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And I don't like the people who do the german translation of Pathfinder.
Oh, that's harsh. How can you not like me if you don't even know me? ^_^
Ask the german/european licence guys to copy paizos conditions - to offer subscribitions with free pdfs and a discount etc.
While Ulisses Spiele is working on a pdf solution, there seem to be some legal issues to be involved, which have to be solved first. But at least it is the declared goal to offer a pdf model some time in the future.
I have no idea about subscription plans, though. I guess it is not impossible but so far there are no plans I'm aware of (which may not mean much, as I'm not involved in Ulisses' sales plans).
At the moment, I pay about the same amount of money for my subscriptions (or english books at amazon) as for the german books - and I get a free pdf, get them earlier, got more products available etc pp. Just because I think my english good enough for using english gaming materials.
Like Paizo, Ulisses can't compete with amazon. Then there's the fact that the sales numbers are surely smaller than Paizo's sales numbers, which affects prices as does the german system of fixed book prices.
And then there's the fact that a lot of german players have enough understanding of the english language, which has been a problem for german licensees since the beginning.This said, Pathfinder seems to be quite successful in Germany, the Core Rules have just made the second edition, and, beginning with Serpent's Skull, Ulisses will publish german APs as well.
This said, Pathfinder seems to be quite successful in Germany, the Core Rules have just made the second edition, and, beginning with Serpent's Skull, Ulisses will publish german APs as well.
Good to hear - so it's my reclusiveness that I don't get to know many Pathfinder gamers in germany. Or it is a regional thing..
Concerning Ulisses and "your" translation.
"don't like the poeple doing the translation" really did not paraphraze you (or other translators) - it only was and is directed at Ulisses.
I don't like the "firm" and I don't like their handling of pdfs of other games they sell. I am used to paizo's customer service, communication and so on - and there Ulisses cannot compare. Alone paizo's handling of pdfs - personalized copy downloadable as often and whenever I like - triumphs over Ulisses' downloadable für 24 hours.
I don't know what the reasons are - maybe there are legal problems - but there is, for me, absolutly no reason to buy things from them.
But I guess that is a "personal thing".
What would be interesting to know - what kind of "commercials" for Pathfinder / RPG are there in the US?
How are new gamers recruited?
My opinion of the german market ist, that it is shrinking and that there is no firm who does any kind of "advertising" or trying to get new gamers who really get into it and buy stuff.
Hello, I am from Cuba, an island in the Mexican Gulf with a complicated reputation. I'm not a English native speaker so pardon me the grammar. I live in the east of the country, very far from the capital city Havana, and for the last 6 years I've promoted the rpg here which has a null existence. We mainly use DnD, first AD&D 2nd, then 3.5 and currently 4e. But I'm not completely satisfied with 4e and I really miss the deepness that 3.5 had. A friend from Spain tall me about Pathfinder and I was very intrigued. Unfortunately, we don't have ANY rpg store in the country. So, the only way is the imports. And above all, the average annual salary is 200$, so expending 60$ in a book is not viable. But 10 bucks in a PDF is much better, more if a group of people work together (they are going to use it together anyway). The problem once again is the payment problem because not only we don't have easy access to international credit cards, but also is the embargo issue.
I ask, or more, I beg, is there any workaround? I wouldn't mind pay, but how?
In case anyone wonder, yes, the previous system used where all, sadly, pirated pdf copies. Pity.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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I had asked my seven 4E players to switch to PF this November (Essentials pushed me to ask them to switch). When the APG came out and they saw all the options, they choose to switch to PF immediately. The group is a mix of brand new players and veterans. All of them wanted more options to create the character they saw in their mind's eye and each of them felt that PF was the better way to do that.
If Paizo wants to appeal to 4E players I'd recommend starting with choice. Simply explain that with two rulebooks (Core and APG) you can do nearly anything and aren't restricted to a handful of builds.
Right after that, I hit my former 4E players with Golarion. I had to scramble to put something together for my players since no simple guide yet exists that connects PF to Golarion unless you go Adventure Path and I didn't want to do that.
Basically, if Paizo had a Player Guide to Varisia (like the first AP but updated to PF), a small region book and a small city book and maybe a starting module for GMs (also updated to PF), and marketed that to GMs and players switching over it would be a HUGE help.
I liked the Greyhawk model: a boxed set for the world and a boxed set of the city of Greyhawk and some modules. I still like that setup all these years later. The books wouldn't have to be boxed sets of course, but the model is a good idea.
Not all GMs want to go all the way into an AP; I wanted the world of Golarion so my players could buy in and then make my own adventures. But sorting out where to get started in Golarion is very confusing right now.
The products are split between 3.5 and PF and no intro line exists except the AP (and that is too narrow for my tastes). And some products are going out of print now. I bought Kaer Maga but it was a little over the top for me. I finally went with Magnimar from AP 2 and made stuff up myself.
So, the rules can snag 4E players and then the flavor of Golarion (or Freeport or another PF setting) can draw them in. A GM could be helped out with a small regional setting hopefully supported with a city and a module.
If the release of this starting material could be tied to the PF Society organized play season, I think PF would swell its ranks with new players and GMs.
The easiest way is for some one to gift or loan you the $10 on this side. I would but my gaming budget is empty till the first of next month.
The problem is that is easier to ask for a friend to buy a 100$ working tool than a 10$ "toy" for an adult. I know I can't. I have a friend in New York that could help me, but I can't find a way to ask for that. And it would be better if there is a way of payment from this "lovely" country so eventually I can buy the other books without compromising the goodwill of my friends overseas.
Oh, also, thank you so much for the offer. You are very kind. Even if you can't thank you only for thinking it.
The easiest way is for some one to gift or loan you the $10 on this side. I would but my gaming budget is empty till the first of next month.
The problem is that is easier to ask for a friend to buy a 100$ working tool than a 10$ "toy" for an adult. I know I can't. I have a friend in New York that could help me, but I can't find a way to ask for that. And it would be better if there is a way of payment from this "lovely" country so eventually I can buy the other books without compromising the goodwill of my friends overseas.
Oh, also, thank you so much for the offer. You are very kind. Even if you can't thank you only for thinking it.
Kenichiku, put a PDF in your wish list and, on the promise that you keep us informed about how your games go, I will happily buy you a copy when my pay check comes through.
Basically, if Paizo had a Player Guide to Varisia (like the first AP but updated to PF), a small region book and a small city book and maybe a starting module for GMs (also updated to PF), and marketed that to GMs and players switching over it would be a HUGE help.
Player's Primer to the Inner Sea comes out in November and the Revised Campaign Setting is coming out in February. Those are the 2 products you are looking for.
Kenichiku, put a PDF in your wish list and, on the promise that you keep us informed about how your games go, I will happily buy you a copy when my pay check comes through.
I'm speechless (luckily not wordless). I didn't intended this but I greatly appreciate it. You have no idea how big is the help you provide. We have to work out hard every bit of material even the tiniest to have a decent game. Don't be in any way obliged but I added the three "main" books + DM Screen. Nevertheless, if anyone find a way that allow me to buy this, please give me a ring and I sell my sheep to buy it.
PS: I think I'll create a thread about our games over here.
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"don't like the poeple doing the translation" really did not paraphraze you (or other translators)
I was just kidding. :)
I am used to paizo's customer service, communication and so on - and there Ulisses cannot compare.
That's true, and while we try to alleviate that by our presence on different german messageboards, we can only go so far without violating our NDAs.
But there's hope: Ulisses recently hired someone specificially to care about marketing issues, so this might get better in the long run.
Hello, I am from Cuba, ...
The problem once again is the payment problem because not only we don't have easy access to international credit cards, but also is the embargo issue.
I ask, or more, I beg, is there any workaround? I wouldn't mind pay, but how?
...
I never thought of the local gamers possibility when I was in Cuba! Cool to know!
I'm not sure if this can help in any way but Canada doesn't have the embargo issue.I also know there are Paizo/Pathfinder distributors but I'm not familiar with the non-credit card options or the non-US PDF availability.
I'll post again if I can figure some usefull stuff.
Thanks for all of the ideas everyone, and keep more coming! While I might not post often to this thread, I'm definitely keeping an eye on it.
Hyrum.
Thanks for all of the ideas everyone, and keep more coming! While I might not post often to this thread, I'm definitely keeping an eye on it.
Hyrum.
Plushie goblins would be awesome by the way ;)
Canada's bigest problem is the distributers, they keep the orders slow and imballanced and often wrong. We are always waiting for things and we get our things months behind what the US gets. We are almost an after thought from the US distributors and our distributors suck at keeping up to our demand because of it.
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While I realize that Golarion is the meat and potatoes of Paizo's Pathfinder lines, I think it might be a good idea to throw out non-Golarion products every once in a while (beyond the RPG line). This might interest people who are playing PFRPG but don't really have any interest in the campaign setting. I personally would love to see Paizo's take on a Norse Mythology supplement. In fact, that could become it's own line, albeit one that would be updated rather infrequently...Real World Mythologies. Norse, Greek/Roman, and Egyptian would almost certainly sell enough to be worthwhile.
I never thought of the local gamers possibility when I was in Cuba! Cool to know!
I'm not sure if this can help in any way but Canada doesn't have the embargo issue.
I also know there are Paizo/Pathfinder distributors but I'm not familiar with the non-credit card options or the non-US PDF availability.
I'll post again if I can figure some usefull stuff.
You were in Cuba? Havana or somewhere else? is you ever come again (and go to Holguin, fat chance) send me a tip so we can meet and share experience and maybe play a session. Bilingual. I Guess.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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I think the second issue Paizo Marketing faces (the first being how to encourage new players) is how to expand the brand without diluting the brand. While I think a real world mythology line would be cool, I think that's really the sort of thing a 3rd party publisher should tackle. Without hiring new developers, Paizo can't afford to divert resources from their current lines to develop a new one and I've seen too many game companies do so at their peril.
The key is how do you overcome the "D&D" name. D&D is associated with 4e now, since WOTC owns the name and there is a current incarnation. Pathfinder has got to get its own brand and name out into the mainstream culture in order to capture new players and attention. The fiction line, while also being cool, is probably a great example of this. If you like classic sci-fi and buy a Planet Stories book, you might be intrigued enough to look into this Pathfinder game.
My suggestion is to further explore the areas where Pathfinder already touches other sci-fi and fantasy related interests. The Celebrity Game Table podcasts were a good idea and something similar could be done for Paizo. Sending t-shirts and merchandise to shows like the Big Bang Theory or Eureka (Fargo running a game of Pathfinder makes me giggle) or Warehouse 13 as props or clothing is a great way to start. I seem to remember the story of the band My Chemical Romance being gamers. Send them some Pathfinder and feature them in adverts. A Pathfinder Facebook game is also a cool idea. Getting Pathfinder Society games onto college campuses, into Barnes & Nobles and libraries is also a huge foothold into reaching the sort of players we're going to need.
The key to it all is showing how cool and fun the game is. Players can help do this by running Pathfinder Scenario games at their local stores and by telling their friends. Maybe if there were some sort of rewards program for people who bring new players into the game? When you buy a PDF of the core rules, maybe it asks who referred you and they earn points toward something neat? Discounts or merchandise or somesuch.
These are just off the top of my head. If any of them work out, excellent. If they don't, no harm done.
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A "Red Box" --- a simple, introductory product that is easy to use and works with the Pathfinder rules and is fairly inespensive --- would be a good idea. It will be easy to stock and sell, and can have a few elements designed to help introduce people to gaming in general and Pathfinder in particular.
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You were in Cuba? Havana or somewhere else? is you ever come again (and go to Holguin, fat chance) send me a tip so we can meet and share experience and maybe play a session. Bilingual. I Guess.
Mostly beaching so far: Cayo Coco, Varadero and yes, Playa Pesquero not so far from Holguin.
It's big family time for us so a 'Well, I have a game tonight!' might not quite work for a few more trips but we'll see when I'll be going back more for exploration than beaching. Something I am definitely planing but in a few years, I'm keeping Havana for that type of trip!
Mostly beaching so far: Cayo Coco, Varadero and yes, Playa Pesquero not so far from Holguin.
It's big family time for us so a 'Well, I have a game tonight!' might not quite work for a few more trips but we'll see when I'll be going back more for exploration than beaching. Something I am definitely planing but in a few years, I'm keeping Havana for that type of trip!
Oh, too bad. I'm also a little far from Havana as you know. Anyway, if anything take you on this side of the world remember that we're here.
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Oh, too bad. I'm also a little far from Havana as you know. Anyway, if anything take you on this side of the world remember that we're here.
In case this can help you can check out the non-u.s. distributors on this page:
http://paizo.com/paizo/about/distributors
I know Euros are on another spin in Cuba and possibly mailing a 'Postal Money Order' might open some doors. Otherwise maybe some web service providers might have some option with 'PayPal' or similar services. I'm not sure how these apply to the Cuban (non-touristic) pesos.
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I still think the Faction dice idea would go over well. While usable for Pathfinder Society, they would be a subtle way to introduce pathfinder to ANY game that uses dice... especially other role-playing games.
At our last local convention, a GM used his Chtulu dice at a table, invoking a conversation about THAT game between sessions. pathfinder dice would have been a great hand-out to let others know about Paizo and Pathfinder. And they would be more specific to the brand than the Item cards I usually give out (nod to Sean K. for the idea!)
Hey Keichiku, I have a few books I could send you if you are interested and forgive my ignorance, if it is legal here to do so. I currently have "Sargava The Lost Colony," "Pathfinder Chronicles Heart of the Jungle," and "Pathfinder Chronicles City of Strangers."
These were originally to be given away to collaborators on d20pfsrd.com but I'd be glad to send one of your choice to you just as a gift. By the way, have you been to d20pfsrd.com? It might be useful to you.
Anyway, if anyone is knowledgeable about mailing products to Cuba from the U.S., please let me know. I have no idea if I can do that or not. If I can, I just need an address Keichiku and I'll send it right over.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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Hey Keichiku, I have a few books I could send you if you are interested and forgive my ignorance, if it is legal here to do so. I currently have "Sargava The Lost Colony," "Pathfinder Chronicles Heart of the Jungle," and "Pathfinder Chronicles City of Strangers."
These were originally to be given away to collaborators on d20pfsrd.com but I'd be glad to send one of your choice to you just as a gift. By the way, have you been to d20pfsrd.com? It might be useful to you.
Anyway, if anyone is knowledgeable about mailing products to Cuba from the U.S., please let me know. I have no idea if I can do that or not. If I can, I just need an address Keichiku and I'll send it right over.
Citizens of the US cannot send stuff to Cuba, due to the embargo. However, you should really check out this post...
Hey, Hyrum!
How about you expand the length a review can be when entered into the system, so DM doesn't have to go through hoops to post hers?
Will that increase the Pathfinder brand? It couldn't hurt.
+1
For the few times that I do review, I got annoyed when I ran into the cap to be able to expand further on something that appealed to me in the contents. That's only a mere fraction of what DM puts up. The more I can get to read in detail from a DM typed review, the better.
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I have to say, I feel like I'm unique amongst the Canadians on the board here.
Living on Vancouver Island and my local game shops are stocked on release day, or within the same week.
Pathfinder materials are displayed front and center in their own display racks with a footprint as good as 4E.
Having GM'ed for one of the employees for one of those stores, I also had it on reasonable authority that Pathfinder sales are in excess of all others (40K RPGs in close second).
Having said that, we do need a larger presence of Pathfinder Society groups and locations. D&D still seems to rule the roost when it comes to player organized play in stores and schools.
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A "Red Box" --- a simple, introductory product that is easy to use and works with the Pathfinder rules and is fairly inespensive --- would be a good idea. It will be easy to stock and sell, and can have a few elements designed to help introduce people to gaming in general and Pathfinder in particular.
This is already being discussed on at least two separate threads; I don't think we need to repeat posts on that subject here.
Well looks like Paizo is considering expanding the review length. Got a email from Vic asking about, how much mine typically go over. Luckly my spam filter didn't eat it.
Smart idea.
TL;DR... Was there anythinng more said about the android app idea? :D I have a PDF reader on my Droid, and the browser works fine for me, so a mobile PRD isn't really what I'd be interested in.
Maybe Paizo could work with third party contributors to get Pathfinder-inspired soundtracks and such. A Paizo product update would be nifty - not like the store blog or e-mails, but announcements about products like the Bestiary 2 or a new module that is coming out, perhaps spoiler art from those books, or some such? I get e-mails, but I rarely check it and I turn alerts off because I get so much junk.
Personally, though I don't suppose this is expanding, I would like to see more stand-alone modules. Our group is full of wannabe writers, so we do a lot of our own stories. The one shot modules are more affordable for college kids, and they are good for nights where the group wants to play by the DM hasn't had a lot of time to prepare. A few quick edits and the module can slip into the story without totally derailing it. I can't honestly say that I have experience with Adventure Paths and trying to do this, but the fact that they have stories of their own makes it seem like they are not really suited to quick-editing.
And... goblin onesies? Plus one...?
Chief Technical Officer
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A Paizo product update would be nifty - not like the store blog or e-mails, but announcements about products like the Bestiary 2 or a new module that is coming out, perhaps spoiler art from those books, or some such?
Have you seen the Paizo Blog?
I would like to see more stand-alone modules.
We release six 32-page Pathfinder Modules per year, plus about 28 smaller Pathfinder Society Scenarios—two most months, with four per month for PaizoCon and Gen Con.
A Paizo product update would be nifty - not like the store blog or e-mails, but announcements about products like the Bestiary 2 or a new module that is coming out, perhaps spoiler art from those books, or some such?Have you seen the Paizo Blog?
Yeah... but I don't get mobile updates to it on my phone. :D Do RSS feeds work with the Android system? I guess I could have looked into that.
We release six 32-page Pathfinder Modules per year, plus about 28 smaller Pathfinder Society Scenarios—two most months, with four per month for PaizoCon and Gen Con.
I've only discovered Pathfinder in the past 5 or so months, so I am still learning what kind of production schedule you guys keep. All I know is that every bookstore I go to (as there is not a single gaming store within 100 miles of me) has the same four modules, and maybe two of the adventure path books.
I haven't looked at the Pathfinder society stuff because for some reason I got the impression that it was something that a FLGS did weekly or monthly and whatnot. No LGS =/= no PFS?
Thanks for the heads up. Guess I'll have to stop trying to support local vendors if I want my fix. :/ It's a shame, though. Their loss, really.
I haven't looked at the Pathfinder society stuff because for some reason I got the impression that it was something that a FLGS did weekly or monthly and whatnot. No LGS =/= no PFS?
You can play official society games anywhere, you just need to follow the rules and hopefully report your games. On the other hand, the scenarios are low-cost PDFs, and there is nothing to stop people from playing them in home games or one off scenarios without the strictness of playing them as official society games.
Also, buy more high-level modules to show Paizo that high level can sell! (Witch War Legacy is the most recent example of this, and looks great!)
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Chief Technical Officer
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I've only discovered Pathfinder in the past 5 or so months, so I am still learning what kind of production schedule you guys keep. All I know is that every bookstore I go to (as there is not a single gaming store within 100 miles of me) has the same four modules, and maybe two of the adventure path books.
Bookstores tend not to purchase our 32-pagers because they're not thick enough to have spines, and thus you can't tell what they are when they're shelved. But anybody who carries *any* of your products should be able to special order anything else for you.
I haven't looked at the Pathfinder society stuff because for some reason I got the impression that it was something that a FLGS did weekly or monthly and whatnot. No LGS =/= no PFS?
While we love it when stores run PFS, it's not limited to that at all. You can run PFS events yourself—maybe at your local library—or just do them with your own gaming group at home—or, if you're really not interested in Society play, you can still use the scenarios to run one-nighters with your regular group.