Humble Bundle - StarFinder Second Edition Playtest Primer

I have no experience with StarFinder and have played little in the area of science fiction or science fantasy RPGs. That being said, I know many players enjoy such genres and I suspect the StarFinder Second Edition Playtest Primer Bundle will be of interest to said players.

Get on the ground floor of the next great science-fantasy TTRPG (and get a bunch of cool options for your Pathfinder campaign) with Paizo’s Starfinder Second Edition! This bundle includes the Starfinder Second Edition Playtest Rulebook, a massive 264-pages compendium covering everything you need to be a part of the game in its current form and help shape its future. In addition, you’ll get a colossal first-edition Starfinder library, complete rulebooks, supplements, adventure paths, and much, much more. Plus, your purchase helps support Girls Who Code.

 

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News - Paizo Releases a Statement Recognizing the United Paizo Workers Union

The original article is linked below:

https://gamingtrend.com/news/paizo-releases-a-statement-recognizing-the-united-paizo-workers/

October 21, 2021 (Redmond, WA) – Paizo is pleased to announce it has voluntarily recognized the United Paizo Workers union, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

“We look forward to working with the union to continue and expand our efforts to make Paizo a better place to work and to ensure that Pathfinder and Starfinder products continue to exceed gamer expectations for many years to come,” said Jeff Alvarez, President of Paizo.

The next steps will involve the United Paizo Workers (UPW) union electing their bargaining representatives and then meeting with Paizo management to negotiate terms for a collective bargaining agreement. We expect this process to take some time, but we are committed to the effort and hope to settle a contract in due course. Until an agreement is reached, the Paizo staff continues to focus on creating amazing Pathfinder and Starfinder products.

Paizo has always been about creating awesome games, and we look forward to the changes that unionization will bring to the company. Please join us on this journey by following the UPW on Twitter and stay tuned for future updates!

Interestingly enough, many of the Paizo Freelancers that were involved with the "work stoppage" were full-time Paizo employees moonlighting as freelancers to pay their bills.

https://www.wired.com/story/tabletop-rpg-workers-say-their-jobs-are-no-fantasy/

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Can Freelancers Strike? Paizo Freelancers are Exerting a "Job Action" and withholding Submission of Projects

Paizo Freelancers started a "Job Action" in September, and 40 of them stopped submitting completed material to Paizo. At the moment, all they are asking for is recognition of the Paiz Workers Union, which WON'T be in a position to directly support them as freelancers.

Here are the tweets with the details from the Starfinder and Pathfinder's Senior Line Developer:

Today I want to shine a spotlight on UPW’s secret weapon: freelancers. Paizo’s freelancers are our ally in this fight and we’re helping each other. Here’s how:

Paizo’s business model is built on freelancers. Very few of the words in our publications are written in-house by full time employees on the clock. Instead, we outline projects, hire freelancers to execute those outlines, and develop and edit those manuscripts.

This allows a relatively small number of people (about 35, including art directors, editors, designers, developers, and more) to produce, well, everything. Have you seen our publication schedule lately? It’s LONG. And Paizo must publish new books to pay its bills.

Well, about a month ago, about 40 of Paizo’s most reliable, prolific, and skilled freelancers simply stopped working. In official parlance, this is called “concerted action.” In layman’s terms, it’s a strike without a union.

Some of these freelancers were in the middle of projects, with upcoming deadlines. Some of them had completed manuscripts they refused to turn over. Some were people we need to hire, to get scheduled books underway in time to publish. All of that FROZE.

Folks, Paizo can’t operate in that environment. We can’t just assign 10,000 word Org Play scenarios, 35,000 word SF adventures, 50,000 word P2 adventures to new, untested freelancers. And for many projects, it’s too late in the schedule to do that anyway.

Now, this group of freelancers had a specific list of demands. They wanted Paizo to hire a diversity officer, for example, and investigate recent terminations. But yesterday, they updated their demands: they’ll all come back to work if Paizo recognizes United Paizo Workers.

This is an enormous lever, and we at UPW are incredibly grateful to have it. Paizo can’t make its publication schedule without freelancers, and it can’t pay exec salaries without publications. But if they recognize our union, freelancers come back to work TOMORROW.

Sure, yes, contract negotiations will be long and trying for all involved. But Paizo will still get books out the door, it’ll be able to make its commitments and pay its bills and salaries. And during contract negotiation, we, the people who hire freelancers, can pay back.

In contract negotiation, we can fight for better pay rates for freelancers. We can get more time in the schedule, so writers have time to do their job right. We can get playtesting built into these schedules, which not only helps freelancers but creates better books.

Paizo’s freelancers and United Paizo Workers are working hand in hand. And I am so grateful, honored, and humbled to have that partnership.

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Paizo's Staff Votes to Unionize - United Paizo Workers

I'm not sure what larger effect the decision of Paizo's staff to unionize will have on the larger TTRPG industry (likely little if any), but the 30+ staffers at Paizo are hoping that Paizo will recognize their union. 

From Dicebreaker:

Staff say they are “underpaid for their labor, required to live in one of the most expensive cities in the United States, and subjected to untenable crunch conditions on a regular basis”.

Most everyone in the RPG industry is underpaid for their labor, in large part because the profit margins are not as large as many would like them to be.

In any case, 30 some odd members does not make for a powerful bargaining unit. It is, however, likely, that Paizo has the largest staff of non-managerial job titles in the industry.

Interesting times.

My further thoughts are in the video below:

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Humble Bundle - Starfinder (Paizo)

I don't own Starfinder, which is kinda strange. Because the setting seems like something I would be interested in, similar to DragonStar of the 3e era, but obviously different. Still, it's based on Pathfinder, and Pathfinder has always been 

too crunchy for me.

You can, however, buy-in for a level that includes a physical copy of the Starfinder Beginner Box, and if it's anything like the Pathfinder 1e and 2e Beginner Boxes, there just might be a lot for an old school gamer like me to find useful.

As always, purchases made with The Tavern's affiliate link at Humble Bundle help to support The Tavern. I thank you in advance.

Starfinder Humble Bundle affiliate link

Here's what you get at the $50 level (plus shipping as there are physical items included)

And here's what you get at the $5 level:

There are also $15 and $30 levels, but I suspect most folks will be in for $5 or $50.

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Humble Bundle RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder Second Edition Bestiary by Paizo

Pathfinder 2e released in August of 2019. In July of 2020, Paizo had their first Pathfinder 2e Humble Bundle. Now, In May of 2021, they have their second Humble Bundle for Pathfinder 2e less than 2 years after launching the ruleset. It's Crazy Eddie level of insane ;)

One hell of a way to kill off your sale of Pathfinder 2e PDFs, when your customers know new PDFs will be available dirt cheap in a year or so.

The current Pathfinder 2e Humble Bundle adds in a Print copy of the Pathfinder 2e Bestiary for 35 bucks, and that includes ALL of the PDFs that will be shown above and below. Currently, a print copy of the 2e Bestiary is 49.99 at the Paizo store and 37.49 for a "non-mint" copy.

The PDFs of the Six-Part Extinction Curse Adventure Path are 17.99 apiece at the Paizo store.

I am sorely tempted to grab the Pathfinder Second Edition Bestiary Humble Bundle at 25 bucks, not for the rules, but the OGL Bestiary that I can crib from, the adventure path, the map packs, and more. 

Somehow it seems like a desperate cash grab by a failing company, but who am I to turn down the wish of a failing company? I'm sure my 25 bucks will return my investment many times over. 

About the only thing Paizo hasn't done to raise cash is to release its ample library of Adventure Paths for 5th Edition D&D. One can only hope, as that would make for easy conversion of such to OSR use ;)

A huge tip of the hat to The Taverner that gave me the heads up on this Humble Bundle. :)

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Humble RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder Monster Lore by Paizo

Now I'm sure some of The Tavern's readers are going "why the F should I care about Pathfinder monster books?" Truth is, you shouldn't, except as a resource to tweak out your monster library for your OSR games. Converting from Pathfinder to the OSR is as simple as removing 90% of the crunch but keeping the flavor, and these books will ooze with flavor. 

They are a bargain for ANY DM of any OSR game. Less so for 5e DMs, but I'm sure there is inspiration to be found for all. Oh, ad if you DO play Pathfinder 1e, the Humble RPG Book Bundle - Pathfinder Monster Lore is a goldmine :)

29 books for 18 bucks - that a lot of inspiration!

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News - Paizo Licenses its Adventure Paths to Pinnacle for use with Savage Worlds

I seriously did NOT see this coming. Sure, Paizo converted one of its previous projects to 5e, and yes, Pinnacle has licensed Rifts from Palladium, but Pathfinder Adventure Paths to Savage Worlds? Damn. I actually have the first 2 or 3 adventure paths from Paizo. They made for a good read.

I may need to give my Savage Worlds ruleset another look. I never really grokked their spells and powers...

Press Release

It’s Thanksgiving here in the United States. For our international friends, that’s a time when we come together as friends and family and tell everyone what we’re thankful for.

Today, Pinnacle Entertainment Group is INCREDIBLY thankful to our good friends at Paizo for letting us play in their amazing world of Golarion, setting of the phenomenally successful Pathfinder Roleplaying Game!

Following the incredible reception we had with Kevin Siembieda’s phenomenal world of Rifts®, we’re bringing Pathfinder’s fantastic Adventure Paths to the Savage Worlds™ system, starting with the best-selling Rise of the Runelords™!  

The Kickstarter begins mid-January, 2021, and will feature the Savage Pathfinder core rules, a boxed set with all the usual Savage Worlds accessories, AND the Rise of the Runelords boxed set with all six books of the Adventure Path and other deluxe accessories!

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Humble Bundle - Pathfinder 2nd Edition by Paizo

Color me VERY surprised. I never expected Paizo to put Pathfinder 2nd Edition on sale on Humble Bundle so early in its life span. Nor did I expect them to include a PRINT copy of the rulebook to be included at 30 bucks, but they did. Hell, it's tempting even for me ;)

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Paizo News - Starfinder Creative Director James Sutter Leaves to Freelance

I find bits of news interesting not so much for what they say but the timing of it.

When James Sutter, co-creator of Pathfinder and Creative Director of Starfinder leaves Paizo less than a month after Starfinder's launch after 13 years with the company, I find myself looking at the tea leaves.

Coupled with industry rumors that Paizo has had cash flow issues (and sank a few million into the now cancelled Pathfinder MMO) and is now taking returns on unsold product I think there could be some more changes coming up. Pure half assed speculation on my part, but I wouldnt be surprised to see more departures.

But hey, freelancing pays well, right? I mean, who wouldn't leave a well paying job at the leading company in the industry to freelance?

Anyhow, you can read read James' final Paizo blog entry here. Nothing earth shattering. As I said above, the timing of the news is more interesting than the news itself.

I wish James luck in his future endeavors.

Starfinder - Sold Out at Gen Con - In Stock at Amazon

Photo found on the Paizo Facebook page

Apparently Starfinder has sold out at Gen Con on the first day. Not totally a surprise, as Gen Con is very much about the feeding frenzy of the goldfish.

Anyhow, if you are looking to snag a copy and either missed it at Gen Con OR like me, aren't at Gen Con, your FLGS should have it as well as Amazon.

If you buy from your local FLGS, check the spine and binding - there have been reports of something amiss in a few cases:

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2uisq?Starfinder-book-spine-already-falling-apart

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2uiv6?Starfinder-Core-Rulebook-binding

Might just be outliers but best to check.

If you buy from Amazon you can always return with minimal hassle.

Starfinder on Amazon - $47.51 ($59.99)

Of course, I'll be playing White Star ;)

Yep, there's affiliate links above. Your purchases help support The Tavern. Did I mention White Star is PWYW - even in print (there are at cost prices for print)

Paizo Introduces a Retail Incentive Program - Pay to Play (with Bennies) is Here

Yep, Paizo must be feeling the pressure from D&D 5e Organized Play. Why do I say that? They have introduced a Retail Incentive Program. What is that? Basically, make an in store purchase of at least $10 and receive an in game benefit. Spent $50 or more and the entire group gets a bennie. Pay to Play... better...

I understand trying to make hosting Organized Play beneficial for the host, be it a store, a bar or whatever. I don't agree that there should be an in game benefit for patronizing the hosting establishment. It just seems like gaming the system. Shit, did I just type that?

Game stores and other retail locations are an important part of the Pathfinder Society community, and it's important to support them so that there's always a public venue for organized play events. Players can now redeem receipts in exchange for a modest benefit shared by the entire table—all as a way of thanking players for supporting their game stores. 

At any time during an event, players may redeem receipts from their purchases worth $10 or more to gain a single-use benefit that applies to all of the PCs at the table. If the total combined receipts provided by one or more players are $50 or more, all players receive an enhanced benefit. No matter how many receipts the players have, the table can never use the same benefit more than once during a game session; they can, however, gain both benefits during a session. 

All of the PCs gain the following benefit: 

Harder to Kill: Treat the character's Constitution as 5 points higher than normal for the purpose of determining when hit point damage would kill him. For the enhanced benefit, treat the character's Constitution as 10 higher. 

Each player may also choose to use one of the following during the game: 

Cheaper Healing: Before the end of the session, you can use the benefit to reduce the Prestige Point cost of one spellcasting service of the healing subschool by 1 (minimum 0). For the enhanced benefit, you can instead reduce the cost by 2. 

Recover from Wounds: The PC recovers hit points equal to twice their character level. For the enhanced benefit, each PC also recovers 2 points of ability damage to one ability score. This benefit can only be used outside of combat. 

Bonus Wealth: If you do not use the subsidized healing benefit above, you can instead choose to roll twice and take the higher result when rolling a Day Job check. For the enhanced benefit, you also increase the gold you earn from the day Job result by 50% (maximum 300 gp total).

You can read the full post at the Paizo blog, including exchange rate examples for other currencies (Paizo is using USD) in this example.

Yes, most of my readers don't play Pathfinder, but if you game in a retail environment, this might just squeeze you out at some point.

I expect there will be some vocal opinions on both sides of this.

Pathfinder Online Looks to be Over Before it's Done - Goblinworks Lets Go Nearly it's Entire Staff - Ryan Dancy Resigns

Now THAT's a Dead Goblin

Remember the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter? It was basically to raise seed money to get larger investors interested in the property. My God did Paizo push this hard and fight back against the naysayers.

Of course, the game system itself had nothing to do with the actual Pathfinder system - it was using the name and maybe setting material but that was all.

In any case, it's all gone bust now:

Lisa's Community Address

Posted by: Mike Hines Sept. 2, 2015

To the Pathfinder Online Community

From the beginning of the three year journey to create Pathfinder Online, the one constant has been the support of our community and for this I thank you.  We have had ups and downs including heated debates on design, implementation and overall gameplay.  We have literally battled together (or against each other) and I know you enjoy playing the game as much as I do.  I also know that the community comes together during tough times, and it is probably no surprise that we are currently in a tough spot right now.  There are a number of things that have occurred in the past two weeks that you need to be brought up to date on.

As we have been on this journey to create Pathfinder Online with you for over three years now, we have striven to be as transparent as possible with you.  We just shared the following message with the community during our weekly Keepside Chat.  In full transparency, here is a quick run down of the state of our game:

-EE10.2 is on ZOG for final testing and should roll out to live on Thursday or Friday morning.
EE11 is targeted for the end of September

-Ryan Dancey has had to resign from the company for personal reasons (Lisa Stevens will be acting CEO)

-Finances are tight at Goblinworks, which has resulted in the layoff of the majority of Goblinworks staff

-CTO Mark Kalmes, Art Director Mike Hines, and Designer Bob Settles continue to push the game forward (your monthly subscriptions are what keep these three employed and the server up)
Goblinworks is in talks with multiple game publishers to take the game on and bring it to Open Enrollment

I know that is a lot to take in, so I will share what details we can below:

Game status (EE10.2 and EE11)
We are in final testing before pushing EE10.2 to the live server with its fully revamped and improved new player experience, buy orders for the auction house as well as auction sales histories, settlement chat, and the new crystal ogres monthly event, as well as turning the previous event (The Wrath of Nhur Athemon and its Shadow counterpart) into an ongoing escalation, and making a bunch of bug fixes and improvements.  The team has been working hard on this and on EE11 for most of July and August.  EE11 is done in design, almost entirely done in art, and just needs a bit more programming to get it to the point where we can test. It will take settlement activities to the next level by allowing you to customize and build your settlements the way you want to.  Building a settlement will be a large group task, with lots of raw materials to gather and refine before buildings can be erected.  We will also have the dark elves monthly event ready, providing more PVE content for those who are focused on that aspect of the game.  The core team has the goal of shipping  EE11 by the end of September, and we'll keep you updated on our progress.

Ryan Dancey
Ryan Dancey needed to resign from the company for personal reasons.  We were very sad that he needed to leave us, but supported his decision because it is in the best interests of Ryan’s life outside Goblinworks.  In Ryan’s absence, the board of directors has appointed me Acting CEO.

Finances
We have always known that we would need a certain amount of money to make Pathfinder Online a reality.  Some delays in getting the game to market coupled with some anticipated funding falling through have left us about 75% short of the money we need to finish the game (emphasis mine) and bring it to Open Enrollment.  We knew that we could cut our burn rate (the rate at which expenses burn your cash reserves) by having folks participate in Early Enrollment and that was always the plan, though we never thought that the Early Enrollment subscribers could carry the company to Open Enrollment.  We knew we needed that full investment amount to do that.  We had numerous times this year where the full funding was dangling in front of us only to be snatched away at the last moment.  Very frustrating, but we moved forward and kept looking for somebody to come through with the money we needed to see the game through.

Due to the commitment that you have made to the game, your current subscriptions are able to keep the core team employed and the servers live.  We will continue to move the game forward with that team and keep the servers live as long as the continued financial support from the community is there.  But that means we need you, the Pathfinder Online Community, to continue to support us with your monthly subscription fees.  They are very literally what is keeping the servers paid for, and keeping our core team employed, working on EE11, and talking with various potential partners about purchasing the game so they can finish it. If you wish to see the game through to its finish, we need you to support it financially for the next few months, and if you know people that want to support it, encourage them to subscribe now.  (During this period, we will offer only month-to-month subscriptions.)

On August 28, we had to lay off the majority of the Goblinworks staff.  Continuing to push the game forward are CTO Mark Kalmes, Art Director Mike Hines, and Designer Bob Settles.  We have been keeping the staff abreast of our efforts to find funding for Pathfinder Online and that we would likely have to lay them off on the 28th.  We felt it was super important to give our employees warning so they could plan their lives accordingly.  Their efforts to line up new jobs led to some of the rumors about layoffs.  So why didn’t we announce this earlier?  Because there was and still remains a chance for Pathfinder Online to get its funding and continue forward, so it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that we would have to lay the staff off until Friday, the 28th.

Future
For the past few weeks, we have been shopping Pathfinder Online to a number of other game publishers, looking for a good fit to take the game on and fund it over the finish line.  There have been quite a few companies coming out of the woodwork to discuss this with us and we are in ongoing talks with a number of them about the possibilities.  More companies enter the fray every day.  These kinds of things take some time, though we are motivated to see them through as quickly as we can.  At any moment, one of these publishers could agree to buy the game and we could quickly ramp up to full tilt again.  Due to confidentiality, we can’t provide information on these negotiations.  Rest assured that you will be the first people we tell when there is news we can share.
This isn’t a super rosy picture, but we aren’t dead yet!  The Goblinworks team and the Pathfinder Online community have been underdogs for pretty much the entire project’s history.  But we have persevered and survived.  Sometimes it is darkest right before the dawn.  When I was at White Wolf, we were close to having our electricity and phones shut off in the month before Vampire: The Masquerade released and became a huge hit.  At Wizards of the Coast, we had to lay off the entire staff for 9 months before Magic: The Gathering launched and became one of the most successful games in history.  You have my word that I will work relentlessly to find the right partner to take Pathfinder Online through to the finish line.  The team has brought the ball down the field to the red zone, and now we just need somebody to punch it over the goal line.

I will be hosting another Keepside Chat on Wednesday, September 8th at its normal time of 5pm PST.  You can join the chat live by going to:
Golarion.mumble.com
Port 3093

The ability for us to make Pathfinder Online has always been entirely dependent upon you, the Pathfinder Online Community and the support you have given us.  I would like to thank the Pathfinder Online community for your fierce dedication, support, feedback, and drive to see this game made well.  The only reason to make Pathfinder Online is you, our customer.  I hope you will stay with us over the next few months as we search for that proper partner to finish the game.  It is your support, literally, that will allow this to happen.  Without you, there is no Pathfinder Online.

You have my eternal gratitude,

Lisa Stevens
Acting CEO
Goblinworks Inc.

You can go read the original and the FAQ at the Goblinworks blog.

When the Real World and Fantasy Collide, You Get Posts Like This: Pathfinder SuperDungeon - My Plea!

First things first - the post in question referes to the Pathfinder MMO Kickstarter, but you wouldn't know it from the post, as it's all about the MegaDungeon!

There are 3 days left to raise the next $270k needed to fund the Pathfinder MMO Kickstarter - it may or may not happen. The original poster has decided it's on course to fund at $1.2 million - no idea where he got that number.

In any case, at $1.2 million the Emerald Spire Megadungeon comes in at 12 levels. That not enough for  "Mr. Reality Doesn't Have a Place in My Life", who is all gung-ho about raising another $3.8 million over the course of 3 days so it can be a 50 level Megadungeon.

The fucking kickstarter couldn't raise $750k in a month and a half, and he wants to raise $3.8 million in a 10th of that time.

It's true - kids these days have no idea the value of a dollar.

Some key quotes:


So if we could raise an extra $3.8Mill we could add an extra 38 levels to the dungeon bringing it to a whopping 50 level SuperDungeon! This would also mean there would be at least 50 flip-mats. In order to do this we would need a good deal of people backing the project. So for this to work here are the numbers:

19,000 people pledging $200 for the PDFs, PnP products (including all the miniatures) This would be the Crowdforger Pioneer with Print Pack Addon.

Notice something missing there? Any mention of the ACTUAL Kickstarter Project. I guess it's true - the funding they are raising is not because people want to fund the MMO, but despite the MMO.

Not a good sign even if the project funds.

In any case, here's the link to more Pearls of Wisdom from the Paizo Boards.

Oh, before I forget - best quote from the thread:


Berik
I do really want a copy of Emerald Spire and even though I already have a lot of the PDFs the ones I don't have would be nice to get. To be honest though it doesn't really feel right to me to back a Kickstarter when I'm not really interested in the main product of the Kickstarter. So I've been wavering back and forth a bit over whether to back it or not. Need to decide soon though!

Is It Too Little, Too Late for the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter?

Apparently it is most certainly NOT the Pathfinder RPG

First, it was the illusionary carrots of the mega dungeon and the miniatures for hitting "sub goals".

Then is was the Pathfinder PDF Grab Bag.

Now its "we'll make it for OSX too!"

Why? Why is Paizo trying so hard to shoehorn this MMO into an already overcrowded MMORPG marketplace, where "free to play" has taken over for subscription services?

It's not that Pathfinder Online has anything to do with the Pathfinder RPG, with the possible exception of the setting. What, you missed that? Here's some choice quotes right form the Kickstarter page:


Here is a brief list of some of the highlights of this game:

1. No Grinding- Pathfinder Online uses a skill training system like that of EVE Online. You train skills by choosing what skill you want to train and allowing the time required to elapse. You don't train any faster by farming mobs or spamming your abilities than you do exploring the world, role playing with your friends, or even being offline. You will need to complete certain achievements to complete a skill and open up new avenues of training, but time-based training means you always get full value from your purchased game time whether you're casual or 'hardcore', an adventurer or crafter, or one who enjoys a lot of roleplaying chat or one who spends much of their time in combat.

2. No Classes- Unlike other games that give you a narrow range of abilities as you train your class, in Pathfinder you gain levels in different Roles based off what you have trained.

(it goes on for 8 more highlights, but these are the ones that directly effect gameplay in comparison to the actual Pathfinder Roleplaying Game)

What do either of the above highlights have to do with the Pathfinder RPG? I mean, besides sharing a name.

It needs $350k over the next 6 days. It aint happening.

The game may still happen, but it won't happen on the backs of the RPG Community.

"By The Power of Paizo!" - The Struggle to Get the Pathfinder MMO Kickstarter Funded

Look at all the crap I didn't want before, but I can get now, for free with a $100 purchase!
Order NOW! Hucksters... er, Operators are Standing By!

I like Paizo. I like the company. I like that they give PDFs with every Paizo product you buy through their webstore. They've done a lot to keep D&D going strong, without many of the missteps suffered by WotC.

I don't play Pathfinder. Way too crunchy for me. The Beginner Box I could handle, that's about it. But I do like much of what they put out.

All of which is why the Pathfinder MMO Kickstarter bugs the shit outa me.

Let the damn thing live or die on it's own merits. It's a huge money sink, and will only be more so once the project goes ahead (if it goes ahead).  This one project could break the company. I'm damn well sure it's not going to make the company.

MMOs are a dime a dozen these days. They come and go faster then the usual WotC Christmas Purge (I think we escaped that this year). The odds of a Pathfinder MMO resulting in anything but a lot of red ink for Paizo is damn small. The odds of this project funding without some amazing help aren't good, which is probably good for Paizo.

So, what do they do, besides sending me spam from other companies in the industry encouraging me to support this Kickstarter (this pisses me off to no end).

First, they added the the "fake carrot" to the deal - The Emerald Spire Superdungeon, which gets bigger with every $100k pledged as it climbs to the $1Million goal. It's bullshit because it's either funded or it's not, so those steps in between don't mean shit. I'm actually embarrassed for Paizo for going this route.

Now the latest - a bunch of PDFs from (mostly) 3rd party publishers that you either already have (the Pathfinder Rules for example) or a bunch of shit you don't need and probably don't want (you can make your own list). It's like your mom filling your stocking with junk from the dollar store when you're 45. I don't need it, I don't want it and it's going right to the garbage. Save your money and your effort.

I'm surprised they aren't adding stuff to the pot to get some non-Pathfinder gamers to support this. That would actually make sense. Note, I'm not saying the Pathfinder MMO makes much sense either.

I sense desperation on the part of the fine folks at Paizo. Yes, I know Goblin Works is the company behind the Kickstarter, but that's pretty much just Paizo with a trench around it for when this project goes south - jettison Goblin Works and hope that Paizo didn't dump too much money in it keeping it afloat up until that point.

The best result for Paizo is the failure of this Kickstarter. I know that kills a few dreams, but it probably saves the company's longterm health.

The Grumpy Dwarf Rants About Illusionary Carrots in Paizo's Pathfinder Online Kickstarter

Dear Clueless Crowdfunder,


Our sister company Goblinworks is busy developing Pathfinder Online, a sandbox-style MMO based on the Pathfinder world. In celebration of them raising $200k in the first week of their Kickstarter initiative (and watching the fund raising slow down), and to thank our fans for their continued support, Paizo is thrilled to announce new rewards for the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter, adding awesome new content to the Pathfinder setting! (which is, of course, the same trick they pulled with the "proof of concept demo dealie" with the other kickstarter)

The biggest news is the launch of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon (Dwimmermount was their preferred choice, but James Mal already took that) , which will become the largest official Pathfinder RPG dungeon ever published (dare we call it a "megadungeon"?). The Emerald Spire Superdungeon (guess not) includes 32 pages of source material detailing the area around Fort Inevitable (what is with the lame names?), one of the starter towns in the Pathfinder Online game. It will also add at least four, 8-page dungeon levels, designed by Pathfinder superstars Richard L. Baker, F. Wesley Schneider, Wolfgang Baur and James L. Sutter. The Superdungeon will be accompanied by the Emerald Spire Dungeons Flip-Mat Multi-Pack, a set of Pathfinder Flip-Mats presenting each dungeon level in tabletop miniatures scale. (all of which is cool if you use miniatures in gaming - probably why I don't play Pathfinder)

As the Kickstarter funding grows, so does the Superdungeon (now, follow along, because I have a big question at the end of this shell game). When the $250k sub-goal is met, I will come out of game design semi-retirement to add an original dungeon level to the book. As each $100k sub-goal is met thereafter, new levels by superstar designers will be added. By the time the Kickstarter reaches its $1 million funding goal, the Emerald Spire Superdungeon will encompass 12 dungeon levels in 128 pages, accompanied by 6 double-sided Flip-Mats in the Emerald Spire Dungeons Flip-Mat Multi-Pack. (Okay - but if it doesn't fund, do we still get ann Emerald Spire of Uber-Goodness Dungeon of Super Doom? That's why this is a bullshit carrot - it's 12 plus levels or it's nothing. Why the fuck doesn't Paizo just say: "Fund our MMORPG so we can earn monthly residuals and we'll give you the megadungeon behind door number 1,000,000"! Simply because they need fake carrots to have any hope of getting this funded at $1,000,000 and if they had set a lower goal, they risked funding but not having enough funds) But it won’t stop there! (sounds almost like on of those Infomercials - "But Wait! Theres more!") As additional stretch goals are met, the Emerald Spire will become even larger, and the number of Flip-Mats will grow.

Also, a new RPG Print Pack has been added to the Kickstarter reward tier. Backers at any pledge level can get the RPG Print Pack for an additional $100 (plus $15 shipping outside of the U.S.). The RPG Print Pack includes a hardcover print edition of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon, which will feature an exclusive Kickstarter cover by Wayne Reynolds; a print edition of the Emerald Spire Dungeons Flip-Mat Multi-Pack; a print edition of the Pathfinder Tales novel The Crusader Road by Richard L. Baker, and an Emerald Spire Campaign Cards game accessory. (sweet - so if you want in on the dungeon, you need to add $100 bucks - mega dungeon for mega funding)

New WizKids Pathfinder Battles Miniatures will also be added to the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter as rewards for all of the Crowdforger backer levels, which start at $100. The miniatures will all be drawn from the Emerald Spire Superdungeon, starting with the Bloodbriar Goblin Raider. A second miniature, the Shadowfire Elemental, will be unlocked when the Kickstarter reaches $300K, with additional miniatures revealed for each $100K raised. This means that starting at $250,000, a new reward will be offered for every $50K reached, alternating between new dungeon levels for the Emerald Spire Superdungeon and new Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic miniatures! (again, this is an all or nothing - another bullshit carrot - 9+ minis or nothing - somehow Paizo leaves off the little fact that this must get funded before you get any of the advertised carrots - just say "when we hit goal, you get 9 minis")

With the success of this Kickstarter, Pathfinder Online is targeted for a mid-2014 Beta. As stretch goals are reached beyond the base funding level, this target date will move up as more resources are brought to bear on getting Pathfinder Online finished.

The Pathfinder Online Kickstarter Campaign is in progress and concludes at 2:00 GMT on January 14, 2013. We look forward to your being involved in the development of Pathfinder Online—the voice of the fans will be at the core of what we do, and we thank you for your support. To learn more about the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter, please visit the Kickstarter page!

Best,
Lisa Stevens
CEO, Paizo Publishing, LLC
COO, Goblinworks, Inc.

(Listen, even Grumpy fucks like me would like to see this get funded, but at least be honest about it. Fake sub-goals or whatever they are are total bullshit. Lots of flash, little substance. If you want the Uber Dungeon Of Emerald Pathfinderness, fund at level that includes it as a reward - but don't think that it's getting any larger until one million bucks is passed. That's what pisses me off about this email, the carrots are fucking illusions.

The Grumpy Dwarf)

Review - Pathfinder Basic Box - Part 1 - Hero's Handbook

It's only 64 pages long, but I am still looking at the Hero's Handbook from the Pathfinder Basic Box.  All the rules you need for the four basic classes (Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard) covering the first 5 levels of advancement.

As far as races, I don't mind the Gnome omission at all, but halflings are a fantasy staple, and I would have appreciated their presence.  We do get Dwarves, Elves and Humans (no half races either).  I'll just need to remind myself it is a Basic Box, and if you put the kitchen sink in the box, you lose the focus.

For no particular reason, I'm going to hit on spells next.  Perfectly done.  Really.  Spell icon tells you the school of the spell, range, duration and short paragraph detailing the effects.  10 spells per level, and all spells for a spell level fit on one side of one page.  Concise yet extremely complete and useful.  It could (should) be a model for other RPGs down the line.

Jumping back to character generation, I'm going to remark upon the need for the character to have at least a cumulative bonus of +3, or you don't have a stat above 13, you can reroll your character.  Using 4d6, I expect there will be a lot of rerolls.  I do understand the power level in Pathfinder is on the Spinal Tap Scale ("But this one goes to eleven!"), but coming from the OSR side of the hobby I needed to adjust my focus.

Did I mention the pages are full color?  Same quality paper as the Pathfinder Monthies?  That weapons and armor are accompanied by artwork depicting the item in question?  Heck, they might as well have put the armor and weapons on slightly elongated business cards.  I'm tempted to print those pages out from the PDF (I love Paizo and their PDFs) and cut out the items in question so I can hand them out to my players.  Of course, I  game online, so that might be an issue.  Still, the idea is valid.

K, more later.