Pathfinder 1E You're the CEO of PAIZO. Now What?

[Voadam]

We got as many of the magazines set up as PDFs as we could before our license to produce magazine content ended. At that point, we turned all of the art and files and resources for the magazines over to WotC, since they owned all of that content. Our agreement lets us continue selling back issues and PDFs, but we can't make new PFDs of issues to sell.

That's dissapointing to hear but I appreciate the information, thanks.

 

[bagger245]

You can't out-crunch the crunch-monster. You can easily out-fluff them.

Yes. There is no point in going against the crunch king. Paizo is currently king of fantasy fluff ala AD&D 2e era. Another king of fluff would be Savage Worlds. A fixed ruleset with tons of campaign settings and genres.

Perhaps taking a page from Savage Worlds model would be the way to go?

 

[Minicol]

I would keep the current formula as long as possible.

I would strive to keep more focus on the AP themes in issues.

I would do an AP including worldwide travel to promote the various regions of Golarion, on the vein of the Eando stories.

 

[shinmizu]

I would also do some type of streaming video sessions of some of these great "in house" games I read about in the Paizo blog. I woudl especially be interested in seeing some of the sessions from the game Sean K. started where everyone is high level and evil.

This, a thousand times this. I'd even give my horse for this, and that's saying a lot. Traded an entire kingdom for him. (Got the kingdom for a goose, that I indirectly got with a cow and some beans... and, well, it's a long story.)

 

[PaizoCEO]

Have you seen anything from Paizo you can link to on this? I remember hearing Paizo say they can't do compendiums, new dragon AP hardcovers, or a pdf of the Shackled City hardcover under the terms of their license. When I asked on their boards at the time of the WotC pdf removals Lisa said the Dragon/Dungeon licenses were separate and the Dragon/Dungeon pdfs would not be pulled down. I have not heard them say one way or the other about filling out their pdf sales offerings of the magazines they put out in print that have not been put up in pdf format yet though. I vaguely remember hearing that they were putting conversion of the remaining old ones on the back burner as they worked on Pathfinder APs and then the Pathfinder RPG. If there is a definite statement indicating otherwise I'd be interested in seeing it.

We can't make PDFs of the last year of both Dragon and Dungeon because our license forced us to wait for 1 year before we could sell a PDF. Since we lost the license at that point, the last year of both magazines were never allowable for us to make PDFs of. Now all the files have been turned over to WotC, so it is in their hands.

Lisa Stevens
CEO
Paizo Publishing

 

[Erik Mona]

This, a thousand times this. I'd even give my horse for this, and that's saying a lot. Traded an entire kingdom for him. (Got the kingdom for a goose, that I indirectly got with a cow and some beans... and, well, it's a long story.)

I dunno about video, but the next Paizo office game I run (which I'll probably start in a month or three once my current freelance obligations are met) will have something like this. My current plan is to audio-record every session and post it as a podcast.

--Erik

 

[fireinthedust]

Having started White Wolf and then Wizards of the Coast, and building them from the ground up, I think I have enough experience with the upsides and downsides of rapid growth and managing all the complexities of that. Interestingly enough, we have pretty much the same headcount right now as we did when we started in 2002 with Dragon, Dungeon and Star Wars Insider magazines.

-Lisa

What would I do if I was Paizo CEO? Apparently I'd thank Lisa for setting things up right, and wish her well inventing yet another source of competition!

Hmmm.... Honestly, I like the setting a lot. even if I never play the APs, I'd still use the setting. It's just... it has that feeling of old folklore stories. Well, the CS book I grabbed does. Even the other elements added on go well.

1) I'd buy the Bag O' Zombies IP. They have bag o' Skeletons, too. I bought that so my PCs could fight loads of skeletons in my 4e game; they're different colors: white, red and blue; I use them for standard, chillborn and flaming skeletons. The PCs also fight the Bag o Cthulhu I bought.
I'd start producing piles of different generic minions that any gaming group could use: Spacetroopers, Goblins, Orcs, Ninjas, Bandits, knights, dwarves, elves, cultists, liches, ogres, whoever. Make each bag $10 for the 30 or so minis in there, or even 100. Come out with a Mass Combat system, too, and rules for big skirmishes.
I have plenty of respect for people who like painted, detail, pretty minis. This is because they are rich and can waste money in stupid ways. I, on the other hand, have to work to feed myself month to month and can't afford so many stupid, stupid aspects of the hobby. CCGs? "Random" Minis?! Are you joking? I'm an artist, a writer, and if I feel like fighting a band of orcs I should have access to a band of orcs. When I'm drawing a comic, you don't see me going to the store and buying a mystery box with random art supplies, hoping against hope that non-repro blue and an ink pen will maybe fall out. That's just stupid.
much respect for the pretty pathfinder minis, also, but I can't afford them. They are gorgeous, though.

2) Get back to basics. Like, the real foundation of the hobby. I make up my own systems, and conversions, and they work. The reason is that I understand what I'm doing at the table. Maybe not the entire market, but I know what I need and what's ultimately superfluous.

I need: Source material to come up with ideas; stat blocks that are finished; stat blocks that have all the info there (not in five other books) in the stat block.
Granted, that's what I like about 4e. I've been getting back into my 3e books, though, and others, and just... well, getting back to basics. Seriously, what IS a RPG?

3) Probably I'd come up with generic, useful gear. status markers. There's one for 4e that's come out, but it's specific to them, and not enough markers for a full combat.
I use old poker chips I found in a bucket when someone moved out, for things like Action Points and Healing Surges. If there were smaller chips, I could fit them under the minis I do have, for things like Dazed and Stunned (and yeah, Bloodied, but that doesn't have to be printed on it. Just red, gold, blue...)

4) Comics. Get Ramon Perez or someone to do a black n white inked comic set in Golarion. I love comics.

 

[bagger245]

4) Comics. Get Ramon Perez or someone to do a black n white inked comic set in Golarion. I love comics.

How about getting WAR to do a graphic novel of Golarion featuring the iconics with lots of Seoni?

 

[Truth Seeker]

I will support a comic book verison of Pathfinder. In fact we need one now.

Devil's Due Publishing had the license and no longer releases anymore material 'D&D' related.

 

[malkav666]

I dunno about video, but the next Paizo office game I run (which I'll probably start in a month or three once my current freelance obligations are met) will have something like this. My current plan is to audio-record every session and post it as a podcast.

--Erik

Thats hot. I look forward to listening to these.

love,

malkav