Zeitgeist is an adventure path in the works for both Pathfinder and 4e - steam power, gunpowder, and war....

Right now there is a Kickstart running - $25 gets you something named after you in the books, and $100 gets a statted something named after you. If you encounter something called The Auld Grump, well, it might mean that I gave into temptation....

The Auld Grump

Yeah, I already gave into temptation - this looks like it will be right up my dingy soot covered alley.

I will admit that steam trains are spoiling me in Steampunk - travel becomes something to handle with a wave of my hand, unless I want something to happen on the train. (And fights on top of moving trains are... memorable. )

More than a hint of steampunk, some religious tension, bloody battle, guns both large and small.... Oh, yeah.

The Auld Grump

Not sure that they'll be able to pull it off - the Kickstart seems to have stalled.

And, yeah, The Auld Grump would be a good name for a locomotive... or a tugboat.

The Auld Grump, or a tavern, for that matter....

The first adventure for has been released.

One thing that I have heard consistently about War of the Burning Sky is that it has been bucking the whole '4e Adventures Don't Sell' paradigm. Here's hoping that Zeitgeist can do the same. I have also heard that it skips the whole '4e Adventures Don't Have Fluff' trope as well. Just a coincidence? I think not....

Zeitgeist is the first for Pathfinder instead of 3.X, as well as being released for 4e.

The Auld Grump

Has anyone gotten this? How is the first adventure?

Interesting.

BTW, did you end up getting something named after you in there, Grump?

No, the Kickstart died, alas. I suspect that it was kind of weighted against success - the person in charge dislikes the idea of Kickstarts.

In regards to Pathfinder vs. 4e - As mentioned, the numbers from subscription downloads via E N World have not yet been added, I expect them to tilt the numbers in favor of 4e. Nevertheless I found the numbers that they do have interesting, in large part because there had been members of the E N staff that had doubted when other publishers announced that Pathfinder material was outselling 4e, and that they had considered not doing Pathfinder at all. Also, the current numbers are actually skewed against Pathfinder, by dropping the units sold at Paizo, as they are only a Pathfinder outlet. Only places that sell both versions are listed.

The Auld Grump

Those numbers may also be skewed by people like me who downloaded both versions to see what the differences were.
Not at all desputing you numbers gump just saying there may be noise there for free products.

Not my numbers - Morrus is the guy in charge of E N World. And yes, there were pretty major differences, aside from the stats used for the characters. (Also some errata caused by those differences, there were some things left in the PF version that should have only been in the 4e version.)

And gamers? Wanting free material? Who are you trying to kid?

The next adventure is the real test - since it is the first with a price tag. (Or not - the adventure path also comes as part of a Silver community supporter account.)

The Auld Grump

The Pathfinder figures are surprisingly close to the 4E ones - even more so, if you combine the two sets of numbers. Pathfinder has turned, in a surprisingly short space of time, from a hopeful spin-off, to a very serious challenger to the D&D brand.

Meanwhile, I hope Zeitgeist get enough real (i.e. $$$) support for their work.

I hate to say it, but I really cannot recommend Zeitgeist - reading through the first three adventures for Pathfinder, it feels exactly like what it is - a 4e adventure converted, inconsistently, to Pathfinder. Oddly, the second adventure was better in that regard than the third.

The biggest problem, though, is that the adventures aren't feeling like adventures, they feel like linked encounters - set up to be tactically interesting, but... unfulfilling. Like they are there just to be tactically interesting encounters, not forming a coherent whole.

This might not be a big problem for 4e, but the field for Pathfinder has a lot of better Paths, including the ones from Paizo.

And, yeah, I held off for a while, hoping that I would like the series more as time passed. Instead, ennui set in.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* A major note - the setting is fine - I would love to run adventures in the setting, and hope that they come out with a setting book. I would buy it in hardcover. It is the adventures that are the problem.

I ended up dropping my subscription - just was not worth it, in the end. Nowhere near flexible enough, and I had issues with some of the choices forced on the PCs when there were other options that should have been available.

Better than what I have heard about Mass Effect 3, but much the same problems - choices that aren't really choices.

Also... faux steampunk. I want real steampunk, dangnabbit!

So, next time I am in the mood for steampunk Spycraft will come out again.

The Auld Grump

How do you think this would fit into an Eberron campaign? I was thinking about subscribing for the adventure for use in my 4e game.

Is it really that bad? There seems to be such potential for awesome flavor and theme.

Thanks for the lengthy reply. Out of curiosity, how much would it cost to pick up the first few and just cannibalize the good aspects? I am kind of confused on the pricing. If it is really cheap, this is a maybe. If expensive, I will keep on with what I am already doing.