Waylander the Slayer
Explorer
I have not been excited about any of the recent products coming out in general. I ran into this announcement and the products look damn cool! Erik Mona seems to know exactly what us gamer geeks need!
Quoting Erik Mona:
"Anticipation is high for Paizo's upcoming hardcover compilation products, but the books are really just the first step of a major product effort that will continue throughout the year and far into the future—the GameMastery™ line.
Each GameMastery product is designed to help you run a quicker, more efficient game. Paizo's creative editors and art staff put their heads together to come up with a bunch of really exciting products. I'm thrilled to finally get a chance to tell you about them.
COMPLEAT ENCOUNTERS
Compleat Encounters provide everything you need to run a single encounter, from three brilliantly sculpted miniatures to a full-color minis-scale map to a detailed micro-adventure complete with statistics compatible with the world's most popular roleplaying game.
Best of all, we're getting some of our favorite game designers and artists to create evocative encounters your players will remember forever. Our first sets include character designs by Wayne Reynolds, cartography by Christopher West, and text from Mike Mearls. Future sets will likewise feature superstar artists, writers, and cartographers.
Dark Elf Sanctum (August 2005, $15.95)
By Wayne Reynolds, Mike Mearls, and Christopher West
In a darkened chamber deep below the sunlit world, a diabolical dark elf priestess weaves rhymes of magic over an ancient portal arch. What foul entity answers her summons, and what will happen when it emerges into the world of man? A Compleat Encounter featuring a dark elf priestess, the summoning arch, and an otherworldly monstrosity.
Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult (September 2005, $15.95)
By Wayne Reynolds, Mike Mearls, and Christopher West
No secrets escape the legendary death shrine of the ninja cult, a den of silent assassins and profane traditions. However, a line has at last been crossed, and the cult must be brought to justice. A Compleat Encounter featuring a masked ninja princess and male and female ninja champions.
Vault of the Whispering Tyrant (October 2005, $15.95)
Ages ago, he swore that his rule would last forever, that the kingdom need never fear life without his protection. Now he lives on as a lich, issuing terrible decrees in a hoarse whisper through rotting teeth. A Compleat Encounter featuring a lich sovereign, his mummy queen, and the wretched Phylactery Stone.
Throne of the Gorilla King (November 2005, $15.95)
Delve deep into the fecund jungle, where the Silverback King rules with a wise majesty and an iron sword. Some say his lair sparkles with the gems of fallen empires, but few can match his ferocity in battle. A Compleat Encounter featuring the gorilla king and his monkey servitors.
CAMPAIGN WORKBOOK (September 2005, $12.95)
A great GM is always thinking about his campaign, scribbling down a note about a cruel trick to play on his players in one notebook while composing diabolical dungeons in another. Instead, we suggest the Campaign Workbook, a handsome leatherette-bound campaign journal small enough to carry with you at all times but big enough to handle all your campaign planning needs.
Look for a blank campaign calendar to track game events, character birthdays, and important holidays. Blank globe templates allow you to sketch out your campaign world from sea to shining sea. An address book keeps all your players' addresses and phone numbers in one handy place, and a similar registry helps you keep track of the characters' key skill bonuses and combat information. An alphabetical NPC list tracks key characters and provides a handy place to take notes when things change during the course of play. Lastly, we've loaded the book with more than 100 pages of graph paper, so you can design your deadly dungeons in the same place you track your characters' experience points.
I use a similar self-made idea journal, and it's completely changed my life (to say nothing of my campaign!). If you're not already keeping a campaign journal and idea book, you should be, and we'll happily provide the template.
CAMPAIGN MAP PACKS (November 2005, $12.95)
I'm pretty confident in my abilities to design a fun trap or encounter, and I love hamming it up when acting like some monster or important NPC. When things are going great, I really feel confident in my abilities as a GM. Then, I have to sketch out a miniatures-scale map and I reveal myself as a complete loser when it comes to drawing.
Enter Paizo's Map Packs, which feature 18 map tiles similar to the ones in our Compleat Encounters. In this case, however, the maps take front stage, and you'll never worry about a weak drawing ruining an otherwise cool game moment. Each Map Pack explores a theme—from caverns to castle chambers to a fully represented village. If you like the cartography in our magazines, you'll love it when the same artists lend their talents to minis-scale maps you can drop into your campaign with maximum ease.
ITEM PACKS (December 2005, $9.95)
Everything is going exactly as planned. You've got the party cornered, and there's no hope they'll get out of the trouble they've brought down on themselves. At long last, they'll get what's coming to them. "I try to work that one wand," one of them says. "What wand?" you snap back. "I have it written here on my character sheet," your player says, dumbfounded. "I think it was from February. Maybe I got it from that orc chieftan?" The game stops while you consult your old notes, only to find out that the wand is just the thing they need to escape once again! It's all very thrilling, or at least it would have been if it hadn't involved a minor argument and 10 minutes of flipping through old game notes.
Paizo's new Item Packs contain 54 playing-card-sized cards to help you track important treasures. Each card features a beautiful full-color illustration of an item (weapons, armor, wondrous items, etc.) on one side, with a text description and room for notes on the opposite side. Hand these out the next time your PCs get treasure, and the players will learn to love managing their booty. A code on each card helps you track which card corresponds to which treasure.
And that's just the beginning. We look forward to pushing the envelope even more in 2006, with more miniatures, more accessories, and more incredible creations the likes of which only Paizo Publishing can provide."
Does anyone know if the Mini's are painted? Are the Item packs Generic?
Quoting Erik Mona:
"Anticipation is high for Paizo's upcoming hardcover compilation products, but the books are really just the first step of a major product effort that will continue throughout the year and far into the future—the GameMastery™ line.
Each GameMastery product is designed to help you run a quicker, more efficient game. Paizo's creative editors and art staff put their heads together to come up with a bunch of really exciting products. I'm thrilled to finally get a chance to tell you about them.
COMPLEAT ENCOUNTERS
Compleat Encounters provide everything you need to run a single encounter, from three brilliantly sculpted miniatures to a full-color minis-scale map to a detailed micro-adventure complete with statistics compatible with the world's most popular roleplaying game.
Best of all, we're getting some of our favorite game designers and artists to create evocative encounters your players will remember forever. Our first sets include character designs by Wayne Reynolds, cartography by Christopher West, and text from Mike Mearls. Future sets will likewise feature superstar artists, writers, and cartographers.
Dark Elf Sanctum (August 2005, $15.95)
By Wayne Reynolds, Mike Mearls, and Christopher West
In a darkened chamber deep below the sunlit world, a diabolical dark elf priestess weaves rhymes of magic over an ancient portal arch. What foul entity answers her summons, and what will happen when it emerges into the world of man? A Compleat Encounter featuring a dark elf priestess, the summoning arch, and an otherworldly monstrosity.
Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult (September 2005, $15.95)
By Wayne Reynolds, Mike Mearls, and Christopher West
No secrets escape the legendary death shrine of the ninja cult, a den of silent assassins and profane traditions. However, a line has at last been crossed, and the cult must be brought to justice. A Compleat Encounter featuring a masked ninja princess and male and female ninja champions.
Vault of the Whispering Tyrant (October 2005, $15.95)
Ages ago, he swore that his rule would last forever, that the kingdom need never fear life without his protection. Now he lives on as a lich, issuing terrible decrees in a hoarse whisper through rotting teeth. A Compleat Encounter featuring a lich sovereign, his mummy queen, and the wretched Phylactery Stone.
Throne of the Gorilla King (November 2005, $15.95)
Delve deep into the fecund jungle, where the Silverback King rules with a wise majesty and an iron sword. Some say his lair sparkles with the gems of fallen empires, but few can match his ferocity in battle. A Compleat Encounter featuring the gorilla king and his monkey servitors.
CAMPAIGN WORKBOOK (September 2005, $12.95)
A great GM is always thinking about his campaign, scribbling down a note about a cruel trick to play on his players in one notebook while composing diabolical dungeons in another. Instead, we suggest the Campaign Workbook, a handsome leatherette-bound campaign journal small enough to carry with you at all times but big enough to handle all your campaign planning needs.
Look for a blank campaign calendar to track game events, character birthdays, and important holidays. Blank globe templates allow you to sketch out your campaign world from sea to shining sea. An address book keeps all your players' addresses and phone numbers in one handy place, and a similar registry helps you keep track of the characters' key skill bonuses and combat information. An alphabetical NPC list tracks key characters and provides a handy place to take notes when things change during the course of play. Lastly, we've loaded the book with more than 100 pages of graph paper, so you can design your deadly dungeons in the same place you track your characters' experience points.
I use a similar self-made idea journal, and it's completely changed my life (to say nothing of my campaign!). If you're not already keeping a campaign journal and idea book, you should be, and we'll happily provide the template.
CAMPAIGN MAP PACKS (November 2005, $12.95)
I'm pretty confident in my abilities to design a fun trap or encounter, and I love hamming it up when acting like some monster or important NPC. When things are going great, I really feel confident in my abilities as a GM. Then, I have to sketch out a miniatures-scale map and I reveal myself as a complete loser when it comes to drawing.
Enter Paizo's Map Packs, which feature 18 map tiles similar to the ones in our Compleat Encounters. In this case, however, the maps take front stage, and you'll never worry about a weak drawing ruining an otherwise cool game moment. Each Map Pack explores a theme—from caverns to castle chambers to a fully represented village. If you like the cartography in our magazines, you'll love it when the same artists lend their talents to minis-scale maps you can drop into your campaign with maximum ease.
ITEM PACKS (December 2005, $9.95)
Everything is going exactly as planned. You've got the party cornered, and there's no hope they'll get out of the trouble they've brought down on themselves. At long last, they'll get what's coming to them. "I try to work that one wand," one of them says. "What wand?" you snap back. "I have it written here on my character sheet," your player says, dumbfounded. "I think it was from February. Maybe I got it from that orc chieftan?" The game stops while you consult your old notes, only to find out that the wand is just the thing they need to escape once again! It's all very thrilling, or at least it would have been if it hadn't involved a minor argument and 10 minutes of flipping through old game notes.
Paizo's new Item Packs contain 54 playing-card-sized cards to help you track important treasures. Each card features a beautiful full-color illustration of an item (weapons, armor, wondrous items, etc.) on one side, with a text description and room for notes on the opposite side. Hand these out the next time your PCs get treasure, and the players will learn to love managing their booty. A code on each card helps you track which card corresponds to which treasure.
And that's just the beginning. We look forward to pushing the envelope even more in 2006, with more miniatures, more accessories, and more incredible creations the likes of which only Paizo Publishing can provide."
Does anyone know if the Mini's are painted? Are the Item packs Generic?
