RPG Bloggers Network

Dave Chalker officially announced that the RPG Bloggers Network will be handed off to Duane O’Brien of A Terrible Idea. You can read the announcement at the RPGBN Google Group. The short of it is that Duane’s proposal was unanimously chosen and represented the best compromise between the submitted proposal.

What does this mean for RPGBN members? Probably nothing. I suspect it will be a seamless transition. With the exception of a few possible technical problems, it will be business as usual. Duane has yet to comment publicly on the details of his plan, but I imagine that will come soon enough.

Congrats to Duane for writing the winning proposal and I look forward to seeing the RPGBN continue to grow and evolve.

Listening to: Dethklok -Dethalbum II – Laser Cannon Deth Sentence

The Encountered

Mind Storm Labs was nice enough to send me a physical copy of their new creature catalog for their sci-fi game, Alpha Omega. If you are familiar with the Alpha Omega rulebook, then you will find the same attention to detail and production quality in The Encountered, Volume 1.

If you’re not familiar with Alpha Omega, I recommend you check out the core book. It has a fresh rules system that looks crunchy but plays smoothly. The production values are of the highest quality and it also establishes an original post-apocalyptic setting. For more information, you can check out other articles I’ve written about AO.

The Encountered is a hardbound with thick, glossy covers while the pages have a nice weight about them. The interior is full color and clocks in around 300 pages. The Encountered, Volume 1 retails for 39.95. You can even grab a preview of it here.

The Encountered introduces 200 monsters for use with the Alpha Omega roleplaying game. They are broken down into 5 categories (Freaks of Nature, Tech Fiends, Spiritual Creatures, Abominations, and Demons). They are also presented in order of magnitude of relative power, so if you want to step up the opposition, just thumb a couple more pages into the section.

It also gives Game Masters 40 new templates to play with (which means something like 8000 variations of creatures). Another feature is advice spread throughout the book that should help both new and experienced GMs manage their encounters. In fact, there is even an entire chapter dedicated to encounter management.

Their mastery of page navigation (a good example of web UI influencing books) is in force with a sidebar that helps you easily identify where you are at and where you want to go (digital copies, if they exist, should definitely take advantage of this navbar). I mentioned their order of magnitude above and this number is also laid out in an easy to find section of the monster template.

The art in the book maintains a very consistent feel. The art also has its own style, setting it apart from your standard fantasy or science fiction fair. Quite a few if the illustrations are epic and beg to have adventures built around them.

What is pretty cool is that you can also pull fan-made creature resources (which follow the same format as The Encountered) from the fictional The New World Science and Engineering Commission. You can even follow the intrepid researcher, Roger Traffler, in his journey of discovering new life forms on his twitter account.

I love creature compendiums. They are the one type of supplement I am most likely to purchase even if they belong to systems and settings that I do not have any inclination of using. The reason I like creature manuals so much is because one cool monster can inspire me to create entire campaigns or adventures around them.

Even though I have only been able to do a one shot with this book using the Alpha Omega rule set, I heartily recommend this book for AO groups. And if you’re just a fan of creature books, I also recommend you pick up The Encountered!

Listening to: Cavo – Bright Nights, Dark Days – Champaign

RPG Bloggers Network

If you read this blog, you are mostly likely aware that I belong to the RPG Bloggers Network, but you may not have been aware the operators of the network have decided to step down and possibly transfer ownership of the powerful feed aggregator.

If you’re an avid fan of the RPGBN, I wouldn’t worry about anything. Chris Tregenza of 6d6 Fireball is creating a proposal to submit to the soon to be defunct operators. Since his team is the only other proposal I was aware of (the other one having been withdrawn), it seems likely that 6d6 will be hosting the RPGBN soon. Even if the network just closes shop, there are many new feed aggregates popping up such as the Savage Bloggers Network (for Savage Worlds) and RPB Bloggers.

The withdrawn proposal was created by Berin Kinsman of UncleBear. I am going to assume that the RPGBN carried too much baggage (technologically & otherwise) for Berin to want to seriously invest anytime with. So instead, fresh off introducing a new social network for New Mexico fan communities, he has created the Role Play Media Network using the Ning platform.

The RPMN (always room for another acronym) targets podcasters, bloggers, publishers, and their audience and fans. While feeds can be found on the network, its job is not to be a feed aggregator. Its job is to serve as communication hub for RPG fans. So I recommend you go over there and sign up, it already has 220 or more members and growing fast.

Listening to: Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls, & the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool - Sick Bubble-Gun

Previously, I wrote about Shane Deseranno’s interactive game table that worked with Wii technology. Recently, I have seen a few more digital game tables appear on the radar that are using multi-touch technologies. Multi-touch allows users to interface with a program via pressure sensitive screens that can be manipulated with your fingers.

DragonEye: DIY Multi-touch Table

The first example I want to highlight is a DIY multi-touch created by repurposing a PS3 Eye Camera and using Rear Diffused Illumination projection and reacTIVision software built by SpynalTom.

The best part of this build is that SpynalTom is part of a larger DIY community called NUI Group (Natural User Interface), “an open source interactive media community researching and creating machine sensing techniques to benefit artistic, commercial and educational applications.” They have a very informative and active forum where you can follow project builds like SpynalTom’s.

SurfaceScapes Proof of Concept

SurfaceScapes is a team out of the Entertainment Technology Center of Carnegie Mellon University. They have developed a decent proof of concept (prototype) of software/user interface for Dungeons & Dragons on the Microsoft Surface table.

This probably the most polished software I have seen designed to be with a roleplaying game on a digital gaming table. Obviously, the UI needs some tweaking, but I really like what I see. I think it would be even better if you had the option of using traditional dice which could be programmed to be recognized as fiducials (and therefore tracked by the software).

Tomorrow: Touchable Holographs

I am obviously talking about nextgen equipment that has yet to go mainstream with the multi-touch tables. But what is the next logical progression? Touchable Holographic or Augmented Reality displays.

I have also touched upon Augmented Reality (a different, yet similar technology than holograms), but before, where virtual realities are layered atop the real world… now imagine if you could touch it. I’ll leave you to wonder at the possibilities with this video that highlights while I ponder the ways to integrate Google Wave with these things…

Other Technology Focused Articles:

• Untapped Potential of Technology
• Future Potential of Technology
• Augmented Reality “Boardgame”

Listening to: Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls, & the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool - What!?

Announcing The Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook: Recipes for Games That Don’t Suck

The Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook

Peer into Nicolas Logue?s demented mind and taste his darkest sanity-shattering gamemaster tricks from a decade teaching theater in NYC, China and London. These forbidden fruits come screaming through the interwebs straight to your home gaming table. For use with any game or system.

Anarchist Gamemaster?s Cookbook is packed full of terrifying advice on gamemastery that Nicolas Logue has never dared share before with man or beast. Secrets that will transform novice gamemasters into towering Gods of Gaming and supply even the most grizzled veteran storytellers with new tricks to slip up their sleeve before the next time the dice hit the table.

What do your favorite movies, books and TV shows have in common? Story, Drama and Action! Don?t let the rules rule you. If story matters then the Anarchist Gamemaster?s Cookbook matters to your game.

Put your humanity at risk with lessons including Improv by the Skin of Your Teeth, Murder Death Kill, Ultimate Climaxes (you know what I mean), Fates Worse Than Death, Soundtracks, Romance, Redemption, God Like Powered Player Characters, Why Dragons Should Always Win and more collected here in one master tome.

• New Twists and Sage Advice on?
• Plot
• Setting
• NPCs
• Villains
• Adventure Design
• Pacing
• Cut Scenes and Fade Outs
• Gripping Backstories
• Hooking the Players
• Spotlighting the PCs
• Improv by the Skin of Your Teeth
• Cinematic Action
• The Art of the One Shot
• Epic Length Campaigns
• Ultimate Climaxes (you know what I mean)
• Motivating Your Players?and Their Characters Too
• Suspense
• Soundtracks for Your Game
• Amnesia
• Nightmares
• Drug Addiction
• Flashbacks
• Fear
• Mind Control
• Romance
• Redemption
• Twists and Turns
• Mysteries
• Noir
• Traps
• Wizard?s Duels Done Right
• God Like Powered Player Characters
• Murder Death Kill!…or?Bringing Combat to Life
• Why Dragons Should Always Win and other Fine Truisms of Good Gamemastery

Besides being a veteran game designer and adventure writer for DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS (3&4), DUNGEON magazine, and PATHFINDER, Nicolas Logue is a Professor of World Theater in London, a full instructor with Dueling Arts International, a produced playwright, award winning stage director, and has taught improvisation and acting all over the world. Anarchist Gamemaster?s Cookbook combines Nicolas Logue?s most potent techniques from over a decade in theatre and his demented weekend RPG ramblings into one very extreme tour de force of gamemastery. A must have for any gamemaster of any system, novice or veteran.

ANARCHIST GAMEMASTER COOKBOOK SHIPS IN MARCH 2010. PURCHASE A PRINT COPY AND GET A PDF FREE. PRINT COPIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR A SPECIAL PRE-ORDER PRICE. ORDER NOW FOR ONLY $16.99

Check out the first preview, You?ve Got the Fear: http://tinyurl.com/ybuen2v/

To join our mailing list, visit: http://tinyurl.com/yd3482h/

For more, please visit: http://sinisteradventures.com/

Thoughts About the Book

I have read a handful of books dedicated to Game Mastering, including:

• Master of the Game by Gary Gygax
• Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering by Robin Laws
• 1st Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 2nd Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 3rd Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 3rd Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide II
• 4th Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 4th Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide 2

I’ve even thumbed through Hickman’s X-treme Dungeon Mastering book not mention loads of articles about game mastering in magazines and on the web. So when a new book comes along I always wonder if it has something new to say worth investing my money and time.

I think Mr. Logue’s book might actually provide something I think will be worthwhile: his notes on improv. I believe the ability to improvise during  game mastering is the key difference between great GMs and good GMs. So I definitely want to take a look at the Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook when it releases.

With the XDM, 4e Dungeon Master’s Guide 2, The Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook, and the upcoming Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide, we appear to be in the  Age of Gamemastering.

Ultimate Toolbox by AEG

The fine folks over at Alderac Entertainment Group were kind enough to send me a copy of their Ultimate Toolbox, a book of tables, charts, seeds, and sidebars to inspire and aid the Game Master or player of any fantasy based roleplaying game. This book is far larger than its predecessor, the Toolbox, and is system agnostic to boot. It clocks in at 400 pages, none of which are wasted.

Within those pages are over 1000 charts and numerous sidebars that should help any player (Game Master or not) flesh out player characters, non-player characters, cities, governments, religions, dungeons, and plots (just to name a few).

The book is laid out into seven chapters and an appendix. Each chapter is also divided into sections conveniently marked in the table of contents. Each chapter ends with a section called Using This Chapter which gives a capstone on implanting the many charts and various sidebar information presented throughout the chapter.

This is a veritable mine of ideas, description, and seeds with which to grow your campaign. The utilitarian nature of the Ultimate Toolbox combined with the sheer amount of information provided makes it a difficult supplement to adequately review. So to give readers a better idea about what is contained in this massive tome, I’m going to reproduce the table of contents as well as craft a section of a city using the book.

Crafting with the Ultimate Toolbox

The description below was created after about five minutes of rolling a d20 on several charts in from the Civilization chapter and the Architecture & Atmosphere section. As you can see you can generate some detailed descriptions fairly quickly.

• Building Description: Complicated Connections span a series of buildings all owned by a single landlord
• Architecture: Second-story structures with many windows
• Districts & Quarters: Red-light district
• Neighborhood Features: High crime rate in alleys
• Monuments: Obelisk
• Building Types 1: Aqueduct
• Building Types 2: Concert Hall
• City Sights: Local crowd partaking of a public stoning or execution
• City Sounds: Glass breaking
• City Smells: Burnt Sugar
• Statue Description: Tall, once pure-white obelisk rises to the sky. It is covered with strange ancient writings and is rumored to be only one of many

Conclusion

I have a theory that the best Game Masters are actually accomplished improv artists. They are able to play off of unexpected player decisions without missing a beat. While this book will not teach you improv, it can prove indispensible as a tool at the table to quickly generate details for unexpected situations at the table, especially if you bookmark likely used tables beforehand.

Needless to say, despite the marked price of $49.95, I highly recommend this book. This book will survive the current edition of whatever game you’re playing and prove useful time and again. You can shave nearly $16 off the cover price if you pick up the Ultimate Toolbox from Amazon.

Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting

The Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting is probably one of the best setting books that I have seen in the past few years. The official Pathfinder RPG campaign setting is the world of Golarion, where all the Pathfinder Adventure Paths and Pathfinder Society modules take place. Golarion and its cosmology truly offer something for everyone.

Golarion has it all: steampunk, horror, sword & sorcery, sword & planet, dark fantasy, political intrigue, Vikings, genies, pirates, ninjas, dinosaurs, and lasers. The surprising quality is Golarion manages to provide all this yet still feel very homogeneous and flowing. The key to the setting’s consistency (other than the A-list of developers Paizo had working on it) is Golarion’s familiarity.

The world of Golarion is structured, shaped, and colored with the same elements that comprise our own Earth. Golarion’s Inner Sea is a rough translation of the Mediterranean with all the various surrounding cultures being transposed upon Golarion’s landmasses with a fresh perspective. This was actually a goal spelled out in the prologue titled, An Old New World penned by Mike McArter, the editor and project lead.

Chapter 1: Characters

Races

The campaign setting begins with the obligatory descriptions of the major races of Golarion. What is important to note is that each race has been given a unique treatment that is specific to how they operate in Golarion. For instance, in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, gnomes suffer from an affliction called the Bleaching.

A gnome’s age is not tied to the passing of time. Instead, whenever a year passes by without the gnome experiencing new wonders, he advances one age category. Favored regions, preferred deities, names, and languages are given at the beginning of each racial entry. Each race has been given something that makes them feel like they belong to the world of Golarion.

Classes

Each of the D&D 3.5 base classes is also given the Golarion treatment. Each class entry describes the general behavior and common expectations of representatives found in Golarion as well as which regions favor the class. Each entry begins with an alternative class feature, which give a Golarion flavor to the mechanics.

Map of Golarion

Chapter 2: The Inner Sea

Once through the Golarion perspective on Races and Classes, the book plunges into 2 or 4 page entries on the major (and minor) kingdoms, nations, and regions which appear alphabetically. Each entry begins with a coat of arms and statistics about the location including its alignment, capital (if any), notable settlements, ruler, type of government, dominant religions and languages.

The entries include histories, political description, and brief details on locations of note. Each region also includes one or more feats for characters that have affinity for the region (either having been born there or lived there for an extended period of time). Here is where you find that real world familiarity that makes this setting click.

Andoran represents the very American (at least the America of ages past) ideal about freedom and democracy. Cheliax embodies imperial fascism in the guise of diabolism, symbolizing British Imperialism and Nazi Germany. Galt and its named guillotines harkens to the days of the French Revolution while Quadira has the Ottoman Empire written all over it. Osiria is a direct reflection of ancient Egypt and the Mwangi Expanse is reminiscent of the rain forests of both Africa and South America.

The Campaign Setting focuses on just the Inner Sea region of Golarion, which includes the two (out of eight total) continents of Avistan and Garund. Brief descriptions of the other land masses are given at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 3: Religion

Pantheon

The chapter begins with the introduction of twelve new domains introduced by the Campaign Setting. However, since the Pathfinder RPG has been released, this information is really only applicable if you are playing Dungeon & Dragons 3.5.

Each deity receives a half page entry that begins with their holy symbol, portfolio, alignment, domains, favored weapon, centers of worship, and nationality. I think the most interesting concept is that there are not racial pantheons. The gods get a more complete treatment in the Gods & Magic supplement.

Cosmology

Pathfinder has a cosmology similar to the Great Wheel planar composition of 3.5 D&D. At the center of everything you have the Material Plane and Positive Energy Plane at the center of the Inner Sphere.  Overlapping these, through the Ethereal Plane, are their mirror opposites: Shadow Plane and Negative Energy Plane.

The Material Plane is encased in 4 layers of Elemental Planes (Air, Water, Earth, and Fire) and then the Astral Plane which marks the beginning of the Outer Sphere. One the edge of the Astral Plane, before the universe is consumed by the infinite Abyss, reside the planes tied to alignments (Nirvana, Heaven, Elysium, Abbadon, Hell, The Maelstrom, Axis, and the Boneyard).

Also in this chapter are brief descriptions of minor gods, devils, demons, and angels. The campaign setting also introduces four philosophies that are not tied to deities.

Chapter 4: Organizations

The famous Pathfinder Society (the same group the organized play wing of the Pathfinder RPG), infamous Hellknights, deadly Red Mantis assassins, righteous Eagle Knights, and devious Apsis Consortium are laid out in this chapter. These organizations could serve as handy elements in a campaign to further the plot, either as resources and allies or as dangerous opponents. Also, a handful of less influential organizations are given a brief mention at the end.

Chapter 5: The World

This is the largest chapter and its sections include History & Timeline, The Darklands (the Pathfinder version of the subterranean Underdark), Fauna, Flora, Languages, Lost Nations, Psionics, Technology, Trade, and Weather & Climate. There are also the more mechanic orientated sections of Domain Spells, Equipment, General Feats, and Prestige Classes (Harrower, Low Templar, Pathfinder Chronicler, Red Mantis Assassin, and Shackles Pirate).

History

The Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting provides a rough account of 10,001 years of history. It begins with the Earthfall event, when a massive meteor, the Starstone, called down from the stars by the Aboleth destroyed the Azlant (the first kingdom of men that appears to be inspired by Atlantis mythos). This event plunged Golarion into a literal and figurative Age of Darkness.

Today, Golarion is in the Age of Lost Omens which was brought about by the death of Aroden (the god who was prophesied to return to Golarion upon the eve of mankind’s greatest triumph). None of the old prophecies are reliable and it is truly an age to make your own destiny.

Current year is 4709, but was 4708 when the book was published. Time passes in Golarion just as it does in the real world.

Appendices

There are four appendices. The Pathfinder Chronicles Locations which details where the Adventure Paths published (at the campaign setting’s time of publication) take place. The much needed Pronunciation Guide (something EVERY fantasy supplement should have). There is the Rogues Gallery of NPCs for Game Masters. Even an appendix for Wandering Monsters is included.

Criticisms

I have a few criticisms for the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting. The first criticism is that the book has an MSRP of $49.99, which is pretty expensive to me for a book with less than 260 pages. Also, there needed to be more maps (and a large poster sized insert would be nice). On the editing front, I encountered about 15 errors (but didn’t document them until I encountered 5 or 6).

I also had some confusion surrounding the mechanics of the Shackles Pirate prestige class. They have the ability to grapple ships, but I wonder how to calculate the strength check is a character opposing? Is it the grappled ship’s strength or its crew’s?  How do you determine the strength of a ship? There is a chart that shows the strengths of various classes of ships, but the table is really only for the mist ships that Shackles Pirates can create. Some further clarification would be nice.

Praise

As I mentioned in my introduction, the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting is probably the best setting book I have read since the Iron Kingdoms from Privateer Press. Paizo wrangled an awesome crew of contributors to pen the setting and it shows (not to mention the awesome cover by Wayne Reynolds).

The setting presents just the right amount of detail. Game Masters, and players, are given just enough information to spark the imagination while not nailing everything down and making the setting inflexible. As this setting matures, we’ll see if this continues to be the rule, but for now it feels very open and not oppressed by official canon.

Just about any type of fantasy adventure can be found within the pages of the campaign setting. It is a veritable melting pot of genre. This book has been a valuable resource in creating a new campaign with my Co-GM. Since it also meshes nicely my new default RPG of choice, I highly recommend it. You can get it at Amazon for $31.49 ($18.50 off the cover price!).

Verdict: 4.5/5

Warmachine by Privateer Press

And onto your video game platform.

While reading over on Stargazer’s World about how Privateer Press has released PDFs of their highly sought Iron Kingdoms books for 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons at RPGNow and Paizo, I was reminded that Matt Wilson and his crew had a big announcement at GenCon ’09.

The announcement was that the rights to create a Warmachine (the wargame set in the Iron Kingdoms universe) video game had been licensed to WhiteMoon Dreams. While the details are vague at the moment, the press release had the following statement:

The new video game will allow players to control various warcasters and their warjack battlegroups as they fight across interactive battlefields from the WARMACHINE world. The game will provide a rich online experience in addition to a sweeping single-player campaign mode that will follow several key warcasters through the epic saga of the WARMACHINE universe.

That sounds like it could very well be a small scale real-time strategy game that will probably have shades of gameplay from Warhammer’s successful Dawn of War series or maybe it will look a lot like the only other game I could find by them, Aftermath. It’s hard to gauge whether or not the game will be good at this point but you can find updates on their game blog and the game’s official website (which only has a placeholder image at the time this was written).

Commander Coleman Stryker render by WhiteMoon Dreams

I sincerely hope WhiteMoon can deliver the goods for the Warmachine property.

EQ #13 - Dragon of Doom

The first book I remember reading was EQ#13: Dragon of Doom. It was probably that book that single-handedly gave me an unsatiable appetite for storytelling and adventure gaming that eventually led me to the world of roleplaying games via Dungeons & Dragons.

I still have a handful of Endless Quest books and I am always on the lookout for more (so if anyone has any that are looking to unload them, let me know).

Fast forward about fifteen years to when I was teaching myself Actionscript and needed a simple project to practice states and frame changing. I remembered those classic days of choosing my own adventure path with Endless Quest books and decided to make a short tribute to those books that sparked my passion for the roleplaying game hobby.

While backing up my system, I just happened to stumble across my Flash version of a Choose Your Own Adventure book and figured I would share with my readers. Also, I am aware of several spelling errors, but I haven’t had the opportunity to revisit the project to make changes.

Pathfinder RPG

Well, Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG will have been out a month by the beginning of next week and I want to get a head start on compiling a PFRPG Resource. Of course, many people were waiting until the final rules were published before creating anything specifically for Pathfinder. That being said I think any Pathfinder aficionados will find the following resources useful

Official Paizo Resources

Pathfinder RPG Resource Page
Here you will find errata, policies & licensing, character sheets, the character traits PDF, the free Bestiary Preview PDF, a 3.5 Conversion Guide that shows where all the changes were made, and the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide.

Official Pathfinder Reference Document (PRD)
This is an online version of nearly everything released under the Open Game License. The PRD makes quick work of looking up rules and can serve as a supplementary resource at game tables (providing you have a computer with internet access).

Pathfinder Society Organized Play
Join the organized play arm of Pathfinder and be able to participate in official games run at conventions, hobby shops, and in homes across the globe. Of particularly worthwhile note is the link to the PFS Guide which includes faction traits for use with PFRPG.

Unofficial Resources

d20 PFSRD
This unofficial online Pathfinder System Reference Document includes some details the official PRD (mentioned above) does not have. These details include Character Traits and Bestiary monsters. It is also organized a little differently and you can quickly find such things as conditions, special abilities, and traps using their navigation menu. Oh, and they have an instance of Azhrei’s Digital Index Lookup which allows you to search a digital version of the PFRPG index. By the way, they also have download of the full site for offline use, how handy is that? Highly recommended!

Mad Brew Labs’ Mystic Market
I have my own collection of Pathfinder compatible material dealing with magical items. Check out the Mystic Market for new magical item for your Pathfinder game.

Pathfinder DB
I’ll let this excerpt from the About page describe the site:
The Pathfinder Database seeks to fill the role that countless of sources and message boards across the Internet have provided for fan-created gaming content. This site exists specifically for the purpose of providing a collection of fan-created content for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The types of content available could change over time, and the menus above will change to reflect that.

Pathfinder Chronicler
The Chronicler is dedicated to fiction set in the Pathfinder universe. The site does reviews and reports Paizo news, but the main focus is to develop fiction. If you want to participate, you must first become and editor. While I haven’t applied for the process myself, due to my primary focus of Nevermet Press, it appears that the process is about helping each other write better, which gets two thumbs up from me.

Pathfinder Open Game Content
This site also houses an online SRD, but it looks like it is keeping the Beta stuff. However, it does have some PFS authorized Character Traits sourced from the Pathfinder Companion: Cheliax, Empire of Devils.

Pathfinder Wiki
This wiki serves as a repository for official Pathfinder and Golarion canon obtained from the various Pathfinder sourcebooks such as the Gazetteer, Campaign Setting, Adventure Paths, and the various Companion and Chronicles supplements. It has been instrumental in assisting my Co-GM and I develop a massive multi-GM campaign. Highly recommended!

The Book of Arcane Magic – Reborn Soul Sorcerer Bloodline
This is a free PDF from 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming that is a web enhancement for sorcerers. Can’t beat a free PDF of character options!

Pathfinder RPG Character Generators

Hero Lab
This commercial software developed by Lone Wolf Development works with many game systems and costs $29.95. The price includes the material for one system of your choice with the option of expanding the product with other systems at $20 a pop. I stopped at their booth during GenCon and was looking at all the nifty systems it worked with and I really want to try it. They have a demo version of it available for download and I think I might take it for a spin.

PCGen
PCGen has been around a loooooong time. I used it way back with D&D 3.0 I believe. It is a heavily developed and maintained software package that I believe is heading into version 6! I just noticed on their Yahoo Group that they are releasing a Pathfinder data set. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

RPG Engine
This site also has two free utilities for Pathfinder RPG. sCoreGen is a character generator based on the Pathfinder Beta rules, but an upgrade to the final released rule set is in the works. The other utility, adVance, is a spell list manager also based upon the Pathfinder Beta rules. Both utilities are based upon Excel spreadsheets and VB script macros.

Pathfinder RPG Character Sheets & Game Documents

LPJ Design’s Basic Character Sheet
The Basic Character Sheet for use with The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a 2 page PDF Character Sheet resource that players can use to record all the their characters information on. This basic version is free, but Louis Porter, Jr. also has an Expanded Character Sheet on sale for $0.79.

LPJ Design’s Initiative Cards
LPJ also has a free set of initiative cards to help ease the burden of GMing.

Neceros PFRPG Character & Extra Spells Sheets
Alternate character sheet and spell sheet available as PDFs.

Help Mad Brew Grow this List!

It’s nigh impossible for one man to keep abreast of all the new and existing resources available for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, so if you know of one I missed, feel free to leave me a comment with a link to the item. Shameless plugs welcome!