Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s the end of the road for this series (next week I’m going to start working through an adaptation of The Tempest to Pathfinder Second Edition that you won’t want to miss) which means we are talking resolutions. The resolution in a narrative is the reestablishing of the status quo, and one big thing thatContinue reading “Campaign Plot Structure: Resolutions”

We’ve talked exposition, complication, crisis, and it has all been building to this: the Climax! From a narrative standpoint, this is the thing that the whole campaign is about, but Pathfinder Second Edition games can be tricky to plan climaxes for: just because I as the Games Master have some sense of what will happen,Continue reading “Campaign Climaxes”

This week, my favourite thing is this GM hold music. From its jokes about dwarves to the banality of the background track, it’s a great thing to throw in while taking a quick bathroom break. Check it out here.

Pathfinder Second Edition includes something that was only ever implied in the first edition: four degrees of success. Every check (by check, I mean rolling a d20) has a number (typically the DC, or Difficulty Class) which must be equalled or exceeded for the check to be successful. Last time, as I was discussing olderContinue reading “Madness and the Four Degrees of Success”

Just a quick recap: we’ve discussed the expository phase and the use of complications. Now it’s time for the crisis! Technically, the crisis is the event that leads immediately forward on to the climax. While this is sometimes clear, it can be debatable which single event in a complex narrative leads to the obvious climax.Continue reading “Crisis on Moonfallen Earth!”

The Order of the Stick is a long-running webcomic that follows the adventures of the titular order as they attempt to prevent the destruction of the universe at the hands of a power-mad lich and a divine mistake. I love it, and I bet you will too. Check it out at http://www.giantitp.com.

I’d like to preface this post by stating something important: I am not a mental health professional, and this post does not and should not be taken as any kind of serious examination of real-life mental health issues, therapy, or advice. It is a discussion of rules which attempt to simulate, in some sense, theContinue reading “Madness Rules”

I’m taking a quick break from my narrative structure series to ask the question: are the Kærthi people, as antagonists, irrevocably evil kill on sight types? In traditional fantasy rpgs, it is just fine to kill IRC’s and goblins without much thought. They are “Always Chaotic Evil,” so it’s fine. After all, murder hobos gottaContinue reading “Monday Musings: Metaphysical Interlude”

Last week, I recommended Pathfinder Wiki. This week, I’m recommending the Pathfinder 2 Easy Action Tree. This is simply the best organized online rule reference for Pathfinder Second Edition that I’ve seen anywhere. It appears to be comprehensive, and I just really like it a lot. I used the Pathfinder SRD a lot during firstContinue reading “Favourite Things”

Paizo posted an excerpt from the upcoming Gamemastery Guide Monster and NPC creation rules, and since I’m signed up to use the compatibility licence (you can tell because I’ve got the fine print and logo at the bottom) I got a heads up in my e-mail! (If you’d like a copy of your very own,Continue reading “NPC / Monster / Hazard Creation Rules Preview”