Pathfinder Preview

Click here for a nice preview of the upcoming adventure deck (The Hook Mountain Massacre) for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.

Stuff I'd Like To Do

I'm always trying to think of new game ideas for the future, even if many (most?) of them never come to pass. If nothing else, it's a fun exercise to keep the creative juices flowing. As we approach 2014, here are a few ideas I've been mulling...

• It's going to be D&D's fortieth birthday in 2014, so why not have a one-shot or mini-campaign that uses the D&D rules as they existed back in 1974? Who wants to be the "Fighting Man"?
• I have a super awesome new NPC -- a cantankerous, foul-mouthed old crone -- who would make a great centerpiece for a low-level campaign, either in the Druid Cycle or Shattered Realm setting. Like the crone herself, the adventures would be loosely derived from a Middle English adventure tale that I enjoyed from my former life in academia.
• I now have a complete Old West campaign setting for the Front Porch multiverse, and it's chock-full of cowboys, bandits, prospectors (grizzled and non-grizzled), card sharks, card sharps, women of various types of repute (including ill!), and two extra-dimensional visitors. I've taken great care to ensure that all NPCs have the most outlandishly, wonderfully ridiculous Old West names you've ever heard. (Consarn it!)

D&D Next...Summer!

D&D Next will be hitting stores next summer. Awesome! Click here for the official announcement.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season. I may add a few posts here and there if any big gaming-related news comes up, but otherwise I'll see you all in 2014!

Happy 13th!

It's Friday the 13th, so happy Colgate Day to Matt, Tim B, Chuck, and any other Colgate alums who may be reading this blog!

No Love for Foxglove

As I mentioned earlier this week, one of my PACG teams picked up an ally named Aldern Foxglove, who plays a pivotal role in the Rise of the Runelords storyline. I didn't have a need for that particular ally card, but I carried it for two scenarios until, sure enough, I hit the plot twist that I had foreseen. Is it a spoiler to say that now the card is really, really useless to me?

Zub Interview

Click here for an interesting interview with Jim Zub, the writer of the Pathfinder comic book series.

Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle

I was pretty annoyed when Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle, the first official D&D Next product, was available only to Gen Con attendees. Now this adventure has been released in digital format for about $18 -- much less than the print version. Click here for details.

This Guy Is Important

I have two minor quibbles with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (PACG). One is that too many of the scenarios rely on playing hide-and-seek with the main villain. In the long run, I think this problem will be easy to solve; as this game becomes more mature, the designers will come up with ways to build more innovative and unique scenarios. The other problem isn't a problem so much as...well...unfulfilled potential. I realize that this product was intended to be an RPG-flavored card game and not a truly "gamemasterless" RPG, but even so, it's pretty light on story. The source material for this game -- the Rise of the Runelords adventure path -- is a much-beloved and award-winning RPG campaign. I was expecting a bit more of the narrative to come through, but as it stands, the PACG doesn't really tell the story of Rise of the Runelords in any meaningful way.

However, once in a while the game does surprise me. While adventuring with my second pair of heroes -- the cleric Kyra and the monk Sajan -- I stumbled upon a fellow by the name of Aldern Foxglove. I know enough about the RPG source material to know that this guy is important.

I can't wait to see how this card affects the development of my current adventure deck (The Skinsaw Murders) and how the experience of Kyra and Sajan will be different from that of Valeros and Seoni, who do not have this pivotal NPC in their party. I won't spoil it for those who might play Rise of the Runelords in some capacity (either as RPG or PACG), but I will say that the card game may have one super-cool plot twist in store for me shortly...

Pathfinder Pairs

Now that I've played through the Burnt Offerings adventure deck four times with four solo characters -- Valeros (fighter), Kyra (cleric), Seoni (sorcerer), and Sajan (monk) -- I'm going to try pairing them up for the next adventure, The Skinsaw Murders. Team #1 is Val and Seoni. Here's the setup on my trusty air hockey / gaming table...

I've drawn the starting hands for both heroes, but I have yet to explore any of the four location decks. Running multiple characters looks to be rather more complicated than using just one!