involve themselves in society.
I like it.
I also read them first to get a sense of how a normal Golarion person would react to the wonders around them, and use that in my characters (or NPCs when DMing) They also talk about the normal person's reaction to halflings and half-orcs, and the orc's reaction to people in different parts of their homeland.
Arnwyn, your attitude stinks. Maybe you don't realise it, but it sounds quite hostile.
I don't really remember the fiction in RotRL taking place in Sandpoint and Magnimar, and I don't really remember it having to do with the Runelord antagonist. Am I misremembering?
It's not an adventure synapsis in the form of a journal - which would be lame, and we already have a synapsis.
It isn't in the exact same places as the adventures.
But it doesn't have to be in order to be tied to the paths.
He also mentioned something about "previewing" (eg. Korvosa), but that does, of course, prove me right - certainly fiction about Korvosa in the RotRL path is completely unrelated and unhelpful, which is exactly what I was talking about.
And that's what I mean with bad attitude. It sounds as if you want to pick a fight.
(Now, if all of the fiction in CotCR took place in Korvosa
It would not fit your aesthetic - as not all of Curse of the Crimson Throne takes place in Korvosa..
Anyway, beyond the ways the journals are related to Pathfinder in general and the Adventure Paths especially, The first 6 journal entries give you another angle on what connects Runelords and Crimson Throne.
It's like Assignment Ada for Resident Evil 4: It's not a rerun of RE4 with a different character, but it does reveal more parts of the story.
So according to your definition of what is diluting material, the journals from #3 to #6 may be seen as such.
Agree. And it's how I thought. I didn't misremember much at all.
For me, they are a portal into Golarion
Sounds like a Campaign Setting/Chronicles thing. Even a Companion thing.
Skimming over my issues... [snip]
Thanks Gamer Girrl, you rock! That was a very helpful synopsis, and shows the ones that I should be reading (which isn't much, unfortunately: RotRL #2, CotCR #1, and SD 1,2,3 and 5. RotRL 4-6 looks like a good-intentioned but horribly butchered result. That info would have been far more useful in the CotCT books. Too bad they botched that up a bit... IMO.)
Personally, I would have been disappointed if the story had only dealt with the actually events in the AP.
So would I. Thankfully I never said that. At the very least, though, I expect the general location to coincide (so I can use the interesting stuff in the fiction in the given AP). Sounds like the LoF fiction is the best of the bunch, worth reading, with (mostly) properly related material. No wonder LoF is turning out to be my favorite so far!
If the fiction has a role in relation to the AP it is to give a sense of the wider world,
Sounds like a Campaign Setting/Chronicles thing. Even a Companion thing.
And that's what I mean with bad attitude. It sounds as if you want to pick a fight.
I think I've read previous comments by you that allude to "if you criticize anything Golarion/Paizo/whatever, you stink". I think I'm good, KaeYoss. *shrug* Whatever. I'm a happy subscriber. Thanks for coming out, though, even if you couldn't be bothered to expand on your "wrong" statement. If you think I'm tying to "pick a fight", it could very well be that my posts simply aren't for you.
I love spirited discussion about the otherwise-excellent APs, however!
There was another thread where either Mona or Jacobs (one of the two) encouraged the board members to speak up for what they like, rather than only griping about what they don't like, so:
I enjoy the fiction and pre-gens -- as has been stated earlier, I believe both serve a valuable purpose, and I enjoy the fiction regardless.
Fiction, for example, helps us maintain an AP's presence in book stores...
I'm curious -- is the fiction necessary to have the AP volumes defined as "books" for the book trade, or did you mean that more generally (readers buy the AP volumes partly because of the enjoyment of the fiction)?
- Fiction unrelated to the AP it's found in = dilution of that AP. (With the acknowledgement that doing so, as James mentioned, has other benefits for Paizo.)
I think maybe a couple of the others (including James) have been trying to put across a concept that you haven't acknowledged yet. Let me see if I can take a crack at it:
Picture a particular AP volume as a container with two sections (say, 1/2 for the adventure and 1/2 for the other stuff). Between those two sections is a non-permeable membrane, dictating the ratio between the sections. Since James has said the placement of this membrane is not going to be moved much, what goes into the smaller section of the container has absolutely no effect on the adventure (it's going to be about 50 pages no matter what). Shrinking the smaller section of the container (removing the fiction and/or pre-gens) will only reduce the total volume of the container (smaller page count), not make the larger section larger (more pages for the adventure). Therefore, having the fiction and pre-gens does not "dilute" the AP.
Now, if you define diluting the AP as including anything in a particular volume that is not vacuum-seal directly applicable to that volume's adventure, then I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about he value of the fiction (and about half of the bestiary and the editor's blurb, for that matter). Glad to know it's not a dealbreaker for you!
I think I've read previous comments by you that allude to "if you criticize anything Golarion/Paizo/whatever, you stink".
Nonsense.
Thanks for coming out, though, even if you couldn't be bothered to expand on your "wrong" statement. If you think I'm tying to "pick a fight", it could very well be that my posts simply aren't for you.
Read my posts again. I did bother.
To quote myself from another thread:
Let's propose this to Paizo: The Set Piece Sidebar! As there is, as we all know (or do we?), one or more locations in most adventures that can work as a solo, without the rest of the adventure.I think it won't be too hard to identify those pieces and put in a short sidebar, explaining some alternate motivators/hooks for why the heroes would stumble into that meat grinder.
I'll be the first to admit that we botch things here and there. I would not count the Pathfinder Journal as one of them.
Me neither. I think they're a welcome part of the whole Wholesome Experience that is Pathfinder Adventure Paths!
You could do them as just sequenced adventures with no other articles, but I wouldn't want that. Not at all.
And not everything has to be nailed to the AP, either. It's good to have some extra material if you want to wander off the beaten (adventure) path!
And, as I did say earlier: Eando's first adventures (during Runelords) did have that "bonus mission" vibe: Not the same story with a different protagonist, but something that touches the story somehow.
A bit like director's commentary, only in not boring! :)
I'm an incompetent double-poster.
Now, if you define diluting the AP as including anything in a particular volume that is not vacuum-seal directly applicable to that volume's adventure,I define dilution as material not related to that particular AP as a whole.
So Underdark monsters in an Underdark-related AP? Awesome. (Even if those specific monsters don't show up anywhere in that AP, much less that volume.) Same with all the wonderful genie material in LoF.
Fiction that takes place in Qadira in an AP that takes place there? Awesome.
A deity write-up for a deity that figures prominently somewhere in that AP? Great.
And so on.
Based on Gamer Grrl's (wonderful!) synopsis, the fiction section meets the definition of dilution, with only a few spots of value. (Most - not all - of the issues are full of unrelated... stuff... that is in there for other reasons that Paizo considers valuable. Fair enough, of course. Look at RotRL for being a major offender, and CotCT [based on the above synopsis] being not much better.)
(Readerbreeder, I've long since come to terms that the fiction will remain, and that the page-count for the adventure won't change because of the workloads experienced by Paizo staff. They've made that abundantly clear for a long time now. But for the love of pete, at least make the fiction related to the AP it's found in.)
I will just describe what I know. CJ called me up and said he needed help moving something. As I pulled onto his street, I saw Daigle driving speedily away. I asked him why Daigle didn't stay and help, and he said Daigle had to get home to meet some carpet cleaning company. We went into the garage, where there were several large ice chests. I asked what in the heck they could be for, and he said a club fishing trip. We loaded the ice chests into his truck bed. He then asked me not to mention the trip to anybody, as he didn't want the uninvited to have hurt feelings. The whole thing seemed kind of odd, but now, in retrospect...
Was Mr. Wolf there by any chance?
Arynwyn, you've made your point. We've heard your point. Repeatedly. We also disagree with it (as do the majority of folks we've heard from about it, which plays a large factor in our decision).
Pathfinder fiction is staying in the AP for the foreseeable future. If you don't like it, don't read it, and I hope the other 50-70 (depending on if you like the other non-adventure material) underpriced, full-color pages each month are worthwhile for you. But railing against it ad nauseam in the frequently snarky manner exhibited here is a waste of time, and does little to endear you to the folks in charge.
To everyone else: thank you for continuing to voice you opinions, and rest assured that we keep careful track of popular sentiment. While there are a few sacred cows with Pathfinder (after all, it needs to stay fun for us, too!), we're constantly experimenting, and hearing what our community wants and then trying to give it to them is the bedrock on which Paizo is based.
EDIT AND SPOILER
...by which I of course mean: if you don't love everything we do, you stink! :D
Just responding to posts that were directly responding to me, James.
And already covered right above:
I've long since come to terms that the fiction will remain, and that the page-count for the adventure won't change because of the workloads experienced by Paizo staff. They've made that abundantly clear for a long time now.
But I'll shut up now.
Was Mr. Wolf there by any chance?
Now that the effects of whatever I drank have passed, I refer all further questions about this matter to my attorney.
Just to repeat
|
|
Sounds like a Campaign Setting/Chronicles thing. Even a Companion thing.
That's where our opinions differ. I'm one of those customers James is sometimes referring to who haven't the time or opportunity to play through all adventures published by Paizo. But I'm enjoying a good read and I love diggin into campaign settings, and that's what I find in the AP on one-hundred pages at a nearly unbeatable price.
Ironically this means that to me, the second 50 pages are sometimes even more important than the adventure in the respective issue. Adventures necessarily contain technical information which kind of "dilutes" the good read for which I buy those issues. Whereas the journal entries are pure fluff and a great way to picture the world I've come to love.
Taking this stuff out of the AP would dilute the AP in a very real way for me and would probably lead to me canceling my subscription and going for the Chronicles instead.
But as you said that you'd find AP-related fiction good or even awesome, I guess there is a way to make both of us happy. And as it seems with LoF, Paizo goes in this direction :)
|
|
An example of this would be the RotR fiction that set up CotCT.
Just to add this: I think we all know how Pathfinder came to happen and that from the start there was a lot of pressure, especially since Pathfinder had to be developed parallel to the publication of Dragon and Dungeon magazines.
They did a splendid job from the beginning, but we've also seen some refinement in their approach to the APs. We've also seen this refinement with the fiction which was originally a loose series of journal entries written by different authors and now is written as a short story over six issues by one author at a time.
So I think that we should judge the products on the basis of how they are presented now. To critizise content which has already changed significantly might not be the most productive way to give Paizo the feedback they need to reevaluate what they are doing.
|
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
What about fanservice erotic art in lieu of fiction. Maybe not every volume, but maybe every other volume...
WTF is with the spoilers on this page? I dare not click on them, lest something important be spoiled. What is the nature of the dark secrets contained between your spoiler tags, fellow Paizoians?
SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE!
See, that's what happens when you use spoilers inappropriately. An actual spoiler might get included.
I see the men in the white jackets are offering me my meds. I suppose I should take them...
Context is everything, esteemed pony. Here, wash those down with a nice whiskey.
Context is everything, esteemed pony. Here, wash those down with a nice whiskey.Whiskey for my men, jello shots for my pony.
Neon jello shots, from the look of him...
|
|
Long live AP fiction! Long live James Shutter! (pun intended, as he shuts people up good!)
To be fair, while Arnwyn mentioned the fiction in his original post to this topic he was talking about something else , namely what's his opinion about a regular magic item article on the pages of the APs.
It was James Jacobs who expanded on this side topic and as he spoke directly to Arnwyn, I think he was in is right to express his differing opinion. That others (like me) chimed in is the natural way of how forums function and in no way Arnwyn's responisbility.
Besides Arnwyn didn't claim that fiction generally is diluting the AP but unrelated fiction is. I happen to disagree because as a subscriber for me it's not as important that the fiction relates directly to the AP it is published in (Korvosa journals in the runelords AP is just fine with me). I'd probably agree if the fiction would take place in Darkmoon Vale because this region will likely not be an AP location for a long time (if anytime at all) so it wouldn't add to the AP series directly.
But as you said that you'd find AP-related fiction good or even awesome, I guess there is a way to make both of us happy. And as it seems with LoF, Paizo goes in this direction :)
Indeed - it does look to be pretty good. (And I just noticed yesterday that one of them even had a couple feats in a sidebar for what was in the story. That's pretty slick.)
And thanks for not dogpiling me, guys, after Shutter (err.. Sutter) shut me up. My faith in the Paizo boards is maintained!
Yay for fairness! (And for Pf Journals!)
A missed opportunity for dog-piling? Aw...well, fairness is good, too. ; )
What about fanservice erotic art in lieu of fiction. Maybe not every volume, but maybe every other volume...
And this right here my friends is why we have these boards, so every now and then one luminary might reveal a flicker of such singular brilliance that we don't even have the choice to ignore it. More fan service? Roger dodger. We'll start from Pathfinder #6 and work backwards. :P
What about fanservice erotic art in lieu of fiction. Maybe not every volume, but maybe every other volume...And this right here my friends is why we have these boards, so every now and then one luminary might reveal a flicker of such singular brilliance that we don't even have the choice to ignore it. More fan service? Roger dodger. We'll start from Pathfinder #6 and work backwards. :P
More "Fan Service" is always good. ;D
A new company motto? "Fairness and Fanservice" or vice versa.
A new company motto? "Fairness and Fanservice" or vice versa.
Nah! Fanservice and Fanservice!
This just in: "Frye fouls Fairness but freaks for Fanservice"
More "Fan Service" is always good. ;D
It should be noted that Momma Graul does NOT count as fan service! She's fan disservice!
What about fanservice erotic art in lieu of fiction. Maybe not every volume, but maybe every other volume...And this right here my friends is why we have these boards, so every now and then one luminary might reveal a flicker of such singular brilliance that we don't even have the choice to ignore it. More fan service? Roger dodger. We'll start from Pathfinder #6 and work backwards. :P
I don't believe Sebastian is quite up to the task of "servicing" all of the fans. Even if he is a shiny happy pony.
The female genies in all the most recent AP issues have definitely been hitting all my finely tuned fan service sensors and I like them very much. That one on the cover of AP 5 was awesome.
I like that red-headed half-janni in Qadira, Gateway to the East too. She's actually a spitting image of how I imagine a Calishite character I have on a Neverwinter Nights server.