Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
6 people marked this as a favorite. |
Lisa kicked things off by acknowledging Frank Mentzer's role in sparking her interest in the gaming industry when she once heard stories of new releases on the horizon from TSR and how much she enjoyed getting to do that with us, now. Nice little tie-in, there. She's fun to listen to, and I recommend joining Auntie Lisa's Story Hour next year if you go to Paizocon.
Erik got the MIC back. Acknowledgements were made for Paizo staff, and applause was given, of course, for jobs well done.
Then Jason Buhlman introduced us to the following:
- All the new iconics for the ACG. I sense a new Paizo-exclusive GM screen on the horizon.
- New archetypes, such as something allowing a wizard to play with the arcanist's toys.
- New spells like Bullet Ward (designed to stop gunslinger nonsense)
- New magic items like the Prey Finder (designed for the Hunter to help him find his prey, of course).
- The Monster Codex looks phenomenal, like a meeting of the minds of the Classic Monsters books and the NPC Codex. New rules for unique variations of standard creatures, including new archetypes for them and new options. Then each creature gets 8 pages of stat blocks (so a Fire Giant King and Queen, for instance, or a Goblin Frog Speaker). Fun stuff.
- The Strategy Guide is pushed back to later in the year so that it can be the book they want it to be. They want it to be able to be given to new players with a "Pathfinder is easy to play. Here, read this," and then you're done. With that type of layout getting new people involved will be far simpler than handing them the Core Book, and I agree (assuming they can pull it off, which I'm confident they can).
- The new spring 2015 book is Pathfinder Unchained. It is described as the book that the developers got to write without being chained down by something like backwards compatibility. So, a more powerful rogue, a monk with full BAB, a summoner that isn't broken beyond belief. These are the kinds of optional rules they plan to introduce, allowing GMs to swap out pieces of existing rules that they don't like. Sounds interesting.
Preston Hudson Venture-Captain, Washington—Spokane |
Another day at Paizocon comes to a close. Great demos of the card game as mentioned before. Did not get much of a chance in on the marathon today but I will be playing in a PFS scenario tomorrow. I am sure we will have a great session. I am so glad that I got to meet so many people over this wonderful weekend. I know I will be volunteering once again next year and probably tier one.
I am sitting out front of the hotel enjoying the cool air and I thought I caught a glimpse of Kyle Baird but apparently it was a tree. Well, be back tomorrow.
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Mike Selinker came next to talk about the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game:
- The Rise of the Runelords AP is, of course, finished, with the last adventure releasing two weeks ago. Big, epic, and successful, just as the AP was for the RPG. Now they will be releasing the Skulls and Shackles AP starting in August, which they expect to be more intimate in feel, and harder for actual game play. Interesting.
- New card types on the horizon: Support cards (of which ships are the first) and guns (duh). Many of the mechanics in the set will be focused on keeping all your stuff in good shape (so, keep your ships from sinking and your guns from exploding).
- The next AP after Skull and Shackles will be Wrath of the Righteous. The new card type in this AP will be Mythic cards. Target numbers of meeting and exceeding 50 were tossed out during the introduction of this type of card. Hugely explosive. Has the feel of Diablo.
Tanis O'Connor was next, talking about the PFACG OrgPlay (the Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild):
- Starts with Seaon 0 at GenCon - The Season of the Shackles. It will run six months, until the next set comes out (which will presumably launch Season 1).
- To play a player needs one of seven Class Decks.
- Scenarios will be released to stores weekly. After one month those scenarios will be released to the public.
- Tie-ins are planned with PFS. Examples were not really given.
After Erik got the MIC back he promised that, due to Jason Buhlman's excellent impression of the Goblin Frog Speaker, there will be a Grippli of Golarion book due out next year. I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of this statement...
There is more a couple posts down from this.
Painlord |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So...time for the Trivia contest (one of my favorite events). After a 20 minute 10 minute (yes, a "10 minute" break does not take 20 minutes) break, John Compton is going to test 4 or 5 teams in an X number trivia contest.
JC announced that this is a Mark Moreland question free year.
The table at which I sit (though I am not participating) has David, Steven Simon & Chris from CA, Nicolas M & Nick L (Feral), & Will J.
25 questions: Yes, this event is chaos...it is every year and that's part of the charm.
Paizo Staff Lore:
1. Which P staff is the llama avatar from the animal archive?
2. What job position has Jeff A, J Sutter, Cosmo all held?
3. Name 2 Paizo employees who have joined since PaizoCon 2013?
4. Name 2 of 5 previous of the volunteers of the year.
5. On Jan 1, 2014...Paizo changed its official name: What is the new name?
Wow! Another fan moment! Wow. Lisa Stevens just came by to drag me over to play the AdvCardGame marathon...however, I refused....but was deeply awed by the invite. Wow...the things I do for you people to type up things that you probably don't care about at all.
Pathfinder Rules: (no longer RPG rules)
6. Name 4 of the 6 mythics paths:
7. Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4, name 2 of the 3 CR30 creatures.
8. Of the 7 characters of the RotR base card game set, only 2 of the characters which don't have a d12 in their card.
9. Most poison deal ability damage, what creatures have poison that do something more than ability damage, in the bestiary 1...name 3 of the 9.
10. At 10th lvl elf ranger, 16 str, 20 dex, FE magical beast +6, Evil Outsider +4, Undead +2 +3 shock composite might longbow (str +4), PB shot, rapid & improved precise shot, MW full plate armor, Maximum # of shots at a wyvern, in combat 500 feet away with eagle companion. What is his to hit? My brain exploded. I'm glad I'm not participating...I can barely type this out, let alone answer the question.
Btw, huge props to Simon, the son of Thelrraddin, who is at our table in his first Paizocon. He is rocking the questions. He's also 13.
Pathfinder Adventures:
11. What is the name of the Emerald Spire fortified settlement?
12. Name of the City the for Mummy's Mask begins.
13. Which item of the ACG RotR named loot?
14. Perils of the Lost Coast: Black Fang...name the henchmen?
15. Name 2 of the 3 layers of the Abyss that the PCs visit in WotR?
Pathfinder Campaign Setting:
16. 3 gods on cover of Inner Sea Setting.
17. Name 4 of the 7 nations that border Lake Encartha.
18. Desert nation of Osirion, name the big waterway...form Sothis to Inner Sea.
19. Inner Sea Gods: one cleric domain in common: Amodeus, Urgotha, Alsetta, Savannah.
20. 4014 A.R. in PF campaign...what is the current year on Earth?
Pathfinder Characters:
21. Nerosyan: 2 active PFS VCs.
22. Who are in the Pathfinder Legends Audio drama: name 2 of the 4 yahoos.
23. What deity does Succubus follow in WotR?
24. In the Pathfinder Tales Redemption, what org does Bors and Whatshisface belong?
25. Name 3 of the 5 iconics from the ACG.
Team Names: <Redacted>, Oh Shiny!, Pathfinder Adventurers League, 3 hands of Doom, Hands of Vengeance.
1. Patrick Remie
2. Customer Service Rep
3. Various names
4 .Tim N, Mark M, Liz C, Doug M, Kyle E
5. Paizo Inc.
6. Archmage, Champion,Guardian, Trickster...and two more. (Hamburglar was not right.)
7. Look it up. PoozooZoo. Cthlulu. and #%WDGS.
8. Lem. Valeros.
9. Drow. Kraken. Homoculous, 2 Linnorm, Dark Naga, Psuedodragon, Vargoille (sp?)
10. -1
11. Fort Inevitable
12. Wati
13. Sihedron Medallion
14. Ancient Skeletons
15. Midnight Isles, Ivory Labyrth, Rasping Rifts
16. Urgotha, Nethys, Sarenrae
17. Ramz, Lastwall, Methune, Kyonin, ...and 2 more. Look at a map...I no type so beer good.
18. Sphinx
19. Magic
20. 1919
21. Thurel (sp?) and Jorcel
22. Ezren, Harsk, Mericial, Valeros
23. Desna
24. Oridian Fold
25. uh...read the blog...i fail to spell these
WINNER: OOOH SHINY!!!!! (with 21 of 25 points) They win stuff!
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
Erik continued.
- Iron Gods, of course, is on the horizon. There was a picture of a half-orc barbarian wielding what looked like a chainsaw. Interesting.
- The winter AP (starting in February) is Giant Slayer. The AP takes place in the Hold of Belkzen. Massive giants were shown for art. More details were promised to come in a seminar tomorrow. The logo on the picture is temporary.
- Munckin Deluxe is on the way.
- Syrinscape will be putting together more goodies for sound for games. It is an ap you can download for tablets or smartphones to play cool music and sounds during your games. They were used for the PFS interactive last night (and the sound effects were great). They are offering one month of service for free if you contact them. I highly recommend it.
- The last six books of the PF comic are getting the hardcover treatment, as is the Goblins miniseries. New stories by Paizo employees in the Goblins book.
- The mini-mates were shown. I'm more interested in these, now, knowing they are fully compatible with other mini-mates (I had thought they were just mini-mate-ish, not real mini-mates).
- There are 12 mini-mate promo figs that will be available only at GenCon. The full line releases in October.
- PF Battles - Lost Coast releases in November. Previews that have already been previewed were shown. Then, the Shemhazian was shown. So awesome! I screamed. Scared myself.
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
Mike Brock was the next speaker. Well-deserved praise was given by him to the Venture staff of PFS. We, of course, cheered. You guys are awesome. Keep up with the amazing things you do for all us PFS players.
He also gave a special call out to England's Rob Silk and Dave Harrison. They are the Volunteers of the Year, and earn Campaign Service Awards for everything they have done for PFS in England and Europe. Congratulations, guys.
Next was Ryan Dancey with news that PFOnline is still on target for the third quarter. He gave us a little video of some of the in-game views. I can't post that, I'm afraid. I tried, though. ):
Finally, Erik Mona mentioned that the new date for Paizocon is Memorial Day weekend next year. There is a venue change as well to the Doubletree Inn at SeaTac. Location LINK for your convenience.
And, for everyone who is interested in pictures, you can find them on my stores Facebook page here: Paizocon photo album. If I get the chance I'll tag the photos (they uploaded a little out of order). And I apologize that the words aren't any good. We gave up trying to get pictures of those book pages when we realized they weren't going to come out readable.
Hope you liked the recap. (-:
Simeon |
Btw, huge props to Simon, the son of Thelrraddin, who is at our table in his first Paizocon. He is rocking the questions. He's also 13.
Thanks for the mention and the praise! I had a great time with the Pathfinder Adventurers Guild. Since this was a trivia contest, I should mention this is my second Paizocon and my dad's name is Khelreddin. Still, thanks for the acknowledgement and it was great fun!
David_Bross |
- Thursday: Arrive at my hotel 3pm, check in and get settled. Go play munchkin at the AFK Elixirs & Eatery for the unofficial meet and greet, get a ride back with some nice people (Brian and Jessica) from southern California.
- Friday Morning: GM 05-22 Scars of the Third crusade for some of those nice people I met last night and others. Multiple 5 star GMs at my table, and despite my best efforts to prep it, it doesn't go very well. They make some suggestions to make the mechanics more transparent to PCs.
- Friday Afternoon: GM 05-22. follow the recommendations of the players at my first table, it goes much much better and people enjoy the scenario.
- Friday Evening: Free pizza for the GMs of the special and GM the special. It went well, although my table did learn that the 1-2 subtier (or at least my table) gets to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the encounters with waves, personally getting over 5 successes on an encounter that requires 1.5 successes from each table.
- Saturday Morning: Sleep, finally!
- Saturday Afternoon: GM 05-22, Again it goes well. Have my PCs wishing for multiple rerolls as they can't seem to roll above a 5 on certain checks.
- Saturday Evening: Talked with a Paizo editor about the alignment system and other things at the banquet, which had greet food. Talked with John Compton and Painlord (who told me you can't just read the Blog, you need to post in it!) after the banquet at the trivia contest.
One of the things mentioned during the banquet, Jason Buhlmann acknowledges how broken Summoners are, and that there will be rules for fixing them in Pathfinder Unchained, I can only hope this becomes PFS legal.
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
Enlight_Bystand |
And I apologize that the words aren't any good. We gave up trying to get pictures of those book pages when we realized they weren't going to come out readable.
Hope you liked the recap. (-:
Don't apologise, thanks for all the information!
Zaister |
The winter AP (starting in February) is Giant Slayer. The AP takes place in the Hold of Belkzen. Massive giants were shown for art. More details were promised to come in a seminar tomorrow. The logo on the picture is temporary.
Is Giant Slayer the actual name of the AP or more of a description?
mgcady Venture-Lieutenant, Massachusetts—Boston |
Dragnmoon |
That is weird that you guys are seeing Kyle there at PaizoCon I swear I saw him climbing the Tower of the Americas here in San Antonio swatting F-22s out of the sky.
Hobbun |
Erik continued.
PF Battles - Lost Coast releases in November. Previews that have already been previewed were shown. Then, the Shemhazian was shown. So awesome! I screamed. Scared myself.
[/list]
So no other Pathfinder Battles sets were announced besides Lost Coast?
Last PaizoCon Erik announced around three PFB sets beyond what was already known. Granted, that may have been because many were being released by the end of 2013, but I would have hoped we would have heard of at least one more set beyond Lost Coast.
Hopefully we'll hear something in GenCon.
Rusty Ironpants RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16 |
Joe M. wrote:Painlord wrote:Now *that's* interesting. Looking forward to hearing more about this one.Spring 2015: Pathfinder Unchained: 256 pages of WTF? Uhm..."what if the rules team could do whatever they wanted". It's a new set of rules and different things they could do stuff they wanted to do. New Summoner. Fixed Rogue. Full BAB Monk.
JB calls the book 'a playground'...you can use parts or all of it for a different experience.
Yeah...I'm not really sure how to describe it except from what JB said about it. I think they are offering a slew of things they've always wanted to fix, but releasing it as a completely optional release that you can integrate as you choose.
The words "backwards compataility be damned" were used by JB to describe the book. It seems to me to be a set of completely optional rules, much like the Unearthed Arcana book for 3.5.
Edit: I don't think anyone mentioned this yet. In addition to changing venue and changing to memorial day weekend - Next Year PaizoCon will go to 4 days! Friday through Monday.
Enlight_Bystand |
Drogon wrote:Erik continued.
PF Battles - Lost Coast releases in November. Previews that have already been previewed were shown. Then, the Shemhazian was shown. So awesome! I screamed. Scared myself.
[/list]
So no other Pathfinder Battles sets were announced besides Lost Coast?
Last PaizoCon Erik announced around three PFB sets beyond what was already known. Granted, that may have been because many were being released by the end of 2013, but I would have hoped we would have heard of at least one more set beyond Lost Coast.
Hopefully we'll hear something in GenCon.
The only one that was actually anounced at Paizocon last year was Legends (which was due October), Wrath (due in December at that point) wasn't announced until Gencon.
Hobbun |
The only one that was actually anounced at Paizocon last year was Legends (which was due October), Wrath (due in December at that point) wasn't announced until Gencon.
I was at PaizoCon 2013 and I could have sworn Wrath was announced as well. But the very least, I do remember Erik indicating there was another set being released a couple of months after Legends of Golarian (eventually was pushed to January) because I recall him showing several of the WotR miniatures, although he may not have announced the name of the set.
Either way, I was hoping to see the next set announced beyond Lost Coast.
Cat-thulhu |
Yeah I imagine the next pfb set will be announced at gen con. Love the Shemhazian, although his colours look really bright for a demon wrecking machine. Man does it look big! I couldn't be happier, although I hear my wallet weaping.
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
Painlord |
Sorry, Hobbun, there weren't really any PFB reveals other than the Shemhazian. Maybe I can convince Erik to give up something during the minis trading this afternoon. I'll keep you posted.
Drogon...I have questions for you. I hope I can find you before people split today. I'll be in the ACG room until it closes, but am happy to go find you.
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
Drogon wrote:Sorry, Hobbun, there weren't really any PFB reveals other than the Shemhazian. Maybe I can convince Erik to give up something during the minis trading this afternoon. I'll keep you posted.Drogon...I have questions for you. I hope I can find you before people split today. I'll be in the ACG room until it closes, but am happy to go find you.
I'm playing Ye Groundhog Inn this morning (starts in 10 minutes in the Olympia Room). I have a conference after that in Evergreen Salon F until 2:00. The minis trading is in the bar starting at 3:00. If the ACG room is still open after the conference I'll come find you. Otherwise you can grab me at the minis event (Heather and I will likely leave for lunch; the hotel is just too expensive and they're going to get plenty of my money in $8 increments later while I drink beer and trade minis).
Uncommoner |
The new spring 2015 book is Pathfinder Unchained. It is described as the book that the developers got to write without being chained down by something like backwards compatibility. So, a more powerful rogue, a monk with full BAB, a summoner that isn't broken beyond belief. These are the kinds of optional rules they plan to introduce, allowing GMs to[/list]...
Yesss!! Pathfinder's certainly established itself as a complete creature with no need for 3.5 backwards compatibility. So I'm excited to see what the team can do to fix old unnecessary problems! We want to love you rogue and monk...maybe we shall soon...
Painlord |
Good morning!
* * *
Details from last night: After the PaizoCon Preview Banquet I wandered back to the marathon of the ACG game. There was already a table full and running (Lisa's table...she was there until 2amish) so we started a new table copying the marathoner's progress (end of Book 2). Lisa's table rocked for a long time.
With Feral from the L.A., GM Verdigris, Will J, Tanis O'Connor (Pathfinder Society: Adventure Card Game Organized Play Coordinator), and myself started up. We played and beat Adventure 2, Scenario 5, then Adv 3, Scenario 1. We finished those two scenarios at 3am. The other table is still going.
Sleep is good.
When I return at 8:30am, some of the yahoos from the other table are still here and still playing. They are finishing Adventure 3, Book 5. They are about to defeat the BBEG. I lurk, awaiting my chance to jump in and play, giving the all-night players a chance to go sleep.
Aethelwulfe |
Had a great afternoon and evening yesterday...
Jessica Price led another fun board game session. This year our group of intrepids fell to a sandstorm in Forbidden Desert. Last year I got to be one of the Nuns on the Run. Gotta love Jessica's choice in games!
Andrea Brandt and I sat with Judy Bauer at the banquet, and I was able to ask her a bit about the diversity in gaming panel (which I missed this year). Last year, I attended two similar sessions - one at PaizoCon that included Judy and another focused on video games at GaymerX. After speaking with Judy, I am again gratified by Paizo's thoughtful approach to creating a fantasy world that strives to organically incorporate interesting characters and stories that reflect the wide interests of fans (and potential fans!).
I ran into Dennis Baker who was particularly pleased with the sneak-peek at artwork for the upcoming Monster Codex at the banquet. Having helped contribute to this interesting tome on the monstrous, he seemed psyched to see creatures like frog-bearing, pustule-covered Goblin and the big, uber-bad Ogre brought to 'life' in art.
The newly announced Giant Slayer Adventure Path brought my mind the AD&D Against the Giants series back in the early 1980's. I discussed APs with Lisa Stevens, whose first campaign included connecting and fleshing out several series of modules released by TSR (Scourge of the Slave Lords, Against the Giants, the Queen of the Spiders). I love that the modern APs provide the setting, background, connections, and campaign tools that GMs often had to round out themselves back in these "ancient history" days of RPGs. It was particularly nice that Frank Mentzer was honored at PaizoCon, as he was such a key part of the development of the game and those early modules (Temple of Elemental Evil!) that have grown into such richly rewarding series today.
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
It is over.
Ye Groundhogg Inn was excellent. I plan on contacting Logan and asking his permission to adapt it to use for my Learn to Play Pathfinder night at the store. Never had more fun dying.
After that I got in on a bit of the RPG Superstar seminar and learned a bit about their thought process. Maybe I'll start thinking about doing that. Someday.
Afterward Painlord and I did some horse trading. I look foreword to seeing your stash, Pain.
Finally, we participated in Erik's minis trading event. Many minis were sling both ways across many tables. Met a former Wizkids employee and picked up bunches of old Mage Knight minis that looked most excellent and unique, plus the secret to rebasing them. Turns out you freeze them and they pop right off the base. That alone was worth the trade we made. Thank you, sir. My minis collection just grew by 100+ minis due to that piece of knowledge alone. Also ended up with the best Rune Giant ever, courtesy Erik Mona.
Sat in the bar chatting about various things with Russ and Caio. Observed many folk saying hi and bye. Got to Kay eyes on David Montgomery. Never got up the courage to say hi to him though. I must be shy or something. /-:
Now doing some Paizocon 2015 scouting. Turns out there is a place across the street from the Doubletree called Sharp's Roasthouse. I predict many hours spent here next year.
Thank you to all those who made this weekend so fun. Without all of you I wouldn't have wanted to make the trip. Special thanks to Paizo for throwing the party. And special thanks to Heather Halpin for giving up her ticket to Frank Mentzer's Friday game and allowing me to fulfill a childhood dream.
See you all next year this time from the other side of the screen. (-:<
PS - Thought I saw Kyle Baird. Turns out it was just an unclaimed envelope with his name on it in the registration box. Made me sad. Maybe next year, my friend.
armac |
Met a former Wizkids employee and picked up bunches of old Mage Knight minis that looked most excellent and unique, plus the secret to rebasing them. Turns out you freeze them and they pop right off the base.
Drogon, do you remember who it was you met? I miss my old WizKids friends...
Ah, I had forgotten about that trick. :)
Taenia |
I just wanted to thank my group this morning that ran Destiny part 3 with me GMing. It is a real treat as a GM to have a group for that scenario where everyone had the book so we really got to see a lot of mythic awesomeness and especially to the players for helping out the others finish off their characters and making the game such a pleasure to run.
Definitely a ton of fun watching 4 melee monsters tear into a scenario with a lot of character and enjoyment especially when half the party is large size and laying the smackdown. Looking forward to running for you all again.
Louis
Drogon Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds |
Drogon wrote:Met a former Wizkids employee and picked up bunches of old Mage Knight minis that looked most excellent and unique, plus the secret to rebasing them. Turns out you freeze them and they pop right off the base.Drogon, do you remember who it was you met? I miss my old WizKids friends...
Ah, I had forgotten about that trick. :)
I don't. I'm sorry. Too many people, and I'm too terrible with names. I will try to figure it out though and let you know.
PS - I got up the gumption to say hi to Mr. Montgomery. Not too shy after all. (-:
Sarah Bull |
Mark A. Nattress wrote:Things you hear at pickup games during Paizocon.
This is during You Only Die Twice.
"I don't think Lady Gloriana wants a flesh maggot cloak."
"I think I'm built just like your horse."
"Her glowing bit touched his non-glowing bit."
"Those saggy walls need a bra."
"I ready an action to punch him to the back of the face"
Mark A. Nattress |
Mark A. Nattress wrote:"I ready an action to punch him to the back of the face"Mark A. Nattress wrote:Things you hear at pickup games during Paizocon.
This is during You Only Die Twice.
"I don't think Lady Gloriana wants a flesh maggot cloak."
"I think I'm built just like your horse."
"Her glowing bit touched his non-glowing bit."
"Those saggy walls need a bra."
"I can't post that on the board."
Mark A. Nattress |
Sarah Bull wrote:"I can't post that on the board."Mark A. Nattress wrote:"I ready an action to punch him to the back of the face"Mark A. Nattress wrote:Things you hear at pickup games during Paizocon.
This is during You Only Die Twice.
"I don't think Lady Gloriana wants a flesh maggot cloak."
"I think I'm built just like your horse."
"Her glowing bit touched his non-glowing bit."
"Those saggy walls need a bra."
"Eat face you facey facer!"
Lady Ophelia |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
It is now 12am on Sunday night/Monday Morning. In the secret game rooms, there are still many who are playing Pathfinder and even Master Painlord, Verdgis, WillJ and a few other awesome people, who are apparently dealing out much pain with the Adventure Card Game.
As for me, I am sitting here in the lobby of the hotel, wondering what to make of my weekend. Which has been an even more memorable one than the year before. But first, recap!
Sat PM:
• So I signed the infamous scroll of silence and entered the Pathfinder RPG Design Panel. It was loads of fun, and we scored some serious mechanical and design insight that I didn’t have before concerning a few things I am not allowed to talk about. But trust me, you guys will see it soon, and I look forward to it.
• So despite the fact that they had tickets to the banquet, I held onto my plans to go to AFK for the Overflow Banquet and hung out with Bobby Lambertz who was our designated driver. (Who is the husband of Paizo staffer Chris Lambertz, so I guess that somewhat counts as having a staffer at our table too!) There was also, Rachel Ventura, Jason Nelson, Matthew Pittard, Jeff Lee and a few others whose names escape my frazzled brain.
• Additional Note: Thanks to all who lived blogged/facebook the announcements from the banquet. Yeah we were board gaming and were having a great time at AFK, it was nice to not miss anything absolutely exquisite.
• After the banquet, I returned to the hotel and just wander the bar. As the banquet has come to an end, the entire Paizo Convention had adjourned to the bar for additional debauchery. I had the pleasure first, of meeting Master Pierce Walters, who personally challenged me in exchange for a new hardcover book. I am looking forward to completing the challenge.
• I also had the honor of meeting Frank Metzner. Frank is one of the charter leaders of D&D, which lead the way to the whole reason this convention even existed. But one of the most amazing things, is something he said to me
o Permanent Highlight of life: I asked him, did he ever think in his wildest dreams that something like this would happen? His answer: Absolutely not. But he was eternally grateful that it has, and that people like me were going to be passing down this wonderful hobby for generations to come. He said to me, “No matter what happens, share your love of this game. It will gain many negatives sure, but it will also change the lives of many whose lives need changing for the better.”
• Additionally, I had the pleasure and honor of finally meeting Nani and Kyle Pratt who I always knew were awesome, but was able to confirm their awesomeness. We began to chat about an array of things which included women in gaming, writing for Pathfinder and also organizing for Pathfinder.
o Nani was always one of my personal heroes, as I would see her and chat with her on the forums being informative and inspiring the good in Pathfinders players, GM’s and just people in general. So to meet her and know she is just like herself on the fourms, just reaffirms why sticking with Pathfinder Society was and is a great idea after all this time.
• My evening ending with me floating and talking with Mazlith about a lot of in-house Society Life stuff. And while I do not plan on getting back into the organizer’s chair anytime soon, there are some plans I have that I want to make happen and I am on a mission to get it done this fall/end of year to grow as many societies as possible. So I guess in the end, one never really “retires”. You just go on to doing different things.
Sunday:
• With my voice hanging in there, I GMed my last runs of Fate of the Fiend. Unlike TOZ whose mission it was to murder all the players, I was on a mission to make all the tables not only challenging, but an absolute fun joy to play at. From the feedback I’ve gotten, it seems it just all worked out in the end.
• I originally had plans to go to Pike’s Market with Robyn, but on my way up to my room, I ran into Nani and Kyle Pratt once more. Running into them, turned into an impromptu game of Port Godless. With none other than John Compton as my GM. The table was Thomas LaBlanc, Kevin M, Nani, Kyle, me and Dave the VC of Georgia. I won’t spoil the game for anyone who has not played it. But needless to say, this was a game, that I was exhausted after playing. Not from fatigue of the convention, but from all the things that took place during the game. It was an incredibly complex plot, which had so many ways to get things done. I like to think of it as the “sandbox” of PFS Scenarios and that is a rare thing to accomplish. So props to the team for the most mentally and in some cases morally challenging adventure to date. I look forward to breaking this one down and reading more of it post-convention as well as taking a few brave souls through it.
Best. Game. Ever.
Best Quote from Game:
Thomas: So I am going to run and try to fight the baddie.
Kyle: Are you mad?
Thomas: No. I have balls.
John: The best feat one can have.
• The evening ends with loads of hugs and shaking of hands, a contingency of Pathfinders who remain on site, who are still playing games even as I speak. David Montgomery, is taking a new group of gamers into Mists of Miwangi, and the card games, oh yeah they are still going on as I finish this post. In fact, right behind me at the fireplace there is a game still going on.
PaizoCon 2015, will unfortunately be falling on the weekend of KublaCon for me. Which means, we may not be able to continue the tradition we once had with this blog. But I think, that we smart and resourceful Pathfinders, will find a way to make all things work for the good. I will say this: When PaizoCon is not on KublaCon weekend, I will return with a vengeance. This is pretty much my favorite convention of all time. So I won’t stay away forever.
But what does the future hold for the great Lady Ophelia? Who knows. All I know, is that it will involve dice, great people, and games that have changed my life for the best, in ways I will never forget.
On this note, I leave this thread and travel home to rest and return to my life as the resident cleric. I hope to see you at a game sometime soon.
May Sarenrae’s light be upon all of you in your journeys.
Jessica Price Project Manager |
Had a great afternoon and evening yesterday...
Jessica Price led another fun board game session. This year our group of intrepids fell to a sandstorm in Forbidden Desert. Last year I got to be one of the Nuns on the Run. Gotta love Jessica's choice in games!
Thanks for playing! :-) Glad you had fun -- I really love having the chance to play some board games with people, and like the chance to offer some light/quick games to congoers. Hope to have you in one of my games next year!