Ryan Costello &#8211; Know Direction

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Game Design Unboxed 97: Game Night in a Can

Ryan Costello — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 09:01:42 +0000

In episode 97 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jason Lautenschleger and Barry McLaughlin about their design Game Night in a Can. Jason and Barry discuss what it means to be an “inventortainer”. How their in-person game shows turned into their Game Night in a Can product that has now had multiple versions both self published and licensed by Goliath. We also get to hear how well they do at their game Frumpy Bumpers! Experience their game by listening to this episode!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Jason Lautenschleger – Guest

Barry McLaughlin – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Know Direction Beyond 88: SF2 First Impressions

Ryan Costello — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 02:10:32 +0000

Alex and James give their gut reactions to the Starfinder Second Edition playtest rulebook.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Game Design Unboxed 96: A Midsummer Night’s Fayre

Ryan Costello — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 08:24:39 +0000

In episode 96 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Ellie Dix about her design, A Midsummer Night’s Fayre, published by Gamewright. The mechanics were inspired by fairground games. As a kid into adulthood she would gameafy trips and average activities. In her game you play ten mini games. You roll and choose dice while using fairy mischief cards to manipulate the dice to win the game. Her biggest challenge was accepting the loss of the Helter skelter dice tower. They adapted it through development into what you now see on the inside of the box lid.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Ellie Dix – Guest
Danielle Reynolds – Host

Essential Builds – Crossovers Wolverine

Ryan Costello — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 09:00:28 +0000

He’s the best there is at what he does, and what he does is combine the ruggedness of a jeep with the deployable blades of a knife block.

Welcome to Essential Builds, bub, the blog that turns popular culture icons into Essence20 Player Characters.

Today, I’m building Wolverine as a rally truck.

This one takes some explaining.

Who Is Crossovers Wolverine?

In 2008, Hasbro’s line of licensed Star Wars Transformers mutated into Transformers Crossovers, a line that now included both Star Wars and Marvel (oddly, before Disney owned either property). Over the next couple of years, they release three versions of a Wolverine Transformer that converted into a rally truck: one in a brown and yellow deco that doesn’t really match the earthtones of his brown costume but is clearly meant to be that one, one in black and silver with red highlights to represent his time as the leader of the X-Force strike team, and one in his classic blue and yellow costume.

This is the Wolverine I’m building.

Why?

I mentioned a few times in my Deadpool build that I was saving some options for a Wolverine build. I didn’t intend to get to Wolverine so soon (I like diversifying the source material of the subjects I cover), but with so many ideas fresh in my mind, and Deadpool & Wolverine joining the Billion Dollar Club, it felt like the right time to get to the X-Men’s most mysterious member.

So that explains why Wolverine, but why the Transformers version?

One, even though there were a lot of options that I considered for Deadpool that work better for Wolverine, there are also a lot of options I used that work equally for both. I don’t want this build to cover the same ground as my last build.

Two, a lot of Transformers options are, for obvious reasons, tied to the idea of a robot that can change into things. That makes them unusable unless our subject meets that exact criteria. Well, Crossovers Wolverine fits that bill*, and since he won’t show up in a Renegade product**, this felt like a fun way to build Wolverine in an all new, all different direction.

*Technically the Transformers Crossovers are mechs ridden by the character they’re based off, but the Transformers Crossovers lore is tenuous and unexplored, and the Marvel ones didn’t even come with pilots, unlike the Star Wars Transformers.

**Barring some licensing gymnastics that would impress even Simone Biles.

Building Crossovers Wolverine

My three priorities are:

Integrated melee weapon master;
Healing/Repairing Factor;
Mysterious.

I have a half-dozen Influences in mind, so it’s going to take a lot of slashing to narrow them down. Speaking of slashing!

Role

Warrior (Transformers Core Rulebook)

As the designer of the Warrior Role, I hope you believe me when I say I did not have Wolverine in mind when I wrote it. I bring this up because the Role Perk covers so much of this build’s needs, even I’m questioning my intent.

Hardcore lets us ignore damage that would Defeat us, but it costs us a limb. There’s our healing factor (and one of my motivations to make Crossovers Wolverine instead of vanilla Wolverine—as a Cybertronian Perk, we would not gain this benefit if we swapped settings). Push Through The Pain is another good representation of Wolverine’s healing factor, Tough It Out is even better, and Soldier On caps it off nicely.

Manifest Melee Weapon means we can deploy our claws. It’s not a huge advantage, mechanically, over drawing a weapon or using an Internal Hardpoint for an Integrated Melee Weapon, but narratively it’s perfect. It also improves as we level up. Technically we can get chainsaw claws (chainclaws) at 16th level, which isn’t representative of Wolverine but it’s a cool visual for a Wolverine-looking transformer.

Wisdom Through Experience both has Wolverine tapping into his foggy memory and doubles as him using his animalistic traits when examining a location. Leatherhead on the Renegade Discord Server suggested that Wisdom Through Experience would have been a good way to represent Deadpool’s 4th wall breaking. I like that a lot, but it also works for Wolverine’s flashbacks.

Focus

Shredder (Decepticon Directive)

I did not design this Focus, so I can’t speak to whether Bryan had Wolverine in mind when he designed it, but I would not be surprised. He probably had Shredder in mind, come to think of it…

One issue with the Warrior Role for this build is that Manifest Melee Weapon only ever lets us manifest one melee weapon. I think we can count three claws as one close combat blade, but not two hands of claws. Luckily, Shredder lets us deal Sharp damage with our unarmed attacks. It even gives us a Multiple Targets alternate effect! This does mean our unarmed attacks are better than any Standard melee weapon, so until we get Expanded Arsenal at 7th level, there’s little reason to Manifest Melee Weapon. Unless we consider claws out Wolverine’s natural state, and we manifest a close combat bludgeon as an adamantium fist.

As we level up, we get better with our sharp unarmed attacks, able to Grapple targets and deal additional damage to them.

Melee builds can struggle in Essence20, but Warrior (Shredder) is as dangerous as it is resilient.

Origin

Outrider (Transformers Core Rulebook)

Before we begin, now’s a good time to mention that Transformers Crossovers Wolverine was not my only option for a Wolverine with an alt mode. Years earlier, Toy Biz released a series of toys called Shape Shifters, including a Wolverine that could convert into a wolf. If I really wanted to avoid building a Transformer release, I could have gone that direction and given him the Monstrosity Origin from Decepticon Directive. But since Wolverine turning from a feral human with claws into a wolf is not a huge leap (and why not a wolverine?), Crossovers Wolverine just felt like a more interesting build.

I went with the off-road vehicle chassis, the Outrider from the Transformers CRB. Now, being about as far from a car guy as they come, I’m not really sure what a rally truck. I assume it’s a truck that races in the mud, but maybe it’s some kind of sports car support vehicle that doesn’t go anywhere near dirt roads. Even if that’s the case, Outrider’s Origin Benefit, which not only lets it ignore Rough Terrain but counts as being in Cover when in Rough Terrain, harkens back to Wolverine’s many forest fight scenes in comics, cartoon, and cinema.

Also, as I’ve apologized for before, yes, it’s my fault that there’s an Outrider Origin and Focus in the TF CRB.

Influences

1st Tragedy (Cobra Codex)

2nd Brutish (Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

3rd Nemesis (Decepticon Directive)

Wolverine has suffered more than most comic characters, and not just because he’s as old as every love interest he’s ever had combined. Tragedy made a lot of sense for the build, giving him a bonus to a Defense. I went with Willpower, because of his resolve. Had this been an Influence with a Hang-Up, I would have dinged Cleverness, because Wolverine has a history of being manipulated.

For the next Influence, I debated between Brutish and Checkered Past. Both give a situational Edge at the cost of a situational Snag on Social Skill Tests. The difference is the theme. While Checkered Past invokes Wolverine’s military history and tendency to clash with Cyclops, I went with Brutish because a lot of my builds have Checkered Past. Brutish gets to the same place while reflecting Wolverine’s animalistic side.

Finally, I took a fun Influence from Decepticon Directive: Nemesis. This story-driven Influence lets us cast a figure from our past as an NPC of importance. While Wolverine has a lot of enemies, no one gets under his skin like Sabertooth. My favourite example of their utter intolerance for one another is in What If… the Marvel Super-Heroes Had Lost Atlantis Attacks? In one of the comics that gave What If..? it’s reputation for bodycounts, only a handful of super powered beings remain to save humanity from Set the serpent god. This includes both Wolverine and Sabertooth. Even though they are humanity and mutantkinds’ last hope, one prickly comment from Sabertooth has Wolverine ready to throwdown with his adversary.

The question is, what would a Cybertronian Sabertooth turn into?

Essence Scores and Skills

Strength 5

I’m always happy when I build a Strength-based combat character. Wolverine could have been Finesse-based, but he’s such a brutal fighter that Might felt like the way to go. I gave him +d6 with a Specialization in Melee weapons. I also gave him a Rank in Athletics.

Smarts 5

Wolverine is the X-Men’s tracker, so +d6 Survival and Alertness +d4 covered that skill set, and gave him a decent Smarts without giving Wolverine much in the way of intellectual Skills.

Speed 4

I stayed conservative with Crossover Wolverine’s speed, only giving him +d4 Infiltration, and +d2 Driving and Initiative. In retrospect, maybe I should have given him Driving instead of Athletics, since Athletics is more of a fleshy Wolverine choice. However, since he ignores Rough Terrain thanks to his Origin, we might be able to get away with a Transformer PC with a low Driving Skill.

Social 2

Finally, I gave Wolverine +d4 Streetwise. I thought about giving him Animal Handling, but most interactions I can think of between Wolverine and animals do not end well for the animals.

General Perks and Other Options

We’ll want to get Acute Sense (Smell) ASAP. I regret that I didn’t give it to Wolverine at 1st level.

Otherwise, this being a combat character, the usual suite of combat-focused General Perks apply, but I want to give a shout to Martial Weapon Master from Intercontinental Adventures. It gives us an Upshift on Martial Arts weapon attacks, which will help us mitigate the ↓1/↓2 of a six claw attack.

There was some debate on the Renegade Discord about how the Empty Hands General Perk from the same book applies if you have Integrated weapons. If your GM allows you to allow you to take this General Perk despite and Hardpoint Weapons you install, it pairs perfectly with the Shredder Focus.

Speaking of Hardpoints, that’s one area I struggled with for this build. We have our Integrated melee weapons covered multiple times over, and the toy doesn’t have any ranged weapons build into it. It does, however, have a winch for a chin, spare tires, and a bumper. Basically, we can load Wolverine up with support equipment to diversify his functions and bring to life the toy’s details.

If you decide Wolverine’s military training justifies mounting an assault rifle, you’ll need to invest in Targeting, a Skill I skipped specifically because I didn’t have any ranged weapons in mind.

Conclusion

Shoot. I didn’t give Wolverine any My Little Pony options…

Well, that aside, I think we have a near perfect Wolverine build, which is surprising since Hugh Jackman never turned into a truck.

Most of this build still applies to a traditional Wolverine build, of course. Just swap out Outrider with Test Subject from Cobra Codex, and Shredder with Silent Weapons Expert from Intercontinental Adventures.

Resources

Field Guide to Action & Adventure

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex
G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2

Welcome to Night Vale Character Creation

Upshift 036: Gen Con 2024 with Ben Heisler

Ryan Costello — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 12:14:22 +0000

Associate Producer of RPGs at Renegade Game Studios and MC of Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle, Ben Heisler, joins Ryan to share the highlights of Gen Con 2024 for Essence20.

Those highlights include the biggest Welcome To Night Vale RPG news since it was announced. And yes, it is run on Essence20! For more information, check out these Glass Cannon Network videos:

Welcome to Night Vale RPG One-Shot

Welcome to Night Vale RPG Interview with designer Carlos Cabrera

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the host works for Renegade Game Studios, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Game Design Unboxed 95 – Exploding Kittens: Good vs Evil

Ryan Costello — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 21:01:29 +0000

In episode 95 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Carol Mertz about multi-disciplinary designing. She starts with the concept before deciding on the form (tabletop, video game, robotic couch, etc.). The focus is on the experience then she builds the medium around it. In the case of Exploding Kittens: Good Vs. Evil she took the tension from the famous wine/poison scene in Princess Bride and injected it into the Exploding Kittens card game as well as taking pieces from the television show to make the gameplay more thematic. Learn the differences between a designer and a developer and how working at Exploding Kittens was a great game development exercise in this episode!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Carol Mertz – Guest
Danielle Reynolds – Host

Essential Builds – Deadpool

Ryan Costello — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 10:00:09 +0000

Deadpool is everywhere these days. He’s destroying box office records like they’re fourth walls, is on one of the most aggressive, bizarre, and creative promotional tours ever, and on his typical boatload of merch. You can’t even order a Coke without getting Deadpool in your face.

Now Deadpool is taking over Essential Builds, the blog that wades into popular culture for Essence20 Player Characters. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.

Since I’m a big enough Deadpool fan to post a video about baking the saddest looking Deadpool cookies (not as in pathetic, as in on the verge of tears), I’m inspired to put maximum effort into this build. And as a former writer of Looking For Group, I am all the way on board with Deadpool & Wolverine using #LFG, even if their version of its meaning is far too rude for this all ages blog.

Who Is Deadpool?

Known as The Merc With The Mouth, Wade Wilson, the vigilante called Deadpool, is great at killing and even better at banter. Introduced in New Mutants as an assassin hired to eliminate Cable, the character reached unheard of levels of popularity and exposure three decades later.

Like the Joker, comic book Deadpool has a flexible backstory up to interpretation. Few key players in his formative years hold any significant role in the modern Marvel timeline, leaving only Deadpool, a self-professed unreliable narrator, to tell his tale.

However, his movie origin is the generally accepted Deadpool backstory. From Regina, Saskatchewan, Wade joined a Special Forces unit. After developing an aggressive cancer, Wade looked beyond Canada’s impressive healthcare system and to military experimentation for the cure. He signed up for a Department K experiment to infuse him with Wolverine’s genetics in the hope that they would unlock a similar healing factor and cure him.

The procedure was a success, but did not net the results he expected. Because cancer is a mutation rather than a wound, Deadpool found his body at war with itself on a cellular level. This took its toll on his physical appearance and mental health, but it did mean he could recover from otherwise fatal wounds.

Work opportunities being limited for a regenerating degenerate, Deadpool became a gun (and sword) for hire, before settling into the less lucrative but ethically more empowering life of an anti-hero.

Building Essence20 Deadpool

Comic book YouTube channel Comic Tropes recently polled subscribers about what defined Deadpool for an episode on which writer had the biggest impact on the modern perception of Deadpool. The majority felt that, more than his powers, his look, and his origin story, Deadpool was defined by his personality.

That will present an interesting challenge, but it will also add a lot of opportunities. If this was just a Deathstroke build, it would mostly be about his fighting skills. Deadpool’s personality being such an important element of the character means I need to look beyond combat effectiveness.

Another challenge is Deadpool’s healing factor. Since there’s no Death condition, every character in Essence20 is unkillable. However, for balance reasons, we can’t make them unDefeatable. Luckily, how Essence20 abstracts damage means that high Health can feel similar to shrugging off injuries. But I’ll be exploring other options that feel truer to the concept.

One last note: There are a lot of Deadpool-appropriate options in G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2, a book that technically won’t be out until October. However, because a selection of advanced copies sold at Gen Con last week, I feel comfortable drawing on a few foundational options for this build. Just don’t expect much more detail than you’ll find in the Table Of Contents that was shared by fan Jaredd Wilson from the copy he picked up in Indianapolis.

Role

Yellow Ranger (Power Rangers Core Rulebook)

Initially G.I. JOE’s Commando seemed like the obvious Role for this build, but as I read it over, it felt too grounded for Deadpool. Also, none of the Focus options gave the perfect combination of swords and guns combat that I would have liked. I thought about combining the G.I. JOE Infantry Role with the Transformers Warrior Role’s Shredder Focus from Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive, but Shredder is such a perfect Focus for a Wolverine build, I decided to save it.

So I expanded my search and remembered that the Yellow Ranger was one of the best melee Roles in Essence20. Triple Strike Attacks right out of the gate captures Deadpool’s frenzied twin-katana assaults (especially as represented in Ultimate Alliance, where he had one of my favourite attacks in that game, a spinning sword attack called Blade Cyclone), made even more real when we unlock Whirlwind Strike at 9th level. Nimble Fighter at 2nd level and Lightning Fast at 9th work for Deadpool’s acrobatic attack style, or, if you’re a Joe Casey era purist, his teleporter.

As a reminder, when you change a Power Ranger Role’s Setting and Faction, it still gains Power Points. That’s another reason Yellow Ranger felt like a better fit than Commando. As a mutate (a human enhanced with mutant DNA in Marvel parlance), Deadpool can pull off super human feats. Even if they’re intended to be dramatized versions of peak human performances, Power Points help bolster what Deadpool can do. They represent the differences between Deadpool’s fighting style and Snake Eyes’.

Setting, Focus, and Faction

Setting: G.I. JOE (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Given Deadpool’s military training, G.I. JOE felt like the most thematic choice. Choosing the G.I. JOE setting also opened up the perfect Deadpool faction.

Focus: Armiger (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

Returning to Essential Builds after showing up with Mega Man, the Infantry Role’s Armiger Focus is great for both weapon specialists and mercs who pack a bag of weapons before every mission. Deadpool is somewhere in the middle, but with his sword skills covered by his Role, Armiger allows us to compliment them with a single firearm, like an SMG, or all of the accessories you’ve ever seen a Deadpool toy packed with.

I would have loved to use the Transformers Gunner Role’s Triggerbot Focus from Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive, but for setting swapping reasons, I needed to pick a G.I. JOE Focus.

Faction: Mercenary (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2 )

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2 introduces four new generic Factions, including Mercenaries. Each generic faction replaces the space normally dedicated to lore with sections on how to define the Faction, followed by the typical rules matter. Mercenaries are one of the easier generic Factions to define, but you do get to decide if you’re part of a group or an independent contractor.

Origin

Marine (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt. Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack)

Dare I confess something?

I’m not sure what the Special Forces are.

This is embarrassing as someone so heavily involved in the design of the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game. I’m pretty sure they’re real. Like, it’s not just a catch-all term Hollywood created for better than average soldiers. But other than getting the gist of it, I can’t define it.

All that to say, hopefully I’m not getting on any military buff’s bad side by choosing the Marine Origin to represent Deadpool’s military training.

Truth be told, I thought about bringing Test Subject in for its third Essential Builds appearance. And unlike Leonardo and NFL Super Pro, who were accidents, Deadpool was actually the subject of tests!

The reason I chose Marine over Test Subject was the Origin Benefit. Hard Corps lets you ignore the effects of one enemy attack once per combat. This is one of the choices I made to represent Wade’s healing factor. Specifically, the often comedic moments in battle where Deadpool suffers a horrific injury. More than just having high Health represent his ability to recover, Hard Corps lets the GM describe how Deadpool’s body was brutally mangled and for the player to explain how they’ve picked up their pieces and are carrying on.

Influences

1st Intense (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Chatty (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Violent (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

Once again, I need to remind readers that the order of Influences is not a reflection of how much the theme applies to the character but how much the Hang-Up applies.

Is Deadpool chatty? Cable told him as much in their first encounter (contrary to the urban legend that Deadpool wasn’t as much of a talker at first). Is Deadpool violent? Just ask -oop, I had a long list of people you could ask but they all met grizzly ends.

Why neither is Deadpool’s first influence is that Chatty’s Hang-Up (suffering a Snag on Infiltration Skill Tests that involve being quiet) and Violent’s Hang-Up (suffering a Downshift on Skill Tests in combat that don’t deal damage) are spot on.

I could have taken or left Intense, which gives Deadpool a bonus to Willpower to resist being told what he can and can’t do, but I needed an Influence without a Hang-Up and it worked.

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 7

I often lament Speed-focused builds, because it’s too easy during character creation to load up on Initiative and Targeting and before you know it you already have Speed 5. But Deadpool is definitely a Speed-based fighter. I gave him three Ranks each in Finesse and Targeting, and a pity point in Acrobatics. Even though I could use a Rank in Initiative, and our Role Perks already cover Deadpool’s cartwheeling combat style, it felt weird not giving him any Acrobatics.

Social 4

Deadpool may get on people’s nerves, but that’s all part of his charm. He’s also worldly in his understanding, but unfocused in how he got there. I gave him two Ranks each in Deception and Streetwise. You may want to pour it all into Streetwise, though, and let his weapons do the talking.

Strength 3

Deadpool communicates through jokes that are usually veiled threats, so I gave him two Ranks in Intimidation. I would have gone three, but I gave him a point of Conditioning, just in case.

Smarts 2

Not a dummy by any means, I couldn’t think of any Smarts Skill that suited Deadpool, other than Alertness, which got two Ranks.

General Perks and Other Options

In the Origin section, I talked about considering Test Subject from G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex. The thing is, unlike the Marine’s Origin Benefit, I can still get the benefits of Test Subject (an Alternation) without taking the Origin.

The Alteration in question is Skin Tempering. This gives us the benefits of a Battledress Upgrade, even when unarmored. As an Origin Benefit, we could have taken Limited Skin Tempering from 1st level. As a General Perk, we can take Standard Skin Tempering at 4th level, or Limited Skin Tempering at 8th level. Then, we’ll switch over to G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear for one of the Battledress Upgrades that gives the benefits of Body Armor.

Instead of increasing a Defense, Body Armor acts more like damage reduction. Your Body Armor has a certain amount of Health, and when you’re successfully affected by the damage or weapon it’s built to resist, you remove its Health instead of your own. Deadpool’s body acting as body armor is perfect. I honestly didn’t think I’d find a healing factor stand-in mechanic that I was this happy with.

I debated whether to take Ballistic Armor or Kinetic Armor upgrade. Ballistic applies against all ballistic weapons, but Kinetic only resists either Blunt or Sharp melee damage. I went for Ballistic because Deadpool gets shot more than he gets stabbed.

We’ll skip the rest of the General Perks, since they’d mostly be combat oriented and would largely be from a book I can’t go into details about.

Conclusion

Generally I have less fun with straight combat builds because there isn’t as much challenge and discovery. However, Deadpool had just enough elements off the beaten path that forced me to reexamine what was possible with Essence20. This build made me realize there are viable options to represent a healing factor. There are even some more extreme options I didn’t go into here. I need to save those for another Canadian with a healing factor absolutely tearing up the box office right now.

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt. Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear

Field Guide to Action & Adventure

Know Direction Beyond 87: A Spicy Sendoff to Starfinder 1e

Ryan Costello — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 01:19:55 +0000

Alex and James line up some hot, hotter, and infernal wings for this hot tribute to the complete first edition of Starfinder.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Upshift 035: My Little Crossover

Ryan Costello — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 02:53:37 +0000

With My Little Pony playing a major part in The Pony Puzzle at this weekend’s Gen Con, and the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook up for an ENnie award later today, Ryan decided to take a closer look at why and how to crossover My Little Pony content into other Essence20 settings.

Note: I might reupload this later. A chunk of audio is missing (it jumps from halfway through the Why to the start of the How). I need to investigate whether there was a glitch in the uploading that cut out a chunk or if I accidentally deleted that audio from the file.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the host works for Renegade Game Studios, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction 304: Howl of the Wild

Ryan Costello — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 02:16:03 +0000

Esther and Navaar explore the latest Pathfinder Remaster setting hardcover, Pathfinder Howl of the Wild.

Also available in writing.

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KD304 In Writing

Ryan Costello — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 02:11:21 +0000

KD 304: Howl of the Wild

[00:00:00] Esther: Hello, and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther!

[00:00:28] Navaar: And I’m Navaar.

[00:00:29] Esther: And listeners, we are back! And we are so thankful for your patience with our absence. Scheduling is fun, and life is fun!

[00:00:39] Navaar: It’s like we never left.

[00:00:40] Esther: It’s like we never left! And today, we are going to be talking about Howl of the Wild. My review of this product is: great book, you should definitely buy it. The end.

[00:00:52] Navaar: Yep. The end. Yeah. In my home game, one of the players sent a meme of like the Florida alligator man, it was half man, half alligator. And she was like, “Yeah, if my character dies, this is who I’m going to be.” And I was like, “Well, funny you should say that. You can be a sentient alligator.” So yeah. If that doesn’t sell you on this book, I don’t know what will. I mean, maybe that’s not your thing and that’s fair, but there’s other things in here to sell you on the book, primarily in ancestries. But the ancestries — the whole book is amazing. The ancestries was like, yeah, you got me!

[00:01:29] Esther: Yeah. Absolutely. Do we want to do our usual thing of, like, talking about kind of the setup of the book, and then we’ll get into some of the ancestry stuff, and then go from there?

[00:01:40] Navaar: Yes. Love it.

[00:01:43] Esther: Cool.

Introduction to Howl of the Wild

[00:01:43] Navaar: Yeah. So essentially this book set up is like set up as this like scholar who’s going out into the world to do research on these things called Wardens, which are like these gigantic protectors of different they’re basically like these protectors of different aspects of the world.

And so I believe it’s Baranthet is the, is the gentleman’s name, a lizardfolk. And so he’s like, all right, I’m going to set out on this trip. And it’s like, it’s very, like set in story. It’s a, it’s a fun way to introduce all this stuff. And so he sets out to do this journey. He makes these schematics for this airship, and then he hires a crew. And the crew that we meet are all these really fun characters who also happen to represent the different ancestries that are introduced in this book.

And I think of like NPCs that Pathfinder has made, Anchor Root is my favorite. Like many people, we all love Anchor Root.

Anchor Root is special, she’s precious. But Charikleia, the minotaur is also precious. We will do anything for her, we will save her life. She will live forever. So yeah, that’s my introduction to this book.

[00:03:10] Esther: I think the only thing I would add to that is the ship’s name is the Zoetrope and it like features a lot in the book. This book reminds me a lot of Treasure Vault in the way that the NPC voices, or Baranthet’s voice in particular, is incorporated. And it’s just like such a strong character voice woven throughout this book that you really do feel like you’re reading his field notes, which is just so cool. Shout out to the writing team for that, y’all knocked it out of the park!

Yeah, so there are one, two, three, four, five, six new ancestries, and they are Athamaru, the fish people; Awakened Animal; Centaur; Merfolk; Minotaur; and Surki, which are like insect people who kinda remind me of cicadas with some of their lore.

And I have notes on three of these ancestries in particular, but is there like any one that you’re like, I really wanna talk about that one?

[00:04:08] Navaar: Um, I’m– I think that they’re all awesome. The centaurs are amazing, I feel like that’s your favorite one.

[00:04:16] Esther: That’s, that’s one of the ones I have notes on.

[00:04:18] Navaar: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the Surki… incredible. And the Minotaur, I think just like the Minotaur is such a fun thing, and I think like, the fact that they’ve still incorporated like mazes into their culture in a small way is really fun.

But yeah, I think the fun thing too — so the Athamaru and the mermaids, the Merfolk, are both ocean species. Like, you can run a campaign underwater, and then you have an Awakened Animal where it’s like, “Cool, I’m gonna be a dolphin, an Awakened dolphin. Or an Awakened orca.” Terrifying. But, it’s really fun. Like it really opens up a lot of ways to play. I think like, similarly to Treasure Vault, this book inspired me to be like, I have new ideas now of campaigns to run, or you know, of oneshots to run, etc, etc.

The other really cool aspect that they added is that you can now be a Large creature. So the Minotaur and the Centaur are Large, but you can also be a Large Awakened animal. And so that is such a fun thing. That’s when it’s like, “Okay, well, I could be, you know, a smaller orca. I could be a great white shark. And then we could have our underwater campaign.” And… yeah.

Yeah. Plus, plus, plus, plus. So I don’t know. I mean, I could talk about all of them, but like, which one particularly was stuck out to you? Or which one do you want to talk about first of those three that you have listed?

Awakened Animals

[00:05:46] Esther: So the three I have listed are Awakened Animal, Centaur, and Merfolk. Just like quickly going off of what you said, I think this opens up underwater campaigns in like a whole new way for Pathfinder, which I am so into. I think that the design is brilliant. I have long wanted to play in a water-based campaign, but I felt like it would be too hard and there would just be so much that I would have to like, think about and do. And this totally opens up new horizons. Love it.

Maybe we start with Awakened Animal, because I actually have some experience GMing for an Awakened Animal. Listeners, if you haven’t listened to Chromythica, one of my players plays an Awakened Husky. And Justin came to me with this idea, like, three and a half years ago now, and was like, “Hey, if we’re gonna do a campaign that we maybe record, how would you feel if I played an Awakened Animal? There’s not really a total path for it, but like, we could come up with something.” And I was like, “Yes, absolutely.” And so we did. We like, kind of used the Shoony ancestry to adapt some things for him. But he really encountered this kind of interesting challenge in that there’s not a culture that one automatically adopts as an Awakened Animal. And it’s thinking, like, what is it like to be a being in the world that has all of these skills and abilities but is coming to consciousness for the first time?

Like, how do you age? How do you mentally age? Like, are you a toddler two years after you’ve Awakened, or are you an adult? Like, such interesting challenges. And one of the things that I was so pleased about when I sent Justin the Awakened Animal chapter of this book, is he was instantly like, “This is so perfect. This is exactly what I would have wanted out of an Awakened Animal. Can I change my build to incorporate these feats?” And I was like, “Of course, of course.” So that being said, some of the stuff they talk about in here is that there are different experiences of being Awakened. There are few enough Awakened animals that there are no prevailing cultures.

I thought that was so interesting, the resonance there with like, what Justin wound up going with. And they tend to see the world in terms of natural order, which is also something that we have kind of gravitated to in Ember’s build and design as a character. And I thought that was really cool that it wound up in the same place.

Like you said, they can be anywhere from Tiny to Large, which I think is so cool. They all have pretty much like some kind of animal based attack, and they can remember animal instincts and be affected by spells and other effects as if they were animals, and also communicate with at least animals of their type. So like Ember, for instance, could communicate with other dogs, use Diplomacy to Make An Impression, that kind of stuff. I think that’s super cool.

They have heritages for climbing animals, swimming animals, running animals, flying animals, a lot of different heritages in there that give you cool abilities like swimming speeds, burrow speeds, land speeds, all of that stuff. And you can often build those out with the feat tree they provide, which I thought was really lovely, especially for flying animals, which you kind of have to take feats in order to unlock your full range of abilities.

The animal attacks are antler, beak, claw, fangs, fist, horn, jaws, tail, tail and tongue and wing, all 1d6 or 1d4. And, I can talk about feats, but I’ve talked a lot. So yeah, that’s like, that’s Awakened Animal stuff.

[00:09:22] Navaar: Yeah, I love the idea. This was like… well, one, Dimension 20 recently did a series where the cast was all stoats. And they were, quote, “Awakened,” right? Quote unquote, “Awakened,” in a way. Like, but this clearly is like, would be such a better way to do that. No shade at all to the cast, just the mechanics of these.

But I do think also too, in that same way, I was like: like how cool would it be to… you’re playing in Absalom, for instance, and you’re, like, Awakened mice. And it’s like, the world of Absalom is still working around you, but you’re just these Tiny mice that, like, now have sentience, now have, like, little swords. And you’re like aware that you’re naked and you’re like — all of the things are like, okay. Like and then people just like, passerbys being like, “Was that mouse wearing a waistcoat? Like wearing a needle on its side?” But yeah, like just like the how fun it would be to like, you know, what is that world like now? What is like, what are the things that are like, monsters to you? You know what I mean? What’s it like to face something that like appears to be a giant, and it’s just like a normal Medium-sized human?

You know what I mean? Like I think it would just be like such a fun, such a fun way to play that, where you’re interacting with a different aspect of the same world. And it doesn’t even have to be like epic scale fantasy stuff. Like you could still — I mean, cats are dangerous to you. You know what I mean?

So yeah. I think that would be really fun. But then of course, like just being a Large animal is great. Just a big bear or Awakened tiger. I think that… I mean, we always talk about the art. Of course, the art is incredible as always. The art for the Awakened Animals is really cool. They did some really amazing designs with different ways of like, seeing them.

There’s one that has a picture of a, uh, a deer. What’s, uh [pensive sounds] a buck, if you will. But he has, like, human hands, right? Um, and is doing some Druid stuff. And I think, like, that’s such a cool — it’s a cool image, first of all. But then it’s very, like, if you’re a Druid and you’re, you know, looking, thinking about, like, who your, who your deity might be, there’s a lot of like, really cool imagery that you can play with.

So, yeah, I think it’s just a really fun way to play this. To be like, yeah, “I’m an Awakened tiger that’s now bipedal and I met, and I’m meeting catfolk who are like, ‘Are you one of us?’ And it’s like, no. No, we are different. And I can’t explain how, but I know we’re different.” Yeah.

[00:12:01] Esther: I love that, I love that. It takes me back to one thing I forgot to say, is that the Awakening canonically alters your form somehow as an Awakened animal. So like, you, they often do become bipedal or something similar and like, the buck gets hands clearly. That’s so interesting. It’s another place of resonance with what we wound up doing with Ember, who’s not bipedal and doesn’t wear clothes. But his body did change as a result of his Awakening. And it was kind of as a result of being a multiclass Barbarian and Oracle, but he’s very hot to the touch. And so I loved like, that we kind of both wound up going this parallel route of the body changes in a really tangible way as a result of this, this process, this moment. Yeah, I just think it’s, it’s so cool to think about what, what an Awakened Animal’s experience of the world would be. I love your Absalom, envisioning these mice and like, what must their lived experience be

[00:12:55] Navaar: like?

Yeah. Or like if a batch of them just like living under a, you know, wizard’s tower or whatever, like the spell seeps through the floor. And then you just have like this batch of like rodents that now become Awakened. And like, what do you do with that life? It would be fun. I would enjoy that.

But yes. Awakened Animals would be… it’s a really fun ancestry, uh, with a lot of options to allow you to do some great customization. other thing that because nerds slash affectionate are so– can be so into like, “the way that the rules are written and it’s not in here, so whatever!” mental gymnastics, I love that they were just like, you can always find weapons and armor to fit the size of thing that you are. Like it’s available.

And I think that that’s such a great… without making it a big, like, you gotta go to this special shop and blah blah blah blah blah, it’s just like, you find it. Let’s not complicate it. We’re playing a fantasy game. The fiction is already stretched. It’s stretched so far. Let’s just have fun now.

So I really love that concept. And I’m glad that they, I’m glad that they wrote it in.

[00:14:04] Esther: Me too. It’s, it’s one thing that I really highly recommend as a GM. Justin is a little bit different than me in that sometimes he can go the route of like, “Well here’s what’s written. It’s gonna be like kind of a big deal to go outside of this, are you okay with that?” And I, of course, am like “Yeah, let’s do something totally different!”

So I compromised for us, and part of the rationale behind setting Chromythica in the beginning in a city of gnomes is that there’s such creativity and invention there. I was like, Ember will be able to find what he needs here. And if he can’t find the thing, he’ll find somebody who will make it for him.

And I think that’s really important to provide a character like this. And I just gotta say, as someone who’s been GMing for an Awakened Animal for like, two and a half years now: it’s so much fun. Please let you players do this. It’s so much fun.

[00:14:53] Navaar: Yeah. Truly. Yeah. It seems like it would be a great time. That was the one, like in terms of like where I can go with next campaign-wise, Awakened Animals was the one that inspired me the most. And then I think underwater was the next one after that. And centaurs are just like this, I mean, I’ve wanted to be a centaur since I learned what a centaur was.

[00:15:15] Esther: They’re so cool.

[00:15:16] Navaar: Yeah. I can’t remember the name of the author that I read as a child that had centaurs in his book. He might be a problematic author, so it’s probably better I don’t remember his name. But I do remember there were centaurs and there were fauns in the book, and nymphs.

[00:15:33] Esther: C. S. Lewis?

[00:15:34] Navaar: No…

[00:15:35] Esther: ‘Cause he’s also a little bit problematic, but he has all of those.

[00:15:39] Navaar: Yeah.

But when they came out with the movies, that was really cool. That was like, yeah. It’s such, I mean, who doesn’t want to be half horse?

Centaurs

[00:15:48] Esther: Right? I mean I have been… since I’ve been looking forward to the centaur since it was announced, maybe we should talk about the centaur.

[00:15:56] Navaar: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

[00:15:58] Esther: Yeah. I can do just like a brief intro and then we can get into like, what impressed us about them. They are kind of written as guardians of nature where balance is really important to them maybe because some of their ancestors kind of threw nature out of balance, and so now it’s like, culturally a value to really tend things carefully and make sure that nature is preserved and loved and cared for.

They are nomadic. I wrote “happiest when mobile, like physical contests and sports. Most are an average size of 7 feet tall and 2, 000 pounds.” And I wrote “Yes. Hot.”

[00:16:34] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:16:35] Esther: Their coat markings used to be used to divine futures, which is less popular now with the death of prophecy, but sometimes if somebody is born with a rare marking that can be considered a good omen or a bad omen.

You’re Large, you have a land speed of 30 feet, 8 hit points, darkvision, and as a centaur you can be a mount to a PC one size smaller than you, uh, which is different because usually it has to be two sizes, I think. But it’s written that they don’t like being ridden except by like close friends or in really dire circumstances.

Yeah, that’s like a little intro. What else about centaurs stands out?

[00:17:14] Navaar: I’m just gonna say again, because I think like one of the things I enjoy about our show is just talking about inspirations — hopefully somebody takes these and runs with them, because lord knows you and I don’t have the time to do it! Somebody that we know please run Pathfinder for us! — but I thought this was like…

Okay, because, uh, if you know me, you know, that I love a great just two player campaign.

Keep it simple, keep the scheduling easy, have a great dynamic, spotlighting is easy. But having two players who one is a centaur and one is a Medium-sized creature that their dynamic is they work in tandem. They’re — one rides the centaur. And then the eventual conflict that arises of just being in a party with somebody?

I love it. Like, narratively, I’m like, yeah. Give me that.

[00:18:09] Esther: That’s so good.

[00:18:11] Navaar: I just want… I just want a tense, fictional conflicts. That’s what I live for. So, anyway. Yeah. That’s… centaur’s awesome. But I do just love, the, sort of, like, the way it’s built around this nomadic groups, very tight bonds with each other.

Um, you can have, oh, mottle, mottle-coat centaurs. So there’s — one of the types is that you have like a specific type of coat that helps you camouflage, which I think is so fun. And then as I was thinking, as I like initially like, “Okay, centaurs. Cool. But are there little…? ‘Cause there are Shetland ponies, like what’s…?” And you can be a Small centaur! And that’s just a lot of fun, character-wise. I don’t, I’m not a big person, like I’m not a big fan of like, playing small characters. It’s like one of those like mental blocks that I just haven’t gone around, but I might play a ponygait centaur, because just seems, seems like it would be a good time.

So, yeah, the wording for it is: “you’re smaller than most other centaurs, though no less fleet of foot. Instead of Large, your size is Medium. And you gain a plus one circumstance bonus to Reflex saving throws.” But I just love like, the interpersonal conflict of like people telling you you’re cute all the time or thinking you’re too short and like having like, Napoleon complex or like, you know, you think you’re a short king or whatever.

Like, I think it’s just like a lot of fun to be like, you’re fully, you know, five and a half feet, six foot tall. But… but you’re smaller than the other centaurs and it stands out when you’re around them, so.

[00:19:45] Esther: I love that so much. I love that so much. Yeah, I’m trying to think if there’s — like, there’s some really fun heritages. There’s one that gives you, like, a five foot increase of your land speed. In addition to the ones you’re talking about. There’s, like, their spiritual lives are kind of centered around greenspeakers and faithspeakers. Greenspeakers being, like, nature oriented, faithspeakers being divinity oriented. And there’s a heritage that kind of gets into that and gives you, like, different Primal cantrip options to cast innately.

The thing I really loved was reading some of the feats. And there’s, like a feat 5 is Accommodating Mount, which if you’re going this build of like, you’re gonna be a mount for another party member in battle, you — if they are riding you, they get to take full 3 actions on their turn, as opposed to the 2 they would usually be able to take.

You can only take 2, but I just thought that was like, really cool. And like, what a great incentive to, to use that ability. Yeah.

[00:20:42] Navaar: But yeah, even, yeah, even that of like being less effective, right? Than the other person, and what does that look like? I just think it’s so much fun. We should have this. The other one I really enjoyed was — especially cause it’s like a feat 9 and it seems, it seems high for this, but I do enjoy it — it’s Fierce Competitor. And essentially, basically like you can call out to a friend and be like, “I’m gonna knock that guy down before you do,” or “I’m gonna climb this wall,” whatever, like, whatever it is, like, you set the goal, and the two of you compete to do it first. And I just think that that like, from a combat level, like, imagine being the person that’s like, “Did they just make a competition out of beating me up?”

Yeah, they did! And when they’re done, they get bonuses for it. And actually, in the midst of it, they’re getting bonuses to do it now because they’re calling each other out to see who can do it, with complete disregard for you, the enemy. So I think it’s a really fun, it is a, it is a feat nine, but it is, it is a lot of fun. It stood out to me as, as an option.

But I just like, I think like just having sort of this culture around Athletics, I think, is a lot of fun. And like, if you’re going to like, take it to this level, combat, it seems like a good place to do it. So.

Merfolk

[00:21:56] Esther: Totally. Totally. Should we move on to merfolk?

To touch the underwater stuff?

[00:22:02] Navaar: Yeah, yes.

Yeah. So merfolk essentially… I mean, you know, people slash fish. The merfolk differ largely from the, I’m gonna keep forgetting how to say that name correctly. The Athamaru! In that the merfolk are like very much more like, uh, magic oriented, innately. It seems like they’re more like based around like their civilization, architecture, a lot more stuff that’s closer to humans.

I think this is one of the areas — because I think both of these fit and they both seem like they’d be a lot of fun to play, but I do feel like this is a spot in Howl of the Wild where it seems like there was like very much a — I don’t know if this — and I don’t know. This is me speculating. It does seem like this was like a carryover from First Edition lore in that there is still a level of class divide. Because it even says like the Athamaru — or like, I believe that it says like they were oppressed by other sea folk. And I think that there’s like, this is like one of those areas that I was like, it’s just touched on a little bit, but it does feel… a little bit out of place. And I can’t explain it better than that.

But I just think it was one of those things that I was like, “Hmm, this is an interesting thing.” Again, both of them seem really cool. Like the Athamaru like have a lot of cool stuff that they can do. Like, you can basically like gain this carapace over your body. There’s a whole bunch of stuff!

But it was an interesting thing of like… well, and then of course, and here’s these like pretty merfolk people, with their siren songs and, and their beautiful coral reef architecture. So.

[00:23:47] Esther: I feel you. That’s, that’s such an interesting point and I feel like I’m gonna have like an intersecting slash parallel one when we get to werecreatures. Yeah, I… I feel like there’s a very like, there’s a desirability construction in the merfolk, in the art, in the way that they are portrayed as very like… I’m gonna say, uh, stereotypically hot in a lot of ways.

Even the– except the deep water one.

[00:24:15] Navaar: The abyssal one, that’s a little…

[00:24:16] Esther: You know —

[00:24:17] Navaar: Depending on who you are…!

[00:24:18] Esther: To some people! Depending on who you are, yeah. But the, the Athamaru, it, it felt… you’re right, like there’s a bit of a class divide that just something in there feels a little bit funky. But I’m having trouble articulating what it is exactly. But yeah.

But, that being said, there’s great stuff in both of them. They’re super cool. I would, I would be happy to play a character of either ancestry. And yeah, I feel like merfolk stats are somewhat similar to humans. Like you’re Medium sized, you get a swim speed of 25 feet, you get, 8 hit points. They’re very diverse societie. There is a merfolk society in a salt lake in the River Kingdoms, which I found really cool. And what else did I write?

Oh, you have darkvision, I think? The abyssal merfolk have darkvision, that’s it. And so you can be abyssal. You can be essentially a shark person merfolk, where your cool heritage power is that you get imprecise scent to 30 feet, but if there’s blood spilled on land, you can smell that at a range of 120 feet and 500 feet in the water.

And I was like, “Oh, yes. Cool.”

[00:25:26] Navaar: Yeah, yeah, the art for that one is so good too. Just like this shark lower body. Yeah, it’s really good. I do love Apprentice Sea Witch as a feat. You’re familiar with basic spells that most educated merfolk know. Once per day you can cast either Create Water or Hydraulic Push at first rank. Each time you cast Create Water you can choose if you create fresh water or salt water.

This is a little dark, but I do wonder if you can cast Create Water in somebody’s mouth.

[00:25:55] Esther: Ooh. I would allow it!

[00:25:55] Navaar: I mean, this seems like, yeah? And then make it seawater. So it’s like, even if you don’t drown, you’re gonna not feel great about this. But yeah, merfolk are really cool.

It is interesting, to get in a situation where it’s like, where, you know, if you’re out of water for a certain amount of time, I think it’s 24 hours, like, you start to take penalties. Which I love a good penalty.

There is this submarine chair. I have not figured out… I don’t know if I’ve skipped it or what, but I can’t, I don’t know if they explain more about this, but the art’s really cool.

[00:26:28] Esther: They do. I think it’s in, like, the items section.

[00:26:32] Navaar: Oh, that makes sense.

[00:26:33] Esther: I wrote a note about it somewhere, but now I can’t find it. A supramarine chair, and essentially, I think — like a wheelchair, if you need to use a wheelchair in the game — that you can just have it, and it’s a thing you can just, you can just have. And then you can probably, like, outfit it certain ways.

But yeah, it’s essentially like a chair where your, your fish buddy goes into the chair, and it is, like, has water.

[00:26:58] Navaar: So you can be out of water. Yeah, that’s amazing.

[00:27:01] Esther: It’s really cool.

[00:27:02] Navaar: Yeah. What was your favorite feat?

[00:27:05] Esther: So it was really hard to pick, because there were a bunch of cool ones. I’m just gonna say, y’all should check out the two 17th level merfolk feats. They’re both really cool, and if you’re at 17th level — I know it’s a lot to get there — but, check them out.

[00:27:20] Navaar: Do a one-shot. Yeah.

[00:27:21] Esther: But I think my favorite is the Healing Flesh 5th level feat, where you can take like one damage to spill a drop of your blood, and when you do that you don’t need to use healer’s tools to Administer First Aid, Treat A Disease, or Treat Wounds. And you gain a plus one item bonus to your Medicine check.

And… now this is a little grim, but you know I love a little grimness sometimes! If you die and someone eats your heart and liver within an hour of your death, they are healed of all physical wounds and will cease to age for eight years. And my seed of a campaign brain was like, “I want to play a character where their merfolk friend died and for some reason they had to eat their heart and liver and now they’ve ceased to age for eight years.”

[00:28:14] Navaar: Just start with that. Just that’s the opening scene of the campaign.

[00:28:18] Esther: Right? Somebody, uh, , if I don’t use that in an actual play, or a cam— please use that.

[00:28:24] Navaar: Yeah, please do that.

[00:28:25] Esther: Begging for that.

[00:28:28] Navaar: Yeah, that’s so good. Um, yeah, really, really good. I do yeah. I mentioned earlier the Siren Song, which is basically what you think it would be. You can bewitch and beguile with your song. I do love that it’s not gendered, both as the singer and the target. I think that’s great.

And then Tears of Pearl is just fun too. It’s also a feat 9. You could just like, with two actions, start crying a bunch of pearls on the floor. And then like, if people fail their check, then they just become so like, “Ah, I gotta get this! Priceless rare pearls!” And then they are in a disadvantage, disadvantageous position.

So, yeah. It’s been a lot of fun.

Uh, I do like — so this is just to kind of touch on the minotaur slightly, and the centaur, and then also jumping ahead to something down the road. But, I believe it’s a spell, one of the spells you can now get is to summon a stampede. And I really love like, visually, that you can summon like a whole stampede of cattle, essentially, to trample somebody. But as a centaur or a minotaur, you can also stampede and trample people as well. And so, like, I think, like, just the idea of, like, doubling that up in combat would be really fun, visually.

[00:29:44] Esther: Totally. That’d be awesome.

[00:29:47] Navaar: But yes, the other thing — just cause, I think the other ones are mostly pretty obvious. The Surki is really cool because they don’t have to eat or drink, they just absorb magic constantly through life as they’re existing. They remind me of, for anybody who’s seen Young Justice, I can’t remember the character’s name, but there’s like a little bug guy, uh, in like season 3, 2 and 3 I wanna say. Or 3 and 4. Um, very much like him.

That’s what I think of. But yeah, so in that they’ve added a bunch of other things, special archetypes and special equipment and special things just to add to both your character’s ancestry and also some of your, some of the specific classes as well.

Archetypes

[00:30:33] Esther: Totally. I wrote down some of these and like if there’s any that you want to talk about in particular — I wrote, like, most for the Swarmkeeper and the Werecreatures. But essentially they start with, like, Barbarian and Druid Untamed Morphs. They give new Warden spells and Ranger options.

They give new Witch Patron options and like, Zoophonic Bard builds, which is really cool. And then the new archetypes are the Beastmaster, which I think is an updated one. The Clawdancer, which is like about using your claws and physical movement to fight more effectively. Um, the Ostilli Host, which are, they’re little amorphous organisms that share symbiotic relationships with surkis and give magical boosts to abilities.

And I wrote here, “If you are a Star Trek fan, this reminds me of the Trill and their symbionts!” And I wrote “Trill! Dax!” exclamation points, so shout to all you Trek fans out there. Yeah, anything in there thus far that you wanted to like, shout out?

[00:31:31] Navaar: Yeah, I just wanted… I mean, Ranger is my favorite class, even when it’s done badly. It’s not done badly here, but just to point that out, I just, it’s hard to beat, uh, in my brain. But one of the fun things, one of the advanced Warden Spells is Canopy Crawler, where for 10 minutes you grow a prehensile tail that you can use to have access to one of your hands while you’re climbing.

But if you have the Combat Climber feat, then you get both your hands free. And that’s just fun.

That was a really fun one. The Witch’s one is just so good because I love — I, one of the things I really love about Pathfinder is like, the Witches don’t have to necessarily be scary, but when the Witches are scary, that’s really good. Like when your hair moves and is grabbing stuff, that’s terrifying.

When your nails are like super long and wild, terrifying. Uh, when you are a devourer of decay, yeah, that’s terrifying. But it’s really good also. So I take it. I accept it. And I do love this beautiful little gnoll Witch that they have as the artwork. So good.

[00:32:44] Esther: I was, I was trying desperately to remember the name gnoll when I was looking at that art because I was like, they’re so beautiful, I love this so much. And yeah, the art’s on page 61, for those who want to know.

[00:32:57] Navaar: Yeah. And then I think the other one… the Clawdancer is really good. We were talking, I think we were talking before we started recording. There’s a lot of really cool options for Monks and, you know, if you’re building a Fighter class that’s unarmed, Clawdancer is one of them. If you’re playing a catfolk or an Awakened cat, or other animal that has claws — but it is like a catfolk- flavored thing specifically. But it’s just really cool to just be like, here’s this, you know, fighting style with all these special feats to help you lean into it heavily. I really just enjoy that and the Swarm keeper’s —

[00:33:39] Esther: So cool.

[00:33:39] Navaar: And terrifying also, but very cool.

[00:33:41] Esther: You can, your body can host a swarm of insects and you can emit it and have them do things. And oh, a note I made about this one is you can’t have an animal companion if you have a swarm. But if you have another dedication or something that lets you have two animal companions, your swarm can count as one, which is interesting. Yeah. Anyway, go ahead!

[00:34:03] Navaar: Good stuff. Yeah, the other one that was sort of Monk slash Fighter coded was the Thlippit Contestant. Uh, which basically is for… why can’t I remember the name? Uh, the frog people. And you, it’s like a, basically like using your tongue like a whip. Um.

[00:34:20] Esther: The tripkees?

[00:34:21] Navaar: Yeah, yes. So if you’re a Star Wars Acolyte fan, maybe for some reason that I will not explain for spoiler reasons, this might appeal to you. We’re gonna move on.

[00:34:37] Esther: Real quick, real quick. So we were talking about the Monk thing beforehand, and I thought you were saying you weren’t expecting the Monk stuff. And I was like, yeah, I didn’t see that coming! But were you expecting it? ‘Cause I, I was like seeing the Ranger stuff coming and like the Barbarian stuff.

I was like, there’s gotta be that in this book! But I was really taken by surprise by how much Monk flavored stuff there is. And I loved it. So I was just curious, like, is that something you expected for this?

[00:35:04] Navaar: No, definitely a pleasant surprise. I do think I think, like, if we were, I guess being more, like, critical about, like, analyzing, like, what books are coming out, et cetera, et cetera, then it maybe wouldn’t have been a big surprise, just following Tian Xia. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m glad that I was surprised about it.

I think it’s just fun. I think, like, having options for classes — especially classes that historically over fantasy TTRPGs as a genre, have been sort of ignored or, or done badly — I think like having those extra options there to build out, I think it’s a lot of fun. And so I think like, taking the time to add those specific things in here, I think is great.

To not have certain character classes feel as left out. Though, I mean, obviously there are some… none of these are specifically Cleric or Wizard. I’m trying to think of, like, what’s, what’s canon in our first Player’s Core rulebook. But, yeah. So, I was pleasantly surprised.

I was not expecting it. I enjoy it because I love martial arts stuff. But, yeah. Let’s get into these werecreatures.

Werecreatures

[00:36:10] Esther: Yeah, let’s get into these werecreatures. Yeah, what are your overall thoughts? Because I have many thoughts.

[00:36:16] Navaar: So, I like that you can take on the dedication, and I like that you can use your werecreature form whenever you want. And I do like that during a full moon you don’t get to control it, it just, you change. But you get to control your character; you just can’t change back. To me, it seems like it’d be fun in a way of that’s like, not penalizing for characters that allows for like, the space for you to decide on how you want to interact with that. I immediately — because I have, my character Kidogo, who is in my Strength of Thousands campaign, is a gnoll Sorcerer, divine Sorcerer.

I was like, what if I became a hyena werecreature, and then I could just turn into a Large hyena. And I have a hyena, little tiny Small hyena familiar. She’s the best. And so, yeah, anyway, very hyena themed. But I was like, this would be fun! Like to me, I would enjoy that. Because we’ve, you know, in that campaign, you chase around a lot of — at least in the first book, you chase around a lot of small stuff.

Uh, we had a player who was a kitsune, and we basically stuffed him down a hole to chase around these little demon creatures through a burrow. So, but yeah. So like, I think to me, I’m like, that’s, that seems really cool. What, what are your thoughts?

[00:37:45] Esther: I largely…

So my first thought: I am– I have the book open and, to page 76, and there’s this like werewolf I assume in armor with a beautiful flowing cloak and like a sword and it’s just great. Check out the art, as always.

I largely agree with like all of that. I really enjoyed the way a lot of the archetype was written. I liked their note about roleplaying a werecreature. I really liked that in this part of the, the werecreature entries in this book, there’s a bit of an update from this, like, “you are evil by default, you have no control.” That to me, is an aspect of the way they have been written in many places, including I would say 1e, that I did not enjoy.

When I think about werecreatures, I think so strongly about real-world parallels with people who have infectious diseases or disabilities, and the way people have been constructed as monstrous, especially if they have the ability to transmit that disease, by accident or on purpose. And there’s strong parallels there, and I think they are not always written well or with care.

And I felt like they were here. That being said, there is a feat, and there is some of that language that I felt that crept back into the werecreature entries later in the book. I was like, I’m not totally feeling this. Not that I’m like, I wouldn’t do this! I think, again, I think this is really cool, I’m glad it exists.

But just like… so the feat is on page 79, and it’s called Touch of Lunacy. And that’s a really loaded word for a lot of disabled people, for a lot of people who struggle with mental illness. And I was a little bit surprised by that choice. No shade to the author, I have no idea who the author was! Like, just, just in terms of like, maybe an editing note I would offer is, I think the feat could easily be called, like, Loss of Control.

Basically it is, it reads: “In moments of viciousness your curse can partially infect your prey. When you critically succeed an Unarmed attack from the werecreature archetype, the target must attempt a Fortitude save against the higher of your class or spell DCs or become Clumsy 2 until the beginning of your next turn. On a critical failure, it’s Clumsy 1 for one minute as their [like] transformation lingers.” And… yeah. To me, that could have been worded just, like, rather differently and still gotten the across. So I found it interesting. Like, for me, there was just enough of the carryover of… especially in the like, the werecreature entries, you lose control and you might like, maim people. Or like, go on these rampages. And I’m just like… that’s not bad. And there can be like, satisfying ways to play that. And it invokes stuff for me that I’m like, I’m just riding this line of discomfort. Yeah. I don’t know, did you notice that? What are your thoughts?

[00:40:43] Navaar: I didn’t, I think just as I was trying to like, you know, skimming through some of this stuff, I didn’t notice it. but yeah, seeing it now, I definitely see… it’s like one of those things, trying to find the right words. I agree. I don’t think that was probably the best choice. But I think, who knows how long of a conversation that was, or, or whether it was a conversation or whatever it was. Like I, again, I don’t want to speculate on what they, they did here. But, but yeah. I think there’s sometimes… it’s like, even if it’s like riding that line, maybe we just pick a different word and go from there.

So… but I think, like, in terms of just, like disability discussions and specific wording, I think that there are things that are super obvious, but there are other things that are not. And I think it’s, like, depending on how I use it… I think recently a fairly, I want to say, if I remember correctly, it was a fairly prominent, like, TTRPG writer, made a big statement about the use of the word cripple. And for me, I was like, I don’t know where this lies. Like, I don’t know, like, I probably — like, it’s not something I would just put into a book, but I also don’t know, like, if it’s, what side of the fence we’re on with this specific word.

And I think that, like, there are these situations where, in that moment, I would just, I would find a different way to phrase this. So, yeah.

[00:42:07] Esther: Yeah, I think particularly if it’s a book that I’m like, I know this is by a disabled author and it’s talking about like experiences of disability or like writing this with a lens of disability, then maybe those words that are more like historically ouch words, I’m like, you’ve reclaimed this. You’re having a specific like, definition or interpretation of this.

But if it’s in a book that doesn’t have that explicit lens, where the person — I’m like, I don’t know, anybody could have written this! It hits a little different, you know?

Yeah, I think, I think you’re right. It’s one of those moments of like, “Hmm, I might have chosen a different word.” Just, just a personal note.

Because I think there’s, there’s a lot that can go with werecreatures. All that being said, love that they exist. Love that you can choose an archetype. I want to do it someday, so I’m excited about it.

[00:42:58] Navaar: I literally, I might just take it as a feat and just consequences be damned. ‘Cause it was, this is one of those things where I was like, well, I mean, we’re like, I think we’re 4th level now, 5th level. So we can like, I can probably slide this in without losing too much stuff.

Yes, I already have to multiclass as a wizard, I don’t have a choice there. But you know, let’s, let’s put some feats around.

The Wild Mimic

[00:43:21] Navaar: The wild mimic, which is the next archetype is, is absolutely wild. It made me think of a– well, the picture I should say, specifically makes me think of like when they have like feral like human characters as like the bad in a show or a movie. There’s a really, really good episode of The Walking Dead lot oaf people probably haven’t seen because people stopped watching it before then. But there’s a, a character in the show in one of the, in like Season 10, I think. And she’s deaf and she gets stuck in this house, um, with this stranger that she doesn’t know, that they’re like trying to survive together. And there are these feral people who live inside the walls, and they move the way that this picture is drawn. And I’m like, yeah, that’s… it’s too scary. Um, yeah, it’s so good. They like, whenever it’s in her perspective, they take the sound out of the — it’s, yeah. It’s a really good episode. If you don’t watch any other Walking Dead, just go find that one specifically. You don’t even need context. I mean, you might, but you’ll be fine.

All that to say, this, this idea of like, you are just a humanoid — uh, you don’t have to be a human — but you’re a humanoid that like, through observation, through training, through practice, have like started to take on these qualities of a wild creature.

I think it’s a really fun, sort of reverse of the Awakened Animal. I think it’s a great addition to have of like, here’s these Awakened Animals and all this great stuff to do about it, but also like, what if you wanted to do the other way around? What if you wanted to be like the raised by wolves kid, you know what I mean? Like, like literally raised by wolves. And then you just go back, backwards, and then your wolves are Awakened Animals. ‘Cause, I don’t know.

[00:45:11] Esther: That would — okay, a feral child raised by two Awakened wolves? We’re giving you so many ideas for campaigns today. Yes!

[00:45:22] Navaar: Honestly though, my subconscious mind just stole that from Kipo. Which is great. I mean, if you’re gonna steal something from an animated show, western animation, then Kipo’s a good choice. But yes, anyway, too many — again, somebody who knows us, please, run Pathfinder for us. Esther and I can do things together.

[00:45:43] Esther: We’re just gonna be so, um, wild and free and excited. Yes.

[00:45:48] Navaar: I don’t even care, if these are all oneshots! I’ll still be happy, just to like, play a bunch of different character classes and ancestries.

[00:45:54] Esther: Let me play my Awakened possum.

[00:45:55] Navaar: Yeah!

[00:45:56] Esther: I really wanna do that.

[00:45:56] Navaar: Yeah, your you’re Awakened pretending to be asleep possum.

Winged Warrior

[00:46:02] Esther: Yeah, exactly. The last archetype, I think, is Winged Warrior. Which is basically just on, that, it has like a fighting style that benefits those with wings. Uh, not just Awakened animals, but maybe also like tengu and other creatures like that. My big note for this one, which I’m so sorry to everybody who’s interested in more technical stuff, on page 82, there’s art of a character in the Winged Warrior, and I wrote, “Is this a chicken?”

‘Cause it looks to me like a chicken wearing a little dress and trousers, and I’m so enchanted by it. I don’t know what kind of bird it is, but I was so delighted by the idea of this like Awakened chicken doing it is a little martial arts. Yeah.

[00:46:46] Navaar: It is a little chickeny. I do like… I mean, I think that’s fun. Yeah. I think the, so here’s the thing: like, I think just in terms of like Pathfinder stuff, I know we’re getting, getting close on time, but it’s so funny to me that like, having a Swim speed when you’re playing a swimming creature is an obvious thing, and you can just swim, and you can breathe underwater, and it’s fine.

But if you’re an Awakened bird, or if you’re a Strix, or, you know, like — you don’t get to fly for so, like, for so long. You basically can, like, hover. You operate similarly to what actual chickens do, in that they can kind of fly for a while, and then they have to come back down. And I think I just often, as like a person who got into TTRPGs heavily especially like over the past five years or so, it does feel like this became like a GM taboo of just like hating the idea of letting characters fly, at an early level, because I guess it’s broken.

Just change the way the game plays. But yeah, so I don’t know. I think it’s just one of those things that’s just kind of silly to me. But… just let us fly.

[00:47:56] Esther: Just let us fly. Let us fly.

[00:47:59] Navaar: Just let us fly. Um, but yeah! You can swim and breathe underwater all you want. Uh, if you’re the right kind of creature for it. So, yeah. Next is a bunch of new spells, which are a lot of fun. I did talk about the Summon Stampede spell, which is spell 7.

You can also summon Wardens of the Wild. So I haven’t really talked to a ton about these, but you can… basically, these like mythical enormous creatures you can bring in to just do like wild Pokemon damage. They come in as Gargantuan. Like if you’ve played, I can’t remember which one it is. Sword and Shield, Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Yeah. When you, yeah, when you like use the thing, the Dynamax thing, and then they become like that space — that. You’re, you’re doing that. That’s your thing. People, don’t get excited. That’s the first Pokemon game I played in 20 some years, and I got a bunch of level 50 characters, and I have not played it since, so.

[00:48:57] Esther: You wanna, you wanna know something? I guess, not counting Pokemon Go, that’s the first Pokemon game I played ever.

[00:49:04] Navaar: Yeah, same. Well, yeah, Pokemon Go, I don’t know if that counts,.But yeah, yes, I agree. Yes, yeah, that’s, that is wild. I did play them, Red and Blue, literally back in like, the GameBoy Color days. And that was the last time up until very recently. Anyway, visually, if for all you Pokemon fans out there, you want to if you want to Dynamax with that creature, you have no business summoning, just get those 8th level spells and you’ll be fine. You got this. Yeah. Any other special things you want to cover before we hop out? There’s — I mean, yeah. We gotta — there’s still more to this book. Trust me.

[00:49:44] Esther: Yes, I’m just gonna, I’m gonna list some things y’all should check out, and like have two things maybe to talk about. Great new animal companions, including things like gryphons, orcas, rocs, riding tarantula, umbrella mushroom, amazing. Uh, yeah, Hippogryphs, they’re so cool. A shotlashu, which is an animal native to Castrovel.

Great stuff. There are big game siege weapons that are like, targeted towards like, disrupting large animals and stuff. There are some amazing creatures in the Menagerie, like the Apothecary Bee, which made a splash, but also things like manticores and hydras.

Grafts

[00:50:24] Esther: The thing I wanted to talk about before we really hit Wardens of the Wild is the grafts, which are a new thing. Which is basically living tissues implanted on a host body, and you can take a feat at 3rd level to be a Graft Technician so you can do this. And there’s just like a bunch of cool things you can add to your body, like: Item 8, gills let you breathe underwater. Item 10, echoreceptors, give you echolocation of 40 feet. Just so many cool things like that. There’s like a bioluminescence one, I think. There’s a, you can have like an anglerfish light on your head. Um…

[00:51:01] Navaar: You can be Wolverine and have bone claws.

[00:51:05] Esther: Yeah! So I just love this addition of stuff you can do to your body. I think it’s brilliant and lovely. Great idea.

[00:51:15] Navaar: Yeah, I’m with you. Maybe this is the feat that I take instead, instead of the other one. No, truly like, I think: were these adventure paths balanced for me to bring in all this new remaster stuff? Probably not. But guess what? If I can convince my GM to let me do it, I’m going to do it.

Yes, but I do like the grafts are really really cool. The riding companion, or the animal companions, rather, the advanced animal companion is a lot of fun. I think one of the other really cool things about the Athamaru, just to kind of go back a little bit, is they –you can get an eel that you can carry around with you throughout your campaign, and it becomes a giant eel that becomes your mount later.

And it’s this very, like, similarly, like, special, like, ancestry thing, just in the same way that, like, as a gnoll, I didn’t have to be a gnoll Sorcerer. I could just, one of the feats I could take was having a little hyena animal companion. And this way you can get, like, this eel animal companion. It’s really, really– I love it.

[00:52:18] Esther: Totally.

The Menagerie

[00:52:19] Navaar: Yeah. And the Menagerie, there’s just some… why, there’s just some nasty little, just some nasty little things in here. This is like a terrifying, um, Scavenger’s Reign creature. This Blooming Guardian, which just, it looks like a, like a fungus deer, the best I can describe it.

And yeah, I need that. I need more Scavenger’s Reign in my fantasy TTRPGs.

[00:52:50] Esther: There’s a creature called a Sky Fisher that’s kind of like a giant, um, jellyfish. Like, Portuguese Man-O-War in the sky, on page 181. Terrifying, but cool. If you’re interested to read more about the werecreature lore, that’s on 194 and 195. And then there’s a weremoose and a wereshark on the pages right after that.

Yeah, there’s, there’s some good stuff there. I, I really — one thing I want to shout them out for, like, something I thought they did really well is that some werecreatures, like, really enjoy being a werecreature, especially those who were, like, born as a werecreature. And those who are turned often struggle with it a little bit more.

And I think there’s, like, some resonance for me as a disabled person, like, with how people experience disability. Some people —

[00:53:37] Navaar: Hmm.

[00:53:38] Esther: Really like enjoy it or have positive experiences, and some people are like my body has betrayed me. And I think that’s like a really beautiful resonant thing. Um, so in addition to my critiques I wanted to give that shout out.

Well done.

[00:53:52] Navaar: I like that. Yeah. They really, they were in their bag when they did these monsters. There’s some stuff in here that’s just so, what… what… what…what did we… ? Some of it’s really cool. Some of it’s like, oh, like, OK, well, you know, we got we got a new dinosaur that has a flame above its head. That’s awesome.

Um, yeah, that Sky Fisher’s wild. I do want to see, I’m trying to remember if it was in a different book that we already talked about, or if it was in this one, and I think it might be, it is in this one. So there’s new sort of unicorn types?

[00:54:25] Esther: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[00:54:27] Navaar: Shout out to Akinomi Art, uh, my friend who did these.

[00:54:32] Esther: Aki, friend of the show!

[00:54:34] Navaar: Yeah, friend of the show! She did, she wrote them, she didn’t do the art, just to be clear. But yes, there are some really fun things, in here, the wereshark is so funny. Anyway, but yeah. I think like, in terms of, of books to get, again, for like, inspiration, I think this hands down, it’s such a fun book. Will absolutely like, fill you with campaign ideas immediately, as it did with me, I think. Snd just a lot of really good fun rules, fun feats, archetypes. Give your players a free archetype! That’s why it’s there, that’s why it’s called free, it’s free for a reason, just do it! and let that free archetype be, whatever, or werecreatures, or XXX… yeah. Like there’s so many really just amazing options, I think that’s is my point. And I think just like to get into more specifically like reading all of these like field notes, getting into what’s going on with these Wardens and the guardians and uh, and his whole crew. Yeah. ’cause these wardens are like…

Wardens of the Wild

[00:55:37] Esther: So gorgeous.

[00:55:37] Navaar: Elder, Elder Scrolls bosses, in terms of like, how visually captivating they are.

[00:55:44] Esther: So there’s, there’s four wardens which appear — they’re Level 22 creatures, they’re at the end of the book where Baranthet and the crew, like, run across them, and their, their search has come to culmination. There’s the Warden of Caverns and Burrows, the Warden of Forests and Meadows, The Warden of Oceans and Rivers, and the Warden of Peaks and Skies. And they all have gorgeous art, really cool abilities.

I just also want to note that, like, for a lot of the creatures in this book, there’s, like, little crew notes next to each entry from different members of the Zoetrope’s crew that are so, like, in these beautiful character voices. And, you, you read about all of their adventures before each of these sections, including, like, when you get into the Wardens of the Wild. And it’s just such a lovely, cohesive narrative.

And gosh, these Wardens are incredible. Absolutely amazing.

[00:56:37] Navaar: I do want to point out, so one of the, one of the Athamaru crew member is named Grefu. And like they describe him and he’s like this really amazing warrior, but he just wants to cook. I haven’t seen Dungeon Meshi, but, uh, it gave me very, it gave me like Dungeon Meshi vibes.

But, as you were talking about like the little, the notes from the crew, I was on that page of the Alicorn — and it’s, and it’s just him saying, “Sky Rider. It’d be nice to ride an Alicorn someday.” It’s just like, and the other ones are like more, there’s much more words. I just think it’s funny to just be like, yeah, I’d like that.

[00:57:14] Esther: I’d like to ride that.

[00:57:16] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:57:17] Esther: Yeah, on the opposite page, um, there’s the Pale Horse entry, and I think Ten, the Surki um, I want to say, like, the ship’s mechanic or something, has this whole, like, almost poem-like entry, all lowercase. And it’s like a Tumblr post. Yeah, they’re a great contrast.

[00:57:36] Navaar: Yeah. Yeah. It’s so funny. Because truly, like, if you’re, like, if you’re doing your field notes and you just refuse to capitalize or use punctuation, I think that’s hilarious. Yeah, but anyway, we enjoy this book. I think we can say.

[00:57:51] Esther: I thought it was so good.

[00:57:52] Navaar: Yes, absolutely, yeah. It’s definitely going to be one of those ones that, It’s gonna be like at the forefront of next time I write something, or have the time to plan an actual play.

It’s gonna be one of the ones that I build off of a lot, ’cause I think it’s, yeah, it just seems fun. There’s some good stuff.

[00:58:12] Esther: Same, there’s some really, really good stuff. And I highly recommend this book. It’s just, it’s really fun. It’s got a lot of great material in it and it’s a great addition to your Pathfinder collection.

[00:58:24] Navaar: Heck yeah!

Outros

[00:58:26] Esther: All that being said, yeah, you got anything to plug?

[00:58:30] Navaar: First of all, thanks again for joining us after a very short amount of time. I’m squinting at camera. Um, yeah, check out…. well, follow me wherever. Twitter. I guess Bluesky is doing stuff. There’s GIFs now. There’s DMs now. I’m not really around to know, but I did get the updated email, uh, about those specific things. And I think I might have sent one GIF just to see if I could do it.

All that to say: NavaarSNP. N-A-V-A-A-R-S-N-P. Uh, follow me there to figure out, uh, all the things that I’m doing. Check out Secret Nerd podcast. My other podcast that is sleeping right now, but, but is in production mode, we’ll say. And production mode for what? I’m not going to tell you yet, but while you’re waiting to find that out, go listen to Ties That Bind, which is an actual play 10-part series of The Corrupted, which is the game that I wrote, which is all about fictional tension and conflict.

And it’s a really great story, it’s amazing, uh, we might be up for some things. Not CRIT Awards, not because we don’t like the CRIT Awards. We just, we’re not popular enough for that.

[00:59:43] Esther: I nominated you. You should have been in the finalists.

[00:59:47] Navaar: And I appreciate you! No, but all that to say, there are some other things that I’m really excited about that will be announced hopefully soon. Ties That Bind is an amazing show, I’m in love with it, I’ve listened to it six times outside of me actually doing all the editing and being a part of the GMing and production.

Yeah, check that out. Secret Nerd podcast, uh, wherever you pod. Secret N-R-D-social on Twitter. I refuse to have a Bluesky for it. uh, also check out An Unwavering Force, the Pathfinder 2E actual play that I’m in. If you’re a fan of The Acolyte, unrelated to my other mention of this show earlier, The Acolyte and our show happen to have a lot of similarities.

We did it first. I think they were in production for years, but we didn’t, we don’t know anybody on the production team. It’s just a weird happenstance. Uh, some of it is because we’re playing a specific tropes. Some of it is just wild. So come check out why that’s wild. I recently in an unreleased episode, jumped out of a starship and because of specific things in Pathfinder, did not die.

So I think you should come listen to figure out why that happened. And that’s it. I think that’s all the, that’s all the plugs I have.

[01:01:01] Esther: All good plugs. Listen to Navaar, listen to all the things. Yeah, follow me at dungeonminister everywhere. Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, which is private, but maybe I’ll accept your requests, you never know.

[01:01:12] Navaar: I won’t. For those of you who have been trying to request my private Instagram, I will not accept those. I apologize. Just so we’re clear.

[01:01:20] Esther: I, if I know you, I probably will. If I don’t know you, I probably won’t. Um, but…

[01:01:24] Navaar: Same. Yeah.

[01:01:25] Esther: Just, just sayin’. Anyway, y’all, if you liked the Awakened Animal archetype, if you’re intrigued by it, maybe listen to a little show called Chromythica, where one of my players plays an Awakened Animal. We have twelve episo– no, eleven episodes out, twelve in production, 30 something recorded.

So, the show, I promise you, is going places. Just at a very slow pace in, in release. Um, anyway, uh, maybe out Chromythica. Um, maybe check out — I, I guess, I can say I am a finalist for two CRIT Awards. I don’t know if the voting is going to be open.

[01:02:03] Navaar: Deserved.

[01:02:04] Esther: Thank you, it feels weird, but I’m, I’m doing a thing that I talked about in therapy today where I’m like, I’m trying to accept it. So yeah, I’m up for Best GM Paizo with some other really incredible folks, just honored to be in the category. And the Games for Gaza event that I organized, last fall is up for, like, a community award. Finally, I dropped a trailer for an upcoming project of mine called A Haunting, Beloved with my new little productions thing, I am floating. And you can find that trailer at my Twitter presence and Bluesky at dungeonminister. Or just search engine of choice A Haunting, Beloved trailer.

A Haunting, Beloved is a story about disability and love and gothic horror, and I made it with a group of really fantastic, talented folks. I’m very excited. I will let you all know when it is out in the world. And I think that sums up my stuff.

And most importantly, you can follow Know Direction at KnowDirection on Bluesky, on YouTube, Mastodon, I’m not sure if we’re active there anymore, but we have an account! And you can join our Discord to talk about the shows hosted by the network, Pathfinder, other TTRPGs, and more! So do that! And yeah, I think that brings us to the close…

[01:03:21] Navaar: Yeah, I just will say, obviously Esther and I move at our speed, that we are able to. But, there are a lot of amazing folks on the Know Direction team who work on things faster than us. So sometimes you’ll, you know, be written, written blogs, things like that, that’ll come out, that’ll talk about some of these books as they’re coming out.

So definitely check out all that stuff for some faster information. Of course, you’re going to want to come listen to us talk, because of course. But, just saying, if you’re like, “But I want to know about this thing now,” there’s some options for you. Check out all the stuff we got.

[01:03:53] Esther: Totally. All right, y’all. Well, this has been so much fun. Until next time, I think we’re gonna come back with really fun interviews for y’all next, fingers crossed. Until then, this has been Know Direction. We will see you soon. Bye!

[01:04:07] Navaar: Bye!

Game Design Unboxed 94: ContraBanter

Ryan Costello — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 05:06:36 +0000

In episode 94 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Phil Gross about his design ContraBanter, a Word-Smuggling game where you’ll work as a team to sneak secret words into a conversation! Phil talks about his design breakthroughs in the game like making the players work on teams versus fully competitive. And how there seems to be something in the Syracuse water as he’s worked to design around some impressive designers such as Alan Moon.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Phil Gross – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Upshift 034: Duke In The Rain

Ryan Costello — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 23:56:16 +0000

Stuck in traffic due to the rain, Ryan decides to record a podcast about Duke, and how Skybound has him turning around on his long held opinion that there’s always a better choice than Duke.

But for real, you can hear the rain, his turn signal, and his GPS throughout the episode. If you find that distracting, you won’t miss much missing this one.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Game Design Unboxed 93 – Emotional Intelligence

Ryan Costello — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 02:20:51 +0000

In episode 93 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Julie Chen about her personality type social deduction game inspired by the Myers Briggs test and CLUE. We focus on how learning more about ourselves helped us both in life and in our designing process. She aimed to find a way to help players learn more about the assumptions we make in different situations like “would an introvert or extrovert be more likely to go to a coffee shop?” by building a social deduction game around these choices we’d make depending on the personality types we were given. Learn more about the different types of personalities by playing Emotional Intelligence!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Julie Chen – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Know Direction Beyond 86: Free RPG Day Starfinder Sneak Peak

Ryan Costello — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 09:00:44 +0000

Second Contact, the Free RPG Day 2024 Starfinder offering, is the first published material for the Starfinder 2e playtest. Alex and James dive into it to see what it tells them to expect in the future.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Game Design Unboxed 92: Mondrian: Color in Motion

Ryan Costello — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:49:09 +0000

In episode 92 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Joseph Brower, one of the designers of Mondrian: Color in Motion. This Ion Award finalist design brought manufacturing challenges when they had to figure out what materials made the cards stop sliding during gameplay. Learn how they created an abstract game inspired by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s art.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Joseph Brower – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Game Design Unboxed 91 – Buru

Ryan Costello — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 08:18:46 +0000

In episode 91 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Alex Flagg about Crafty Games’ latest release Buru. Learn how a publisher was able to inject more of the theme into a midweight euro-style game using a TTRPG background and cultural consultants.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Alex Flagg – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Know Direction Beyond 85: PaizoCon 2024 Starfinder Breakdown

Ryan Costello — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 02:07:56 +0000

Alex and James look at the Starfinder news out of PaizoCon 2024, which saw a mix of firsts for 2e and finals for 1e.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Game Design Unboxed 90: Catthulhu

Ryan Costello — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 09:00:50 +0000

In episode 90 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication Danielle talks with Joel Sparks about his cat based RPG titled Catthulhu. Joel moved away from a D20 system to try and create a more accessible game for players who haven’t played many RPGs by leaning into the story telling more than the math. Players take on the roles of cats in this one shot RPG. Listen to him discuss designing/publishing a book for the first printing of the game then the struggles he went through when he added extra things like dice into the manufacturing of the game in future printings.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Joel Sparks – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Know Direction 303: Tian Xia World Guide

Ryan Costello — Fri, 31 May 2024 09:05:18 +0000

Esther and Navaar crack open the latest Pathfinder setting hardcover, Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide for the first time, but definitely not the last time.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Upshift 033: News Round Up

Ryan Costello — Fri, 24 May 2024 02:10:56 +0000

Renegade crammed a lot of Essence20 news into the four weeks since the last episode of Upshift, and Ryan’s here to go over it with you.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Game Design Unboxed 89: Conquest Princess: Fashion is Power

Ryan Costello — Wed, 22 May 2024 01:23:11 +0000

In episode 89 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Seppy Yoon about his design Conquest Princess: Fashion is Power. This crisis management game was inspired by Sailor Moon and Star Trek. Seppy took his love for strong women like Wonder Woman and created a game that included characters that were trans, non-binary and female. As a queer/minority/vet owned company he found it very important to feature these playable characters but had to deal with hate groups during his Kickstarter campaign. Learn how he brought this game to life after 9 years of working on it and how he dealt with online trolls in this first episode of the fifth season!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Seppy Yoon – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Essential Builds – My Lennium Falcorn

Ryan Costello — Fri, 17 May 2024 09:01:58 +0000

You’ve never heard of My Lennium Falcorn? It’s the friendship that made the Magic Run in less than twelve sparkles.

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that punches popular culture icons into the hyperspace that is Essence20.

About a year ago, someone (I tried to find out who but the best I could find was “a LEGO Store employee”) used a LEGO 3-in-1 Creator set that advertised unicorn, seahorse, and peacock builds to make a seal, a robot, a narwhal, and, most famously, The Millennium Falcon. So today we’re bringing a unicorn that’s also Star Wars’ most famous ship to Essence20 . And yes, I can already hear your judgemental thoughts.

“You’re going to build that thing? You’re stranger than I thought.”

Who Is My Lennium Falcorn?

An original character. Sort of. And no, I’m not going to make a habit of this. That was one time. One and a half if you count this build.

The original idea I had for My Lennium Falcorn was a Cybertronian with a unicorn Bot Mode and a Corellian YT-1300 light freighter Alt Mode. The personality would be built around the extensive characterization Han Solo’s ship received in its myriad appearances across Star Wars media.

I should point out that there is a Star Wars/Transformers crossover figure of the Millennium Falcon, one which splits in two, with each half converting into one of the ship’s famous pilots. This doesn’t break my rule against building established characters from the Essence20 licenses because (A) this is a different character with the same Alt Mode, and (B) unless Renegade signs the Star Wars license, there’s no way this character ever shows up in an Essence20 product.

Building Essence20 My Lennium Falcorn

I originally planned on building this back in January. However, as I explained in the Maverick build that replaced it, “I misremembered the mechanics of an option that the build depended on.” I had it in my head that the Drone Origin from Decepticon Directive gave the character an Origin Benefit from a different Origin. I was so wrong about this it’s not even accurate to say I misremembered it. I invented a completely different mechanic. Not being able to gain any Unicorn Origin qualities made the unicorn Bot Mode a purely aesthetic choice, and therefore pointless in my eyes. So I put it aside. Until…

Last Friday, Renegade stealthily published a character creation guide I wrote for the latest multi-table mega event, Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle. As the name suggests, unlike last year, this crossover adventure brings My Little Pony into the mix. However, the Field Guide to Action & Adventure doesn’t include advanced crossover character creation rules for My Little Pony characters. Instead of limiting players to single-setting pony PCs in this crossover event, I put together a primer on the advanced crossover character creation rules, including instructions for applying them to My Little Pony Origins and Roles, and even threw in a few new options. Two of those options—the new Cybertronian Equestrian Influence and the Quadrupedal optional rule—make this build possible.

And no, writing a rule to make this build possible isn’t an abuse of power. It’s proof of concept. This is exactly the kind of character we empower players to bring to Worlds Collide events.

Origin

Drone (Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive)

Funny enough, even though I discovered that the Drone Origin didn’t do what I needed it to, I ended up picking it anyway. It gives us all the benefits of the Seeker Origin’s Alt Mode, but with room for more personality thanks to the General Perk from the Drone Origin Benefit, and a hang-up called the imperfection to make up for the Origin’s flexibility. I went with the Fiercely Independent imperfection, based on how L3-37, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character in Solo: A Star Wars Story, was a droid freedom fighter before having her consciousness uploaded into The Millennium Falcon’s computers.

The other reason I went with Drone over Seeker was for flavor. Canonical, there are a million ships in the Star Wars universe just like The Millennium Falcon. It’s mass produced. However, between decades of repairs tweaking how it operates as well as upgrades overhauling its functions, there’s only one Corellian YT-1300 light freighter like it. This also lines up with the unicorn Bot Mode. Unicorns are just like horses in most ways, and the exceptions make them special.

Finally, let’s talk about the Quadrupedal optional rule I mentioned earlier. When building a crossover character, you now have the option to define its physiology a bit. You choose whether the creature is Bipedal or Quadrupedal. Bipedal characters get 6-hands of equipment, Quadrupedal characters only get 4-hands of equipment but don’t suffer ↓1 to deal Blunt damage with unarmed attacks. My hope was that this little change opened up the ability to ponify a character without having to commit to an MLP Origin. So, for example, if you wanted to build a ponified version of Footloose called Hoofloose, you could choose the Soldier Origin from the G.I. JOE CRB and still represent him in a pony shape. In My Lennium Falcorn’s case, we’re fully committed to a Transformers Origin, but get to mechanically represent converting into a pony-shaped Bot Mode.

Influences

1st Cybertronian Equestrian (Gen Con Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle Event – Character Preparations blog post)

2nd Cybertronian With Attitude (Field Guide to Action & Adventure)

3rd Stargazer (Field Guide to Action & Adventure)

I’m not sure if people have picked up on this, but the order I go into Influences, Origin, and Role changes based on how important each option is to the build. Influences basically always come in third. In this case, the Influences are as important as the Origin. Probably not surprising since I talked about how one of the new Influences in the Pony Puzzle character creation blog post made this build possible.

Cybertronian Equestrian lets me choose an MLP Origin as the shape of my Bot Mode, granting a benefit based on the Origin I choose. Unicorn gives me Telekinesis, letting me move objects up to 50ft away with an Alertness Skill Test. Unlike the Unicorn Origin, it doesn’t give us the Magical General Perk. However, we’ll use our Drone Origin Benefit to grab that.

Cybertronian With Attitude wasn’t part of my plan for this build at first. I wanted a third Influence and realized that I’d yet to use options from the Power Rangers spacefaring book, Across The Stars. I was surprised by how few Influences were in that book, only finding one I considered. Well, two, because giving a spaceship the Ship’s Crew Influence amused me, but I got a headache working out how the mechanics applied to flying oneself. The Influence I actually considered was Augmented, to represent all of the upgrades the ship’s undertaken. But the Drone Origin covers that, thematically, and none of the Influence Perk options felt groundbreaking to the build.

While I had Across The Stars open, I noticed the Traveler Origin. Its Origin Benefit, Life Of A Thousand Roads, captured how much this ship has seen. A life of crime. A rebellion. A resistance. My Lennium Falcorn was a veteran of multiple Star Wars. Not so much that I would take the Traveler Origin over a Transformers Origin, but luckily the Cybertronian With Attitude Influence let me take a Power Rangers Origin Benefit as an Influence Perk.

Because Cybertronian With Attitude is formatted like a Transformer Influence, I needed to choose a Hang-Up. I once again invoked L3-37 and went with Vainglorious. In the first round of combat, I need to spend a Standard action delivering a speech to my enemies. Considering how that character went out, it fits.

For my final choice I went with Stargazer. This wasn’t based on established lore, but I liked how the Hang-Up (suffering a Snag on Smarts-based Skill Tests when you can’t see the stars) fit a starship. It gives a feeling of claustrophobia to a character used to the vastness of space.

Role

Scout (Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I have never struggled to choose a Role this much. It makes sense, though. I’m basing this build on a piece of equipment rather than a character. The Millennium Falcon’s role in Star Wars is transport. I considered going with the Spirit of Magic, taking the opportunity to show off the rules for swapping a My Little Pony Role’s Faction. But then I found a Role Perk that was straight out of Empire Strikes Back: Hidden In Plain Sight. This Scout Role Perk allows me to hide without cover, like the Millennium Falcon docking on the side of a Star Destroyer to get away from him.

Scout is a great Role for the embodiment of the fastest ship in the fleet. As the Role’s designer, I’m particularly proud of how Ally Awareness lets a Scout do the Role’s job—going ahead of everyone—while remaining connected to the rest of the group.

Most of the other Role Perks are either about being fast, observant, or bold. Those boldness Perks add a little Han Solo to our build. That scoundrel took credit for all of My Lennium Falcorn’s best ideas and smoothest moves.

Sub Rules

Outrider Focus, Autobot Faction, Transformers Setting

The Scout may be fast, but it could be faster. The Outrider Focus ups the speed and maneuverability of the build. And yes, it’s my fault that there’s an Outrider Origin and an Outrider Focus in the same book. In hindsight, I think the Origin should be called Offroader.

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 7

I focused on Driving and Infiltration for this build, giving them three Ranks each. There’s an Air Specialization in the near future, for sure. My last Skill Point went into Initiative. Originally I was thinking of taking Targeting as well, but I decided on a different form of ranged attacks.

Smarts 5

I like the idea that this is a pretty smart character. Normally how much to invest in Alertness is a struggle when I don’t know what Skills the rest of my party invested in, but Alertness is an important aspect of the Scout Role. So much so, I only needed two Ranks for now, since the Role gives me Acute Sense and Stargazer lets me give myself an Edge on a Smarts-based Skill Test.

I also invested in two Survival Ranks. It’s one of the Skills that Traveler pings off, and isn’t a Skill others tend to invest in without reason. It also feels like learning through doing, whereas Science is learning through research. This is a character that’s seen and done things, and has the Survival Ranks to show for it.

Where’s the fifth Skill Point go? Spellcasting. I split two Ranks in Spellcasting between Smarts and Social. This will fuel an Energy Beam and Summon Shield. Only having +d4 in Spellcasting will mean choosing between offense or defense and having to find other options while my systems recharge, all of which feels very Millennium Falcon.

Strength 2

Predictably, I put my Strength Skill Points into Might. Sometimes you gotta throw hoofs.

Social 2

Even though I took a few options to represent L3-37’s onboard gumption, none of it was tied to any Social Skill. I only invested in one Rank of Deception, for when My Lennium Falcorn needs to fly casual-like. As long as I bump that up by 9th level to make better use of Mimicry Vocoder, this should hopefully be enough. Scout’s Social goes up pretty quickly, so I can alternate between improving Deception and Spellcasting.

Conclusion

I think this is a fun experiment in stretching the rules to fit a weird concept. I do feel that not having a stronger grasp on what I wanted from this build beyond Millennium Falcon/Unicorn Transformer made some choices tougher and a bit bland in a few areas. I referenced L3-37 multiple times, a part of The Millennium Falcon’s canon I didn’t expect to invoke at all, because I needed to find some personality for the character.

Still, it’s nice to check this build off the idea list. And even if I’m not as excited about it as I have been other characters, I still think it’s an effective build and I am happy that Cybertronian Equestrian works as advertised.

Resources

Gen Con Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle Event – Character Preparations blog post

Game Design Unboxed 88: Season 4 Finale

Ryan Costello — Tue, 07 May 2024 09:00:59 +0000

In episode 88 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication Amanda Rivera takes over as the host as she helps recap the fourth season with Danielle. They talk about past guests and their games. Speaking about matching mechanics with IPs and how brands can be split between many different publishers. Danielle talks about her upcoming games Caution Signs and Secret Clue: Cuisines as well as her new job title of Project Director of Wacky Wizard Games and how she’s grown as a designer by starting to do inventor relations. Learning to kill off her designs faster by looking at them from that perspective has helped her grow over the past few months. Not to mention she was nominated for the Play Creators Rising Star Award this year!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Danielle Reynolds – Guest

Amanda Rivera – Host

Know Direction Beyond 84: Mechageddon Madness

Ryan Costello — Fri, 03 May 2024 01:31:41 +0000

Jenny Jarzabsk joins Alex and James to look high and wide at Starfinder 1e’s swan song release, the Mechageddon! hardcover Adventure Path.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Know Direction 302: Monster Core

Ryan Costello — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 09:00:11 +0000

Esther and Navaar continue their Pathfinder Remaster coverage with an in depth review of the new take on the 2e Bestiary, Monster Core.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Essential Builds – Scaffold (Original PC)

Ryan Costello — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 09:00:37 +0000

Normally Essential Builds turns popular culture icons into Essence20 Player Characters. We’re doing something different this time. This is my first PC for a fully casual Essence20 campaign. I’m not playtesting or promoting or even GMing. I’m building a PC that I think will be fun to play. But who am I?

For those who don’t know, I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.

You’d think I’d be in an Essence20 game by now, but I’ve been too busy writing on it, podcasting about it, and blogging builds for it to play the game. But since everything is content, I figured I’d turn character creation—which already follows the Essential Builds format—into my latest build.

Who Is Scaffold?

Oh wow, instead of providing context and referencing pop culture, this time this section is just “let me tell you about my character”.

Options are limited when aircraft sustain structural damage. Pilots are trained to deal with the situation by minimizing casualties on emergency landing. Aeronautic engineers, on the other hand, strap on a VTOL pack and fix the problem at the source. Not content to be brushed off as a youth when asking how planes stay in the air, Scaffold took up aeronautics as a hobby. He built a drone that was basically a flying toolbox, and then he used that drone to help him build and field test a propulsion back. He worked as a lighting technician at the Seattle stadium until his handcrafted flying devices caught the attention of the city’s biggest aerospace companies.

Out of the few engineers with the technical skills to repair bullet holes in an airborne aircraft engine, most of them couldn’t handle the pressure or the noise outside in the stratosphere. Those are Scaffold’s favorite parts! He wears kinetic body armor as pajamas and uses an old 747 engine as a white noise machine. Hanging off the side of a crashing plane is relaxing to him.

Building Essence20 Scaffold

For the record, this campaign takes place in The Energon Universe, and the GM has given us permission to use any Essence20 options, including magic. Hopefully I’m not squandering that freedom by only tapping into a few sourcebooks, all G.I. JOE.

When I build a PC, I tend to blend steps 1-5 (as described in the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) into three amorphous steps:

Step 1. All the ideas and options that come to me at once.

Step 2. A few other ideas that are either logically connected or obviously compatible.

Step 3. The rest.

In this case, I came up with the concept, Role, and Focus right away. I’ve talked about liking jetpacks and visors before, so the idea of playing a tech specialist with a jetpack came to me as soon as I asked myself what character do I want to play. But why would a tech specialist have a jetpack? To answer that, I took inspiration from my cousin’s husband Jack, an aquatic engineer who does underwater maintenance on rigs. My PC repairs damaged airplanes while they’re still airborne. Exciting, unique, and justifies a jetpack. It’s perfect.

When I floated the idea past my group, one of the other players suggested my character be from Seattle, home of most major aerospace companies. Works for me. Thanks to my many trips to PaizoCon, I know the Seattle area enough to fake being from there.

I wasn’t exactly sure about the other elements of my build, but with Quartermaster’s Guide To Gear now available, I knew where I would get the rest of my options.

Role

Technician (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Unlike the last time I used the Rocketeer Focus, I’m not using the Field Guide to Action & Adventure to swap out my Role. I’m embracing my Technician roots, fully, gaining a utility drone named BTHIANNI TNIANHI, because it’s Better To Have It And Not Need It Than Need It And Not Have It.

Focus

Rocketeer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

Not sure what else there is to say about the Rocketeer Focus than what I already said in my Rocketeer build. Has jetpack, will jetpack. To jetpack or not to jetpack is not the question because to not jetpack is not an option.

Bonus, our campaign starts at 3rd level, so I get Aerial Attack from char gen. That’s the Focus Perk that lets me attack with Acrobatics or Driving whenever I use my jet pack to move. And, as established, I’ll be jet packing as often as possible.

Origin

Engineer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Well how about that, this is my first use of the Engineer Origin.

I have mixed feelings about Engineer. Thematically, it’s great, and definitely deserves to be in the CRB. And most of the mechanics work. My issue is the Origin Benefit, MacGyver. It reads like it was written early in the design process, and accidentally skipped during development, because its language does not reflect Essence20 mechanics. Normally I don’t quote rules verbatim, but in this case I think it’s a teaching opportunity.

“You aren’t hampered by not having tools – you’ve fixed delicate machines with duct tape, chewing gum, paper clips, and even less. In addition, as an action, you can fix or hamper a machine for one scene, after which it will need an in-depth repair. For vehicles and equipment with the capacity for taking damage, you may heal it for 1 Health.”

The “In addition” implies that everything before is rules text, not flavour as I originally assumed. “…as an action” is probably a Standard action, but it’s weird that it doesn’t say so. “…you can fix or hamper a machine for one scene, after which it will need an in-depth repair.” is my biggest issue. Does “fix” mean repair? What does “hamper” mean? What are the mechanical effects of hampering equipment?

I give a modified version of MacGyver to pregens I build with the Engineer Origin, which I’ve added to the internal errata as a suggestion for future printings:

MacGyver: You aren’t hampered by not having tools. Ignore Kit requirements for Skill Tests. Additionally, once per scene, as a Standard action, you can repair 1 damage on a vehicle or robot.

You can see how it takes the ideas of the published version and modifies the language to fit the rules. I dropped the “hamper” element completely because the above feels like enough, and dropped the idea that fixing the machine only lasts for the scene to make the use straightforward.

Influences

1st Rocket Scientist (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear)

2nd Skyward (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear)

Two Influences from the latest release for the G.I. JOE RPG!

Rocket Scientist is literal. You work on rockets, scientifically. It lets us gain an Edge on a Science or Technology Skill Test outside of combat. We’re going with Technology (Engineering), naturally.

Skyward is for characters who hate when their feet are any closer than a kilometer to the ground. It gives us Air vehicle Qualification (in case we didn’t already have it) and lets us identify the Speed Essence and Movement Ratings of an aircraft just by looking at it. As a Hang-Up, we suffer ↓1 on Driving Skill Tests to operate land and sea vehicles.

Essence Scores and Skills

I’m building a 3rd level character, so my Essence Scores will total 18 this time, not the usual 1st level 16.

Smarts 6

As expected, my highest Skill is Technology, with an Engineering Specialization. I invested 5 Skill Points to get a +d8* Rank. This allows me to fulfill my primary function, and also gives my drone 5 Essence Score increases and a bunch of Upgrades.

I also threw a Skill Point into Alertness. Our GM requested we not go over the details of our builds, so I want to make sure we’re not collectively blind, even if my +d2 won’t get us very far.

Speed 5

Also predictable, my second highest Skill is Driving with +d6 Rank and Air Specialization. I didn’t give myself any targeting, so I’m relying on moving and shooting to take advantage of Aerial Acrobatics.

I gave myself +d2 Rank in Initiative. I often skip Initiative on this blog because it’s not a flavourful Skill, but given that I didn’t skip it for a PC I will be playing, maybe I should treat +d2 Initiative as a baseline for all combat characters.

Strength 4

Speaking of baseline, I gave myself a few Strength Skills mostly because they come in handy: Athletics +d4, for any physical situation that a jet pack doesn’t help with; +d2 Brawn, because that helps meet weapon prereqs, and +d2 Might, because I figure if I can’t fly in combat, it’s more likely that I’m in a fist fight than a fire fight.

Social 3

+d6 Persuasion might make me the face of the group. We’ll see. I didn’t have a clear idea for my Social Skills, but I figure someone who jumps out of planes needs to be convincing.

Drone

Rounding out our build is BTHIANNI TNIANHI, the Limited Drone pet we get from the Primary Tech Technician Perk. First we set its Mobility (30ft Aerial, so it can keep up with us), then its size (I went with Small, just cause), and function.

Here’s where I hit a crossroads. My plan was for BTHIANNI TNIANHI to be Scaffold’s toolbox. But MacGyver lets us ignore Kit requirements for Skill Tests. So instead my options are to make BTHIANNI TNIANHI some other kind of utility drone, or make it an attack drone. If the team didn’t have a medic, I would consider making it a Science (Medicine) drone. I guess we’re going attack drone. It can serve as Scaffold’s bodyguard, fulfilling its BTHIANNI TNIANHI name in a different way.

As the Limited Drone of a character with 5 Skill Points invested into Technology, that gives me 11 Skill Points (1 per Essence Score, 2 free, and 1 per Skill Point my PC invested into Technology). I put 4 ranks into Alertness and 4 into Targeting, two areas Scaffold character could use support. Then 1 rank into Conditioning, for survivability, 1 into Initiative to qualify for the Independence Protocol upgrade, and finally 1 in Deception, because you can’t trust A.I.!

Speaking of upgrades, I went pretty classic and complimentary to his purpose. Basic Defenses increases Defenses, Enhanced Sensors gives the Acute Senses General Perk, and Independence Protocol lets it roll its own initiative. I splurged on a Limited upgrade and grabbed Shield Drone, which gives Scaffold a bonus to Evasion.

Conclusion

It’s not lost on me that my PC is more straightforward and practical than most of my builds. I don’t intentionally make my other builds impractical. In fact, I’m often surprised by how effective some of them turn out to be. I guess when my starting point is a character with history and media appearances that I want to emulate, it’s easier to see how some unusual options end up defining what the build can do.

That said, I look forward to seeing this build in action.

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster’s Guide To Gear

Game Design Unboxed 87: Mind MGMT

Ryan Costello — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 09:00:29 +0000

In episode 87 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Sen-Foong Lim on his comicbook IP game Mind MGMT. A game that grows with the players in strategy as well as difficulty. One player controls Mind MGMT and must scour the city for new recruits. They move around on a secret map, trying to visit locations that match one of their three randomly drawn feature cards. They can also use their four Immortals to protect locations from being exposed. Listen to Sen compare working with a creator’s IP versus a company like Viacom or Warner Brothers. He unboxes how they worked with the comic creator to expand the Mind MGMT world versus slapping the IP on a pre-existing design.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Sen-Foong Lim – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Upshift 032: Farewell to Jason

Ryan Costello — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 09:00:12 +0000

After sharing all he knows about Essence20, former Renegade developer Jason Keeley moves on to other projects. But not before saying goodbye.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction Beyond 83 – SF2 Field Test Envoy

Ryan Costello — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 09:05:41 +0000

Alex and James look at what the Field Test version of the Envoy means for Starfinder 2e.

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Essential Builds – Pidge

Ryan Costello — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 09:00:19 +0000

From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend. The legend of Pidge, Voltron’s only pilot with the fashion sense to coordinate his uniform with his lion.

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that takes five (or more) Essence20 options and combines them to form a popular culture Player Character.

Voltron was my first introduction to anime. American studio World Events Productions imported Beast King GoLion from Toei Animation, translating and editing the existing footage into new but similar stories about a superforce of space explorers specially trained and sent by the Galaxy Alliance to bring back, Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Who Is Pidge?

For the record, we’ll be building Defender of the Universe (aka 80s Voltron) Pidge, not Third Dimension (aka 90s Voltron), Voltron Force (aka 00s Voltron), or Legendary Defender (aka 10s Voltron). This might get confusing since Voltron Force is also the name of the team in Defender of the Universe, and I’ll be referring to them as such.

The youngest and most tech savvy member of Voltron Force, Pidge wasn’t your average kid character in an 80s cartoon. He was as combat capable and brave as his young adult allies. Even though the team sometimes talked down to him and used condescending terms of endearment like “little buddy”, Pidge isn’t a sidekick. He’s every bit the space explored as the rest of Voltron Force. When the team does have to rescue him, like in A Ghost And Four Keys, it’s because he chose to face a threat head on, not because he snuck onto a mission like Scott Trakker.

Building Essence20 Pidge

Like I mentioned when I built Sailor Mercury, I look for opportunities to use Power Rangers options because they tend to be more setting-specific than G.I. JOE, Transformers, and even My Little Pony. And since my earliest experience with a meme was a “You Know You Were An 80s Kid” chain letter sent by e-mail that had the line “You remember when Power Rangers was called Voltron,” I’ve had a Voltron character earmarked for an Essential Build for a while.

Unfortunately, I’ve already used my top two Pidge Role picks for other builds: Blue Ranger and Technician. Do I repeat a Role? Do I look at the Scientist from Transformers? Obviously building a different Voltron pilot is out of the question! It’s Pidge’s birthday week, and this is my gift to him.

In addition to his brain, Pidge is incredibly agile, performing impressive feats of acrobatics to accomplish mundane tasks. He also seems to be able to communicate with the super intelligent mice in Princess Allura’s castle. I’ll make sure to represent these traits in the build.

Role

Technician (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

There are a few reasons I opted to reuse Technician over building Pidge as a Scientist:

Thematically, Technician fits Pidge’s brand of Smarts better;
The Scientist theme will definitely come in handy in the future;
Technician’s second best Essence Score progression is Speed (on-brand for Pidge) whereas for Scientist it’s Strength (not on brand for Pidge).

Even though this is Technician’s second appearance in the blog, it’s a flexible enough Role that I foresee Pidge playing completely different from Super Dinosaur. Unlike the first time it showed up, where our Primary Tech was Armor, this time we’re going with Gear. If we were building Legendary Defender Pidge, we’d probably go with Drone.

Gear may seem like the most bland Primary Tech option, but it’s also the most versatile. Technicians can use their Primary Tech to make Technology Skill Tests at the range of the tech. In the case of Gear, that’s the range of the HTB Access Pad, which allows for communication across kilometers of distance. Pidge needs to be in contact with someone to use that range, but it means he can help his fellow pilots with any technological problem they’re having.

Setting and Faction

Power Rangers – It’s Morphin Time (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

The last time I used the Power Rangers setting for a build, in order to give my Sailor Scout a transformation sequence, she was stuck with a mech. Now, in order to get Pidge his mech, we’re stuck with a transformation sequence. Which, honestly, mostly works.

The pilots on Voltron did have a transformation sequence. It just involved ziplines and subterranean jet rides. And this just got them in uniform and to their lions, it didn’t power them up like Sailor Scouts and Power Rangers.

That said, the benefits of It’s Morphin Time still work for Pidge. We don’t know the defensive properties of the Voltron Force uniforms, but given their metallic sheen and slick texture (especially when compared to what the pilots wear in their downtime), it’s safe to say they’re comparable to a Morphin shell.

Where this build really benefits from It’s Morphin Time is here: “All of your Jump distance maximums are tripled.” In case you haven’t seen Voltron: Defender of the Universe in a while, Pidge jumps. He jumps high, he jumps far, and he jumps often.

In fact, I could find way more examples of Pidge jumping than I could Pidge being tech savvy. Like, I remember him being the smartest and most technical pilot, and every sequel series emphasizes this as his function on the team. However, based only on what we see Pidge do on the series, I was tempted to build him as a Finesse martial artist.

Origin

Stargazer (Power Rangers Roleplaying Across The Stars)

What better Origin is there for a member of a superforce of space explorers? I could have just as easily used Brainy from the Power Rangers CRB, but I don’t often get to use Across The Stars options. It’s a thematic book, and that theme fits this build.

I like the Origin Benefit as well. ↑1 when attempting to discover something. It’s nice and broad and fits Pidge without locking us into a specific Skill or Specialization.

Influences

1st Morale Booster (Transformers Roleplaying Game The Enigma of Combination)

2nd Greenshirt (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Nimble (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Picking Pidge’s Influences was tougher than usual. I went through Spy’s master list of player options several times before settling on these three. As I mentioned, we know Pidge as the brains of the group without actually seeing it in action that much, making anything about Smarts beyond the Technician Role overkill. Likewise, investing our Origin into Pidge’s history as a space explorer covered that enough. So we needed options that covered everything else Pidge was known for.

Although Pidge is just as likely to complain or throw a sarcastic comment his teammate’s way, I liked how Morale Booster reflected how he handled the panicked crowds in Surrender. He may have let his own emotions get the better of him while trying to calm a child separated from her mother, but in the end his plan hinged on rebuilding that girl’s confidence enough to stand in for him so he could sneak off and operate the Green Lion.

Greenshirt got shortlisted when I was having trouble finding Influences, and it was entirely because Pidge wears green. However, even after I found other suitable Influences, I liked how Greenshirt granting both an Edge and an Upshift when Lending Assistance reflected Pidge’s helpful nature, and how the Hang-Up preventing others from Lending Assistance to Pidge represented his Napoleon complex.

Finally, after looking through the Power Rangers, G.I. JOE, and Transformers Influences, I remembered my own advice that My Little Pony is a great Influence resource. Sure enough, Nimble lets Pidge roll an Acrobatics Skill Test once per day to negate an attack. This perfectly captures Pidge’s best action sequence, in which he dodges a squad of Drule robots’ firepower to take them down one at a time. The Hang-Up, which I wrote, prevents him from Lending Assistance on Speed-Based Skill Tests. This was inspired by my experience with the Yoga enthusiasts in my life who tend to forget that most people are far less flexible.

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 7

Normally I try to avoid a skyrocketing Speed score, but, again, Pidge won’t stop flipping. I gave him 3 Ranks in Acrobatics and 2 each in Driving and Targeting, and I could have given him more!

Smarts 5

If I found more examples of Pidge living up to his reputation as the smart one, this would probably have been higher. As it is, I gave him 3 Ranks in Technology and 2 Ranks in Science.

Social 3

Pidge has a knack with animals, not just the space mice, so I gave him 2 Ranks in Animal Handling. I threw in 1 Rank in Persuasion because Pidge has some great moments of diplomacy, but mostly gets temperamental when asked to speak to others.

Strength 1

Strength was destined to be Pidge’s dump stat. I gave him 1 Rank in Might, because he does throw the odd punch. Most of his fighting style would sooner fall under Finesse, but I can’t spread his Speed Skills any thinner.

Conclusion

I think this is a fine build. Power Rangers getting Pidge a Zord does most of the build’s heavy lifting. I would have gone into greater detail if I knew the custom Zord rules better. I will say I’d use the Sabretooth Tiger Dinozord as the basis for a Green Lion.

Beyond that, as an acrobatic technician with a way with animals, I think Pidge is an unusual blend of Skills that come together surprisingly easily.

Resources

Transformers Roleplaying Game The Enigma of Combination

Know Direction 301: Dr. Emily Friedman on Actual Play

Ryan Costello — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 09:00:13 +0000

Esther and Navaar chat with Dr. Emily Friedman, an Associate Professor of English at Auburn University, writer for Polygon, and senior scholars in the field of creating things outside of mass commercial capitalism. That includes Actual Play podcasts.

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

KD301 In Writing

Ryan Costello — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 08:59:11 +0000

Welcome and Introductions

[00:00:20] Esther: Hello and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther.

[00:00:27] Navaar: And I’m Navaar.

[00:00:29] Esther: And today we are so excited to talk to someone that I pitched to Navaar being on the show, being like our mutual friend from the tabletop space, would just be such a fabulous guest to have on and share all of her thoughts and wisdom and knowledge with our listeners.

I am so excited to welcome Dr. Emily Friedman to the show. Em, please introduce yourself and tell our listeners a little about who you are and what you do.

[00:01:00] Em: Hi! Uh, yay! So happy to be here. I’m Dr. Emily Friedman. I’m an Associate Professor of English at Auburn University, which means I have tenure and I do what I want.

And for a long time, that meant researching, in my home field of 18th Century Studies, folks who were creating things outside of like mass commercial capitalism. And when the archives all, you know, closed down in 2020, I found myself studying more and more the world of tabletop roleplaying games, and more specifically Actual Play.

And as of the time of this recording, I am one of the senior scholars among a great host of us who are trying to understand the now two or three decades of this really interesting art form online. And I write for Polygon, when I want to boost that kind of awareness of that field. And I now keep a review blog ,starting this year, on my own website ecfriedman.com, where I do a little bit more of a deeper dive into what works and what doesn’t in Actual Play.

Em’s TTRPG Origin Story

[00:02:16] Esther: Amazing. We always start off by asking our guests — usually it’s what’s your Pathfinder origin story, but I don’t actually know if you’ve played Pathfinder! So I’ll make it “what is your tabletop RPG origin story?”

[00:02:31] Em: Yeah, so, um, I started in the late-ish 1990s when I was in high school, and my — and because of where we are in the 1990s, and because I was in Texas, that was dominated by two things: the World of Darkness, uh, which then had kind of a real market dominance, and Steve Jackson games. Which most people will know best for the Generic Universal Roleplaying System, or GURPS, which basically took all kinds of, like, minor IPs and turned them into games you could play.

What I knew it for was it was the company that brought the French roleplaying game In Nomine into English version. And so I was at a Catholic high school, having been at public schools prior to that, faring very awkward. And when we couldn’t convince people to play Vampire as intensely as we wanted to, my nerdy friends and I were able to convince people to play this game of angels and demons and the humans in between.

And then, as I’ve talked about with Navaar before, in college the tabletop space was dominated at my college by what we might now call kind of eugenicists or borderline white supremacists. And so it was not the thing you wanted to do! Um, so, you know, a capella and other things took over.

And came back to the hobby, god help me for this podcast, during the resurgence of 5th edition. Because around here I have a long time good friend who is, we call Forever DM, because he has indeed been running, uh, the game since almost the earliest editions. So yeah, not a whole lot of Pathfinder experience aside from making characters on Demiplane, which has been like a super fun thing that one does, right? We always make more characters and then we end up playing, right?

Approaching Pathfinder As A Newbie

[00:04:35] Navaar: So true. So what’s the, of the ones that you’ve made on Demiplane, do you have one that you’re like, if I get to play, this is the first one I want to do?

[00:04:43] Em: You know, what’s been really interesting with me about kind of trying to grok Pathfinder by way of character creation has been kind of playing around with the kinds of translations of classes as we might think of it, and like how much more kind of granular configuration is in those kinds of ways.

And so what’s really struck me is I’m usually like, a utility caster, and that freedom looks like too many choices — um, uh, at least as a kind of newbie. And so I find myself going back to, you know, what does one do when one’s starting a system? One figures out the, like, thing that feels the, the simplest.

And I think that’s still the search for me is like, which, which option is the thing that… I mean, I’m curious to kind of turn it back to you. Like, what would you recommend for someone who’s getting started in Pathfinder? Who’s familiar with the kind of, you know, architecture of, of gameplay, but what kinds of classes and ancestries and backgrounds are like, do you think are the most kind of user friendly if I was, like, telling my students or myself?

[00:05:58] Navaar: It’s so hard because I was literally, we were having a conversation the other day, I think, about how, like, complicated the Fighter is.

[00:06:05] Em: Mm.

[00:06:06] Navaar: Um, and not like — maybe complicated is the wrong word,. But like, the options that you have to absolutely customize that Fighter is very, very deep. And it’s not as straightforward as, like, do I use a sword and shield, or do I use two swords, or do I use a big sword?

Those are options, but it’s very much like the, the trees, the branches go deep. So I honestly think that… here’s what I would say: for anybody that’s new, because I’ve introduced quite a few people to the system, what speaks to you as a fun character idea? And then let’s just build that. Because the reality is it looks scarier than it is — because there’s so many options, true.

But once you have your options and you’re playing, then it starts to feel good. And then you can start to think about like, “Oh, this would be really cool if I could combine this next thing next,” and you follow that sort of feat tree. And then you get general feats and that changes how your character feels in the world at large, in your ancestry feats and those things.

So it’s like, I wouldn’t just put somebody down that road. I think anytime you’re going with spellcaster, the hardest part is always like, I have to learn all these spells and what they mean and how to like manage that part of it. Yeah, I think you could have fun regardless.

I’ve talked a lot about, like, my Sorcerer, who is a multi-class Wizard. And, like, I have a familiar, and I’m a divine Sorcerer. And it’s all this like, really fun stuff that like, I could just do, because of all the things that are already there, so. Yeah, I think, I think you just gotta do it.

[00:07:43] Em: You just gotta dive in and…

[00:07:45] Navaar: You just gotta dive in, yeah, whatever sounds cool.

Like, if you wanna make a support caster, then do it and just jump in. And, yeah. I’m sure Esther and I both would be happy to run a game for you or teach you how, so.

[00:07:57] Em: Oh! Yay!

[00:07:58] Esther: Absolutely. Absolutely. We would love that. And it’s so funny, Navaar had this beautiful and like, welcoming answer, and I went to like a very specific place, which is: I would tell you to play a Ranger.

[00:08:12] Em: Bold!

[00:08:12] Esther: And I love the Pathfinder Ranger.

[00:08:16] Navaar: The Ranger’s great.

[00:08:17] Esther: I think it’s a fantastic class that’s also fairly easy to get a handle on in a way that I did not expect when I played a Ranger. And it has options if you want to add in spellcasting and not multiclass. You can just choose that like, tree for the ranger and it’s a great way to get a feel for combat and for spellcasting in that way. So I was like, play a Ranger! But, yeah you might — it might just be a matter of like figuring out what you’d ideally like to do and then diving in and having a friend to call on for all the different ways you could do it.

On D&D Market Saturation

[00:08:54] Em: Yeah, it’s so interesting. I mean, I talk to my students a lot. I mean some of them are very experienced with TTRPGs — and famously, like I’ll never forget the student who in an opening survey was like, “I have played UNO.” Right? Like, that’s the kind of other end of the scale. And talking about the friction. And the friction is more likely to happen with people who have experience with D&D, as opposed to total newbies. Because total newbies are pretty malleable, and don’t have preconceived notions about how things are supposed to go, which is really fascinating. Especially as– not that this is going to be a dog on, on D&D, uh, sort of evening — but one of the things that we were looking at this term was Wizards of the Coast has put out these like, “D&D in the classroom,” “D&D for after school activities” sorts of handouts.

And I have to say, just from a design perspective, they’re not great. They’re hard to print out, they’re in full color, they’re a mess. And they don’t simplify the game. But what they do do, of course, is promote an idea that D&D is the first game. And so to add that friction that makes it so that other d20 games, other games of fantasy, anything that is proximate to it has now the learning hump of, “Well, but I know how to play D&D, and doesn’t that do everything I need it to do?”

Which is really fascinating. I mean, you would think kind of — or at least I thought– “Yeah, once you’ve got one system down, additional systems make sense!” But only in as far as that they are categorically distinct enough to not to get tangled up in the weeds.

Which is why I think when I do think about classes in Pathfinder, like, it’s almost always classes that don’t have a nomenclature that is one to one with D&D.

So, you know, I bopped off of Wizard, but was like, “Okay, so tell me about this Oracle situation. Tell me about this, like, you know, Psychic stuff. Like, what’s going on here?” Because it’s like, this is where I’m not, I know I’m not gonna get tangled up in my brain. Which I think is, yeah, a friction point that I don’t think we talk enough about.

[00:11:22] Navaar: Yeah, that’s true. I mean, my nephew got into TTRPGs through school, but it’s D&D Club specifically is what it’s called. So it’s like, that’s what they’re playing. That’s not TTRPG Club, where they’re like, let’s learn a bunch of different games. It’s very specifically, whoever is running it decided “This is going to be D&D Club.”

[00:11:41] Em: They want to be Kleenex!

[00:11:41] Navaar: Which is like… yeah, for sure!

And in that way, it’s like, “Well, I’m glad that you’re playing TTRPGs. Let me show you the Mwangi Expanse, because I think it’s very important for you, young Black man, to read this book.” And it’s true. I think it’s… the marketing is there and that makes a difference.

[00:12:02] Em: Well, and so interesting.

So I got a– I had an interview a couple of weeks ago that I don’t know if it’s… like, I don’t know if the piece is going to come out. I don’t know if I’m going to be part of it. It was like a whole bunch of people got interviewed about D&D in the classroom, and at the end of the interview,the journalist was like, “This is not how I expected this to go.” Because what I did — and I, I warned him ahead of time!

Like, “Look, I love D&D. I think D&D is great. I play it on a regular basis, but it’s not in my classroom, by design and with the, with the consent of my students. Here’s all of the games that I teach. Here’s the games that I introduced to my, you know, eight year old nephew and his little sister who is five.”

You know, here’s the world beyond, right? And the same kind of critiques that I just talked about in terms of the D&D in the classroom handouts. And so this was a surprise to the journalist because everyone else who had been put in touch with him to talk about this subject feels beholden to D&D as the making and the establishing of their career. Like, their brands are tied. Like, so many people in the space. And it’s uncompletely understandable, right? D&D — like, the number of Twitch streams that use Dungeons and Dragons as a label even if they’re not playing D&D, because It is a Kleenex type term, right?

At Polygon, I can guarantee you Critical Role or Dimension 20 — or not Dimension 20. Critical Role or Dungeons and Dragons will end up in either the title or either the headline or the, like, lead-in to any piece in order to — you know, if I could do Baldur’s Gate, I guess that would probably also function, in a similar kind of way.

But yeah, I mean, because that’s what’s gonna, you know, the algorithm privileges those. Which is irritating, right? Like if I wrote, if I started writing about Pathfinder, it would be like, you know, “D&D rival does blah, blah, blah,” right?

[00:14:04] Navaar: I was literally thinking that in my brain. I was like, yeah, I could see this exactly going this way.

[00:14:08] Em: Yeah, you can imagine the headline! And, you know, for something like Polygon, you do it because you know, hopefully some people do click through and go, “Oh, well, here’s this whole other world.” But on a kind of just looking at search engine results, it kind of reinforces the cycle.

And this is true also, I should note, in scholarship. Scholarship assumes, you know, a d20 system in many cases. And often it does assume, you know, specifically Dungeons and Dragons. And that’s less… that’s ebbing. But we are here in the year of the 50th quote unquote anniversary according to John Peterson, and thus we fall in line.

And so it is in people’s…

In the same way that like I’m watching with increasing horror as many of my colleagues who are digital humanists find it useful for their careers and for their ability to communicate with the public like, to add AI as a word to their talk. And God knows that I would probably end up having to do that if I was active in that particular part of the field, which only just kind of, you know, replicates the idea that quote unquote artificial intelligence — which, friends, is artificial indeed, but is actually extremely human based and it is not intelligent at all!– but is that AI is something that we all have to pay attention to? Which I don’t think we actually do. But that is a rant for a different day. But yeah, so it’s it’s frustrating the ways in which, you know, there was a piece in Vox the other day about how we all have to be brands.

[00:15:40] Em: And we all have to kind of think about our self-presentation in that kind of way, unless we’re Tracy Chapman, in which case our body of work stands for ourselves and we can rock onto the Grammys whenever we want, moisturized and unbothered.

But for the rest of us normal mortals, who are trying to build readerships and communicate effectively, we’re bound to these algorithms we don’t understand, and we have these kinds of, you know, terminology creeps and all kinds of things that really are, a bugbear. Or, are there bugbears in Pathfinder? Um, haha. uh, insert, uh, I think that’s actually a legally not distinct, uh —

[00:16:19] Navaar: I don’t know! There’s hobgoblins…

[00:16:20] Em: — bad guy. I don’t think that’s IP that belongs to anyone. I think that’s, that’s open. But yeah, so it’s — this is the thing we all juggle as we try to do different kinds of work.

Replicating the Success of Big Name Actual Plays

[00:16:31] Navaar: Yeah. I do want to go back just real quick to the Ranger thing, because I was thinking about this and my first NPC I ever made was a Ranger. And he was, I think, at Level 3. And I made him so that he, uh, had another feat that gave him an extra Ranger feat, which allowed him to not only be good at shooting — using two swords — but also have a familiar, which then made me have the options of, how do I use this in combat?

So I’m just saying, yes, Rangers are great. I don’t know how, like, simple it is when you, like, break it down. But I think, like, again, these options are incredible. But yeah, to kind of go back to more of the current conversation, you’ve brought up a lot of things that I think we’re very interested in.

And typically, you of course study all this stuff with games in general, but Actual Play is the other big thing. Esther recently on the show asked me if I wanted to have a big Pathfinder podcast.

And all I could think about as I was answering the question was you! And so — because, because I, I just think about like conversations that you and I have had, both like recorded and unrecorded about just like, what is the world of big Actual pPay?

How possible is it for somebody to just like, pick up and do the Critical Role thing? Which, I know that there’s a whole lot of nuance to that. You know, but like how easy is it for somebody to come in and go World-Beyond-Numbers-style, we’re just going to become the 5th, 3rd, 4th, whatever biggest podcast in the world when it comes to this specific hobby?

And I just don’t know how possible that is unless it’s, you know, a Brennan, an Aabria, and a Lou and a Erika, like making another podcast. But anyway! So to kind of just like load that gun, APs, education, combining those two things.

[00:18:28] Em: I mean, so, the first thing I try to communicate to folks — and you’ve, I think you’ve heard me say this before, probably not to you, because I think you know this better than, than most — but certainly like, I feel like a non-trivial part of my time at Big Bad Con was like delivering this kind of news in person. Which is, you know, first of all, Critical Role in the year of our whatever 2023 can’t do what Critical Role did in 2015. Like full stop.

To the extent that we are able to understand their workflow, which is to say almost not at all, because it is is not in their interest to be transparent in the ways, for example, Dimension 20 is. It’s not part of their understanding of their brand. And Critical Role is more likely than most, as the biggest player in the scene, to be criticized for breathing.

I’m shocked — today, the Critical Role Foundation was praised on socials by Shanti Bhavan, Ajit George’s kind of school, for a visit from much of the cast of Critical Role. I’m surprised that hasn’t turned ugly in some unforeseeable way up till now, and it might still. So this is all to say we don’t — I don’t have any insider knowledge on to how Critical Role works, any more than anybody else. But what we do know is that it, whatever its workflow is, it can still be disrupted by illness.

There was a recent sick day where basically they had to have an entirely improvised livestream of Baldur’s Gate character creation rather than air what would have already been pre-recorded material. So we know that there’s at least points in their production cycle where it’s too close to air, where things can fall apart.

It is not quite the well-oiled machine of a bunch of people recording in a basement that hallmarks Dimension 20. Which is all to say that Critical Role’s figuring out what sustainable means for them, in relationship to their stuff. Dimension 20 seems to have a reasonably decent workflow, so does Worlds Beyond Number.

They, like many shows now, do batch recording. Which, when you have a large enough production going that talent is not doing the same labor that production is — you have full-time production to keep stuff kind of chugging out — talent meets in a concentrated amount of time to do the raw recording and then can go off and do the other kinds of things.

And that seems to function.

That said, there’s — none of the big shows started without some kind of supportive capital, be it personal capital, be it the backing of something like Geek and Sundry or Dropout or Beyond. Even on the podcast side, that tends to be true; if not at the very beginning, the initial podcast production almost becomes like a pilot before a network picks it up. That’s the story, right, behind Three Black Halflings. That’s the story, behind actually most Headgum podcasts, except for their most recent one, which is the next subject of a salty review by me coming behind a walled garden to my site sometime this month.

But yeah, so when I think about Actual Play, there’s a couple of things that I think about. One is that there is a non-zero number of people who believe that no one should be paid for any aspect of tabletop roleplaying including Actual Play. So there are people who believe, very sincerely, that they should not be paid.

And this is not audience-upon-creator. These are creators who believe very strongly that they do not want the constraints of capital on their work. And there are more constraints from capital than there were in the 2010s. One of the things that was fascinating to me originally about this form was the ways in which it is able to elude a lot of the pressures of big media.

But there’s now, especially with the Ambitious Middle or even some of the bigger shows — not all. I think Dimension 20 and Critical Role are able to keep their own sense of their artistic vision for better, worse, and neutral. But, you know, if your show is basically sponsored by Chaosium, like say, The Bookstores and now the Graveyards of Arkham, that’s ceding some creative control in terms of what the final product is.

One of the things that my current research student, who I think you both got to meet at Big Bad Con, Carson Barnes, and I are working on is a new survey. A new year, a new survey! And a survey specifically asking folks about these kinds of, like, commercial and authorship terms.

Like, do you see yourself as the owner of intellectual property? Do you see yourself as contributing to work for hire? All those kinds of questions. Because we are in a changing moment in relationship to how people think about these things. And some people have very — like I think about, Hamnah’s relationship to their work in terms of what Gudiya was supposed to do.

Gudiya was not supposed to make a gajillion dollars for that team. It was supposed to be a work of art that communicated something. And hopefully, like, if it could break even through grants or through some other kind of you know, mild monetization, hey, great. Like, and it’s sponsored by Roll and all those sorts of things.

But it’s not trying to be their full-time job in the way that other projects are. And so I think there’s a scale of, where does this fit in your creative life? And what’s striking to me is if you’re talking about the people who are closest to the like, the dream — your Matt Mercer’s, your Brennan Lee Mulligan’s — this was not the plan.

And this is not the current lived reality, right? This is not their full-time job. It is one job among many. It happens to be — it may be, in some cases, the most lucrative part of their work. But it may not be. It may be the loss leader. It may be the thing that, you know, gives them exposure in a weird kind of way.

But then you see this tier of, you know, what I’ve been calling the Ambitious Middle all over the place, of folks who believe that it’s possible to get to what in the history of TTRPGs has never been possible, which — or has rarely been possible — which is the making of either Actual Play or tabletop roleplaying games your full-time job.

Very few people have managed to do it,. And you’ve got people like Meguey Baker saying, “It’s not worth trying. Get a day job, you know, that allows your brain to explore and have this on the side as the thing that fills your cup so that you both have health insurance and, and the kind of, you know, room of one’s own that allows you to do the work.”

Now, I don’t have good answers. I’m just a dum-dum in the ivory tower. But I do see this kind of constellation of different attitudes towards making this stuff, and some of them seem more tethered to an understanding of the possibilities and the history of this, of this space, and others that seem less moored in… objective reality. Precedent! Let’s put it — I mean, precedent’s really hard, right? And when you have the, like, greatest storytellers, or the biggest storytellers in the space, not telling the full story of the circumstances of their own production, you have a real challenge when, you know, folks coming in think, “Well, I want to be the next Critical Role.”

And while they say, you know, we hope other people will surpass us — and I think Matt is sincere when he says that’s his goal — it’s not going to be in the same way. And it’s not going to look the same. Technology is changing. All these kinds of things are changing all the time. We don’t know what it looks like next, and we don’t know what the pathway is. But anybody who’s trying to replicate past success is in big trouble if what they want is that outcome.

This has been your sermon of the evening from the Reverend Doc. No, I am not the Revered Dr. Friedman. Um, but, this is.

[00:27:22] Navaar: It doesn’t take much, just go online, I’ve done it, I’m a reverend!

[00:27:27] Em: Yeah, I haven’t had to marry anybody! But no, it’s very interesting. This is a conversation that happened the other day.

This is academic hiring season at the time of this recording. It’s also academic graduation and acceptance period for, for graduate school. And so you have a lot of people who are, whose hearts are hurting. And hurt people say things on the internet, and my job is to let that go or take the lesson from it.

And one of them is, you know, the person who gets the academic job or gets into graduate school and is like, “There’s for all the people who didn’t believe in me!” It’s like, I wonder how many of the people this person spoke to, I wonder how many of them truly did not believe in this person and their ability to do the thing that they’ve done. And how many of them were looking at the like, strewn broken bodies of all the people who had tried, and wanted either this person to be aware of those risks in the same way that we tell, like, actors, right, you’re, you’re going to have a day job, and it’s going to be grunt work and, you know, auditioning is going to be your actual job, you know? All those kinds of things.

But yeah, how do we as mentors say the thing I just said, which is like, “This is hard, it’s not gonna look — success is not gonna look the way it has in the past. The world’s on fire.” And not have it kind of get filtered through to the recipient of the communication as, “You don’t believe in me. You want me to fail. You think I can’t do it for whatever reason.” Which is not the case at all. It’s more, look, this system? None of us know the answer to how to navigate it. This is, this is the current thing that keeps me up at night, for sure.

On Critical Reading, Source Materials, and Actual Play

[00:29:10] Esther: I have a question that I think is related in some ways and may may feel like a bit of a tangent in others, and it requires a bit of setup. So on the show, we frequently review Pathfinder products, either technical manuals or their more like worldbuilding guides in the Lost Omens line.

And one of the things that has been really striking to me is approaching these works critically and thinking critically about them, and how it feels like that’s still relatively rare in this field. And so I’m curious as a scholar of narrative, to ask you, like, why does it matter to approach source books critically? And why does it matter to approach Actual Play and that kind of narrative and storytelling more critically and more analytically?

[00:30:04] Em: On one level, it doesn’t, right? Is the very short answer. And this is something that I think about a lot. In some ways, for some things, criticism is not something that the object can bear, right? If you are putting out a Actual Play that is a product placement, and that is its goal, then maybe it’s too much to critique the choices made. Because that’s irrelevant to the goal. The creators will not appreciate it and the people consuming it won’t find it useful. And I think that’s also true with printed material, right? And this is the constant, like, debate. I mean, Evan Torner knows this much better than I do.

And this is really big in LARP as well. Like that’s the current kerfuffle going on in Nordic LARP, is like what does it mean to review a LARP, given that no one person has a 360 view of what it was, let alone what it fits in like the larger history of LARP? And there was a piece that Evan just shared with me that came out that was entitled, “This LARP is Terrible and You Should Know,” which was basically, like, promoting, like, yes, criticism is one kind of thing, but so is reviewing in terms of the like, Yelp review? Like, LARPs need Yelp reviews, uh, in ways that they don’t have. I digress slightly.

But this kind of, what is criticism specifically for? Is something that’s very much on my mind. And why am I not doing hardcore criticism in Polygon, where I’m sure I could get clicks? And Charlie would probably let me at least try? Versus what I’m doing, which is building it behind a kind of subscriber, free, walled garden for people I think of as people of goodwill, who either are curious about the form and its history or who are trying to make the form and are artistically ambitious. Not just ambitious in terms of “I want to be famous,” or “I want this thing to do well,” but “I want to do this thing well.” Present company included, right? And so in that sense, what criticism does — and obviously I’ve devoted my entire life to the notion that literary criticism does this — is make it so that we understand and have a vocabulary for what this individual thing is, what it was trying to do, according to the terms of its own construction, and how well or not it achieves it.

And so it’s irrelevant what — although it can sometimes come what the critic thinks of it or whether they like it — what’s important is: is it fulfilling the, the contract that it wants to be? The example I’ve been trotting out recently is, I’m very glad that The Real Housewives and D&D exists.

I don’t need it. I mean, it’s fine. I think it’s done well for what it is. I don’t, it’s not my particular, you know, form of “this is the Actual Play I need to be listening to.” But it fulfills a particular niche, right? And it reaches a new audience. Somebody, you know, people who are big Real Housewives nerds, welcome! It’s D&D. Have a fantasy version.

It’s clever and it, and then we can think about, okay, so how’s the sound design? And, you know, what’s the pacing like? And how does it, you know, and, and — what we don’t yet have and what this experiment on my site is trying to do is figure out, okay, so what are those like… when we talk about pacing, what are we looking for?

Do we have an agreement on, you know, how quickly we should be getting into story in an actual play? And of course, that’s very dependent on, video versus audio, all edited versus not. And of course, part of what we have to do is take things in their particular kind of format and not compare apples to oranges to pears. And so this is the kind of work that I’m trying to do.

And in terms of supplements, I think it gets stickier. Because with TTRPGs — as opposed to the art objects that come out of them, which are Actual Plays — we are in a very different kind of reviewing space. One, almost all reviewers don’t play… don’t playtest the material that they write about. A notable exception is Quinten Smith’s new Quinn’s Quest, which has a explicit — although it’s behind a Patreon paywall, but I’m just gonna share here — an explicit goal of convincing people to play literally anything other than Dungeons Dragons. And Quinn’s has spent the last two years playtesting games with his home game group.

He is committed to, there will be no review that he does that won’t have been him running the game. That’s rare. And it’s really important as part of reviewing because then you know actually how it played. Now, at the same time, we almost always futz and tinker, right? No game supplement, no game adventure, no game materials survive contact with actual flesh and blood human beings.

And this is that we’ve long known in game studies is, you know, that that’s the difficult variable. It’s like, how much is the supplement, the campaign guide, the adventure, whatever, giving you to work with? And how much are you bringing to it? And there is not a good answer to that part, honestly.

But I do think that the, the move towards encouraging people to play before they speak is really useful. And so what I’m hoping is that Quinn’s will do for tabletop roleplaying game reviews what he did for the last over a decade for board game reviews. So it’s not just him, but now there’s an entire style of board game reviewers, which means they can cover more ground and review more games because there’s more people playing and thinking about them in those kinds of ways.

So if we turn the discourse away from one person’s, like, just churning out hot takes about everything, but instead saying look, Quinn’s new channel –at the time of this recording, it’s been less than a week since he announced this channel.

It already has almost 30,000 subscribers, almost 100, 000 views on the first, that first review. That’s better than many other media outlets and tabletop that have a lot more content and have been going around for a lot, a lot longer. And this is a guy who sells out board games. I do this reviewing work because of the inspiration of Quinten Smith.

I came into this space because of Shut Up and Sit Down. And so I am looking to what he’s doing to, as kind of what I’m hoping will be the model going forward. But yeah, it’s really hard. Especially when it’s not the full game system, but you’re talking about you know, trying to unpack what an individual supplement is doing, for sure.

[00:37:34] Navaar: Yeah. You touch on something about the promise. So, a lot of people know this — I guess the people that talk to me — my game design mentor is Quinn Murphy. And he has a blog, and he talked about recently, about what can make a quality game that’s like, measurable. And promise is one of the things. Does it, like, deliver on the promise?

Consistency. Are multiple people having a, a consistent kind of game? It’s not gonna be the same game, of course, but are we having a consistent experience of how we understand? And economy. You should read it. It’s called Imagination is for Everyone.”

Yeah. But all that said, I think it’s one of those things where… I think about this a lot as a person who recently like, designed and had a game published, and a person who recently produced and released an Actual Play.

[00:38:23] Em: And it sounds very lovely, by the way, Navaar.

[00:38:25] Navaar: Thank you. Thank you. And I want people to listen to and tell me all their thoughts about the Actual Play. And I’m very excited for that. And I also want people to play the game, but I’m more reticent about what that review of the game looks like.

In the reviews that I’ve seen, there’s always this, it seems to be that there’s oftentimes a part of the people that they just can’t get out of themselves that goes into the review, that has nothing or very little to do with what actually you did. I do think that game design is artistic, it’s an art form. But I also think that there’s like, it’s a technical skill as well.

[00:39:02] Em: Mm hmm.

[00:39:03] Navaar: Is the game functional, right? Yes, you have your themes and your creative ideas, but is the game functional? And a lot of times that’s the, the core of the review is, is this game functional?

Like, yeah, this is cool. This is really cool ideas over here–

[00:39:15] Em: Right.

[00:39:15] Navaar: –but this game doesn’t play…

[00:39:16] Em: That’s the stuff that it’s easy to identify without playing it.

[00:39:20] Navaar: Right.

[00:39:21] Em: And I think what’s, what’s interesting is, you know I think about Candela, ’cause Candela kind of ate my brain as a critic, ’cause it kept coming up in conversation. Because I had to like, mainline that quick start guide alongside the Actual Play.

And having run that opening adventure and having watched the Candela Actual Plays, none of which follow the game as-written, including the one run by Spencer — Spencer Stark and his two friends all each ran a three-episode chapter of Candela and not a damn one of them– I think Aabria arguably got the closest in terms of like, the one of the hallmarks of, of Candela is a five-to- seven-minute functional cinematic that the storyteller, the GM, reads out. It is a narrativized version of what the players of the Candela circle have been told as kind of the info dump about the phenomenon.

But it is a very weird like, the camera is moving and seeing things that, quite honestly, it would be impossible, but it’s somehow an eyewitness account. Fascinating, uh, strategy. Matt Mercer turns it into a roleplaying opportunity with one of the characters, so it becomes personal and becomes the kind of origin point for one of the characters. And Spencer just functionally all but throws it out because he starts in medias res and then like, starts over again with yet another adventure. Which is all to say that one of the things that’s really interesting to me about, you know, that consistency of experience rate is which parts are consistent.

‘Cause if, you know, this incredibly, what seems to be an important part of the structure of Candela, its designers even kind of eschew — or, you know, kind of warp to their purposes — it’s a good reminder. And I also think about the ways in which, you know, For The Queen is foundational to my tabletop class and the number of ways I’ve seen that game, you know, not deliver a consistent experience to players! And that’s part of one of the, you know, charms of that game.

To tie it to Actual Play– and not to do an on-air critique of your Actual Play when you weren’t expecting it — but one of the things I will say that listening to your episode reminded me of — but it wasn’t the only show that reminded me of this by a country mile! But it reminded me that depending on the rule system, rules can become much less legible to an audience, especially if they’re not already familiar with them, unless you’re really pedagogically like front-loading them. And that goes kind of double in an edited audio format. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s, it’s just a thing, right? It’s just a reality of the form is that, you know, people ask me like, why is D&D dominant?

And like, one, it’s Kleenex. And two, if you are playing D&D, then you have the advantage of adding, in addition to the reality TV show layer and the improvised story layer, sportsball. Right? Like, you now have stats you can track, you can imagine alternate moves in addition to alternate character choices, and, you know, all of those sorts of things.

And other systems can have the element of chance! And I think it’s very important for Actual Play to have the very visible or audible element of chance so that the audience can understand the ways it could have gone differently, and also so that we have the kind of liberatory narrative possibility of it not following the traditional genre scripts in interesting kinds of ways.

Other people disagree with me. Travis from Dark Dice is twitching somewhere. But yeah, so I think that’s one of the things that is quite striking to me. We don’t have — as like scholars who have debated this for decades, and I’m coming late to the conversation where scholars and designers and folks have been having this fight about, you know, what is a game? You know, what makes a good game? You know, how do you know? How do you evaluate? All of those sorts of things. Which only matter in a time of scarcity, right? Either of time, of money, of resources, in those kinds of ways–

[00:44:08] Navaar: yeah.

[00:44:08] Em: –I think.

Intentionality and Actual Play

[00:44:10] Navaar: It’s interesting, because I know what you’re talking about. And that was an intentional thing, right? Like, I think we’ve — you talked about this before, about the way that Actual Plays can be these different things. Like some people think, still, that Actual Play is only recording the game that you played, right? That is like, for playtesting purposes or whatever. And then we have like, I saw somebody put out on Twitter what they want to see more in Actual Plays, what people want to see more. And everybody’s like, “Please, like, give me all the roles and, like, all the things.

[00:44:38] Em: Do you? Do you really… all of them?

[00:44:41] Navaar: Not everybody thinks that’s interesting or listenable. And I made a choice to say that I’m not going to teach you how to play this game. If you find it interesting and you want to play the game, I think that’s amazing. And I will help you, if you’re not a weirdo. And by that I mean, like, actually being a creepy person.

[00:44:58] Em: Sure, sure.

[00:44:59] Navaar: Um, but, I think that the design of it is that it’s for entertainment. I know specifically that that is like a subset of, of the Actual Play. And I think it’s… we talked about this in our last recording.

I don’t know if it’s going to be the last episode based on when these things release, but in our last recording that Esther and I did, we talked about intentionality and Actual Play and like ,what that looks like. So I know what you mean. I’m sure there’s going to be people who are like, “I don’t understand how to play your game, though.” And I’m like, “That’s great! I get that, but did you have fun listening to it? ‘Cause that’s what you’re here for at this moment. It’s just the story this time. If you want to play the game, then I think that’s wonderful.”

So I know that I… yeah, it’s one of those things. Like I think it’s a, it’s an interesting gamble. But I think like, to kind of tie it into the conversation in that same way, if we were to say like, “Cool, somebody make a like, big time TTRPG celebrity Pathfinder Actual Play,” I think they’d have to play and demonstrate rules or else it just, it’s gonna lose its quote unquote Pathfinder polish, I guess.

Like yes, you’re using that subset. But like, it’s… to have it be like the thing that drives people to like, go buy Pathfinder books, it’s going to have to be like a Pathfinder game. And you just can’t ignore that, I don’t… I don’t think, personally.

[00:46:19] Em: Yeah, I mean, I have not, for many different reasons, good, bad, and petty, spent a lot of time analyzing the Glass Cannon, which of course is the–

[00:46:32] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:46:33] Em: –the, you know, the big dog in the space. But yeah, I, I’m curious as to… you know, it is an edit — it is a pretty tightly edited podcast, when it’s a podcast.

[00:46:48] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:46:49] Em: But…

[00:46:49] Navaar: I’ll say this as a person who listened to the entire first season, which was Pathfinder First Edition.

[00:46:56] Em: Yes.

[00:46:57] Navaar: They play a lot of like, there’s a lot of rules. I think the only times that they edited out stuff was like when it was like a 40-minute like full-on rules fight between the GM and the players of being like, “You got this wrong.”

And then they were just like, you’d get like the beginning of that and then you get the end of that with the result and, and things would move forward. But there was a lot of like, you’d still hear the dice. You’d still, you know, get like all of their, you know, the results and all those other things. I haven’t listened to them recently, for the petty and, and the bad. But I will say like, I think that I did check out like 20 minutes of the introduction and the editing seemed the same. And I was like, okay.

[00:47:35] Em: Well, and I think — and they’re an unusual case in the sense that they’re nominally independent, but they do have a licensing agreement with Paizo. And I do know, right, they’re using, like… it’s weird, right? They have the ability to use, like, Adventure Paths and things like that from Paizo. They also, as I understand it, have a whole bunch of like, weird homebrew and stuff.

But yeah, it’s… it’s…

[00:48:02] Navaar: Yeah. It’s like, it’s one of those things like you can’t talk about the history of Actual Play with and exclude Glass Cannon because in terms of like, coming from not having financial backing to like, being independent as a company, they’re one of the few.

[00:48:18] Em: They are one of the few. Although they’re comparatively… I won’t say late, but like, they’re not firsties, right?

Like, if you’re talking about an Actual Play that has a, has a licensing agreement with a publisher and is quite large, then you’re talking about Penny Arcade’s relationship with Wizards of the Coast for Acquisitions Incorporated. If you’re talking about a podcast network that is built on Actual Play primarily, then I think you’re probably talking about Glass Cannon.

There are a couple of others that can make those kinds of claims. Yeah, I mean, and this is the kind of not-joys of Actual Play history, is how many of the firsties, or near firsties, or people who will send me angry emails when I don’t mention them but would not like it if I did, are kind of…

I mean, so we’ve been dancing around the petty. But like, let’s, the, the two frames of Glass Cannon’s critique are of course, this time last year — or not last year.

Uh, no, it wasn’t the OGL. It was the, during the Screen Actors Guild Strike and the Writers Guild Strike in the summer. The Glass Cannon, who could have kept their mouths shut because they are not covered by SAG as most Actual Plays are not, chose instead, to have one of their cast owners go on the record to say that they were glad that they were not unionized.

Now, it should be noted that there are other creators in the space who I admire a great deal, who believe very strongly, right, unionization is the next best thing to owning something yourself, right? You could absolutely frame such a comment as collective worker ownership — for example, the way that Maximum Fun has moved to a worker-owned collective — you know, is the highest ideal.

That is — that was not the, that was not the terms under which this was being discussed. Uh, it’s also worth noting that the Glass Cannon is not a worker-owned collective. They have employees. So no, they actually — even if they had gone that route, then it would have been like, so when are you going to have a worker-owned collective?

I digress. The other sticking point is that Glass Cannon shows so far have not moved the needle on their casting practices in any meaningful way. Which is to say that you can pretty much, for any of the shows that they produce, anticipate that there will be one person of color, one female identified person, and then the rest will be cisgender white men.

And that’s a choice. It’s a choice that seems to be working for them. It is antithetical to my choice for Polygon coverage. You either have to be so large and so impactful — for example, Natural 6 got coverage because they’re a bunch of video game folks. Uh, I think there is room to critique if they blow up. The fact that they have chosen to follow the Critical Role playbook in this The Year of Our Lord 2023 -24 while intentionally remaining a group of all-white friends… and that’s not something that really flies anymore in the space.

But they’re… it’s a big enough project that at least gets some lip service. Also, if you get grandfathered in, right? Your Critical Roles and things of that ilk. And it’s worth noting that most of the things that would be officially grandfathered in under that kind of policy of “we would like to do more representative coverage,” are in turn trying in different kinds of ways to have more representative casts.

And we could go on all day about how Critical Role’s very notion of cast ownership makes it difficult for them to have new full-time cast members, because then they’re not owners and then you have a two-tiered system and that seems weird. So they — Critical Role in this, as in many things, has themselves in a dilly of a pickle.

This is a long way of saying: Glass Cannon? Kind of annoying in their choices. And it’s a bummer that they’re the most visible Pathfinder… not just show, but right? It’s like this whole extended universe of material. And that’s the thing that’s also wild to me about where we are is, in terms of Actual Play, is it’s very hard for there to be criticism in a form where people don’t watch their own work, let alone that of others.

Because we are talking about the production of, for especially things that are very large, a kind of constant stream of material. So that you basically overwhelm your audience so that they live in your ecosystem forever, because that is the way to retain valuable viewer engagement in all kinds of ways. Which is antithetical to thinking about any one thing as a, you know, as a work of intentional art. Some people do manage it, but not, not all.

[00:53:31] Esther: I’m like, I don’t know if they listen to the show, but hello, Glass Cannon people! If you listen to the show, um…

[00:53:37] Em: Yeah. Call in. Call, calling in. Call in.

[00:53:41] Esther: We invite you…

[00:53:44] Em: You could do better.

[00:53:46] Esther: We invite you to do better.

[00:53:48] Em: Yeah. You tour all over! Imagine what houses you could book if you looked different.

[00:53:54] Navaar: Yeah. It’s, it’s an interesting thing.

[00:53:56] Em: And what’s frustrating is like people who, uh, whose work I very much admire are in the Glass Cannon kind of extended universe.

[00:54:04] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:54:04] Em: That’s the other kind of difficult thing is like, you can’t blame anybody for taking a gig.

[00:54:08] Navaar: Yeah. For getting paid.

[00:54:12] Em: Yeah. ‘Cause paying gigs are — well, one hopes they’re being paid, and being paid sufficiently. I have no knowledge one way or the other. I do sometimes hear about pay rates and things like that, but I have, I do not have any particular knowledge there.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Actual Play

[00:54:29] Navaar: It’s a whole thing. It’s a whole thing, Glass Cannon Podcast. I mean, it’s one of those things, I think that we all have that like… I talk a lot about this, especially with like, my friends, other friends who are, are people of color, of like, we all have that show that we started out with that was an all-white show.

A lot of people, it’s Critical Role. Some people it’s NADDPod. Some people it’s Adventure Zone. Some people it’s Glass Cannon. But I think like one of the things that we can do, even if there is like not that mega show, right? I think… I think Actual Play is important, hands down. And I think that like finding other shows to listen to that, that need your listen and your view more than a show that has, you know, 60, 000 concurrent viewers or whatever the hell…

If you care about this as a art form and as entertainment, like it’s important for us to help feed into it as well when we can. And even if you can’t catch a stream by catching VODs, listening to podcasts, like rating and supporting shows, telling people that you enjoy their work, those kinds of things like seem — not like insignificant, but they actually matter a lot to people who are working their asses off to make something with the hope that somebody will listen to it and enjoy it. So…

[00:55:43] Em: Yeah, I mean, I think that the tricky part, right, is that we are still talking about entertainment. Right? And so one of the challenges, and this is, you know, kind of the ouroboros of — this is the, you know, snake eating its own tail kind of challenge — is that we also see in the kind of… there was a recent piece on the video game industry, right?

If you have a woman-led, or even a woman on the lead team — to say nothing of people of color in the leadership team — you’re far less likely to get venture capital money. And so we’re talking about the combination of inherited wealth, generational wealth, in terms of some members, uh, you know, of different collectives on top of the kinds of looks-like-me kinds of support funding structures. And so the kinds of high quality, like, and time-intensive kind of production choices are more accessible to certain positionalities. And I think — I appreciate that in some cases that’s changing. Like DesiQuest is a good example of this, right? Because if you look at who’s who’s on the backstage of that?

It’s Michael Schabach, who’s been directing Dimension20 since the beginning. It’s Ash Minnick, who’s basically a project manager on a whole bunch of different kind of shows and, and production coordinator, and different kinds of roles. And so, I think one of the, the things that I think about that I don’t have a good answer to is, because we don’t have a kind of pipeline or avenues for getting those kinds of resources to smaller shows, more representative shows — especially because the big publishers, for one, are either cheap as hell — Wizards– or not as big as you’d think they are, everybody else, including Paizo.

Advertising budgets don’t necessarily stretch to the kinds of productions that are at the forefront. It’s more possible in audio to create something through sheer just throwing hours at it than on the video side, which is why it’s always– which is why it’s wild to me when folks do livestreaming video, like the, as their primary focus. It’s like, I mean, go with God, but like, that is a very different kinds of, um set of expectations and all kinds of things.

And I know that there are a non- insignificant number of kind of journalists and media writers and things like that who, if it’s not Critical Role, if you’re an unedited video-first, streaming Actual Play, you’re not – first of all, they’re not watching Critical Role, they’re checking on recaps and things like that, just like everybody else.

But, more importantly, that’s just not the place that’s getting media attention. Podcasts? Much more likely. Edited material? Much more likely. Edited video is the most resource- intensive of all of those options. Live video is no joke! And I don’t want to downplay the amount of labor, but it’s definitely far less labor.

And so it’s hard to know like, as somebody who’s like, bringing people into the medium and trying to point people in places where I know like, that their imagination’s gonna get caught and run with…

Part of it is, if you want to build a small audience and find your people, then that’s a very different lift than, “I want this to be financially sustainable,” especially depending on the different production asks.

And so I think about that a lot. Because I believe very strongly that every encounter with an Actual Play and an audience member becomes a certain kind of love story, right? I also know that a small, passionate, devoted audience base can be enough for certain kinds of things. And we have a long history in like, the history of the world– I do not normally go since the dawn of time, but the vast majority of human history and art is not about millions of people watching or reading or seeing your stuff.

I study the 18th-century novel. I can pull out of a database the number of copies of say, Jane Austen, published in her lifetime. We are talking about thousands. Not tens of thousands, not hundreds of thousands, not millions.

Now, granted… now, absolutely. And she was impactful on the basis of thousands of copies. Now, that’s also because of power and literacy rates and who’s reading. But so much of the history of art is about something that’s made for a small group, and some of them become of interest to people in power, and power imagined in different kinds of ways.

But if all of us are chasing millions, then we’re gonna water down what we do to nothing. And if we expect that something that is — to use the old term from the 90s, “for us, by us” — is going to be uptaken by the masses in a kind of charitable giving situation, I don’t think that’s going to happen. And so then what do we do with that?

And I… for some reason when I’m thinking about kind of DesiQuest, is one of their visual ways of splitting the difference. Which is, that table unapologetically uses Bengali terms and other terms, um, from the Indian subcontinent. And then there’s a lower third that’s like, if your honky ass doesn’t know what this is, then here, have the quick explainer. We’re not gonna stop and explain for you. We’ve delegated to post-production because we can — as a kind of having it both ways. And then they’re also using like — I really found it really fascinating when I saw their TikToks. Their TikToks are all tagged Indian Comedy, not Indian Actual Play. But like, they’re trying to pull in that broader audience. So not the subset of folks who are identified as South Asian already in the TTRPG space, but instead falling beyond. And I think… that’s one of the things that I think a lot about, is: how do we pull in the larger part of our communities, that aren’t aware of TTRPGs, into this space? Because then you’ve got something approaching critical mass or, you know, the Thousand Loyal Fans concept or something along those lines.

And Actual Play, then, has to change. And it has to change, I think, in interesting ways for different audiences, right? If you were designing an Actual Play for Black Twitter, for the old livetweeting kind of vibe of Black Twitter at its height, you would make different kinds of stylistic choices than, say, if you were thinking structurally about what does it mean to make a kind of, you know, telenovela, sort of Actual Play. And I think people are trying to do that. I’m seeing it all the time.

I think that we are so married to so many of the structures that we’ve inherited from the early days, in terms of what the screen should look like or how things should sound or that sort of thing, that the kind of experimentation that could kind of be truly transformative is not happening.

So like the other day on Twitter, I asked: are you trying to reach a new audience beyond TTRPGs with your show? If so, what are you trying to do? And almost everybody was like, “we explain the rules.” And I’m like, okay, so that means somebody that, that means somebody who doesn’t know TTRPGs will understand what you’re doing once they’re there, but they’re still coming in because they’re presumably — unless you’re tricking them in some kind of way, in which case I want to know how you’re tricking them,

[01:04:30] Navaar: [laughs] Yeah.

[01:04:31] Em: You know, and they’re — I get into fights that are not fights with Brian and, Elliot from My First Dungeon, because sometimes they’ll label something in such a way so that it’s not quite Actual Play so that they can get the audio drama audiences in.

[01:04:47] Navaar: Yeah.

Innovation and Actual Play

[01:04:47] Em: And I think, you know, in the same way that — and this is 18th-century novel kid speaking again — in the same way that the 18th-century novel originally came out of a whole bunch of other storytelling forms, and in fact was such a duplicate of those forms, that the books all sat on the same shelves and you couldn’t tell which were like, the true criminal histories and which were like the fake ones based on a true story.

You know, Robinson Crusoe, based on a real guy’s story? Total novel. Also really weird novel about like, accounting. And so it’s travel literature, it’s criminal biographies, it’s personal memoirs, it’s secret books of letters, right? And so the novel comes and becomes its own thing first by like, imitating all of these other forms.

And we saw that in the beginning of Actual Play through the kind of Let’s Play format. It’s literally looking like play style, or the kind of audio drama-adjacent kinds of moves. But I think there’s other things that we can do. I personally, like — Encounter Party was not made for me. But Encounter Party is doing this, right?

It’s edited by a production team that has most of its experience in reality television shows. The pitch is, what if D&D was edited like Masterchef? It’s finding an audience!

[01:06:14] Navaar: Yeah.

[01:06:15] Em: I mean, and it’s squirreled away on the D&D Fast channel. You kinda have to go looking for it.

But I think there’s ways in which we can push the form further. What do shows that don’t already have you know, a bunch of money rolling in — what do they have to lose to experiment? To try something out for a couple of episodes and see, what if we try telling this in a different kind of way?

You know, what if we take the things that we love not just for thematic grist for the mill, but for structural grist for the mill in terms of storytelling? And what if we unapologetically made something that’s for whatever communities we feel like we’re not just representing, but talking to?

What if you didn’t care what my white lady ass thought? I would eat that up with a spoon. Not that anybody cares about that, but like, I think that’s where the new stuff will come in. ‘Cause like, I get so many pitches in my inbox of people telling me like, “We’re all friends!” Like, congratulations, you like your coworkers. The bar is on the floor for that.

Or I get, you know, “We’re playing a new system.” Like, okay, but are you playing a new system in an interesting way? And also it’s not a new system! Whatever system you’ve mentioned to me has been — or you know, “We’re rotating the cast.” And I’m like, you mean like Rotating Heroes did and does?

If you start from the assumption that everything under the sun has been done and that that’s not going to make you interesting, and if you start from the idea that we are in a beautiful time of not a predominance of — aside from the old guard. Like, new shows coming in, generally speaking, can say with authority that they are either BIPOC- concentrated-representative. And this is an overwhelmingly queer form, so like, congratulations, your cast is queer. Again, bar on floor. But, the cast —

[01:08:18] Navaar: It’s one of those, it’s like, it’s like — it’s like bad audio. Like, we don’t care unless, unless you make it apparent that you didn’t have any people of color and you didn’t have any people that are queer in your show. Then we care. We expect it to be the normal thing.

[01:08:29] Em: Exactly. And so, so none of those things are bad. They’re insufficient to get eyes on in a time when there are thousands of these things. And that’s really tricky.

As I’ve, as we’ve been talking about, you know, I’m not trying to discourage anybody from making something interesting. Because the next person who comes in the space may be the person who, you know, makes the gripping telenovela both in style and in content of Passione de los Pasioneros that we’ve all been dreaming of.

But at the same time, we’ve overlooked because our timeframe of reference is so short. and I mean: people don’t remember two years ago. And so we think that shows build audiences overnight. And aside from Worlds Beyond Number, they don’t. And Worlds Beyond Number, in turn, isn’t an overnight success. It had been in development for well over a year, and those cast owners had been doing this work, and their producer had been doing this work for years prior to that. And prior to even Dimension 20, Brennan Lee Mulligan has been Dungeon Mastering since he was a child.

He has devoted his life to roleplaying games in one form or another. That’s a lot.

[01:09:52] Navaar: And have an audience already built in when Dimension 20 arrived!

[01:09:56] Em: Yeah. ‘Cause Wayfinder, the summer camp that he worked at — works at, is still is affiliated with! There’s going to be a book — I’m not going to write it, but somebody’s going to write this book one day — about the Wayfinder experience and the way it’s been such a cradle for TTRPG.

Because it’s where Jay Dragon of Yazeba’s and Possum Creek more broadly is, you know, kind of, you know, earning their stripes and all kinds of things. But yeah, I mean, roots grow deep in the dark. And I think that it’s a combination of some people who, this is the current hotness for building a kind of visible portfolio of streaming content. Which is valid, understandable, not gonna critique it. But again, not gonna critique it. ‘Cause it is beyond the scope of kind of what we’re talking about when we’re talking about this as an art form. And so you’ve got a fair amount of that.

But also you do have people who have genuine ambitions, and they don’t know that either rocket fuel was added through money you can’t see or the work was happening for many years in one form or another prior to what seems like the overnight success.

And I think we’re like, we’re used to that in everything else, generally speaking. But, you know, that the Grammy Best New Artist has been a working songwriter in L. A. for decades, but somehow it just, with Actual Play, there’s the sense, there’s always the sense — and it’s also the fault of the media. The Rolling Stone has much to justify for –it discovered actual play this year, having previously written about Actual Play multiple times.

But yeah, so it’s one of the reasons why I keep saying like, this has a history and we need to, to talk about it and write about it. And that it’s two decades old at minimum, not counting the stuff that was happening offline before that. To note that we’ve seen a lot of technological changes, all this kind of stuff, and we’ll see more.

But it’s hard when the folk — we’re talking about a form that is dominated by people my age, and I am 42. And we’ve got aspirants in the space who are literally half our age. And that’s tricky, right? Because you kind of have… this is completely different worlds, completely different understandings of everything. And neither is wrong or bad, but it’s literally different worlds.

Financial Realities of Career Actual Play

[01:12:31] Navaar: It’s fascinating to think about. I have quite a few friends that are like, in their early twenties who are just like, this is their thing that they’re going after. And here I am at 35, like… “I enjoy doing this!” Yeah.

[01:12:44] Em: I think about — Brooke Aaron Duffy wrote a book, which was based on research from like a decade ago, so 2015 to 2018. The book’s called Not Getting Paid to Do What You Love. And it’s a book on mostly Instagram fashion influencers, and then bloggers cause that was when blogs were big. And one of the things that Duffy argues and has argued in their subsequent research, which is still about kind of influencer and content creator culture is: the choices that we’re describing these Gen Z folks making are completely logical in the illogics of late-stage capitalism, right?

If you know that like, if every pathway that allows you to have a creative life is kind of screwed over, why not try? You might as well try while you hold down, you know, whatever job you can get. You know, it’s a rational act, even though it seems — it’s easy to criticize going all in on Actual Play or content creation or something like that as an irrational act. I mean, it’s no less irrational than going to grad school.

[01:13:50] Navaar: Yeah, literally.

[01:13:52] Em: It’s just, it’s just differently socially constructed.

[01:13:55] Navaar: Yeah.

[01:13:56] Esther: I have a couple thoughts.

[01:13:57] Em: Yay!

[01:13:58] Esther: To, to bring it back to Pathfinder. Well, the first one is — like, I think it plugs back into Pathfinder ultimately.

But my first one is, listeners of the show may know that my professional life recently has been in religion and being a clergyperson. And before that I did several things, one of which was run a tiny nonprofit that I had to fundraise for. And many of my, the people I’ve learned a lot from, have talked about this problem of funding in the the space of activism, nonprofits, organizing. And one of my idols in the space, Mariame Kaba, talks a lot on social media about how nobody wants to talk about where the money comes from. And, when I was in grad school, when I was in seminary, we had a guest speaker at one of our symposia. And she has been in the work of organizing for social justice from a religious place for many years, and was asked the question, you know, how is this sustainable? How do we do this long-term? And I will never forget her answer, which was very practical and was like, “I’m going to be real with you. A lot of this work gets sustained through wealthy partners of people who want to do this work.” And it stuck with me because of the realness, because that’s the place through sheer luck I have landed in life, married to a wonderful person whose earning potential is a sickening number of times greater than my own based on our interests.

And I think that I see a lot of parallels with the AP space in just the questions about who has the money, where does the money flow, and how, currently, is this sustainable, and how do we imagine it being sustainable in different ways?

The other thing I wanted to say is in response to this beautiful musing on the potential of AP as art and, and doing creative things, bringing new ideas and new ways of making this art into the space– one of the critiques I have for Pathfinder APs, including my own, is that I think there isn’t as much of that as I would like to see.

Now, An Unwavering Force is doing amazing things. I like to think Chromythica is doing some cool stuff, but I look at what we have done, and I think, “Oh, there could be even more room to experiment, to do these things that will draw in new audiences!”

And there are a lot of Pathfinder APs out there that are a lot of white guys. I say that with love to the white guys, the white queers, but there’s a lot of us in the space. And my question to, to all of us, both making and consuming APs, is how can we be opening that and expanding that and not just making more room at a table, but looking to the tables that already exist that are trying to make this art and saying, what can we do to support them and to bring this more to the center, more to folks attention?

So yeah, that, that’s where it took me, just wondering about the future of Pathfinder-specific APs and how they can, how we can construct more experimental art.

[01:17:23] Em: Yeah, it’s interesting to think about. Choosing targets for support, I think, is, is really, really interesting, precisely because the first thing that flashed through my head as you were talking, right, is like, the differences in the recent crowdfunding campaigns for Actual Plays.

So famously, Wizards of the Coast stops funding Rivals of Waterdeep, famously an all-BIPOC production that had been running a good long time. And its crowdfund does not succeed, and so the show is not able to finish on its own terms. And now, of course, it’s being run on the D&D TV channel, which meant Wizards actually had to go back and pay because they had to pay for TV- acceptable captions. Fun fact!

And then I think about– one of the things I noticed about the Acquisitions Incorporated TV series crowdfund, which is that something like around a dozen people donated a thousand dollars or more. Their highest tiers were multiple thousands of dollars, which meant that they had an audience. And that’s not surprising, right, given the particular demographics.

It’s an older Actual Play, it’s an Actual Play that’s been fronted — that was originally a bunch of white dudes, not anymore, but has been for, quite some time — that they would have folks with that kind of disposable income to throw around in ways that, you know, other Actual Plays don’t.

You know, we joke about the same five dollars going around to everybody. And that’s definitely one of the challenges once we start talking about art made for smaller segments of a population, and historically less cash rich, either by virtue of the kinds of work that they take or by virtue of their age or by virtue of historical patterns of injustice or things like that.

And that’s a real sticking point. And so either you get the kind of platforming that facilitates that, and so we can think about that part of Worlds Beyond Number is an, is a majority — aside from Brennan and their backstage labor, Taylor Moore — that is a, you know, a BIPOC cast and a queer cast. And they’re able to come to prominence in no small part because of the kind of platforming of, you have seen Aabria on everything. You have seen Erika on everything. Erika is also a video game voice, but like, let’s be honest, it’s Actual Play that makes Erika Ishii visible in these kinds of ways. And Lou Wilson’s, late-night TV show fans are not the ones who are, who are investing in Worlds Beyond Number.

And so there is a certain amount of that kind of boosting that’s coming from the bigger shows. DesiQuest obviously has a symbiotic relationship by virtue of Jasmine Bhullar’s relationship with both Dimension20 and even more strongly Penny Arcade and Acquisitions Incorporated.

But that’s a scenario where, of course you’re always talking about it as power flowing from these big shows and not a grassroots kind of effort. And then it continues the built-in assumption that I think is insidious, which is the kowtowing to the imagined power of something like Critical Role, Penny Arcade, or Dimension 20. I don’t know that there’s a whole lot more of that kind of boosting that is possible. I mean, for example, it seems clear that Luis Carrazzo, Christian Navarro, and Anjali Bhimani, who have all appeared many times on Critical Role, are doing something.

They’re talking about it without talking about it on social media all over the place. It seems very likely that they are trying to launch an Actual Play a lá Worlds Beyond Number. They have previously all appeared on a Shadowrun Actual Play miniseries that did not go well. One, Shadowrun, very hard. Two, production was iffy. It was not what it should have been. So it’s going to be interesting, right? To see, again, this is an all — another kind of majority-minority project by those people you saw on Critical Role, none of whom, interestingly, are known for being Dungeon Masters. I mean, not to say that Luis isn’t capable of doing so, but it’ll be very interesting to see how that literally plays.

And I think that’s going to be the next test, right? Is like, was Worlds Beyond Number a fluke? Can that success be replicated? If so, then it becomes — oh god, then Critical Role is potentially like this kind of incubator, which is what they want to be, right? Like, speaking as a 42-year-old, I can very much sympathize with the like, “I’m tired. I don’t want to do this necessarily forever in quite the way that I do it” kind of notion of being at that particular life stage. And so if we’ve got that kind of second proof of concept then, it becomes all the more incumbent for places like Critical Role to platform more people of color, and not the same ones over and over again.

I mean, I don’t know. I’m curious about that. because the alternative is you do grassroots, but you’ve got to build it to a bigger scale, and that’s really tricky. And yeah, I have a lot of curiosities about how this is all gonna, as we say, play out.

[01:23:12] Navaar: As listeners of my interview with Em on Secret Nerd Podcast know, we could go on forever. But we probably should not do that for the sake of podcasting. However, as always, an absolute pleasure.

[01:23:27] Em: Yes.

[01:23:27] Navaar: Incredible to have you on.

[01:23:28] Em: Yay!

[01:23:29] Navaar: Incredible to get your thoughts. I told you recently that I love getting your thoughts on this stuff and that still stands true. Unless Esther has another question?

Concluding

[01:23:35] Esther: I was going to say, we always ask folks: where can we find you online? What are you working on right now?

[01:23:41] Em: Sure! So I, for over half my life, I have owned my little corner of the internet at www.ecfriedman — that’s fried man — .com. That’s actually where you really wanna go these days, because that is where I’m keeping a blog.

You can sign up, even with a burner email if you so choose, and get access. Each month I’m gonna be reviewing an Actual Play from some part of the wild history of the form, thinking about not just the kind of “would you want to watch or listen to this,” but also thinking about where it fits in the history, potential frictions, things like that. So the first one I did, very weirdly, was When Shut Up and Sit Down, best known for board game reviews, tried their hand at Actual Play when Actual Play was just getting started in 2014. Uh, it didn’t go well, but I found myself thinking about the ways in which it did and didn’t go well, and why they chose a different path.

This month, in the spirit of love and Valentine’s Day, I’m gonna rip apart an Actual Play that made me so angry I’m forcing myself to listen to more of it, and then I swear I’m gonna be more measured from there on out. But yeah, so this is me experimenting with different ways of what we’re doing, what we’ve been talking about tonight, which is talking and taking seriously Actual Plays.

And I’ve already gotten one unhinged, message from somebody in Twitter DMs, both asking for coverage, but not to be reviewed on my blog. Yeah. So my new favorite litmus test is, if you don’t want me to reviewing you on your blog, that tells me something about how you think about your work.

I digress. You can find me on the thing that I still call Twitter, because we deadname corporations, @ friede, that’s F R I E D E. You can also find me with that same handle on Bluesky. And you can find me on YouTube vlogging about teaching games and other nerdy stuff as CriticalProf, which is also my handle on Instagram.

[01:25:43] Esther: Amazing.

[01:25:45] Navaar: You can find me on social media at N A V A A R S N P, like Secret Nerd Podcast. You can find the podcast wherever you pod, um, and you can find the Secret Nerd Podcast on Twitter @SecretNRDSocial. Check out the podcast right now, because I took a year off, even though I said brief hiatus for a long time, and came back swinging. So, we have an excellent discussion about audio editing in Actual Play.

[01:26:09] Em: It’s so good, guys. I made my students listen.

[01:26:13] Navaar: Thank you. And we immediately kicked off an Actual Play after that, that I spend 20 to 25 hours an episode editing. So, if you love horror and survival and you’re a fan of The Last of Us, uh, you should listen to it.

I won’t explain how to play the game.

[01:26:32] Em: You explain the dice a little!

[01:26:33] Navaar: But you can still enjoy the entertainment! A little bit, but yeah. Anyway, yeah, it’s very much a narrative story about three survivors, technically. So check it out. That’s all for me.

[01:26:46] Esther: Amazing. Um, Emily, thank you again so much for coming on the show.

It has been a delight. I have learned so much as always.

You can find me everywhere online @dungeonminister. And more importantly, you can find Know Direction online @KnowDirection, primarily on Bluesky, YouTube, and Mastodon, and at our Discord server, which you are welcome to join and chat with us about Pathfinder and many other TTRPG and life things.

[01:27:17] Em: And we will play, maybe we will play, Pathfinder at Big Bad Con this fall.

[01:27:23] Navaar: Yes!

[01:27:25] Esther: Absolutely.

[01:27:26] Em: Yay!

[01:27:28] Esther: I would really love that.

Game Design Unboxed 86: Gartenbau

Ryan Costello — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 09:00:51 +0000

In episode 86 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with David Abelson about his Mensa award winning game Gartenbau published by 25th Century Games. Initially the game started as a color theory tile placement game but grew into a three-layer tile stacking game of beautifully arranged flowers that gain prestige using a rondel drafting mechanism. Learn how this design grew in development!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

David Abelson – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Prep In Your Sleep With New Pathfinder R.E.M.Master

Ryan Costello — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:00:26 +0000

Have you ever dreamed of having more time to prepare for your Pathfinder sessions? The New Pathfinder R.E.M.Master makes that dream a reality! Literally.

Thanks to sophisticated subliminal radio wave technology*, listening to Pathfinder R.E.M.Master while you sleep fills your head with all the information you need to run the perfect Pathfinder session.

Tracks include:

System Mastery
Setting Tutorial
Descriptive Descriptions
Yes, And Like A Pro
101 NPC Voices
101 More NPC Voices, But Silly This Time
How Magic Works In Pathfinder
How Magic Works In Real Life
Glossary of “No, that was 1e/pre-Remaster/never in Pathfinder” Terms
Oh, What The Heck, 101 More NPC Voices

Listen to the track you need the most help with on repeat or play Pathfinder R.E.M.Master from beginning to end to learn GMing Pathfinder like Keanu Reeves learned kung fu.

*Paizo promises to never use this technology for evil, or, through inaction, allow evil to be done with it. Pathfinder R.E.M.Master is purely a tool to make you a better GM through good vibes. Afterall, you can’t spell Game Master without ASMR.

Upshift 031: Decepticon Directive Breakdown

Ryan Costello — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 09:00:36 +0000

Ryan shares his thoughts and Jason shares his experiences as the developer working on Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Now You Know – March 18th to 29th

Ryan Costello — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 08:58:42 +0000

Here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of March 18th to 22nd

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, March 18th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 128 – It’s a Miracle

What kind of budget miracle are our Intrepid Heroes dealing with?

Tuesday, March 19th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 85: Mission to Planet Hexx

Danielle talks with Jim Fitzpatrick about his tile-laying space exploration game, Mission to Planet Hexx.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – Riding on a Pale Gundam
By Nate Wright

I don’t know if everyone calls using technology to raise the dead “mechromancy”, but my life is better now that Nate’s introduced me to the term.

Thursday, March 21st

Podcast

Digital Divination 105 – Anti-Heroes and Villains

THEM: “Hey man, you wanna join my RPG campaign full of western tropes where we play as outlaws?”
ME: “Nah, I’m good.”
THEM: “We’ll mix them into a sci-fi setting and play as anti-hero space cowboys.”
ME: “I’m in.”

Friday, February 23rd

Article

Essential Builds – Leonardo of Grayskull
By Ryan Costello

If Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a baby, this would be the Leonard/He-Man in an Essence20 game based on it.

Preview of March 25th to 29th

Monday, March 25th

Article

Now You Know – March 18th to 29th
By Ryan Costello

Wednesday, March 27th

Twitch

Know Direction Beyond 83 Live: Enhanced Envoy

Alex and James look at the Starfinder Enhanced version of the Envoy.

Thursday, March 28th

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob shares what he loves about the RPGs he’s been playing lately, and why you should check them out.

Friday, March 29th

Podcast

Upshift 031 – Decepticon Directive

Ryan and Jason look through one of the last Essence20 RPG sourcebooks Jason developed on, Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – Leonardo of Grayskull

Ryan Costello — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 09:00:51 +0000

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that mashes up popular culture characters with Essence20 rules. Sometimes, those popular culture characters have already been mashed up, leaving us with some kind of science-fantasy mutant.

No pithy opener this time, I need all my energy to inform anyone who doesn’t know that there’s a line of Masters of the Universe/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mash-up action figures, and it’s way better than it has any right to be. Instead of going with the obvious (and not bad) idea of just mashing up characters from the two franchises like the TMNT/Power Rangers line, Mattel crafted a story in which Krang travels to Eternia and teams up with Skeletor. The android belly-riding alien brain uses Dimension X technology to upgrade Skeletor’s underlings, and TCRI mutagen to turn Eternia’s greatest heroes into Skeletor’s newest minions. Meanwhile, when Man-At-Arms meets the dimension hoping Ninja Turtles, he gives them an Eternian tech upgrade.

This story is set up in a pack-in comic, and otherwise only told by extrapolating what’s happening from the toys. That’s exactly what I’ll be doing today as I turn the heroic Turtles of Grayskull leader into an Essence20 player character.

Who Is Turtles of Grayskull Leonardo?

Leonardo (the blue one with katanas, to anyone who didn’t grow up on one of the many TMNT comic series, shows, or movies of the last four decades) was appointed the leadership of his ninja brothers by their master and adopted father, Splinter. Together with Donatello (purple, bo staff, does machines), Michelangelo (orange, nunchucks, party dude) and Raphael (red, sais, either cool but rude or an absolute psychopath), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fight crime in New York City, and continue their father’s ancient feud with Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder, and the Foot Clan. Shredder works with scientist Baxter Stockman and alien genius Krang, both of whom supply the Foot with a variety of monsters and advanced technology.

In Turtles of Grayskull, the Ninja Turtles travel to Eternia, a fantasy land of ancient magic and advanced technology of its own, in which He-Man and his allies feud with Skeletor and his minions over control of the Power Sword and Castle Grayskull.

Here’s where I’m making an assumption for the sake of a fun build. We know He-Man has been mutated by Skeletor and Krang. We know Man-At-Arms equipped Donatello with his spare gear, and Raphael with Ram Man’s gear since Ram Man was also captured and mutated. Leonardo has He-Man’s gear. But unlike Man-At-Arms and maybe Ram Man, He-Man doesn’t get his power from technology. He gets it from magic. So, does that mean fabulous secret powers were revealed to Leo the day he held aloft his magic katana and said, “By the power of Grayskull! I have turtle power!”

For the sake of this build, we’re assuming yes.

Building Turtles of Grayskull Leonardo

Quick shout out to TheZMage on the Renegade Game Studios Discord server. He suggested I build a Ninja Turtle. Which one, he left up to me. Now, at the time, I knew the best options for a Ninja Turtle build were on their way in the now-announced Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2. So, I was saving this suggestion for that book’s release in August. However, it occurred to me that I could make a totally different build based on the Turtles of Grayskull turtles now, and save a more traditional ninja build for later. And since there are eight canonical turtles to pick from (counting Slash, the evil turtle, Tokka, the other evil turtle, Venus de Milo, the teal turtle from the live action Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, and Jennika the yellow turtle from IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic), I am spoiled for choices and free to take this one in a different direction.

That direction includes taking a Power Rangers Role. I believe this is only the third Power Rangers Role to show up in Essential Builds (four if you count the Upshift pilot in which I built Snake Eyes as a Green Ranger). That’s because the Power Rangers Roles tie more heavily into the setting than G.I. JOE and Transformers Roles. Even when we use the Field Guide to Action & Adventure rules to remove the Power Rangers Setting from a Role, it’s still built heavily around It’s Time, the setting neutral version of It’s Morphin Time. As a result, Power Rangers Roles are best suited for characters that have basic/upgraded versions. Such as He-Man. Or Leonardo, with He-Man’s powers.

Role

Red Ranger (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

We could have gone blue, but other than color coordination, the Blue Ranger Role suits Donatello much more than Leo. Instead, we’re going back to Leonardo’s roots and making him red.

After I decided that It’s Time was the best way to represent giving this build The Power of Grayskull, the rest fell into place. The Red Ranger is the Power Ranger leader Role. Follow Me might be my favourite mechanic in the Power Rangers CRB, letting allies choose to go 1d4 places later than us in Initiative order instead of rolling their own. Not only does that mean the leader can lend assistance to an ally who goes soon after them, but it also means the other PCs don’t need to invest in Initiative, freeing them up to be their best selves. On top of that, we get +1 to our Initiative result for every ally that follows us, meaning we don’t need an amazing Initiative, just a good one. I don’t usually go into this much detail explaining a rule, but I love how these mechanics fit their theme so tightly, without being complicated.

It’s also a great melee Role. With Power Strike boosting our melee damage at 1st level, Weapon Mastery increasing our accuracy at 2nd level, Extra Attack giving us an extra attack at 5th level, and Resilience improving our defenses at 7th level, Leo grows more combat capable at a steady pace.

Finally, there’s Team Focus at 9th level, which combines the Role’s two niches. We get a bonus for attacking the same target as an ally. Some of the best Ninja Turtle fight scenes have the turtles using their surprising nimbleness to trade enemies and gain the upper hand.

There is one Perk that doesn’t fit a typical Leo build. Let’s Bring’Em Together has the party combine weapons for a super attack. While this might line up with my Mary Sue fan fiction TMNT character, Scramble, who used ALL THE OTHER TURTLES WEAPONS BECAUSE HES THE BEST (!!!), it’s not something we’ve seen in typical Ninja Turtle fiction. But this isn’t typical Ninja Turtle Leo. This is Turtles of Grayskull Leonardo. Who says Eternian martial arts weapons can’t be combined? Heck, the toy’s swords combine together for added power, maybe the more weapons we add, the more powerful the attack.

Focus

Citystriker (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

This Vanguard Focus gives us a shield as personal gear. While that’s a bit unusual for Leonardo, again, Turtles of Grayskull is unusual! All of the Turtles of Grayskull have removable shells that can be wielded as shields. Now, that doesn’t make much sense, anatomically, but we don’t need it to. The turtles use their shells as shields all the time, without removing them. As long as we respect that the shield takes up one of our hands, we can flavor using our shield as turning around to deflect blows off our natural armor. That does mean Leo can’t dual wield katana, of course. Or does it?

At 3rd level, Shield Fighter lets us treat our shield as a close combat blade and a close combat bludgeon. So we can make multi-weapon attacks that deal sharp damage. We can even knock some noggins with the butt of our sword, or, again, our shell. The path to get there might be off, but the destination is the same. Besides, according to friend of the Network Jacob Backmon’s review, “Separated, the swords are kind of floppy in Leo’s hands. When combined, the power sword fits perfectly with no floppiness.”

Most of the Focus’ other Perks involve getting better with shields. However, a couple put the “city” in “Citystriker”. Urban Jungle at 3rd level and Urban Adaptation at 10th level give us Ranger benefits when in urban environments. Most of the Turtles’ adventures take place in New York City, the most urban an environment can get. Turtles of Grayskull may take them out of their home base, but Eternia has its share of cities. And Urban Adaptation shows that you can take the Turtle out of New York City, but you can’t take the New York City out of the Turtle.

Citystriker does leave us with a corner case that the Field Guide to Action & Adventure doesn’t directly address: We can spend uses of our Personal Shield to give our shield an Element trait.

Uses of Personal Shield are tied to the Vanguard Role, and not transfered over when we add a Focus to another Role. In cases like this, the best rule of thumb is to give us access as though we were half our level (round down, minimum 1), and only for this Perk. So at 3rd level, when this ability unlocks, we have a number of uses of Personal Shield equal to a 1st level Vanguard (2), with none of the usual benefits of the Personal Shield Role Perk.

Faction

Mega Monsters (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

Even though Leonardo has a designated mech, we need to swap away from the setting that gives him a Zord to the G.I. JOE setting in the name of the Citystriker Focus. And honestly, once Intercontinental Adventures releases, there are better Faction options to emphasize Leo being part of a ninja team. Instead, I went with a faction to highlight the M in TMNT. It’s just a shame Leo wasn’t part of the Mighty Mutanimals.

Mega Monsters requires two genetic Alterations to get in and gets us a Limited Alteration, which we’ll get to. Unfortunately, that means we need to wait until we gain a General Perk at 4th level to qualify. In the meantime, we can settle for Cobra, with the Martial Arts division. This feels like a lot of work for a faction I’m only taking for the theme, but I’d take a few of these alterations anyway, because mutant.

Origin

Test Subject (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

OK, technically the Ninja Turtles were an accident, not an experiment. When you’re transformed from the norm by nuclear goop, you get to split hairs.

We’ve used Test Subject before, for NFL Super Pro. Luckily, this Origin (and the Alteration rules) are flexible enough that we can also use it for a mutant. We’ll get into how later, when we discuss Alterations.

Influences

1st: Not From Around Here (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Martial Artist (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Precise (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I love it when I can’t decide which Influences get the Hang-Ups because they all fit.

The alienation theme of Not From Around Here might fit any Ninja Turtle build, but when they’re in an alien land, it applies even more. It got the honours of primary Influence only because its Hang-Up is most disruptive.

The last time I picked Martial Artist, I was shocked that I hadn’t picked it before. This time I was all set to say I wouldn’t need to use it so often anymore once Intercontinental Adventures adds more options that fit this theme, only to realize this is just the second time it’s shown up. What?

Finally, Precise. Always enjoy bringing MLP options into action/adventure builds. The flavour of Precise implies it’s for delicate crafts like sewing, but ninja are notoriously surgically precise.

Less precise, unfortunately, is the wording of the Perk. It was completely changed in the last edit pass, and that means the new version didn’t get any editing or development. The big question is whether it allows us to make a Finesse-based attack as a Move action. Because it’s limited to three times per day, and those uses can be spent to undo an aggressive Hang-Up that applies a Snag whenever we take damage (common in TMNT, but rare in MLP), I think it’s balanced. It definitely fits the advanced and versatile fighter reputation of a ninja, and I think the Snag specifically works as Leo being hard on himself when he messes up.

Essence Scores and Skills

Social 6

I tend to give my leaders high Persuasion, even though there’s nothing to suggest that it’s the leadership Skill. Well, other than Leadership being a suggested Specialization. I guess that absolutely suggests that Persuasion is the leadership Skill…

I split Leo’s Social Skills down the middle: +d6 Persuasion, +d6 Streetwise. Because Citystriker eventually lets us use Streetwise in place of Survival in an urban setting, Leo’s NYC roots let him read the land, which I like a lot.

Speed 6

I wrote all of the following before I realized I made a mistake: So, there’s some jumping through hoops here. I like Leo as a Finesse fighter. Often I default to Might as a build’s melee Skill, I like when I can break away from that. The problem is the Red Ranger gets two Ranks in Might by default. One of my Alterations deals with one of those Ranks at 1st level, but I’m stuck with the other for a while, possibly forever. Because of this, I only managed +d4 Finesse. Oh well, by 2nd level I can reroll 1s and 2s on my attacks (not just with power weapons, since we changed settings), which averages out to half my attacks until I increase my Finesse. Hits will still depend more on the d20 than my d4, but at least my d4 is on firm ground.

Wait! No, I forgot: Because Power Rangers Roles don’t grant a Focus, they provide 3 Skill Increases instead of 2! I trade one of them in for my Focus Essence Increase, so I only have one Rank in Might, which one of my Alterations turns into Finesse. So I do have d6 Finesse!

I also have d4 Initiative, because if I’m asking people to follow me, I need to be worthy of their trust. Finally, I gave us d2 Targeting, in case I need to toss a shuriken.

Strength 2, Smarts 2

I’m combining these since I have one Skill in each: d4 Athletics and d4 Culture. I like the idea that Leo doesn’t have Ranks in Alertness, because he prioritizes the world as Splinter describes it over the world right in front of him. Besides, when there’s something to see, he relies on Donnie.

General Perks and Other Options

We’re finally talking about Alterations!

We get a Standard Alteration at 1st level from our Origin. While I wanted to use it for Standard Skin Tempering to further emphasize Leo’s turtleness, I needed it for Elastification, which increases Speed by 1 but reduces my Strength by an equal amount. That solves the above Might/Finesse issue.

At 4th level, we use our General Perk on a Limited Alteration, and that means we can take Softshell as a Limited Skin Tempering Alteration. Increasing our Toughness delivers on my original idea for an Alteration that much better. It also means we can join the Mega Monsters if we want, gaining another Limited Alteration. Crawler gives us a Climb speed, which will help us strike hard and fade away into the night.

Our options are wide open for 8th level and beyond. We can get more mutations, improve our fighting prowess, or shore up our shortcomings. And if we want to tap into the turtle power of Grayskull, we can even take Grid Powers.

Conclusion

I’m fascinated by the Turtles of Grayskull. TMNT and MotU both place in the top 10 of brands that reflect my tastes, and yet neither cracks the top 5. Not only does crossing them over allow two settings I feel strongly about to interact, but the direction Mattel took this mash-up combines beautifully.

This build is about 50% how I would build standard Leonardo, and about 10% of how I would build He-Man. That last 40% is uniquely Turtles of Grayskull Leonardo. Not only did this take a mash-up in its own direction, I think it’s an effective battlefield leader build.

Resources

Essence20 Field Guide to Action & Adventure

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

Game Design Unboxed 85: Mission to Planet Hexx

Ryan Costello — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 21:00:21 +0000

In episode 85 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jim Fitzpatrick about his game Mission to Planet Hexx. Inspired by a love of SyFy he designed a hex tile game about exploring space with different abilities triggered by moving your ship around the tiles. He learned through playtesting how to create thematic ties between the flavor text and mechanics of the tiles as well as how to refine his design.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Jim Fitzpatrick – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Upshift 030: Renegade Con: 10th Anniversary Edition Reveals

Ryan Costello — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 02:07:57 +0000

Ryan and Jason go over the Essence20 products revealed at the most recent Renegade Con.

Reveals

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Beginner Box: Boot Camp
- A 32-page Playing the Game booklet
- A 26-page first adventure (Snake Pit)
- A 26-page second adventure (Operation Cold Iron Mission 1: Slithering About)
- 8 pre-generated characters
  - Steeler
  - Firewall
  - Bullet-Proof
  - Dusty
  - Taurus
  - Agent Helix
  - Sherlock
  - 8?
- A set of G.I. JOE dice
  - Might be the same, although the set blue in the image looks a little lighter.
- A GM Screen
  - 3-panel instead of 4
Transformers Roleplaying Game Beginner Box: Roll Out
- A 32-page Playing the Game booklet
- A 28-page first adventure (Troubled Waters)
- A 32-page second adventure (The Time Is Now Chapter 1: Roll Out)
- 8 pre-generated characters
  - Gauge
  - Smokescreen
  - Novastar
  - Hound
  - Anode
  - Springer
  - Aileron
  - Beachcomer
- A set of Transformers dice
  - Again, might be the same, might be different
- A GM Screen
  - 3-panel instead of 4
Quartermaster’s Guide to Gear Sourcebook
- 16 new weapons from G.I. JOE’s history, a new armor type, 40 upgrades, and 18 new vehicles!
- A new Focus for each Role in the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game, from the Drone Pilot for Infantry to the Neutralizer for Technicians!
- 3 new Origins and 8 new Influences, from the Junker to the Futurist, for gear-centric characters.
- Guidance for historical, retrofuture, and cyberpunk settings allows GMs to explore the past and future of technology on the battlefield.
- Ready-to-use G.I. JOE and COBRA bases, including the COBRA Terror Dromes and the U.S.S. Flagg aircraft carrier.
Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2
- In-depth looks at the history of the Arashikage, Dreadnoks, and Oktober Guard, how these independent factions impact G.I. JOE and COBRA, and how to run campaigns partially or entirely dedicated to the Arashikage and Dreadnoks!
- Contact and Threat stat blocks for key members of each faction, including multiple versions of the long-awaited Storm Shadow!
- Contact and Threat stat blocks for international characters, like G.I. JOE’s Canadian member, Back-Stop, Australian member Skymate, and Cuban member Snow Storm!
- New Factions, Origins, Influences, and Focus options!
- 40 new General Perks, 17 new gear and upgrades, 11 new vehicles, and more!
Beneath the Helmet
- Player and Game Master Content along with story ideas for teenagers with attitude, not merely Power Rangers
- Dino Charge and Dino Thunder Rangers, their Zords and equipment, and adversaries
- New player options (Aqua, Graphite, Dark Ranger role options)
- Discover the stories between adventures with new downtime rules, detailing your home base, and creating your own team.
- Real world threats to face when the mask comes off
- Challenge legendary villains Mesogog, Sledge, and Lord Arcanon along with their henchmen and minions!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction Beyond 82: Reach for the Scoured Stars

Ryan Costello — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 02:35:43 +0000

Alex and James share their thoughts on the Scoured Stars Starfinder adventure path.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Now You Know – March 4th to March 15th

Ryan Costello — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 09:00:31 +0000

Here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of March 4th to March 8th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, March 4th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 127 – Three Body Problem

GM Ron plays a game of Apples To Apples with a deck of PC corporeal forms and a deck of PC personas.

Tuesday, March 5th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 84: Mischief

This was an interesting episode. Glenn Cotter took his game Fickle from inspiration to publication, got the rights back, incorporated feedback, and then took it back to publication as Mischief.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – A Lust for Life
By Nate Wright

Nate designs a Pathfinder 2e lust eidolon, because even eidolons get Spring fever.

Wednesday, March 6th

Podcast

KD300 – Thinking About Actual Play with Goblets and Gays

The cast of Goblets and Gays talks actual plays with Esther and Navaar for this landmark 300th episode of the Know Direction Podcast.

Article

KD300 In Writing

Also available in writing!

Thursday, March 7th

Podcast

Digital Divination 104 – Game Design and Development

Solid conversation comparing how the titles and responsibilities of the different roles in the production of RPGs varies by company. Light on the Starfinder content, but get industry insight.

Preview of March 11th to March 15th

Monday, March 11th

Article

Now You Know – – March 4th to March 15th
By Ryan Costello

We March on!

Thursday, March 14th

Article

Podcast

Know Direction Beyond 82: Scoured Stars

Alex and James share their thoughts on the Scoured Stars Starfinder adventure path with a live Twitch audience.

Friday, March 15th

Podcast

Upshift 030 – Renegade Con 10 News

John and I discuss the Essence20 announcements at the latest Renegade Con.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

KD300 – Thinking About Actual Play with Goblets and Gays

Ryan Costello — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:00:53 +0000

Esther and Navaar invite the cast of Goblets and Gays to discuss making and making it with an actual play podcast.

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

KD300 In Writing

Ryan Costello — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 09:02:38 +0000

Preface

[00:00:00] Esther: Hello, listeners of Know Direction, Esther here. I’m coming to you before the official start of our episode with a couple of notes.

This is the first of a couple episodes that focus less on Pathfinder product reviews and more on interviews with folks in the broader Pathfinder creator space and the broader tabletop RPG space in general. We’ve had both a bit of a lull in Pathfinder products being released, and a bit of a hard time scheduling interviews with some folks we really want to have on the show. So, Navaar and I thought that it would be fun to bring in some different perspectives to the podcast to focus a little bit on topics that are very connected to Pathfinder, but that are a little different than what we usually talk about.

We hope that you will enjoy listening to these interviews as much as we enjoyed conducting them, and don’t worry — our Pathfinder product reviews and Pathfinder- specific interviews will be back very soon.

Now, on to the episode!

Welcome and Introductions

[00:01:16] Esther: Hello and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news reviews and interviews. I’m Esther Wallace, and today we are bringing you a very special episode that I think is going to be our number 300, our 300th episode! And I am so excited for the guests that are joining us. But first, my co-host!

[00:01:42] Navaar: Hello, I’m Navaar. I’m here. I’m here. I’m excited for 300.

[00:01:47] Esther: Yay. And today we are joined by the cast and crew, some of the cast and crew of the Pathfinder 2E actual play Goblets and Gays and An Unwavering Force. Welcome everyone! And yeah, just popcorn style, introduce yourselves. We always ask folks to like briefly tell us their Pathfinder origin story, so if you want to put that in the mix, go for it!

[00:02:12] Navaar: Alyssa, go first, because you’re the first on my screen, please.

[00:02:15] Alyssa: But Aki’s alphabetically first now! Hi, I’m– [everyone laughs]

[00:02:20] Navaar: L comes before K.

[00:02:23] Alyssa: My love, no…

[00:02:24] Navaar: Okay, whatever. I’m gonna edit that out. Nobody will know I said it.

[00:02:29] Aki: No, I stand with you Navaar! [everyone laughs]

[00:02:29] Alyssa: Uh, yeah! Hi, Alyssa, they/them pronouns. And Goblets and Gays was actually my first experience playing Pathfinder. I was a guest on their second season for what was supposed to be one episode, I think it ended up being like five or seven?

[00:02:48] Dusty: So many.

[00:02:50] Alyssa: It was a lot! But I think they were around Level 7 at that point, so I got to like build up a pretty decent character for what I thought was a one-shot, what turned [out] to be much longer. Yeah, but it was great. I’d played more sort of PBTA games before and sort of non-D&D, non-Pathfinder, so it was a lot of fun. The, like, you know, the crunch in the character building was, is good for my brain.

[00:03:16] Aki: Hello, I’m Aki. I’m the original co-founder for Goblets and Gays. And then we, and then we stole Dusty and now we have more, now we have three. And I have been playing Pathfinder 2E for about three years now. I’ve also written for Pathfinder — both of these were announced, so I’m allowed to say — [everyone laughs] I, I will be in the, um, Tian Xia books that are coming out, as well as, uh, Howl of the Wild. So I’ve written for both of those, haha.

And, my first experience with Pathfinder was our podcast. I came out of only playing D&D. I was scared, confused and afraid, and then chose to play a character with an accent for three years live. So, you know, things happened. I now consider myself — still scared and afraid and extremely confused, because Remastered came out and we decided to move to that and I’m doing like three separate Pathfinder 2e Remastered Edition projects right now that have all just started. So I am not good.

My level is exactly the same and they’re all prerecorded so like it’s gonna be the same in several months.

[00:04:37] Dusty: Well, I’m Dusty. I use they/he pronouns. I started Pathfinder a while ago. It was actually my first TTRPG. I had a local group that invited me to a new campaign they restarted in First Edition for Rise of the Runelords. I played a Druid that was inspired by the Iron Druid Chronicles, shoutout to anyone who read that! I think it got really bad after, like, book three.

And then, like, that campaign, like, didn’t go too far. I think we got to, like, Level 4. And then that same group, maybe like six months later, we started Reign of Winter. And so,I played that from 1 to 17, which took over the course of 3 years, um, with a 3rd party class of all things! So, truly, I still don’t know all the magic rules for Pathfinder First Edition, since I did something completely different. And then, I mean — even mine, it was called Spheres of Power, if anyone has used that. It basically turns your magic into a mana pool and has like, all these different things. A little complicated, but still fun.

And now I’m in two Pathfinder 2E-specific shows. I’m a co-producer of Goblets and Gays as cast. I also joined third season, started as a guest in second season. Mine was only two episodes, because mine was not nearly as chaotic as a guest spot– though probably as chaotic, but in very different ways, which we’ll talk about later, I assume.

And yeah, Pathfinder 2e is my safe spot. It’s my favorite game.

[00:06:11] Esther: Amazing. I have a ton of questions I want to ask, but I also want to ask Navaar, because you are a castmate of all these lovely folks, do you have anything you want to start us off with?

Introduction to Goblets and Gays

[00:06:24] Navaar: Yes! This isn’t really a question, this is more of an observation. I think one of the great things about playing with the three of you is that the three of you play together a lot, and so that there is a lot of chemistry and understanding and, like, knowing the nuance of each other. I love that the three of you like, travel together to a lot of different shows, because I think it’s, it’s like the whole like Adam Sandler thing of like taking your friends wherever you go.

I just think that’s cool. And I love playing with the three of you, so.

I mean, the biggest thing, I think, for context of this is — since Aki has been there since the beginning — uh, Aki, for people who have never listened to Goblets and Gays, like what’s the show, the first season about? And how did that all come together?

[00:07:11] Aki: So, our flagship show is called Blood of Kings. It spans four seasons and three years IRL time. The first season is about a bunch of adventurers that all signed up for a university thesis run. And instead, plot happens. We’re all very gay… and that’s it. We’re all very gay. [everyone laughs]

Later on we do things like fight gods and get major life changing lore drops a whole season in. Our recommendation is that you just watched the first episode of the first and second season, because we do really great recaps and then all of our audio quality ups its game. [laughs] Season three? We got sound effects! Oh, you know, all that good stuff. But if you want to learn with us, I would recommend seasons one — the whole thing.

The whole thing! I’m sorry, I’m still remembering the bad mics. Because two of us, myself included, didn’t get a mic upgrade until the end of the first season. And then one of us, you can hear her laptop fan, her laundry machine, you can hear all of her stuff turn on in the background. It’s really an experience. It’s very fun.

[00:08:42] Esther: I totally relate to that in terms of like, just the realness of the mics and like the sound situation and upping the game as a podcast goes on. I’m curious, as somebody who’s also started a Pathfinder 2e show — I know, like, some of my own thought process for, like, why I wanted to start an actual play.

I’m curious to hear, for both Goblets and Gays and An Unwavering Force, like, what is some of the “we want to start this show?” What are those stories?

[00:09:14] Aki: We started right like, 2020 pandemic kind of vibes. So, truthfully, my co-producer, Aubrey — our co-producer, Aubrey — is the one who pitched the idea first, including the system. Aubrey has had some podcasting experience beforehand and she wanted to start it up again.

And also the setting of Blood of Kings was actually our first game together with some of the other cast. So this is prior to Dusty and Alyssa popping into my life and ruining it forever. This is way before that. That’s another thing — in seasons, the first two and a half parts of the season, I am the only person of color as well on the cast.

So, uh, starting a podcast was definitely not something I was super gung-ho about, and that’s simply because I really thought it was the white man’s game. I could name two, and none of them were actual plays except for Critical Role, which is all white. So I wasn’t sure until Transplanar came across my feed, and then I was like, “Okay, there’s one! That’s it, that’s all I needed.” So here I am.

We definitely blew up a lot faster. We didn’t expect it at all. We were just kind of okay with having a recorded detailed note log of our adventure. So when we, when people started actually liking our stuff, that was definitely a lot of motivation to continue.

I do all the art on G&G, so that was also lowkey the ego boost I needed around that time. So that’s another reason why I was like, “Yeah, let’s continue, so my art gets seen.” So, you know, like there was, there was tons of other motivations, but, um, the big one was “so people actually think we can tell a story. Oh, we got you!” We’re like, “Yeah, we can continue it.” We continued from there.

[00:11:19] Dusty: I mean, going off of that — so the three of us, Alyssa, Aki, and I, we all met each other through other TTRPG space that, that space wasn’t that great. But we found all of our– we got together, so it worked out for the best for us.

But I actually started listening to Goblets and Gays, like, I started listening to it because like, “Oh, I heard of y’all already when I met Akino.” And so like, I was listening to it, and then for a while I was just in Aki’s DMs like, what the hell is happening? And then I found out they had a server, and then, like, I… I didn’t bully my way to be a guest, I actually think Aki bullied me into being a guest.

And then they bullied us into being part of the show later on.

[00:12:00] Aki: I think I remember specifically saying, “I don’t think you guys have choices here, but do you want to be a part of it? I’m looking for one, but I will gladly bully the rest of my cast to allow it two.” And they are very easily bullied by me.

“Bully” term light, by the way. I don’t know if you can read my tone, but like, massive jk. But yeah, it was, it was very much just, uh — every time I want something, I jump into our DMs. [Dusty laughs]

[00:12:30] Navaar: As a person who’s been quote unquote bullied into being on Goblets and Gays twice now, I… yeah, it’s been great.

[00:12:36] Dusty: Yeah, well, when Aki asked us to be permanent– permanent cast, you did it with the meme of the robot from Rogue One is “You are being adopted. Do not resist.” [many people say “Yeah!” or “Yes!”]

[00:12:53] Navaar: That’s great.

Introduction to An Unavering Force

[00:12:54] Dusty: And to jump off of that, for An Unwavering Force, that started mostly as an idea of wanting to play character slash Jedi on the run from stuff from Order 66. Which is like, having this life-altering event that literally targets you, and then having to figure out that. And it jumped off of me, my hyperfixation off of Andor, which is just an incredible show, and a podcast that Alyssa showed me called More Civilized Age, which has great people talking about Clone Wars and other shows.

So really, An Unwavering Force is actually Alyssa’s fault. “Fault” quote unquote. But we wanted to make it as a podcast, one, because Star Wars is an incredibly, incredibly white space. And we are an all BIPOC cast. More than half of us are queer. And we wanted to start telling this story from a point of view that’s not heard as often.

And like, even since us starting, like, a lot more has, like, shown up, and like, I’ve been listening and seeing a lot more of the queer space and even more BIPOC people in the Star Wars community. But we really wanted to show that. And also, like, Navaar and I, like, schemed together. Our editing style is we really want to go for a mix of audio drama and actual play. And when I edit it, I actually — my inspiration for how the show gets edited is if you ever listen to a Star Wars audiobook, it’s also, like, incredibly, like, sound effects, it actually sounds like a full on radio [drama].

[00:14:34] Navaar: I just started my first Star Wars audiobook the other day, and it’s a High Republic book, so I didn’t even realize. And I was like, “Oh, yeah, there’s a lot of stuff going on back here!” The guy’s doing voices, it was a whole thing.

[00:14:45] Dusty: I’m really, like, every time we do a recording, I’m blown away. But, I just like, usually when we put out a show, an episode like, I edit it.

My editing, how I edit, it’s a hyperfixation. So I do it like usually the night before until like really late, but I don’t listen to it after it’s all done. I went back and listened to an episode. I’m like, “Damn, you have a good show.” [Dusty laughs]

[00:15:07] Esther: Yes! [Esther laughs]

[00:15:08] Navaar: Yeah! You should listen to your own stuff! I advocate for that. No, I think it’s, it is funny though, because it is one of those things. Like when you’re creating something, especially like this, and you’re kind of at the beginning through the end of that whole creation process, it really is like you’re — it’s like when people like cook all day, right? And you cook all day and you’re like, “I’m not hungry anymore.” Or it’s like “I’m hungry, but like I need a minute to like process everything that I just did.”

And I think it’s probably in the same way for a lot of people, where it’s like, “Okay, well, I’ve just spent like 14 hours making this thing. Like, I don’t know if I have a minute now where I can sit back and listen to this.” But I always encourage it because I think it’s like– one, I think it’s great to like, if you’re trying to get better as a performer, to go back and listen to like the things that you did, and you know, consider like, if this is something you care about, like improving, then how did we, how did I sound in this moment?

Two, I think — I think it’s great to appreciate your own art. And so, that’s how I always advocate for that.

Yeah, so, that’s kind of like how it all started for y’all. One of the biggest things that a lot of both home games and podcasts just do not get to do is complete a story. And recently the story of the Blood of Kings ended. And so, uh, among all the other things, this is one of the reasons we want to talk to you. What was that experience like to go through and, like, fully put away characters?

Aki looks contemplative and sad.

Playing A Character To Level 20 & Concluding Stories

[00:16:36] Dusty: Aki, do you want to go first or last? Because I feel like for you, it was a much longer journey.

[00:16:41] Aki: Yeah, I want to go last. I feel like I should go last because I’ll probably take the longest. Or the shortest.

[00:16:51] Navaar: Okay, Alyssa, you’re going to go because Dusty just talked. And this is how GM spotlighting works, folks. Get a lesson wrapped in a lesson.

[00:16:58] Alyssa: Yeah, so like I said, I started as a guest on Goblets and Gays. And unlike Dusty, I did not bring my guest character on as a full-time character. Because Navaar, you know how you said we move in a group, and you like how we have chemistry? Aki hated my character. Like, Aki the human! Absolutely loathed my terrible rat boy.

[00:17:19] Aki: There’s a reason why Aki the human hated him so much, by the way. It’s a very valid reason.

[00:17:26] Alyssa: It was like, the thing that I was brought in to do like, was supposed to be a very short heist, and it dragged out into a very long thing. It was very stressful. So it’s understandable that Aki hated him and that there was like some trauma associated with that.

But that is all to say that when I came on as a full cast member, it was, yeah, just building completely from scratch versus Dusty who will talk about like, bringing someone in from a home game. And that was around level nine.

And I was just like, “Oh, the existing cast–” because I had also been listening to the show and been in Aki’s DMs, sending her like angry messages like, “What are you doing? Why did this episode end here? What are these choices y’all are making?” So it’s, you know, a bunch of younger adventurers and like disaster guests.

And I was like, “Oh, yeah, I will be come in and be like an older like more settled person. And I will help them like make good choices and do self-care.” And then the I think it’s the Dark Archives came out ,the one that had the lich in it. And I was playing a wizard and I as a person very much enjoy secrets, so I was like “Oh… oh no. I’m not gonna be measured at all! I’m aiming towards this now.” But it’s been an incredible journey, just– I’ve never gotten to play a game for that amount of time and covering the amount of ground that we did in Goblets and Gays.

So when we ended, everyone was a Level 20 character, and we introduced dual classing. So the power level there is wild to play, and it was so much fun, and now we are starting over for campaign two, Level One, and it’s just… it was really incredible to get sort of built into the lore of the show and the lore of other characters. And yeah, to sort of focus on bits of the story that like, maybe other people weren’t tugging on because there’s so much going on and it’s not as related to their particular character, so. It was — yeah, it was a lot of fun, and I’m super grateful that I got to come on.

[00:19:47] Navaar: Dusty?

[00:19:48] Dusty: Yeah, so, like Alyssa alluded to, when I was asked, I actually jumped into Aubrey’s DMs, like, “Hey, I have this really fun home game character. It’s actually a Monster of the Week character, can we find some shenanigans to bring them into this game?”

And not just like, “Oh, I’m playing the same kind of character.” No. The same character. So, my character more or less — and I guess light Season 2: Episode 5 spoilers — they’re an Isekai character. That was fully intended. But the introduction of my character fundamentally changed the world of, like, Cyrene, which is the name of the Goblets and Gays in Blood of Kings world. And so having her there, come in for that and then later join, it was really, really interesting for like, trying to have them fit in the world. Because I was like, okay, they’re brought into this world. They — a trope, memory loss — don’t remember who they were, but like, trying to learn and going through that.

And then jumping in now because I did bring the same character as my full-time cast, Joanna Sanchez, who is also like an older character, human older character. So like, 50s. But kind of the same thing of Alyssa’s like character Tamsin, where their problems were working towards the same goal, but also didn’t have the same kind of storytelling beats that the rest of the cast did. And personally, my goal, when I brought this character in, was to give every single player character therapy, which I did achieve by the end of the show.

Ending a story, especially one as grandiose — like Blood of Kings literally starts, like how Aki mentioned, it’s a thesis. And it ends on a scale of, like, an epic of how we do it. And going through that journey was really, really exciting and really emotional by the end of it.

Like, Season 4, we do so much in that, because I also feel like as a group, we got much more comfortable doing a show together. And so we knew, like, Aubrey knew what beat she wanted to hit, and we knew how to get there. So it was, I don’t know, it’s like the same thing you do if you do anything for three years. When it’s almost done, it’s great, it’s exciting, it’s emotional, you’re sad, you have feelings about it.

But by the end of the season it really felt like we got to tell a really cool story. Like a really good story, an emotional story that spans like a bunch of different story beats and emotional beats. And like stories from both literally and like, metaphorically, a younger generation and an older generation.

Yeah, I could just keep making analogies, but in the end, it was a really good emotional journey.

[00:22:54] Aki: I did eeny, meeny, miny, moe in the corner to figure out if I was going to use spoilers or not. I don’t know what’s a spoiler anymore! So, spoilers won. So, just spoilers. Especially for Season 4.

The little story to a grand epic is a really great way to actually put it.

I started from ground zero, is the best way to put it. Built it all the way up. The way I originally thought this was supposed to go down is that we were gonna play, like, the equivalent of one season, maybe two. And so I built my character, like, narratively to fit that. And thankfully, because I built her to fit that when Aubrey said, “No, I want it to be Critical Role long,” I had ways to make it Critical Role long.

I need you to understand that I ripped off parts of the Dragon Prince and then the two year break they took was enough for them to still beat me for what I ripped off and I couldn’t do.

I had the thing I needed and wanted to do, my main plot point, in Season One. And I didn’t get to do it until Season Four because that’s how much we packed in and that’s like how much other things I could pack in for my character.

It was great! I think of her fondly. That’s my, that is my baby girl, you know? My character was also the first time I decided to play someone of my entire ethnic background. So that was, that was really nice, not gonna lie.

And then we got to like, Level 20. The things that happened… the things that happened in Season 4 were things that I knew were going to happen, but I thought it was gonna be like in Season 3.

But like, it’s okay that it happened in Season 4. We become gods, because we kill gods. And I was like, “Oh my god, this is great!” And as a, as a player, I played this game back in like 2017 with Aubrey, with some of the original cast –not, not everybody, that was originally playing was still there — but like, we got to revisit the world again.

And so we knew what was up! But like, at the same time, like, you know, it was, it’s really nice that like, we completed the world, quote unquote. We completed that, because we didn’t complete the original story. We got bored and moved on, like a regular home game would, right? And where we stopped was okay, too. It’s not like it was like a unsatisfying end or anything, but it’s just so nice to actually say, “Oh my god, we completed this place.” And I don’t have any hang-ups, like I thought I would, about not being able to play here again. It’s a lot of time and investment. Technically, my investment is beyond three years, too.

So it’s like, you know, it’s a lot. It’s a lot. But also, it’s so nice to say that I’ve completed it, and then I can look at all my other projects and go, “I don’t even know if I’m gonna want to finish you now! If I finish y’all, like, that would be so nice on a resume. And if I don’t, I have like one very nice thing that is forever.”

And also, we won an award! So that’s extra approval. Do you know how much — like, my ego is like very high, and that’s simply because the spite was even higher. And now it’s like matching and it’s, it’s, it’s very good. It’s very, very, very good. I think also the stories we were able to tell as a group, the hurdles we were able to climb over, all of that gets packed into a little four season, it’s not a little, into a four season actual epic.

So like that… all of that, it is a very fulfilling feeling, you know? It’s really nice to have. Also, I can– [laughs] the last thing I’ll point out is that I can tell exactly where my depression spiral started in my art! And I can see the sadness, and then I can see myself improve. And that is just a me thing. That’s a, “Oh, look at me. I did it!” kind of thing. Once again, more of an ego thing, but like, you know, people should have really big egos. I think sometimes. [laughs]

[00:27:08] Navaar: I love that.

Did you have another question, Esther?

Differences Between Playing In Actual Plays and Home Games

[00:27:13] Esther: I do, I do. I am thinking about so many things. Just like how… how cool it is to start with the seed of a story or like a smaller-scale thing and then have it grow into this epic. That is so amazing. So amazing to be able to finish something and feel like it’s a complete whole. I just, I love that. I think that’s the coolest experience. I hope we get it with my AP one day. One day!

I’m curious, I think a lot of our listeners are part of, like, a home game. What would you say are some of the differences in playing Pathfinder 2e as a home game versus playing it as an actual play? What distinguishes the system as being like, a good one for an AP? And just what distinguishes play in those two scenarios?

[00:28:06] Alyssa: As GM and editor, Dusty, you should go first.

[00:28:10] Dusty: I, I think about this all the time, actually. One of the best things I like about Pathfinder is it’s customized… customability… customization! Customization, I got there. Of like, what you could do both narratively and mechanically.

Like having both the Archetypes that you could get into, and –you could go into Pathfinder with I feel like nearly any idea, and you could both like, not even make it work narratively, but also like, mechanically. For instance, we’re doing Star Wars with Pathfinder 2e. Not Starfinder 2e, because it wasn’t around when we started. But we’ll talk about that later.

But I think the main difference, just in general, between a home game and like, a podcast game… when you’re doing actual play, you tend to be much more deliberate about what your character is doing. In the home game, it’s much more relaxed. It’s a home game, like it should be relaxed. It’s fun. Rants all the time.

We have rants in our show. They go to the blooper reel, which is still in progress. But also, because it’s essentially a different form of radio drama, if you do it enough you get really practiced at working on your descriptions. Because you have to both make it work like, for the person you’re talking to, but also make it work for everyone that is listening into it, so you’re trying to see the same thing.

Which doesn’t always translate. We’ve had it for I think Goblets and Gays, where people listened, interpreted one thing as something else. Just because that happens with the audio medium. And like things that — like, for instance, me? Love Pathfinder 2e combat. I love the nitty-gritty of it. Not as great for an actual play.

And so sometimes we’ve done like, actual combat. Like in Unwavering Force, we actually skip a lot of actual combat for a long time, I feel. We use, like, some combat mechanics. We do– like, we call it like, narrative combat.

But if we do, like, “Okay, I’m gonna bring y’all into an actual combat,” that’s a whole session. And sometimes those sessions — we have one coming up that is a combat session, but truly may be one of the best episodes of our show, because so much happens. But we mainly try to focus on a narrative, on roleplay.

Because also, like, we’re doing heavy roleplay. We’ll have episodes of like, An Unwavering Force, where we don’t roll a dice for like 45 to 50 minutes. And even like in Blood of Kings, Goblets and Gays, like all the other stuff we’re working on, we’ve gotten much more like…

It took over time because Goblets and Gays was doing it for longer. We also like, “Okay, we’re going to have scenes, and this is just like stuff we want to tell narratively.” Like we’re playing a game, but we’re also… we’re telling a story. I think for actual plays, usually– it depends which kind you’re making. How I do it, I put story above mechanics. But some people like mechanics above stories. Those are like two different genres of shows entirely.

I feel like I said a lot but absolutely nothing.

[00:31:25] Navaar: I’m just going to come in as the host just to affirm and add on to some of those things. I think like, there’s a lot of intentionality that goes into making an actual play. Or there should be.

And I think that when you don’t have intentionality, then you end up with something that is very close to a home game. But I think anytime that we’re making something that’s going to be recorded and distributed, I think that there has to be at least a level of consideration that you are creating entertainment. And that doesn’t mean that you need to become Critical Role or whatever, but it does mean you need to at least consider the fact that it’s for entertainment. So if you spend 40 minutes arguing about a rule, that might be something that people will just stop listening to.

And so you have to think about that kind of stuff. But yeah, I think that beyond that like basic step, I think that there is like a very much a focus of like, “Okay, but are we doing this in a narrative way of entertainment? Or are we doing this like as a quote unquote ‘actual play’ where we’re going to cut out stuff that just takes too long?”

And there are shows that are like that, and there are people who really love that specific kind of thing that don’t want something that’s closer to like, an improvised audio drama. And I think it’s fine to have both.

[00:32:41] Aki: I’m going to addy add add on to that. Something that I think people should think about a little bit more when it comes to — if you want an actual play and you would like people to listen to it, to find you, you should think a little bit about marketing.

I’m not saying become a social-media-savvy tech genius and then buy Twitter Blue. No, don’t do that. I’m saying, think about: do you want to compete with all the other D&D 5e shows, for example? There’s nothing wrong with it. More power to you. But if you are expecting to blow up and get sponsorship deals, you need to be a little bit more realistic.

I say do it, but maybe add a different element to it. Like, you add monster sounds to your segment and they are really good. You know? Like, that is something else. And some people, they’re gonna love that! The good burr in the brain? Yeah.

What we did was, at the time with Goblets and Gays, we did not find much in terms of Pathfinder. I think Pathfinder 2e like, just dropped Core book stuff. And we were like, “Okay, well, we actually have a good shot at building an audience here.” And then around the time when we wanted to drop it, one, we dropped it — our anniversary is my birthday. Two, the same time, Hades the game dropped.

Hades is Ancient-Greek-myth-inspired, and so is Blood of Kings. So, me as the artist, I said, “Let me go mimic their style!” And yeah, that worked. The, the, the art style of Hades has influenced me, like, deeply. I genuinely like it, but also it’s pretty baller we were dropping it around the same time. It was like, “Ha ha, look at that! Tee tee tee tee tee!” And we got it all. And then we’re like, and we’re gay! And, and all the gays were like, “Oh, finally, my people! Like, you know, like, it was, it was enough. It was enough. Everybody was inside too, so you had to listen to us. Um, so like, you know, like, there was a lot of, a lot of things factored up.

Now, with some of our new stuff, we’re doing Remastered, and uh, one, that’s not a secret. Two, it’s not a lot of remastered Pathfinder 2e Remastered content in terms of the audio sphere here. So that is another, like — I wouldn’t say it’s tactical genius, but it’s definitely a very good idea, I think.

I say this as another way to make myself feel better, because I’m not just doing one, I’m doing three separate Pathfinder 2e Remastered things. Two of them I’m a player, one of them I’m playing Curse of Strahd. I thought that was a good idea, to, to friggin’ make that. And then we had to re-learn, everybody had to re-learn on that one. But like, you know, you win some, you lose some. Either way, marketing.

[00:35:42] Dusty: Aki, just, just wait for like six more months and we’ll be learning a new system for Unwavering.

[00:35:47] Aki: I hate you! Don’t do this to me.

[00:35:49] Dusty: You’re gonna love it actually, I love Starfinder, so.

[00:35:52] Navaar: I don’t know this, so people who listen, like, who play Starfinder, don’t come after me. This is just me repeating hearsay that I’ve heard. But I feel like, uh, in Starfinder there’s like a stamina system, which I think would work great for having duels, because I think like, part of the reason like I’ve homebrewed stuff that just hasn’t come up is like, it doesn’t make sense for like, two Jedis to like, “I cut you, and then I cut you, and then I cut you for 60 points.”

It’s like, yeah, no, you cut them one time and that’s bad. And it should be like that. But there should still be stakes, too. So yeah, if they keep that, I think that would be really cool to mess with, because it helps add into the very specific style of game that we’re playing.

[00:36:33] Aki: All I know is that Dusty’s weak because we could have been playing Honey Heist this whole time.

This whole time!

[00:36:39] Dusty: That’s what we do one-shots for!

[00:36:41] Navaar: Could we?

[00:36:42] Dusty: We’ve been corrupted.

[00:36:44] Aki: Dark side! The Light side! Those are our sides.

[00:36:47] Alyssa: Laser swords and feelings.

[00:36:49] Aki: Yeah, oh my god. Brothers? Something else. I don’t know. Okay, I don’t know Star Wars. I only care about the Mandalorian.

[00:36:56] Navaar: But I think that’s another good thing too, like a good point as well. Pathfinder is built for like, playing for years.

Which I think like, when you’re talking about making a podcast, that is a style of telling a story longform, right? And so it is like, it’s built for that. And I think when people come in with the expectation of listening to a Pathfinder TV show, that expectation is: I’m gonna hear combat, and that combat’s gonna take a while, and that’s just a part of it.

[00:37:24] Esther: I loved so much that you all talked about. First of all, I really relate to this audio drama version of Pathfinder 2e, where there’s like a lot of roleplay. That’s what we do in Chromythica. You’ll have huge stretches of time without a roll, even huger stretches of time without combat. And there’s definitely a genre of Pathfinder 2e actual play that is like, the expectation is you have a lot of crunch, you have a lot of rules and combat-focused stuff.

And I just love anybody in the space who is also bringing something different. So y’all, if you want a menu of three shows that bring you a slightly different style of roleplay, look up Goblets and Gays, An Unwavering Force, and Chromythica!

And Aki, I love the point you made about marketing. I think there’s such a strong tie-in to what you were saying with like, being conscious of who your audience is, and knowing who you are pitching the AP to. And it’s wonderful if a group outside that core audience finds you and loves you, but one of the things we were very intentional with in Chromythica is thinking about like, who do we want to find us? The millennial queers and folks of color.

And if other folks find us, great. But like, those are the stories that we as a cast are interested in telling. So I, I just think that that’s such an important point that a lot of folks skip over when making an AP, and thank you for bringing it in.

[00:39:02] Dusty: You know, going off of that, that’s something that I also completely forgot, something that we were also very intentional about, is that our show that’s Star Wars, only two of the characters are like stereotypical like, Jedi.

Navaar is one of them. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, An Unwavering Force, Onhar de Luna, one of my favorite characters. But actually, when I pitch our show, the way I do it– it’s a Star Wars show, we’re doing Pathfinder 2E, one of our players is a trash man. It’s Aki. They’re playing a sanitation worker. And that immediately gets people like, “what are you talking about?”

And so like, me personally — because I also like, Andor and going into other like, stuff — I wanted to talk about things that weren’t like, just the Jedi, just the Light side, Dark side thing. Because that’s all of Star Wars. So that’s a very big thing.

Like Alyssa, you’re playing, someone that does like, the Nightsister magic.

Theta, who’s a person that was in the beginning of the show — they had to drop due to like, scheduling stuff — but, like, they were a Chiss. aAnd now our new character, uh, who’s played by Katrina, her name is Lua. They’re like, a rebel spy,. But also, the, use, like, singing magic. So we, we do like, a big stretch of things that’s not normally seen, and also we just have fun with it.

‘Cause there’s so much stuff in Star Wars. There’s like 50 years of Star Wars stuff.

[00:40:21] Navaar: Yeah, it’s fun to like –here’s an IP that people love, and here is different ways to like, look at it. And I think like, when you look at like, the TTRPG space that is present on Twitter — which I know is not the entire audience space — but like, if we’re talking about those people that we as a group of people who do stuff in the TTRPG space are aware of or in communication with and sometimes in community with…

I think when you look at like, people that are people of color and people that are part of the queer community, there are aspects of those stories that we want to be able to tell that aren’t being told, at all or often in something like Star Wars, and even in fantasy in a lot of ways too.

To have, you know, at least here’s a few more voices that are like telling the story, that are living these experiences, that are going to be different than what you get out of like, a Luke Skywalker, right? Like that’s not who Onhar is. Onhar is like… I guess yeah, he is like a moody young guy. And that might be like where the line is drawn.

But I think that there’s like a lot of aspects of of our characters that we talk about things like family and community and, and loss and, like, all these, like, really, like, fun stuff that I think we have a unique perspective on. And that perspective is important to, like, get out into the world.

One of the things that, that you mentioned earlier, Alyssa, is that you’re now playing Level One characters, and I think, like, this is a great conversation just in terms of Pathfinder. Because I have my own opinions about how low-level characters work in Pathfinder, and I’m curious for the three of you, like, going back to Level One, how does that feel? What’s that been like?

Playing Low-Level Pathfinder Characters

[00:42:02] Alyssa: So bad, it’s so bad. No, it’s not bad. [group laughs] Going from Level 20 to Level 1 is definitely a shock. However, I think that it’s fun to get to sort of build out and, you know, theorycraft and say like, “Ooh, in, you know, three levels, I would really want to take this feat and go down this path.”

But by the time you actually get there and play like, who knows where your character will be headed and if that’s still thematically appropriate. And maybe some new book will come out and completely offer something totally different and change the trajectory of what you were doing. So I think that it’s, it’s very cool and fun. I wish I had more hit points and more things to do! But no, it’s a fun shift from the very, very high-level play. And I think that you do have to be sort of more creative and clever with it, right? Like, you can’t just throw a Wish spell around. You have to be like, thinking about how to interact with the world in ways that aren’t necessarily sort of strict combat or even actions that you can find in your little like ‘here are some available actions tab.’

So I think that low-level characters really do invite a level of creative play that you don’t necessarily need to rely on at higher levels. But I mean, at the same time, like if you have high-level spells, there’s a bunch of ways to use those, but.

[00:43:28] Navaar: It’s a good, it’s a good mental reset.

Aki?

[00:43:32] Aki: I think it’s humbling.

[00:43:34] Navaar: That’s it…. yeah, coming from Level 20, yeah.

[00:43:38] Aki: Listen, yeah, yeah, from Level 20 — I want to state that my character had over 20 spell slots, because of the dual classing plus archetypes and dedications. And I also want to fully state that I kept accidentally nerfing my character. I kept mis-picking because there’s so much to do, and so I was nerfing my character core-stat-wise as well. Like I was doing a lot of weird things up until the end. I, I basically– like that was consistent, nerfing myself. But also– you all play with me or have heard — I roll like a god! So I am very confident all the time while playing because I’m not scared of my dice. I truly think they’re scared of me. There’s no way it can be that consistent.

Yeah, I,= like, you know, I’m not worried about that. I usually get worried when I play with the rest of you. Because why do you all suck so bad when it comes to rolling the click clacks? I don’t understand, okay?

Because we’re just mortals, okay? [group laughs]

You guys will be like, “Oh, oh, I rolled, I rolled like, that’s a total of six!” And I’m like, “You have 20 sides and extra stats!” You know, like I get, I get, I get confused, but not really.

When you start at a lower level, I like to look at the numbers and go, “Wow. Uh oh.” Because like, before I can worry about things like, “Oh, well, it’s okay if I roll a 10 on the die ’cause I already have like a plus 11 in my pocket.” Whereas now it’s like, I’m still good. Like I can still like, you know, I’ll get like a really good roll for our level, being like Level 2, right? But sometimes I see the number and I give myself a heart attack because like, 17 looks very low. And then you’ll be like, “Oh, you did it, you knocked it out of the park!”

What do you mean?! No, I didn’t! Don’t lie to me like that! Okay, like, you know, I’m used to rolling 30s. 40s, actually. You know, like, it’s, those numbers. What do you mean, 17’s gonna like, way overdo it? Shut up. Stop lying to me.

I also agree with the creativity part because you gotta think… a lot of stuff. I like bargaining with my GMs. Or specifically, I’m, I’m a very, very nice, sweet, good girl. So I ask permission to flavor text, and then I immediately double check how people are with safety tools, because if I’m allowed to go for it, I go for it. So, you know, it’s– I feel like on lower levels, like a lot more of that happens. Because you know, like, you can do a lot. Like John Wick with a pencil, I can do a lot! You know, it’s one of those vibes that I get at lower levels. Same thing at higher levels, but it’s more like, I can do a lot and I don’t have to justify it, you know? I don’t actually have to justify the Wish spell too much. But I’m gonna justify… god, three-action Heal. Like, that’s the first thing that came to my head. Three-action Heal is very reasonable, but like, you know, things, things like that, things like that.

[00:46:51] Dusty: So, low-level Pathfinder is interesting. Jumping off both what Alyssa and Aki said, like, you do have to be more creative. It’s also just, you have to really think like, “Okay, how committed to something do I want to be?” Because for Pathfinder, you could, you could min-max real well in Pathfinder. Do you always want to?

Like, sometimes yes! Because, you know, big number make brain go brr. But also like, I either min-max or I love being like the jack of all trades. I like to think, “Oh yeah, like, I could do this, oh I could do this.”

But also, one thing that I think about more often is, like, running games for, like, low-level. Unwavering Force, we haven’t had to this much because we started y’all Level 3 dual-classed. Y’all are already, like, titans in the face of mortals. That’s just how dual-classing Level 3 is in Pathfinder. I’ve been running– just started running — like, for Level 1 stuff. And, like, jumping between them, like, “Okay. Now I have to get my mind out of the, the, like enemy or NPC that could do a hundred damage, like on a Nat 20.” So we have to like go back ’cause like, what DC makes sense? What challenges make sense? Like, I have to like readjust sometimes, like, “Oh, if I want to do this, like how easy is a, like a DC 15 for this on Level 1? Oh, that’s actually sometimes harder than you Like, depending how statted out of the character list.” So, adjusting like that on the fly.

[00:48:28] Alyssa: Speaking of min-maxing, that’s my answer for APs versus home games, is that I am an optimizer at heart.

I really want characters to do good because unlike Aki, I have abysmal dice luck. So I need, I need those good stats. I need those good skills. But if you’re, you know, telling a story first and foremost, there’s really a lot of sort of times where making thematic picks is more important than making like, the optimal pick. Which hurts my soul a little bit, but it’s also really, it’s nice to be like, “Oh, this isn’t the best thing, but it really, really fits and I love the flavor of this”.

[00:49:09] Aki: I’m also a min-maxer. I just wanted to jump in and be like, “Me too, me too, actually! Yay!”

[00:49:15] Navaar: Me too, guys, it’s me too. I’m in this conversation.

[00:49:19] Dusty: I remember the other thing! Aki mentioned bargaining. Also, like, going through the different, like, um, Unwavering Force. Surprisingly, incredibly homebrewed! But one thing we do, regular Pathfinder mechanic: Hero Points. Let’s do a reroll. It’s like kind of like inspiration.

We have a homebrew rule where something that I took from a home game is a Hero Point, you can either reroll it or use it to bump up to the next level of success, if you’re unsure. But I also have my players, uh, something I take from Blades in the Dark, a Devil’s Bargain Hero Point. Which is just like really fun that, maybe not something I do for a home game, but narratively for a podcast? Ooh, the things you coan do with the Devil’s Bargain!

[00:50:02] Navaar: I’m dealing with my Devil’s Bargain and it’s been 8 episodes, okay? And that’s still not taken care of.

[00:50:09] Aki: Devil’s Bargain is my favorite mechanic, like, that I’ve learned through APs, period. I love, I love making deals with forces beyond me for more power.

Fail States in Pathfinder 2e

[00:50:24] Navaar: I have a new question that I just thought about because I just produced an AP that is not using Pathfinder 2e.

And one of the things that has really driven the narrative a lot is that there are interesting fail states. So when you fail, things happen in a way that drives the narrative. And I’m curious for all of you actually, Esther included, do you feel like Pathfinder 2e has interesting fail states? Or do you feel like when you’re, even when you’re making that narrative AP, your flavoring fails more than you’re given, um, something to do with them in the game?

[00:51:04] Alyssa: Uh, Navaar, what was the system of that new AP that you’re producing?

[00:51:08] Navaar: Uh, it’s called The Corrupted. It’s by this like, little designer. His name’s Navaar Seik- Jackson. Yeah, anyway, just check it out. We’ll talk about it at the end. It’s fine.

[00:51:16] Alyssa: No, so I want to say first of all that I adore The Corrupted and I– specifically, the idea of fail states and stress.

And mechanically incurring stress and having that impact, like, tangibly your relationships with other characters, I think is fantastic and is something that I’m sort of carrying over into roleplay in other games because it’s like, yes, obviously this makes sense. You’re like, extremely freaked out by what’s happening and you’re going to lash out. Like, of course you are.

But it was really helpful for me to sort of see that mechanized to realize like, “Oh, this is something that I could be bringing in more into a roleplay that I’m doing.” But as far as Pathfinder, I feel like consequences– like the mechanical consequences, like, “Oh, you’re stupefied because your spell backfires or something” definitely feels more mechanical than narrative. One thing that we do on Goblets and Gays that I do really like is use crit cards or like, the crit deck. So if you get a critical success or a critical failure, then something else happens. So it’s not just you get double damage, maybe it’s, you know, “Oh no, they cut off your hand, or…”

[00:52:27] Navaar: Those are so fun and so dangerous sometimes.

Yeah. We use those in our home game too, and it’s like, “Uh… uh, can we pick a different one?”

[00:52:37] Aki: I need you to know we got a — on Goblins and Gays, we have a player who consistently rolls bad all the time. If I have all the good luck, they have all the bad luck. And they’re Italian! Like, oh my god! [group laughs] I promise the Italian thing means something.

Like, I, they need you to know, like — this is a spoiler, but not really. They started speaking Italian to the dice, and now they’re rolling better. So maybe it was a language barrier this whole time. But until then, for three years, it’s been nothing but absolutely horrendous rolls to the point where we all jump into their DMs and go, “Please cheat! Please!”

It’s not — it’s so, it’s so funny. It’s so sad. They, the crit deck has made them break their hands several times. It’s the same one hand as well. And they’re a monk. I just, they roll that one in particular. Worse things have happened as well. It’s just… it’s so, the crit deck is so much fun.

[00:53:37] Alyssa: They literally got an automatic death because of a crit deck roll.

[00:53:41] Aki: We had to change that rule. We had to change that rule because when it happened, it happened, and we rolled with it. And then afterwards we all like sat in our like little sad internet circle of shame and we went, okay, we should maybe change that actually because what if we all get it one day? How are we gonna do this?

[00:54:00] Dusty: So, are y’all saying we should add that to a certain show about Star Wars?

[00:54:03] Navaar: I don’t know. We have enough problems as it is.

[00:54:06] Dusty: Oh, I heard a yes…

[00:54:08] Alyssa: Well, maybe if you stop making Devil Bargains, Navaar, we wouldn’t have problems.

[00:54:11] Navaar: I only made two, and I’m paying for both of them. We all are.

[00:54:15] Aki: I don’t care if we add it, but I do have a Devil’s Bargain if I ever really botch a roll. I have one. I have it saved. It’s in my heart and I’m not going to say it. Yeah, I’m not going to say it because when it happens, I know Dusty’s going to say yes. Or, or, or, Dusty’s going to pause the recording right there and go, Aki, what?

So it’s going to be fun regardless.

[00:54:38] Dusty: But Aki, how do you feel about conditions in Pathfinder or other shows?

[00:54:42] Aki: I like I like them! But… [Dusty laughs] I, I like them. I, I do find them more mechanical, but I kinda like them that way, because you’re doing something mechanical. Like, like, that’s the way I, I rationalize it. So if you fail a roll, nothing happens, that makes sense. If you critically fail, you might have like indigestion or something like that. And like I’m, I’m very here for stuff like that. I encourage people to get creative about them, though. Because it might not always be fun to be constantly Sickened, for example. Like, I would like a reason to why I’m Sickened. I had to make it so that I’m just, my character’s just bad at throwing up.

And you know, lines-and-veils-wise, that starts getting on people. How come I can’t do this? And then I just can’t make the DC. Why? Why? I should be Sickened for like a different reason, I think. Like, you know, like maybe the — I don’t know. I’m dizzy. Yeah. You know, like, like something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Rather than just, you know, oh, that smell, P. U., vomit. You know, like, no thank you. Yeah.

[00:55:48] Navaar: I do think conditions are… when people talk about like, “Oh, like, Pathfinder 2e is hard to learn!” I’m like, it’s really not. I think the only thing that I would say, like, that is a learning curve is conditions, because there’s so many of them. And they’re not always very well explained as to like, what, what is happening to my character at this moment, so. Esther, you’re not off the hook. How do you feel about Pathfinder 2e fail states?

[00:56:09] Esther: Dusty also!

[00:56:11] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:56:11] Esther: You didn’t go yet, right?

[00:56:13] Dusty: Yeah, but I’ll go last.

[00:56:14] Esther: Okay, great. I completely agree that for me, conditions are still one of the bigger learning curves. And just remembering to like, bring them into play as a GM or as a player is something that I– it’s, it’s an edge of mine, that I’m still growing into.

I feel like my answer about failure is that it’s dependent on the type of story you want to tell and the type of storytellers at the table. Because if you just want to fail something and be like, “Well, it didn’t work, and I’m moving on to the next thing,” that’s totally fine. That’s a totally valid method of play and storytelling.

I think for an audio drama, my tendency is to do that sometimes, and then make failure more interesting other times, to like really make it matter and mean something. But there has to be that intentionality there. And it can look, it can look different! Like, maybe failure means something goes terribly wrong, or maybe it means you are trying to Recall Knowledge and you fail the check– and you still recall something, but you misinterpret it, and it leads you down a direction that is gonna maybe not be the best for the party long- term, or will cause problems down the road. And I think there’s, there’s ways to make failure seed future stories that are really…. for me, are really fun and necessary in an AP. So that’s my answer for that.

[00:57:47] Dusty: For me, ever since I started roleplaying or playing TTRPGs, especially like running them, for me, conditions, they have to like, make sense for my brain– for it to work. And so, like, this is gonna tie into something in a second, but I’m a big fan of bringing your own conditions. Where like, you make it, have it make sense, like, narratively. For instance, like, if someone gets critically hit with an electrical attack, this is not in the text, but like, just narratively, it makes sense you drop what you’re holding. Or you, you critically fail a Dodge, or like an Athletics or a Fortitude like, “Oh, you were trying to do this, and in doing so, you, like, knock yourself prone.” Like, I don’t care what the text says. Narratively, that makes sense.

And I think bringing that into an actual play space, just makes it one, flow better. ‘Cause like, “Oh, you critically failed. So you’re still there, but you have mechanically like, a Stupefied 2 condition.” And then moving on– if you do move on– everyone’s like, “Oh, what was that? I guess we’ll get to it later.” And then you don’t.

But conditions in general I find a really good like, mechanical step. One thing that for like, other games — like we actually, this whole group, we’re part of like an Alien game, Alien RPG for Goblets and Gays. Conditions in there are wild and also like, narratively change the whole scene, the whole game of what you’re doing.

One thing that actually, going to a different actual play that Aki and I are part of, Bring Your Own Mech — you should bring your own mech!– is a Lancer actual play. And so like, they have conditions there for both the players and then like, when you’re in your mechs. And those conditions could like, change. Like there’s a — you hit a high enough stress, and then oh, your weapon explodes! Now you don’t have something for this combat. Oh, your like, targeting systems are down, something of that sort. Which like, that in itself, both narratively and mechanically, just changes how you have to continue on with the scene. And I bring a lot of stuff from different games into Pathfinder, mainly for like, narrative sense, ’cause just telling players over and over, you’re Stupefied 1, Stupefied 2, you’re Fatigued, you’re Wounded, you’re… what’s the other condition I could do? Dazzled! You’re nauseous — I don’t think that’s a condition. I think it’s called Sickened. But, you know, same thing.

[01:00:09] Navaar: Yeah, it’s interesting. I think my biggest gripe with Pathfinder and D&D for the longest time is that you have to make a Reflex save to avoid an area of effect, but you never move as a character.

And that like, it makes my eye twitch. Because how are you using your reflexes to stand still? I don’t understand and I want it fixed.

[01:00:33] Aki: You hop! You hop in place. You duck!

[01:00:33] Navaar: But I think that’s one of those things. You hop in place.

Um, yeah, anyway! Well, Esther, unless you have any other questions…

[01:00:42] Esther: I mean, I could keep us here all night with the amount of questions I have, but I feel like we’ve covered a lot of ground. and we always like to conclude by asking folks to tell us where we can find you and your stuff.

War of Immortals: Who Will Die?

[01:00:57] Esther: Oh, wait, wait, wait, there is one more question! Sorry. Before I go into that, there’s a question I’ve been using to end the show with a lot of people before the “where can we find you on the internet? Tell us about your work.” There’s an upcoming War of Immortals storyline in Pathfinder, and we know that one of the Core 20 deities is gonna die. And so I’m curious, do y’all have theories about who it’s gonna be?

[01:01:22] Dusty: Aki, you first, you write for them. [laughs]

[01:01:27] Aki: Not like that! I’m actually looking at a list right now, because they released a bingo type of thing, and I’m actually looking at all the deities so I can pick one.

[01:01:37] Dusty: That’s what I’m looking for right now, because my brain’s like, I know like five of them off the top of my head.

[01:01:42] Aki: I have it bookmarked, one second.

[01:01:43] Navaar: I hope it’s not one of the ones that follow me on Twitter, that would be devastating for my follower count.

[01:01:50] Dusty: So for me, one thing that I think would be interesting, ’cause I think they marked Pharasma as safe, right? Is that what…

[01:02:00] Esther: I think today, yeah.

[01:02:02] Dusty: Today, okay. Yeah, that’s what I thought. I think, just because… I don’t know why, I think maybe Desna. I don’t know! Vibes feel right.

[01:02:13] Alyssa: Hey Dusty, why do you hate lesbians?

[01:02:15] Navaar: Yeah, why do you hate lesbians, Dusty? That’s a wild thing to say on this show.

[01:02:19] Dusty: Here’s the thing, it’s not… it’s not my, I’m not the person making them dead. I’m not the person fundamentally changing the world, I just think, like… yeah.

[01:02:26] Navaar: Dusty, when you’re wrong, everybody’s gonna listen to this and know that you were wrong about that and chose Desna, because you hate lesbians.

[01:02:32] Dusty: And then, you know that I’m wrong here, but you know that I’m right in An Unwavering Force.

[01:02:35] Navaar: Who do you think, Alyssa?

[01:02:40] Alyssa: I am not super familiar with Pathfinder like, core lore, but I did play Wrath of the Righteous, mostly. So… Unfortunately, the only gods I can pull are the lesbians. Um, so I’m going to pass.

[01:02:58] Dusty: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I’m changing my answer. Who’s the capitalism god? That one.

[01:03:02] Alyssa: Abadar?

[01:03:03] Dusty: Yeah, that one.

[01:03:04] Navaar: Yeah, Abadar. Yeah.

[01:03:06] Dusty: That makes sense. No more capitalism.

[01:03:07] Navaar: Deserves to die, right?

[01:03:08] Dusty: Remastered. No more capitalism.

[01:03:11] Navaar: I honestly, I’m– I honestly just think it’s Torag and I think we’re just, we’re too deep into it that we just don’t believe that that’s who it is.

[01:03:18] Dusty: Because of like, future stuff?

[01:03:20] Navaar: I think, I mean, like… I just feel like when it all happened, we heard about it. I feel like Luis even mentioned Torag. I don’t know, it’s a whole mess.

[01:03:29] Dusty: Well, because there’s — I don’t know. It’s a whole mess.

[01:03:32] Navaar: I know, it’s a whole mess.

[01:03:33] Aki: So I’m… the way my head is working with X-ing it, because for fun, I would be like, it’d be so funny if they killed Caiden Caylean. They’d just go, “You! You embarrassing twink, get back here!” You know, it’d be so funny. I don’t think they’re gonna do that though, because he is quite literally the funniest god.

So, I think all the objectively evil ones are safe. Because you wouldn’t do that unless the story, it’s like “We’re going to kill a god, and it’s gonna be that evil!” And that that makes sense, right? But like I don’t think they’re gonna lean that way because Pathfinder, kind of little like nnh? You know? So, um, I think all the objectively evil-looking ones are safe.

I think all the dead ones — or like the ones that embody death in some way — are safe. Um, so like my girl Urgathoa is like, fine. And I also think, I don’t think they’re gonna kill the sun. I don’t. I just don’t. I don’t think — Paizo, I don’t think you got the balls to kill the sun. Um…

[01:04:33] Dusty: Oh, now it’s a challenge.

[01:04:34] Aki: I mean, yeah, do it. Prove me wrong! Or prove me right. Like, at the end of the day, one of us is gonna have a party. Um… [Dusty laughs] That being said, I do think Desna is a really good one that they’ll kill off. They put so much effort into like, bringing her into the spotlight, I think it makes sense that you’re gonna kill someone’s dreams. I think it makes sense for… iomedae. But like, honestly, she’d just be following her legacy at that point, so. Yeah. My heart says it’s gonna be woman.

Um, the other part is like, there’s a whole god about being sacrificial.

[01:05:12] Dusty: I mean, there’s also the god of righteous revolution. That would be a perfect, like, stand in.

[01:05:17] Aki: Yeah, like, I think if it’s not… like, either they’re gonna kill your dreams, or they’re going to kill somebody who’s actually meant for it like, and where people won’t actually blow up about it. But if they kill the sun? They kill the sun? Damn! I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll do something. I’ll do, I’ll make sure it’s public. I don’t know. They kill the, they kill the sun? They kill the sun, I’ll, I’ll actually stand by it. I’ll be so happy about it. I won’t be happy about it. I like, I like my, my little lesbian polyam thing going on, okay. But like, I… but if they had the balls to kill the sun? That’s what I mean. That’s, that’s, that’s what I’m trying to like, if they did, oh my god! That would be a cool, that would be really, really cool.

[01:06:05] Esther: Luis Loza, listening to this show, frantically taking notes.

[01:06:08] Aki: If you kill the sun…! I don’t think, I think Serenrae is the safest in my heart! But if you kill the sun! Oh, oh, I’ll walk around, you know, like, I’ll!

[01:06:22] Dusty: Aki about to get a DM, “So like, about what you said…”

[01:06:28] Aki: Oh god, but I think, you know, I think my Pallid Princess is safe. I think my Mother of Monsters is safe. I don’t care about anybody else, objectively.

But yeah, I think– I also, Eternal Twink is safe for sure. That’s Caiden Cailean. There’s no way he’s anything bigger. He’s like a stick.

[01:06:46] Esther: I’m calling him the Eternal Twink forever now, thank you.

[01:06:50] Dusty: That should be the name of this episode.

[01:06:54] Alyssa: The Eternal Twink.

[01:06:57] Navaar: Um, yeah. It’s hard. I don’t know. I’m just ready to be surprised and I’ll accept it.

[01:07:05] Esther: Yeah, on the note of the Eternal Twink and accepting it, where can we find you all online and what are you working on that we can go check out?

Outros

[01:07:16] Dusty: I’ll go first this time since I went last last time. Well, you can find most of us at An Unwavering Force, a Star Wars story using Pathfinder 2nd Edition. That’s @Unwavering Force. You can find us most places. You can go to our Patreon at Unwavering Force. We have some stuff that should be coming out, it just requires editing. So it will get there. Also, Goblets and Gays!

Also keep an eye out on something I didn’t mention, Bring Your Own Mech. You like mechas? Keep an eye out there.

You can also find me @Dustehill. . Also, like, I make games. So go to itch.io.dustehill. I’m working on some other stuff, it’s just, you know, I need to, like, not be working on my real life job. And you know, I have to do that.

[01:08:01] Aki: Hi, I’m Aki. Um, you can find me all over the internet at some variation of akinomi_art, where I do a lot of things, too many things. I have a problem with saying no. You can check out my award-winning Pathfinder 2e podcast @GobletsandGays, we talked about it a lot.

Currently, as of this recording, we are releasing Alien Season 2: Mother, May I? Navaar is on it. And I’m just saying you should check that out for like, really good bad decisions and Dusty’s poor, poor, poor, poor, poor, poor, poor, poor, poor luck. And then afterwards, we have Campaign 2, which is still going to be Pathfinder 2e, except we’re going to Remaster that edition.

You should also keep an eye on, uh, Goblets and Gays Twitch as we are releasing new things. We have our first streamed AP coming up, which is a Last of Eden’s Vices. Then afterwards we have a, maybe a Pathfinder project or something? I don’t know. Ooh, woo. Check it out. Yeah, exactly. Me personally, uh, another project I’m doing, I am all over Nameless Domain. But if you want, if you want another Pathfinder 2e Remastered Edition project, wow, maybe you should check out for that. I mentioned it earlier. So, so, I’m just saying, just, you know, just follow us there. God, I’m in a lot of other things that Alyssa can tell you what I’m on because I follow them everywhere! Yeah!

[01:09:21] Alyssa: Yeah, and I’m Alyssa. You can find me online at adisasterqueer. In addition to Goblets and Gays and An Unwavering Force, it feels a little sacrilegious to plug a 5e project on here, but Akino and I — this is why Aki left it to me!– Akino and I are on a 5e stream most Wednesdays called Mistlost at themandii’s Twitch channel.

It is a very homebrew world about yeah, just some very– I’m the only terrible person. Some really nice guys and me. And in, yeah, in addition to Mother May I and our second Pathfinder 2e main campaign on Goblets and Gays, I am a part of a couple other Goblets and Gays podcast projects that will be coming out eventually, which are in different systems and are very exciting.

[01:10:26] Esther: And Navaar, do you have something you’d like to announce?

[01:10:29] Navaar: I don’t actually. I’m just kidding. Hi, I’m Navaar, um, I’ve been adopted into this trio, we are now a quadruple…?

[01:10:39] Alyssa: Quartet!

[01:10:42] Navaar: Quartet! Yeah, there you go, we’re a quartet. And we go everywhere together. So yeah, you can find me on An Unwavering Force, on Goblets and Gays, playing Tank, who’s incredible. He’s a pilot, he looks like Michael Jai White, legally distinct Michael Jai White, for legal reasons.

And also, you can find me on Secret Nerd Podcast, where I have made my miraculous return after a year of saying I was going to do so. But did I come back with the bang? Yes, I did. We did a panel interview, we talked about audio editing for actual plays. And then, I dropped an Actual Play! And it’s using the system that I created, and the game that I created called The Corrupted. And it’s very narrative-focused, audio-drama-esque actual play. Um, so if that’s your thing, and you like apocalypses and drama and being sad, and loving characters that are gonna inevitably make you sad because it’s a survival horror podcast, then you should listen to it. It’s really good in my opinion, in my humble opinion. So yeah, you can find me on social media at Navaar, @NavaarSNP, like Secret Nerd Podcast. and you can find the podcast at @SecretNrdSocial.

And that’s it. Oh, if you want to buy The Corrupted, also I guess I should say, go to plusoneexp.com, and then just look up The Corrupted. Because there is a link, but it’s complicated to say, and it’s easier if you just search it.

[01:12:11] Esther: For our listeners’ benefit, y’all can’t see the nods, the like, enthusiastic nods when Navaar was like, I think this AP is really good.

Having heard several episodes, yes, it is! It is phenomenal.

[01:12:25] Alyssa: It’s so good!

[01:12:26] Esther: It’s so good, y’all. Check it out, and you will not be disappointed. I am like, hawking this show to absolutely everybody I know. It’s, it’s so good.

Yeah, you can — you all know! You can find me everywhere online @dungeonminister. And more importantly, you can find Knwo Direction online @KnowDirection, primarily on Blueky, YouTube, and Mastodon, and at our Discord server, which you are welcome to join and chat with us about Pathfinder and many other TTRPG and life things. And yeah, I think, I think that wraps up my spiel.

Y’all, thank you so much for joining us. This has been so much fun, and you will have to come back someday, please.

[01:13:13] Dusty: Say the word.

[01:13:16] Navaar: When we wrap up An Unwavering Force in four years! [everyone laughs]

[01:13:23] Dusty: You think Onhar will live that long?

[01:13:26] Navaar: I said when we wrap up the show! Who knows what’s going to happen with that poor child.

[01:13:30] Alyssa: I mean, that could still be a week, like.

[01:13:33] Navaar: So true. Especially if we introduce crit cards. So yeah, that’s it. Thanks y’all.

[01:13:38] Dusty: I’m waving to the microphone.

[01:13:39] Aki: Me too.

[01:13:40] Alyssa: Wave to the microphone. Bye.

Game Design Unboxed 84: Mischief

Ryan Costello — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:57:02 +0000

In episode 84 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Glenn Cotter about his design Mischief, formerly Fickle. Learn how he got the game signed and printed first with Bard Games. Then what happened when he received the rights back and got the game re-signed with Smirk & Dagger as Mischief. Listen as he talks through the design changes made in between printings. How the initial bones of the game stayed the same while player count, fairy cards, illustrations and other pieces were tweaked through development.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Glenn Cotter – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

[Press Release] Catalyst Game Labs Partners with Paizo to Publish New Pathfinder Narrative Deckbuilding Game

Ryan Costello — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:00:03 +0000

February 27th, 2024. Woodinville, WA: Catalyst Game Labs—publisher of the massively popular BattleTech and Shadowrun games—is profoundly excited to announce Runefire, a cooperative deckbuilding game based on the popular Pathfinder roleplaying game. A crowdfunding campaign will be run this year, with behind-the-scenes details shared through 2024.

Runefire combines the vast lore of the Pathfinder universe with the fast play of this narrative deckbuilding game. Players choose from several ancestries, from dwarf to elf, halfing to human, and assume one of the quintessential classes of cleric, rogue, fighter, or wizard. Equipped with weapons, spells, and magic items, players begin their adventure in the Inner Sea region, journeying through lands such as Cheliax, Numeria, Taldor, and more! Along the way, they can level up their characters, find additional equipment, learn new feats, and much more. All while experiencing a unique story where players’ actions and decisions through each Adventure impact the next!

“We are excited to see the rich world we’ve created in Golarion reach new fans through the incredible engine the team at Catalyst have built,” said Mike Webb, VP of Sales and Marketing for Paizo. “Whether you are a fan of Pathfinder looking for a new way to experience the world, or a fan of other games in Catalyst’s system looking for a new setting, we think this is an outstanding combination.”

Runefire is built on the award-winning, critically acclaimed and bestselling game engine previously published as Crossfire for Shadowrun and as Dragonfire for Dungeons & Dragons. Building upon that legacy, Catalyst Game Labs is carefully crafting this new experience for those who love Golarion and Pathfinder. The game delves deep in the lore as well as the new Remastered Player Core, GM Core, and Monster Core to ensure the best experience. When players open a copy of Runefire at the table, regardless of what they enjoy playing—RPGs, deckbuilder games, or both—they’ll find a complete box of fun.

“BattleTech will always remain my one true love. Yet the time I spent developing Dragonfire was an absolute high-watermark of my career,” said Randall N. Bills, Creative Director of Catalyst Game Labs. “I could spend weeks of fifteen-hour days in hard playtesting, and yet still sit down immediately and play the game for fun. I’ve literally been giggling as I’ve slid back into the joy of development within this game system. And along the way, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the lore of Golarion (huge shout out to the MythKeeper for his amazing videos that have helped my insane deep dive). Working with Loren, Jay, Talon, Mike, Kristian, and Bryn—alongside Paizo—to weave in an authentic Pathfinder experience to create the best yet iteration of this game is just glorious. I can’t wait for everyone to throw this great game on their tables.”

Look to www.catalystamelabs.com in the future for more details on Runefire!

About Catalyst Game Labs

Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high-quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes—all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games and fiction readers to enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games.

Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming material and fiction with all the benefits of electronic interfaces and online communities, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player or reader. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com.

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is publisher of the award-winning Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Tales novels, Starfinder science-fantasy roleplaying game, as well as numerous board games and accessories. In the 15+ years since its founding, Paizo has received more than 100 major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Now You Know – February 19th to March 1st

Ryan Costello — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:53:36 +0000

We’ve officially reached “March 1st, already?” 2024.

Here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of February 19th to February 23rd

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, February 19th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 126 – Wait! There’s More!

This episode starts with a delightful segment in which Ron plays a series of infomercial hypesters. He’s very good at it. I would have a closet full of Shamwows and Slapchops if Ron was selling them.

Article

Now You Know – February 12th to 23rd
By Ryan Costello

Continuing to experiment with titling the Now You Knows without editorials. I prefer to full day range version.

Tuesday, February 20th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 83: Home

Doug Levandowski and Yeonsoo Julian Kim describe their co-design, Home, as an RPG, but I’m not sure that’s the right fit. It certainly sounded fascinating, and I’d love to try it, particularly with Cathy.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – A Half Century Strong
By Nate Wright

Nate celebrates his 50th Eldritch Excursion with a new Pathfinder2e class that sucks harder than anything he’s ever designed. Because it’s a vampire class, you see.

Thursday, February 22nd

Podcast

Digital Divination 103 – Switching to a New Edition

I confess, the titles of the last few Digital Divinations have blended together to me, but every one has featured a riveting conversation that expands beyond Starfinder to cover a lot of the RPG industry.

Friday, February 23rd

Article

Essential Builds – Indiana Jones
By Ryan Costello

I’ve been thinking about this build for a few months. I missed the chance to time it to the Disney+ release of Dial of Destiny, and then felt like I missed the chance to time an airbender build to the live action Avatar series on Netflix this week. But with reviews being mixed in both cases, my mistiming probably didn’t hurt readership.

Preview of February 26th to March 1st

Monday, February 26th

Article

Now You Know – February 19th to March 1st
By Ryan Costello

Life’s been keeping me busy.

Wednesday, February 28th

Twitch

Know Direction Beyond 82 Live: Scoured Stars

Alex and James share their thoughts on the Scoured Stars Starfinder adventure path with a live Twitch audience.

Thursday, February 29th

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob shares what he loves about the RPGs he’s been playing lately, and why you should check them out.

Friday, March 1st

Podcast

Upshift 030 – Renegade Con 10 News

Since Renegade Con 10 is also March 1st, expect this podcast reviewing it to be a day or two late.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – Indiana Jones

Ryan Costello — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 21:23:02 +0000

Cue John Williams’ The Raiders March!

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that puts popular culture characters into an Essence20 Player Character museum. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.

Audiences met archeologist-adventurer/archeology professor Indiana Jones at the height of the practical-effects action movie era. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created a blend of family friendly violence so commercially successful, the Motion Picture Association of America had to create the PG-13 rating to warn/allow parents to take their kids to these movies. As the only 80s franchise to claim three spots in the top 10 highest grossing films of that decade, the Indiana Jones trilogy cemented its protagonist as a hero for the ages.

Who Is Indiana Jones?

Like his father before him, Dr Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr turned treasure hunting and historic preservation into a thrilling career. He went on deadly expeditions into ancient temples to retrieve lost artifacts. Honestly, Indiana Jones did a lot of the grave robbing and cultural theft that The British Museum is accused of. But Indiana Jones fought Nazis going for these same artifacts, so points for that.

Building Indiana Jones

I’ve mentioned before how Renegade Discord member Spy collects all Essence20 options into numbered lists. Well other Discord members like to pair these lists with random number generators to create random Essence20 PCs. No Essential Build subject has felt more like one of those randos than this one.

Academic by day, adventurer by night, master of the whip. It’s not that Indiana Jones’ character traits don’t compliment each other, it’s just that they feel like a writers room yes-anding their way to the ultimate pulp action hero homage. That actually makes this build pretty straight forward, because all of his trademark elements are tropes of the genre.

Role

Raider (Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive)

Dipping back into a sourcebook that makes a surprising number of appearances on this blog, I chose Decepticon Directive’s new Role, the Raider for our Raider of the Lost Ark. Honestly, this build started after I read the Role and wondered what kind of character I could make with it. The Raider mixes the ability to gather loot with having an eye for an item’s value. While the Role is written with a sinister bend, it perfectly fits Indiana Jones choosing wisely when he’s on the hunt for ancient artifacts.

Eye For Appraisal is the Perk that sets this Role apart from other adventurer types. Gained right at level 1, it allows the Raider to make an Alertness Skill Test to learn about the most valuable item in the area, or the most strategic position to stand in to attack a target. It’s unfortunate that the second benefit only applies to ranged attacks, since Indy famously favours the whip, but he doesn’t shy away from shooting enemies. I’d love to be the GM who gets to tell a player that they’re in the perfect position to shoot the massive sword fighter standing 20 feet away from them.

The Role Perks do have an issue that forces me to break my rule against reskinning for my builds. Unlike most Transformers Roles, some of the Role Perks directly reference having a Bot Mode. However, they’re mostly built on the idea of having storage compartments in the PC’s frame. We’ve seen Indiana Jones stash small items in pockets and his satchel enough that its easy to see how these Perks apply to a non-Cybertronian PC.

Some of the later Perks also capture moments from the Indiana Jones movies. Best Laid Plans almost reads as sarcastic when you think about how often Indy’s plans go wrong, but making an Alertness or Culture Skill Test to allow us and our allies to reroll d20s is a great way to portray a smart adventurer. I especially like the inclusion of allies, because Indy rarely adventures alone, and he usually barks orders that frustrate but ultimately help his companions. Finally, Fear My Name at 14th level reflects how often Indy and his enemies have history.

Focus and Faction

Peacekeeper (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

The Ranger’s Peacekeeper Focus fits Indy in a combination of ways. First of all, he’s often seen interacting with locals in a civil and respectful way. This is especially true in Temple Of Doom. Second of all, it lets him use Culture in place of Deception and Persuasion. Not only does this synergize with a couple of Raider Role Perks, it also reflects how he uses facts and his knowledge of history to convince people more than lies and candied words. Finally, it gives the Raider Role a positive spin. That may be purely flavourful, but half of any Essential Build is about capturing the feel of the character we’re building.

Tiger Force (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

Indy’s outfits may not agree with this, but the Tiger Force Faction works extremely well for an Indiana Jones build. He’s constantly hijacking vehicles, which fits one of the themes of the Faction. He also often walks out of one adventure right into another, so the Creature Of Habit Faction Perk, which lets him reuse his previously requisitioned equipment, works too.

One glaring item missing from this build is Indy’s whip. Tiger Force doesn’t help there, but it does give us Qualification with a Limited melee weapon. That at least gets us a machete, which Indy uses so much in Temple of Doom that he’s depicted with it in one hand and his whip in the other on the movie’s poster.

Origin

Soldier (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

This is a stretch, I know, and there are a lot more characterful options I could choose for Indy’s Origin, like Driven from Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time, or Traveller from Power Rangers Roleplaying Across The Stars. The thing is, even though the mechanics of those Origins applies, the flavour is already covered by our Role, Focus, and Influences. What Soldier gets us is Indy’s whip. Soldiers are trained in all weapons, which includes the grappler, the Restricted weapon that represents the whip. On top of that, Soldier explains how a university professor is so physically capable and good at killing people. And it’s not without justification. According to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (yeah, I know), Indy’s a Colonel in the US Army. Too obscure? He also joins the Belgian Army in Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. So while he doesn’t throw his rank and military experience around, Indy is a veteran.

Influences

1st: Bookworm (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd: Adventurer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd: Mentor (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I almost went with Earned Your Stripes to gets us the Tiger Force faction without having to worry about the other Faction Access requirements, but I didn’t feel right dedicating two options with very specific flavour that does not apply to Indiana Jones. So, instead, I went back to Bookworm. Indy loves a library, but not so much as he gets lost in a good book, so I took it as his first Influence.

Next I took Adventurer. This Influence could apply to just about every Essential Build, but it especially applies to Indiana Jones. Normally if I take Adventurer, I take it as my first Influence because I find the Hang-Up disruptive to adventures. However, I think wanderlust applies to Indy, who is always more than willing to abandon his duties as a professor in the name of another globe trotting mission.

That said, Indy is still a teacher. To represent his day job, I took Mentor. As I mentioned earlier, Indy’s plans often go awry, so having an Influence that both can Lend Assistance for a whole scene and accidentally cause a Downshift is too good not to take.

Essence Scores and Skills

Smarts 5

Culture needs to be one of Indy’s highest Skills, but this brainy fighter (or fighty brain) needs a lot of Skill investment, so the best we can do there is 3 ranks. That leaves us with 2 Ranks for Alertness, another Skill we need for our Role Perks.

Speed 5

Grappler is a rare melee weapon that can only be used with Finesse, so we need to put 3 Ranks there. It does mean Indy’s brutal punches are Finesse based, which isn’t great but it’s not the worst compromise. We still have a lot of Skills to cover, so as much as I’d like a Rank in Initiative, we need 2 Ranks in Targeting more.

Strength 3

Tiger Force access requires 2 Ranks in Brawn, which isn’t the worst fit for our build, but it’s a lot when we’re already short on Skill Points. Indy will also grab 1 Rank in Athletics, to cover all of the physical feats Indy accomplishes.

Social 3

Again, Tiger Force demands Ranks! In this case, we need 2 Ranks in Persuasion. A shame that the extra rank won’t do us any good since Peacekeeper lets us use Culture instead. Peacekeeper also lets us use Culture instead of Deception, as long as we have 1 Rank there, so we do.

Conclusion

I was happy with this build up until the Essence Score. Even though Indiana Jones teams up with fellow adventurers in every movie, he is definitely his film’s protagonist. As a result, we see him do much more than a member of an ensemble. Unfortunately, that stretches character creation resources thin. Especially with Brawn and Persuasion each taking one more Skill Point than I would normally allocate to them just to make it onto Tiger Force. I think if I were bringing this build to the table, I’d forgo the Adventurer Influence for the less source-accurate Earned Your Stripes Influence, and then use those Skill Points for ranks in Athletics, Driving, Initiative, or Survival.

Resources

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Game Design Unboxed 83: Home

Ryan Costello — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 10:00:39 +0000

In episode 83 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Doug Levandowski and Yeonsoo Julian Kim about their co-design Home. Home is an RPG that focuses more on storytelling than dice rolling thanks to Tarot cards that help every player take turns as the “Director” of their scary story. With different modules in the RPG no game will be the same. The game started as Doug’s attempt to make a game about his childhood home but with Julie’s help the game grew into what it is today.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Doug Levandowski – Guest

Yeonsoo Julian Kim – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now You Know – February 12th to 23rd

Ryan Costello — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 16:45:24 +0000

Here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of February 12th to February 16th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Thursday, February 15th

Article

Investing In: Warrenguard
By Rob Pontious

No single individual has tempted me to play more RPGs than Rob Pontious. A game of dragonriders & found family? With that art style? I am so intrigued!

Preview of February 19th to February 23rd

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, February 19th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 126 – Wait! There’s More!

TIL that if you need voice over for your ad, you need Ron Lundeen!

Article

Now You Know – February 12th to 23rd
By Ryan Costello

Discord continues to haunt me.

Tuesday, February 20th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 83: Home

Danielle speaks with Doug Levandowski and Yeonsoo Julian Kim about Home, an RPG they co-designed that focuses on storytelling through Tarot cards.

Article

Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright

Nate’s Pathfinder and Starfinder designs and musings.

Thursday, February 22nd

Podcast

Digital Divination 103

John, Jason, and sometimes Ron talk Starfinder.

Friday, February 9th

Article

Essential Builds – Indiana Jones
By Ryan Costello

Grab your whip and don your fedora, I’m bringing the archeologist adventurer to Essence20.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – NFL SuperPro

Ryan Costello — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 10:00:21 +0000

With the Superbowl this Sunday*, it’s time to carry on the tradition of The Fridge, Capt Grid-Iron, Centiback, and Laceface by bringing a football player to the world of Hasbro’s action and adventure brands.

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that throws popular culture icons into Essence20’s endzone. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.

Are you ready for some football… themed superheroics?

Long before NFL.com used Marvel-based helmets and logos to get clicks, the NFL and Marvel came together in the 90s to create SuperPro, a superhero that lived in the overlap of their fandoms.

It was not a big overlap.

Who Is NFL SuperPro?

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I think NFL SuperPro was just the title of the comic, and the name of the character was SuperPro. Yes, capitalized like that. His Marvel Database entry lists him as SuperPro, and other characters refer to him as SuperPro. However, he introduces himself a couple of times as NFL SuperPro, somehow using the NFL logo in his dialog bubble. I’m going to call him NFL SuperPro because it’s funnier and better for SEO.

After getting injured saving children, Phil Grayfield retired from football and became a reporter for Sports Inside. While interviewing a reclusive football fan and inventor about the indestructible football uniform he designed, thieves broke in, tied Phil up in film stock of classic NFL plays, and set the building on fire. The fire and the chemicals in the film gave him enhanced athletic abilities, the old radioactive football merch giving Phil the proportionate strength of an NFL player. Using his new powers while wearing the indestructible football uniform, he fought crime with the National Football League logo on his chest and helmet as NFL SuperPro.

Yes, NFL SuperPro is Captain America meets Iron Man almost 30 years before the introduction of The Iron Patriot.

I may get tongue in cheek about this misguided corporate creation, but I fondly remember NFL SuperPro. When the comic came out in 1991, my older brother was a big football fan, and kinda into comics. I was a big comic fan and kinda into football. Not long after we’d both drop our kinda interests, but for a few months we had the perfect super hero to bond over. So even though I question the size of the audience for an officially licensed NFL super hero in the early 90s, my brother and I were firmly in that target.

Also, I don’t care what Stiltman says, I love SuperPro’s uniform.

Building NFL SuperPro

One of the challenges of this build is the vagueness of NFL SuperPro’s powers. We know he has enhanced athletic abilities and an indestructible football uniform. He’s definitely not on Superman’s level, but is he on Captain America’s? Or is he closer to Batman? Because the average comic depicts even powerless superheroes as athletically gifted, it’s hard to gauge the power levels of what we see NFL SuperPro do. It doesn’t help that he rarely interacts with established Marvel characters in fight scenes.

His powers aren’t all that’s vague. I don’t know what position Phil Grayfield played before his injury. That impacts the flavour of athletic options to consider. For anyone not familiar with the sport, football player skillsets vary wildly depending on the position. The stereotypical football player is huge, but the most famous position, the quarterback, is one of the smaller players on the field. And most plays are based around the quarterback getting the ball to another, often even smaller player better able to get the ball to the endzone. If Grayfield was a quarterback, I would choose options based around throwing and strategizing. If he was a receiver, I’d build him for speed. A punter or placekicker, the only positions allowed to kick the football, would open up fun martial arts options.

There aren’t many details about Phil’s football career. It’s not even clear if he played at a professional level, since at least once it talks about his football aspirations. All we have to go on is the blurb on the cover of issue 1, which says “he went from sacking quarterbacks to tackling crime”. This is backed up by a line a few issues later about facing the San Francisco offense. Again, for the uninformed, sacking is tackling the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. If that tagline is to be believed, Grayfield played defense, probably a lineman or a linebacker. Unfortunately, that doesn’t leave me much to draw on because most defensive positions involve running a certain distance, pushing, and tackling. If you, like me as a preteen, wonder how that’s defense, the offense/defense names refer to the endzone, not the quarterback.

Despite the lack of details, if an option relates to genetic alteration, powered armor, or sports, it’s in the realm of possibilities for an NFL SuperPro build.

Role

Renegade (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

NFL SuperPro charges into combat, throwing shoulders and tackling the opposition. Even though I already used the Renegade Role for The Grinch, and the Technician and Vanguard both have options related to wearing power armor, the Renegade Role delivers on NFL SuperPro’s fighting style. Reckless Abandon gives bonus Health and Strength Upshifts, both of which work for how NFL SuperPro rushes through defenses to get in his enemies’ faces. Roll with the Punches explains how, in issue 1, he backflipped out of harm’s way when shot point blank, and Fearsome Presence recreates the sniper’s reaction to seeing the NFL logo in his sights.

Sub Rules

Tank Focus (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I obviously considered Blitzer, the Renegade’s football-flavoured Focus, but that Focus supports a short range firearm fighting style. It also didn’t get NFL SuperPro an indestructible football uniform. The Tank Focus, conversely, gives us Medium Armor training. Honestly, I would have preferred Medium Armor qualification so we didn’t have to worry about requisition. Even the General Perks related to battledress only grant training. I could have gone the Technician (Think Tank) or Vanguard (Juggernaut) routes instead, but Technician implies an intelligence that NFL SuperPro never displays, and while Vanguard skews closer to our concept, it gives us more technology that NFL SuperPro’s uniform provides. The inventor intended for it to be used in football games, so integrated lasers and a force field would be unsporting to include. Finally, Juggernaut’s Second Skin Perk says “You may use Technology or Science instead of Athletics or Acrobatics for armor requisitions during the Equipment Assignment and Requisition phase.” That’s antithetical to our build. Compare that to Tank’s Interpose Perk, which says “you may intercept the attack and take the hit yourself”. Now that’s football language.

Origin

Test Subject (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

After considering this Origin for both Inspector Gadget and Super Dinosaur, it finally gets its time to shine!

Mechanically, Test Subject is a baseline Origin. Increase any Essence Score, 2 Starting Health, Ground Movement 30ft. It’s the flavour and Origin Benefit that clinched it for us. Augmented gives us the Enhanced Part or Evolving Mutation General Perk without needing to meet the prerequisites. That gives us a Limited Alteration. Now, I wrote this Origin, so if anyone wonders why I didn’t just give a Limited Alteration as the Origin Benefit instead of the extra step of giving a General Perk that gives a Limited Alteration, the answer is that Enhanced Part and Evolving Mutation are prerequisites for the Optimized Part and Outright Mutation General Perks, respectively. So not only do you get a Limited Alteration, you also unlock the ability to gain a Restricted Alteration the next time you gain a General Perk.

We’ll take Limited Weaponization as our Limited Alteration, which gives us an integrated Limited melee weapon. The close combat heavy bludgeon lets us deal either 1 Blunt damage and 1 Stun, or 2 Blunt damage. A hefty melee attack through an Alteration perfectly translates NFL SuperPro knocking out goons left and right thanks to the chemicals (and football merch) he was exposed to.

I did consider the Accidental Origin from A Jump Through Time since NFL SuperPro got his powers by accident rather than an experiment. Well, even though Accidental’s name and mechanics works perfectly for the classic super hero trope of gaining powers through an accident, the description of the Origin straight up says “You exist in a world where time travel is possible, and unfortunately, you got swept up in it.” I might ignore that line in the future, but one of the goals of this blog is to build characters with minimal reskinning of options. I’m still contemplating if this counts as minimal.

Influences

1st: Athlete (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Experiment (Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Powerhouse (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

My main goal with our Influences was to play up Phil Grayfield’s celebrity. First, I looked up the Celebrity Influence. Ends up, there is none! Putting that fact in my back pocket. Once I decided to focus on Influences that exist, I shortlisted the following options: Athlete from G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Buck Baller from My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Cube Player from Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, and Local Legend from Power Rangers A Jump Through Time. Buck Baller and Cube Player reference specific sports, and while that’s easy enough to ignore, I had other options. Athlete and Local Legend provide similar benefits: a bonus on certain Skills in social situations involving what we’re known for. While I like Local Legend as a way to represent the tribalism of sports fans, I don’t know what team Phil Grayfield played for. In fact, I suspect the NFL and Marvel chose not to establish that specifically to avoid tribalism alienating a fanbase. So I went with the most straightforward of the options I considered.

What’s funny about the remaining Influence choices is that they feel like lesser versions of earlier options. Experiment is like Test Subject, thematically. Even though I didn’t need to cover that element of NFL SuperPro’s background, one of the optional Perks that can be gained from Experiment is an Upshift when shoving and escaping grapples. It’s so on point for our mutated football player, I couldn’t avoid it.

This is my second Influence, which means I need a Hang-Up. As a reminder, Transformers Hang-Ups are disconnected from their Influences, although the Influences list suggested Hang-Ups. I’m glad they’re just suggestions, because the Hang-Up I want isn’t on the list. Vainglorious. We must spend our first Standard action giving a speech. NFL SuperPro, notoriously, spouts the weakest football puns as superhero banter. I love the idea that he’s just wasting everyone’s time as he rambles on.

Powerhouse covers a lot of the same ground as Renegade (Tank), but the Perk, Muscle Over Panache, gives us something special. We can use Brawn in place of a Speed-based Skill on a Skill Test. As we’re about to discuss, NFL SuperPro might have the lowest Speed seen yet in Essential Builds. Not only does this pull us out of the gutter a few times a day, but it incentivizes us to invest in Brawn, a Skill NFL SuperPro should have but one that doesn’t get a lot of love.

Essence Scores and Skills

Strength 8

Far too often, Strength gets dumped on this blog. I usually invest in one or two Strength-based Skills. This time, I’m spreading it out across almost all of them. +d6 Might is our primary fighting Skill. +d4 Athletics and Brawn are utility Skills. +d2 Intimidation is our socializing Skill. All of these Skills are effectively 2 Ranks higher in combat, thanks to the Reckless Abandon Role Perk. And since Strength is our diamond Essence Score, these numbers will continue to increase as we level up.

Speed 3

Speed is such a useful Skill, I consider a low Speed build a minor victory. We don’t want less than 3, of course, since we need at least one Free action to activate Reckless Abandon. I gave him +d4 Infiltration, since we do see NFL SuperPro sneaking around sometimes, and +d2 Initiative because it’s handy. If the rest of the Speed-based Skills come up, we can swap to our Brawn safety net a few times a day.

Smarts 3

I didn’t expect Smarts to be tied for NFL SuperPro’s second highest Essence Score, but he is a journalist by day, so a certain amount of Alertness and Culture is important. Not too much, though, since he got the job for his football experience, not any journalism degrees.

Social 2

I did expect Social to be NFL SuperPro’s lowest Essence Score. Between his cringe banter and lack of any notable display of wit, it was hard justifying even 2 Social. I gave him +d4 Deception, because keeping a secret identity takes lying.

Conclusion

This was fun. I didn’t need to do as much research as I did, like reading NFL SuperPro’s Wikipedia, or watching ComicTrope’s review of the first issue. But the deeper I dug, the more I appreciated the legacy of NFL SuperPro. The comic was called “Quite possibly the most embarrassing NFL product ever”. Though I acknowledge its faults and even enjoy how others have dissected its flaws, I still have positive feelings overall about NFL SuperPro. A framed copy of his official NFL Card hangs on my wall of Marvel collectibles, and I would buy NFL SuperPro merch if it ever became available. I know we’ll never see an NFL SuperPro Marvel Legends action figure, but at least now I know I can play a solid version of him in an Essence20 game if the opportunity arises.

*and the recent passing of NFL SuperPro (and Transformers) artist Jose Delbo. Here as a footnote because I didn’t want to start a light post on a sad note.

Resources

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Game Design Unboxed 82: Mansplaining

Ryan Costello — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 10:00:38 +0000

In episode 82 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Fertessa Allyse and Mondo Davis about their party game Mansplaining. Learn not only what the term “mansplaining” means but also, learn how they designed a game made not to offend but allow players to feel what it is to have someone over-explain a subject in a humorous way. Learn how they dealt with assumptions made due to the title of the game and how they marketed to help with that problem.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Fertessa Allyse – Guest

Mondo Davis – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now You Know – February 5th to 9th

Ryan Costello — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 16:26:59 +0000

Here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of January 29th to February 2nd

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, January 29th

Article

Now You Know: Upshift On Hold
By Ryan Costello

Life’s been keeping me busy.

Tueday, January 30th

Podcast

Know Direction Beyond 81: Ports of Call

Ports of Call came out at a bad time for James and Alex to cover it, but with a break in the Starfinder Enhanced/2e news cycle, they went back to this world building hardcover.

Thursday, February 1st

Article

Investing In: Masks
By Rob Pontious

I mentioned how Masks had my attention an unusual amount, since I rarely play multiple systems, and got a positive response from Rob and other gamers whose opinion I respect. I might need to pick this up.

Preview of February 5th to February 9th

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, February 5th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 125 – Night at the Museum

Our Intrepid Heroes go make some edits for accuracy to the museum signage.

Article

Now You Know – February 5th to 9th
By Ryan Costello

Experimenting with titling the Now You Knows without editorials.

Tuesday, February 6th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 82: Mansplaining

I haven’t listened to Fertessa Allyse and Mondo Davis chat with Danielle about their co-design, Mansplaining, but with such a provocative title, I’m intrigued.

Article

Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright

Nate’s Pathfinder and Starfinder designs and musings.

Thursday, February 8th

Podcast

Digital Divination 102

John, Jason, and sometimes Ron talk Starfinder.

Friday, February 9th

Article

Essential Builds – SuperPro
By Ryan Costello

Coinciding with this Sunday’s superbowl, I bring the NFL’s Marvel super hero to Essence20.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Know Direction Beyond 81: Ports of Call

Ryan Costello — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 02:28:14 +0000

Alex and James finally visit Starfinder’s Ports Of Call.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Now You Know: Upshift On Hold

Ryan Costello — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 10:00:02 +0000

Every week, Now You Know recaps the Know Direction content of the past week, previews the Know Direction content of the week to come, as the director of operations, Ryan Costello, shares his thoughts on the state of the network.

Quick note to say that while Jason deals with a personal issue, I work on a new writing assignment, and my wife deals with something work related (which impacts my free time and energy), new episodes of Upshift will be inconsistent. I’ll leave it in the preview in its time slot, though, because I won’t know until the day before if I have time for it in my schedule.

Speaking of schedules, here is the Know Direction Network content we released last week:

Recap of January 22nd to January 26th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, January 22nd

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 124 – Diplomacy

I assume the title is tongue-in-cheek, because our intrepid heroes use violence to solve a lot of their problems this episode.

Article

Now You Know – Happy With Where We Are
By Ryan Costello

We’re not pulling a MatPat.

Tuesday, January 23rd

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 81: Pirate Tails

Whitney Loraine’s game about squirrel pirates pushing their luck with their looting is definitely one I want to demo, if not buy outright.

Wednesday, January 24th

Twitch

Know Direction Beyond 81 Live

Alex and James visit the Ports Of Call with a live Twitch audience.

Thursday, January 25th

Podcast

Digital Divination 101 – Game Tools

John, Ron, and Jason discuss the updated gaming technology they are looking forward to in preparation for the arrival of Starfinder 2e.

Friday, January 26th

Article

Essential Builds – Maverick
By Ryan Costello

I needed a quick and easy last minute replacement for Essential Builds, so I went with popular culture’s most famous fighter pilot. Then I chose not to go the obvious route of taking the Pilot Origin from G.I. JOE. I do this to myself, really.

Preview of January 29th to February 2nd

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, January 29th

Article

Now You Know: Upshift On Hold
By Ryan Costello

Yes, I’m once again using the Discord banner.

Tuesday, January 30th

Podcast

Know Direction Beyond 81: Ports of Call

In case anyone thought Alex and James skipped this Starfinder hardcover for lack of interest, the wall to wall enthusiasm during this episode should put your heart at ease.

Thursday, February 1st

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob looks at Masks: A New Generation from Magpie Games.

Friday, January 19th

Podcast

Upshift 30

I talk about Essence20.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – Maverick

Ryan Costello — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:15:19 +0000

It’s time to buzz the tower.

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that takes popular culture icons and inverts them into Essence20 Player Characters.

I feel the need. The need for ease. In the preview of this week’s network content, I said that I’d be building My Lillium Falcon. I even teased that you’d have to wait until Friday to find out what that means. Unfortunately, I misremembered the mechanics of an option that the build depended on. I needed a replacement fast. As it happens, I watched Top Gun: Maverick this weekend. With Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell fresh in my mind, and mechanics that build themself, I revved up my engine and listened to their howlin’ roar, because we gotta take a ride into the Danger Zone.

Who Is Maverick?

We’re talking Top Gun: Maverick Maverick here, since it’s fresher in my mind.

As his call sign suggests, Pete Mitchell plays by his own rules, banking right when his gut tells him that his orders to go left are wrong. He doesn’t just do this for the good of the mission, though. Maverick taunts authority. He breaks rules because he can. He turns every mission into a game. Can he just not help himself? Or is he only insubordinate enough to balance out his successes and avoid both punishments and promotions?

Maverick also shares actor Tom Cruise’s defiance of age. I bring this up because it’s a plot point in Top Gun: Maverick, the only movie I can think of that writes a Tom Cruise character like he’s supposed to be in his 60s. This makes the scenes talking about how old Maverick is unintentionally funny, and it makes this another build that could benefit from an Essence20 Vampire Origin.

Building Essence20 Maverick

Obviously, we’re going with the Pilot Origin from the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, right?

That’s what I thought. However, we already used Pilot for The Rocketeer a few months ago. It made me wonder if I could effectively build popular culture’s most famous pilot without the Pilot Origin. It also made me wonder why I would do that to myself, since this was supposed to be a quick and easy build, but here we are.

Going with a different Origin does let us focus on Maverick’s defining character traits, though, while still giving us room for vehicle operator proficiency from other options.

Origin

Rebellious (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

You see where I’m going with this?

Top Gun is considered a classic, and Top Gun: Maverick was a worthy follow-up. But even though the action scenes, with practical jet fighter piloting effects, set these movies apart from other action fare, it’s Maverick’s cockiness that holds the movie together. That and playing volleyball with the boys.

Although Rebellious is very specific in its flavour, it’s actually quite general in its mechanics. Two Health is baseline, a bump to Strength or Speed is always useful, as are the Origin Skills you can invest your Skill Rank into. Most flexible of all is the Origin Benefit, which lets us pick a General Perk. Really, the only area in which the Origin slacks off is the Language selection. That’s a shame, as I believe Maverick is shown to have some fluency beyond his native language.

Role

Infantry (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I knew I wanted the Infantry Role’s Mechanized Infantry Focus, but at first I explored the possibility of Setting swapping the Analyst or Field Commander Role from Transformers. They both capture Maverick’s quick thinking, and the mentor position he holds in the sequel. The thing is, I’ve used both of those Roles for past builds. If that was enough to disqualify using Pilot for a Maverick build, it’s hard to justify making an exception here.

That said, there are a few Infantry options I usually gloss over that work very well for a fighter pilot. Fighting Style lets us pick from a variety of options to hone how we approach combat. One I don’t think I’ve ever taken is Trigger Happy, which lets us ignore the Snag for using the long range of a weapon. What a brutal advantage that gives in a dog fight. I also appreciate how Gallantry at 2nd level reflects Maverick’s willingness to live dangerously (almost like he lives in a zone of danger) (that’s what I call “risky business”). Then there’s Overwatch, which lets us set additional Contingency actions, and Adrenaline Surge, which gives us a whole extra turn once per combat. Reexamining these options with a fighter jet in mind lines up with the quick decisions and precision timing that win Maverick the day in the movies.

Focus

Mechanized Infantry (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

This Focus makes the build. Normally I see ↑2 on Driving Skill Tests as a way to avoid having to put all of our Skill Points into Driving Ranks. In this case, I’m like Maverick trying to reach Mach 10. Max Driving ASAP plus ↑2 means getting to roll 3D6 reliably, and hitting autosuccess in favourable circumstances. Sure, it limits what we can do outside of vehicular combat, but points at Top Gun movies.

Narratively speaking, I guess Maverick was level 6 during the first movie. I say this since at level 7, Roll Cage means our passengers take no damage from a crash. RIP Goose.

Influences

1st: Racer (Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Disenfranchised (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

3rd Party Maestro (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Continuing the trend of going all in on the Driving Skill, Racer gives us an Edge on Driving Skill Tests when a Specialization comes into play. My palms are sweating just thinking about how many dice we’ll roll on a Driving Skill Test. I apologize to anyone who borrows my damp dice after that…

As is often the case, I took my second and third Influence choices as much for the Hang-Ups as the Perks.

Disenfranchised pairs nicely with the Rebellious Origin to encapsulate Maverick’s personality. He seems aloof, like a joker, but if you come at him with rules, he comes back at you with his track record despite them. We’ll use the Edge it gives us on “[Skill Tests] that directly harms something from how you used to see the world” mostly to get the upper hand on superior officers.

The last aspect of Mav’s personality I wanted to capture is the way musical numbers and montages happen spontaneously when he’s around. Party Maestro fits the bill better than I could have imagined. So whether he’s telling his crush that she’s lost that loving feeling, or he’s encouraging team bonding with a game of dogfight football, Maverick can get a party started wherever he goes. Once. If he tries it again, he annoys everyone.

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 8

I didn’t say I had a need for Strength, Smarts, or Social.

So here we are. A maxed out Skill, with Specialization, at 1st level. Maverick has +d12 (Air), and that’s before the ↑2 from his Focus. This means he’s extremely limited outside of a vehicle, but inside an aircraft, he’s unstoppable.

I should note that I didn’t give him a Rank in Finesse or Targeting. That’s OK, as long as his vehicle has a targeting system, like G.I. Joe’s F-14 Tomcat stand-in, the Skystriker. That lets him use Driving for ranged attacks.

So if he doesn’t have any Ranks in combat Skills, where’s the eighth Skill Point go? +d2 Initiative. It’s superfluous, and I could have probably used it better elsewhere, but I just couldn’t accept Maverick rolling Initiative with a Snag.

Smarts 3

Maverick’s a pretty smart guy, but only when it comes to facts about flying. I gave him +d4 Alertness, and then debated where to slip in an extra +d2. I considered Culture and Technology, but I settled on Science. This Skill covers both the math that’s involved in plotting a course and calculating an attack run, as well as anatomy. Maverick may not have been able to save a life, but he knows a human’s limits. Mostly his own.

Social 3

In an argument, Maverick always has an angle. To represent that, I chose to give him +d4 Deception. This will also help him fake out his opponents in a dog fight. Like with Smarts, I wanted a little diversity in my Skills, so I went with a Rank in Streetwise. He often draws on practical experience when he’s out of his depths.

Strength 2

Finally, I gave him a Rank in Athletics, for the broader physical abilities his flight training unlocks, and a Rank in Conditioning, because he refuses to die. I dumped Strength because it’s Infantry’s Diamond Essence Score, so we’ll be able to invest in it later.

General Perks and Other Options

Dog Fighter from Power Rangers: Across the Stars and Peerless Pilot from the G.I. JOE CRB may seem like obvious choices, but they’re redundant with the Mechanized Infantry Focus. Instead, we’ll take Daredevil from Across the Stars, which boosts our Initiative and saves us from taking damage from a Fumble (a potential lifesaver before we reach 7th level and get Roll Cage), and we ignore Snags on Skill Tests when we’re at 1 Health. That’s such a cinematic ability, and reflects how Maverick keeps lucking out when he’s near defeat.

Similarly, Adolescent Attitude from the MLP CRB lets us roll untrained Skills (which we have a lot of) as if we had a d2, and reroll failed Social Skill Tests. Not only does the flavour reflect the many ways Maverick’s told he needs to grow up, but the mechanics show how he gets his way most often when he’s being an immature pain in the butt. There’s at least one moment in Top Gun: Maverick where his senior officer, played by Jon Hamm, clearly wants to reprimand him, but something stops him. It’s how I now picture rerolling failed Skill Tests.

Finally, when we get to 12th level, we’ll take Battle Hardened, which gives us a 1-in-4 chance of regaining spent Story Points. The last half hour of Top Gun: Maverick plays out like a player with a hot d4 throwing Story Points at the GM and somehow still having more.

Conclusion

I did this to myself. “You need something quick and easy,” I said. “No one expects anything but a basic pilot build,” I continued. But no. I made a pilot without the Pilot Origin or the Dog Fighter or Peerless Pilot General Perks.

As usual, I do not recommend committing seven Skill Points to a single Skill at 1st level. Maverick might be the least playable build the blog has seen as a result. And yet, not totally unplayable. If you are planning a character that is all in on a single Skill, many of the other options I went with show how Essence20 can be flexible and forgiving. Surprisingly, I may have been more successful grabbing broad and flexible options for Maverick than I was when I made that the design goal of my Barbie build.

Resources

Game Design Unboxed 81: Pirate Tails

Ryan Costello — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 09:03:26 +0000

In episode 81 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Whitney Loraine the designer of Skybound’s Pirate Tails game. Her inspiration came from the push-you-luck set collection mechanics of Biblios. She took what she liked most from that game and created her own game. Listen to her start as a new designer. How going to a convention allowed her to network and meet publishers nice enough to introduce her to Skybound where she now has two signed games!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Whitney Loraine – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now You Know – Happy With Where We Are

Ryan Costello — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 10:00:16 +0000

Ever since MatPat, the Internet personality behind the ______ Theorists empire of YouTube channels announced his retirement, I’ve noticed two things:

A lot more people than I realized enjoy MatPat’s work (which, given his 18+ million subscribers, I should have assumed);
Maybe channels that serve a similar audience posted “Why is everyone leaving YouTube videos?”

In a lot of those videos, the influencers remark on the futility of serving the algorithm. They employ a logical fallacy that a channel should grow linearly, so if a video of X length released on Y schedule makes Z money, working full time to increase the X or Y should increase the Z. As many full-time content creators discover, there’s a whole other alphabet of variables that need to be manipulated in order to serve the algorithm.

“The algorithm” is often characterized as this unknowable equation that simultaneously demands and suppresses content. While I sympathize with the content creators broadly, a lot of time I find myself agreeing as an audience member with what they complain the algorithm puts them through. If I am used to a channel’s videos being 10-15 minutes long, I’m not happy when I see an anomalous 30-minute video, or the average length creep up to 20 minutes. I base my YouTube viewing around the activities I can do while watching, and changing the pattern affects when I can watch it. Likewise, an increase in content leads to me falling behind, or being selective in what I watch. My behaviour teaches the algorithm, and enough other subscribers with the same viewing habits then affects the content creators.

Although a lot of these videos feel like the content creators asking existential questions, they usually end with a little “I’m not going anywhere” assurance. I guess I’m jumping on the bandwagon. I’m not going anywhere. However, unlike those channels, many of whom I suspect are on the grow and aspire to MatPathood, it’s safe to say Know Direction has settled into a post-decline stable state.

There was a time when I watched our analytics and I celebrated the channel’s numeric growth. However, that all ended when Perram adjusted our analytics settings. What looked like 60 000 subscribers, he said, was mostly bots, and our subscribers were closer to 2000. I like to think he overtuned the settings and our real numbers were closer to the tens of thousands, but regardless, that day taught me that I don’t understand how these numbers were determined enough to care about them as much as I did. It’s not like we were trying to attract advertisers. That’s a side of running the network I never cared for. Good thing, too. I don’t know what kind of legal trouble we might face if I had to tell an advertiser that we actually had 3% of the audience we originally informed them.

Going back to what I said about the network being in a post-decline state. I did like when we added content to the site. Daily podcasts, many of which were actual plays. Daily blogs as well. I loved having so much content for our fans. However, as Know Direction’s #1 fan, even I struggled to keep up with everything we released. So while we might not be as prestigious as we once were, releasing less content and with spottier consistency, the network feels like it’s back to the days where it was just fun to run. We make the content we like, we put it out there hoping you like it, and try to improve our skills while simultaneously using it as a platform for future opportunities. Sure, I’d like it if I didn’t keep forgetting to update my banner, and if some of my favourite network shows were still putting out content, but overall, the network is a side extension of my hobby that gives a lot of people I admire an opportunity to express themselves, and our audience content to enjoy.

Speaking of network content, here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of January 15th to January 19th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, January 15th

Article

Now You Know – Year of the Draconequus
By Ryan Costello

I really hope I don’t forget to replace my banner after a year.

Thursday, January 18th

Article

Investing In: Games in 2024
By Rob Pontious

There’s a lot of RPG content out there, with more releasing each year. Fortunately, Rob’s here to tell us what he’s most excited to see.

Preview of January 22nd to January 26th

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, January 22nd

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 124 – Diplomacy

Kinda sus that an episode that’s 90% a boss fight is called “Diplomacy”.

Article

Now You Know – Happy With Where We Are
By Ryan Costello

In a world where content creators push themselves beyond their limits trying to make a career, we’re just happy to make a hobby of it.

Tuesday, January 23rd

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 81: Pirate Tails

Whitney Loraine, designer of Skybound’s Pirate Tails, has some amazing advice about unexpected ways game designers can improve their skills.

Article

Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright

Nate’s Pathfinder and Starfinder designs and musings.

Wednesday, January 24th

Twitch

Know Direction Beyond 81 Live – Ports of Call

Alex and James attempt to slay their white whale by reviewing the Ports of Call Starfinder hardcover, live on Twitch!

Thursday, January 25th

Podcast

Digital Divination 101

Oooh, I hope episode 101 is a basics of course.

Friday, January 26th

Article

Essential Builds – My Lillium Falcon
By Ryan Costello

What does My Lillium Falcon even mean? Check out Friday’s Essential Builds to find out!

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Now You Know – Year of the Draconequus

Ryan Costello — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:39:15 +0000

I sat down to write the latest Now You Know and realized I once again forgot to update the banner. I panicked, grabbed the nearest die and nerdy thing and made this Discord banner. I did not intend for the 2024 NYK banner to be another Essence20 reference, and, unlike last year’s Optimus Prime banner which had a dragon on his shoulder that no one noticed, this one’s just Discord with a d24.

I’ll try to remember to update it with Pathfinder-centric imagery for next week. Having Discord as the banner for just one week is hilariously appropriate, honestly, but not network appropriate.

Speaking of the Know Direction Network, here is the content we released last week:

Recap of January 8th to January 12th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, January 8th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 123 – Frujai Attack

Something’s rotten in the Devastation Ark, as puns and fungi fly.

Article

Now You Know – Easing Up On Editorials

I’m writing fewer editorials to make sure I post more Now You Knows.

Tuesday, January 9th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 80: Misconceptions

How Misconceptions came to be is bizarre. Bud Light approached George Li to design a board game that explains that there’s no alcohol in their seltzer. It’s a fascinating story, and I recommend people give it a listen.

Wednesday, January 10th

Article

Eldritch Excursion – The Friendliest Fire
By Nate Wright

Nate wanted a way to allow in-combat abilities out of combat.

Thursday, January 11th

Podcast

Digital Divination 100 – We Made It

99 episodes in the making! Sadly, Jason was not available for this much touted landmark episode, but original co-host Ron made it to look back and to the future with John.

Friday, January 12th

Article

Essential Builds – Odo
By Ryan Costello

With no prior plan to adapt Deep Space Nine’s security officer into Essence20, this somehow turned out to be the most accurate Essential Build to date.

Preview of January 15th to January 19nd

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, January 15th

Article

Now You Know – Year of the Draconequus
By Ryan Costello

Sadly, it’s not Lunar New Year until early February, so this joke doesn’t really work.

Thursday, January 18th

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob goes deeper into his thoughts on Pathfinder Remaster.

Friday, January 19th

Podcast

Upshift 30

I talk about Essence20.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – Odo

Ryan Costello — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 10:52:51 +0000

PCs change depending on who’s building them, but justice is justice.

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that shifts the shape of popular culture characters with a bucketful of Essence20 options.

Recently, Jason and I talked about the Star Trek renaissance with shows like Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks. It seems that after the drastic departure from the formula that was Star Trek: Discovery, series that embrace the Star Trek feel and fandom set the slate clean again. But Discovery wasn’t Star Trek’s first black sheep. From 1993 to 1999, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine threw Trek expectations into chaos. And there was one man on that space station trying to maintain order.

Who Is Odo?

Odo was the shapeshifting head of security on Deep Space Nine. Unlike most main characters on a Star Trek series, Odo didn’t work for the United Federation of Planets. Instead, he worked with them as a representative of Bajor, the planet that Deep Space Nine orbited. And before that, he worked for the Cardassians, an alien species occupying Bajor. Deep Space Nine was a military base and mining station called Terok Nor, where Bajorans were forced to work against their will.

The fact that the head of security of an occupying force retained his position after a rebellion chased them out and a relief effort moved in is one of the most interesting things about Odo. He’s rigidly neutral, but unabashedly fair. He won the trust of the Bajorans even as he enforced the rule over them. He was in an unenviable position, and all sides acknowledged that Odo’s involvement kept things peaceful, for better or worse.

Odo earned the position because he was raised by a Cardasian scientist, who treated him like a science experiment. It was later revealed that Odo was part of a shapeshifting species called changelings, who sent 100 larval specimens through a stable wormhole that connected the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy. They seeded infiltrators in preparation for an invasion a century later. Odo wasn’t aware of any of this, spending his life feeling alone and trying to fit in.

Building Odo

The season he spent as a solid notwithstanding, there is no Odo build without shape changing powers. This build needed Dark Skies Over Equestria, the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Adventure Series Book which introduces, appropriately enough, the Changeling Origin. There are other shape-shifting options from Dark Skies Over Equestria that I’ll also be taking, to flesh him out. Er, goop him out?

With his signature power covered, next I need to get across that Odo might be the best law enforcer in the galaxy. Never has the line that separates Origin from Role been clearer.

Then, where possible, I’ll try to convey the ennui that is this shape changer who doesn’t know who he is.

I’m looking forward to this build. As a borderline magical alien in a pseudo-military, every Essence20 setting and sourcebook is a viable option. Time to see how Odo takes shape.

Origin

Changeling (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Dark Skies Over Equestria)

This one’s obvious. Not only do Odo’s people share a powerset with My Little Pony’s shape-shifters, the species share a name. And yes, the mythical changelings of lore were the offspring of hags and witches swapped with the children of villagers, with no ability to take on other forms. Well popular culture, like Star Trek and My Little Pony, co-opted the term and used it in a more satisfactory manner.

The Changeling Origin grants a swath of Origin Perks. We gain ↑1 to impersonate a specific creature type, a suite of benefits to pick from (we’ll take the +1 Health, to bolster the Changeling’s meager 1 Health, and a 15ft Aerial movement, since at least once Odo turned into a bird. 15ft of Aerial movement indicates he can fly, but most flying creatures are better at it than him), and, most importantly, Shape-Shift.

I guess it’s a good time to point out that I designed the MLP Changeling Origin. With Shape-Shift, my goal was to go broad and flexible. This is foundational shape-shifting, saving meatier mechanics for higher level options. It gives us the flexibility to deliver on one of Odo’s core concepts without overpowering other level 1 characters who likely won’t have such spectacular powers yet.

Role

Silver Ranger (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Across The Stars)

Let me start by saying I know nothing about Silver Rangers. And before you say “yes, we get it, you don’t know Power Rangers,” I have some exposure to Power Rangers. I can name a dozen or so characters, ballpark what series another dozen or so come from, and have even watched some seasons with my daughter recently. But I have zero exposure to Silver Rangers.

That said, while I have no evidence to support this, I get an enforcer vibe from reading over this Role in Across The Stars. Moreover, some of the Role Perks, like Power Heal (which lets us heal ourself) and Grid Surge (which lets us conjure tools, reshape our weapons, and increase our Toughness) line up with abilities the changelings demonstrate on DS9. Add in Power Points, Grid Powers, and the It’s Time setting-neutral version of It’s Morphin Time, and the always useful Extra Attack, and we have a Role that works well for a shape changing security officer.

One caveat. Silver Ranger is an Advanced Spectrum. In order to access it, we need to either take the Spectrum Shift General Perk, or get express GM permission. For the sake of this build, we’ll assume our Game Master allowed it, but retraining another Role at level 4 when we can take Spectrum Shift doesn’t impact the build much. Well, OK, a little.

Focus and Faction

Alien Ambassador (Field Guide to Action & Adventure), Earth Defense Command (Field Guide to Action & Adventure)

What separates a soldier from a security officer of equal skill? Their willingness to attack. If I wanted the most combat effective version of Odo I could manage, I’d choose an Infantry or Warrior Focus. But a security officer needs to balance combat capability with diplomacy. That’s why I’m taking the Envoy’s Alien Ambassador Focus from the Field Guide to Action and Adventure. That, and because I’m rarely going to have other opportunities to even consider this for a build. But that’s a lesser factor.

Honestly, Alien Ambassador is practically the Starfleet Officer Focus. The first Focus Perk is even called First Contact, and the 17th level Focus Perk is Universal Translator. In between, we get Understand Intent, which makes us better at picking up on a creature’s intentions, and Able To Adapt, which lets us grant ↑1 for a turn as a Free action. I love how this Silver Ranger/Alien Ambassador Role/Focus combo works together. We can flavour a lot of both options’ abilities to apply to either Starfleet resources or shape-shifting.

For our Faction, we’re going to slightly rework Earth Defense Command, also from the Field Guide to Action and Adventure. Depending on the setting, this could be the Bajoran Militia, or really any alien species military. The only rule we’d need to tweak is the “non-human creatures” mentioned in the Earth Defenders Perk. Otherwise, it provides some Starfleet appropriate benefits. Heck, it even makes us better at operating space ships, something we see Odo do like it’s nothing, and yet I didn’t intentionally factor into our build.

Influences

1st: Security (Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Not From Around Here – Mercurian (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Across The Stars)

3rd Outsider (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Dark Skies Over Equestria)

As established, Odo is in charge of security on Deep Space Nine. The Security Influence lets us ignore some of the penalties of being surprised. On theme, easy to implement, not covered by the rest of the build. I’ll take it.

Now we need to stop and appreciate Mercurian. This variant of Not From Around Here lets us play an alien made of silver goo. Like, what? I had no idea this option existed! It’s exactly how changelings work in Star Trek. Moreover, it gives us an Edge on Athletics and Acrobatics Skill Tests related to squeezing into places. So this is another 1000% on point option that is somehow 000% redundant to our build. Odo definitely goos through the Jefferies Tubes when he needs to get around, and we don’t have that covered anywhere. And then there’s the equally perfect Hang-Up! When you are Defeated, you fall into a liquid state. Liquid is Odo’s natural state. He literally sleeps in a bucket. And while that’s a hefty penalty, remember that as a Silver Ranger, our Odo can heal himself.

Finally, there’s Outsider from Dark Skies. It’s designed with Thorax in mind, the first changeling that showed the creatures to be nuanced, and uncomfortable with their reputation.

From the first episode of DS9, Odo established that he knew nothing about his past, and later episodes explored how hard he works to fit in with solids. The benefit, where the insight he gained studying humanity nets him Smarts and Social Upshifts, embodies some of Odo’s speeches explaining how he outsmarts station criminals (mostly Quark). And the Hang-Up, giving him a Snag when dealing with fellow changelings, is a major plot point from season 3 until the finale.

Before I move on, shout out to Spy on the Renegade Game Studios Discord server. They compile lists of Essence20 character creation options, and I used their All Character Options list repeatedly to save a tonne of time on this build. Being able to search “Security” on a single PDF and finding the Transformers Influence saved me having to sift through every sourcebook that had Influence options in it. If you ever want to make elaborate Essence20 builds like these, you need to grab Spy’s lists.

Essence Scores and Skills

This build’s Essence Scores progress strangely, but not inappropriately.

Our two highest Essence Scores at 1st level are Smarts and Speed. Smarts is our slowest progressing Skill, followed by Speed. Maybe I put too much weight behind needing my Culture Skill to be at least as high as my Social-based Skills, but I made Culture our highest Skill. The build actually allows a lot of Upshifts to physical and Social-based Skill Tests, so fulfilling our Culture needs felt justified. Also, dumping Social out of the gate only for it to increase steadily over time mirrors Odo’s arc on the series.

Smarts 5

I gave us Culture +d8, and Alertness +d2. Yeah, that Alertness isn’t great, and maybe +d6/+d4 is the better split at level 1. Either way we end up +d8/+d4 by 4th level. And between the two Skills, it’s safer to assume someone else on the team will have a decent Alertness. Also, by then we’ll be able to use Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion to determine a target’s intent, thanks to Alien Ambassador, so Alertness isn’t super important for us.

Speed 5

These are mostly standard Speed investments. +d4 Targeting, +d2 Initiative. I went +d4 Infiltration, because more than anything, Odo uses his shape-shifting to sneak around.

Strength 4

I gave Odo +d4 Athletics, but that’s an experiment. If we don’t end up using our Mercurian powers much, we don’t need to go any higher than this. The other two Ranks went into Might, for melee effectiveness. As we level up, I suspect we’ll want to invest in Conditioning.

Social 2

I went super cheap with Social Skill investments. Just +d2 Deception and +d2 Persuasion. As I said, we have multiple ways to bump these Skills up on the fly, and we’ll be getting plenty of Social Skill boosts from our Role.

General Perks and Other Options

I often skip this section unless the options carry a lot of weight, and let me tell you, this Odo build needs the General Perks and Other Options section.

First of all, we may need Spectrum Shift, depending on how agreeable our GM is to letting us use the Silver Ranger Role. If they agree and we can skip it, we get Object-Shift as our 4th level General Perk. It lets us Shape-Shift into an inanimate object. Other than going from goo to solid and back, the only other shape-shifting we see Odo do involves changing into objects.

Later we can take Camouflage Hide to gain an Edge on Infiltration Skill Tests. Both of these General Perks come from Dark Skies Over Equestria.

For Grid Powers, I liked Rapid Morph from Power Rangers Roleplaying Game A Jump Through Time. Odo changes shape when he needs to, so getting to do so as a Free action fits. It also pairs nicely with the Security Influence.

Conclusion

I can’t believe how perfectly this worked out. Any time I build a character of a creature type other than one explicitly covered in an Essence20 rulebook, I need to justify and interpret a lot of options. Here, we get multiple different shape-shifting abilities at 1st level, including literally turning into a liquid form. There are G.I. JOE characters I couldn’t recreate as faithfully as I managed to get this Odo build. Considering I didn’t have any kind of plan beyond “I should make a shape-shifter” when I sat down to write this, I’m awestruck.

I do need to reflavour the surprising amount of silver options I chose. Obviously, I need to make them copper. Odo is a constable, after all.

Resources

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Dark Skies Over Equestria Adventure Series Book

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Game Design Unboxed 80: Misconceptions

Ryan Costello — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 10:13:51 +0000

In episode 80 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with George Li about his game Misconceptions. His publishing company Rabble was approached by Bud Light Seltzer to create Misconceptions, a game based on debunking other common, but wrong, beliefs. Learn how they worked with Bud Light’s marketing team to design and publish a game in record time using a non-gaming manufacturer in the United States in order to meet the deadlines set by Bud Light.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

George Li – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now You Know – Easing Up On Editorials

Ryan Costello — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 19:23:49 +0000

It’s the traditional time of year to look optimistically at the future. However, this year I’m going to be more realistic. I’ve missed a lot of Now You Knows this year, more due to the time it takes to come up with and then write my editorial portion of the blog. Since this blog is primarily about informing our audience of upcoming content and promoting the hard work of our dedicated staff, my failure hurts others. So in the future, I will only write an editorial when I have something on my mind of an announcement to make. Otherwise, Now You Know will be used to promote Know Direction content.

Speaking of network content, here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of December 31st to January 5th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Sunday, December 31st

Podcast

Know Direction Holiday Special 2023

My favourite episode of the year once again uses the holiday season as an excuse for a bunch of Know Direction staff to catch up and hang out.

Wednesday, January 3rd

Podcast

Presenting – Michael Bramnik

Presenting is back! Michael Bramnik is also back! He returns to talk about Evil Genius Games’ organized play program. Even if you aren’t interested in Evil Genius’ Everyday Heroes line, this episode might be a vision into the future of Paizo’s Organized Play programs.

Friday, January 5th

Podcast

Upshift 029: Toy Talk 2024

Give me a live mic and no outline, and you get an hour of random G.I. JOE thoughts.

Preview of January 8th to January 12th

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, January 8th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 123 – Frujai Attack

When our Intrepid Heroes encounter gravity-defying fungi, so there’s mushroom for wordplay!

Article

Now You Know – Easing Up On Editorials
By Ryan Costello

Also, I intended to make a new banner for 2024, but I keep forgetting. So you get one more week, Prime and Baby Dragon.

Tuesday, January 9th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 80: Misconceptions

Danielle speaks with George Li about designing a party game for… Bud Light?

Article

Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright

Nate’s Pathfinder and Starfinder designs and musings.

Thursday, January 11th

Podcast

Digital Divination 100

99 episodes in the making, John and Jason celebrate Digital Divination hitting the triple digits!

Friday, January 12th

Article

Essential Builds – Odo
By Ryan Costello

With this week’s release of Changeling rules for My Little Pony, I bring Star Trek’s favourite shapeshifter to Essence20.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Upshift 029: Toy Talk 2024

Ryan Costello — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 10:16:23 +0000

With Jason away, Ryan shares the multitude of G.I. JOE packages he received over the holidays. Also, he talks a lot about Classified Dreadnoks, for some reason.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction Holiday Special 2023

Ryan Costello — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 20:51:50 +0000

Join a selection of Know Direction staff, old and new, for the latest installment of the network’s holiday tradition.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Essential Builds – Barbie

Ryan Costello — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 10:42:59 +0000

Welcome to Essential Builds. It’s a builder blog, in an essential world. Adapting plastic, with statistics.

To cap off 2023, we look at a Person of the Year 2023 candidate (despite not being, y’know, a real person), fashion icon and film star Barbie Roberts.

Who Is Barbie?

She’s everything!

Barbie started as a fashion doll in the 1950s, with an undefined backstory and open-ended purpose. What set her apart at the time was that kids could play pretend through the doll, as opposed to the traditional baby dolls which served as accessories for games in which the child takes on the role of parent.

As the decades went on, Barbie’s look, messaging, and purpose evolved. Mattel began releasing Barbies themed around careers, some glamorous, some practical. More recently, Barbie expanded to other genres, including sci-fi, super hero, and spy. Barbie’s slogan, “You Can Be Anything”, applies as much to the brand as its audience, as the billion dollars the movie made indicate.

Building Essence20 Barbie

While there’s no wrong way to build a character who can be anything, I’m going to focus on Margot Robbie’s character from the recent movie, Stereotypical Barbie.

If you haven’t seen the movie, that’s not me passing judgment. She’s addressed as Stereotypical Barbie in the movie, and even refers to herself as such. Because even if Barbie can be anything, if you close your eyes and picture a Barbie, it probably looks and acts a lot like Margot Robbie’s character in the movie. Before her existential crisis sinks in.

As a result, I aim to work in options built around flexibility. After all, Barbie changes jobs as often as she changes clothes. The more ground we can make our build cover, the better.

Role

Spirit of Kindness (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I don’t know Barbie very well, so before dedicating a blog to bringing her to Essence20, I needed to come up with a build that I felt worked. The quickness that Spirit of Kindness came to me as her Role confirmed that she was a good choice.

As I’ve discussed before, the My Little Pony Roles have some mechanical and thematic overlap. This makes Role Perks slightly less important to an MLP character than to other Essence20 settings, with the flexibility of the Essence Score Progressions playing a larger, um, role, in differentiating characters. That said, this blog made me realize how potent these Roles are when brought over into other games.

Take the Spirit of Kindness. It’s built around Empathy, both the concept and the Role Perk. You designate one of three Skills as your Empathy Skill, and then use that Skill to aid allies and penalize enemies. We’re choosing Persuasion as our Empathy Skill, turning Barbie into one of the most effective diplomats possible in Essence20. She won’t be throwing many punches, but she’ll drop her huge heart onto any battlefield and force her enemies to reconsider their actions. Outside of combat, Persuasion is one of the most useful Skills, so she will regularly get more opportunities to shine.

When it comes to using My Little Pony Roles to adapt pop culture characters, normally the 20th level Perk causes issues. Princess Of X (where X= the Role’s theme) turns the character into a magical winged unicorn. That doesn’t fit most builds outside of the MLP setting, but it suits Barbie just fine. Barbie has totally gained wings and magic! When they say Barbie can be anything, that includes a fairy princess.

Regrettably, MLP Roles do not have (currently defined) rules for changing settings. I’d love to grab the Commando (Spy) Focus since it is the most versatile Focus in Essence20 (and it works thematically since Barbie was a spy more than once). We’ll just have to find other ways to express Barbie’s versatility.

Origin

Popular (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Let me start by saying that if you take the Power Rangers CRB Origins (which represent the teenage identities and attitudes of Power Ranger PCs) and the My Little Pony Roles, you end up with a pretty perfect combo for a Barbie fantasy RPG.

I narrowed my Origin options down to Kind and Popular. Both work thematically (and yes, Barbie is kind enough that kindness could be both her Origin and her Role). Both have comparable Essence Score Increases and Origin Skill selections. It came down to the Origin Perk.

The Kind Origin gives I Know A Guy, which lets her call on a friend for help. That disqualified the Origin for this build. I was there for the 2014 backlash against Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer, a book in which, contrary to the title in multiple ways, Barbie says “I’ll need Steven and Brian’s help to turn [my ideas] into a real game!” Barbie doesn’t need to Know A Guy! Barbie can be anything!

Popular, on the other hand, lives up to that tagline. Depending on the situation, Barbie can gain temporary Specializations in Deception, Persuasion, and Streetwise. Naturally we’ll want that to be Persuasion as often as possible, but if the situation calls for it, Barbie is prepared to cheat a cheater.

Influences

1st: Chronicler (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time)

2nd Stylish (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Teacher (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I did not expect Influences to be the hardest part of my build.

In retrospect, it makes sense. I kept looking for broad themes, but Influences relate to specific parts of a character’s personality or history. So when I looked at Influences like Artisan, Athlete, and Professional, my stumbling point was when those Influences asked me to narrow down my choice to a specific art style, sport, and profession. If only I could choose Professional three times! Instead I took three Influences that represent any interpretation of Barbie. Well, OK, two out of three.

In many of her animated series, Barbie serves as the narrator by way of her vlog. The Chronicler Influence from A Jump Through Time specifically calls out vlogger as a type of Chronicler. It gives Barbie an Edge on Culture (History) Skill Tests to recall a fact about the information the PC chronicles. I will note that when an option calls out a Specialization, there can be some confusion about whether that means it only applies when that Skill and Specialization come into play, or if it’s suggesting a Specialization that could apply. I believe Chronicle only applies when the Specialization does. Which is a shame, since Barbie doesn’t vlog about history and I’d have liked a little more flexibility to the mechanics. Still, thematically, it works.

Though listed second, Stylish was the first Influence I picked. Even though Barbie has evolved from being more than just a fashion doll, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with having an interest in fashion. Rarity taught me that there’s a difference between being passionate about fashion and being superficial. Barbie may not be as enthusiastic about it as Rarity, but she puts an effort into her appearance. The Hang-Up’s penalty to Stealth Tests in social situations probably won’t come up often, but I like the flavour.

Finally, I chose Teacher because Barbie is often seen as the wisest of her friends, and a mentor to her younger sisters. In fact, some series don’t even feature her parents, with Barbie being the only adult looking after Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea. I was particularly drawn to Teacher’s Hang-Up, which forces the Teacher to perform the task if they’re better at it. It reads like the plot of a typical episode of one of Barbie’s series, where Barbie needs to learn to trust others as much as she believes in herself.

Essence Scores and Skills

Social 8

Social is obviously Barbie’s Diamond Essence Score.

Based on her Role, Barbie needs high Persuasion. I rarely give a 1st level character more than 4 Ranks in one Skill, even their main Skill, and we’re being consistent here. The question is whether to go +d8 or +d6 and a Specialization. I’ll stick with the +d8 for now, since our Origin lets us pop in situational Specializations, and we get plenty of Social increases to invest in a permanent Persuasion Specialization later.

She’s also going to need a couple of Ranks in Performance, since she’s never too far from her next musical number. And I’d like to give her Animal Handling since she has pets and moonlights as a vet and a zookeeper. Then there’s her Popular Origin, which can grant temporary Specialization in Deception and Streetwise. Putting even one Rank in every other Social Skill would mean half our starting Skill Points are invested in this one Essence. That’s understandable for this build, but then Deception and Streetwise don’t net any benefit from Popular. Instead, we’ll give her 1 Rank each in Performance and Animal Handling, and 2 Ranks in Deception.

Smarts 4

If we were building a D&D or Pathfinder version of Barbie, based on how she’s portrayed in her many animated series and movies, Int would be her second highest stat, and Wis her lowest. She’s smart, but her naivety gets her in trouble. We’ll recreate that feeling by not giving her any Ranks in Alertness or Survival.

For Skills we are investing in, we’ll start with Culture since it’s important to the Chronicler Influence. Our Social Skill ate a lot of our budget (isn’t that always the case?) so we have to invest modestly here. Two Ranks.

That leaves us with Science and Technology. Barbie definitely needs a bit of both, assuming she hasn’t forged her qualifications for her many careers (it’s possible, with her Popularity and two Ranks in Deception!) I’d love to give her two Ranks each, but we can only really afford 1.

Speed 3

One of Barbie’s most iconic accessories is her pink convertible. Being a responsible driver, she invests the appropriate Ranks (2) into that Skill to qualify her to drive.

With only two Skill Points left, one of which has to go into Strength, that leaves us with 1 to invest in Finesse. Barbie won’t need Targeting since her Kindness Role’s more diplomatic Perks allow her to affect target’s at range. When words don’t work, Barbie can defend herself. Slightly.

As we level up, future Speed Ranks will go into Finesse and Initiative, to harden her fighting ability and show how her experiences made her quicker on her feet.

Strength 1

Barbie’s not a fighter, but she is an athlete. We’ll set Strength as her Bronze Essence Score and give her +d2 in Athletics. Her Role gives her regular Health increases, so all three of her Strength increases will go into this Skill. There isn’t much need to start any higher than the minimum. Now she can rollerblade along Venice Beach in style.

Playing Barbie

I hope you like flipping coins, because this is the most D2s I’ve ever given a build. A trapping of most RPGs is that generalist characters are hard to make. But Barbie’s not 100% generalist, since we when hard into Persuasion. If you think she could use a bump in any of her Skills, knocking her Persuasion down by 1 will help with that. However, bear in mind the utility d8 Persuasion brings to our build. It’s useful in and out of combat, thanks to our Kindness and Empathy.

I also like what the multitude of d2s means for our character. She’s dabbled in a lot, which helps her relate to a variety of people. It also shows that she’s still discovering herself. That’s why Barbie can be anything.

Resources

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Game Design Unboxed 79: Mantis

Ryan Costello — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 01:02:43 +0000

In episode 79 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jeremy Posner and Ken Gruhl about their co-design Mantis published by Exploding Kittens. They talk about how they found each other as co-designers and the many games that have spawned from the partnership. How a failed design of Ken’s inspired Jeremy to adapt the idea into what became Mantis. Listen to how this design team took an old idea and gave it life in a new form! Plus, how they adapted the game into a kid’s version called Best Worst Ice Cream for Exploding Kittens’ new line of Kitten Games.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Jeremy Posner – Guest

Ken Gruhl – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Upshift 028: And A Banter New Year

Ryan Costello — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 21:03:15 +0000

Ryan and Jason end the year bantering about the media they’ve been consuming lately. It was supposed to be about all the media they consumed in 2023, but both hosts drew blanks when they went to outline the episode.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction 299: Pathfinder Year In Review

Ryan Costello — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:47:14 +0000

Esther and Navaar look back on 2023 and the banner but tumultuous year Paizo and their Pathfinder brand had.

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Know Direction 299 In Writing

Ryan Costello — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:05:03 +0000

Welcome and Introductions

[00:00:00] Esther: Hello and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther.

[00:00:29] Navaar: And I’m Navaar.

[00:00:31] Esther: And today, we are wrapping up the year by bringing you some of our thoughts on Pathfinder in general. We thought it would be fun to talk about how the game is perceived in the wider tabletop space, some of what’s gone down the past year, which has been a really big and busy year for Pathfinder, and some of our hopes for the future.

[00:00:55] Navaar: Yeah.

Howl of the Wild News

[00:00:56] Esther: Before that, I wanted to start by briefly talking about a little bit of Howl of the Wild news that got released. There was an article on Polygon, an interview with James Case, friend of the show. Hi James! And we find out just a few more things about what’s going to be happening in Howl of the Wild.

We learn — I don’t remember if it’s for the first time — but we learn again maybe that Howl of the Wild is going to be told from the perspective of Baranthet, who is this aging, naturalist academic, who’s never really been on an adventure before. He’s been a little timid. And this is him kind of getting out of the academy and going into the world on an adventure, and that sounds really great.

It’s apparently inspired by like David Attenborough and maybe nature documentaries, which I think is very, very cool. There are some new creatures we learned about, like the Apothecary Bee, which, when on the offensive, can drain potions carried by players. And when allied, it can inject what it has gathered to help buff players, which sounds very cool.

There is going to be a Thrunosaurus rex, which is like a fantasy dinosaur with cool powers. And there’s also going to be new playable ancestries, which we’ve heard about, but we also heard about three new archetypes for the first time here. So the Wild Mimic, which is kind of like– they say in the article, it’s a take on the classic Tarzan or Street Fighter’s Blanca.

They have access to like, these physical skills that involve like a sort of a physicality that’s drawn from nature, it sounds like. There is the Swarm Keeper, who keeps a swarm of symbiotic insects on their person, which sounds dope. And then Werecreatures.

And I got really really excited when it came to the Werecreatures, because there’s abilities like echolocation for werebats and pack attacks for werewolves. And a friend of mine once played a werebat-kin in Pathfinder 1e, and I have a fondness for werebats and werebat-kin now.

And the echolocation was something that I asked about like, the first time I heard of this in 1e and they were like, “No, we don’t really have that.” And so I was like, over the moon reading about this and just wanted to say all of that sounds really cool. I’m extremely excited for this book.

[00:03:20] Navaar: Yeah. Yeah, me too. I don’t know if it fully makes up for taking dual classing away, but, uh, yeah, that’s, that’s going to be great. Instead of dual class, now I’ll just be a werewolf. Yeah, no. I, I love that. It sounds like a really, really fun book and I’m excited, too, for us to be able to like, get into it, and break that open and see all the details of that stuff. Because yeah, I think that’s going to be a lot of fun. There’s so many options. There’s just too many. It’s so many, so many things you can do, and I just need more Pathfinder games, basically.

[00:03:50] Esther: Same. I think it was James who actually said to me on Twitter, ” You should make a character who’s a centaur werebatkin.” And that spoke directly to my heart. And course, now I have to do that.

[00:04:04] Navaar: Yeah, yeah.

[00:04:06] Esther: So many good options!

Pathfinder Year In Review

[00:04:07] Navaar: That’s so good. Yeah. Amazing. Well, very cool, yeah. So I — where should we start? I guess what sort of — over the past year, really, ’cause I think that really kind of brings us into like, where we are now — what is some of your perceptions about Pathfinder 2e in the space?

[00:04:23] Esther: Yeah. I think this idea sort of came to me to maybe talk about this because I was remembering the contrast between something that — I don’t remember if it happened like within this year, but it was I think in the last 18 months or so — where a really well-known creator in the D&D community made a statement on social media that she would never play Pathfinder, because Pathfinder fans were really obnoxious.

And it caused a little bit of a stir. There was — it didn’t feel like a great discussion in many ways.

[00:04:59] Navaar: No.

[00:04:59] Esther: And you know, if you don’t know who this is, please don’t go looking for this creator to harass them. Like, I don’t think our listeners would do that, but I just feel the need to say like– please don’t.

[00:05:09] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:05:09] Esther: But I remembered just how divided a lot of folks on my timeline were about like, the perception of Pathfinder and Pathfinder fans and players. And then contrasted with what happened after the OGL news earlier this year, and how all of a sudden everybody wanted to play Pathfinder for a little while there, and were really enthusiastic about it. Like, Paizo employees got a ton of love and then inevitably the internet kind of turned on some of them and they got some very unfair backlash.

[00:05:45] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:05:46] Esther: And I just, I thought it was really interesting to consider kind of the journey that the game has been through in the last year in the wider community and its perceptions. So I started from that place of like contrast.

[00:06:00] Navaar: I do remember what you’re talking about, because I remember having a conversation with a friend about that. Because I don’t think it was like a… I don’t think that person had malice in her heart about — but I think she was frustrated, for good reason, and made a generalization that a lot of people took as the end-all-be-all. I’m giving a lot of grace, maybe, but I — I just don’t think it was like, in that way. But I do, but I do remember the backlash it caused.

And it, and it’s true, like, I think– as a person who recommends Pathfinder to a lot of people, there is a certain amount of — either some people are like, “Oh, I’m interested, but I don’t know if I want to learn all that.” Or it’s like, “I’m not going to learn that. Don’t talk to me about Pathfinder.”

Which is… I don’t know. It’s silly, right? We bunch of games. I don’t see why we should be restricted to any one. But in so many ways, D&D has still a very large stronghold, despite all of the controversy over the past year, a very strong grip on a lot of the TTRPG space. And when you try to recommend a game that is, like, the most direct competitor, depending on, one, how you do it, and depending on the other person’s ability to accept that information, it just sometimes doesn’t go across well.

But I do think, despite that… I feel like, if we’re talking about the general, like, the general meter, right, of interest and excitement and enjoyment about Pathfindere 2e, I do think the positive sort of outweighs the negative. I’ve seen more people who are never engaging with Pathfinder stuff get excited about it.

I’ve had a lot of conversations over the past year with like, people who were just mutuals who were just like, “Ah, I want to learn!” And I’m like, “DM me literally whenever, and I will help you.” And those were all positive interactions. But it is interesting, because it is– there is still this other factor, this negative side of some people that just don’t agree.

And, to be fair, there are some shitty Pathfinder 2e fans, too. Let’s be clear, we’re not — everybody’s not perfect. But I think it’s like, about how we get that message across and, and how you approach somebody when you’re talking to them and, and where you’re coming from in like, your relationship. If everything’s parasocial, it’s gonna be weird when you just act like you, you know, when you come in here and you just like, try to convince somebody to do a thing when their whole platform is based on another thing.

[00:08:14] Esther: Yeah. I always say that people get to like the games they like and not play the games they don’t want to play. And we can’t force anyone to like anything. And usually when we try it, has the exact opposite effect. When I think about that example of this particular post on social media, I remember thinking like, “You got a point. Definitely. I hear ya. There are some obnoxious Pathfinder fans out there who cross boundaries and are frankly, yeah, say shitty things.” And, that felt like a very generalized statement. And I think it was reflected in some of the micro-conversations I had, like, in DMs about this with folks who were more 5e fans at the time, and were like, “Well, this is — I also think that.”

And I was like, I guess I’m so tuned into a different part of the Pathfinder sphere that like — I definitely have had brushes with this other part ,and I’m not a huge fan myself. But most of the people I know are really affirming. A lot of them are marginalized people who are finding like kindred and connection playing this game.

And I think a lot of times, certainly in the, the ways that Pathfinder is criticized, that gets lost. I know there’s like this consistent thread of criticism when Pathfinder’s like, nominated for queer awards in the space. Or like, for outstanding like, LGBT representation or something like that.

And people will often be like, “Why are they nominated for this?” And I’ve seen staff multiple times, say, “Hey, we’re here. We’re queer. We’re making this game.” Yeah, moments like that —

[00:10:01] Navaar: This game is queer! Like, yeah.

[00:10:03] Esther: Yeah, like this game is queer. So moments like that are really interesting for me to like, notice, I do think there’s been a broad trend towards curiosity about Pathfinder and a lot more positivity.

Like a lot of people discovering the customizability of characters in the system for the first time, the huge range of ancestries, and getting so excited about what’s possible. And to me, that’s a really like positive and happy thing. I’m really glad people are finding that out and hopefully inspired by it.

[00:10:36] Navaar: Yeah. I mean, I think — I think it is important, we’ve talked about it on the show before — but like, there was a time in this year that Paizo sold out of all of the Core Rulebooks that they had that weren’t the, the pocket size. And how many of those people actually went on to play and to change their game to that or whatever, like, I think that’s, you know, a discussion. But I do think it’s important to like… it’s one of those things when you start to engage with it, you can see the options. You can see sort of where this can go and what this can do and fix a lot of the things that you had to fix for yourself. And so there is very clearly an appeal there.

I think a big part of it is always going to come down to, like, especially — I saw something this morning about how people often will confuse the Twitter TTRPG space that is like, the most loud, as being the entirety of TTRPGs and the people who enjoy them and the hobby. And it’s just, it’s so not the truth. It’s just the people that are vocal.

And if you’re looking at the people that are vocal about TTRPGs, and you look at the amount of people who get free stuff to like, talk about D&D, I think it helps understand of like…

On one end, there’s a very much a sort of like influencer market. There’s people who are getting stuff to talk about it. And to be clear, Esther and I also get to read these books, and get these books to talk about them for the show. But genuinely, we also really love them. And I think, you know, there’s probably a lot of those people that genuinely love D&D as well. But I think when you’re talking about the amount of people and the reach that some of those people have in terms of audience and things like that, that they built — it’s something that, it’s going to skew the argument. It’s going to skew the numbers and, and the visibility. When you look at like, okay, well, what else are we doing? I think this is a good place to go. Like, what else are we seeing? And we’re seeing Tian Xia come out — or getting ready to come out as soon, hopefully, with tons of incredible Asian writers.

[00:12:39] Esther: The author list is amazing.

[00:12:41] Navaar: Yeah. The, uh, Impossible Lands, again, incredible author list. And multiple books like this, that are diverse content written by diverse people telling positive stories and giving us representation in characters and ancestries that we didn’t think we were going to get in a fantasy world, in a large scale TTRPG. I mean, we talked about that a lot too, but like, even the comparison of like, “Here’s two games that have two ancestries that are based on monkeys. And one of them does not feel good, and one of them feels awesome.”

And that comparison alone, I think, is very important when we talk about representation and wanting to engage with something. And so it’s an interesting place because it’s like, we’re at a spot where there’s still so much room for Pathfinder to grow into a larger audience. And having sort of the… that background of stuff there to be able to build off of as, as a fan, to go approach somebody else and be like, “Hey, if you like TTRPGs and you’re interested in hearing about another one, let me tell you about this and this and these reasons why.” I think it’s– I mean, that’s amazing to, to be able to go like, “Yeah, this is really cool. This will make you feel good. Build 200 characters on this thing and you’ll have so much fun, I promise.”

[00:13:55] Esther: I agree. I think there’s been so much positivity in people discovering all the good things about the system. Like how carefully worldbuilding has happened, especially in 2E. how conscious the authors are and, you know, the developers are of centering the perspectives of marginalized folks and really consciously bringing us into the fold of writers and people who are thinking about the future of the game. I think that really shows, and I think people are connecting with it in a very powerful way.

the other thing I was thinking about as you were talking about like, free swag and motivation to talk about different products is like, the size of Paizo relative to a lot of other companies in the TTRPG space. In that it is one of the larger companies out there, but next to the company that makes the Dragon Game, it’s a pretty small company. Like, my understanding of the revenue of both is that there’s a huge gap there. And I think oftentimes, I’ve watched people continually like, lump Paizo in like with “Paizo and Wizards.” And there’s part of me that always wants to draw a little bit of a distinction there. Like I think it can be useful to talk about larger companies as groups, but also to note that like, Paizo doesn’t have all the resources of Wizards, which is owned by like, a huge multinational corporation.

They’re doing all this, with what they have and that’s amazing. When I think about Pathfinder’s reach, I like factor that into the calculations. I think they’re doing amazing with what they have. I think the fact that Pathfinder is — especially 2E — is as well known and is permeating the space as it is, is really a testament to both Paizo and the the company employees and also like, the fans who are passionate about it, and who do encourage people to check it out and come alongside and help them figure out how to build characters, and all that good stuff.

[00:15:58] Navaar: Yeah. I think another interesting event that happened recently — and by recently I mean, like, within the past year and a half or so — was Abomination Vaults getting converted over to 5e for publishing, and some people thinking that that was, like, the end of Paizo. Which is so silly.

But like, I think what’s great about that specific example is like, here’s this thing that is beloved by its fans, and there was clearly enough interest in that specific thing for Paizo, to go, “Well, we’ll make it available. “It’s still something that they published and created, but we’re going to make it available for people who aren’t ready to change systems yet.

And I think that’s a lot of fun, and I think it’s a good thing, like, in the space. I don’t think — as much as, like, capitalism is based on competition, I think more often when spaces are engaged as community over competition, I think that benefits everybody a lot more. And so, yeah. I mean, if you look at like, the indie game design scene, for instance, there — ’cause I had this discussion a lot, too, when I was going into it. And I’m like, “Should we talk to other people about the things we’re making and the rules?”

And a lot of people are like, “Well, nobody’s going to write your story, for one. And two, like, it’s, it’s not going to hurt to have other minds looking at this and other people having interest in it and sharing that sort of like, brain space and bouncing ideas off each other.” And I think when you look at like, the macro scale of “let’s share a module that, you know, we’ll print for you with your rules,” yeah, I think it’s a lot of fun. And I think most nerds are interested in like, where did this come from? Who wrote this? How did we get here?

ORC License

[00:17:37] Esther: Yeah. Speaking of writing and publishing, this year saw the launch of the ORC license in response to the whole OGL debacle, and I believe that the Remaster books are the first ones published under the ORC license? Yeah, like, what are your thoughts on like the development of the ORC and the fact that it exists now? And like, yeah, just it being a thing that’s out there in the world?

[00:18:05] Navaar: So I’m gonna say, as a person who doesn’t fully understand like, how a lot of this works, just outside looking in, layman, right — I think that, for me, it made sense for them to make the break. I don’t fully understand, like, the need for a license, based on the small bit of game design copyright that I do understand. But from what I understand like, it’s supposed to help make things easier for, for people to use and to make like, third party content on. Which when it comes to like, bigger companies, like, third party content seems to be a way that a lot of people have financial independence, while still making things for a game that they enjoy.

And so yeah, so I was like, “Okay, you know, we’ll see, whatever.” I don’t think it really hit me until we got to see the Remaster stuff and got to see the new rules and the new language. And I think now, having that there, I think it’s starting to feel like — it still feels like Pathfinder 2e to me, to be clear. But I think it feels even more distinct. In a way that like, trying to make a distinction between 2e and 5e to a person who only plays 5e is like, “Well, I don’t want to play that game, that game’s crunchy, etc.”

Which is like, this is an untrue thing that people say about Pathfinder 2e. It is as crunchy or less. But it’s one of those things of like, what is the distinction here? Because it really did pull from a lot of the same stuff. And I think that that distinction has grown further apart, which I do think is good for Pathfinder 2e.

I do think it’s good to say, “We’re letting go of things that no longer fit our identity and moving towards stuff that does.” And we’ve seen that, right? Like, I think, god, when I first started getting into TTRPGs like as a podcaster — I think that’s probably the best way to explain this — there really wasn’t like, a large amount of like accessibility items and things like that.

Like ,there was the combat wheelchair and I think there was a D and Disability, which I don’t know if they do anything anymore. I hope they’re doing well. But yeah, as far as I saw, like there wasn’t a ton of stuff. And now we have items books with like, pages of content that are just built around, real-life accessibility tools that people can use in their world.

And I think like, when you talk about that, when you talk about the artwork, you know, that has characters with top surgery, and the text that includes people of all sorts of different identities and genders, and you have these disability tools, and you have people of color… like, all of this stuff, I think, is important to clearly say as Pathfinder 2e, like, “This is the identity of our game. And we are now changing a lot of this language and rules to fit that identity as well.” And I, I love that.

[00:21:00] Esther: I completely agree. I really felt like reading the Remaster I got a sense of this expanded – – I don’t want to say brand identity, but yeah, like brand identity — that felt like it was even more separated from Pathfinder’s roots in D&D and felt like a distinct product. Which just feels really, really good to watch Pathfinder move in that direction.

I don’t know a ton about publishing. I know some people have been like, “Why do we need a special ORC license? Why can’t they just release in Creative Commons?” And I know that Paizo has said, like, “There’s some particularities that we really need to, like, create our own license for, and other folks are welcome to use it.”

I’m really curious to watch how people do publish under this license going forward, and to see if, you know, it’s picked up by other publishers, if that’s a thing. Just to watch how it develops.

Like, I don’t… I don’t feel like I know enough about copyright law or copyright in general to comment much further beyond saying, like, it felt like a really good direction for Pathfinder as a brand to move in to publish under this.

[00:22:11] Navaar: Yeah. I mean, I think it shows, right? And I think, I don’t know, I know that there are multiple other companies that initially agreed to sign on to do the ORC license as well, um, and I have no idea where any of that has gone. ‘Cause I just, it just doesn’t interest me to pay attention to that thing, specifically.

But I will say I think it is good. I think that as we start to see this shift, which I do still agree like, is a positive shift towards looking at other games and Pathfinder 2e specifically, having this Remaster come out and give these new ways of looking at the rules of looking at a d20 fantasy system, I think is is gonna be big. And to see like, these other supplemental materials come out as well that like, are attached to this and how that all builds off of each other — and yeah, it’s gonna be good.

I think it’ll be interesting to see the people who all bought new Pathfinder Core books at the beginning of the year, uh, how they feel about buying another new Pathfinder Core book. But if you’re buying physical books, you probably enjoy having physical books. So, what do I know?

Evolution of Pathfinder Worldbuilding and Ancestries

[00:23:18] Esther: Yeah, and I really feel like you can learn the game basically just as well by having the first edition of the Second Edition Core Rulebook and then updating your knowledge based on Archives of Nethys or something. Like, the differences are not so vast that you’re learning a completely different game, which is also really nice.

I have a question that will take a little bit of setup, but I think it relates to what you were just saying about new and evolving ways of playing a d20 game, like a fantasy game.

So my spouse and I are listening to the Andy Serkis audiobook of Lord of the Rings right now. And I was a huge Tolkien fan growing up. I basically read multiple of his books constantly in a cycle, like, over and over again. Those works have influenced my life in really, really huge ways. I took a class on Tolkien in graduate school. Like, I guess you could say I’m a fan, and at one time was like pretty deep in the fandom and the lore.

And It’s really interesting to me to chart the ways that so much of modern d20 games really do go back to inspirations from Tolkien. Not only Tolkien, but a lot from him. And what my spouse and I are both really noticing –and like we’ve noticed before, but it’s like, it’s really obvious hearing it read by somebody else — are some of Tolkien’s, frankly really racist writings about orcs are written, about the way, you know, folks from different regions of his world are written.

And, I don’t — a lot of people will feel the need to like try to defend his honor. He doesn’t need that. Like we can love a thing and criticize a thing. And so I’ve noticed just the ways in which specifically, tropes around orcs will come up again and again in discussion in the TTRPG space. And there will be all of these debates about, you know, race and racism and ancestry and other, other, uh, forms of oppression in our real world and how those things seep into our games. And I guess I’m curious about the ways in which we notice Pathfinder troubling some of those roots, moving away from them, and like, what we notice still being in the system.

As I’m thinking about, like, hopes for the future, and like, where we are now and where we’ve been, I notice, like, some changes really coming through in the Remaster. Like, half-orcs and half-elves getting their own names for their ancestries, uh, instead of sort of being reduced to this, like, blood quantum idea of ancestry and race.

I notice orcs being a core ancestry, which is really new. And there’s still some stuff in the way that, like, culture is described that I’m like, “Oh, we — it goes back to Tolkien!”

[00:26:18] Navaar: Yeah, yeah. For sure. Yeah. I mean, I think when we were talking to Luis about dwarves, right, about Highhelm, I think there’s that same thing. Like, I think that there are specific elements that go back to those like ,same roots that I think like, up to a certain point are left in for the familiarity, right? For the ease of like, “That short stout person with a large red beard drinking beer… [laughs]”

[00:26:56] Esther: Is a dwarf!

[00:26:57] Navaar: Is a dwarf, you know! And so, I think there are specific elements of that.

I think what is good is that we’re seeing more ways in which they can step away from a lot of those same tropes and have these characters have their own culture and their own identities. And a lot of that being based around not necessarily even their ancestry, but where they’re from in the region. Which is like, I talk about all the time, but to go back to the Mwangi Expanse, to like, have all these different like, regions and like, “these elves from this region are like this, and these ones are like this, and the reason they are is because of these cultural things.” Like, “these dwarfs live in a mountain with these dragons, and they don’t have beards as often. And these ones are different.”

You know, and having those like really fleshed out, culturally specific things about these different ancestries, I think, is huge. Having options for the things that are specific to ancestry for you to take as traits, as opposed to prescriptions, I think is huge, right? I think as a game mechanic, Orc Ferocity is always one of those things like, this is badass. But not everybody wants to play that specific kind of Orc. And so having these options to be like, “Well, that doesn’t fit into who I am.” In the same way that, like, humans are built different, right?

Some people, based on where you’re born, have longer limbs and a capacity to run a lot further and faster than other people who aren’t, because of the way they’re born. But, like, that’s part of the makeup. But who that person is isn’t based on those things, those very, like, very specific, innate things to the genetic coding that they were born with.

So, I think, yeah, as we, as we see more books come out and we see more options presented, I think every time one of these books comes out, it’s going to just continue to add to that level of moving away from it, right? One of the things we talked about was like, the art styles. And shout-out to Slovenly Trulls again, who does a great show about feminism in D&D, but they talk a lot about, like, here’s this art of like, this woman character, and it versus the art of the man’s character. And they are completely different things. One of them is hypersexualized, the other one is a monster. And I bet you can guess which ones are which.

And so to look at the art and see like, okay, like there are still moments where it’s like, “Oh, like this. I can see how this character could be sexualized.” But also, in the next page, here’s a character of the same gender who is not, who looks in a different way, built a different way. And so, yeah. I mean, I think like, we all want beautiful artwork, and we want variety in that stuff. And it’s not like, it’s not the way it was drawn in the ’90s and the ’80s, to be clear. I enjoy that there are these progressions toward something that moves away from a lot of those roots that you’re talking about.

[00:30:04] Esther: Yeah, I especially love your point about culture and regional culture versus like, one overarching culture that comes specifically from your ancestry. The fact that different elves living in different parts of the world have different cultures that are maybe linked by some commonalities, but that are distinct from one another. And I feel like the sourcebooks have been moving increasingly in that direction, and that’s mirrored in a lot of the conversations we’ve had on the show. And that, to me, is a really, really great direction to move in. And I’m excited, as you are, to continue reading these sourcebooks as they come out, and watching where Paizo takes us.

[00:30:46] Navaar: Yeah. I mean, I think like a really fun, like easy example is I’m — my mom is white. My dad is Black. I live in New Mexico, and in New Mexico, we put red chili on our mashed potatoes, and a lot of foods. And there are very specific things to the region that I grew up in that are distinctly New Mexican, where I am not Mexican or of Latine heritage, versus somebody else who is, has a white mom and a black dad, and lives in Chicago. They’re going to have a completely different experience when it comes to their culture and their upbringing. So I think that those things are so important. And having character creation be built the way that it is to allow these different options — I mean, yeah, I think if you’re being a contrarian, you can go, “Well, there’s not that many for each thing.” And it’s like, true, but I could also ask you, and you’d be like, “Well, there’s too many options now, I can’t choose.” So… it’s a game. We have to have… there’s a limited amount of page space, there’s a limited amount of things we can do. But I think like, having those options there, versus not having options at all, and the option is you choose a race. And then that race has to have these specific things at, at these prescribed levels… to me, there’s clearly a better option that’s being done. And I think that is more inclusive and more supportive of people expressing identity through character without having to doctor it in.

[00:32:17] Esther: Yeah, completely agree. Completely agree. It feels like it’s just built into the system, as opposed to you have to add on a lot to get to this place that feels better.

[00:32:27] Navaar: And it’s not locked to like… so, you know, preaching to the choir, but like, just because the feat is a first level feat, you can always go back and take it if you want two of those different things at, you know, other times. So that ability alone, the character creation alone, I think, does so much for me as a player to be like, “this is what I’m interested in.”

I think it goes like character creation, mechanics, and then world. Because I still really enjoy playing in Golarion.

Hopes For The Future

[00:32:57] Esther: Me too. So yeah, I’m curious: do we want to talk about hopes for the future? Or anything else before we get to hopes for the future?

[00:33:06] Navaar: Yeah, I think that would actually be good. Why don’t you go first?

[00:33:09] Esther: Oh, wow. Okay. What are some of my hopes for the future of Pathfinder? I definitely hope that the company continues to hire a bunch of really awesome people from the space, especially marginalized writers, to continue worldbuilding and contributing to their source material. I can’t imagine that they’re gonna stop, but hope that trend continues.

[00:33:34] Navaar: I hope they never get bought out by somebody who does not care about that.

[00:33:37] Esther: Yeah. As far as, like, what I really hope for… I’m so excited for Tian Xia to come out, and I guess I am really excited for the potential of future sourcebooks in the model that we’ve seen from the Mwangi Expanse, from the Impossible Lands, from now Tian Xia, just drawing from this amazing list of authors who are thinking so critically and carefully about game design and worldbuilding. And I want that for Arcadia!

I really want the Arcadia sourcebook. I know I am not alone in that this show, but I am extremely excited for that to happen one day for other regions that we haven’t really gotten to know as much.

Yeah, I’m really excited for, like, new continents, new spaces to open up. I am a huge fan of the First World, and so I really want the First World sourcebook, and a bunch of new material, new creatures, perhaps new ancestries from the First World. I would love that. Anybody who’s listening, that would be amazing.

[00:34:54] Navaar: Yeah, just from like a business perspective, I think a First World supplement book would…

[00:35:00] Esther: Fly like hotcakes!

[00:35:01] Navaar: Absolutely just, it would be… yeah, it would be wild. Because it’s true, like, there’s a lot of people who enjoy the fey, and that whole world of just like, really weird stuff that is also quirky and magical and whimsical and dangerous. Yeah, more First World stuff. Yeah, I agree.

[00:35:18] Esther: Yeah, absolutely. There’s the Eldest, there’s… I was talking on Bluesky the other day about how I woke up thinking about Count Ranalc, and how he’s so weird and in exile and he was in love, but maybe something got between them. Like, there’s, so much in the First World that is just really delightful and weird and juicy and I think it would sell really well to lot people.

A lot of people love the fey and want to play fey characters and have adventures in the fey realm. So, just saying. I’m so excited we got Highhelm. And as an elf stan since I was a teenager, I also really want a book about Kyonin. Like, that’s a hope I have for the future, is elf worldbuilding. And more dragons.

[00:36:07] Navaar: Yeah, Golarion elves are weird. And they’re aliens. So, like, just, we, we need more of that, for sure. Yes, and dragons. Yeah, to be sure.

Yeah, I agree. I think there’s a lot of stuff like– somebody made a, like an interactive map of Golarion, which works like as a… I mean, it’s cool that somebody made this, but to be clear, it’s, it’s a little bit slow. But it’s like, it kind of operates in the same way of like a Google Maps where you can like zoom in and out of things and move around.

[00:36:36] Esther: I use that all the time, measuring distances.

[00:36:39] Navaar: But there’s a lot of spaces on that map that are just… they might have a name. Or it’s just blank. It’s just blank space. And so yeah, getting to figure out like, what fills those spaces up.

And I mean like, they still haven’t even finished the continent of Garund yet, because there’s still Osirion, right? Is that the name of it?

[00:36:57] Esther: Yeah.

[00:36:57] Navaar: To the north? Yeah. Which is, like, a whole giant-ass region. So they’re, yeah, there’s a lot of stuff that I’m excited for of how that gets integrated. But yeah, it’s going to be really fun.

Things that I’m excited for… I think is just more people who are engaged in the space that help do a lot of the work of drawing interest, right? Like, more APs. I would love to see more APs, especially more APs that are filled with marginalized people. I would love to see more people who are making content like, on YouTube.

For me, like a way that I learned a lot of TTRPGs is like, to go on and watch a video. There’s a couple of things that are now like my special interest in life, that don’t get enough… they have like one or two, literally one or two YouTube channels, like of how to do it specifically for the thing I wanted to do.

And I just think it’s an atrocity. But Pathfinder is a thing that I feel like there should be more content on, because I think a lot of the content creators that are doing it now are fantastic, but I also think that again, adding diversity to that in terms of not only people of color and other marginalized identities, but also just like… more opinions.

[00:38:07] Esther: Yeah.

[00:38:08] Navaar: Having more opinions about how to look at the games and how to, how to teach it to somebody else.

I think that makes a huge, huge difference. Because I personally have been guilty of going to look for something that — not Pathfinder –but like, going to look up something, seeing the options for videos that I have and checking them out, and being a couple minutes into it and being like “This is not for me.” And then I just never learn it that way, I never engage with the videos. I think that I’m not the only person that does that. And so, I think having that sort of like, content creator infrastructure really, is I guess what I’m talking about. I think that would be huge to, to develop that and to see more people go into that. And I think that there is a space for it. Again, going back to like, capitalism, I don’t think that there’s enough competition that anybody who wants to make videos should be scared off of making videos.

Literally go look up D&D and you will find hundreds of people who are making content about it. And I think it’s just like anything else: if your concern is audience, obviously you’re gonna have to do something to draw people in. That’s the name of the game. But I do think that there’s space for more people to get into it, to have their discussions, to do more reviews, to just talk about the game. We are a show that talks about the game Pathfinder, and we still recommend other shows that talk about the same thing. And so I think having more of that, I think, would be really big.A and then specifically to the AP space, I think I would personally love to find… to have the ability to listen to more shows that explore, more stories about Pathfinder 2E, and especially from the perspective of people of color. I would love, too, more of like, how we interpret these worlds, how we take on these characters, especially with all these new characters and ancestries coming out. And so, yeah. I, I would just love to see that.

I think that would be… I think that would be huge for game audience and for people who are just, like, getting into the TTRPG space in general.

[00:40:15] Esther: Absolutely. I was thinking, as you were talking, about the last time I kind of dipped a toe into the world of Pathfinder reviews and videos on YouTube. And, you know, it’s dangerous to assume background, but I am comfortable in saying that the vast majority of that space was very white presenting, and —

[00:40:41] Navaar: And very cis male presenting.

[00:40:43] Esther: Very cis male presenting.

And I’ve actually dabbled in my own mind with the idea of starting something myself, and then have raised this question of like, do I really want to do that? Like, as a person marginalized gender, do I want to get into that? And, there, that’s a real question. But also, like, do I want to be another white person making this content when I’d actually really love to just see the space open up and really welcome and reward and, like, monetize creators of color?

I’m thinking about the AP space and how there’s like five shows that I can think of off the top of my head out of at least like fifty or more Pathfinder 2e actual plays, that have folks of color in the cast.

[00:41:32] Navaar: Yeah. And I think two of them share the same cast, for a large part of it.

[00:41:36] Esther: Yeah, exactly. Exactly, exactly, and I mean, I think I know of two shows that were majority POC. One is An Unwavering Force, and… oh god, I’m blanking on the name of the other one right now.

But, you know, I… I think there’s, room that we must make and we need to make to support the folks who want to create in this space, who have these ideas. Because they do. And I think that is a hope I also hold for the future: is that this blossoms, and we just have more, more folks, especially more folks of color in the AP space in Pathfinder 2E making shows, creating in Golarion, interpreting Golarion. That’s needed and is gonna be beautiful.

[00:42:22] Navaar: Yeah, and I think too, I mean, along those same lines, like, if it follows that trend of like, content creation building up, then I think we’ll see a lot of like, more independent and third-party creations of supplements and adventures and things like that that are being pushed through, and just more people creating and talking about it.

And yeah, I don’t know what it’s gonna take. If I had marketing skills and/or an interest in YouTube, I’d be a dangerous person. But I just don’t, it’s just not my thing right now. Or I don’t have time. You decide. I don’t think too much, says the father of three children who does too much writing.

But I think that there is a space, I think that there’s a, you know, to use like economic terms, like an underserved market of these things. And I think that there’s interest. I have plenty of friends who…. we want content that’s made by marginalized people more, and we’re searching that out. And I think that there’s a lot of people who are making that, but making it in more independent games. Which is great, too, to be clear. As an independent game designer, I love that. Please continue doing that. As a Pathfinder 2e fan, it would be great if some of you would also make Pathfinder 2e content, for me specifically. [laughs] Uh, me and Esther. But yeah, no. I, I think it’s good.

But it’s, it’s gonna be interesting to see, like…

I, I think the TTRPG space is in a, is in a place now where things are sort of… what’s the word? In my opinion, I feel like TTRPGs are starting to get to a place where it’s like, we’ve had this large boom that started with Covid and a little bit before that, but really from 2020. And it’s starting to level out now in a place of, more people are finding their space. More people have spent the past two, three years figuring out what they want to do exactly and how they fit in, and are maximizing on that niche that they have. And that in itself is gonna bring more people in, but it’s gonna bring more people in in a way that like, I think, raises the bar a little bit.

And I can’t imagine that as that’s happening Pathfinder 2E gets excluded from this. I think it’s just gonna be a part of the, of the same thing. I don’t really believe in that whole like, a tide, rising tides, raise all–

[00:44:46] Esther: Lift all boats…

[00:44:47] Navaar: Just seems… yeah, I’m not really fully on that. But I do think there is a specific aspect of that that is true, in that having more eyes out there, having more people interested in games in general, means that your chances of being picked up as that game are higher. And Pathfinder has… I don’t want to rank it because I don’t know the truth, but I think in the top five, right? They’re in those top five of eyes looking at games, because of the volume and the amount of work that they’ve done over decades to like, get to this point building up their market.

So, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see like, where it all goes from here.

[00:45:26] Esther: I’m curious, because there’s a question I turn over in my mind sometimes, which is: especially around the time of the OGL, there were people who very vocally called for big APs like Critical Role and Dimension 20 to ditch D&D as a system and switch to Pathfinder 2e. And when I think about, like, bigger name APs in the space, I know there’s, there’s a couple that use Pathfinder. But I would say there’s nobody on the level of, like, a Dimension 20 or a Critical Role has used Pathfinder as a system when they’ve been in the AP space.

I know Critical Role started out as a 1e game, but they’ve never played it on stream that I’m aware of. And I’ve wondered, like, what would having the exposure of an actual play like that do for Pathfinder as a product, do for other Pathfinder APs in the space, and Pathfinder creators? And yeah, I’m curious, like, is that something you hope for? That like a big, a big name production uses 2e in an actual play one day?

[00:46:35] Navaar: I mean… I think it’s a yes-kind-of.

[00:46:40] Esther: Same.

[00:46:41] Navaar: I don’t… outside of Dimension 20, I don’t really watch big APs anymore. Because I just, how can I put this? I’m more interested in the intimate storytelling — and supporting people who don’t have that sort of mega-support — that comes from a smaller AP, personally.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with listening to any of those big shows, to be clear. I’m not, like, disparaging people. But it’s just not for me, it’s not my cup of tea. However, that said, I do think that there is a very obvious benefit to having like if Pathfinder… if Critical Role played Pathfinder 2E, that would be huge.

I don’t think it’s going to convert every Critter, but I do think there’s a number of people who are like, “Oh, I’ll check it out because I like the character that Marisha made.” And I think the same goes with Dimension 20. I don’t think every… I don’t think every large AP has that ability to like move a meter that much, but I do think that there are some that could. This would be really good to talk to Dr. Emily Friedman about.

I don’t have a lot of faith that a new show could come in and make a large enough impact, unless it was people with the same level of personal audience as what happened with Worlds Beyond Number. Because you’re talking about Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar, Erika Ishii, and Lou Wilson. They can go and make a show together and that become an instant hit regardless of having no content. That’s something that’s plausible, but I don’t know if there’s enough… I don’t know if there’s a, if there’s a big enough group of other close friends like that who have their own audience who can just go and turn out a show that’s gonna be huge.

And I could be wrong. Lightning could strike again and somebody could have that next big AP. I just find it difficult to see how anybody’s gonna attain that again. So it really, unless it comes down from like one of those like big top five, then, yeah.

But then again, those shows — with the exception of Dimension 20, which is like a sort of rotating cast that brings in new people — are mostly white people. And I don’t really care to see another large AP that is just mostly or all white people. So, yeah. It’s an odd place.

The AP space is weird, and there’s a lot more going on than even I’m aware of or even know how to, like, fully analyze. But it just doesn’t seem like there’s… I don’t know. It would take a lot to get there. And I don’t know who’s got it.

[00:49:18] Esther: I think one of the things that folks I really respect have pointed out before is that oftentimes the big APs get talked about in terms of like, “it was lightning in a bottle” or you know, “all these friends got together and made a show,” and kind of gloss over the fact that many of these people have years of experience in the entertainment industry.

They had some level of backing to produce and make a show and… and have that, that place to start out that a lot of people in the more small-scale actual play scene don’t have. And that kind of differentiates where they started from and therefore what they’ve been able to achieve.

And things can change really, really fast in this space, so I can’t say what will happen. There could be another huge smash success AP. And I’m not, like, holding out hope for that, that it’ll be Pathfinder 2E centric. I think if it happened it would be great. I’d be curious to see if there was like, a new wave of interest in Pathfinder driven by fans of one of these shows if they played the system on the show. And I really hope that we can find ways to like put money, time, energy towards the folks who are making Pathfinder content in a smaller-scale way. And as we’ve been saying find new voices who want to be creating, especially creators of color, and support them in this creative journey, in their creative endeavors.

[00:50:50] Navaar: For sure. I mean, it’s one of those things like… Twitter, like having the amount of Twitter followers you have, to a certain extent, doesn’t really matter. But it does matter when it’s like, I can tweet about my new AP and 14,000 people see it, as opposed to 1,000 people see it, right?

Or 100,000 people see it versus 1,000 people. So there are a lot of factors that go into it. I think the way that the AP space and TTRPG space — especially like, as seen on Twitter– is shaking out is like, it just seems like there’s a lot of things that are working in benefit of some people and working against almost everyone else. And even some of those people that you think it would benefit, it’s also not benefiting them.

People only have so many eyes and ears and time to watch and consume media. Fitting into somebody’s like, you know, three to five podcast schedule…

I think at the height, I was listening to way too many. Like I think I had… 12 was like, my max podcasts I was maintaining.

But even then it’s like, if you’re number 13, you’re on the list and you’re waiting until I have time to do it. Anybody who’s made a AP podcast, who has tried to convince their friends to listen to or watch it, knows how hard it is just to gain audience. So yeah, I, I don’t know. It’s a very interesting thing.

I think like a good example of this is like, there is money being put into new shows that I haven’t seen anybody talking about. And again, I’m not talking shit about these shows. I just like– the truth is, at least in the people that I’ve seen, these new shows that are paid for with a true production budget are not being watched and talked about by the people that are in at least my circle.

So it’s, yeah. It’s one of those things. I don’t… unless you are that Worlds Beyond Number people, like, I don’t… it’s hard to say, “Yeah, everybody’s gonna go watch your show.” Like, I think people from Critical Role could break apart and go make a new podcast and a ton of people would go watch those and they’d still be financially successful.

But this is a small, very small pool of people that can go do that, and I think any, anybody else, I don’t know what that magic bullet’s gonna be that like, gets you through the threshold into having that financial success and breadth of audience to be able to say like, “I play Pathfinder 2E and you should, too.” And people go, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’m gonna go buy a book now.”

[00:53:12] Esther: Yeah. Agreed.

[00:53:13] Navaar: Anyway, um, I, uh, used to do a lot of business stuff, folks, so I have too much knowledge in that realm, and I apologize for everything I’ve said today. [Esther Navaar laugh]

Wrapping Up

[00:53:23] Esther: Yeah. Is there anything else we want to touch on before we wrap up?

[00:53:27] Navaar: I think that’s it. But I, yeah, I mean, again, I, I’m still very excited about it. Um, I still love playing Pathfinder 2e. I love it more, I love the changes, and I love the things that are coming up. So I think regardless of what that peak is, or what that growth curve looks like, I think that there’s still a ton of to offer for people who are interested in playing a really fun, well-rounded game that makes you create — or that helps you create — super badass characters that feel good.

[00:53:56] Esther: I can’t say that any better, or differently than you did, so I’m just gonna affirm it and say, I hope that this coming year and beyond, we have more folks getting into Pathfinder, enjoying Pathfinder, talking about Pathfinder to their friends, making content for Pathfinder. Just a proliferation and a blossoming of Pathfinder content in the space is what I hope for.

[00:54:27] Navaar: For sure. Play the game. You’re already the game if you’re listening to us, most likely, but tell your friends to play the game.

[00:54:33] Esther: If you don’t play the game and you’re listening to us, please come into the Discord and tell us who you are. I really want to know.

[00:54:42] Navaar: Yeah, yeah, I love that. I love people who only engage with the podcast media of something and nothing else. I think that’s, you’re truly incredible people, and never change. Tell your friends to play the game, and you just don’t do it. I think that… just stay the same. It’ll be amazing. Yeah, and that’s it for us today, folks.

Where To Find Us On The Internet

[00:54:59] Esther: Real quick, where can people find you on the internet?

[00:55:02] Navaar: Oh, yeah. NavaarSNP, that’s N A V A A R S N P on Twitter and Bluesky. You can follow me there to figure out all the things that I’m doing. I have some really fun stuff coming up on the Secret Nerd Podcast, so stay tuned for that. If you like things that are horrific, and also cute and sad, and also scary, and also undead creature-scary-horror-survivor stuff… just hang out. Be around. It’s coming up soon. Follow Secret Nerd Podcast on Secretnrdsocial, and you can find it wherever you pod. If you have caught up to everything, I’m sorry. Please wait. It’ll be on soon. We’ve been on hiatus for a long time.

An Ununwavering Force: to be clear, I love this show. I get to play a wonderful, broken, young Jedi surviving the horrors of Order 66. So check out Ununwavering Force. We have an amazing cast. And, uh, we are in the midst of a very exciting and also very scary part of our story where Navaar gets a gift and has to pay for it.

[00:56:08] Esther: Oh, amazing. I’ve got to catch up. You can find me on all social media sites, wherever I am at dungeonminister. I’m mostly on Twitter and Bluesky. You can find my Pathfinder 2E AP, that GM at chromythica.com or at Chromythica, also on Twitter and Bluesky and Instagram.

And very importantly, you can follow Know Direction, actually not on Twitter anymore! We still have an account, but we’re not posting there as a network. But you can find us on Bluesky and at knowdirectionpodcast. com. And thank you so much for listening. We are so delighted to have you with us, as always. And until next time, this has been Know Direction!

[00:56:56] Navaar: Bye.

[00:56:56] Esther: Bye!

Know Direction Beyond 80: SF2@PAXU

Ryan Costello — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:07:47 +0000

Alex played Starfinder 2e at PAX Unplugged a couple of weeks ago and he shares his thoughts with James and a live Twitch audience. That, and a closer look at the Field Test Mystic.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Now You Know – A Holiday Tradition

Ryan Costello — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:06:04 +0000

Most of the history of the Know Direction Network saw gradual growth while remaining fairly consistent. The last few years reversed all that, instead featuring rapid changes. One tradition that is carrying on is the annual Know Direction Holiday Special.

This marks the fifth edition of this holiday tradition. Despite working on the network together year round, other than a few games some of us play together, the Holiday Special is the only day each year a lot of the Know Direction staff hang out together. Heck, this’ll be the first time some of the staff even meets! I’d love to make the time for more hangouts like this throughout the year, but the Holiday Special ensures I do it at least once a year, and it’s something I look forward to as a result.

We’re still working out the details, but right now the plan is to meet in the Patron’s Private Sanctum on the Know Direction Discord server, where Patrons can listen in and provide questions via text chat for the network staff gathering in the virtual family room, by the virtual fire, stockings hung virtually with care. Depending on staff availability, we’ll probably swap people in and out throughout the night. Maybe we’ll randomize it!

Speaking of our Patrons, thank you all so much for your continued support. I know the main reward is keeping the network’s lights on and bills paid, but we used to at least offer regular live chats after our Twitch shows. I admit that part of the reason we’re moving to Discord is that it’s easier to produce while also participating than a Twitch broadcast, but it’s also to give our Patrons at least one live show to enjoy this year.

The live recording will be exclusive to Patrons, but the episode will release to the site’s main feed, as usual.

Speaking of Know Direction Network content, here is what went out for our fans to enjoy last week:

Recap of December 11th to December 15th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, December 11th

Article

Now You Know: What Even Is Time?

Sorry about the missed content, folks.

Tuesday, December 12th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 78: Diced Veggies

Veteran designer Josh Cappel talks about co-designing an award winning game with his some and niece. My favourite part was how humble Josh sounded when he admitted his teen co-designers kept his instinct to add complexity in check, resulting in one of his most positively received games.

Wednesday, December 13th

Article

Eldritch Excursion – Aggressively Humble
By Nate Wright

Speaking of brilliant simplicity, Nate turns villainous history into PC backgrounds.

Thursday, December 14th

Podcast

Digital Divination 098 – First and Favorite Characters

Before John and Jason became veteran gamers and RPG industry professionals, like the rest of us, they started as newbs. They share their debut characters as well as some of their favourite PCs.

Friday, December 15th

Article

Essential Builds – The Grinch
By Ryan Costello

So far, no word from the Suess legal team over creating an Essence20 PC based on The Grinch.

Preview of December 18th to December 22nd

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, December 18th

Article

Now You Know – A Holiday Tradition
By Ryan Costello

Soon, we shall have our figgy pudding.

Tuesday, December 19th

Podcast

Know Direction Beyond 80: SF2@PAXU

Alex played Starfinder 2e at PAX Unplugged a couple of weeks ago and he’s sharing his thoughts with James and a live Twitch audience. That, and a closer look at the Field Test Mystic.

Thursday, December 21st

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob goes deeper into his thoughts on Pathfinder Remaster.

Friday, December 22nd

Podcast

Upshift 028

Jason and I banter about the media we’ve consumed this year. Maybe we’ll apply it to Essence20, maybe we’ll just share our thoughts.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – The Grinch

Ryan Costello — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 16:27:36 +0000

“It’s December 15th,” I thought with some fear.
“I need a build idea for Christmas. It’s practically here!”

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that steals popular culture icons to give the gift of Essence20 Player Characters all year round. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.

I’ve built The Grinch this Christmas season.
Please don’t ask why, it’s for a terribly foolish reason.

Honestly, I recently saw a post warning artists not to post unlicensed Grinch art as the Dr Seuss estate gets litigious this time of year. And my first thought was “I wonder if I could build The Grinch in Essence20?”

Who Is The Grinch?

He’s a mean one, that Mr Grinch. He really is a heel. He’s as cuddly as a cactus, and as charming as an eel. Mr. Grinch.

Diss track aside, The Grinch is the star of the 1957 book How The Grinch Stole Christmas, written and illustrated by Dr Seuss. It was adapted into an animated special in 1966, becoming a network television holiday tradition for decades from then on.

But that’s the media that introduced and popularized the character. Who is The Grinch? Well, remember that song we just put aside? Put it front and center again, because it sums up The Grinch perfectly. He’s sour and unpleasant and aims to make that everyone else’s problem. He hates Christmas most of all. But by the end, he has a change of heart (metaphorically and apparently physically) and he saves the very Christmas he just stole.

Building Essence20 The Grinch

This build wasn’t hard, even though the variety of options and sources will make it read like Essence20 fruitcake. We’ll mostly be drawing from the book and original animated special, but if one of the two Grinch films provides polish, it might influence our build.

Origin

Citizen of Cobra-La (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

Finally, an explanation as to why no one else in Who-ville or its surrounding areas looks like The Grinch. He’s a citizen of Cobra-La!

Despite tying directly into a very specific portion of G.I.JOE media, Cobra-La works well for The Grinch’s Origin. First of all, the broad strokes of the flavour work for an anomalous creature. He even lives in snow covered mountains, like Golobulus’ Himalayan sanctuary. Furthermore, like Cobra-La’s resentment toward humanity, The Grinch wants to take away the frivolities Whomanity cherishes.

Mechanically, Citizen of Cobra-La works as well. The bump to Animal Handling explains The Grinch’s bond with his otherwise innocent dog, Max. And the Avoid The Inevitable Perk, which lets him gain temporary Health when he would otherwise be Defeated, reflects The Grinch’s tenacity.

Role

Renegade (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

This Grinch build ended up with a surprising number of Sgt Slaughter adjacent options, starting with the Role inspired by Sarge’s protogés in the G.I. JOE animated movie. Honestly, I chose Renegade because of one Perk. Reckless Abandon gives The Grinch bonus Health and ↑2 on Strength-based Skill Tests. The only way it could more perfectly represent when The Grinch’s heart grows three sizes and gives him the strength of 10 Grinches plus two would be if he got ↑3 instead of ↑2.

Other Role Perks reflect this as well. The Grinch gains a bonus to Brawn, additional Health, and a variety of other options that boost his survivability. He also gets better at combat. Lucky for The Whos, The Grinch chose stealth over a direct assault. Although Cindy Loo Who had a close call.

Sub Rules

Troublemaker Focus (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

Slaughter’s Marauders Faction (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack)

Even though Troublemaker sounds like the perfect Grinch Focus option, I actually chose it through process of elimination. Renegade Foci accentuate the Role’s fighting style more than anything, and The Grinch isn’t a fighter. The Commando’s Infiltrator Focus suits The Grinch best, but unfortunately the rest of that Role does not. So don’t be surprised if we see a stealthy Renegade Focus in the future. It’s The Grinch’s gift to you this holiday season.

The trick with Troublemaker is that it’s built around a signature weapon. Although I feverishly remember Jim Carrey using a flamethrower in the live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas from 2000, and apparently there’s a Grinch-themed slasher in which the killer uses blades, of the Troublemaker’s signature weapon options, I’m going with the Close Combat Heavy Bludgeon to represent the crop he uses to guide his sleigh. It’s a stretch, I admit.

Speaking of a stretch, I’m cheating a bit when it comes to The Grinch’s faction. To gain access to Slaughter’s Marauders, you either need the Once a Marauder Influence, or you need to complete the Marauder’s Marathon in game. For the sake of the blog, I wanted to go with more flavourful Influences, so I guess we all just have to accept that The Grinch spent time at the Slaughterhouse and completed the G.I. JOE drill instructor’s beastly obstacle course.

We may need to justify how The Grinch gained access to the faction, but Slaughter’s Marauders’ benefits make total sense. An Edge on Infiltration Skill Tests from camouflage is exactly why The Grinch dressed as Santy Claus. It also gives him a General Perk. I was tempted to go with Green for obvious reasons, but instead went with Animal Pet. Honestly, getting Mutt his Junkyard at 1st level was one of the major motivators behind giving Marauders a General Perk, so it feels right to use the Faction granted General Perk to get The Grinch his Max.

Influences

1st: Villainous (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

2nd: Mountebank (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd: Tricky (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Villainous is the Influence for cartoonishly evil characters, and is there anything more cartoonishly evil than stealing Christmas? Honestly, the Villainous Background Bonds could have just been lines from You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.

The downside is that Villainous gives a bonus to Intimidation, but The Grinch only really intimidates Max. And while I could research what hoops I need to jump through to use Intimidation in place of Animal Handling, that sounds like a lot of work and pushes Grinch’s villainy from funny to monstrous. So I added Villainous to the list for thematic reasons, but a better mechanical choice is Once A Marauder. And, come to think of it, he did only loot one town and only one time, so maybe Once A Marauder is a better fit than I realized.

Because the mechanics of The Grinch’s Role and Origin cover his survivability and combat prowess, I’m doubling down on Influences that bring out his slippery side. Mountebank gives an Edge on a Deception Skill Test the first time we use the Skill on a specific target, and Tricky lets us use a Story Point to gain an Edge on Infiltration and Deception. Basically, if Little Cindy Loo Who didn’t fall for The Grinch’s lies, he could have used the old “Look, a reindeer!” and snuck off in the other direction.

Essence Scores and Skills

Smarts 6

The Grinch is all about ideas. Awful ideas. Wonderful, awful ideas.

Throughout the story, The Grinch demonstrates acute understanding of Suessian physics. In fact, a lot of his plan depends on shoving whole trees up chimneys, ziplining from house to house on mistletoe wreaths, and packing an entire village’s gifts into one sleigh and riding it uphill. We’ll represent this with three Ranks in Science.

The Grinch’s aptitude in another Smarts Skill is also his undoing. Alertness. Every complaint The Grinch has about how the Whos celebrate Christmas stems from how it upsets his senses. He can’t stand the warm lighted windows below in Who-ville, or the noise, oh the noise, of the Who children’s toys. He also hated hearing the Whos sing, it being what finally motivated him to try to stop this Christmas thing. Even his pallet was sensitive, what with rare Who-roast-beast being something The Grinch can’t stand in the least. It makes me wish Acute Senses was an Influence instead of a General Perk so it could have a sensory overload Hang-Up. Speaking of overdoing it, I hope I didn’t oversell The Grinch’s Alertness, because I’m only giving him two Ranks in it.

Finally, to represent the dinner table etiquette The Grinch demonstrates at the end of the story, and the sewing Skills that got him his Santa suit, I’ll give The Grinch a Rank in Culture.

Social 5

Speaking of The Grinch’s Santa suit, not to brag, but it didn’t fool me for a second. No beard? No pants? I saw right through that disguise. No, it was his performance that fooled me. The Grinch makes a mean fake Santy Claus (in more ways than one). He gets four Ranks in Deception, netting him +d6 and a Specialization in Disguise.

But Deception isn’t his only Social Skill. He also gets Animal Handling. Again, I wish I had written an option in Cobra Codex or Ferocious Fighters that let a villain use Intimidation in place of Animal Handling, but since I didn’t, I’ll represent The Grinch’s meanness toward Max by only giving him one Rank.

Speed 3

Pairing with The Grinch’s ability to circumvent social situations through lies is his talent for circumventing locks through Infiltration. We’ll go with two Ranks.

Since about a quarter of the special is dedicated to The Grinch driving the sleigh, I’ll also give him a Rank in Driving.

That’s it for Speed Skills for now. Renegade’s Speed increases fairly quickly, so if The Grinch needs more Driving or Infiltration, or Ranks in Initiative or Targeting, that can come later.

Strength 2

I didn’t expect this build to dump Strength, but it makes sense. We only see one feat of Grinch strength, and it’s when he taps into his reserves. That’s what Reckless Abandon gets us. One Rank each in Brawn and Melee increase to d6s when using Reckless Abandon.

I’m also OK with low Strength because it’s the Renegade’s Diamond Essence Score. Our Grinch will get stronger, whether we want him to or not.

Conclusion

This certainly is a build. I confess that I went for a lot of options because the name or theme worked for The Grinch, but I’m not sure how cohesively they work together. I had fun with this build, even if it feels like it’s missing something. Like a Santa costume without pants.

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack

Game Design Unboxed 78: Diced Veggies

Ryan Costello — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 10:12:03 +0000

In episode 78 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Josh, Jory and Rowan Cappel about their co-design Diced Veggies published by KTBG. This design started as a father/son activity that quickly added a niece/cousin to the mix. Starting from a catchy name they quickly created a dice drafting cooking game with a fun chopping component and thematically linked recipe cards. Thought was put into what veggies the dice would represent as well as finding recipes that had those vegetables diced in order to make it! If you’re looking to work with kids on a design then check out this episode!

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Josh Cappel – Guest

Jory Cappel – Guest

Rowan Cappel – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now You Know: What Even Is Time?

Ryan Costello — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 21:29:15 +0000

What day is it?
WHAT YEAR?!

Sorry, it feels like December 1st snuck up on me. But now that it’s here, I- eh?
IT’S DECEMBER 11th?!

So yeah, sorry I missed the last two weeks of network content. I wasn’t even especially busy, beyond being a busy guy in general. But I finally got my late episode of Upshift out (rough though the final edit may be) and I am all set to get my network content out in the next…
THERE ARE ONLY 3 WEEKS LEFT IN THE YEAR?!

Speaking of network content, here is what the Know Direction Network had to offer last week:

Recap of December 4th to December 8th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Wednesday, December 6th

Podcast

Know Direction Beyond 79: Enhanced Thoughts

After focusing in on the Enhanced options that mattered the most to them last episode, Alex and James covered the rest of Starfinder Enhanced, giving it a glowing review.

Thursday, December 7th

Article

Investing In: PAX Unplugged 2023
By Rob Pontious

Rob wants again gives me… wait, I was going to say FOMO, but, it’s less fear of missing out and more confirmation that I missed out on a good time at PAX Unplugged.

Friday, December 8th

Podcast

Upshift 027: Ferocious Fighters Breakdown

I breakdown the latest hardcover for the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game: Ferocious Fighters – Factions In Action vol 1.

Preview of December 11th to December 15th

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, December 11th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 121 – Here Be Giants

With some solid rolls early on, and effective tactics, our Intrepid Heroes achieve all of their goals in combat except keeping a few enemies alive.

Article

Now You Know: What Even Is Time?
By Ryan Costello

It’s almost 2024? Seriously?

Tuesday, December 12th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 77: Diced Veggies

Danielle speaks with Josh, Jory and Rowan Cappel about their co-design Diced Veggies published by KTBG.

Article

Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright

Nate’s Pathfinder and Starfinder designs and musings.

Wednesday, December 13th

Article

Behind The Screens
By Ryan Costello

I use a popular culture lens to share my GMing thoughts and experience.

Thursday, December 14th

Podcast

Digital Divination 98

John and Jason talk Starfinder.

Friday, December 15th

Article

Essential Builds – The Grinch
By Ryan Costello

I hope this Essence20 PC steals your heart, not your Christmas.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Upshift 027: Ferocious Fighters Breakdown

Ryan Costello — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 02:34:56 +0000

Ryan shares his experiences working on G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1.

Fair warning, Ryan had scheduling issues getting this episode recorded, so it’s long and the editing is loose.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction Beyond 79: Enhanced Thoughts

Ryan Costello — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 14:13:09 +0000

With two Enhanced classes out of the way, Alex and James cram the rest of Starfinder Enhanced into one enthusiastic review.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Essential Builds – CM Punk

Ryan Costello — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:52:23 +0000

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that never says never when it comes to turning pop culture champions into Essence20 Player Characters.

Last week, one of the most controversial wrestlers of the past 20 years returned to the WWE after an inauspicious exit 10 years ago. Now seems like the perfect time to add CM Punk to the storied history of wrestlers joining the fight between G.I. Joe and Cobra.

Who Is CM Punk?

CM Punk earned the nickname “The Voice of the Voiceless” by saying things that WWE fans often complained about but WWE decision makers didn’t otherwise acknowledge. In a post-kayfabe world, CM Punk is one of the only wrestlers left who can make viewers question what is planned.

Punk walked out on the WWE in 2014 right before Wrestlemania, citing creative differences. This eventually got him fired (on his wedding day, by coincidence the WWE insists). He returned to wrestling in 2021 when he signed with rival wrestling promotion AEW. That ended after multiple backstage fights with fellow wrestlers. Like, real ones. I’m almost positive they were real.

I had CM Punk on my list of Essential Builds for months, but when he left AEW, I assumed he’d never wrestle again. Certainly he burned the bridge back to the WWE. I even joked about the possibility of him rejoining WWE on the Renegade Discord.

That just goes to show that you never know what CM Punk’s going to do next.

He hasn’t wrestled his first return match yet, but during his last stint with the WWE, CM Punk had memorable storylines with John Cena, The Undertaker, The Rock, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, and just about every big name in wrestling these days. One wrestler CM Punk never faced? Sgt Slaughter. This despite them both being in the WWE at the same time. Although semi-retired, the G.I. JOE crossover celebrity still worked a couple of matches a year for the WWE while Punk was on the roster.

Why does this matter?

Unlike the majority of Essential Builds, I don’t have to justify CM Punk’s faction. He wears it on his sleeve. And yes, out of all wrestlers ever, CM Punk is the one to make it onto my list of Essential Builds candidates because he has G.I. JOE tattoos.

Building Essence20 CM Punk

The idea behind this build is “what if Hasbro gave CM Punk the same G.I. JOE crossover celebrity treatment they gave Sgt. Slaughter and Rowdy Roddy Piper?” Sarge’s connection to G.I. JOE was his military gimmick. Piper joined the Iron Grenadiers because he and Destro are both Scottish. Punk’s in is his tattoos. Not only does he have the Cobra logo on his shoulder, he has the Arashikage family’s logo, the 63rd I-Ching hexagram, in the same spot on his forearm as Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

So that’s the story of our build. Punk is an unorthodox Arashikage graduate whose fighting skills and iconoclastic attitude got him into Cobra. Even though his actual UFC record is 0-1, this build aims to make a martial arts master, bordering on super human, with a chip on his shoulder. Right next to his Cobra sigil.

Role

Yellow Spectrum (Power Rangers Core Rulebook)

I would have loved to use the Pink Spectrum so I could make a CM Pink reference. Sadly, Pink just doesn’t work as well for melee combat as Yellow, and the blog’s need for the best builds outranks my love of wordplay.

The Yellow Spectrum is the best melee combat Role in Essence20, rivaled only by the Warrior in Transformers. Between the two, the Yellow Spectrum works better for an unarmed mixed martial artist. Triple Strike Attacks at 1st level mimics Punk’s in-ring offense, which includes a mix of punches, kicks, and knee strikes. The Follow-Up attack mechanic is a fun way to manage the damage output of a combat-focused character while still showing how quickly they can string attacks together.

A lot of the rest of the Yellow Spectrum Role Perks add combat versatility but cost Personal Power and require being morphed. As outlined in the Field Guide to Action & Adventure, when removing the Power Rangers Faction and Setting from a Role, the Role still gains Power Points and gains a Perk that lets it gain access to When Morphed abilities, albeit temporarily. A few mechanical details mean a Power Ranger tapping into the Power Grid will still look supernatural compared to our more grounded build, but our CM Punk will look impressive for having pushed his physical limits to the point of comparing to a Morphed Ranger.

Faction, Setting, and Focus

Since we want to give Punk the Cobra Faction and don’t need to summon Zords, we’ll be removing the Power Rangers Setting and replacing it with G.I. JOE.

The Cobra Faction gives our build +1 to Evasion (which will likely be our highest Defense already, making for a dodgy scoundrel), and, in addition to some equipment Training and vehicle Qualification, it lets us pick a Cobra Division. The Martial Arts Division is the closest we have to Arashikage training at the moment, and it fits our build thematically and mechanically. Even though we’re going for an unarmed martial artist, being Qualified in all Martial Arts weapons means CM Punk can grab a bow or shuriken or throwing staff for use as a ranged weapon instead of relying on a gun.

Because we changed settings, we get to choose a G.I. JOE Focus in place of our Role’s Power Rangers setting perks, like Power Weapon and Zord. I debated grabbing a Focus that reflects CM Punk’s ring psychology. Analyst (Manipulator) from Transformers had a couple of nice Perks, but also suggested that CM Punk had a hologram projector, which I don’t believe he does. I considered Officer (Battlefield Psychologist) and Officer (Taskmaster) as well, but half of Battlefield Psychologist’s Focus Perks help allies, and most of Taskmaster’s Focus Perks boss allies around. Sure, Punk’s lead a few stables, but I wanted more abilities that could be used independent of allies.

So I went with the more obvious choice for a build based on a pro wrestler: Renegade (Slammer) from the Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack. Slammer improves the effectiveness of unarmed attacks, adds additional options, and lets us chain unarmed strikes with maneuvers. Try Me, which challenges a target to a one-on-one slugfest, is a bit of that psychology I was looking for. It’s named after a Sgt Slaughter quote from the cartoon, of course. If this was written as a CM Punk Focus, it would be called It’s Clobberin’ Time.

One of Slammer’s Focus Perks, Roll with the Punches, interacts oddly with the Field Guide to Action & Adventure’s rules for changing a Role’s settings. Normally when a Focus Perk modifies a parent Role’s Role Perks, you get the basic version instead. In this case, you get the regular Perk, but a few levels earlier, and then a second use of the Perk at the level you would normally get the Perk. I recommend that you get regular Roll with the Punches at 3rd level, but don’t get a second use at 6th level.

Origin

Iconoclast (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

I didn’t have a firm idea of what Origin to give CM Punk until I described him as iconoclastic earlier in the blog. Iconoclast just happens to be an Origin in Cobra Codex.

From having a look that goes against the Vince McMahon mould, to his notorious Pipe Bomb promo, to the particular way people listen when he speaks, CM Punk does things his own way and succeeds against the odds.

The Perk, which grants an Edge on Initiative Skill Tests against higher level Threats, reflects how Punk overachieved in the WWE, both by defeating larger opponents and catching on despite having an unconventional look and personality.

Influences

1st: Montebank (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd: Angry (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

3rd: Martial Artist (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Here’s an Essence20 Influences hack for you: If you are looking for an option that ties into a specific Skill, check the My Little Pony Influences. They were intentionally written so that each Skill has at least one Influence tied to it. For example, I wanted to bring the Deception Skill to the forefront of our build, since most of our options up till now covered combat. Montebank gives CM Punk an Edge on Deception Skill Tests the first time he targets a character. Nice and simple, and exactly the kind of option I was looking for. And, as always, it’s fun to use My Little Pony options for builds you wouldn’t expect. Like My Little Punky here.

Despite being a trickster, Punk’s also a hothead. Enter Anger. Whether chemical, societal, or experiential, CM Punk has a temper. If he focuses that rage, he can gain an Edge on a Strength-based Skill Test. This is how he’s able to hit his finisher, the Go To Sleep on larger opponents (side note: I think the Go To Sleep is wrestling’s dumbest finisher) . The Hang-Up works well too, giving GMs an open-ended opportunity for karma to tell him to calm down.

Finally, there’s Martial Artist. Whoa. This is my first build with the Martial Artist Influence? Well, now’s my chance to say that normally I wish the Martial Artist Influence Perk was more like the Martial Arts Division Perk. I do like the Martial Artist Influence Perk, and it is thematic, but it doesn’t make a character better at martial arts. Fortunately, that does mean the Martial Arts Division and Martial Artist Influence compliment each other, and work for our build. And unlike with my Batman build, where I rejected the Martial Artist Influence because of the Hang-Up (being easier to goad into a fight), it reflects Punk’s time in AEW and his notorious backstage issues. Yes, that means my fictional Cobra version of CM Punk based on a character in a theatrical sport show includes elements inspired by the performer rather than the performance. This is the enigma that is CM Punk.

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 6

The Yellow Spectrum’s melee Perks queue off Finesse, so that’s our primary attack Skill. Four Ranks, giving us +d6 (Martial Arts). Speed can get high quickly, and it’s our Role’s fastest advancing Essence Score, so I’m going to deliberately take it easy with secondary Speed Skills. One Rank each in Initiative and Targeting and that’s it.

Social 4

Our other most important Skill is Deception. His theme song is Cult Of Personality for a reason.

I don’t know why, but I tend to avoid Deception unless it’s integral to the build. Maybe it’s because I’m a bad liar in real life. Well CM Punk certainly isn’t. We’ll go with three Ranks for a healthy +d6. And we’ll round out our Social Skills with a Rank in Streetwise.

Smarts 4

We need one Rank in Alertness, so let’s get that out of the way first. I’ve also invested two Ranks into Culture, because Punk strikes me as someone who knows his history. I don’t usually give a character both Culture and Streetwise, but they don’t overlap as much as Acrobatics and Athletics, so I’ll stick to that choice.

Strength 3

Speaking of Athletics, that’s our main Strength Skill. We’re running low on Skill Points, and I want at least one Rank in Brawn, so that means we only get +d4 Athletics. Not great, but it gives us room to grow.

General Perks and Other Options

As soon as possible, I want to grab Cruel from Decepticon Direction. Gaining an Edge on attacks against targets with Conditions will come up a lot with this build when you remember that Grappled is a Condition. CM Punk would absolutely get in a few cheap shots when he’s got an opponent locked in. He’d argue that it’s not cruel, it’s smart!

After that, I’d like a few more options built around Deception. And to my surprise, there aren’t that many. Mental note: Make a list of General Perks by Skill prerequisite and fill in any blanks.

There may not be many, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Devious Alliance from Ferocious Fighters lets Punk use Deception to gain Contacts regardless of the Skills normally required. It’s a fun play on the trope of wrestlers turning on one another.

Finally, Create Chaos from Cobra Codex is a cerebral, narrative General Perk that, as the name implies, lets the character zig when the GM calls for a zag. By passing a Skill Test with a Skill other than the one being called on, the rest of the group gains an Edge on their Skill Test. I know I said I didn’t want options built on helping others, but I think this one is a worthy exception.

One General Perk I considered but passed on was Wrestler from the Power Rangers CRB. Our Focus already covers that aspect of the character, thematically and mechanically, and the General Perk depends on Might, which our build doesn’t have.

Conclusion

This build went places! The G.I. JOE-based options were a given, especially those drawn from Cobra Codex, but a Power Rangers Role? A My Little Pony Influence? Who saw those working for a CM Punk build?

Something else that I appreciate about writing this blog is getting to think about builds from a different angle than I normally approach characters. I would not have thought to build a martial artist with an emphasis on Deception, especially not as a PC, but given that hook, I found a lot of options that worked together. Once again, I’d love to get this build to the table to see how it plays.

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack

Know Direction 298: Pathfinder Remaster Review

Ryan Costello — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 11:56:49 +0000

Esther and Navaar look at Player Core and GM Core, the two flagship hardcover sourcebooks of the Pathfinder Remaster rules revamp.

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Know Direction 298 In Writing

Ryan Costello — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 09:01:29 +0000

[00:00:00] Esther: Hello and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther.

[00:00:27] Navaar: And I’m Navaar.

[00:00:29] Esther: And today, we are finally, at long last, I can’t believe this, sitting down to discuss the Pathfinder Remaster.

[00:00:39] Navaar: Yes, finally. Very excited. This remaster, for those who haven’t been keeping up with Pathfinder news, has been not necessarily a long time coming. I think talking to Luis, it was kind of like, there were things that they wanted to change as a group with Paizo, but the events that happened at the beginning of the year with the OGL, with Wizards of the Coast, like, really sort of set things on their path of like, “Okay, yeah, we need to move away.”

Paizo led the ORC license change and, took the opportunity to say, “let’s remaster our core books.” That being the Player Core is what it’s called now.;The GM Core; I believe we got a Monster Core coming…

[00:01:24] Esther: Yes, we do.

[00:01:24] Navaar: And forget what the fourth one is. But the two that are out, the two that we can talk about — and because it’s release day for the public, as well, because our lives are crazy and, and we weren’t able to record it until now — we can just talk about whatever we wan, I’m pretty sure. Because it’s 15th of November when we’re recording

[00:01:41] Esther: We can talk about whatever we want.

[00:01:43] Navaar: Yeah. Take that, I forget the rules. I don’t know. Folks, we record these late, constantly.

[00:01:49] Esther: Embargo.

[00:01:49] Navaar: Yeah, the embargo. Yeah, take that, Embargo! So, yeah, before we get started though, it’s been a while. People are still listening to our voices because there have been other episodes that have come out that were prerecorded, but it has been a while since you and I have actually sat down to talk on the show, and I think it’s important — even though I told you this is where we should start at a different thing, I was thinking about this now — I think it’s important to tell everybody that Esther and I got to meet in person at Big Bad Con this year, and it was incredible.

We got to hug, we got to hang out. We didn’t get to do a panel together because I had a family emergency that required me to leave earlier, but, we still had, I still had a wonderful time seeing you, so.

[00:02:28] Esther: I had a great time seeing you and it was, it was phenomenal. I feel like we could have a whole conversation about Big Bad Con and everything that happened there and our experiences. It was so good to get to hug you and meet you and just chill. And someday we will get to do a panel together, but like, you were being a really awesome dad and spouse and of your family, so like.

[00:02:51] Navaar: Thank you. Yeah, yeah. I mean, life comes at us fast. I think, especially like this year — I mean, for the past three years, realistically — but I think like, in this year for me personally has been like, the most where my schedule has been like, “Oh yeah, things aren’t going to just go the way you want them to go,” at almost any given week. So you just got to really learn how to like, go with it and, and move. I mean, I’ve told you this before, but I think like the way that you and I do this show, and the way that you’ve talked about like giving yourself sort of accessibility and the, and, and the capability to like, adjust as needed and be comfortable with that has changed that perspective for me a lot. And so I appreciate that. It was also great to meet a lot of the Paizo team and like, Paizo freelancers and stuff like that. It was, that was really cool. So it was — it really felt like all the things that we believed about the company in terms of — or the people in the company, I don’t want to like put the company on a pedestal.

But the people in the company, all the things that we believed about them in the way that they, the values that they held, it felt like that was visible while I was hanging out with them, which is really cool to see and get to experience. And so, yeah.

[00:04:06] Esther: It always feels really good to meet people and be like, “Oh, even though I’ve like talked to you over the internet, you are really awesome in person too.” And like, just get to hang out and like talk and, and chill. That is an experience that I treasure, with being in person at a con. And it was so great to meet Luis, and James, and Jess, and Ruvaid, and all of these other people, and to get to, like, actually sit down and play a little bit, because we had, a game that Luis GM’d, where we were all doing, like, Animist and Exemplar playtest classes. And that was, that was really, really fun for me. I so rarely get to play, and I forgot everything I ever knew about the game in that game, truly. I was like, I could not remember anything. But I had so much fun, and I guess this is all just to say, if you ever want to go to Big Bad Con, we highly recommend it. It was a really great supportive space.

[00:05:04] Navaar: Yeah, I mean, so long as they continue to keep, like, all of their safety protocols and things like that, like, I think that it made a huge difference. In comparison, like, other conventions — you can just, like, literally look at any other one that had, like multiple tens, dozens of people get COVID, versus the I think very small handful of people that either got it before or, or at least tested positive while they were there.

So, yeah, I mean, I think it’s, I can’t imagine they would make that change. I hope it stays the same because it —

[00:05:35] Esther: I dotoo.

[00:05:36] Navaar: It made me feel comfortable. My social anxiety made me feel uncomfortable at times, but that’s just me. Don’t, don’t blame that on the con. Yeah, I think it was really good.

So, I just wanted to add that in there because I think it, it’s, a special thing. Like you and I, I feel like we had a friendship before we became hosts together, but it was great to like, have the opportunity to actually go and meet that person that you, you know, spend time talking with and, and texting with and, and creating content with. And so, yeah.

[00:06:01] Esther: Absolutely. Absolutely. There’s something about just getting to like meet in person that is really, really special and I’m glad got to.

[00:06:08] Navaar: It was our own version of the remaster.

[00:06:12] Esther: Yes. [Esther and Navaar laugh]

[00:06:13] Navaar: And with that incredible segue, we’re gonna jump right into these books. As we talked about, the Player Core and the GM Core are the two main books. I think we’ll probably spend a little bit more time on the Player Core because that’s the one that most people are going to use.

But yeah, like just kind of from the beginning things get shaken up a little bit. They’ve changed some of the ancestries that are, like, the core ancestries, and they’ve also changed some of the classes that are the core classes. One of the most famous of Pathfinder’s ancestries is the leshy, and leshy has become core to the game. So, uh, that’s very fun to see.

[00:06:52] Esther: I love that. So the, the new core ancestries are: dwarf, elf, gnome, goblin, halfling, human leshy, orc, and then, the versatile heritages, which are changeling, nephilim, which basically the nephilim is taking the place of tieflings and like extraplanar, like heritage entities like that.

And then the aiuvarin, which is the new term for half-elf, and dromaar, which is the new term for half-orc. And I love both of those changes. I really love them getting their own names and like cultural background. And that just thrilled me, that change.

[00:07:29] Navaar: I do have a very, this is a Esther special question, because as, as our religious consultant for the podcast– that’s, I just made that up. But as a person who, you know, studies and deals with religion, as your like sort of day job, how do you feel about the name nephilim as a ancestry, or a heritage, I should say in the book? Because I think like that’s very specifically tied to religion, right? If I remember correctly.

[00:07:59] Esther: Mmhmm. Yeah, oh, I love this question. I may have a little bit of a, an unexpected answer. Because I’ve read in a couple of discord servers strong feelings about this name. And I actually don’t have particularly strong feelings about the name nephilim. I believe it comes from a Hebrew, like, mythology is the wrong — but Hebrew tradition. And that like Nephilim are biblical angelic entities or like, demonic entities as it may be, entities that are non human, but supernatural in some way. And maybe like, blended with human blood or something like that. I could also be pulling all of this out of thin air.

So I, I’m fine with it. I think it does touch on some of what we were talking with Avi about when we recorded that episode, which is like the, the roots in traditions that don’t always get more fully expressed in the game. And I would love to know like kind of how some of those influences from that specific tradition might get flavored into like, new feats for these heritages or stuff like that.

Yeah, I guess I’m just like, I’m open to seeing what comes of it and how people enjoy it.

[00:09:17] Navaar: Yeah. I guess in the same way, there was already angels and devils, right? And so, to the extent that that’s like pulling from a, like that root, Christian, Muslim, Hebrew, all of that, like those — what do you call them when you’re grouping those three together?

Uh, but anyway, to the extent that like, it’s pulling from that same religious tradition, I think that there’s — it’s not as odd when you compare it to like, what’s already there. But it is like — I was seeing it and I was like, “Oh, that’s an AFI song!” But also that it was religious context.

So yeah, anyway, I’m glad that it’s not like a big thing for you specifically. I was just curious, like, because you have, you know, this experience looking at it from a religious perspective. So.

[00:10:00] Esther: Yeah. I think the other thing I would note is nephilim, I believe is used at least in Hebrew scripture to refer to like, large beings, like kind of like giant —

[00:10:11] Navaar: That was the other thing the, yeah. I was like song! It’s a song, and it’s also giant people.

[00:10:15] Esther: Yeah. Giant people. And I don’t know that giant-ness is reflected in these nephilim, but your mileage may vary.

[00:10:24] Navaar: Right. Yeah. But I think this also, this is also points us to another thing, another big change that came, with the remaster is that there’s no more alignment.

[00:10:34] Esther: Mm hmm.

[00:10:35] Navaar: The alignment chart for Pathfinder 2e is gone. But now there are holy and unholy, I think is the two terms that they use.

[00:10:43] Esther: Yes. And edict and anathema.

[00:10:45] Navaar: Yeah. So, I think it’s cool to be able to say, like, “however I want to play with this, whatever my aesthetic is, whether that’s horns or a halo, like, that doesn’t dictate in the rules what my characters morality is going to be, or how they will be looked at.”

I think like that, that does a good job of like pulling away from a lot of that, those same tropes that like — in recent, recent pop media, Baldur’s Gate 3 had a big thing of people being like, “Hang on, like, I thought we… I thought we already talked about all this.” But that was like the TTGRPG space talked about, the video game space was like, “We’re making this game for however many years, this is how it’s gonna be.” But it really opened up the door again for people to have a discussion about like, “Hang on, why is my character being treated this way just because of the way that they look?” Which is a good discussion. Continue having that discussion. But I think like, when you can make a game where it’s like, “Now I don’t have to worry about that. I don’t have to even think about that, really. What I’m thinking about is, like, what is my player’s morality despite what they look like.” Which I think is, this is how it should be, especially in a game where you have as much character customization as you do with Pathfinder. Making that more seamless, I think, is really good.

[00:11:58] Esther: The other thing I’ve thought about is like — and I want to preface this with, I’m not hating on alignment. If alignment works for you, you can still use it in your games, and that’s totally fine. But I think sometimes that like, you know, nine box grid can really box us in to very, very oversimplified and railroaded versions of what morality is, what ethics are, and like what it means to be a quote unquote good person or an evil person.

And I really like this new system of like, edict and anathema, and how it can be determined by your class, your background, your character’s backstory and their life, your worship of a deity. Like, there’s so many different influences that can come together to build your values system in this world, and I think that just contributes to richer worldbuilding and richer experience of gameplay. So I’m very, very excited about that change.

[00:12:55] Navaar: Yes. same, yeah. And let all your anathemas be no genocide.

[00:13:00] Esther: Mhm.

[00:13:01] Navaar: Mm-Hmm. . Um, yeah. So after ancestries we have the new core classes, which most of these are gonna be the same. But my favorite that I haven’t played got in here. so the new ones now are Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Witch, and Wizard.

So notably, no Sorcerer. No Champion. which I imagine Champion being, “we gotta hold off on this as we figure out how this works now without alignments.” Which I think, I have confidence in the team that they’ll get it done, and I’m excited to see what they do with it. But yeah, I love Witch being a core.

[00:13:39] Esther: I love Witch being a core. That was the one I honestly went directly there and started through the Witch.

I’ve, I’ve played a Witch multiclass, but I’ve never played a Witch as like, my primary class. And I’ll be honest, in part because I really loved the idea of the Witch, but the first iteration just didn’t quite pack enough of a punch in the way I wanted it to. And —

[00:14:07] Navaar: For, I’m sorry, for 2e or for first edition?

[00:14:09] Esther: For 2e, for 2e. Yeah. And I think they fixed a lot of what I was uncomfortable with in this, so I’m really excited to hear your thoughts on the Witch.

[00:14:22] Navaar: Yeah, I think like, I agree. I think that there are things that it, it makes it so that it’s smoother. Like if it, if it’s gonna be your core one and you’re gonna take something out like that is… I would say like a Sorcerer’s, pretty iconic, right? That’s like thing that, like, you have that innate ability and all this stuff.

You really have to give something that’s going to, that’s gonna like pop and gonna, and gonna feel good, so. I’m trying to like get to the page that I can find my thoughts, but yeah. What were some of like, the standout things for you?

[00:14:53] Esther: So, on page 184, they get into the — 183 actually — we get into patrons. And this is where the Witch kind of wasn’t up to what I wanted it to be before. The patrons were like kind of one-word entries. And I’m gonna like pull something out of thin air, like, “shadow” or “darkness” or “light” or something like that.

[00:15:18] Navaar: Or “fate,” yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:15:18] Esther: Yeah, or “fate.” And kind of barebones descriptions of like, what it got you. And they’ve really done a beautiful job of expanding patron descriptions and flavors. So the, the titles are now Faith’s Flamekeeper, The Inscribed One, The Resentment, Silence in Snow, Spinner of Threads, Starless Shadow, and Wilding Steward. And those names alone get me more excited than like, “snow,” or “shadow.”

Um, and I’ll just, I’ll just pick one at random: Spinner of Threads, that’s the one I want to go with. So the description for this is: “You met your patron in a memory of an encounter yet to come, or a premonition of something long since past, as they untangled and respun the tapestry of time and fate. Was your patron a Norn? A herald of a deity like Pharasma, Alseta, or Grandmother Spider? Could it even be a single individual appearing at three or more points in its timeline, multiple versions of the same being, parallel threads converging on a single moment.” And so then it tells you your spell list is going to be Occult, and your patron skill that you get trained in is Occultism. And you get the lesson of Fate’s Vicissitudes.

Which is: “Your patron’s harsh lesson is that fate spares no one, rising and falling in turn for all. You gain the Nudge Fate hex cantrip and your familiar learns Sure Strike.” And then your familiar now gets a little boost as well based on what your patron gives you. This is the Familiar of Balanced Luck, which means: “Your familiar has a spot on its body that looks like a good luck charm or a bad omen, depending on the angle. When you cast or sustain a hex, one creature within 15 feet of your familiar gets your choice of either a +1 status bonus to its AC or a -1 status penalty to its AC until the start of your next turn.”

So that’s just a bit of an example for you of the updated, re-juiced patron descriptions and what you get.

And honestly, that was enough to take me, to being really excited about the idea of playing a Witch one day. Like, you know that I am all about flavor, and the flavor in these is beautiful, but it’s also really backed up with a lot of good mechanical stuff that I think really just gives the Witch that extra something that makes it a really solid option for a caster class.

[00:17:46] Navaar: I agree. I also haven’t had a chance to play the Witch, but I’ve, I’ve GMed for one. There’s a Witch in An Unwavering Force, the show I’m in, and we… I love hexes. I think all of them are really cool. Once you understand, I think especially once you understand like, how much of a benefit a +1 or a -1 is to a character, and then you look at the other hexes outside of, like, the core hex, it’s like, “Oh yeah, this is, this is good.”

But I really love the nasty hexes. And I think, similar to what you were saying, I don’t think I have the words for it, but like, having patrons that feel like there’s now this sort of defined relationship, there’s now this sort of backstory that you can build off of. As opposed to just being like, “There’s a, there’s a deity out there who just gives you stuff, and you don’t ever acknowledge it. But you have this really cool familiar with you.”

Whereas this, like — now it’s like, for people who really enjoy having patron relationships, I think this is going to hit the spot. But all that to say, the one that I love is the Resentment one. “The Resentment is a single feeling radiated from your patron in the moment you met them, as palpable as heat from a fire. The desire to see every tall poppy felled and every proud nail hammered down, whether to righteously bring justice for small folk, or the base urge to see the powerful defeated. Your patron is likely far from the upper echelons of its kind, such as a hag ousted from its coven, or a quasi-divinity, or lower-ranking demon. This leaves it only subtler and weaker tools to see its end met: curses, hexes, and you.”

And so you get the Lesson of Strength’s Impermanence. So: “Your patron has taught you that the power can be taken much more easily than it can be built. You gain the Evil Eye hex.” The best hex! “And your familiar learns Enfeeble. Which Enfeeble used to be Ray of Enfeeblement. And I believe that the spell itself got a little bit of a boost as well.

And: “Your familiar seems hostile to all creatures other than you, hissing at them if they get too near.”

So I think like just in terms of, again, like the flavor and the roleplay around that, like having this like angry little shit that’s just there with you constantly that helps you get spells, it’s such a fun thing, right? Because I think we’ve, we’ve all met somebody who has like that one cat that they’re just like, that cat is not gonna let you hold it. Don’t hold the cat. It’s not gonna be good. And yeah, we need more of that.

[00:20:06] Esther: We do. I’m looking up Enfeeble real quick, because wanted to see — yeah, so, Spell 1, it’s two actions, range 30 feet, targets one creature. You sap the target’s strength depending on its Fortitude save. Critical success: the target is unaffected. Success: the target is enfeebled one until the start of your next turn. Failure: the target is Enfeebled 2 for one minute. And critical failure, the target is Enfeebled 3 for one minute.

I honestly don’t remember how that compares to the previous version.

[00:20:37] Navaar: Right, yeah. I don’t either, but I’ll just say, like, just from that, I love that you don’t have to do an attack roll.

[00:20:43] Esther: Mm hmm.

[00:20:44] Navaar: I love that it lasts a minute. I’d have to look at the rules, but like, if you land that successfully, especially at a lower level, and then there’s no like, additional save after that, that’s massive.

[00:20:55] Esther: Yeah.

[00:20:56] Navaar: But I mean, as I’m looking this up, the other thing is: magic has changed a little bit in this remaster. Instead of having to do like, different components and all this stuff, the spells are sort of laid out in ways that make it so that you can still be holding weapons or have things in your hand and still be able to do gestures.

I think it’s like, called Utterances now. So there’s like, these little changes that they’re making that are, are… one, it, it helps them get further away from OGL. But two, I think it helps make it a lot of this stuff easier for new players coming into this to be like, “Okay, I don’t have to like figure out what the spell components are for this, or learn what the word somatic means.”

Uh, you know! [laughs] Uh, we can just kind of move forward.

[00:21:41] Esther: I straight up forgot that somatic and verbal components aren’t a thing anymore — or are not a thing in the same way anymore. And that’s really exciting.

[00:21:50] Navaar: Yeah, I’m looking at the spell… okay, I, think it actually, the spell might be the same. So it’s just the name that they changed. ‘Cause it’s still the same fortitude save, two action spell. But either way — so just like, some of the ways that they’ve changed some of the stuff is like, sometimes it’s a name change. Just to make things different, and also hopefully easier.

[00:22:14] Esther: Yeah, I, I think a lot of, a lot of the material here feels either basically the same or incredibly similar. It’s still worth it to pick up both of these books to have the most current version of the game, but nothing felt like an earthshaking, game- system-altering change here. Like, it just feels like a refinement and a steady improvement on the past several years of this game. And that feels really good.

[00:22:45] Navaar: Yes. I enjoy that. I think one of the things that, um, I wanted to talk to you about — because we’ve had a lot of discussions with Paizo staff that you listeners have heard now, where we’ve talked to them about, like, what’s it lie In iterms of accessibility in Paizo, and how we look at like accessibility and, and tools for accessibility when it comes to the game, things like that.

Opening up a rulebook is always sort of difficult. For you, do you feel like you felt that the book was easier to navigate and/or read as you’re going through it?

[00:23:20] Esther: Absolutely. I love that you asked this question because honestly, one of the biggest barriers to getting people into this game thus far has been the size and in some ways, the layout, of the previous Core Rulebook. I know that’s not the case for everybody, and there’s folks who that all really, really worked for. But I actually recently lent my copy of the old Core Rulebook to someone who came over to my house for dinner and was really into learning about TTRPGs.

And I was like, “Just take this!” And they were like, “Wow, this is huge. This is a lot to get through.” And I was like, “Yeah, it’s easier than it seems.” But it’s been — a barrier of entry for multiple people was just like, the sheer size of this book and the amount of information and, and sometimes the way it was laid out.

So for me, actually — especially with the new Player Core — it did feel like a simpler layout. It does feel condensed and like it’s a bit more streamlined, and that the flow of information is maybe actually largely the same, but it makes just a little bit more sense to me. Yeah, I’m curious about your experience.

[00:24:32] Navaar: Yeah. Similarly, as I was going through it, I think like the thing that really stuck out is really like, the layout, right? In terms of like, just the graphic design of it, it seemed like things weren’t as cluttered or — it just seemed like it was a lot smoother to find stuff, to read stuff, to navigate even things on the page.

I just, I really love that because I think it, it is hard to go and give somebody a big book and be like, “Hey, like, learn this and make a character.” And it’s just not the most accessible way, regardless of how you make your book. But I think when you can do everything you can… Pathfinder is the kind of game that a big book, maybe it’s created its own necessity. But it like, it’s hard to think of like, Pathfinder without this.

And I’ve never even read the full original Core Rulebook. To be clear, I never intend to. Just that there’s so much, that’s so much stuff that I just don’t need. But it’s like when it’s, when I need it, it’s there. And, you know, finding out where it is. And so like, I think, yeah, just a lot of like the ways that they’ve changed — if you go and look at like the equipment, right, the weapons, as fun as it is to have like, weapons spread around on a page, it also breaks up the text, and that’s distracting.

And so like having the text it laid out in a way that’s — I can go look for the picture of this thing if it exists, but also now here’s all the descriptions that I need in order, without other things in the way visually, I think that makes a big difference.

[00:26:03] Esther: It reminds me of Avi talking to us about sculpting the page appearance and how that’s like, editorial work. And so I, I want to just shout out the editorial team for — and the graphic design team — for these layout decisions. I think that sculpting of the page really does come through in the final product. And it seems more streamlined and easier to access. And that is a very, very good thing.

[00:26:31] Navaar: Yes. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, what other, what other things, uh, stood out to you?

[00:26:37] Esther: I had one more thing about the Witch, and then the Wizard, actually.

So, there’s a Witch feat at Level 18. This, I believe, replaces the former feat Hex Wellspring, which let you recover three Focus Points when you refocused if you’d spent at least three Focus Points since you last refocused, or something like that.

This is called Patron’s Claim and it is: “Your patron partially manifests itself through your familiar to claim a foe’s power for its own. Your familiar gains the following activity.” So this is a two action, once per hour effect, which is: “Your familiar’s mouth opens impossibly wide before your patron’s grasping limb stretches forth from it at a creature within 30 feet, dealing 10d10 spirit damage with a basic Fortitude save against your spell DC.

If the creature fails its save and takes damage, it is also Drained 2, or Drained 4 on a critical failure. And you regain one focus point, up to your usual maximum, as your patron grants you additional magic in exchange for your gift of your opponent’s spirit.” Wow. What a feat. I mean, you’ll have to get to Level 18 before you can take that, but I absolutely loved that. Just like —

[00:27:53] Navaar: That feels like a good Level 18 feat. You did touch on something though, that is another change that came to the game. So, Focus Points were sort of weird — I remember when I first started playing, honestly, it took me so long to figure out like, how they worked. When you got a new one, how did you recharge it?

And I had to like, keep going back and reading the rules. It’s been made a lot simpler now. So ignore — if you’ve never, like, if you’re still new or you don’t understand Focus Points, just ignore whatever the old rule was. Now you just, you have to spend 10 minutes to focus, then you can get your Focus Points back, or you can get a Focus Point back per 10 minutes that you spend refocusing, without the other conditions that were set upon, like you had to use one to get something back, and et cetera, et cetera. Which I think is, is really good because then it — if you’re a character who uses Focus Points a lot, for instance, I have a character that is a Ranger — and I use Gravity Weapon a lot. He’s also a psychic. And so I use — all of my psy cantrips use my focus points. It’s great to like, “Alright, cool, I did three really cool things. And now, after this battle’s done, in 30 minutes if I spend the time, I can do three more cool things in the next encounter.”

As opposed to like, “I can do one and then I have to wait a day or whatever.” So I still don’t understand the rules, for the old version of it. But I, I am, I’m excited that they made that change. I think it’s another thing that just like, this is how we get towards a more simpler concept. Because I don’t think that Pathfinder 2e is a difficult game to learn. But Focus Points, specifically, hung me up for a long time.

[00:29:27] Esther: Same, same. I remember — so the first 2e character I ever created was a Champion, and she had a Focus Pool. And I was so confused about how it functioned differently than regular spells, how I had like, get it back up to the number of points. Like, it was, it was a process to learn and I’m lucky that my GM is just, has a great brain for like, remembering rules and systems, because I would have been really lost without him.

[00:29:56] Navaar: Yeah. It’s a, it was tough. Cool. So what was your, what was your Wizard thing?

[00:30:01] Esther: So my Wizard thing! I was really curious how the Wizard was going to change, because they’ve gotten rid of the various magical schools: abjuration, conjuration, illusion, enchantment, all of those. And I think those were close, or too close to the OGL way of thinking about magic and arcane schools, and so they’ve been replaced. And yeah, now the arcane schools are: the School of Ars Grammatica, the School of Battle Magic, School of the Boundary, School of Civic Wizardry, School of Mentalism, School of Protean Form, and the School of Unified Magical Theory, which is basically like being a Universalist Wizard again. And I instantly really liked those for the ways that they sounded very straightforward and descriptive of like, what they are. The vaguest one I think is like, School of the Boundary — and we can look up what that means — but I just loved like, School of Battle Magic. Okay! School of Civic Wizardry. You kind of get the vibe of those things.

They have somewhat changed Arcane Theses. So the Arcane Thesis options before were Improved Familiar, Attunement, Metamagical Experimentation, Spell Blending, Spell Substitution, and Staff Nexus, and now they are Experimental Spell Shaping, Improved Familiar Attunement, Spell Blending, Spell Substitution, and Staff Nexus.

So like, there’s some overlap there, but you’re also getting some new flavor for what’s possible for the Wizard. And basically, your Arcane Schools, you get the same number of spells and cantrips and extra spell splots that you would have gotten from like, picking a school to focus on in the old system. You get that from your new arcane schools. So basically works the exact same way. And yeah, I honestly… I have never really wanted to play a Wizard that badly. And that may be an unpopular opinion; it’s just, it’s just me.

[00:32:04] Navaar: No, yeah. I agree.

[00:32:06] Esther: Yeah. And so I was surprised when I read through the Arcane Schools and I was like, “Huh, you know, I can actually imagine like, building a character and having fun building a wizard now.”

I wasn’t necessarily expecting that from the remaster, but it really did it for me. So yeah, I just, I wanted to shout out the way the Wizard has been, not like majorly rethought, but like minorly tweaked. It works for me.

[00:32:37] Navaar: I think like when you… just having the vibe of like, here’s a thing. Because I think that’s what has always sort of stood out to me for other spellcasters, right? Is like, even with the Sorcerer, it’s like, the source of your power is, is this thing. And so that kind of draws you towards a direction.

And even though the Wizards have like schools of magic, it just always felt like you’re going to learn whatever spells you want to learn anyway. But like, when you tell me that my school of magic can just be Battle Magic, like that — to me, I’m like, “Oh, yeah, this is like playing Skyrim and being like, I just want to focus on destruction, right?”

You know, and so creating that vibe, I think, really does a lot to make it more appealing, really. Like there’s a reason that the Psychic appeals to me. Even if I wasn’t playing in a Star Wars game, there’s a reason that the Psychic appeals to me.

‘Cause it’s very, it narrows that down into like a very specific subset of like, here’s some really cool shit that you can do with these psychic abilities. Or a cleric even, right? You know, there’s a lot of stuff like that. So I think like having that Wizard I think helps, pull people in. I agree.

[00:33:49] Esther: And I also, I like that they’re kind of removing the ” if you’re an illusionist, you really have to focus on learning illusion spells.” Like, that felt so limiting. I’ve built Wizard NPCs before, or like, major, major NPCs that the players would interact with, and it’s always felt very limiting to me to feel like I have like, a narrower range of options to choose from. And this, the way that magic has been rethought and reworked, it feels like you can do a lot more flavor-wise to, like, make whatever fit being Battle Magic, or Civic Wizardry, or Unified Magical Theory. Like, whichever one you want to pick. And I really like that.

I think Pathfinder is a game of customization for so many people. And this feels like one more way to get that customization.

[00:34:44] Navaar: Absolutely. Yeah, let’s see. What other changes did they make? they just, they’ve done quite a bit of stuff with other things. I feel like I remember seeing they’ve made some changes to how you apply runes to shields, so in that you can now buff up shields and actually want to use them, as opposed to like worrying about them breaking, including magical shields as well. Because the runes uh, before didn’t allow for certain things or didn’t allow for as much versatility. That’s really good to see. I think as much as I feel like martial classes in Pathfinder 2E are already really badass, there are certain things that you’re inclined to do when you don’t have as many benefits to do them.

[00:35:33] Esther: Yeah. The other thing I’d just shout out is that I think they’ve done a really good job laying out like the Playing The Game section, which Chapter Eight. And it’s, it’s just really good to have reminders of like what encounter mode is, what exploration mode is, what downtime is. To have the Pathfinder baseline, which is on page 397, layed out for like — the people who create this game have certain expectations of what will or will not be on the table in terms of play. And I think it’s really just useful to remember that those guidelines exist in the book, it’s helpful to point new players there. And that’s the kind of thing that, like, people have asked me before. Like, what’s on the table? Or how do you… how do you, like, live your life in this game? And it’s just great to have a place to easily point folks to. So, just another shout-out to the layout and the general thought and organization. I think that’s really well done.

[00:36:31] Navaar: Yeah. I think, so another interesting thing about the layout — because thing that is interesting to me, and I both are game designers. layout of how the rules are presented was something that when I was making my game I gave a lot of thought to, I reorganized before I like, it in to get to published.

Because how we look at it, I think says a lot about like, how the game gets approached, right? And so, like, for me, my game, was like “Here’s the rules that everybody needs to know. And then here’s a quick I think it’s like, two or three pages of like how to create your character. And then at the end is like, here’s how the GM can run the game.” What I think is interesting is that Pathfinder is set up in a way that’s like, “Here’s how to make your character for about three or four hundred pages.” Which, not gonna use all those pages, don’t let that intimidate you. I don’t think that’s bad when it comes to Pathfinder 2e because Pathfinder 2e is about the character customization aspect of it. You’re going to spend a lot of time working on getting your character right, or making tons and tons of characters, so it makes sense to have all of this stuff in here. And while is a lot of choice, and sometimes that can be intimidating, I think the choices are so that it, it allows you to really think about like, how do I want to approach the world. a new podcast out called Infectious Enthusiasm by my mentor Quinn Murphy. And uh, about Pathfinder 2E, and his friend Brian. And, and they, about a lot of things, but the way that like weapons work, for instance, is one of those things of like, weapon choices are even — it’s it might be just “I like the aesthetic of this.” But also it might be, “Well, I like the aesthetic of this, but I actually want to be able to Trip and Disarm with my weapon on an attack. So this might be a better option for me, you know?” And so I think it’s, cool that they put a lot of care into how that gets presented to somebody. I think it’s fun to like notice those things now and be like, “Oh, now I, get it. Now it makes sense that this is the way that it’s done.”

[00:38:46] Esther: What you said just reminded me of the intense respect I have for especially veteran game designers. Because as a designer, I feel like I became intensely aware of the need to serve like, the broadest possible audience: people who are going to like pick up the game and play it and not do a deep dive into the rules, and the people who are like, “I need to understand every aspect of this to be able to do all the complicated things.” And it’s really important to have a system that will function for both. For the person who’s like, “I want to be able to maximize my weapon damage and customize do all these extra things.”

And the person who’s like, “I would like to take my sword and rob the bank,” or whatever, or rob, rob from the rich and give to the poor, let’s say. And I think it’s really important to have a system that can do both, that can do like the very broadest, most blunt instrument way, and the really detailed, precise way, and a thing that I admire so much about Pathfinder 2e is I really think it does both.

I have players at my table who are both of those kind of players, and the system works equally well for all of them, which just speaks to its design.

[00:40:03] Navaar: I mean, there is something to be said about, like, having the ability to go both directions of, of minmaxing and just like… I just want to be good at other stuff. love to be able to like, be good at all the things, but I think like a lot of the best moments are those ones where, where you do fail or you have such a low chance of succeeding that it’s like, ” All right! Well, here, here we go.” Because so agree. I think it’s, it’s great that Pathfinder has found a way to be both of those things.

So, I just remembered that I have a gripe about the GM Core. Uh, clear, it’s a beautiful book. I love it. I love all the options. love all the ways that it can help out GMs. But I don’t think that there’s Dual Classing anymore as a variant option, and um, will fight somebody.

[00:40:56] Esther: Okay, Dual Classing or the Free Archetype?

[00:40:58] Navaar: Dual Class. I don’t they’d ever of, like — Free Archetype, everybody loves.

[00:41:01] Esther: The Free Archetype is so

[00:41:03] Navaar: Yeah, Free Archetype feels like you’re getting something cool without it feeling like it’s overpowered. Dual Classing is not overpowered because you still only have three actions, so there’s only so much you can do, but is badass. a little bit overpowered, because you do get extra health, to be clear, I guess extra feats. But again, you can only do so I don’t think it’s a thing, and I’m gonna have to fight Luis about this. Logan. I’ll fight whomever. all that said, don’t think Dual Class is a widely used thing. very specific thing that I’ve used twice now. But I love it! I would use it every time. I think think it just adds more customization to your character. yeah, Free Archetype is, like the– feels almost like a pillar, like a benchmark of Pathfinder 2e to like, have Free Archetype. So I don’t, I can’t imagine they’d get rid of that.

[00:41:47] Esther: I looked specifically for that one and I was like, it has be here. They, they have gotten rid of

[00:41:51] Navaar: In the same way that I like, I opened and I was like, “Oh yeah, variant rules, Dual Class, um, Dual Class. I misspelling it? Nope. Okay. do I need to fight about this?”

But, think what’s interesting is that, like, the Player Core does a good job of, like, here are the rules, how to play the game, here are some of the things that, like, as a player, you won’t have to worry about adjudicating, but you should understand how they’re done. I really think you probably, you still could the game with just the Player Core. I do believe that, based on what I’ve seen.

What the GM Core does is include a lot of other really cool stuff to add in to make the game, more immersive and more cinematic, more narrative focus. And have like, all these other ways to do this stuff. And like, subsystems are one of those big things.

So yeah, Victory Points. That’s a big one that a lot of people use. It’s like ways to like, uh. have these events that aren’t just a fight , and figure out who’s who quote unquote wins in this.

Chases: have more chases in your games.

[00:42:55] Esther: Duels.

[00:42:56] Navaar: Yes. Yeah, the Duels one is fun. Subsystems aren’t the only thing in the game, but now I just want to talk about Duels. [laughs] So yeah, the way that they’ve done Duels is like, you basically like Princess Bride, because I can’t think of any other example, of like, you’re going to have this moment. Everything’s going to be set up. There’s the conditions of this thing. You can have limited tools. You can have a judge for it. There’s spellcasting tools in here as well.

[00:43:20] Esther: Sweet.

[00:43:20] Navaar: And additional reactions that you could take.

[00:43:23] Esther: Yeah, so the old Gamemastery Guide, just to do a bit of comparison, I looked through all the different sections of it. And they were: Gamemastery Basics, Tools, Subsystems, Variant Rules, NPC Gallery, and then the Glossary and Index. And in the new one, it goes: Running The Game, Building Games, The Age of Lost Omens — which I believe got taken out of the Core Rulebook and put into the GM Core —

[00:43:48] Navaar: Yes.

[00:43:49] Esther: — And then it goes Subsystems, Treasure Trove, Treasure Table, Glossary and Index. A lot of the material is still the same, but then you have like the Age of Lost Omens worldbuilding stuff put in there. Which, I like that change. In some ways, I feel like it flows more naturally in the GM guide, so that really worked for me.

But yeah, the subsystems, they go into all the cool, all the cool stuff.

[00:44:14] Navaar: Yeah, I mean, so this is something I think… okay, so, start with the lore, because I have another one, too. But so, when it comes to The Age of Lost Omens, for instance, and the regions and things like that, I think it’s good to have something brief, like the Player Core does have, of like, here’s a region, you know, for the player to read.

But I think like, what this does to have the broader systems laid out the GM core is that it then allows the GM and the player to go, “Let’s have a discussion about the kind of, like, place you want to grow up in, in this country, in this region,” and then build on that from there together. I think, like, game is about teamwork overcoming things together. And in that same way, like, it works best when the player and the GM are working together and having communication about this stuff.

So think in its own subtle way, this sort of reinforces that dynamic, to allow you to do that. think it makes sense for it to be here, but I can also see the argument for the other way is having all the items and the treasure be separate from the Player Core.

Do you like it more as a surprise for players, or do you like it more for players to be able to like, “This is a wishlist item or things I want to shop for?”

[00:45:33] Esther: Hm. good question.

[00:45:34] Navaar: I say as we are two people who have access to the treasure vault. And, uh, it’s so, so we might be biased and/or… what’s the word? we might But either way, I’ll let you finish.

[00:45:45] Esther: We might predisposed one or the other.

[00:45:49] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:45:49] Esther: That’s a really hard question for me, because I actually have players who like to do it both ways: who are like, “That’s too much for me to look through, surprise me.” And I’m like, “Okay, what would go well with your class, what would go well with your build, what can I gift you that’ll be really fun?”

And players who are like, “I want this item. I want to use it in this way. Please give it to me at this level.” And I’m like, “Okay!” I may have a slight preference for the latter because I really appreciate it when players take a lot of agency over their own character build and like, keep track of stuff like that, and keep track of items that they want to use and then use the items in really great ways that make the game come alive and are just really exciting. So I may have a slight preference for that. But I don’t think that having the treasure trove in the GM Core is going to keep players from being able to find the items that they want, I mean, Archives of Nethys exists, they can always buy the GM Core if they want to.

[00:46:50] Navaar: Treasure Vault!

[00:46:51] Esther: Or Treasure Vault, yeah,

[00:46:53] Navaar: Yeah, I mean, I agree. I’ve been, there is like basic equipment as well in the thing. I think there’s really no right answer. I set it up like there was one, but there’s really not. Both of them have their place, and both of them are really fun.

I agree, like, having players not know, like, what’s gonna be in this chest or whatever, then find it, and then be like, “Oh, like, which player is this perfect for?” I think that’s really really cool. I am also a person who sent a wishlist of very like, four items to my GM and been like “Three of these are negotiable. One of these is not. And I just I’ll let you decide what I get.” So I get it. Yeah, I don’t know. To be fair, my item was a vehicle. So It’s not like it was a sword or anything, which I think is more reasonable. I’m an unreasonable player in the most reasonable way, so.

[00:47:40] Esther: You remind me — my spouse like, came to me one day and was like, “Can I get a gnome Clunkerjunker?” And I think it’s a goblin Clunkerjunker, but like, their character is a gnome. And I was like, “Okay, what’s a Clunkerjunker?” And went over it and I was like, “Hell yes, you can get one. I don’t know what you’re going to do with it, but yes, I’ll allow this!”

[00:48:00] Navaar: Yeah. I just recently became, like over the past year, like super invested in The High Republic. And because we’re playing in a Star Wars world, I was like, “I know that we’re like 200 years after when this thing existed, but like give me a dirty, rusted one and I will still be just as happy.” So, listeners of An Unwaving Force, find out if that ever happens.

But yeah, it is fun to like have both of those things. I think it’s — because we’ve talked about this a lot — if we’re looking at like, how the things are structured, I think it makes sense to have that page count and most of that information be here for GM. And then it gives them the space to be like, “Cool, some of you don’t care. Some of the players want to shop. I’ll just look at the book.”

Cause it’s it’s not a secret, right? It’s not like playing a monster game and like, you don’t want to know what the monster is yet, you know what I mean? So I think it’s fun. Which is why the Monster Manual, to answer that. own thing, is like its own book. So, Yeah.

Any other things that,like, you want to touch on before we end?

[00:49:01] Esther: I just wanted to note how I was really struck by the thought and thoroughness and care that went into the GM Core, just reading through all of the different likely scenarios that they lay out about what your players might encounter, the way they talk about safety tools. And the way they talk about adapting the game to fit the needs of your table, I just wanted to highlight for a moment, because I think a lot of times when rules change or systems change, feelings can run hot and high about that. And there can be like intense disagreements over whether a change is good or bad or whatever. And I think that the team behind this product in the first edition of Second Edition, and in the Remaster now, have done such a clear job of saying, like, adapt this to fit your needs.

If rule doesn’t work for you, change it. If you want to make a different call, do that. You’re empowered to do that. So I just want to encourage people, like, if you’re not feeling the changes, you don’t have to make them. Play the game in a way that works for you. Or if you really are feeling the changes, but there’s something that doesn’t work for you — I feel like sometimes people get stuck in like, “But the rules say it’s this way!” And I really don’t think the people who make this game want us to get stuck there. I think they want us to use it in a way that works for us to have fun. And that just really came through to me in the way that this book was written.

And I just wanted to like say, I really appreciate that. Shout-out to the team.

[00:50:40] Navaar: Yeah. I mean, I think if you’re new to running Pathfinder 2e, like reading these first few sections really is going to set you up on how to run a game, because it talks about a lot of stuff that like —

I think in so many ways, many folks who design games, we take for granted that we’re game designers, that we play TTRPGs consistently. And we don’t ever consider — or I don’t think a lot of people consider often enough — how your game might be the first game somebody plays. And I think I was just having a conversation with somebody about this recently, of just, like, “This is all great, but what’s the game loop? I want to know how you want, how you expected me to play the game. Because then I can feel like I can read this and understand like, okay, cool, I’m hitting on the things that this game was designed to do.” If you don’t have that in there, if there’s no like, “This is how the game runs, or traditionally runs, or we expect it, we wrote it to run,” right, then it’s like, “Okay, well, now I’m just taking all of this stuff and hopefully putting it together.”

Plenty of people got through decades of gaming that way, when there just wasn’t enough information, or the books weren’t as easily disseminated to people, right? You just kind of picked up whatever you could find at a thrift store or whatever the case was. I think taking the time to like, use page count for that specifically, and to go into safety, and to go into like, table comfort, and to go into improvisation, and to go into all these other things, it’s really good for people who this could be their first time. We did talk about this before, but so many people like switched over to Pathfinder 2e at the beginning of this year,;other people decided “I’m going to switch over, but there’s a remaster coming, and maybe I’ll wait until this is here.”

This might be your first time picking it up, and the people are just getting into this stuff younger and younger. So, I love it. Yeah, I agree. I think that’s a really good addition to the books.

[00:52:39] Esther: Yeah. I think it matters that they lay out some common ways that play unfolds so people can have an idea of like, what to follow or what to deviate from. That makes a huge difference in player comfort and GM comfort a lot of the time. And I think they’ve done a really, really good job with it.

[00:52:57] Navaar: I mean, they talk about, like, there’s a brief paragraph about the spotlight. And like, I think so many new GMs can struggle with like, spotlight and pacing and things like that. And to like have something that just kind of like, points it out to you of like, “This is what it means,” I think helps a lot.

Because again, people who do this consistently, we take this stuff for granted. We don’t understand the things that just come second nature. And that can be intimidating for people when it’s like, “I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong.” And it’s like, “Well, I don’t know. It’s easy. Just figure it out.” Like, that’s, that’s not a good approach. So yeah, I’m glad that that’s there.

[00:53:36] Esther: Can I also just say, I really appreciate whoever wrote the passages about dealing with — I don’t know if they use the term problem players — but dealing with difficult players. I really a) appreciated that that was in this book because, I mean, I haven’t even GM’d that many games, and I’ve mostly GM’d for people I know. And I’ve had a couple of difficult players who maybe didn’t start out that way, but became that way. And I’ve had to have, like, adult conversations with them about why some of the things they were bringing to the table really, really weren’t working for the community of folks at the table, and it’s really heartening to see that that was very plainly addressed. And also, I just like, b) , figuring out how to basically write “This is how you have an adult conversation with someone…” A hard thing to do in a rulebook, is, is a lot, and so shout-out to whoever put the thought in to telling a bunch of folks how to have hard conversations and, and talk about ways that, we can learn to get along at the table or how to draw boundaries. Like, super important. And I just, shout-out for putting that in the book.

[00:54:46] Navaar: Yeah, I mean, I think like — the last thing on this, like, I think that the two most visible ways that we see Pathfinder 2e, right, are the AP space, actual play space, uh, whether that just be like standalone charity games or, or long running actual plays or whatever the case is. Like, a lot of these now, as that space continues to grow, are a cast of people who have been brought together, as opposed to like, a group of people creating a thing, sometimes.

I mean, that still does happen, to be clear, but being cast in a show is something that happens more frequently than I’m sure it used to. And the other aspect of it is Pathfinder Society, which is its own thing. But, from everything that I’ve heard is growing a lot this year. Like big, big numbers, um, in comparison to what it used to be. And in those two cases, like — it’s Pathfinder Society, same thing. Like, you’re gonna have people that you just don’t know. I think what It does is like, saying “We’ve created this thing, we’ve created this sort of community around this. We understand that there is this–” and like whether or not Paizo does have a responsibility, I think like it’s good to have a stance of like “Whatever responsibility we have, we’re going to use our platform to say, here’s, here’s our value system and how we hope we can help you with these specific situations.” So yeah, it’s good.

[00:56:16] Esther: I think that’s a really good note to wind down on is the clarity of Paizo’s value system through these two books. Which for me, it’s been so fun to host this show and get to know the people who both work for Paizo full time and freelance, and to, like, get a sense of the values that people are bringing to the work. And I feel like those values are very explicit in these books.

Like, I felt good about reading them. I didn’t feel any really yikes moments, which, I’m very, very happy to report that I didn’t. Um, and, and that feels good to be able to say to our listeners. Like, I, I can really solidly recommend these as great resources for people who are new to the game, and new to tabletop RPGs.

[00:57:06] Navaar: Yeah. Absolutely. Oh, cool. Well, that’s it folks. That’s us for the remasters. Very excited to see the new Monster Manual, when that comes out, the Core Monster book, and the other one that I cannot remember what it is. Number 4. But we do have more exciting books on the way. I don’t know when Tian Xia’s coming out, but I’m waiting impatiently.

[00:57:28] Esther: Is it Player Core 2?

[00:57:30] Navaar: Is it Player Core 2?

[00:57:31] Esther: I think it’s Player Core 2.

[00:57:33] Navaar: What used to be the Advanced Player’s Guide? Yeah. because it’s gonna add more classes and stuff. That makes sense. sense Don’t quote us on it.

[00:57:41] Esther: We’ll have our story straight next time.

[00:57:43] Navaar: We’re Pathfinder podcast, but we’re sleepy too. And yeah, and we have plans to bring on some actual play folks in the Pathfinder 2e space, so get excited for that as well for next time or sometime in the future.

Yes.

[00:58:00] Esther: Yes. Navaar, real quick, where can we find you online these days?

[00:58:03] Navaar: I am online these days at NavaarSNP, both on Twitter and on Bluesky. You can also find me over at An Unwavering Force, where we are still using the unremastered rules for now, for our Pathfinder 2E Star Wars game. And pay attention to Secret Nerd Podcast, because I just recorded something this past Sunday that everybody should be very excited about.

Secretnrdsocial for that, and UnwaveringForce on social media for An Unwavering Force.

[00:58:38] Esther: Amazing. I’m so excited for the new Secret Nerd drops. This is going to be really, really good. And as your patron on Patreon, I got a little sneak peek of what is to come and it’s very, very exciting. As for me, you can find me at dungeonminister on Twitter and Bluesky. I’m also doing stuff slowly but surely at Chromythica on Twitter and Blueky and chromythica.com.

Most importantly, you can follow Know Direction on Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube at KnowDirection or at our website, knowdirectionpodcast.com. You can follow us on Patreon, where if you so desire to chip in some money that goes towards the making of all our network shows and the maintenance of the network, you are very welcome to do that. And we’re very grateful, thank you to all of our patrons. And yeah, I think that’s it for my media close.

Thank you all so much for being here and tuning in. And until next time, this has been Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews.

[00:59:42] Navaar: Bye!

[00:59:44] Esther: Bye!

Now You Know: End of a Twittera

Ryan Costello — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:00:44 +0000

In my time managing the network, there are a few decisions I’ve made based more on how they impacted me than how they might benefit the network. iTunes optimization was one of them, because the needy program kept trying to take over my devices. Another example is how long it took Know Direction to establish a Twitter presence.

For the longest time, I did not get Twitter. I found my feed uninteresting and inconvenient to navigate. I had an account that I basically abandoned, and never set one up for the Network. However, when Luis offered to manage a Know Direction Twitter account, I saw no harm. We set one up, he took whatever I shared to Facebook and brought it to Twitter, nice and simple. When Luis eased up on his Know Direction commitments, control of the KD Twitter account changed a few times and eventually ended up in my lap.

In an effort to increase the Network’s presence, I started looking into the best way to engage on the platform. Finally, I got it. I interacted with fellow Pathfinder enthusiasts, staying positive and playful. I had so much fun, I dusted off my own account.

Then, Elon Musk happened.

Honestly, my Twitter using experience hasn’t really changed much. And yet, every time the platform’s new owner institutes an inane idea, or is in the news touting his own genius over a simple or backwards idea, I resent the platform a little more. His latest endorsement of racist ideals pushed me off the platform, both personally and in a network capacity.

Know Direction will continue to post to Facebook, even though I realize it’s only a lesser evil. We’ve been posting to Mastodon for a while. Even though it’s our least engaged with social media profile, it’s where I met Esther and so I feel a fondness for the platform. More recently, we joined Bluesky. It’s easily the closest I’ve gotten to what I enjoyed about Twitter, so much so I created a personal account. If you follow The Know Direct Network on any of those platforms, feel free to say hi.

Speaking of The Know Direct Network, here is the content we released last week:

Recap of November 13th to to November 17th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, November 13th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 120 – Miracles

Our Intrepid Heroes are continue to confront Sivv forces in an effort to stop the Stellar Degenerator from stellar degenerating them and everything they know and love.

Article

Now You Know: What We Know About PaizoCon Online 2024
By Ryan Costello

I go over the recent announcement about the upcoming PaizoCon.

Tuesday, November 14th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 76: Dark Domains

If you’ve ever thought about adapting one of your TTRPG campaigns into a board game, Danielle speaks with Jeff Horger about his experience doing just that to create Dark Domains.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – Rangers and Rideshares
By Nate Wright

Nate, not one to shy away from weird concepts and weirder mechanical interpretations, revisits his idea of a group investing in a large transport by way of Archetype feats, this time with meatier results.

Thursday, November 16th

Podcast

Digital Divination 096 – Thanksgiving and Starfinder

John, Jason, and Ron have a broad and casual chat about Starfinder and Thanksgiving, the highlight of which is the casual creation of a playable space turkey species.

Friday, November 17th

Article

Essential Builds – Super Dinosaur
By Ryan Costello

Super Dinosaur is as obscure as I’m willing to go with an Essential Build.

Preview of November 20th to November 24th

This is Block 2 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, November 20th

Article

Now You Know – End of a Twittera
By Ryan Costello

I feel better already.

Wednesday, November 22nd

Podcast

Know Direction 298: Pathfinder Remaster Review

The Know Direction Network’s own Rob Pontious joins the show to discuss Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core.

Article

Know Direction 297 In Writing

Also available in text!

Thursday, November 23rd

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob goes deeper into his thoughts on Pathfinder Remaster.

Friday, November 24th

Podcast

Upshift 027

Due to Thanksgiving commitments, Jason isn’t available to record with me this week. That means I’ll either record something solo, or we’ll take the episode off.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – Super Dinosaur

Ryan Costello — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:06:35 +0000

Who wants to play a super smart dinosaur in power armour? I can hear the roar of a thousand “Me”s like a a T-Rex roaring into a megaphone.

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that genetically alters popular culture icons and arms them with Essence20 options. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.

As fans of Hasbro’s properties kick back to enjoy their new copies of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #301 and Transformers #2 from Skybound, we look back to the last time this publisher tackled a toyetic title.

Who Is Super Dinosaur?

Through genetic alteration, a Tyrannosaurus Rex left over from the prehistoric age gained enhanced intelligence, combat mastery, and a baller attitude. Using exosuits with cybernetic gorilla arms and integrated weapon systems, Super Dinosaur fights on behalf of Team Dynamo and Earth Corps against evil and the Dino-Men forces of Max Maximus, his creator!

Speaking of creator, the Super Dinosaur comic isn’t just published by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint. The Walking Dead and Invincible writer also co-created Super Dinosaur. He and artist Jason Howard say they wanted to have something with their names on it that was appropriate to share with their children. The fact that it had action figure, video game, and animation potential probably also factored into their decision to make Super Dinosaur.

Now it’s our turn to make Super Dinosaur!

Building Essence20 Super Dinosaur

Anyone who asks me what licenses I hope Renegade grabs in the future knows that I’d love to work on a Super Dinosaur Essence20 sourcebook. Since that’ll likely never happen, I’ll settle on a Super Dinosaur build.

Super Dinosaur is a T-Rex in a mech suit (a Tyrannosaurus Mechs, if you will). Because Essence20 Origins currently assume either a humanoid, Equestrian, or Cybertronian shape and physiology, that presents our biggest challenge. We can’t build Super Dinosaur unless we can build a dinosaur. That makes the Origin our top priority.

As a reminder, I try to reskin (change the flavour or intent of the mechanics) options as little as possible on this blog. However, the reality is that Essence20 options are designed for specific settings. Since building characters from existing Essence20 settings also goes against one of this blog’s design goals, I would have to rule out a lot of options, including the majority of Cybertronian Origins. Instead, I give myself some wiggle room to genericize elements for the sake of my build.

Origin

Monstrosity (Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive)

Of the Origins I considered (I’ll get into the other candidates after), Monstrosity from Decepticon Directive checked the most boxes.

First of all, Monstrosity is big. It’s one of I believe only two Huge Origins in the whole system. That goes a lot of the way toward selling this build. Super Dinosaur is so big, the animated series was letterboxed specifically so Super Dinosaur could burst out of the frame for dramatic effect.

Now you might notice that the Tyrannosaurus Rex Threat in Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1 is Gigantic. Huge is not big enough, you might think. Funny enough, canonically, Max Maximus made Super Dinosaur smaller than the average T-Rex to make him easier to control. So being smaller than our T-Rex Threat is on brand for Super Dinosaur.

Second of all, Monstrosity is tough. Four Starting Health and a built-in enhanced melee attack with the option to choose between Blunt or Sharp damage. Super Dinosaur doesn’t bite his way out of his problems, so we’ll choose Blunt damage to represent Super Dinosaur’s exosuit arms. Yes, that does mean we’re using the Origin to cover both Super Dinosaur’s species and elements of his cybernetic armor. Although he takes breaks from his exosuit around headquarters, he does suit up even between missions.

Which brings us to, third of all, Monstrosity looks like one part machine and one part monster. Although technically the Origin is intended to be a robot that can look somewhat organic, it also works for a cybernetic dinosaur. The downshift from Bestial Articulation works for any “I have a big head and little arms” situations. The Alt Mode will represent Super Dinosaur stowing his guns for better mobility. Since we get to choose our Alt Mode’s Movement Type, we’ll grab the Aerial Mode. Technically Super Dinosaur has different suits for different forms of movement, but we’ll just combine the flying mode of Super Dinosaur’s rocket suit with the limited flight capacity of his main suit.

And with that, we have a dinosaur in a tech suit (a dinosuit, if you will). Honestly, I thought I’d need to justify Monstrous a bit more, but other than intending to be robotic (but technically isn’t due to the loophole that we put the Robot trait in the Transformers Factions instead of the Origins), the only issue I have is that it gains languages based on Social. Smarts would have matched Super Dinosaur’s fast learning powers better. That is such a minor hitch, I only bring it up to show how perfectly this Origin fits this build.

The two other Origins I considered for this build were Dragon from the My Little Pony web material, and Test Subject from Cobra Codex. Dragon really only worked aesthetically, so I moved on quickly. Test Subject had potential. It let me take the Animalize Limited Alteration, which in turn let me take the Big Animal Perk. But that’s a lot of steps to end up with a Super Dinosaur build slightly less accurate than just taking Monstrous.

Role

Technician (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I’ve been writing Essential Builds since July, and this is the first time I’ve used my favourite Role in the game, Technician from the G.I. JOE Core Rulebook. One of the reasons I considered non-robotic Origins for Super Dinosaur is because I knew the Technician covered the suit side of this build. The combination of Technician and Monstrosity covers it even better.

Technician technically only gets one Role Perk at 1st level, but it’s a doozy: Primary Tech. Practically a second Focus choice crammed into a Role Perk, we get to choose between wearing an advanced suit of armor, gaining a drone companion, mastering mundane gear, or carrying a big gun. Obviously we’re going with Armor at 1st level, but what about 11th level when we get Secondary Tech? Armor again. You might be tempted to choose Weapon as our Secondary Tech since cannons and rocket launchers hang off Super Dinosaur in all his artwork, but our Focus will cover that.

Choosing Armor as Super Dinosaur’s Secondary Tech does mean he gains two suits of armor as personal gear, despite only being able to wear one at a time. That too lines up with the source material. In addition to his standard white and red armor, Super Dinosaur also has a rocket suit, a space suit, a ski suit, a dive suit, and a stealth suit. Buy them all!

The rest of the Technician’s Role Perks either show the intelligence of the character, the versatility of his gear, or his access to additional equipment. A lot of the visuals attached to the Perks (like sharing the benefits of upgrades with allies, and using his armor instead of a tool) tie directly into comic panels and scenes from the animated series.

Focus: Think Tank (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

The spectrum of technicians in fiction ranges from Q to Tony Stark in terms of Does The Adventures, and from MacGyver to Lex Luthor in terms of Builds Their Own Equipment. Super Dinosaur is in the Tony-Lex quadrant. He helps with the development of the equipment he uses, and then goes on adventures so Doctor Dynamo and the Earth Corps engineers don’t have to.

While the Technician Role covers G.I. Joe’s tech support like Mainframe and Dial-Tone, the Think Tank Focus covers characters who use advanced tech in combat, like Sci-Fi and Fast Draw. The thinking tank, if you will. Yes, it’s wordplay. I like wordplay.

At 1st level, the Think Tank gets to substitute a designated combat Skill (Athletics, Might, Finesse, or Targeting) with Technology. Although I said the enhanced melee attack gained from our Origin represents Super Dinosaur’s cybernetic arms, he also uses tail slaps and headbutts in melee. Conversely, all of his ranged attacks are made through his controls, like when he plays video games. As such, Super Dinosaur will use Technology instead of Targeting for Skill Tests.

Integrated Offense gives us a bunch of Microtech Weapon and Microtech Armor upgrades. We’ll use these to shrink a couple of ranged weapons down to Integrated size. We’ll start with an element jet or directed element rifle at 6th level (using all three of our Microtech Weapon upgrades at the time to shrink the Long weapon down to Integrated). At 8th level, we can switch to a shrunken rocket launcher. By 14th level, we can have both! In between, we can use Microtech on sidearms and medium weapons, like pistols and shotguns, to supplement our big guns.

The rest of Think Tank’s Focus Perks make up for the Technician’s slow Strength progression, letting us ignore the Strength-based skill requirements of equipment, and boosting our Health and defenses. By high level, we can even go nova with a round of attacking as a Free action.

Faction: Dino-Hunters (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

A new Faction enters the blog!

Factions technically debuted in the Power Rangers CRB, but the concept wasn’t fleshed out into a customizable mechanic until the Field Guide to Action & Adventure. That’s when we needed to make good on the promise that you can play a Cybertronian Power Ranger or a Real American Heroic Teen With Attitude. Since expanding on the idea, it’s been further explored in mainly G.I. JOE sourcebooks, including the most recent Factions In Action, which is entirely dedicated to the idea of changing teams and subteams. The fact that it’s listed as Volume 1 tells you everything you need to know about whether to expect more Factions in the future.

As I mentioned when discussing Origins, it can be hard to adhere to a no-reskinning rule since we’re writing the game for specific settings. That’s especially true of Factions, which to date have represented very specific ideas drawn from the source material. It just so happens that Super Dinosaur mainly fights against fellow dinosaur soldiers!

Now, truthfully, Dino-Hunters isn’t mechanically amazing for our build. We’re already trained in the best battledress, we probably won’t be operating too many vehicles given our size and mobility, and we will rarely attack larger targets. And I’m willing to accept all of that based purely on the fact that Super Dinosaur is thematically the most perfect candidate for the Dino-Hunters faction this side of Jack Tenrec.

Influences

1st: Beastly (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

2nd Heavy Hitter (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Time Displaced (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time)

Of Essence20’s character creation options, Influences are traditionally the least combat focused. However, two out of my three Influence choices here enhance our melee attack. That’s because the Technician has a slow Strength progression. These Influence choices offset that by bumping up the most noticeable aspect of Super Dinosaur’s silhouette, his big beefy arms. So I took Beastly, which lets us ignore the downshift on Unarmed Combat alternate effects. Add to that, once per scene Heavy Hitter deals additional damage on a successful Unarmed Attack, and we have a highly effective melee combatant.

This is a good time to reiterate that the different Essence20 settings have different needs, and Heavy Hitter is an Influence that makes sense in My Little Pony (with fewer weapons and options that improve attacks) but overpowered in more combat-oriented settings. It’s an Influence that’s good for every melee build, which is usually a sign that an option is too good. I’m taking it here because if anyone is a heavy hitter, it’s Super Dinosaur. But the GM part of my brain is raising an eyebrow at the player part of my brain.

Finally, a fun option that only works if your character’s theme revolves around it: Time Displaced. Super Dinosaur may not have traveled through time, but he’s from a era millions of years bygone. The world just isn’t built for his kind, and so the mandatory Hang-Up—suffering ↓2 when being time displaced would negatively impact a Skill Test—applies to a dinosaur trying to interact with the human world. Such as…

…trying to reach something with your tiny T-Rex hands but your giant T-Rex head is in the way.

Essence Scores and Skills

As I’ve alluded to, this is one area where the options we’ve picked and the build we’re going for are at odds. The Technician Role assumes backrow characters, using Smarts-based Skills primarily, and ranged weapons to contribute in combat. Even the Think Tank assumes ranged combat. And while Super Dinosaur can mix it up at range, he’s a switch hitter, highly affective in your face.

Strength

We need to invest enough into Might to last us until 4th level, the first time the Role increases Strength. Four Ranks gets us either +d8 or +d6 with a Specialization. Monstrosity’s natural attack comes with an Upshift, and Beastly lets us ignore downshifts, combining into an ideal time for a Specialization.

Smarts

Our other combat Skill is Technology. We’ll go with four Ranks there as well, but no Specialization. The Technician Role improves Smarts so regularly, we have plenty of opportunities to invest in a Specialization later. Since we plan on switching around the types of ranged weapons we use, we might stick with no Spec for most of the build. We’ll also grab a few Ranks in Alertness, because it’s always useful.

Speed

We’re in a funny position with Speed. We get a lot of it, but it’s not an important part of our build. The obvious Skill to invest in would be Targeting, but we use Technology for Targeting. Instead, we’ll invest two Ranks in Infiltration, to cover Super Dinosaur’s stealth suit, and two Ranks in Initiative, because it’s always useful.

Social

The Technician’s slowest progressing Essence Score, and Super Dinosaur’s least used skillset. Earth Corps doesn’t send Super Dinosaur into diplomatic situations. We’ll go with three Ranks in Streetwise, a flexible Social Skill to represent Super Dinosaur’s fast learning ability, and one Rank into Animal Handling, because he picked up a penguin one time.

Conclusion

I had an inkling that my last few Essential Build subjects (Luis, Inspector Gadget, and The Rocketeer) were too niche, so I set out to choose a more mainstream subject. Then I remembered that G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301 from Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint released this week, and I had earmarked this week’s Essential Builds for my favourite Skybound character.

Every time I revisit Super Dinosaur, I’m shocked it wallows in obscurity. And not for lack of trying! The concept sells itself, the visuals are perfect, the comic and animated series are fun, and the toys and mobile app capture all of the above. Combined with the name value and business savvy of one of the creators, this feels like it should have been the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Instead, it came and went and no one seemed to notice except me. As much as I’d love Renegade to grab the license to create official Super Dinosaur Essence20 material, even with the Skybound connection, I doubt it would happen. At least this build shows that the main character is already viable with the options that are available.

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Free Bonus Material

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Game Design Unboxed 76: Dark Domains

Ryan Costello — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:48:49 +0000

In episode 76 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jeff Horger about the second edition of Dark Domains! Learn what changes to the rulebook, components and gameplay occurred in the second printing. Listen to where the proposed initial design to make a game that included “skulls and tarot cards” came from. And how a multiple year RPG campaign helped build the lore of the game and characters.

Launch Tabletop is offering 20% off your first order by going to launchtabletop.com and using the promo code GDU20 when checking out. This special discount is valid through 2023.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Jeff Horger – Guest
Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now You Know: What We Know About PaizoCon Online 2024

Ryan Costello — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:12:06 +0000

Last week, Paizo announced not only the dates, but also some changes to the presentation of PaizoCon Online.

Usually it’s safe to assume the Know Direction audience knows about things like PaizoCon, but in the name of this year’s theme, Educate, Entertain, Inspire, here’s a brief history.

In 2008, Tim Nightengale and Liz Courts threw a convention for fellow Pathfinder enthusiasts. Being local to the Paizo headquarters, they invited the staff and creators of their favourite game to join them. Though only attended by a few dozen people, legend of the event spread and within a few years, hundreds of fans attended the now multi-day event. Eventually, Paizo took over planning the event, inviting partners to present their new licensed materials, and hosting a banquet at which they revealed new products to look forward to in the coming year.

Then the 2020s hit. The planned in-person PaizoCon 2020 was scheduled for the weekend of May 22nd of that year. For a few months, PaizoCon, like the rest of the world, was in turmoil as it wasn’t clear how serious the pandemic was. Maybe of us naively thought maybe it would all be over in time for us to travel (some of us internationally) to a crowded convention attended by hundreds. When it became clear that absolutely could not happen, PaizoCon 2020 was briefly cancelled, then moved online. Other than briefly dabbling in a hybrid convention in 2022, PaizoCon has existed fully online ever since.

I’m curious how the Educate, Entertain, Inspire theme will work at an online convention. Granted, I’ve learned plenty about the Pathfinder setting and rules, and game design and GMing from Paizo’s convention seminars. However, the blog specifically calls out “[l]earn the basics of Pathfinder and Starfinder” as a selling point of the convention. Now, between Pathfinder Remaster, Starfinder Enhanced, and the upcoming Starfinder 2e, it’s an important time for Paizo to be teaching its games to gamers old and new. However, when I hear “PaizoCon”, I think “Pathfinder and Starfinder enthusiast”, and online convention doubly so. I’m curious how Paizo plans to attract players unfamiliar with their products to their online convention to give their games a try.

Part of their plan might be the “PaizoCon @” initiative. Paizo is partnering with California’s KublaCon Game Convention that runs the same weekend for a hybrid-lite PaizoCon experience. Before PaizoCon moved to Memorial Day weekend, a dedicated contingent of California gamers came up to Seattle every year. However, those same gamers traditionally attended KublaCon on Memorial Day weekends, a gaming convention with roots that date back to the mid-90s. I know a lot of regulars at both cons who were bummed when they had to choose between KublaCon and PaizoCon. Now they don’t have to!

As usual, we will request to host the convention seminars at this year’s PaizoCon. It’s a tradition that dates back to 2009 and has helped Paizo, Know Direction, and fans connect for 15 years.

Speaking of The Know Direction Network, here is the great gaming content we released last week:

Recap of November 6th to November 10th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, November 6th

Article

Now You Know – Remaster Buzz

With the first Pathfinder Remaster releases in reviewers’ hands, I discussed the network’s plan for Player Core and GM Core coverage.

Wednesday, November 8th

Podcast

Know Direction 297: Avi Kool on Editing Pathfinder

Paizo’s editors are the best, Avi is the coolest (or the Koolest, if you will), and this interview is the perfect example of why.

Article

Know Direction 297 In Writing

A transcript of Know Direction 297 is available in case the audio version isn’t for you.

Thursday, November 9th

Article

Investing In: Player Core Witch
By Rob Pontious

Rob begins his look at Pathfinder Remaster content with the 2e base class that made the leap from supplemental material to core.

Friday, November 10th

Podcast

Upshift 026: Puzzles

Jason shines as he breaks down the different kinds of puzzles and how to use them in your game (Essence20 or otherwise).

Preview of November 13th to November 17th

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, November 13th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 120 – Miracles

Our Intrepid Heroes push past traps, fight through opposition, and come face to face with the Stellar Degenerator!

Article

Now You Know: What We Know About PaizoCon Online 2024
By Ryan Costello

I discuss What We Know About PaizoCon Online 2024

Tuesday, November 14th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 76: Dark Domains

Danielle speaks with Jeff Horger about the second edition of Dark Domains.

Article

Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright

Nate’s Pathfinder and Starfinder designs and musings.

Wednesday, November 15th

Article

Behind The Screens
By Ryan Costello

I use a popular culture lens to share my GMing thoughts and experience.

Thursday, November 16th

Podcast

Digital Divination 96

John and Jason talk Starfinder.

Friday, November 17th

Article

Essential Builds – Super Dinosaur
By Nate Wright

In honour of the new G.I. JOE comic publisher, I build Robert Kirkman’s Super Dinosaur as an Essence20 PC.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Upshift 026: Puzzles

Ryan Costello — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:28:47 +0000

Jason and Ryan talk about the incorporating puzzles into your TTRPG campaign.

For more, check out the Solving Puzzles panel from PaizoCon 2019.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Know Direction 297: Avi Kool on Editing Pathfinder

Ryan Costello — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:03:46 +0000

Paizo’s lead editor Avi Kool goes into all of the intricate details involved in working on one of the world’s leading roleplaying games, dealing with problematic content, the many unexpected hats an RPG editor has to wear.

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Know Direction 297 In Writing

Ryan Costello — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 22:55:33 +0000

[00:00:00] Esther: Hi everyone, Esther here with a quick pre-episode update. Navaar and I are so excited to share our thoughts on the Pathfinder Remaster with you all. We’ve been digging into the Player Core and GM core, and I know we both have a lot of thoughts to share, and also folks we want to have on the show to talk about the Remaster.

Unfortunately, we’ve had a really difficult run of luck in getting our first Remaster episode recorded: scheduling woes, illness, all of that not-fun stuff. We were scheming basically up until the last minute to see if we could pull together a Remaster episode for this week, and at the end of the day, we knew we couldn’t bring you the quality of episode we want to deliver to our listeners. Rather than feel like we got you a scrambled episode, we decided to take just a little more time to pull things together in a way that feels like it’ll highlight the material we want to cover in all the ways it deserves.

All that said, you will be hearing from us about the Remaster soon! And we encourage you to check out other shows and hosts and blogs on the Know Direction Network that are highlighting Remaster material right now. There are so many voices bringing great perspectives about the new Player and GM cores, and we encourage you to seek all of those voices out in addition to ours.

Now, the part of this update that I’m really excited to deliver: I am delighted to be able to share with you an interview we did a little while ago with the intention of saving for a rainy day, knowing it would be a gift to us and our listeners when we aired it.

This episode features someone who I’ve wanted to interview literally ever since I knew I was going to be a co host of this show. And I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Let’s get into it.

[00:01:41] Esther: Hello and welcome to Know, Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther.

[00:02:08] Navaar: And I’m Navaar.

[00:02:09] Esther: Today we have a guest we are really so excited to talk to. Actually, I don’t know if they know this, but they’re like one of the first people Navaar and I were like, we got to have them on the show — Avi Kool, the Lead Editor at Paizo! Avi, welcome to Know Direction.

[00:02:25] Avi: Thank you so much for having me.

[00:02:27] Navaar: Yeah, welcome. Uh, yes, truly, genuinely very excited to talk to you. So,

[00:02:31] Esther: Yeah.

[00:02:32] Avi: I’m really excited as well.

[00:02:33] Navaar: Where we always like to get started is how did you get into Pathfinder?

[00:02:39] Avi: Yeah, good question. So, I played D&D and a few other games, um, when I was younger. But I got into Pathfinder specifically through a good friend of mine who had been playing organized play, PFS, for a really long time and finally was like, “I’m going to start my own game.” And I was maybe 24 at the time.

And she started a game of Shattered Star. And I played a half-orc fighter with a Gladiator background. And that was such a fun experience. And I really enjoyed all of the, like, ins and outs of the adventure, and I really fell in love with the way that Pathfinder stories are told, both mechanically and narratively.

And I stopped playing all the other games I was playing, basically, and just kind of devoted myself to Pathfinder.

[00:03:40] Navaar: That’s awesome. How, what level did you get up to in that game?

[00:03:42] Avi: We only finished the first book before we had a person who was a little bit difficult end up leaving the game. And that was a shame, because I really wanted to continue with it. But we ended up playing some Mummy’s Mask after that, which I’m now replaying as a Second Edition game. There’s a conversion on Reddit that we’re using for Mummy’s Mask to do Second Edition, and we’ve made it through the, we’re halfway through the third book now, so making good progress on that campaign.

[00:04:15] Navaar: That’s awesome.

[00:04:16] Esther: Nice.

[00:04:17] Avi: Yeah, it’s going well. I was just gonna say real quick, I’m playing a Monk in that one.

[00:04:22] Esther: Oh, sweet.

[00:04:23] Avi: Mmhmm.

[00:04:24] Navaar: Another fantastic option.

[00:04:25] Esther: Yes. So I kind of like to follow up our first question with, how did you get from being a Pathfinder fan to working at Paizo?

[00:04:34] Navaar: Mm.

[00:04:34] Avi: Yeah, good question. I opened the book for the Core Rulebook and noticed it had this huge paragraph of editors, and editing was what I really wanted to get into. Like, I wanted to work on fiction. That was kind of my original plan. I went to school for editing. First off, I went to school for theatre and then I ended up dropping out and went many years without going back to school. But, four or five years later, I started an editing career path, realized that Paizo puts out books, books require editors. And Pathfinder, and — or, and Paizo is based in Redmond. Which, I lived in Seattle. Redmond is a 45 minute drive. And I’m like, if I could make this work, this would be kind of perfect.

So I go to the website, go to the Careers page, and there’s an editor job listing at that moment. And I was like, this is fate. So I had just graduated college two months earlier. And I send in an application, I get an interview. I was interviewed by Judy Bauer, the former Managing Editor who now works at Wizards of the Coast. And she is so awesome. She, like, we had a connection. And, uh, she told me that, like, the job had required more experience than I had because I was fresh out of school, but that they wanted to take me as a temp, because we were working on the Pathfinder playtest for Second Edition at that time.

[00:06:11] Navaar: Nice.

[00:06:12] Avi: So she brought me on as a temp, and I did two different temp gigs that first year, and had an amazing, amazing experience. So I kept on saying, like, “if you need me back, I’m here. I will drop everything to make this happen.” I did a couple more temp gigs the following year, and then as soon as there was an opening on the team, they called me. And I quit my job and switched to doing that full time.

So that was my journey, how I ended up at Paizo. It was really a lot of luck.

[00:06:44] Navaar: Yeah. Luck, but I mean — luck, but hard work and perseverance.

[00:06:48] Avi: Yes. Yeah.

[00:06:49] Navaar: Always need a dash of that too, for sure.

[00:06:52] Avi: For sure.

[00:06:52] Navaar: Amazing. So yeah, so coming in right into Second Edition as a player who played and enjoyed First Edition, what was that like to like get in, and sort of see that from the editing standpoint of those early documents and those early playtests?

[00:07:08] Avi: I thought they were fascinating. A lot of the things in the early playtest are a little bit fuzzy in the back of my mind because it’s been a while and we have —

[00:07:17] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:07:18] Avi: — revised so many things from the playtest, but I remember the three action economy blew me away right away. Like, look at all the possibilities this opens up for the game.

I was impressed by character creation right away. And I was impressed by the trait system, even though that was laid out differently in the playtest than it would eventually, look in the final version. But those three things right away, I was so excited by them. I was not one of those people who was sad about the end First Edition, because I knew there were so many Adventure Paths that I hadn’t played, and if I wanted to play a First Edition Adventure Path, I could still do that.

And I was just really excited to embrace the playtest and Second Edition. I worked on Doomsday Dawn; got to work on the chapter where you are killed, because it just throws all the enemies imaginable at you, and that was my first time working on an adventure, so that was a fun experience. Yeah, I was all in day one.

[00:08:23] Navaar: I think Pathfinder Second Edition has like, as a selling point, I remember when I first learned about it and learned about the three action economy, I was like, “this is the best thing ever.” Because the thing is, is like, if you’re selling somebody a fantasy TTRPG, they want to feel like a hero. And in early editions, that’s just not the case when it’s like, you are this badass fighter, and you swing your sword one time in six seconds, uh, and then you’re done.

And it’s like, aaaah? And so, yeah, like this, so it’s like this idea that like, yeah, you’re a first level character, and you can attack three times, there’s a risk and reward for that, but you could still do it. That to me was like, okay, I, I need to get my friends to — we’re not playing 5e anymore. We are moving over to this, and we will figure out how to make it work.

So yeah, to me as a fan of the game, it seems like a very, sort of like a definitive part of Second Edition. Something that yeah, it’s just a pillar, I guess. Yeah.

[00:09:22] Avi: That’s the exact word that Jason Buhlman uses. He talks about the pillars of, of Second Edition, and one of them is the action economy, another one is the trait system. Um, I can’t remember what the other two are off the top of my head, but these core concepts that support what the game can do that makes it different from other games.

[00:09:40] Navaar: I’m just gonna say one more thing and then I’ll give the mic back to Esther. [laughs] Uh, the other thing — because it’ll be, this is relevant — because, uh, as, um, we’re talking Baldur’s Gate has been out for, like, a week. I’ve been playing it. And not too bag on 5e a bunch, but I do think one of the things that I really enjoy — I was talking to my friends about this– was like, I, the reason I love Pathfinder 2e so much is because I don’t have to choose between advancing my ability modifiers or taking feats, I just get to have of those things, and my character is more badass for that. And I think that’s one of those things too, it’s just like, customization of it. Like I have a gnoll Sorcerer multiclassed as a Wizard, with a hyena familiar that I got because I’m a gnoll. And it’s like, he’s like, six foot two or something. Like, it’s this — I’m like, “Oh, this is amazing.” There’s a whole like ,cultural background to it. It’s, that stuff is like, “Okay, this feels good to play. This is exciting to play. This is something that I didn’t think that I could do.” And yeah, now I just have this little hyena with wings flying around, helping me out.

[00:10:42] Avi: Exactly. That reminds me of the character I’m playing right now in Mummy’s Mask. Because my First Edition character I adapted for our Second Edition game. My First Edition character was an oread Monk, and there’s actually an oread Monk archetype in First Edition which is really fun. But then for Second Edition I’m like, “But I can go weirder.”

So the ancestry is Shisk, which for anyone doesn’t know is like a kind of porcupine-quilled people from the Mwangi Expanse. And then I have the Undead Slayer archetype on that. So I can punch people, or punch undead and make them explode.

[00:11:20] Navaar: Yes.

[00:11:21] Avi: Um, so…

[00:11:22] Esther: That is amazing.

[00:11:23] Avi: It’s, it’s fantastic.

[00:11:25] Navaar: good. Yeah.

[00:11:26] Esther: That is amazing. I remember being really grumpy when I learned a new edition was coming out because I struggled to learn 1e. Like, as I’ve said before show, I’m not mathematically inclined, and I feel like you’ve gotta, you’ve gotta understand some math to really, like. build a character and fully grok like how the mechanics work and my co-GM of our like, our First Edition game, was really good at all that and, and helped me a lot. And I was like, “I finally grasped all of this to point where I feel like, confident… and they’re coming out with a new edition?” And was like, I remember I would complain to him.

I was like, “I’m going to have to learn all this stuff again and it’s going to be complicated.” And he was like, “Actually, I think you’re really gonna like this.”

[00:12:12] Navaar: Mm hmm.

[00:12:13] Avi: It’s true.

[00:12:14] Esther: I, I do. Yeah. The three economy changed my world. It’s great.

[00:12:19] Avi: Yes, I had the same experience about the math in 1e. I would always have my GM review my character sheet for math errors, because I really struggle with math. I have a learning disability, and it was something that was like, a barrier to me creating characters. And she would always find errors. It wasn’t like, “look over this and make sure it’s right.”

It’s like, “Please correct this because I know it’s wrong.” So being able to do my own character sheets without having to stress about the math is so empowering for me as well.

[00:12:51] Navaar: Yeah. And I think too — like, when I first started Secret Nerd Podcast, it was about six months, maybe, after Second Edition came out. So I’d already had some time to, like, play it for a while. Maybe, maybe it was a year and a half? I think it was probably a year and a half, actually. Uh, was it 2019 that it came out?

[00:13:09] Avi: I believe so.

[00:13:10] Navaar: Yeah. So yeah, it was a year and a half. So either way, I had, I had some time to get used to it, but when I joined the TTRPG space, everybody was playing 5e, and nobody wanted to try it who was playing 5e because they were like, “Well, I can’t learn this. It’s like I have to do rocket science.” And it’s like, no! Like, you have been reading too much propaganda.

Because it really, it’s simple. It’s different in the sense that like, yeah, you have more stuff that you can add, but if you’re using a digital character sheet, like everybody does, it does a lot of that stuff for you. And you just get to have a cooler character. I love that. I’m excited. I’m glad — obviously you stuck around, and you, and you seem to love your job, so I’m glad that that all worked out, and I’m glad that the, uh, you got to take that on, that Pathfinder 2e playtest and enjoy the process and get to where we are now.

That’s fun.

[00:13:55] Avi: Yeah, it’s been great. And I do love my job. I’ve got an amazing job.

[00:13:59] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:14:00] Esther: I gonna ask, what is a day in the life? I’m always like, I ask this and then I’m like, I wouldn’t know how to describe a typical day my life because is there one?[group laughs] But what are some of things an editor does, like, behind the scenes, for our listeners? Yeah.

[00:14:14] Avi: So, we have an amazing team, so first thing we do every day is we all check in as a team. It’s not an isolated experience, we’re always asking each other questions, and collaborating, and coming up with Ideas together when we come across problems. So there are nine of us right now, so we got a really good sized team.

And then once we are settled in for the morning, we go about our different projects. We chop projects up into chunks, into small chunks, rather than having one person edit an entire book by themself and then wait for the next person to do the pass after them. We’re all kind of tackling the books simultaneously, chapter by chapter.

So I will, if I’m working in pre-layout, then I’ll work in Microsoft Word using the track changes feature and do kind of traditional editor markup that way. And then if I’m working post-layout, so after it’s already been through art and copy fit and all those things, um, then I’m going to be working on a PDF and making PDF markup, and I’m going through and looking for style, consistency, canon adherence, and then the same kind of things that all editors look for, like typos and grammar and that kind of thing.

I’m also looking for adherence to the Pathfinder baseline, which we talk about in the Core Rulebook, so any content that deviates from that we want to address with the developers, and then we all collect our questions, and we work with the other teams to go through and answer our questions about the book as they come up.

So, um, we have a great relationship with the other departments as well. I love talking to the devs and the designers about what they’re working on and getting to go deep into these questions with them. Like I recently worked on the playtest that is being dropped on September 1st, which I can’t tell you anything about!

[00:16:25] Esther: [group laughs]

[00:16:26] Avi: The coolest thing about it — I love doing the actual work, but then the coolest thing is getting to talk to Michael Sayre and James Case about, like, the intricacies of it and say, like, “Hey, I noticed this. Is this the direction we want to go in for this? What was your intention behind this? Um, how did you come up with like the numbers here, how did you come up with the action economy here?” And then using my knowledge of the game to supplement those questions as well. So that’s another part of my day that I do fairly often. And then the last thing that I do is entering changes into the actual file, which is um, my least favorite part of the job, because you kind of have to copyfit as you go, copyfit meaning making sure all the words fit on the page without going under or over. And the paragraphs have to fit perfectly on the page, we don’t want a page that has a single line at the top of the page because that is considered a copyfitting error.

And so as you enter your changes, you have to be constantly kind of sculpting the page. It’s a little bit of an esoteric process, and it can be a little annoying sometimes. So that’s my one thing that I complain about, like, “Oh, I had so many edits and I needed do so much copyfitting.” But, um, it’s worth it because then you get to see your edits on the page and you get to see what you’ve improved in the text and what you’ve worked with the developers and the designers to answer and to adjust and yeah. It’s, it’s a, it’s a great process, a great collaborative process. And that is what I do on the average day.

[00:18:06] Navaar: Yeah, that’s awesome.

[00:18:07] Esther: That’s really cool.

[00:18:08] Navaar: I was gonna say, I think, I think everybody who’s made a game on their own knows the pain of trying to figure out… graphic design is not my passion, y’all.

[00:18:17] Avi: [laughs] Yeah.

[00:18:18] Navaar: I am not that, I am not that guy. Uh, I did my best and trying to figure out how stuff fits onto a page, was absolutely difficult. So I get it.

[00:18:30] Esther: Yeah.

[00:18:30] Avi: Yeah. I don’t have to do the basic layout. The developers and the art team work together to do that. The art will like place the art elements and then they’ll put the raw text in, and then the designers or the developers will go through and copyfit the whole thing, which is an entire process that I am glad is not my job.

[00:18:52] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:18:53] Avi: But they get into the zone when they do it. So they’ve, you develop a method, um, dealing a tedious task.

[00:19:01] Navaar: Yeah, for sure.

[00:19:02] Esther: I love the way you put it, “sculpting a page.”

[00:19:05] Avi: Yeah.

[00:19:06] Esther: I don’t know that that’s something — even though I’ve designed a game before and written a game and then had to, like, make things work in my own very like — graphic design is also not my passion, um. It really is an art form, and I think we don’t always think about the massive amount of work that it is to not only just edit text, but to arrange words on a page, literally.

And that is such a, like a cool part of a job to me. That’s just, that’s amazing. It does make me want to ask — and then I will happily hand the mic back to Navaar — I wonder if you can tell us about like, one of the more difficult edits, like something that’s been a challenge, a particularly challenging book to edit.

[00:19:51] Avi: Yeah. I can talk about the most difficult. Do we want to get real here?

[00:19:57] Esther: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:19:58] Avi: The most difficult thing I’ve ever had to edit was Agents of Edgewatch.

Um, because it was so highly contentious. And I was — it was my first time doing an edit lead job, so edit lead is different than Lead Editor, which is my job title.

Every book has an edit lead, and that lead is assigned to shepherd the whole process: make sure everything gets edited consistently, so by running a style guide; making sure the files are properly transferred from development to art and then back to edit at the end; and then running all the final checks at the end of the process.

It’s a whole, it’s a whole thing that we take turns doing so it doesn’t fall on one person. So I was very new and this was my training process was I was going to be edit lead on Agents of Edgewatch. And then the lead who was going to be training me was sick. And so it was basically just me. And I was thrown into this Adventure Path that was so challenging content-wise.

And we had so many pitfalls that we had to look out for. And one of the things that we had to do was go through that first manuscript of the very first volume, and I had to have a long conversation with the developer about, like, “These are all the things that we need to change, and these are the kind of things that we can’t publish.” And we went for a walk around the building and just, uh, or around the block and we’re just like, “Let’s get out of the office and talk about this where there’s no prying ears and, you know, just get real about this.” Because It was such — the timing was so bad, because let’s all be honest, we know that this adventure came out around the time of the George Floyd protests, and it was a cop adventure. And nobody knew those protests were going to be happening when the book was published, it was first pitched and concepted, and then we were stuck with it.

[00:22:03] Esther: Mm.

[00:22:04] Avi: So that was by far the hardest editing experience I’ve ever had, and I doubt I’ll ever have one as challenging as that again, just because of the content of the adventure.

[00:22:14] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:22:15] Esther: Absolutely.

[00:22:16] Navaar: That makes sense. Yeah. So my good friend Joe, who is the GM for Maker’s Misfits — they haven’t, they haven’t created content in a long time. A lot of stuff has come up. But they ended up playing the, uh — what’s the carnival one?

[00:22:30] Avi: Extinction Curse.

[00:22:31] Navaar: Yes, Extinction Curse. They ended up playing Extinction Curse for their AP. And when I asked them about, like, why that versus another one, it was like, “Well, we pitched this other one, but we didn’t want to be cops.” It was an all-POC group. So, yeah, I am familiar. So, yeah, but I think that is important. But also it brings up a great point of, like, having those discussions and how important that is.

Like, I think that’s –one, I want to commend you for being already in a difficult situation as like, this is your first time doing this. You’re in training still. And then you’re taking on this big conversation. But, I feel like if you’re willing to talk about this, like one of the things that I’ve noticed with you is that you are outspoken about a lot of the things that you feel passionate about when it comes to like social justice and things like that.

And so, do you feel like at the time, was this like a new thing for you? Or did you feel like you felt ready to have that conversation and comfortable to be like, “Hey, guess what? We need to step outside to have this conversation about this.”

[00:23:25] Avi: You know, I’ve been involved in social justice circles for a very long time, growing up as a trans Jewish person. You know, that was, those were not new concepts for me. And so the kind of groundwork on being able to have those conversations was done with my friends and family. And so I — I pissed off so many friends in my youth about those kind things! And had to learn how to have those conversations in ways that don’t alienate people. Because I did lose friends over social justice issues when I was younger, because I couldn’t properly articulate it without me just, like, railing on them because I had so many emotions about these subjects. And I wanted to do the right thing, and I wanted to communicate, but just didn’t have the tools.

So, um, shout out to everybody who’s ever been through that with me, because it’s a, it’s a learning process for sure. By the time I got to Paizo, I was old enough and felt comfortable enough talking about social justice issues that I was able to do it in a way that I think was professional. They took my advice and they didn’t fire me, so clearly they thought was acceptable. [group laughs]

[00:24:35] Navaar: It’s usually a good sign, yeah. I mean, I think that’s, that’s incredible. And I, I think the other important thing there, too, is a recognition of like, intersectionality, right? Is that like I, right, am a Black man and, and autistic. And so maybe those two things are like, the identity, but I can also understand and relate and have empathy for other people who don’t fit into those two particular identities.

And just like in this case, you, you had the ability to step in and have that conversation. I think it’s so important for a lot of people who are looking at stuff to realize, like, it doesn’t have to just be the thing that you are. It could be, we can step up and have a conversation about things that other people are as well.

[00:25:16] Avi: Absolutely. And that was so important, especially because, oh my god, our edit lead who was sick at the time, Lou, is Black as well. And I was like, Lou needs to be having these conversations here, except he’s not here. So I need to be having these conversations for him, because if I don’t, nobody will.

[00:25:38] Navaar: Yeah. Incredible. I appreciate that.

[00:25:40] Esther: I also think that just is such a great example of how editor and editing is a really key role. And we’ve had a couple people come on the show and reference, like, “we’ve sent a concept to the editors and they — the editing team — and they’ve come back with ‘maybe rethink that.'” And they’ve expressed how valuable that is.

And so — yeah, yeah! Which, um, please feel encouraged and good about that. We’ve had like multiple people talk to us about it at this point. And I just think that’s a really beautiful example of how two teams can really collaborate well, and also how to show up and, and advocate for social justice, for other people’s identities.

That’s just so cool. And for folks listening who may be interested in editing, that’s something that you might be able to bring into your career.

[00:26:32] Avi: Yeah, absolutely. I really encourage all editors to be up to date on issues of sensitivity and social justice and those kind of things, because it absolutely appears in your work, even in places that you don’t expect it to. And even when I was a contract editor for an organization that worked with Amazon Publishing, those kind of issues would come up as well. And that was one of the reasons why I was so happy to get a full time job at Paizo, because Paizo really lets me talk about those things.

The Amazon publishing authors didn’t want to hear it, you know, um, so if you can find a place that really supports you where you work with authors — or in this case developers and designers — who really want to hear what you have to say, I think that’s so important as an editor, that we can talk about the different issues that we’re coming across in a text. Because we are doing more than just looking for grammar, you know?

[00:27:29] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:27:29] Avi: A robot can look for grammar. And won’t always be right because they’re perfect, let’s be honest, but there’s so much more to it than just being a stickler for the rules.

[00:27:42] Navaar: I mean, I think — this kind of is a little bit of a separate thing, but something that I think will probably come up with at least a few listeners is, we talked about sensitivity and things like that. Like, where do sensitivity consultants and things like that fit into the path? Do they intersect with the editing team first, or after? Or? I assume first, but yeah.

[00:28:01] Avi: We used to, as the editing team, hire the sensitivity readers. But then we realized that that was actually too late in the process. By the time something hits edit, it needs to already have had its sensitivity read, or else we’re just pointing out problems and can’t really edit the text.

You know, we’ll still occasionally find problems after things have gone through, but having a sensitivity reader at the front end solves 99 percent of problems. So the developers are responsible, and the designers, for hiring sensitivity readers at this point in time. We no longer do that as the editing team.

Which is a little bit of a shame because I miss getting to get to know those people because that’s how I met Shay Snow was, um, through, um, their expertise as a sensitivity reader. Or no, I met them because they were a writer on Bestiary 3. But then the first time that I interacted with them in a hiring capacity was hiring them as a sensitivity reader. And now obviously they’re a Pathfinder Society developer, so it’s a great way to bring in new people who have different types of expertise, and help them get familiar with the Pathfinder brand if they’re not already as well. And so that is not something I get to work on anymore, but it does make much more sense to have the developers do it so we’re not having problems that are, really high on the scope level when we need to be focusing on, on the text on a really minute level. It kind of clashes between the two if we do it too late.

[00:29:43] Navaar: I mean, that totally makes sense. I think, in terms of just like, content, right? I think it’s something that we can see as we like, talk about these books and praise these books often, Esther and I. You can see that in that the path from concept to completion seems to have those ducks in a row because a lot of that stuff isn’t problematic, right, the best way to put it.

[00:30:09] Avi: I appreciate that.

[00:30:10] Navaar: Yeah, yeah, me too. I mean, because that’s the thing, right? It’s like, as much as — like, I love tabletop RPGs. I think everybody does. There’s a big game that came out recently that I’m not going to name, that people love the brand and the creator, but it’s very problematic still.

And a lot of people are still seeing a lot of problems with it. And it’s like, the fact that these things keep getting missed, is difficult as a fan to, to go through something and be like, “Ah, I love so much of this and I really wish that this wasn’t here.” Because it takes away a little bit from that enjoyment.

And some people won’t care. I get that. I get that some people just do not care at all when it comes to that stuff. And they think everything in that content-wise is fine, and you know, to each their own, I guess.

But, also don’t be a shithead. [group laughs] uh, but — if we’re being real!

But I do think it’s, it’s important, especially as a big publisher, right, to have those steps in place and be like, “Hey, yeah, we’re going to do the best we can to make it right, and to make it feel good for the people who are reading it so when we walk away from it, I’m excited to play a Black dwarf.” Like yes! You know what I mean? Like I, or — even the, um, I cannot remember the name of it, but from the Impossible Lands, the, the monkey ancestry.

[00:31:23] Avi: Uh, Vanar…

[00:31:24] Esther: Vanara.

[00:31:25] Avi: Vanara, thank you.

[00:31:27] Navaar: That! Like I’m, I’m excited to play that, as opposed to a different monkey ancestry from a different game that I never want to play. Um, so, yeah, I think there’s a right way to do it, and I’m excited that there’s those steps in place and have been for a long time. Even if those steps had to be adjusted in order, right? Like, I think it’s great to see, so.

[00:31:48] Avi: Yeah. It’s one of those things where our goal as a publisher is to publish something that people will feel good about enjoying and will really want to embrace wholeheartedly. And that’s not just my goal. That’s Eric Mona’s goal. That’s, you know, the goal of everybody who works at Paizo, is to publish games that really bring out the best in people and bring out different sides of the tabletop gaming culture that we haven’t seen before.

And all of that is really, really important at Paizo. So, it’s one of the reasons that I’ve stayed here for five years because I feel like the publishing philosophy is consistent with my values, I should say.

[00:32:30] Navaar: I think a big indicator of that probably is the unionization of the workers. So I’m curious, like as we kind of move into that, like, what was that experience like, right? To go from non-union to now union? And how did that feel? I think that’s an important thing to talk about, just the process of it.

[00:32:49] Avi: It was a wild experience. So, our actual unionization effort in — two years ago, was it? Oh my god. I think it was a year and a half ago.

[00:32:57] Navaar: Early 2022.

[00:32:58] Avi: It was not the first time I was approached about unionizing Paizo. The first time I was approached was maybe three years ago when we were still, four years ago even, maybe, we were still in the office.

So, unionization was something we discussed but never really had kind of the critical mass for. And Paizo has had a change in leadership since then, and so… things were not as good back then they are now. Let’s just… let’s just say it. We didn’t unionize because everything was perfect, um, but things are so much better now because of the union and because of the change in leadership and because we’ve all been able to really put our, our voices out there.

But the actual process of how we unionized was mostly through Discord chats, because we were not in the office at the time. We didn’t have the previous option we had, which was, you know, let’s go take a walk, which I mentioned before, and also we did as we were talking about unionizing four years ago. But that process of having Discord calls with people, we made a secret Discord server that then we one by one added people as they said they were down.

A lot of people did some really heavy lifting to make this happen. I did a couple of, conversations with people as I had the ability, because I was like, stressed out by this whole thing. So I threw myself in there at first and I was like, yes, I’m going to talk to as many people as possible. And I totally burnt myself out.

[00:34:29] Navaar: Yeah, yeah —

[00:34:30] Esther: Yeah.

[00:34:31] Avi: Thank god for the other people in the union who had more energy than I did because it was a challenging time, but people really stuck through it. And it’s been such a huge, huge improvement to see just morale change so dramatically, and to see the the love that everybody has for the company and for their co-workers and for the union. It really means a lot and feel like we have a great sense of like camaraderie as a company now that we didn’t have before.

[00:35:07] Navaar: Yeah. Awesome to hear.

[00:35:09] Esther: is so awesome to hear. And there’s a couple of things in there that just made me really happy. Like, first of all, that things have improved so dramatically, it sounds like, on, on several fronts.

I used to be a community organizer, and still am in some ways, and labor organizing is no joke. Like it’s really hard work. And it takes a lot of hours, a lot of commitment, and a lot of risk, like people are putting themselves and their jobs at risk to form a union. And I have so much respect for everybody who was involved in this process, and just all the work that went into the organizing and the formation and the conversations. And it makes me really happy that, y’all had Discord servers and conversations about this.

My spouse works at Discord they will be extremely happy that a product they, uh, they help make is, is a union product, or a union organizing facilitation tool. Yeah.

[00:36:09] Avi: Exactly. We would not have been able to do it easily without Discord. So thank you Discord, the new unionization tool.

[00:36:17] Navaar: I mean, I think that’s a great thing to,because there’s a lot of other places and people, I think. I mean, the comment has come up often of like, “Everybody should just unionize. Just do it. Or strike.” What it does, though, I think, is provide some context of, like, hey, like, maybe you can’t go gather all the people in your office together for this thing, but you can have these conversations in a place where you control who’s in that, who’s in that server. And, and you can see all the conversations laid out and, and, and moderate that stuff.

And so I think that yeah, it seems like a very improbable task, but obviously it worked out, and I’m glad. I, I know, just as a fan on the outside looking in, there — and at the time, like, most of the people that I was associated with who did stuff with Paizo were freelancers —

[00:37:04] Avi: Mm hmm.

[00:37:05] Navaar: — outside looking in, it’s like, it’s scary. I’m sure inside looking out, it’s also scary too. But it’s scary.

It’s like, “What’s going to happen to this game that I love? What’s going to happen to these people that I love that, you know, rely on this for, for their employment and for, and, uh, for their salary?” And to find that the company recognized it, and then, you know, things move forward and progressed.

And it’s been amazing to see. And it’s exciting to seeing other smaller like,niche industries also start to pick up.

[00:37:33] Avi: Yes. And a lot of them have told us that. Like, a lot of people have come and told us that Paizo’s unionization inspired them. So like, other game companies have said that. So that is the coolest thing ever. I hope that we inspire lots of people to unionize because you can do it. You can do it. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it. And it makes your workplace better.

[00:37:55] Esther: So there’s something that’s kind of a, a lane change that I’ve ask you.

[00:38:01] Avi: Yeah?

[00:38:01] Esther: Earlier you mentioned being trans and Jewish.

[00:38:03] Avi: Yes.

[00:38:03] Esther: And those things are both very important to me. And I feel like I have been able to track so much transness in Pathfinder 2e specifically. I’d love to hear your thoughts on like where and how that’s showing up.

And as someone who’s almost done converting to be Jewish, I look for Jewishness in everything. And I’m super curious to know where you would say, Jewish stuff shows up in this game, and how it may show up.

[00:38:32] Avi: Yeah, absolutely. So, as far as the first part of your question, the trans content in Pathfinder comes directly from trans creators. We have a huge number of trans freelancers, we have a good number of trans staff members as well. So that is coming direct from the source, that’s not anybody pandering, you know, as we’ve been accused of. That’s always such a bad faith argument, but.

[00:38:57] Esther: Which, I can’t believe! [group laughs]

[00:38:59] Avi: Yeah. You know, it’s, it’s legitimate. And it comes from trans people wanting to be in this world. And so many people in TTRPGs in general have discovered themselves as trans through playing games. A lot of people come into this, into this world and realize, like, “I can make a character who’s whoever I want.”

And this isn’t unique to Pathfinder, this is true of D&D and many other games. But I’ve talked to so many people who found out that they were trans because they made a character who represented how they really felt, and that character ended up being their gateway into discovering their own trans experience.

So, the fact that we have so many trans freelancers is a reflection of that, it’s also a reflection of the fact that the company has had trans people working at it since First Edition. Like Crystal Frazier is kind of the — to me she was like the shining light of like, “Oh my god, a trans person writing adventures and developing adventures at, at Paizo, how cool is that?”

So, I think I probably am not the only person who noticed her out there and that she was a very public figure, and it made it feel safe to write about trans people for Pathfinder and Starfinder. So, shoutout to Crystal for really paving the way in that way.

And then the other part of it is the support from allies at the company is huge. Like, I worked on, as a writer and edit lead, on Lost Omens Grand Bazaar. The outline explicitly said, like, “This character is trans, this character is trans.” There were like six or seven trans characters in that book, and it was explicitly called out in the outline, and then trans people were hired to write those characters.

[00:41:04] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:41:04] Avi: And so Eleanor and Luis really made that happen in a big way as well, so they deserve credit too.

And then the second part of your question: there are fewer opportunities to put Jewish-inspired things in Pathfinder because of so many issues around misrepresentation. You know, there are a lot of influences from Judaism that exist in Pathfinders from First Edition, and from Second Edition as well, that are not really accurate to Jewish legends, to Jewish lore. So things like the way we’ve portrayed golems is much more in the D&D school of thought than it is in the Jewish tradition. And then there’s Dybbuks as well, um, which are a little bit less ripped from their foundations, but still don’t have a huge connection to the folklore.

And there are probably other Jewish-inspired monsters that I can not think of at this moment, but I’ve, I’ve definitely seen people list them out, and I think there’s a few I’m forgetting. But in terms of what we actually put in the books that is intentionally Jewish, I’ve talked about this a lot, so I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about this before, but the character I wrote for Grand Bazaar, I was like, “Hhow do I make this character Jewish with — in a world with, first off, polytheism?”

[00:42:33] Esther: Yes.

[00:42:34] Avi: That’s like, kind of the big sticking point, and also in a way that is not going to be, offensive, or, also not, like, sticking out like it doesn’t fit in the setting. So, I, when I wrote this character, I focused in on the refugee experience that my ancestors had. And in terms of figuring out who the deity that he worships would be, I chose Shelyn because when I think about my experience growing up as a Reform Jew and going to synagogue, I think about music and how important music was in my upbringing and how music is the way that I really connected with God as like a young Jewish person.

I played in the Klezmer band. I sang in the choir. I was very involved in music at synagogue. So, um, Shelyn seemed like, you know — not the perfect fit for my personal experience. And aside from that, I haven’t personally put anything else really Jewish into the setting. But I look for, I’m always thinking about ways that we could add more Judaism to Pathfinder, because there’s, like, there’s not much out there.

And it’s a little bit tricky. It’s not as simple as putting in, like a country like Andoran, which is inspired by, like democracy or something like that. And, you know, there’s a very one-on-one kind of analog that you draw. There’s not an easy one-on-one analog that you can draw in a polytheistic setting between that and Judaism, because so much of Judaism, it does revolve around being monotheistic.

So, I don’t want to do it wrong, you know? I don’t want to do it in a way that will feel ungenuine or offend people or anything like that. But I’m always thinking about it.

[00:44:37] Esther: I love that. I think that’s, it’s so important to do things, in a way that minimizes harm. And I love the intention there and just how carefully it’s being held.

For me, I wound up homebrewing a bunch of stuff a while back that had to do with Kyonin. And I was like, I’m going to track down what I can in canon and then I’m just going to kind of like do my own thing. And, it was like either right before or right after Elul. And for those who — we’re like two days from the beginning of this month in the Jewish calendar right now. And it’s a month of like real reflection and internal work and thinking about it how our lives are in like, accord with our values and the ways we have lived into our values or not and our relationships. And I noticed like, time cycles really showing up in the things that I was homebrewing and I was like, “Well, I can’t really say they’re Jewish, but this is so influenced by my experience of living into what it means to be Jewish. To have this really purposeful observance of time and one day a week that is really sacred and set apart. And then like a month a year that is — more than one month — but like certain times in the year that are really sacred and set apart.” And I was like, “How would elves think about that? Well, they have these super long lifespans. So let’s take like one year out of every 10 and it can be like, uh, uh, Shabbat year! Or —

[00:46:06] Avi: Mm hmm!

[00:46:07] Esther: — the Jubilee year.”

[00:46:08] Avi: Oh, I love to hear that. That’s awesome.

[00:46:11] Navaar: Yeah, I think it really is difficult to do something like that and make it work. I think what one of the, one of the things that I feel like as I’ve just sort of consumed more media from like a critical lens is that like, coding is important, too, right? Sometimes coding happens accidentally.

People just, like — oh, you met a person, you didn’t realize this person was this, and then you wrote a character about that person, and you’ve created this thing that you adamantly refuse to accept as being this other thing. But I think, like, it’s one of those things that we can consciously do as well, it’s like, like you talked about. Like, there are certain things, I can’t, reach this specific goal, because it’s, Judaism is a, it’s a monotheistic religion, right? But I can code to a certain extent to get to a degree of this that feels like it’s something that would be representative for me. In the same vein that like Piccolo, this green alien character from Dragonball Z, is coded Black to many Black people uh, when we watch the character.

[00:47:06] Avi: Yes, I’ve heard about that!

[00:47:07] Navaar: Yeah. So — and I think now, like, as I’ve, learned about being autistic and have learned more about it, I’m, like, constantly, like, “Oh, that character? Yeah, for sure.” And so I think it’s still important, right? I think it’s important to, like, find those ways that we can hit on certain aspects of a character, of a place, of a culture, and make it feel in a way that’s reminiscent of what we’re trying to achieve, and still fits — like you were talking about, Avi — still fits t,he setting still fits the fantasy world that we’re playing in.

[00:47:38] Avi: Yeah, definitely. It can be a fine needle to thread sometimes, but I think it’s really worth it.

[00:47:43] Navaar: I think that’s one of the fun things, too, like the assignments that — because we’ve had quite a few freelancers on now talk about stuff that they’ve written — and it’s fun to hear how they take the assignments of stuff and go, “Okay, how can I tie this in? Or how can I fix this thing from the past?” Like, the Vishkanya was a fun one to listen to, uh, Ruvaid talk about how he did that. So yeah, I, I love to hear that and, and to see people just, you know, be creative and, and be free and, think outside the box.

[00:48:11] Avi: Definitely. And so much of it is a little bit tricky because a lot of First Edition was written without a real understanding cultural appropriation, which is, you know, kind of a feature of its time. And that nobody was really using sensitivity readers in 2010. And so these books were put out in the state that they were put out in.

And, uh, it’s always a little bit awkward to be, like, updating some of that material and telling the freelancers, “Go read these old books. Sorry about them!” [group laughs] They’re –I mean, those old books, most of them still have a lot of good stuff in them. Some of them are a little bit more challenging than others.

[00:48:53] Esther: Yeah.

[00:48:54] Avi: And that’s what has been so nice about, especially the Lost Omens line in Second Edition — because when we were doing First Edition, Eleanor and Luis were responsible for the softcovers. And nothing they did got a real spotlight, really. It was all like, only the megafans would buy them, you know? It wasn’t really platformed by the company in a major way.

But then getting to do something like the Mwangi Expanse hardcover, which was a major release and a major risk for the company, because we were, you know, we didn’t know if people were going to blast us for it.

And to be perfectly honest, to be able to put that out as a book that the company really put on the front page and really promoted and then was so well received, you know, that kind of risk really has a high reward.

[00:49:49] Navaar: That was the second book I got. That might not be true, because I think I had to wait for it. I wanted the Core Rulebook, and I waited. I knew the Mwangi Expanse was coming, I think I waited six months waiting for that release. The day it came out, I called the local game store, and I was like, “Please hold this! We don’t have a big Black population here, but I swear if somebody buys this book, I will fight.”

Um, and they did, they held it. I went in from work, straight from work, and picked it up. And yeah, the thing for me was like, seeing the orcs in there. Because the orcs have been problematic for a very long time, and have been coded Black sometimes, or just as other people of color, and never in a good way. And so to see, uh, the Matanji, is that right?

[00:50:33] Avi: Yeah, that’s correct. Demon slayers!

[00:50:36] Navaar: Yes. I was like, “Are you kidding me? This is so good.” And then it’s like, yeah, and half-orcs, like, fit into their society. It was just a very simple, like — I was like, “Oh, you have no idea how important this is.” So, yeah. And then, of course, like, dwarves, halflings, elves, all of that was just amazing. And it’s like, again, this is early into my, like, getting into the TTRPG space, in like a public way. And to like, see these Black writers like be a part of it and, and have conversations and be proud of the stuff that they did, and talk about like the influences — like, you know, Allie talks about the, uh, uh, with the halflings, the Song’o halflings, the, the stick fighting that they do. And that being like a part of like a, I want to say a Caribbean thing if I remember correctly?

All that to say, it’s just really exciting. I really get jazzed about like people getting to do that and getting to bring it into their — into the space, and getting to contribute in a way that like feels good. And see other people play with it and sort of awaken that imagination and creativity and go “Oh, like this is, this can be — this is a version of the fantasy world that I’m enjoying playing.”

[00:51:39] Avi: Yeah, that makes me so happy. And that book being so successful has opened so many doors for what we can publish in the future. Like, we would not be doing these Tian Xia books if the Mwangi Expanse book had not been successful. So, um, the fact that it’s been so well received is huge for what we can and will be publishing in the future.

[00:52:03] Navaar: Yeah. Very excited for that book, too. Yeah.

[00:52:05] Avi: Yes.

[00:52:06] Esther: We’re very excited for Tian Xia.

[00:52:08] Navaar: Books, I should say. Yeah.

[00:52:09] Esther: Yeah.

[00:52:10] Avi: I’m working on the World Guide right now. And it’s, I can’t say anything about it other than that it’s so good. It’s so creative. It feels like — I will say this: it feels like halfway between like, a very kind of specific style of anthropology and fantasy. So it bridges these two fields in a really interesting way.

You look at all of the details of these cultures, and then they’ve got these fantasy elements that are just woven through them. And so it feels like you’re really getting to know the people in addition to exploring a wild and fantastical world. So that’s what I’ll say about the Tian Xia World Guide.

[00:52:56] Navaar: There are some absolutely brilliant writers on there. And of the people that I know, with some really amazing backgrounds, that I’m so excited to see everything that’s been written.

[00:53:06] Avi: Yeah.

[00:53:06] Navaar: So, yeah.

[00:53:07] Avi: I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

[00:53:09] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:53:10] Esther: Well Avi, we’ve kept you for a while and I don’t want to keep you too late, because we record at night. But there is one thing I gotta ask you before we let you go: bears?

[00:53:22] Avi: Bears!

[00:53:23] Navaar: Bears, please!

[00:53:24] Esther: You are well known —

[00:53:24] Avi: Anything in particular you want to know about bears?

[00:53:26] Navaar: Nope, nope! Just bears!

[00:53:28] Esther: Uh, for those who don’t follow Avi on social media, you’re really missing out because they post the most amazing like nature content, which a lot of it is bears.

And Navaar and I have both like, expressed how much joy this brings on the timeline. So just bears in general, and like, what brings you joy about them? And how did you get into bear watching?

[00:53:50] Avi: Yeah, that’s a great question. So I got into bear watching because, um, very indirectly. So, um, the website explore.org hosts a huge number of animal cams from all over the world. Um, like in the off season I watch their Africa cams, which are mostly in South Africa, but there’s a couple in Kenya. And then they have panda cams in China, and then they have, like, kitten rescue in Los Angeles.

And they’ve got, like, dogs, they’ve got all kinds of stuff. I started out with the kitten rescue, because my old boss, Judy Bauer, watched them during work. And so, this is a thing that, you know, we all kind of recognize that you can have a cam with kittens on it in one corner of your screen and still do work.

And then, you know, it is actually a great morale boost. So I was watching the kitten cams, and then one day a banner ad pops up that says, “Bears Fishing At Brooks Falls.” And I’m like, “What? What? Bears? This is exciting!” So I click on it, and the first bear I see is this enormous blonde mama bear with her two little babies fishing on the edge of the falls, catching fish in mid air. And there are bears everywhere! And it was just, it blew my mind. Because I’ve always been a huge nature fan, I subscribe to the PBS app and watch all episodes of PBS Nature and Nova and I love that kind of stuff. So, I love the natural world and it blew my mind to see this, this concentration of bears all together, all fishing at the same spot.

And I immediately became hooked and then I realized that there was a chat and the people in the chat were able to identify the bears. And of course, I needed to get that, because —

[00:55:46] Navaar: This most incredible part. ‘Cause I’m like, you — okay, you know, that’s 806. All right! I mean, I believe you, fully believe you. It’s just amazing that you know.

[00:55:56] Avi: I’ve spent four years watching these bears and studying them, and the thing that’s so amazing about being able to identify individual bears, is you get to learn their stories and their personal histories, and each one of them is really unique. So each bear has a really different story, some of them have stories that involve hardship, some of them have had stories that involve fights, and some have lost cubs. And some of them have had more cushy lives, and have been, you know, kept for an extra year by their mom, so they got an extended childhood, and then they get a little head start on their fishing career. They have different relationships with the different bears around them, like one bear may have a good relationship with another bear, and then have a negative relationship with a third bear, and they’ll interact in ways that reflect those relationships.

They’re really individuals in a way that kind of continues to blow my mind. So that’s keeps me watching, is learning their stories and getting to see their stories unfold.

[00:57:02] Navaar: That’s awesome.

[00:57:03] Esther: I love that. Watchers of my Twitter feed or whatever social media it’s gonna be, may know that I live in a place where I’m able to observe a family of eagles these days. And what’s blown my mind is that exact thing, like how they each have their distinct personalities. And just watching, like, over a period of a few months, I’ve learned, like, the mama’s personality and her, her mate’s personality, which is a little bit more, even more chill than her. They’re, we think they are their kids, who are still around and are clearly like younger eagles and the fact that they have — the eagles are chill with osprey, two local osprey, but the osprey are not chill with the eagles. And yeah, yeah, there’s this like peace on one side, aggression on the other. And it’s just, it’s so interesting to watch the way animals interact and to to notice the ways they are similar to and yet so different from us.

And there is something very refreshing to me about nature and really nourishing to me about being in nature, watching nature, and watching these stories play out in just the same world I’m in, but such a different world. It’s very special.

[00:58:18] Avi: Yeah. I really find a lot of joy in it. And when it’s not bear season — so bear season lasts from like mid-June to the end of October, generally. That’s when bear cams will be on and there’ll be bears around. When it’s not bear season, I am noticeably sadder. Just, I miss them, because they become such a huge part of my life, watching these bears.

But, the great thing is, those Africa cams are amazing as well. There are lions, and hyenas, and hippos, and crocodiles, and baboons, and just like, so many different types of animals on those. But they’re a little bit sparser, they don’t just hang out in front of the camera all day like bears do.

The bears are very accommodating, but the African animals, they’ll come to the waterhole and then they’ll leave. So you do have a lot more time just staring at an empty waterhole, going “Man, I wish a hyena would show up something like that.”

[00:59:17] Navaar: Yeah. I mean, so this is both good and bad. I live in New Mexico and we have a ton of different animals and wildlife. I lived in a place where in my backyard I had an owl that lived in one tree and a pair of Merlin falcons that lived in another, with like the blue cap. It was awesome.

So it’s always been wolves for me, has been since I was kid. I was named after a character who turned into a wolf. So, watch Ladyhawk, everybody. Um and, yeah, but birds of prey was the other one, because I lived in the desert and we would catch a lot of, there would be a lot of falcons and hawks out there. And so, yeah, anytime you get to see those is cool.

There’s also a lot of coyotes around. And the unfortunate part of this is that because of people they are in the city sometimes. And so I was driving — it was like 107 the other day, and there was a coyote laying in the shade at the park, uh, next to the preschool.

[01:00:11] Avi: Oh, wow.

[01:00:12] Navaar: Yeah, laying in the shade, and three roadrunners — this is why it was hilarious –because there’s three roadrunners sitting around eating bugs out of the grass, um, all within reach, basically, if this coyote decided to get up and chase them. And, uh, they were just like, “No, it’s too hot for any of us deal with this. Uh, I’m gonna eat my food, you just hang out over there, you stay in the shade, you cool off, you do what you gotta do.”

[01:00:34] Avi: That’s so cool that you got to witness that.

[01:00:36] Navaar: Yeah, you’ll see pairs of Roadrunners every once in a while, but you don’t often see three at once, and that was, uh, yeah, it was fun.

Anyway: incredible, Avi! Yeah.

[01:00:47] Avi: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.

[01:00:51] Esther: Thank you taking the time to talk to us! We always like to ask, where can folks follow you and your work on the internet?

[01:00:58] Avi: Yeah, um, I am legalizegoblins on Twitter and Bluesky.

[01:01:04] Navaar: For obvious reasons!

[01:01:05] Avi: That is one that I came up with and will never ever go back because it’s the perfect handle.

[01:01:11] Navaar: It is, yeah. It’s great.

[01:01:13] Esther: It is.

[01:01:14] Navaar: Incredible, yeah, thank you again. Yeah, this is, this has been a lot of fun.

[01:01:17] Avi: I had a great time.

[01:01:18] Esther: And Navaar, where can we find you online?

[01:01:21] Navaar: I’m in most places as NavaarSNP. That’s N-A-V-A-A-R-S-N-P, Check it out.

[01:01:27] Esther: And if you all would like to follow me online, you can do so on the entity formerly known as Twitter or on Bluesky at the handle dungeonminister.

You can also follow Know Direction on the entity formerly known as Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, or YouTube at KnowDirection.

Thank you so much to our patrons who make all of our shows possible. We really appreciate your support. And thank you for listening in.

Until next time, this has been Know Direction: your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews.

Now You Know – Remaster Buzz

Ryan Costello — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 10:57:56 +0000

As I mentioned in last week’s editorial, advance copies of Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core got in the hands of select influencers in the space, Know Direction included.

The initial reviews were quite positive. This was followed by a more critical second wave that got deeper into the weeds. That’s fairly consistent with an edition change like this. Although the Remaster rulebooks remain compatible with all Pathfinder 2e content released previously, the fact remains that the Remaster rulebooks change the game. Some rules changes reflect a change in philosophy. Some address rules issues. They’re all meant to improve the quality of life of the game.

That said, if you’re wondering if you should pick up Player Core and GM Core, I recommend you don’t wait for a consensus. You will hear supporters, you will hear doomsday forecaster declare that the end is nigh. Again, all consistent with how influencers and fandoms react to change.

If you’re on the fence, I suggest one of two tracks:

Find the reviewer whose taste most closely mirrors yours. It’s not perfect, but you’re better off listening to opinions that reflect yours than taking reviews holistically and parsing out which of the opinions matter to you.
Go with the flow. No game will be perfect for anyone player, let alone any one group. If the choice is between playing a version of Pathfinder you like less, or not playing Pathfinder at all, you’re better off with a game group. And if there are some deal breakers in one of the versions of the rules, see if your group will meet you in the middle. Pathfinder 2e Remaster is not Pathfinder 2.5. It’s more like if Pathfinder Unchained’s options were presented as a new Core Rulebook.

We’re serving up our previews this week. Mostly Rob Pontious, honestly. First, he joins Esther and Navaar on this week’s edition of the Know Direction podcast. Then, he shares his thoughts on Investing In. I have some inkling of how the staff feels about Remaster, but for the most part I’ll be hearing their thoughts at the same time as everyone else when the content releases.

Speaking of network content, here is what The Know Direction Network released last week:

Recap of October 30th to November 3rd

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, October 30th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 119 – Your Joy Is Presumed

I’ve played in this kind of social puzzle in Pathfinder Adventure Paths and Society adventures before, and they’re usually fun, but adding in the potential to interact with an alien species with such pronounced customs shows how Starfinder’s seting reflavours familiar scenes.

Article

Now You Know: Pumpkin Core
By Ryan Costello

A little bit Halloween, a little bit teasing our upcoming Remaster content.

Tuesday, October 31st

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 75: Wingspan

Wingspan is such a successful and influential game, I was surprised to hear how much designer Elizabeth Hargrave’s journey from inspiration to publication mirrored the journey of so many GDU guests. She didn’t do much that was different from other designers, the end results just resonated more. Not to take anything away from her success. I just want to reinforce that anyone could be designing the next Wingspan.

Thursday, November 2nd

Podcast

Digital Divination 095 – PF2 Remaster: Implications for SF2

John and Jason discuss what Starfinder fans can decipher about the new edition based on Pathfinder Remaster. And yes, it amuses me that we kicked off our Pathfinder Remaster coverage on one of our Starfinder shows.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – Ride In Style
By Nate Wright

Flipping the script on his previous article, about turning the party’s ship in Starfinder into a PC, Nate revisits his Collective Archetypes concept to turn an archetype into a customizable mount for the entire party. Very customizable. It’s the kind of mount Dr. Frankenstein would build his party.

Friday, November 3rd

Article

Essential Builds – The Rocketeer
By Ryan Costello

I use the Rocketeer Focus to build an Essence20 The Rocketeer.

Preview of November 6th to November 10th

This is Block 2 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, November 6th

Article

Now You Know – Remaster Buzz
By Ryan Costello

And no, I’m not talking about Lightyear.

Wednesday, November 8th

Podcast

Know Direction 297: Pathfinder Remaster Review

The Know Direction Network’s own Rob Pontious joins the show to discuss Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core.

Article

Know Direction 297 In Writing

Also available in text!

Thursday, November 9th

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob goes deeper into his thoughts on Pathfinder Remaster.

Friday, November 10th

Podcast

Upshift 026 – Puzzles

A lover of puzzles, Jason goes into how to use them in your adventures.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello

Essential Builds – The Rocketeer

Ryan Costello — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:13:54 +0000

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that straps a rocket to popular culture characters and flies them into the Essence20 Roleplaying System.

In the latest Upshift, our Essence20 podcast, while discussing the Rocketeer Focus for the Technician Role in Cobra Codex, I talked myself into statting up The Rocketeer for Essential Builds. With the idea fresh on my mind, let’s get to The Rocke-who?

Who Is The Rocketeer?

Wearing a 1930s leather bomber jacket and an aerodynamic helmet that both protects his face and hides his secret identity, stunt pilot Cliff Secord takes to the skies above the Hollywoodland sign via a jet pack designed by Howard Hughes and sought after by Nazis and gangsters.

That’s basically all you need to know, really. Cool look, jet pack, fights Nazis.

Building Essence20 The Rocketeer

I love jet packs, so naturally The Rocketeer was one of my favourite movies growing up. Or do I love jet packs because The Rocketeer was one of my favourite movies growing up? Well, whether it’s the chicken or the egg wearing the rocket, 1991 live action adventure film The Rocketeer left an impression.

That said, there are a few movies from my youth whose cultural impact I overestimated. The Rocketeer is one of them. As a kid, I assumed it was beloved by all, as good as any Indiana Jones film. Naturally it was a big hit, everyone I knew saw it. Sure, it didn’t have any sequels, but that didn’t reflect the success of a film at the time. And yes, star Billy Campbell didn’t have much of a career after, but what did Mark Hamill do after Star Wars at that time?

Ends up The Rocketeer was a mild success with a cult following at best. There’s been talk of a new movie or series for the last decade, but other than an animated sequel series on Disney Jr about The Rocketeer’s daughter inheriting the title and jet pack (in which Billy Campbell reprised his role!), and some spin-off comics, this 90s franchise flew off into the sunset.

Oh, speaking of comics. Yes, The Rocketeer is based on an early 80s comic. However, I haven’t read it. My exposure to the character is through the movie and the mediocre NES side scroller of the time, so that’s the source material I’ll be drawing from for my build.

Role

Green Ranger (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game core rulebook)

I could easily have kept the Technician Role for this build and it would have been fully functional. However, The Rocketeer doesn’t build or repair his equipment. Alan Arkin’s character, Peevy, is The Rocketeer’s engineer and confidant. The Rocketeer is more of a fighter. So a Technician (Rocketeer) Rocketeer build would be more tech savvy than the movie presents him as. Instead, I’m dipping back into The Field Guide to Action & Adventure’s Advanced Crossover Character Creation rules to create a Green Ranger (Rocketeer) Rocketeer.

I went with Green Ranger for a few reasons:

Solo Strike works thematically, since The Rocketeer did all the fighting himself.
Solo Strike works mechanically, too. The Rocketeer can leap to the back ranks and fight leaders and utility enemies while the majority of the party fights on the front lines.
Survival Boon’s Move Like A Song and the Sidestep Perk both add to the feel of defense through maneuverability, and increase the build’s survivability.
I don’t use Ranger Roles that often, so I take any opportunity to apply one to a build when it fits.

That said, this isn’t a perfect fit. Unique Weapon grants a weapon tailored to the character, but The Rocketeer mostly used a Mauser M712, a standard semi-automatic pistol. I think he grabbed it off a Nazi he defeated late in the movie, mostly relying on hand-to-hand combat the majority of the time. Using the Unique Weapon Table 4-4 options, we’ll go triple 1s (a three eyed snake, if you will) and give The Rocketeer a ranged weapon that stores up to 3 Personal Power but loses 1d4 Personal Power on a fumble. Predictably, we’ll flavor any Personal Power usage as jet pack maneuvers.

Focus and Faction

Rocketeer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

The most obvious option to ever appear in an Essential Build. It’s rare that a pop culture character shares a name with the perfect Essence20 mechanic for that build.

In my defense, as alluded to on the podcast, G.I. JOE has a long history with jet packs. The JUMP debuted in 1983, shortly after The Rocketeer comic debut and long before the movie. It’s still a part of the line today. Oh! In case anyone’s curious, Starduster was the mail away JUMP trooper whose name I was trying to remember in the episode.

Cobra also used a variety of jet packs, and the Iron Grenadiers introduced a dedicated jet pack trooper. Even G.I. Joe commander Hawk has been a jet pack general once or twice (or thrice). And rocketeer is in the dictionary. So there, person I’m having an imaginary argument with!

Obviously, the Focus’ most important Perk is getting a jet pack (I didn’t mention this on the podcast, but the name of the Perk that gets Rocketeers a jet pack is Skybound, a nod to the comic publisher than even then was rumoured to be taking over the G.I. JOE license). The rest of the Perks either open up uses for the Acrobatics and Driving Skills, unlock jet pack based attacks, or improve the jet pack and the Rocketeer’s relationship to it.

While I’m throwing out trivia, the Human Bullet Focus Perk is a reference to Bulletman, a super heroic addition to the original 12” G.I. Joe team toward the end of that line’s run.

As usual, none of the Faction options work thematically, since they’re tied to their setting. As much as I wanted to go with something different, like Tiger Force or Slaughter’s Marauders, I’m once again sticking with G.I. Joe for this build.

Origin

Pilot (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game core rulebook)

This build keeps building itself!

So, confession: I’m not a huge fan of the Pilot’s Fly in the Future benefit. It’s built entirely around operating air vehicles, which, while thematic, means Pilot PCs get nothing special out of their Origin for the majority of most adventures. That, and the Perk’s second benefit—halving an air vehicle’s Movement to force attacks to target its Evasion—is redundant with the Evasive Maneuvers power that a majority of air vehicles have.

One air vehicle in the minority? The Cobra Jet Pack. By gaining a Cobra Jet Pack as a personal vehicle, Rocketeer Pilots get more out of their Fly in the Future benefits than anyone else who takes this Origin.

Influences

1st: Adventurer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game core rulebook)

2nd Racer (Transformers Roleplaying Game core rulebook)

3rd Thrillseeker (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game core rulebook)

It just occurred to me that Adventurer and Thrillseeker fit together like two pieces of a two-piece puzzle. Adventurer grants an Edge on a Smarts or Social Skill Test when you bring up a past adventure that applies. Thrillseeker grants an Edge on a Strength or Speed Skill Test when acting recklessly. Basically, your first hand Thrillseeker experience leads to your reflection upon past lessons as an Adventurer. Even better, Adventurer is the first Influence in the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game core rulebook, and Thrillseeker is the last. They bookend the section like they bookend a life of thrillseeking adventure!

I chose Adventurer as the Influence without a Hang-Up mostly because I find the Hang-Up burdensome on a group. It gives Snags for being in the same place for too long. As a player, you have minimal control over how long an adventure keeps you in one area. As a GM with a Adventurer PC in your group, you have to decide how much impact this Influence should have on the settings and pace of your adventure. I also chose Adventurer as the Influence without a Hang-Up because The Rocketeer isn’t in any hurry to leave Los Angeles. He works there, he seems ready to settle down with his girlfriend there, and his roots run deep.

Squeezed in between (because I list second and third Influence choices alphabetically) is another obvious choice for Cliff Secord, stunt pilot and plane racer: Racer from Transformers. It grants an Edge whenever a chosen Driving specialization comes into play. You know just what Driving specialization our jet pack enthusiast will choose.

Essence Scores and Skills

It’s Driving (Air)!

I think of d6 as the best jumping on point for Specializations, so we’re putting four ranks into Driving to give us Driving (Air) +d6*. It’s our highest starting rank, and always useful for a character with a vehicle as personal gear. Not to mention that we can attack with it as of 3rd level (I’d rule without specialization for ranged attacks, but with for rocket punches).

Speaking of attacks, even though the Rocketeer Focus lets us use Driving for attacks at 3rd level, that’s two levels away, and it’s only when we’ve moved with our jet pack that turn. This is a combat build, so I’m giving Might and Targeting +d4 each. That will get us by for two levels, and give us something to fall back on when we can’t use our jet pack on a turn.

Jumping to Smarts and Social, Cliff might not be a dummy, but he isn’t shown excelling in any particular area. We’ll start him off with +d6 in Alertness, and see if we need to diversify Smarts Skills when we get our bumps at 4th, 8th, and 12th level.

An area Cliff does excel is Deception. He lies a lot in that film, including using trickery to defeat the villains in the end. Again, we’ll give him +d6. As he levels up, we might even throw in a Specialization. Also, weird fact. I looked up if there was a dog in The Rocketeer to see if he should get any Animal Handling and discovered a dog car harness called The Rocketeer that can’t be comfortable, can it?

With four Skill Points left, we go back to our Strength and Speed needs. As I mentioned, the main gun he uses is an automatic pistol. Per the Advanced Crossover Character Creation rules, taking a Technician Focus also gave us the Technician’s weapon and battledress Training and Qualifications, which means we are trained with the SMG. Even though our Rocketeer gains a Unique Weapon automatically, we’ll be requisitioning an SMG every mission, so we’ll give him the required +d2 Brawn.

We’ll grab a Rank in Initiative, because it’s always handy, and a Rank in Infiltration, something we see him do a few times in the movie, especially when he hasn’t got his jet pack on. I could and maybe should put two Ranks in Infiltration, but instead I’m using the last Rank for Athletics. It’s a good catch-all Skill for physical activity, and a Skill we can invest in when we gain Strength Increases.

General Perks and Other Options

Peevy is to The Rocketeer as Alfred is to Batman, solving as many of his issues as humanly possible between missions, and even helping from time to time on a mission. Trusted Contact from the Field Guide to Action & Adventure captures that relationship perfectly. Unlike Human Companion which abstracts having an ally by his side, or Animal Pet and Robot Pet, which gives a bonus character, Trusted Contact grants a free Contact of your design. I’m not going to build the Peevy contact entirely here, but he would definitely have a Perk for repairing vehicles, another for sagely advice, and maybe one to help with lies.

By 8th level, we’ll be mostly attacking with our Driving Skill, and our Driving will be quite high. That means we can afford All Out Attack, which lets us trade downshifts on attacks for bonus damage. It’s a great General Perk, but can be hard to use to its fullest unless you’re completely dedicated to your attack Skill. We may not always get to attack with Driving, but getting to combine our jet propelled attacks with extra damage at the expense of accuracy matches half the fight scenes in the movie.

Then there’s Peerless Pilot. I almost feel bad taking this, because of the second of the three benefits it grants. I want it so our Rocketeer can automatically pass the Skill Test to emergency disembark, and I appreciate gaining an Edge on Initiative Skill Tests when piloting a vehicle in which we’re specialized. I feel guilty about gaining ↑2 on Driving Skill Tests while piloting a vehicle we are Specialized in. Combined with getting to use Driving to attack, that’s a hefty bonus. If I were playing this build, I might suggest to my GM that this bonus applies to piloting a vehicle we are Specialized in, not when piloting a vehicle we are Specialized in.

Finally, Weapon Training will be handy to get the build’s signature weapon without having to requisition it. It’s not a flashy addition to the build, it’s what you call a quality of life choice.

Honourable mention goes to Sonic Rainboom from the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game core rulebook, which would have been a fun addition if the Cobra Jet Pack flew just a little bit faster.

Conclusion

This build combines mobility with offense in a way that is both fun to play and true to the source. It also solves what I call The Pilot Problem, where investing in Driving or building around a vehicle driver theme only pays off in certain scenes, and those scenes often include hand-holding rules in case no one invested in Driving. This build excels in vehicle scenes, dominates vehicle scenes in an air vehicle, and always has access to an air vehicle even when the scene or mission doesn’t provide one.

Also, if you’ve never seen it, or haven’t watched it in a while, check out The Rocketeer!

Resources