As was mentioned on the 'WotC Hates PDFs' thread Paizo has decided to show that they love PDFs. So, encouraged by a 35%, I decided to take a look at Crimson Throne.

In case anyone is wondering - it looks very, very good. Among other things Paizo is very good at suggesting alternate routes in the event that the PCs manage to cleverly prevent one of the major plots. Much better than just saying 'Sorry, you can't rescue Princess Olive Oil from the clutches of King Bluto, the plot doesn't allow it.' King Bluto will have some suggestions as to other dastardly acts.

Chapter 2 of the path looks even better, and may even get me off my behind to build The Maiden (again).

I am still waiting for Amazon to deliver Howl of the Carrion King.... Grrr.....

The Auld Grump

Thanks for the quickie review Grump. I'm running 4E right now but I want to give Pathfinder a run this summer.

Sounds terrific. I've heard good things about it.

I haven't actually played Pathfinder yet, but I have the beta pdf. Is it a marked improvement over 3.5? I mean, I enjoyed 3.5, but it got unwieldy at higher levels so I wandered away from it. Thoughts?

Well, bearing in mind that my opinion is not unbiased (I really do not like 4e), I find it an improvement over 3.X - in particular the changes to sorcerer, and the simplified rules for grappling, tripping, etc.. The rules for magic item creation are also being changed, even from what has been shown in the Beta - Item Creation now involves a skill check, and can be fumbled. (One of the major sources of 'cursed' items.)

Upper levels are still a trifle unwieldy, something I prefer to the overly mechanistic nature of 4e, but I think that it is a bit easier to handle than 3.5, at the least. A lot of abilities have been codified, so there is some streamlining of systems. Skills have been reduced in both number and in number of ranks. Instead of increased ranks for class skills ther is instead a bonus to the skills.

An article on encounter design for Pathfinder can be found in the free GM's Day sample of , along with an observation on 'Ten Minute Adventuring Days' (one of the other recurring problems with 3.X) and Treasure Parcels, well worth the price of free, and in fact it is good enough that I will be getting more in the series once it is officially released.

I have been running with slow advancement for the kid's Pathfinder game, as much to let the players come to grips with their characters abilities as anything else.

The Auld Grump

Picked up the rest of Crimson Throne, and pt. 2 of Legacy of Fire. (I have pt. 1 in print - finally arrived today.)

Crimson Throne looks very, very good indeed, but then I am fond of political plots. The city of Korvosa cries out for secret societies and masked intriguers in the shadows. Things are going to be messy there for years after the scenario concludes.

For the quality of adventures that Paizo is releasing I think that WotC taking back the Dragon and Dungeon Licenses was for the best - the adventures are more mature, with harder edges, and while they lost the ability to use official D&D critters aside from the ones entered into the OGL they gained the ability to use the vast library of third party support that is out there.

The Crimson Throne series fits with Under the Veil with not all that much work, I suspect, mostly changing the setting specific material to fit. There is one major character in Crimson Throne and another in Under the Veil that almost seem like the same woman in different clothes.... Not very hard to make her exactly that.

It almost tempts me to use the Pathfinder setting. (While I like many of the individual elements of the Pathfinder world the setting as a whole does not gel for me. Which is a shame, since I very much like many of those individual elements.)

The Auld Grump