Seriously, I can't get enough of this game, but unfortunately the people I play with, aside from my brother, don't share the same passion. So, I'm unable to get enough playtime to satisfy my craving. I've resorted to running a PbP game on another gaming site but that doesn't have the same appeal as an in-person game. Also, from my understanding, after lurking the forums for a week, PFS appears to consist of super elite, super serious, optimizing players, and that's just no fun in my opinion. Although, I don't know much about PFS so take my point-of-view with a grain of salt.
Such is life.
Anyways, it's nice to finally make my first post.
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To solve your problem, do the following. One try PFS. It isn't as fun as homebrew, but it is actually easier because its made for beginers,(and optimizing isn't necessary, just recomended.) Two, in your free time make new characters for campaigns you're in. Three look through the forums and messageboards. for interesting ideas and post them.
P.S. if you have any ideas for more effective fighters please post them.
What about looking at a local gaming store or in the gamer connection section forum for people near you that are as passionate as you are? If your brother is as in to the game as you are why not look around for other players that you could form a second group with in order to increase your opportunities to play without getting into organized play?
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Well....
1. Define "unhealthy".
2. Define "obsession".
I enjoy table top role playing games, and I play them when I can. But I don't (or try not to) let that get in the way of having other healthy activities, especially involving my family.
As the wise old saying goes, "moderation in all things..."
I just looked up information for PFS near me, and unfortunately the closest events are two states away in Washington.
The local gaming store is primarily based around MTG; I have only met one other person who has even said anything about Pathfinder and he seemed a little... eccentric, to say the least.
And by "unhealthy obsession" I mean devoting some hours a day making characters or coming up with copious amounts of homebrew content. Maybe it's not so much an obsession as a need to be creative and a want to use that content.
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When I first started I too wanted to play constantly, of course I had very few responsibilities(homework and my job making $3.35/hr cleaning golf carts at the country club). I gamed every weekend and sometimes once or twice during the week.
However, as our group got older and wiser? things like family and careers took precedence. I still game with the same group but we get together once a month.
I would follow the armoured monks suggestions and hit your local gaming store.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I just looked up information for PFS near me, and unfortunately the closest events are two states away in Washington.
The local gaming store is primarily based around MTG; I have only met one other person who has even said anything about Pathfinder and he seemed a little... eccentric, to say the least.
And by "unhealthy obsession" I mean devoting some hours a day making characters or coming up with copious amounts of homebrew content. Maybe it's not so much an obsession as a need to be creative and a want to use that content.
I totally know what you mean about the unhealthy obsession... I spend a significant portion of my time writing Pathfinder content and making up character builds. What you need to do is turn that creativity toward getting into the freelance writing business. I can tell you how it worked for me:
1. Write guides and post them here. There are a TON of optimization guides that people have written to help others get the most out of their characters. The two of mine that I'm most proud of are my Races of Pathfinder and Sorcerer Bloodlines guides. These let me get a lot of my thoughts down on "paper" where others can see them and give me feedback.
2. Join an online community. In my case, I started helping out with putting content up on d20pfsrd.com, and the people I met through that were invaluable for getting my start on real content creation.
3. Write content. I've been working with a group of like-minded individuals here on the forums on a set of archetypes which we call "Multiclass Archetypes". We have over 100 of them done now, and we're still making new ones every day. This will make you contacts in the industry and give you practice for the next step.
4. Submit content to publishers. Start with something simple, like a short article on your favorite archetype or type of creature, and send it to one of the companies that make monthly magazines. I have been writing short optimization articles for Fat Goblin Games' "Open Gaming Monthly". You won't get paid for these, but they'll eventually lead to the final step.
5. Become a freelance writer. Once you have enough content out there, one of the third party companies will notice and contact you, asking for you to write something you can actually get paid for. I was lucky enough to be offered the CLASSifieds line from Fat Goblin Games, and my first PDF just went on sale over the weekend. I've now turned an unhealthy obsession with a hobby into something that can actually make me some money (which means my wife can't complain anymore!)
I hope this was helpful, because I would love to see more people get lucky like I did and get into the business of having a hobby you get paid for!
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I just looked up information for PFS near me, and unfortunately the closest events are two states away in Washington
I've just started playing PFS (three sessions so far). There are some folks who are serious and some who aren't. On Saturday morning, we had dwarves (with Scottish accents of course) leading our not-so-stealthed party through the dungeon. And in the later session, one guy had driven down from Oklahoma. Maybe you could do monthly road trips?
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I'm in the middle of a meeting...right now. I am obsessed.
Check on Roll20.net. It's an online gaming medium, free-to-use, and they have a "LFM" board that's usually full of Pathfinder campaigns.
</feed the addiction> :P
I completely understand the obsession. I would echo what Azixirad stated above (except for the parts about golf carts etc XD) During my obsessive period I worked at our local gaming store/bookstore/coffee shop. It was towards the latter end of 2nd edition DnD and MtG was in full swing (around the time of the MtG Ice Age expansion if that helps date me.)
I had access to any RPG book I could ever hope to want. We, being a college town, had a wide player base. We played every weekend and several times during the week. Name an RPG from that time period and I bet we played it. During that time period when I was not busy with school, I would spend hours coming up with content for my players in whatever game we were playing. (I usually DMed).
So, yeah I had my obsessive period. Then, marriage-moving away-advanced degrees, pretty much put the brakes on gaming until recently. Now back in same town with a few (3 to 6) of the original members and we game about 3 times a month on average.
I like Pathfinder and I get my obsessive fix usually by reading the forums here when I cannot actually play. PFS never held an interest for me and our group is pretty relaxed as to optimizing builds (well, except maybe one).
I would not at all say it is unhealthy unless it detracts from "normal" life. Thankfully, my wife seems to put up with it............so far.
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I tend to be "obsessive" about activities in general. Not just gaming, but pretty much any hobby I pick up. I have this obsessive need to learn and apply as much as I can as quickly as I can.
So, for example, I got the amateur astronomy bug several years ago. Now most people can satisfy their amateur astronomy obsession by buying a telescope.
Not me. No, I have to MAKE one. Or two. Or, as it turns out eventually, four or five. And that fourth telescope can't be a NORMAL telescope, no it has to be some sort of research activity, eventually involving locating and procuring a surplus off-axis hyperboloid mirror so that I could create a small telescope with zero chromatic aberration and no central obstruction to create diffraction spikes...
Or guitar... which led to me designing and attempting to build a custom acoustic guitar design which optimized the resonant vibrations of the front of the guitar using mathematically modeled string placement techniques...
That's why I have a custom digital gaming table, hundreds of custom miniatures and run every campaign in my own custom campaign world with its own history, mythology and cosmology...
Unhealthy? Not at all. I'm much richer for having done all I've done and learned all I've learned.
Or so I tell myself...
I would liken my involvement with D&D to having a mistress, in part from the silent treatment I get from my GF right before I leave the house on Sundays. :)
AD, how did your guitar building project end up? I spent three years in music school and played in bands for almost 20 years, and music is the passion I don't actively obsess over anymore, so I'm curious.
Ciaran, it turns out that my design skills seem to have outpaced my woodworking skills. My guitar design should be awesome, what it ended up as though was a pile of wood pieces.
Sigh.
I could have just built a standard guitar and then I'd HAVE a custom-built guitar... C'est la vie....
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Listen, if You want to play PFS then try to build the set of people playing by inviting friends that don't play pathfinder to your campaign. This requires a lot of GMing but when enough people play then try to get paizo to have PFS in your town and convince your gaming store to help by hosting. Or just find related stuff to do in your free time like designing things that could help Pathfinder or even just Paizo in general.
AWESOME!
0_0
Wow... just wow.... and by wow I mean awesome.
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Check in on the chat room via pfrpg.com.au and register an account - there's information on how to get started, you'll get invites to games once you're registered, and plenty of pathfinder-friendly people (newbie, veteran and munchkin alike).
Alas, it appears the only way to solve my dilemma is to devote my time to Pathfinder. Unfortunately, until I'm out of college I won't be able to do so. The reason being is the music program at my school is incredibly time consuming and rigorous so it leaves almost no time for any activities; it's unfortunate. If only I could have started Pathfinder four years from now instead of two years ago.
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Four... Don't ever take the extremely vocal population of these boards as a representative sample of PFS or Pathfinder players in general. People for whom the system generally works, don't have the urge in most cases to post.
Yes, few of us play like that.
I only have seen one Character out of dozens with a seriously dumped stat, and that’s a Dwarf wizard. Mind you, I have a Sorc with a CHA of 22, and the rest of his stats are 12’s, so sure, there’s some Min/Maxing.
Few of us play “rocket tag”. Generally since we have balanced characters, encounters takes 5-10 rounds, and in combat healing is standard.
There’s just a hard core group of theory-crafting Optimizers who love to share their ideas and post like mad. They have interesting ideas, but don't get the idea that the Real gaming world is anything at all like they imply.
I feel your pain, LastExile!
There are times I wish I could plug my GM in like a console and just play until I fell asleep sitting up...
The second day in a week where we couldn't play because of a lack of players. And this is two separate groups, mind you.
Kind of really disappointing.
The second day in a week where we couldn't play because of a lack of players. And this is two separate groups, mind you.
Kind of really disappointing.
I am "currently participating" in three "active" campaigns. One I am running, two I have a PC in.
The games are not the same players but the majority of players are in all three games.
We have not met in over a month, could not get scheduled for July and last night on email were struggling to find a day we could meet in August.
"Second day in a week..."
Wow, I haven't played twice in one week in...
Well, let's just say I wasn't dating my wife at that time and my daughter graduated college a few years ago...
The last time I gamed more than once every two weeks, I hadn't even finished college yet...
Ah, the good ol' days. I worked as a night manager at a hotel that had a conference room immediately across from the front desk; my actual duties took about 2 hours a night, with maybe another hour for late check-ins and room maintenance emergencies.
My friends used to come up and hang out and we'd game most of my shift away. :P
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If only I could find that same job, but paying even half what I make now... I think I'd jump at it in a heartbeat.
P.S. if you have any ideas for more effective fighters please post them.
This seems off subject, but I'll bite. :D
I'm currently working on a new system, but my ideas are mostly relevant to Pathfinder fighters.
Firstly, giving a class a bunch of combat feats and saying "here ya go, this is 90% of your class, enjoy" is just lazy and boring. Pathfinder at least took it 1 step further than 3.5 with weapon and armor training, but it's still not very exciting. Sure, there are a lot of combat feats out there that are awesome, but a class list that says "bonus feat", "bonus feat", "bonus feat" on every other line is still generic as hell.
How about actually giving them unique features like every other class gets? For example, in my system fighters (my name for them is Warriors, but that's neither here nor there) get an Attack Stance and a Defense Stance at level 1. You can only be in 1 stance at a time and can switch your stance once per turn. Neither stance invokes any penalties (like Rage does), just grants minor benefits.
From there, most class features they get are based on these stances. For example, you get to choose a few different counter-attack abilities that are usable in defense stance. You can choose a few overwhelming attacks that let you attempt to trip, disarm, or sunder for free that are usable in attack stance.
And those are just a few examples. It would be easy to give them more utility as well by introducing a Knowledge: Combat skill and giving fighters an edge in that skill. Also instead of archetypes, I think all classes should be able to cherry pick and choose the variant class features they want freely. So a fighter might choose an alternate feature that gives him an edge in a skill OTHER than Knowledge: Combat, and he could also pick different class features that let him specialize in different fighting styles instead of getting stances - so instead of having the default attack stance and defensive stance, a fighter might have a slew of class features dedicated to two-weapon fighting, sword-and-shield fighting, 2-handed weapon fighting, or even bare-handed brawling. Archetypes already do this in Pathfinder, but I'm suggesting that they all just be categorized as variant class features that you can pick and choose from. So you may still be considered a "two-weapon warrior" or a "brawler", but you're not stuck with a whole set of class features you may not like, just so you can have 1 specific class feature you DO like.
EDIT: Forgot to mention an important idea... what if at mid-to high levels, fighters got an ability that lets them make a full-attack sequence as a STANDARD action? This would help them out tremendously in effectiveness. It would be a powerful ability for sure, but something only for high-level fighters to look forward to. This would make fighters the king of the full-attack action. An alternative feature could be to move your speed as a SWIFT action.
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I've been seriously lacking in hard core amounts of role-playing games. I want to be doing them several times a week and so far I only get pathfinder once biweekly.. It just suuuucks.
I miss the days of going to a convention and playing for over 48 horus then going to someone's house to die in Cauldron again.
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Oh the meeting has already started, I'll just take a seat over here "My name is Christos Gurd and I am on Paizo.com's messegeboards a minimum of 5 hours a day, save for the unfortunate time I spend working." I thik my obsession dawned on me when I saw that I was the last to post in every thread from general discussion and homebrew. +5 toasters as far as the eye can see...also it has been a solid two months since I have been able to play...
Back in 3.5's heyday, I was gaming 6 nights a week, in 7 campaigns at a time(2 games on Saturdays). I was spending more time at the gaming table than I was putting in at my job. I wasn't just "familiar" with 3.5 rules, I was practically living in them.
Then I met my wife, and that dried up but quick. Now, I'm in one weekly game, and a Star Wars game that meets every other Friday. But, as busy as I am with family stuff, I wouldn't have time for more games even if I wanted to.
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Unhealthy? No, but obsessive? Umm...
When 3x hit in 2k, I was at GenCon that year, in the auditorium; I even still have the shirt. I died a little that day. I went outside the auditorium while WotC was still on stage and there was Gary Gygax: the man, the myth, the legend. He was just sitting on the side door stairs outside, chatting with some people. So I just stood there like a groupie and listened. I'll never forget what he said.
"If you find a hobby you like, and you're not hurting anyone or breaking any laws, then DO it. It doesn't matter what version of it, or how involved you get. If its fun, do it. When it stops being fun, STOP doing it."
For months I resisted 3x. Then I bit the bullet and played. There were some good fixes in the game, but it didn't sit right. I tinkered, so did WotC, and 3.5 came out. I did the fanboy thing, bought up splatbooks and made insane characters/villains that were completely unbalanced.
Now, in the middle of all this I moved states and I had no access even to a gaming store for a while. Yes, there were gaming stores near me, but I couldn't devote any time finding new players b/cause of the job that had prompted me to move. I had 2 baby girls and my wife, no friends, and I worked all the time.
It was...challenging.
My wife sensed my frustration. Somewhere in our miniscule budget she squeezed together the cash for a subscription to Dungeon Magazine for me. I started reading Paizo's offerings here. Suddenly...Mister Gygax' words came back. I had a LITTLE spare time at home, at night; why not just use it?
So I did. I scraped together a little MORE cash and bought some moulds from Hirst Arts. I made some pathetically bad pieces, but I was happy w/them. Then my wife told me the mom's club she was in had some dads who might be players. I brought my pieces to a meeting one night, got a couple of them together, and ran a game.
It was fun but we were still playing 3x rules. I'd FINALLY gotten my stuff in order, gotten a game on the table, but there was STILL something off.
Then another blow: Paizo was abruptly removed from Dungeon.
I was beat down again. It was genuinely hurtful; I'd just re-upped my subscription with money I didn't really have at the time, and mid-year, suddenly my whole inspiration piece was being taken away. The last few issues were bitter sweet. But Paizo is a great company. They let me transfer the balance of my subscription to cash on their site. Unfortunately all they had for sale at the time was some Gamemastery stuff...and something called Pathfinder.
I plunked down my last few bucks. Combined with the cash I had in their store, that got me the online Hollow's Last Hope, as well as in print the CRB and Bestiary. I began paging through the CRB...and it was ON!
Since then I've played PF. I've run it, played others' games, and made tons of homebrewed adventures. It hits the sweet spot for all the things that seemed wonky about 3x. I've tried D&D 4, wargaming, board gaming and video games; heck, I even break out my molds once in a while and play with them. But NONE of it has stuck with me as consistently as PF.
Cartmanbeck, yours is the path I'd love to follow. AD: as always you are a source of inspiration but I know myself well enough to know I'm no crafter of such things; my terrible molding/painting skills (which haven't improved in 3 years now...) are a testament to that. But I feel the intent of the passion you have, and that's my passion for crafting adventures and content. I have not the design skills yet; I'm probably at step 0 on CB's list, but that's where I want to be.
In the meantime though, I'm going to keep playing. By that I mean PLAYING, like my kids do. It'll still be Pathfinder, but I'm going to keep being silly, making games about fairies or dark horror pieces or epic fantasy or whatever; I'm going to keep on having fun. Mister Gygax had a regular game until the end and I'm STILL his groupie! His words will always resonate in my skull but PF has become the vehicle of my journey.
An open comment to Paizo: thank you. I've said it in other threads before, and I'll keep adding it once in a while. Thank you for your game, your content, and most importantly your recognition of the fans who support your products. I have enjoyed them all and as a career veteran of various Customer Service roles I'm highly aware of the value of good CS. You folks have it, and because of that you have my business.
And finally, back on topic...Obsession? Well, when we downsized recently I forced my wife to agree to letting me build an extra shelf into her "craft closet" in our shared office. That shelf is jammed to bursting with 3x genera, old Dungeon mags, and dead center a stack of various hardcover PF...like a shrine my wife says. If I could, I'd paint a golem on it...
@Mark Hoover: Possibly one of the best posts that I've read on the forums. For me, it sums up perfectly why I still game as an adult.
Seriously, I can't get enough of this game, but unfortunately the people I play with, aside from my brother, don't share the same passion. So, I'm unable to get enough playtime to satisfy my craving.
You should consider playing Pathfinder online to overcome the tyranny of distance. My friends all have their own lives with families but we manage to get together once a week and I GM online using D20Pro, Herolab, Skype and the Adventure Paths. It works out really well and players are more likely to be available to play if they can just play from home without having to worry about travel.
I can't remember where I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere there are websites where you can find and then hook up with other people to play online who might be living far away from you.
I feel like if I get my fix, my obsession will curb a bit. Or at least it may after I get a car. Or a job. It's a lot easier to become obsessed while unemployed, I've found.
I feel like if I get my fix, my obsession will curb a bit. Or at least it may after I get a car. Or a job. It's a lot easier to become obsessed while unemployed, I've found.
Yeah that sounds about right. I find I always come back to theorycrafting, half making characters, and thinking about how awesome they would be to play when I don't have anything else to do. It passes the time and I now have a folder of like 30 half planned characters.
I kinda wish I had the same amount of enthusiasm for other things in my life, as opposed to (as Encyclopedia Dramatica would refer to it) "shit no one cares about."
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I nominate Mark Hoover to become the high priest of the new pathfinder religion, hell he even has a shrine ready.
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Unhealthy? No, definitely not. How can any creative hobby be unhealthy? And I wouldn't call it an obsession, either. You're passionate about Pathfinder, and that is not a bad thing at all.
I consider myself to be passionate about Pathfinder, although these days I don't get to play or run PF as often as I'd like.
A few years ago I'd given up on D&D, because I felt completely burned out by the 3.X rules. I had had enough, and all the hopes I had pinned on 4E soon vanished into thin air (in retrospect I think I judged 4E too harshly, but that's another topic altogether).
Then came Pathfinder with its public playtests, and invigorated my enthusiasm in playing and running D&D again! I started to buy other Paizo stuff, and realized that there is a company whose products (and staff!) I genuinely like. :)
@Mark Hoover - Thank you for that magnificent post! It is really inspiring to see such devotion to a beloved hobby.
@TOZ - I would very much enjoy that XD
You may want to try online gaming. I know Paizo has been putting together an online platform called Gamespace but I'm not sure when that is slated to launch. However as other has noted there are some really cool options out there. I love roll20.net but there are others.