Wasteland 2 – How Kickstarter is changing the way everyone does everything

Some of you as old as I am might remember this….

 

That’s right… Wasteland.  The game that came out in 1988 featuring a turn based post-apocalyptic tabletop RPG, where you ran a team of up to 6 characters with unique skills trying to survive and thrive in the harsh environs of an irradiated future. The characters faced moral decisions, sometimes disturbing reminders of the horrors of nuclear war, and giant rabid mutated bunnies…  

To many folks, this game was their first exposure featuring such a setting (though other games, such as TSR’s Gamma World, had been on the market for years at this point). Video games reached different audiences, and as we looked down the barrel of our ICBM’s at Russia in the 80′s, this game was… relevant.  

Still, for a video game, there wasn’t much going on until Wasteland came on the scene.  It’s fans are legion, and despite decades passing, a recent Kickstarter has shown that mutant dreams really can come true.

Brian Fargo, founder of the video game company Interplay, has used Kickstarter to bring to life a long running dream of resurrecting this franchise for PC and MAC users (with rumors of a possible tablet format before they’re all done).  After numerous rejections in the now very corporate world of video games, Kickstarter is allowing good ideas like this to get off the ground and circumvent corporate greed that has killed so many good and beautiful things. (Insert lost cause here).

It makes me wonder what the possibilities might be as this idea begins to evolve.  Certainly, there is the opportunity to fund great ideas by small entrepreneurs, building an empire of the New Creatives that can produce their untainted dream product.  While there may be some instances where editing and oversight are good things, we can see lots of examples where the “suits” have trashed a really great idea based based on policies, surveys, polls, marketing reports, etc.  

But maybe there’s also the distinct possibility of a market flood when all this potential for funding gets out (which, you know, is happening right now).  You have to presume that people will spend their hard earned dollars on the best ideas, and apply liberal common sense.  Maybe I’m just too cynical, however, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see slicker promotional videos in the future promoting less phenomenal products.  The potential for a  smoke and mirrors vaporware product seems high, considering that many might aspire to do more than anyone realistically could, money or no money.  

We’re seeing a moment in economic history where technology has risen the consumer/producer relationship to its most perfect state in human history.  Will it unleash a monster? Will corporate greed somehow insinuate itself into this process?  Will the system get glutted with Edsels?  Or will things continue to grow and improve in ways that we never thought they could? 

I’m holding my breath for a Cadash 2, Kickstarter… Let’s see that.

Delving Dungeons Doesn’t Disappoint

It’s the oldest and most iconic form of fantasy RPG adventure. A bunch of adventurers of varied skills and backgrounds stumble across a hidden cave, or an entrance to an ancient tomb. Traps and foul creatures stand vigil over gleaming piles of treasure, long forgotten.

I’m prepping for tonight’s Pathfinder Society game. Tonight, I’m GMing one of the PFS intro scenarios, which are free, and pretty awesome. The second one in the series “To Delve the Dungeon Deep,” is about as classic as a dungeon crawl can be. I won’t spoil it for those who have yet to play it (including the guys tonight!), but this little delve has got it all; traps, mysterious lairs and runes, creatures, and plenty of options for PCs to make choices. Which way? Attack or parlay? Poke it with a stick or run screaming?

Recently, I adapted The Lost City for 4e. A classic D&D module, it proved to be one of the most fun 4e experiences I’ve ever had. My sincere hope is that DnDnext or 5e gets back to the classic feel of exploration and mystery. 4e as written seemed to get bogged down on the numbers side of things, (making sure encounters were balanced, treasure parcels were level appropriate, etc.) and lost some of the magic that came from not knowing what was behind the next door (let alone if the door was trapped!).

If you don’t have access to any old D&D adventures (I’m talking late 70s, early 80s) I recommend downloading Part 2 of the PFS intro scenarios. Heck, you might as well download them all. Even if you don’t play Pathfinder, the style of this delve can inspire a GM for any system. Things to consider: What is the history of the location of the delve? Who used to live there? Who calls it home now? What did the previous inhabitants leave behind? What have the new denizens added? Try and tie them all together with a cohesive theme, a goal for the adventurers (perhaps the classic MacGuffin?), and you will have at least one awesome night of gaming ahead of you! If it has been a long time since you’ve explored a forgotten place with a group of adventurers, grab a torch and a ten foot pole and conquer the unknown!

Rothfuss and Kovalic – Stellar Indeed!

StellarCon is coming up on March 2-4, in High Point, NC. It looks to be an awesome event with lots of great events, talks, gaming, and some very cool special guests: Patrick Rothfuss, and John Kovalic.

Author of The Kingkiller Chronicles, Patrick Rothfuss is one of my favorite authors of all time. If you need an awesome fantasy book to read, look no further then The Name of the Wind. I first heard about it when the Penny Arcade guys were gushing over it a few years ago. It is easily one of the best fantasy books in several years. I just got done with the sequel A Wise Man’s Fear, and it was equally awesome. The third and final book of the series is not slated until May of next year, but if the first two are any indication, it will be worth the wait.

The other special guest is John Kovalic of Dork Tower and Munchkin art fame. I’ve enjoyed Dork Tower for years, and Munchkin wouldn’t be Munchkin without his art. Interestingly, he had something to do with the development of Apples to Apples which I have played many hours of at parties and get-togethers. It’s a pretty fun party game that can be played with a ton of people without too much difficulty.

Other events include a short film festival, and SONAR – Symposium On Nerdy Academic Research. This is the first year SONAR will be held at StellarCon, and from the description, it looks to be inspired by TEDtalks. It will be interesting to see how that all works out. Between games of Pathfinder Society, of course.

If you’re anywhere near the NC/SC/VA check it out!

Notes From Golarion – Superstar and Society

A couple of things to note for you Pathfinder fans out there. Voting begins tonight for RPG Superstar! Sadly our submissions didn’t make the round of 32, but there are some really interesting items that did. Vote for your favorite designer and follow the brackets to see who comes out on top this year! Voting begins at 5pm EST.

In other Paizo news, the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized play has been updated to version 4.1. There are a few major changes and a few minor ones. Most notably, playing a pre-gen character of any level gets you the chronicle sheet for that scenario that can be applied to a newly created 1st level character. At first read it would appear that you could “power-level” a character by applying an upper-level chronicle sheet to a lower level character, but I’m sure they’ll work out the kinks.

Another major change is the addition of an entire chapter devoted to sanctioned modules. Apparently you can play a regular non-society Pathfinder module and get society credit. Chronicle sheets have been added for the 15 modules that are currently sanctioned. Furthermore, a retired 12-level character can level up beyond 12th by playing through the sanctioned modules.

The local lodge here in Asheville is really picking up steam! We’re still trying out several venues to find a more permanent home in light of Blitzkrieg closing, but despite that there are new faces each event, and proving to be the best organized play experience many of us have ever experienced. If you haven’t found a lodge near you, why not start one on the message boards and get something started? Our lodge is only a few months old, and players are coming out from all over. Meet your fellow gamers and help grow the hobby!

Inner Sea World Guide – Review

As someone who is fairly new to Pathfinder and the Pathfinder Society, I was eager to learn more about Golarion and the specifics of the world in which the society adventures are happening. There are very few details in the core rulebook or gamemaster guide about the different peoples and regions of the Pathfinder world. It could be argued that this is a good thing, in that you can use the Pathfinder system in a world of your own devising, or a popular fantasy setting from D&D or some other book.

The history and lore of Golarion has been published expanded upon in several books since 2007, but none are more complete than the Inner Sea World Guide. Weighing in at 320 pages, it details peoples, regions, factions, deities and geography like no other source book. One of the Skyland Games guys was lucky enough to win it in a random drawing at SCARAB, and it has been an awesome resource to all of us as we have gotten involved in the growing and thriving Asheville Pathfinder Lodge.

The majority of the book is dedicated to detailing the different regions around the inner sea, and the two main continents in which the society adventures have taken place thus far. The first section is dedicated to a dozen different human ethnicities, including their typical regions, religions, and examples of family names. Many of them are directly lifted from actual ethnicities in real life, but I feel it is refreshing to see all types of people represented in a fantasy role-playing game. So often, RPG settings are completely white unless it was a specialty setting meant to reflect a far or middle eastern culture such as TSR’s Al-Qadim or “Oriental Adventures.” It’s nice to have those backgrounds to choose from and makes the world of Golarion feel much more diverse and vibrant.

Especially helpful for society players, but also for general Pathfinder fans, are the sections on factions and religions. Many of the published adventures put the party up against such factions as the Aspis Consortium or the Red Mantis. PCs who choose religious classes like clerics and paladins will appreciate a little more background on their chosen deities and the church organizations around them.

Also included toward the back is a short section of prestige classes, feats, equipment, spells, magic items, and a few monsters. But this book is mostly an atlas, not an expansion.

I would strongly recommend this book for players who are getting involved in society play, or for those who are using Golarion in their home campaigns. It is also a pretty good source book for general ideas about world building and what to include to make your homebrew world feel rich and dynamic.

Pros: Lots of detail about the peoples and lands of Golarion

Cons: Not much else for $50. This is a book with a fairly narrow audience. If you aren’t interested in Golarion, you probably wouldn’t feel this is a good value.

SCARAB Review… Chaotic Good

Watch out for dragon attacks at the aptly named FLGS Heroes and Dragons

The Skyland Games crew made our way to Columbia, South Carolina for the 2nd Annual South Carolina Area Roleplayers and Boardgamers convention. The Con ran from Friday to Monday, but we elected to just go down for the day and play a little Pathfinder Society. Of course, by a little, I mean playing two scenarios which ran from approximately 1pm-1am.

Before we made it to the event, we wanted to stop and check out one of Columbia’s Friendly Local Gaming Stores, Heroes and Dragons. Some of the guys had met the owner at Fanaticon in May, and it sounded like a pretty cool store. We had a great time perusing aisle after aisle of awesome stuff: comics, toys both new and retro, gaming books, board games, used paperback books, a huge gaming space with lots of terrain, and of course, one massive dragon. It’s safe to say we were all really impressed with the store, not only for its size, but also its scope. If you are anywhere near Columbia, its worth a bit of a pilgrimage. Once we were done checking out the store, it was time to head to SCARAB.

I should note, that of the 4-man crew, I was the one with the least Con experience. I went to something in DC with my mom when I was about 13, but that hardly counts. As Cons go, the other guys assured me that this one was a bit on the small side. That being said, all the staff we interacted with during registration and between games were really helpful and welcoming, and it was easy to navigate and get to where you wanted to be. It was held at the Scottish Rite Convention Center, which sounds like it might be a huge venue, but turned out to be about the size of a large church.

Registration was in the center lobby, which included several computers so players could register digitally for games via warhorn. RPGs were in the auditorium at several round tables that were on “stage.” The stage wasn’t raised, and was actually rather roomy and accommodated about 18-20 tables, not all of which were occupied at any one time when we were there. The lighting was a bit distracting in that it was red, blue, and yellow stage lights which tended to cast some weird multicolored shadows, but all and all, not bad. The other half of the event was in the cantina, which was about the size of a large cafeteria. They had various gaming vendors around the outside edge, and another 20-25 round tables in the middle. There was a snack bar that sold drinks and pizza and cookies to hungry gamers, and a pretty large selection of board games that anyone could borrow for an impromptu game.

We were told that the Warhammer guys had moved to the hotel were the majority of the con-attendees were staying, so we missed a bit of the action, but I think its safe to say we saw the majority. I saw just about everybody I had played Pathfinder Society games with in Asheville in attendance. It made for a cool community vibe.

Our Pathfinder sessions were scheduled for 1pm-5pm, and 6pm-10pm. Here is were a bit of the Chaos began. The tables were kind of labelled with number tents, and some had signs on them of what game was going on there, and if they were looking for players. As near as I could tell, these signs were for decoration only. We couldn’t find our table, or even our GM despite showing up early and making an earnest attempt to do just that. At about two minutes to 1pm Scott just yelled out the GM’s name until he responded. The GM led us to a table, at which we learned our characters were not of the appropriate level for the module we signed up for. No level tier was mentioned in the module description on warhorn. While some mods included this very helpful bit of infomation, ours did not. To his credit, the GM rolled with the punches and produced a level appropriate mod from last season.

Our table consisted of six players. Four from Skyland Games, one from Asheville whom I had played with at a previous society event, and one walk-up new to Pathfinder, but not RPGs. The module had a bit of a detective motif, in which we had to gather enough evidence to prove that a public official was involved in the slave trade. It was clear this GM really enjoyed the investigation aspect, and let us wander around and try to discover things with little guidance or coaching. This led to splitting the party, which led to at one point, 3 separate scenes going on at the same time, which led to a lot of downtime for some of table, which led to the first combat not happening until about 4pm. This was a bit frustrating for me as a player. I’m all for roleplaying a scene or two, but once he realized how much time had gone by, he had 3 or 4 combats to do in an hour. This was of course, impossible, and led to a lot of truncating of the actual plot of the mod while we each fiddle-farted around in scenes that had little to no bearing on the story. I really admired the GMs skills of improvisation and letting us go do whatever. In a home game it would have been absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately at a Con, since we had a time constraint, we missed out on some serious plot points and he had to hand-wave some of the bigger scenes and encounters. Of course, we ran over 5pm and nearly went all the way to 6pm by the time chronicle sheets were filled out. I wish I could say I enjoyed it more, but I’ve now read the mod and realized what we missed out on, and am more upset than I was at the time.

The next session was the convention special Blood Under Absalom. This is a special event module that requires multiple tables run it at the same time, with one overseer GM to coordinate events happening at the same time for all tables. We had 3 tables of 6 and one table of 7 playing it simultaneously. This solved the pacing problem of the previous session by keeping all the GMs on task and moving through the different scenes. The difference was like night and day. The first scene was a bar brawl that was led at such a break-neck speed it was crazy. We talked about it on the ride home and agreed it was some of the fastest combat any of us had ever been a part of. Not only that, but you could hear the same frantic pace at the tables around you, making it feel like you were actually in a bustling tavern! WAY COOL! Despite our new GMs rapid fire pace, this mod had way too many scenes to be completed in a four hour time slot. The sad thing was, there were a few that seemed trivial or unnecessary to the flow of the story and took up precious minutes. The climax was pretty awesome, as it required all the PCs at the table to continuously roll until they got a natural twenty. This represented touching the hem of the robe of a master monk. Our table was the first to complete the task, and cheered out in victory! It was a really cool atmosphere and was something you couldn’t replicate in a basement with a few friends.

All and all it was good, but a little chaotic, and bound to grow. Maybe next year we’ll stay for a few days and play more games!

Pros: Good people, pretty good venue, big Asheville Pathfinder crew!

Cons: Organization and signage could be improved, including level tiers in the description of all mods on warhorn so players know what to sign up for.

SCARAB – South Carolina Area Roleplayers and Boardgamers

It’s finally here! The SCARAB convention begins at 3pm today. Most of the Skyland Games crew will be heading down Saturday for the day to play some Pathfinder Society games. I would encourage any gamers in the NC/SC/GA area who have some free time this holiday weekend to head to Columbia and see what it’s all about!

The convention runs from Jan. 13 through Jan.16. 4-day passes are $60 at the door, day-passes are $20. There is a “Kids Track” for gamers 8 to 14 years old, and a ton of games to play. If you run a pick-up game, stop by the registration desk, fill out some paper work, and you can qualify for a $1/hr rebate on your registration price.

There appears to be a large number of vendors and participants, and games of every type. We’ll have a full review of Saturday’s action on monday.

Advanced Players Guide – Paizo provides the 5e roadmap #dndnext

A lot of the 5e #dndnext buzz centers around the community playtest and modular aspects of the next edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Paizo has provided a pretty clear roadmap for Wizards to follow on both counts. The Pathfinder Alpha and Beta tests provided invaluable guidance in creating a game a lot of people have enjoyed. Paizo has created a Core Rulebook which contains everything you need to play for 20 levels of several classes and races, including Spells, Combat, Gear, and GM sections among others. On top of that, they’ve expanded the game with optional books like the Gamemastery Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, and the Advanced Players Guide.

While adding optional books to augment the core game is hardly a new concept, Paizo has done well with their offerings; especially with the Advanced Players Guide. This book introduces six new 20-level classes, variations on bonuses and features of existing races and classes, and a host of new feats and equipment that provides a lot of value.

In our recent Beginner Box game, our Alchemist (a class presented in the Advanced Players Guide) decided since he was throwing bombs he would buy earplugs for 3 copper. This lead to a pretty funny moment in which the Paladin tried to tell him something in character. He said, “What?” and threw his bomb anyway, missed, and caught all his allies in the explosion. Worth every copper.

Also presented in this book are traits, which have sometimes been described as “half-feats.” They are very similar to “background benefits” in 4e. These are used in society play, and generally provide a minimal skill or stat bonus, but can add a little flavor to your character through basic, racial, campaign, regional, or religious traits.

If you’re new to Pathfinder, the Core Rules might be enough to chew on for awhile. When you’re ready to expand your game, the Advanced Players Guide is a solid choice.

Pros: New classes, New options for Core races and classes, lots of cool equipment

Cons: Not a lot of Golarion-specific information

A Box of Instant Awesome

I mentioned yesterday that it can be tough to think up a new wondrous item. It turns out Paizo has created a wondrous item you can get your hands on, the box of instant awesome! The Pathfinder Beginner Box does not disappoint. I was admittedly a little nervous about running the adventure included for some veteran Pathfinder and 3.5 players, but the Skyland Games verdict is unanimous: Buy this box now!

I know this is hardly a revelation as the box has been out for months and has been lauded by several sources, but I felt we needed to add our voice to the chorus singing praise. Belying the name of the box itself, it can prove to be hours of fun for both veteran and beginner gamers. Its presentation is brilliant in that you can use the pre-gens and the GM can read the adventure as you go for almost immediate game play.

We took a slightly different approach. Since we are gearing up for some Pathfinder Society play down at SCARAB, the guys decided to try out some custom builds as a testing ground for their society characters. Due to illness we were down a few members, so the party consisted of a war dog-riding halfling paladin, a dwarven blunderbuss-toting gunslinger, and a pyromaniacal gnome alchemist. Hilarity ensued.

I won’t spoil the intro adventure for those of you who haven’t played it, but it uses a lot of classic elements of old delves. The guys had a blast exploring the very well done flip-mat provided with the box. In the end, they were a bit over-matched and didn’t survive the final encounter.

The overall presentation is top notch, and while I can’t look at it with eyes of someone new to gaming, when I got my hands on it I was new to Pathfinder and found it a really easy transition from 4e. I looked at Pathfinder years ago, but was intimidated by the massive 576 page tome of the core rules. I found that once I got a taste, I wanted more. A lot more. I can’t imagine I’m alone in that regard, and hope this box provides the gateway for a lot of people to get in to tabletop RPGs. Loaded with Amazon giftcards from christmas, I ordered the core rules, advanced players guide, and the gamemastery guide. I’ll be reviewing those in later posts.

The Beginner Box is worth every penny for both veterans and newbies alike! If you’ve got someone in your life whom you would like to introduce to RPGs, this is the best product out there.

Pathfinder Society Midnight Mauler and SCARAB

Last night I was the second night of Pathfinder Society at Blitzkrieg Games in Asheville. It was special session in that Del Collins ran the special Midnight Mauler scenario, in which the Decemvirate themselves send the Pathfinders on a very delicate mission. This mission can only be run by 4-star GMs (venture captains who have run at least 100 society tables) so it was a rare treat. I won’t go in to all the details in case any of you play it in the future, but it was a really well written scenario that featured some great faction missions, and a really cool chase/fight mechanic at the end, which to me was far superior to the typical 4e skill challenge.

The chase was represented by a series of boxes with arrows between them, representing the different challenges the Pathfinders needed to overcome to advance to the next square. Each box had two skills with different DCs that represented an obstacle. In the first one, you could either bash thru the swinging door with a Combat Maneuver roll, or climb the wall with a Climb check at a known DC that was on the sheet. Much like evaluating obstacles in your path, you could choose which route you wanted to take, and make a roll. If you failed by five or more you went back a square, if you failed by less than 5 you remained in that square, if you succeeded you moved on to the next challenge. Heroes moved in initiative order, and each attempt counted as a move action, meaning you could double-move, and if you made both checks, your Pathfinder would start to catch up with the target. Ranged weapons could be deployed if you were a square or two away, depending on the maximum range of your weapon. Each square represented 30 feet. It was a really exciting conclusion to the session, and worth looking at implementing into a homebrew game.

Del ran a great table, and despite having seven players at the table, he kept the action moving along nicely. He also had some stuff from sponsors to give away, including a massive d20 for all the players, and a copy of Prince of Wolves, a Pathfinder Tales book by Dave Gross. Who doesn’t like free stuff? He also mentioned that he runs SCARAB, the South Carolina Area Roleplayers and Boardgamers. Their 2nd annual convention is coming up! If you live anywhere near the Columbia, South Carolina area I would recommend attending. It sounds like its going to be a blast!

If you like RPGs and have never tried organized play, do yourself a favor and find the nearest Pathfinder Society game. Its an awesome experience!