Pathfinder

Apr 5 2013

Wanderers of the Outlands, a sci-fi setting!

Milky_Way_GalaxyAlmost two years ago I wrote my first post about a sci-fi setting I had in mind. I plan ahead for my campaign so I knew I wanted to run some sci-fi and began to put together some ideas about what to run. I posted a first draft here in the blog, talked with my players, the majority was excited about the prospect, listened to the comments the first time around, and have been tinkering with it ever since.

In the meantime I wrote about designing aliens (and some wonderful readers offered to help with the design, I never took you up on it because just what the aliens looked like had not really solidified in my mind, but if the offer is still good I’d love to work with any artist willing to help!) and wrote the end of the campaign for a ConCurrent game I ran, both at a Geeknic and online during the con (the links to part 1 and part 2).

So coming back full circle, here is the finished background to my sci-fi game. I already discussed it with my players, and they seem to be on board. Some elements remain undeveloped, but that is a purposeful decision because my players have agreed to develop specific elements of the campaign. I love that idea and look forward to their input.

So, without further ado, Wanderers of the Outlands! (I’ll be back after the background to discuss some specifics of the campaign…)

By • Ask The Readers, FATE, Fluff/Inspiration, Other Systems, Pathfinder, Random musings, RPG, Star Wars Saga Edition • 4

Mar 13 2013

What about Open Gaming Monthly? A short review…

OGM 01After my review of Gygax Magazine and my bemoaning of the loss of Kobold Quarterly, I discovered another magazine that was recently released in digital form Open Gaming Monthly, a digital only magazine supporting open gaming and brought to you by the folk at PFSRD.com and Fat Goblin Games for $2.99. You might be wondering is the price of admission worth it? Most certainly!

Ok on to the fiddly bits…

The magazine is 99 pages long, full color, with a good balance of ads and content and a catalog of the items for sale at the PFSRD Shop in the back. Right off the bat I must say this did not feel like a shopper, the ads were there but they did not overwhelm me. They had certain columns, like previews, news, notes, and upcoming releases; with a print magazine such content can quickly become dated, but taking advantage of the digital format it’s all hyperlinked and really useful. And there is so much goodness here, from the small columns and asides, like GM Advantage with links to articles and tools, a Resources column, and Random Treasure, little boxes with items all around the magazine.

The content is solid, almost all open content! They had interviews, but they were NOT the main focus of the magazine. The focus was actual content, fluff and crunch I can immediately use in my game. Monsters, items, races, locations, adventures, optimization advice and an open content shared setting to be developed each issue.  There is an artic theme running through many, but not all, articles, which is very nice. The theme ties together parts of the magazine but does not make it so that people NOT running artic or cold themed setting are left hanging.

The largest chunk of the magazine is really Pathfinder content, but with publishers also hosting the Sword and Wizardry SRD and the Mutants & Masterminds SRD, I hope there is space for content for both these games and other OGL games in the magazine.

There are other details, like a full reproduction of the cover art with artist info, and even a recipe! Yes you read that right, a food recipe for Spinach Lasagna Rolls. The art, layout and everything about the magazine is top notch. If they can continue producing such a wonderful magazine month after month they have a regular client here.

An excellent product all around, if you like Pathfinder, Open Gaming content games and want to support PFSRD.com and their related sites, check it out!

By • Just my two cents, Mutants & Masterminds, News & Reviews, Other Systems, Pathfinder, Random musings, Reviews & First Looks, RPG, Swords & Wizardry • 0

Feb 6 2013

Ask The Stargazer: What is the best Fantasy RPG?

Ask The Stargazer Some of you may remember the column “Ask The Stargazer” that I introduced back in 2011. I posted a couple of replies to your questions since then, but for various reasons the column has lost steam in 2012. But there are still a few unanswered emails in my inbox, so I decided to get “Ask The Stargazer” back into gear again!

Here’s the first question for 2013:

Dear Stargazer

I have one more question that I kindly would ask: What is the best fantasy rpg?

Could you please give short overview of the most popular fantasy rpgs with a summary of pros and cons? I have played d&d 3rd, ad&d 2nd, d&d 3.5 and now I’m playing Pathfinder. Although there is a lot of differences between these editions this mostly one game. My problem is that I find this game a bit heavy – having to much rules and the combat takes to much time. In addition I hate class levels, making it too difficult for the DM/GM to make an adventure. So the thing I actually what to find out is what other options do I have? I have played some general rpgs as well, but I didn’t find those very intriguing.

Kind,

Henrik

Deciding which fantasy RPG is best for you is actually not easily answered. There’s no such thing as the best RPG. Every game out there has its flaws and it’s entirely possible that the game I love is total rubbish to you. As the saying goes: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But before I get too philosophical, let’s have a look at a few popular games.

A note: I will give you my thoughts on each of the games but going into detail will definitely beyond the scope of a blog post, so if you’re interested to learn more about a particular game, check out the game’s official site or post your question in the comments below.

By • Advice, Ask The Stargazer, D&D4e, Dragon Age, Legacy D&D, Legend/Runequest, Other Systems, Pathfinder, RPG • 11

Feb 4 2013

The Pathfinder Reference Document Updated (And a few other things!)

PathfinderIf you are a Pathfinder RPG fan you might already know this because Paizo has been very good at announcing it via social media and RPG new outlets have covered it, but just in case this is the one source of RPG news you read, and we can’t criticize your for your impeccable taste, I’m writing this post.

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document has been updated yet again! I have to commend Paizo for keeping their reference document current and making it a real tool for gamers on the digital edge. For me the reference document does not substitute the actual book, PDF, on in many cases both. The books have more details and explanations; of course illustrations, “fluff”, and I still prefer reading the information from the book. But to a digital Game Master it is an excellent tool.

I don’t run adventures at home so my space to transport books is at a premium. I have to choose what to take and having so much content available online is probably what makes running Pathfinder so easy for me. So what’s new? The content for the NPC Codex has been added, the stat blocks, not the specific NPCs for each stat block (and they make getting the book in print of PDF worth it!) as well as information from the Advanced Races Guide integrated into the indexes. Oh the indexes! The various indexes make it possible to sort through the ever growing number of spells, feats and magic items. Some people are overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices in Pathfinder but tools such as this make it much easier to run the game!

(That and Hero Lab, Perram’s Spellbook,these tools are integral parts of my electronic toolbox, but I digress…)

I also regularly use the Pathfinder SRD, it contains much of the same content as the Pathfinder RD, but organized differently, and the SRD includes 3rd party content, not on the official Paizo document. I typically have both open during games and switch from these online tools to my own home grown tools, such as my Excel campaign journal and work tool, an Excel encounter calculator, the campaign Facebook page and Google site. But the Pathfinder Reference Document is the center of all this madness, the most useful tool I have for my weekly game.

I’ve written about the updates before, and hope that Paizo continues to do this. It shows the commitment they have with their fan base, kudos to all the talented and hardworking people who work on my favorite fantasy RPG.

By • Just my two cents, News & Reviews, Other Systems, Pathfinder, Random musings, RPG, RPG tools • 0

Jan 21 2013

How about a trio of reviews? Books from Kobold Press!

KP Logo Vertical.mediumI haven’t done one of these in a while! Between work and classes I’ve been away from the blog and not been as effective at getting to review some books provided to the blog for that very end. This time around I’ll tackle three books by the wonderful folk at Kobold Press for the Pathfinder RPG. So without further ado…

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By • Ask The Readers, Just my two cents, News & Reviews, Other Systems, Pathfinder, Random musings, Reviews & First Looks, RPG • 0

Nov 14 2012

The Kobold, the Quarterly and the Contest!

Fall is upon us (well those of us living in the northern hemisphere at least)! It’s the time of harvest, leaves fall, the weather turns colder, and apparently Kobolds come out of their den. I received a review copy of the Fall issue of Kobold Quarterly, number 23, by the friends from Kobold Press and sat down to write a review about it over the weekend, when their Kobold Courier newsletter arrived in my e-mail I and I read about a wonderful new contest they are having which I thought may be of interest to our readers, so I thought I’d combine both into a post!

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By • D&D Next, D&D4e, Dragon Age, Earthdawn, Just my two cents, Legacy D&D, News & Reviews, Other Systems, Pathfinder, Random musings, Reviews & First Looks, RPG • 0

Oct 24 2012

Passing the torch!

Not too long ago Puerto Rico Role Players once again participated on the Central Fan Fest, a local convention dedicated to Anime, Cosplay, Sci-Fi and (with our presence there) RPGs. This convention holds a special place in my heart because the organizers were the first to give us a space were to share our love for games back in 2010. I can’t believe it’s been two years!

I’ve written about cons, specifically local cons before. One of the things we do in Puerto Rico Role Players is promoting the group. We have periodic activities and cons such as this lets us reach new people who have not heard of us. We also do demos… We try to select games that have a wide appeal, we’ve done Star Wars, D&D, Pathfinder, zombie games, and on every occasion we try to introduce role-playing games to people who know nothing about them, on the recent con I had just such an opportunity. More

By • Advice, Other Systems, Pathfinder, Random musings, RPG • 0

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