What is Happening With the PF Tales Line?!?!?


Tales

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Yup, the tales sold me on Golarion, as a setting, really. The books were pretty enjoyable.

I hope, with 2e, they'll revitalize it.

Otherwise, well, there's not much in regards of rpg tie-in books these days. WotC doesn1t do any. PF Tales is on hiatus. WoD doesn1t have any either. Shadowrun, at least still has some.

I wish it'd change, novels were always what made me really interested in settings and games, with fleshing out the world and giving cool and relatable characters and stories. The PF Tales line is certainly among the better ones.

Sczarni

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Adam Ladehoff wrote:

Pathfinder Tales is what keeps me interested in Pathfinder RPG and the genre as a whole, so I sincerely hope they work out their issues.

And also print physical versions so I don't have to stare at a screen.

This. Tales make me want to research further into the area that they take place in, causing me to read my other books. Since Tales has gone on hiatus, I have canceled 2 subscriptions, and plan on canceling 2 more this month as the interest the tales line instills in me hasn't been refreshed.


Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
PMárk wrote:
Otherwise, well, there's not much in regards of rpg tie-in books these days. WotC doesn1t do any.

D&D has the Endless Quest series of books, which might be what some are looking for.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

2E's release would be a perfect time to relaunch tales and reflect in the fiction the changes Golarion has seen.

I would LOOOOOVVVVEEEEE more books by Dave Gross in the Radovan and the Count Series.

I would pickup Chris Jackson's books currently being kept in the dark in a heart beat.

And more of Tim Pratt's Liars series would be a must.

Just my two copper though.

Scarab Sages

^ this.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Well, if you're holding your breath for Chris Jackson's unreleased books, I have bad news and good news. Paizo has reached an agreement with Chris allowing him to re-write his unreleased PF Tales pirates books and release them, serial numbers scrubbed. The first of those, "Pirate's Scourge" is out now and is, as you could expect, a blast.

The bad news is that if authors reach such agreements with the publisher, I wouldn't hope for the Tales returning anytime soon.

Silver Crusade

That is happy and sad news

Scarab Sages

I'm glad they are coming out, but very sad to hear the news.

Contributor

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Gorbacz wrote:

Well, if you're holding your breath for Chris Jackson's unreleased books, I have bad news and good news. Paizo has reached an agreement with Chris allowing him to re-write his unreleased PF Tales pirates books and release them, serial numbers scrubbed. The first of those, "Pirate's Scourge" is out now and is, as you could expect, a blast.

The bad news is that if authors reach such agreements with the publisher, I wouldn't hope for the Tales returning anytime soon.

I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding here.

I've not reached any agreement with Paizo concerning the two novels still unpublished, and "The Pirate's Scourge" has nothing to do with those characters or Piazo. The novel was originally titled "The Queen's Scourge" and was part of a shared world project (not an RPG) from a completely different publisher. The publisher failed, and I got rights back automatically. I rewrote the story set in my own world, a previously undefined region called The Blood Sea, and self published it as "The Pirate's Scourge."

Anyway, sorry for the confusion. There will be at least two more "Blood Sea Tales", the next one "The Pirate's Truth" to be released this spring. They are indeed rollicking stories.

As far as the future of Pathfinder Tales, I've heard nothing yet.

Just an FYI to everyone: I was writing pirate stories for years before I wrote "Pirate's Honor", and I'll be writing them for many more years to come, along with other non-pirate stories. If you're interested in my work, please visit my website, jaxbooks.com.

Thanks.

Contributor

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rknop wrote:

Different setting, different characters, but same author, and if you liked the Golarion pirate books, there's a good chance you'll like "The Queen's Scourge".

http://www.jaxbooks.com/out-of-print-books-available/

Sadly, it's listed as out of print, but there are some copies left.

Heads up: That publisher went under, and I got the rights back. I rewrote the story set in my own world, renamed the novel "The Pirate's Scourge" and published it myself. It's available everywhere e-books are sold, and in print from Amazon. You can find it (and an excerpt) on my website.

Thanks!

Silver Crusade

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Chris A Jackson wrote:

]Just an FYI to everyone: I was writing pirate stories for years before I wrote "Pirate's Honor", and I'll be writing them for many more years to come, along with other non-pirate stories. If you're interested in my work, please visit my website, jaxbooks.com.

Thanks.

Yay!

And yes, y’all should.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Ah! Thanks for setting the record straight Chris, that'll teach me not to take random discussions online for granted.


Bump.

Just checking to see if anyone has new any information in the last little while -- Paizo staff mentioning anything on Twitter or at cons or podcasts, or what have you. If so, please post it here!

Doug M.

Sczarni

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Douglas Muir 406 wrote:


Bump.

Just checking to see if anyone has new any information in the last little while -- Paizo staff mentioning anything on Twitter or at cons or podcasts, or what have you. If so, please post it here!

Doug M.

We are starting to get web fiction again. Hopefully that means they are getting geared up for editing fiction again.


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Douglas Muir 406 wrote:


Bump.

Just checking to see if anyone has new any information in the last little while -- Paizo staff mentioning anything on Twitter or at cons or podcasts, or what have you. If so, please post it here!

Doug M.

Most recent comment I heard from Erik Mona was a mix of encouraging and disappointing:

Erik wrote:

I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see us get back into fiction, and I really really really want to find a way to release the half-dozen "orphaned" novels we've got from when the regular releases wound down a couple years ago.

Consider the fiction an idea that is waiting for its time to strike again. We're definitely not closing the door on the idea of doing more fiction.

That comment was part of a more broad post.

It sounded to me that nothing is going to happen in the immediate future, but they’re still keen - especially for the novels that were already in the works when the arrangement with Tor ended.


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I'm still catching up on the existing novels (which is probably going to be harder since I imagine Tor has let them fall out of print).

It would be nice to see some novels to accompany the 2nd edition launch, and also some Starfinder fiction. But fantasy gaming fiction appears to be in a bad spot now. Even with the very successful D&D 5E, WotC hasn't published a new D&D novel since 2016.

I hope we will at least get more Pathfinder comics.


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I agree that 2e would be the perfect time to relaunch the novel line. Like others have said, novels are often what get me interested in a setting (it was this way with Forgotten Realms). I'm an avid reader. I still have some PF Tales I haven't read yet, and I will get around to it, but reading them gives me a kind of bittersweet feeling.

Contributor

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Andrew Crossett wrote:

I'm still catching up on the existing novels (which is probably going to be harder since I imagine Tor has let them fall out of print).

It would be nice to see some novels to accompany the 2nd edition launch, and also some Starfinder fiction. But fantasy gaming fiction appears to be in a bad spot now. Even with the very successful D&D 5E, WotC hasn't published a new D&D novel since 2016.

I hope we will at least get more Pathfinder comics.

The Tor published novels are still available. Or, at least this one is. Thing about digital is it never goes out of print, but there are still print copies available. https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Tales-Pirates-Prophecy/dp/B01DWIYHTQ/ref= sr_1_1?keywords=Pirate%27s+Prophecy&qid=1554998027&s=books&sr=1 -1

If you want mine in print, find me at GenCon!

Paizo Employee Franchise Manager

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We are exploring a number of options to get the orphaned novels out of the oubliette and into readers' hands, but have nothing beyond that to say at this time. The business model of the Paizo-published Tales books didn't work, which is why we went with Tor in the first place, so it's not as simple as just spinning that mechanism back up and picking up where we left off. Any future solution will either be a partnership with another publisher, akin to our Tor arrangement, or will be something entirely new.


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Chris A Jackson wrote:


The Tor published novels are still available. Or, at least this one is. Thing about digital is it never goes out of print, but there are still print copies available. https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Tales-Pirates-Prophecy/dp/B01DWIYHTQ/ref= sr_1_1?keywords=Pirate%27s+Prophecy&qid=1554998027&s=books&sr=1 -1

If you want mine in print, find me at GenCon!

I hope we get more of your "Pirates" book line... Celeste and Torius are my absolute favorite couple EVER in fiction.

I plan on reading some of your other books now that I've caught up with those, but I really hope to see Celeste and Torius again soon!


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I also would like to see pirate books i would also like to have more books on radovan virholt and varian jeggare


Even though James Stutter left Piazo, hopefully we can get more Salim stories like Redemption Engine and Death's Heretic.

Ray Porter's reading of this book on Amazon is what originally drew me to Pathfinder.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber
Mark Moreland wrote:
We are exploring a number of options to get the orphaned novels out of the oubliette and into readers' hands, but have nothing beyond that to say at this time. The business model of the Paizo-published Tales books didn't work, which is why we went with Tor in the first place, so it's not as simple as just spinning that mechanism back up and picking up where we left off. Any future solution will either be a partnership with another publisher, akin to our Tor arrangement, or will be something entirely new.

Has Paizo considered POD (Print on Demand) for the orphaned novels? POD companies like Lulu don't take your copyright, and you can stop allowing further POD at anytime (should you get another publishing partner).


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POD does not solve their main problem: they don't have a distributor for PF Tales.

Publishing the books isn't the problem. Paizo can self-publish if need be. They do it for their core books and APs, and they did it for PF Tales for years. The problem is that, to sell well, PF Tales need to get into bookstores -- both brick-and-mortar and Amazon. Subscription sales are great but they need bookstore sales to actually turn a profit.

Getting the books into bookstores is a distributor's job. And it's very different from just publishing. Many publishers are vertically integrated and do both publishing and distribution -- Tor Books does, for instance. That's why Paizo had a deal with Tor for several years.

Publication and distribution can also include a whole suite of services -- everything from advertising the book, to getting reviews in Publisher's Weekly, to setting up signing tours for authors. It doesn't *have* to include those services, but they're often negotiated as part of the overall deal. POD doesn't touch those.

TLDR, POD has its uses, but it's probably not the tool they would want to use here.

Doug M.


Finally, let's note that (1) It's been over three years now, and (2) PF Tales are no longer offered as a subscription option, and (3) no Paizo employee has appeared on this subforum with an update for [checks] well over a year now, and (4) this thread is archived.

Let it go, guys. It's over.

Doug M.


Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

Disappointing, but life sucks sometimes.

Sczarni

Douglas Muir 406 wrote:


Finally, let's note that (1) It's been over three years now, and (2) PF Tales are no longer offered as a subscription option, and (3) no Paizo employee has appeared on this subforum with an update for [checks] well over a year now, and (4) this thread is archived.

Let it go, guys. It's over.

Doug M.

I'm going to keep bringing it up though, just like I keep bringing up the Gloarion Globe Erik Mona said he'd look into if the the Pathfinder Gazetteer for 3.5 sold well 12 years ago.


Cpt_kirstov wrote:


I'm going to keep bringing it up though, just like I keep bringing up the Gloarion Globe Erik Mona said he'd look into if the the Pathfinder Gazetteer for 3.5 sold well 12 years ago.

Dang. I was going to mention Planet Stories and then I thought, nah, that's ancient history...

Doug M.

Sczarni

Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
Cpt_kirstov wrote:


I'm going to keep bringing it up though, just like I keep bringing up the Gloarion Globe Erik Mona said he'd look into if the the Pathfinder Gazetteer for 3.5 sold well 12 years ago.

Dang. I was going to mention Planet Stories and then I thought, nah, that's ancient history...

Doug M.

The post I'm referencing is Oct 10, 2007

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:

POD does not solve their main problem: they don't have a distributor for PF Tales.

Publishing the books isn't the problem. Paizo can self-publish if need be. They do it for their core books and APs, and they did it for PF Tales for years. The problem is that, to sell well, PF Tales need to get into bookstores -- both brick-and-mortar and Amazon. Subscription sales are great but they need bookstore sales to actually turn a profit.

Getting the books into bookstores is a distributor's job. And it's very different from just publishing. Many publishers are vertically integrated and do both publishing and distribution -- Tor Books does, for instance. That's why Paizo had a deal with Tor for several years.

Publication and distribution can also include a whole suite of services -- everything from advertising the book, to getting reviews in Publisher's Weekly, to setting up signing tours for authors. It doesn't *have* to include those services, but they're often negotiated as part of the overall deal. POD doesn't touch those.

TLDR, POD has its uses, but it's probably not the tool they would want to use here.

Doug M.

I'm talking about the orphaned novels, not continually writing new POD books. Of course a POD book, that isn't in book stores, won't turn a heavy profit. POD isn't that profitable because of production cost margins. But these books are already written and not doing anything. Putting books that have already been written on a POD service like Lulu would cost $0.

Ya. You won't sell a bunch, but if in the future they want to self-publish, you can simply pull the item from their store. Lulu (and similar services) hold no copyright claims on your work.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:


Finally, let's note that (1) It's been over three years now, and (2) PF Tales are no longer offered as a subscription option, and (3) no Paizo employee has appeared on this subforum with an update for [checks] well over a year now, and (4) this thread is archived.

Let it go, guys. It's over.

Doug M.

3. Mark Moreland posted on Apr 15, 2019. That's 205 days ago.


Sure, okay. Six months, not a year.

It's still dead, dude.

Doug M.


I don't think it is.

There are a number of Paizo staff who are keen for the tales line to continue. The fact they haven't found a partner yet doesn't mean they won't, nor that they're not actively looking (though presumably they've all been pretty busy for the last year or two).

I'll believe it's dead when Erik Mona says he's not interested in Paizo producing fiction anymore. Until then, I'll hope things are moving behind the scenes.

I've learned before that going silent on the forums is a good way to convey the message that you're not interested any more. Continuing to express one's enthusiasm for the PFTales line return can't do any harm.


Steve Geddes wrote:

There are a number of Paizo staff who are keen for the tales line to continue. The fact they haven't found a partner yet doesn't mean they won't, nor that they're not actively looking (though presumably they've all been pretty busy for the last year or two).

I'll believe it's dead when Erik Mona says he's not interested in Paizo producing fiction anymore.

I bet there are a number of Paizo staff who'd love to bring back Planet Stories. Erik Mona has never ruled it out!

Paizo posted a whole three sentences just seven months ago, so clearly they're still interested in what we think. Dumping the PF Tales forum into Archives is also a strong signal of continuing engagement and enthusiasm on their part.

Quote:
I've learned before that going silent on the forums is a good way to convey the message that you're not interested any more.

"Going silent on the forums"... dude this forum is *no longer on the front page*. It's three clicks down in the sub-basement with back issues of Dungeon Magazine and playtest for the Cavalier class and RPG Superstar 2012. The entire Archives section gets about two posts a week, mostly from Dungeon-era grognards who still want to talk about about Age of Worms and Shackled City. (Which, let me add, is great. You go, Dungeon-era grognards. You guys are the best.)

So... maybe it's just me? But I find this hard to square with "Paizo really cares about this subforum and will be influenced by what people post on it.".

Quote:
Continuing to express one's enthusiasm for the PFTales line return can't do any harm.

I was a subscriber. I kept the fire alive and continued to express enthusiasm right here for two and a half years. I've done my part. At some point, though, it's reasonable to flip from "I would buy more PF Tales, please bring them back guys" to "Oh FFS". I've reached that point. YMMV.

Doug M.


Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
Steve Geddes wrote:

There are a number of Paizo staff who are keen for the tales line to continue. The fact they haven't found a partner yet doesn't mean they won't, nor that they're not actively looking (though presumably they've all been pretty busy for the last year or two).

I'll believe it's dead when Erik Mona says he's not interested in Paizo producing fiction anymore.

I bet there are a number of Paizo staff who'd love to bring back Planet Stories. Erik Mona has never ruled it out!

Paizo posted a whole three sentences just seven months ago, so clearly they're still interested in what we think. Dumping the PF Tales forum into Archives is also a strong signal of continuing engagement and enthusiasm on their part.

Quote:
I've learned before that going silent on the forums is a good way to convey the message that you're not interested any more.

"Going silent on the forums"... dude this forum is *no longer on the front page*. It's three clicks down in the sub-basement with back issues of Dungeon Magazine and playtest for the Cavalier class and RPG Superstar 2012. The entire Archives section gets about two posts a week, mostly from Dungeon-era grognards who still want to talk about about Age of Worms and Shackled City. (Which, let me add, is great. You go, Dungeon-era grognards. You guys are the best.)

So... maybe it's just me? But I find this hard to square with "Paizo really cares about this subforum and will be influenced by what people post on it.".

Quote:
Continuing to express one's enthusiasm for the PFTales line return can't do any harm.

I was a subscriber. I kept the fire alive and continued to express enthusiasm right here for two and a half years. I've done my part. At some point, though, it's reasonable to flip from "I would buy more PF Tales, please bring them back guys" to "Oh FFS". I've reached that point. YMMV.

Doug M.

Yeah, it does vary.

I can understand someone forming the view that a relaunch of PFTales is not going to happen. I find it odd to then try and persuade others of that view. I mean what’s the point? Why tell others to let it go just because you have?


Steve Geddes wrote:


I can understand someone forming the view that a relaunch of PFTales is not going to happen. I find it odd to then try and persuade others of that view. I mean what’s the point? Why tell others to let it go just because you have?

A reasonable question. I suppose I'm very slightly annoyed by the ongoing chirpy hopefulness in the face of the obvious reality.

Let's check back in six months or so and see where we are then.

Doug M.


Douglas Muir 406 wrote:

A reasonable question.

Isn't there some kind of Internet rule against admitting other people have a reasonable perspective? I'm pretty sure there is.

I tried to flag the post for "Mature Behavior," but apparently the devs never considered that possibility.

*Shakes head and walks away in confusion. In the background, pigs launch themselves into the air. Devils look skyward in worry as snowflakes settle gently on their horns.*


Super late to the game but just hoping that Paizo finds a way to revive the Tales line. I'm not in to Golarian as a game setting, but I love the books. Given that The Witcher is making a splash on streaming recently, this really does seem like a good market for it, if the Tales series could be rebranded with flashier and "less game book" looking styles designed to attract not just gamers who read but general readership audiences as well. I feel the same can be said of WotC, which has gone on without fiction supporting their game lines for long enough that the absence is felt and the market is ready to be revisited now.


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Honestly, I don't care if they can get them into 'actual print'... I'm down for audible exclusive releases if possible.


Not everyone likes audible, and it wouldn't necessarily be cheaper. Their best bet would of course be all 3 formats.


camazotz wrote:
Super late to the game but just hoping that Paizo finds a way to revive the Tales line. I'm not in to Golarian as a game setting, but I love the books. Given that The Witcher is making a splash on streaming recently, this really does seem like a good market for it, if the Tales series could be rebranded with flashier and "less game book" looking styles designed to attract not just gamers who read but general readership audiences as well. I feel the same can be said of WotC, which has gone on without fiction supporting their game lines for long enough that the absence is felt and the market is ready to be revisited now.

Same. I miss the Forgotten Realms novels (Drizzt isn't enough by any means). I heard Critical Role is getting a novel later this year, though I don't know if that is through WotC or not, but considering Wildemont is an official D&D setting, something seems to have been worked out.


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I am an avid reader of all the Pathfinder Tales. Love them all, Trade Paperback versions are 10 times more sophisticated than the cheap mass market formats. I also bought and listen to all the audios. I have been dying for news on any new news...
So since I haven't seen this mentioned on this thread ( if it was brought up and responded to by Chris Sutter, I apologize for not seeing it) But why cannot the new Pathfinder Tales books just become/published as PRINT ON DEMAND? There are literally HUNDREDS of self published authors doing this now. I buy self published trade paperbacks several times a week. The quality is very decent.
Can someone answer why this is not feasible? I can't imagine it hasn't been discussed before in the company?


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Jan-Michael wrote:

I am an avid reader of all the Pathfinder Tales. Love them all, Trade Paperback versions are 10 times more sophisticated than the cheap mass market formats. I also bought and listen to all the audios. I have been dying for news on any new news...

So since I haven't seen this mentioned on this thread ( if it was brought up and responded to by Chris Sutter, I apologize for not seeing it) But why cannot the new Pathfinder Tales books just become/published as PRINT ON DEMAND? There are literally HUNDREDS of self published authors doing this now. I buy self published trade paperbacks several times a week. The quality is very decent.
Can someone answer why this is not feasible? I can't imagine it hasn't been discussed before in the company?

That's a great idea, especially in that I would love to see more Pathfinder Tales, and Starfinder novels would be wonderful!

These days Amazon have various direct publishing programs, such as KDP for Kindle and print, and ACX for audiobooks. I'm no expert in any of these but they seem reasonable from a brief glance. I'm still hoping that we will get new novels one day.


Keep the dream alive!


Douglas Muir 406 wrote:
Steve Geddes wrote:


I can understand someone forming the view that a relaunch of PFTales is not going to happen. I find it odd to then try and persuade others of that view. I mean what’s the point? Why tell others to let it go just because you have?

A reasonable question. I suppose I'm very slightly annoyed by the ongoing chirpy hopefulness in the face of the obvious reality.

Let's check back in six months or so and see where we are then.

Six months or so, checking back.

I'll really let it go now. I'll miss PF Tales, but it's not worth obsessing over. Cheers, all.

Doug M.


6 months after Douglas Muir 406 checked in. I'd love if they published the "orphaned novels" as epubs (along with the web fiction and Pathfinder Journals that never got an epub version).

But I've lost hope that it will ever happen now.


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I've started rereading the PF Tales line recently and its sadly reminded me how much I miss them.

With Paizo moving ever further away from print products and shifting to a more digital focus the revival of this line becomes ever less likely. :(


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Steve Geddes wrote:

I've started rereading the PF Tales line recently and its sadly reminded me how much I miss them.

With Paizo moving ever further away from print products and shifting to a more digital focus the revival of this line becomes ever less likely. :(

I wouldnt mind if they wanted to start releasing them as Ebook only- I'm wondering if the new Web fiction is a sort of soft pilot for them?


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Yeah it is.

The blogs were initially tagged/branded PFTales (although I'm not sure if thats continuing).

Irrespective, thats clearly how theyve replaced the novels line - serialised webfiction that then gets released as an ebook compilation.


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Catching up on the Drizzt series during the pandemic really emphasized how much I want more Pathfinder book darn it. Especially stuff less stand alone than the ones they were making.

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