theRPGenius.com

Attaining Asylum

I began running the Shackled City AP in August of 2005. Two years later we have reached the final act. It is both exciting and sad that I will begin the last chapter of the campaign tomorrow. It has surely been one of the most challenging and satisfying games in which I have ever participated.

I began with a group of 8 players and managed to keep 6 through the whole campaign. I'm grateful to them all for the experience. I hope they have enjoyed the time as well, even though they were made to suffer on occasion at the hands of their mischevious DM.

Now it will be my turn to squirm as I become a player and we move on to the Age of Worms. So, a whole world of thanks goes out to everyone that helped to inspire and contribute to my Shackled City campaign. That pretty much includes everyone on the Paizo message board and here on theRPGenius.com, the swell folks at Paizo, and my supportive wife.

Best Regards,
Koramado

Don't miss freeRPGday this Saturday, June 23rd!

I just found out about this from a link on the Paizo (of course) website. There will be a free RPG material giveaway at almost 300 game stores throughout the United States this Saturday, June 23rd, for the first every freeRPGday. It is an event in the same vein as Free Comic Book Day designed to promote new products and develop new fans for our favorite publishers.

Paizo is giving away copies of the GameMastery module D0: Hollow's Last Hope, which seems in short supply so this could be a good opportunity to pick it up.

For a list of participating game shops and details on what products will be given away, visit the website at http://www.freeRPGday.com. You can also hear an interview with Aldo Ghiozzi from Impressions Advertising and marketing, responsible for the event, on Pulp Gamer's Inside Track podcast. The response for the event seems to be very supportive and they have already begun talking about bigger plans for next year.

Go out and get something for yourself. Enjoy!

Impressive community support for Pathfinder

Not surprisingly, the most recent poll indicates that roughly 90% of us are at least interested in taking a look at Paizo's alternative to the Dragon and Dungeon magazines, Pathfinder, and 42% responded that the Pathfinder announcement was great news to them. That's pretty impressive support for an unreleased product, but I'm on the bandwagon, too. Given the quality of work we have come to know and expect from Dragon and Dungeon magazines, I am confident that Paizo will be able to knock our socks off.

We've still got a couple of months to wait until the first issue is released, but the Paizo blog is presenting a good deal of information to whet your whistle. It will be here before you know it and then I'll have to work it into the campaign queue. I'm sure you'll be doing the same.

One thousand paths

TheRPGenius.com has now reached 1000 members! It is an awesome thought to consider that there may be one thousand adventure path campaigns making use of the resources shared here.

This site has truly become a testament to the quality of work produced by the folks at Paizo Publishing. Their care and creative effort has inspired the likes of Delvesdeep, Chef's Slaad, Icebreaker, edhunter, peterv, T-bone, moon-wizard, Pipo, and so many others to add their own gaming passion and share.

Here's to the future of the adventure path! I know I've still got the Age of Worms and Savage Tide awaiting me before I can sink my teeth into Rise of the Runelords and whatever else the gang at Paizo has in store for the future. As it stands with me, I'll be a happy gamer for quite some time to come. Thanks again to everyone and happy gaming to us all!

Best Regards,
Koramado

(For those who need to know, the 1000th member to theRPGenius.com is sirmeatball. Welcome to the community!)

Fighting spam . . .

Recently, the website has been getting spammed in the forum, article comments, and link submissions. New code has been put in place to thwart these submissions. The changes are meant to stop spam only. If you should begin experiencing problems with posting to the forum, or adding your comments throughout the site, please use the contact form to describe your experience so that the system can be fine tuned for the benefit of all. Thank you.

Endless Adventure Paths!!!

Two big announcements came out yesterday regarding the future of adventure paths. I am personally very excited about the news and looking forward to where things lead.

The big news of the week is the announcement yesterday that Paizo Publishing will no longer be publishing the magazines DUNGEON and DRAGON on behalf of Wizards of the Coast. Paizo's license to produce these publications is ending with the September 2007 issues and Wizards of the Coast will be moving to an online distribution model of the content. This is really big news! These magazines have been a staple of the DM for years. Online content notwithstanding, they will be missed.

Read the press release here:
http://paizo.com/dragon/news/pressReleases/v5748eaic9kh0

and the announcement on the Paizo website here:
http://paizo.com/

On the other hand, Paizo has also taken this opportunity to announce their latest development which is so very exciting. Though they will no longer be producing the magazines for WotC, they are moving swiftly into place to continue providing quality adventures in their new product Pathfinder, a monthly release devoted to the beloved adventure path. This is awesome news for those of us who have fallen in love with their previous and current AP efforts.

Read Paizo's announcement of Pathfinder here:
http://paizo.com/paizo/news/v5748eaic9kh3

This seems like an exciting turn of events for Paizo Publishing and I wish them the best of luck with everything. I've already transitioned my magazine subscriptions into a Pathfinder subscription and am confident that it will be an excellent addition to gaming.

Best Regards,
Koramado

Maintenance Notice

Just a quick note. Our server is being physically relocated on Sunday, April 29th between 1pm and 5pm, and the website will not be available for a portion of that time. Enjoy!

Delving Deeper - Foreshadowing Part 6 - Skylar Krewis

In part 6 of Delving Deeper I aim to foreshadow ‘the’ guard of Cauldron – Skylar Krewis.

Introduction/Possible Background

Before the Adventure Path begins, Skylar has already developed into an important figure in the fate of the city.

Skylar is devoted to justice, law and the protection of Cauldron. The city guard was a perfect fit for the young idealist and he set about serving the city with unwavering determination.

His first assignment was to a highly decorated team lead by a young and fierce sergeant called Triel. The red haired beauty took an instant liking to Skylar and eventually the two formed a secret relationship. After months of courtship Skylar asked Triel to become his wife and she readily agreed.

His work ethic and strength of character did not go unnoticed by the captain of the guard and he was awarded the position of Lieutenant.

Everything seemed to be going right for Skylar...

Delving Deeper - Foreshadowing Part 5 - Celeste

In part 5 of Delving Deeper I aim to foreshadow the mysterious angel called Celeste.

Celeste

We first meet Celeste in Chapter 4 when she requests a meeting with the party at the Cusp of Sunrise. Although she promises so much she disappears as quickly as she appears leaving the party bewildered as to her role in the scheme of things.

In the SCAP HC we learn that she is an agent of a powerful wizard and plays a more prominent role in the AoW AP. I have changed this to make her play a more important role in the SCAP like I believe she was intended to be.

Delving Deeper - Foreshadowing Part 4 - Vhalantru

In part 4 in this series I will attempt to generate a few ideas to bring the next most influential and memorable SCAP NPC to life – Vhalantru.

With the exception of Adimarchus, no other villain is more influential or memorable than the infamous beholder Vhalantru. He is the main villain of the campaign who manipulates the city and party from Chapter One until his death during Chapter Eight. In many ways he is the ‘face’ of the SCAP.

In my opinion Vhalantru should be given the rank he so thoroughly deserves and this is why I have elevated him to the position of Cagewright Master rather than just a independent ally of the organisation.