A thought exercise... If you were starting out as a DM and you were going to use the plot of a movie as the basis for a campaign, how would you go about it for movie like Die Hard or Tombstone?
My Example
Red Dawn
Location: Sandpoint - already established small town, minimal work for the DM
Protagonists: The characters, character building session stress that they must be young in school or in Apprenticeships and so on not grizzled veterans.
Antagonists: Korvosa & Cheliax, the armed forces of both invade Magimar and its holdings - the Sable Company the equivalent of the Cubans that take the town in movie are the ones that take Sandpoint with hell knight support.
Basic plot: lead the fight against the occupiers have the drama of relatives being put in danger due to their actions.
Posible Resoultions gather allies from Riddleport, Caer Maga, the Shoanti, and drive the occupiers out and kill the big bad in Korvosa.
Creative Director
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I have a numbr of players, new to Pathfinder and clueless about Golarion. Let's say I start the campaign back around 4570, in Cheliax / Taldor. Then, somewhere around Level 4 or 5, the party gets suspended in time, breaking free in the "present" of Westcrown. I'm hoping they'll be appalled by the current state of things.
So, what aspects of pre-modern Cheliax would be good to emphasize? Manifest Destiny-style expansionist attitudes? "If Aroden is for us, who can stand against us?"
Along similar lines, how would you characterize Cheliax in, say, 4630? House Thrune eventually establishes itself as pre-eminent, but who else was attempting to snatch what power as they could? Was there a turning point before which Cheliax could very likely have gone some other way? Were Taldor and Absalom just watching in rapt fascination, or were they active sending in destabilizing agents?
Woah... these questions are far beyond what I can really answer in the confines of a messageboard post, particularly in a way that doesn't create some form of weird stealth continuity that I have to remember. AKA: You're pretty much on your own, alas. But one thing you SHOULD do is basically to present Cheliax as a pretty fine place to live. It's fallen from grace, so before that fall it should be a safer, friendlier place to live in than pretty much ANY location in the Inner Sea today. Which, honestly, might not make it the most interesting or exciting adventure location.
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Creative Director
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Using movies as a start for an adventure plot is a great way to go about things. I do it all the time. In fact, the second adventure in the Savage Tide adventure path back in Dungeon owes its second half to Die Hard, for the most part.
Other movies that have, more recently, inspired adventures or APs:
Hook Mountain Massacre: "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
Prince of Demons: "Saving Private Ryan"
Suspiria, Inferno, and Mother of Tears: Council of Thieves AP (and in particular Mother of Flies)
The Omen and The Godfather: Council of Thieves
Lost: "Souls for Smuggler's Shiv"
Frankenstein: "Trial of the Beast"
The Howling: "Broken Moon"
And so on, and so on.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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You're pretty much on your own, alas. But one thing you SHOULD do is basically to present Cheliax as a pretty fine place to live. It's fallen from grace, so before that fall it should be a safer, friendlier place to live in than pretty much ANY location in the Inner Sea today. Which, honestly, might not make it the most interesting or exciting adventure location.
Oh, I imagine that Greyhawk's Theocracy of the Pale was "a safe friendly" place to live, too. Unless you weren't the sort of person to toe the line.
There's always adventure. Everybody has enemies. And by 4th or 5th Level, the party just might be trying to connect themselves to a powerful house, which would borrow their enemies.
Without going into a lot of details, though, can you give your impression on what sort of government Cheliax had? Noble Houses in support of a king?
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Creative Director
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You're pretty much on your own, alas. But one thing you SHOULD do is basically to present Cheliax as a pretty fine place to live. It's fallen from grace, so before that fall it should be a safer, friendlier place to live in than pretty much ANY location in the Inner Sea today. Which, honestly, might not make it the most interesting or exciting adventure location.Oh, I imagine that Greyhawk's Theocracy of the Pale was "a safe friendly" place to live, too. Unless you weren't the sort of person to toe the line.
There's always adventure. Everybody has enemies. And by 4th or 5th Level, the party just might be trying to connect themselves to a powerful house, which would borrow their enemies.
Without going into a lot of details, though, can you give your impression on what sort of government Cheliax had? Noble Houses in support of a king?
Again... not really. We designed the world as a snapshot of where it's at today—pretty much ALL of the work we've put into the history of the various regions of the world is all in print. It's basically a waste of time to expend a lot of resources developing stuff that doesn't directly support the time the campaign setting takes place in. As a result, I really don't have much to offer besides what's already in print for Cheliax.
Actaully... the Council of Thieves adventure path has a fair amount of historical information, mostly focused on the old capitol of Westcrown, but still; that's a good place to go for more info.
And while there's always adventure and everyone has enemies... there's just LESS of it at the height of Cheliax's rule.
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If you could think of 5 things that would definitely be true about Golarion in the future... say... 20,017 years from the current (4710 AR) timeframe, what would those be?
For example, in my current modernized homebrew they might be:
Corporations are major world powers.
Magic and technology work well together in some ways.
A global culture changes everything.
Government has evolved in a lot of ways. (there's one demarchy and one consociationalist government)
Off-world colonies.
I ask because I'm curious, and also because... well... some of my current group of PC's might traipse over to Golarion at some point.
Chances of a steampunk book: 25%
Not that I don't have the utmost respect for the in-house writers, but if this ever happens would it be possible to send goblin ninjas to kidnap Doug Seacat for this?
Please?
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Creative Director
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If you could think of 5 things that would definitely be true about Golarion in the future... say... 20,017 years from the current (4710 AR) timeframe, what would those be?
For example, in my current modernized homebrew they might be:
Corporations are major world powers.
Magic and technology work well together in some ways.
A global culture changes everything.
Government has evolved in a lot of ways. (there's one demarchy and one consociationalist government)
Off-world colonies.I ask because I'm curious, and also because... well... some of my current group of PC's might traipse over to Golarion at some point.
Nothing would be definitely true about Golarion in the future, I'm afraid. It could switch over to technological based stuff, it could apocalypse out, it could stay the same, it could revert to New Azlant and New Thassilon... it's not something that I'm really all that interested in exploring, really, for the same reason I'm not all that interested in exploring the past in great detail. AKA: If I'm going to do that, I want to do it right, in the form of a big book or something.
It's more likely you'll see us tackle the other areas in their own books.
Why do you guys tackle areas? It seems abstract and aggressive.
It's the only way to be sure.It's more likely you'll see us tackle the other areas in their own books.Why do you guys tackle areas? It seems abstract and aggressive.
That was very clever. ;) You could do this professionally.
Should Ricky Ponting be sacked and Shane Warne be brought out of retirement to be the captain of the Australian cricket team?
Is it reasonable to try anything to defeat the English?
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Creative Director
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You have previously stated that Paizo intends to do 3-4 hardcover books yearly. Do you think that there is now a room to do 3-4 Pathfinder RPG books and the same number of Golarion-specific hardcovers?
There's room, yes. There always has been. But since we were only just BARELY able to put 3 hardcovers out this year... the chances of ramping that up to 6–8 books are zero.
We'll be sticking to 3 hardcover books in the Rulesbook line and, now and then, doing additional hardcovers along the way as we can and as they're warranted. We HAVE staffed up significantly in the last several months, but that's mostly so that next year we'll be better about hitting our deadlines with those 3 hardcovers.
Remember... we also have a half-dozen or so other monthly or semi-monthly lines to do as well!
You have previously stated that Paizo intends to do 3-4 hardcover books yearly. Do you think that there is now a room to do 3-4 Pathfinder RPG books and the same number of Golarion-specific hardcovers?
I hear mad cackling from downstairs.
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Creative Director
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Oh, I do remember - but it seems to me that now you are committed to growth. So, we can expect 3 hardcover rulebooks next year. Does that include Bestiary 2 and Ultimate Magic, or are those this year's plans? If not, then what is the third book? (Besides Ultimate Combat and Bestiary 3?)
The appearance of "commitment to growth" is, in fact, a "commitment to hiring up so that we can actually pull off in a timely manner what we're currently trying to do without forcing us all to work many more 70 hour weeks."
Bestiary 2 is coming out (just BARELY) this year, so it doesn't count for a next year book. But that's proof that, this year, we were only barely able to get 3 hardcover books out.
James, do you ever hear from Mike McArtor?
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Are you concerned that if you ramp up too much that you will drive people off of subscriptions due to the increased cost?
I am sticking with it for now, but if it gets to be much more expensive on an annual level, I may have to drop it. I wonder if this is something that is considered in your forecasting?
Speaking of which, do you try to average out your subscription costs on a monthly basis so that people aren't hit for a few hundred dollar bill one month and a fifty dollar bill another one? The fluctuations are a little vexing for me...
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Since my idiotic country hasn't ratified certain international agreements yet, I can't buy stuff in electronic format, and that includes stuff published by Paizo, so I buy them from in dead-tree variant via friends from Canada and the States (Tulsa, to be exact) and have them brought to me several times per year in huge bags. So, monthly payments are not that important to me. I buy stuff when I have the money to do so and wait when I don't. But, do you have any plans to offer new subscription models for your customers who want to buy regullary?
Since my idiotic country hasn't ratified certain international agreements yet, I can't buy stuff in electronic format, and that includes stuff published by Paizo, so I buy them from in dead-tree variant via friends from Canada and the States (Tulsa, to be exact) and have them brought to me several times per year in huge bags. So, monthly payments are not that important to me. I buy stuff when I have the money to do so and wait when I don't. But, do you have any plans to offer new subscription models for your customers who want to buy regullary?
Are you asking for a dead-tree only version of the subscription? Not sure what you're looking for here.
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Since my idiotic country hasn't ratified certain international agreements yet, I can't buy stuff in electronic format, and that includes stuff published by Paizo, so I buy them from in dead-tree variant via friends from Canada and the States (Tulsa, to be exact) and have them brought to me several times per year in huge bags. So, monthly payments are not that important to me. I buy stuff when I have the money to do so and wait when I don't. But, do you have any plans to offer new subscription models for your customers who want to buy regullary?Are you asking for a dead-tree only version of the subscription? Not sure what you're looking for here.
Nonono. The question is not meant for me. I suppose it was meant for the US customers, who are of course your primary customers and the biggest market, who will probably at some point be unable to buy everything you make. So, methinks, you shall need new subscription models for them - perhaps some kind of mixed subscription?
For myself, I have learned to like this situation. I may have to wait several months for certain rulebooks, but than I get them all at once - and it is a great feeling when you get complete adventure path at once, I must say.
Nonono. The question is not meant for me. I suppose it was meant for the US customers, who are of course your primary customers and the biggest market, who will probably at some point be unable to buy everything you make. So, methinks, you shall need new subscription models for them - perhaps some kind of mixed subscription?
Well...the vast majority of our products are split into various lines (Adventure Path, Campaign Setting, Player Companion and Roleplaying Game for example), and you can always choose one subscription or multiple ones and opt to combine shipment of your subscriptions to save on shipping.
What do you mean when you say "mixed subscription" ?
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For instance, let's say that I am a student putting himself through college and I have limited amount of money each month to put in my favorite hobby. I like adventure paths, but I would also like new rulebook, since I am a DM of my group. My budget is let's say 50 bucks per month. I spend those 50 bucks on one rulebook and one AP issue. Next month I will spend the same amount of money, but I may choose to buy two companions. Essentially, customer opens a sort of credit line with you, or something like Paypal, and he or she spends certain amount of money each and every month, but on different products.
I suppose that this is stupid idea, and this doesn't affect me at all, since it's just not practical for me to subscribe, unless I change the country in which I live in, but if Paizo continues to grow - and I truly truly hope it will - you will be faced with this kind of problem, methinks.
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Creative Director
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Are you concerned that if you ramp up too much that you will drive people off of subscriptions due to the increased cost?
I am sticking with it for now, but if it gets to be much more expensive on an annual level, I may have to drop it. I wonder if this is something that is considered in your forecasting?
Speaking of which, do you try to average out your subscription costs on a monthly basis so that people aren't hit for a few hundred dollar bill one month and a fifty dollar bill another one? The fluctuations are a little vexing for me...
There are a lot of reasons why keeping on schedule is important. One of those is so that we don't hit our subscribers with giant bills when subscriptions start to clump up. That hurts us as well—if we have to send lots of books off to the printer in short windows, we have to pay for printing costs all at once, rather than in a more spread-out manner.
And that's just two reasons why being behind schedule is so harrowing and awful, and why getting back on schedule is pretty much a HUGE priority here. It might even be the HIGHEST priority task for us.
Riding the line between what we can produce, what our customers can afford, and how much to charge for products is indeed an important aspect of the production cycle. I'm not really all that involved in that budgeting stuff, though—all of that stuff comprises a significant portion of Erik, Jeff, and Lisa's job though.
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Creative Director
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...but if Paizo continues to grow ...
I actually don't see Paizo growing much more. We're pretty much at where we want to be—Lisa's said before she doesn't want us to shift from a small company into a large one. Our recent hires are pretty much in the "We need more folks to do what we're doing already, so that people can, say, take vacations now and then, or so we can get our lines on schedule."
I would certainly like to see our profits grow. But that doesn't mean we have to grow in size.
For instance, let's say that I am a student putting himself through college and I have limited amount of money each month to put in my favorite hobby. I like adventure paths, but I would also like new rulebook, since I am a DM of my group. My budget is let's say 50 bucks per month. I spend those 50 bucks on one rulebook and one AP issue. Next month I will spend the same amount of money, but I may choose to buy two companions. Essentially, customer opens a sort of credit line with you, or something like Paypal, and he or she spends certain amount of money each and every month, but on different products.
I suppose that this is stupid idea, and this doesn't affect me at all, since it's just not practical for me to subscribe, unless I change the country in which I live in, but if Paizo continues to grow - and I truly truly hope it will - you will be faced with this kind of problem, methinks.
I think the software infrastructure necessary for such a thing might take some doing, and unlikely to be implemented, given the choice of subscriptions, but I will bring up the idea at the next customer service meeting we have. :)
So are you guys going to stat up deities like they did in "Deities and Demigods". I actually kind of hope you don't, I've never seen PCs get so powerful they can kill gods, and if they did get that powerful I ususally end the game because it begins to border on the ridiculous.
This has been asked before, and I think it's been a firm "no", though demigods (and some demon lords) are suspect targets for mortals.
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Creative Director
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So are you guys going to stat up deities like they did in "Deities and Demigods". I actually kind of hope you don't, I've never seen PCs get so powerful they can kill gods, and if they did get that powerful I ususally end the game because it begins to border on the ridiculous.
Whether or not we stat up deities depends entirely on how we deal with the rules, but we WILL be sticking to the design philosophy of "demigods can be killed by mortals but full deities cannot." Which means that demigods (like demon lords) WOULD be statted up for use with epic rules, but folks like Desna or Zon-Kuthon would not be.
Also: making sure that whatever we do for the epic rules allows us to stat up demigods as powerful foes or allies will be one of the top priorities for the epic rules in the first place.
Well, hell... somebody killed Aroden!
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Well, hell... somebody killed Aroden!
Actually, the embarrassing thing is, Aroden actually slipped on a bar of cosmic soap and hit his head on the side of his bath tub.
Oh I hope not. I would rather subtle hints that he got into it with Azathoth and was gobbled up.Well, hell... somebody killed Aroden!Something tells me Aroden died from something more than mortals, but we will never know what did him in.
You see . . . no one can accept the soap/bath tub incident.
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Creative Director
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I could see people taking on demigods, but I personally would like too see these demigods as extremely hard challenges.
That would be pretty much the point. A demigod would be to epic level what foes like Treerazer and the Tarassque are to 20th level players. (of course... there's probably a wider array of demigods, with some being like the balors or linnorms of their ilk).
Any idea when we will see an AP that will go to level 20 again? I love the AP line, I just think they end at odd levels.They end at the levels that they end at. In other words, we have 6 volumes to tell the story, and whatever XP those 6 volumes give out is where they end up; we don't actually build an AP to specifically go to a pre-selected level.
That said, I'd LOVE to do a full 1st to 20th level adventure path again. I suspect that if and when we do that, we'll have to assume that the PCs in that AP are using the fast track for XP, since we won't be able to really lengthen adventures OR go for more than 6 volumes.
or you could do a sequential AP. The first series of six volumes would deal with the first couple of levels and then the second series takes off where the first series ended. I hope that made sense
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I think the software infrastructure necessary for such a thing might take some doing, and unlikely to be implemented, given the choice of subscriptions, but I will bring up the idea at the next customer service meeting we have. :)For instance, let's say that I am a student putting himself through college and I have limited amount of money each month to put in my favorite hobby. I like adventure paths, but I would also like new rulebook, since I am a DM of my group. My budget is let's say 50 bucks per month. I spend those 50 bucks on one rulebook and one AP issue. Next month I will spend the same amount of money, but I may choose to buy two companions. Essentially, customer opens a sort of credit line with you, or something like Paypal, and he or she spends certain amount of money each and every month, but on different products.
I suppose that this is stupid idea, and this doesn't affect me at all, since it's just not practical for me to subscribe, unless I change the country in which I live in, but if Paizo continues to grow - and I truly truly hope it will - you will be faced with this kind of problem, methinks.
I think that this breaks the major benefit of subscription to Paizo — the fact that they know in advance how many of each subscription line to print.
An easy work around from a software point of view, might be to allow people to setup a repeating charge on their credit card for, say, $50 per month. This then gets converted into $55 (or $50 times a hundred and something percent) in Paizo gift vouchers in their account. A small bonus for the promise of monthly cash.
I can't buy stuff in electronic format, and that includes stuff published by Paizo, so I buy them from in dead-tree variant via friends from Canada and the States
Nightflier - Could you not get your friends to buy the electronic version and ship it to you on CD?