City of Zolbadek

If you’ve been reading Wolfgang Baur’s Kobold Quarterly magazine, you know that much of the action in Wolf’s campaign world takes place in the Free City of Zobeck.

The new Zobeck Gazetteer brings the streets of this Eastern European-influenced city to life in 48 pages of great ideas and stimulating locations! Check out the Kobold Ghetto, a claustrophobic maze of winding streets made for a kobold—and hazardous to anyone larger. Of particular interest to me was the section on street traps—these cool traps will make walking down the streets as hair-raising as skulking through dungeon corridors.

Another big section of the book is devoted to the whole idea of clockwork magic. Information is given on the Gearforged: humans whose bodies are now more construct than flesh. You get a host of new skills and equipment that will be of use to clockwork artificers. A bevvy of new constructs are provided for use in combat or as clockworks for your campaign’s artificer to create. The school of Clockwork Magic and the Gear Domain are detailed as well as pages of new spells for these spellcasters.

All in all, the Zobeck Gazetteer brings a cool new city to your RPG table, and some new magic to your jaded spellcasters.

3.5 vs 4.0 (Dungeons and Dragons)

So there has been quite the controversy, at least in my gaming group, over whether to stick with 3.5 as published, move to Pathfinder (from Paizo… aka the guys who made Dungeon and Dragon magazines the last several years and their all star cast who made some of the best supplements out there), or to make the leap to 4th edition.

4th Edition, by Wizards of the Coast, is their first real attempt to rewrite Dungeons and Dragons from the ground up, and to be honest they did an excellent job… the problem is it no longer caters to the people who play D&D. It takes all the elements of a successful MMO (low downtime, constant combat, super powers) and rolls it all into a pen and paper game. Those are all pretty positive… if you wanted to play a MMO.

What we lost (that 3.5 PATHFINDER is keeping), is the complexity and the massive amounts of background material. You could argue that all of that history is kept in 4th edition, except for the fact that they took a massive axe and chopped it to bits in all their worlds (and sadly enough Eberron looks to be in the worst shape…and I thought the Realms storyline was hacked). I don’t mind them coming along and changing the worlds, but it has lost the continuity and even the new novels seem to lack that spark that made the worlds real.

Anyhow, we are sticking with Paizo for now, what are you all doing?

The Pathfinder RPG includes:
• Revised rules for the seven classic fantasy RPG races
• Updated options for the 11 core classe
• A streamlined skill system that makes things easier for players and GMs
• A host of new and familiar feats, including innovative combat feats and item creation rules
• New equipment
• New and revised combat options aimed at dispelling confusion at the game table without sacrificing versatility
• Overhauled rules for domains, familiars, bonded items, specialty schools, and more
• Dozens of new and revised spells
• Updated rules for NPCs, including quick-generation rules
• New rules for curses, diseases, and poisons
• A completely overhauled experience system with options for slow, medium, and fast advancement
• Hundreds and hundreds of magic items

Two new Pathfinder Scenarios available

It’s the end of the month, and that means that two new Pathfinder Society Scenarios are available!

The first scenario, Eye of the Crocodile King, takes you into the sewers beneath Absalom. Arcanamirium transmuter Maren Fuln found a magically sealed amulet in the school’s library and kept it as a shiny bauble. Little did he know the amulet contained an entity far worse than he imagined, and by unsealing it, he loosed a revenge-obsessed horror into the sewers beneath the school. Can the Pathfinder Society halt the beast’s plan in time, or will he build his army of revenge and sow chaos in Absalom?

In the second scenario, Blood at Dralkard Manor, your party gets to channel the Scooby gang as you investigate a haunted house. Venture-Captain Juberto Savarre plans to retire soon, and he’s set his sights on spooky Dralkard Manor in southern Andoran. With the locals swapping tales of hauntings and missing persons, Savarre sends Pathfinders in to uncover the truth. Are the stories just tall tales or will the Pathfinders find themselves drenched in blood at Dralkard Manor?

Bruce Cordell talks about Draconomicon 4th edition

Bruce R. Cordell: Dragons were always the quintessential “solo” monsters, so in a sense, 4E dragons, unlike many other monsters, are more similar in theme to earlier edition dragons. A single dragon is a challenge the party fears to face. This was true before and should still be true now.