Pathfinder Society

GLYPHcon, or “Zut Alors, I Meesed One!”

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I recently posted about fall cons coming up in Edmonton, and because I didn’t have all the information on it at the time I left one off. So get comfortable, kiddies, and let me talk to you about GLYPHcon (October 6-8)!

Now in its third year, GLYPHcon (or Games and Lore of Yearly Pathfinder Heroics con if you’re being formal) is a weekend long convention dedicated to all things Paizo Organized Play: Pathfinder, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and for the first time, Starfinder. It’s hosted by The Adventurer’s Guild (15211 Stony Plain Road), a great little gaming store in the west end, and is free admission. Whether you’ve been involved with Pathfinder Society Organized Play for a while, or have been interested but haven’t checked it out yet, this is your weekend. There will be multiple tables of Pathfinder, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and Starfinder running all weekend long, and you can see the schedule and sign-up for games on the Warhorn site.

As well, the con this year features not one, but two Pathfinder Society Specials: #8-99: The Solstice Scar and #9-00: Assault on Absalom. Specials are a chance to join several tables of Pathfinders in overcoming a particularly difficult threat or challenge, and what happens at your table can affect the other tables (and they you). You won’t have a chance to play these anywhere else unless you travel to a convention, so these are not to be missed.

I’ll be GMing the high tier table for Assault on Absalom, and I can guarantee it will be a rough ride; the high tier (10-11 level) tables are always a challenge. We’ll have to see which stalwart Pathfinders are up to the task, and which will fall in glory! I’ll also be playing some Starfinder, because that is the new hotness and I’ve developed a little crush on that game.

Make sure to check out the PFS Edmonton Facebook page to stay up to date on the event, as well as goings on in the local Pathfinder Society scene. Hopefully we’ll see you at GLYPHcon!

ACG MiniCon at The Adventurer’s Guild

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UPDATE: Due to issues beyond the organizers’ control, the event has been postponed. Stay tuned, and I’ll update here when I have new information.

As many of you know I used to be the Venture Captain for Pathfinder Organized Play here in Edmonton. After three years I stepped down, leaving PFS in the capable hands of Ross Tait. While I don’t get out to PFS games as often as I like, I still keep a hand in; I’ll be off to PaizoCon and GenCon to help out at PFS HQ. All this is to say, I’m still a fan of PFS and I enjoy helping promote it. Ross asked me to pass along a really cool event, so here is Ross to tell you all about it.

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Hello everyone!

I am excited to announce for the first time ever in Edmonton history, the very first Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Mini Con!!

On Saturday, April 22nd at the Adventurers Guild (15211 Stony Plain Road), ACG Venture-Lieutenants Jason Switner , Aaron Steele, and myself will showcase the Adventure Card Game and help other players learn how to play this fun game. Games start at 11am and run all day. It’s drop in and we can accommodate groups who want to play together or singles who just want to show up and play. Each session is only 1 and half hours long so they easily can be fit into a Saturday when you have time. If you want to play again, you can! If you can only make one session, that’s fine too! We will be featuring the Rise of the Runelords, Mummy’s Mask, Skull and Shackles, and Wrath of the Righteous box sets!

Best part….it’s free to play!!

For PFS players who want to give it a shot, there will be a draw at the end of the day where player’s can earn a racial boon for their characters that was available at previous cons. This includes the grippli, the vishkanya, and the aasimar. Player’s choice.

So come on out and give it a try. We look forward to seeing you there!!

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There you have it. I can say I’ve played the Adventure Card Game a bunch, and it is a tonne of fun. If you’ve never played before this is your chance to check it out and start building up a character. And maybe I’ll see you there!

#RPGaDay, Day 21: Favourite RPG Setting

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PZO9226_500Back in my AD&D playing days, I was a fan of both the Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms settings. Gun to my head I liked FR a little bit more, but they were two of my favourite settings. Eventually support for Greyhawk dwindled, resurging briefly when 3rd edition came out and then fading again. Forgotten Realms got the most attention from TSR and then WotC over the years, but that eventually meant there wasn’t a lot of the Realms that wasn’t covered in one book or another.

With 4th edition, WotC opted to reboot the Realms and push the timeline forward. But setting was never 4th edition’s strong-suit, and so it lost a lot of what made 4th edition fun and exciting while retaining Drizzt (that isn’t a slam against that character or those books, I quite liked them. But it was obvious it wasn’t preserved for any story or plot reasons). So 4th managed to sour me on the Forgotten Realms, which was okay because my favourite setting had already saved me.

Paizo’s Golarion is my favourite current setting for a few reasons. It combines the things I liked best about both Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms. Golarion has well-defined nation states with a rich history, much like Greyhawk. But like the Forgotten realms, there are still vast unexplored areas, rich for adventure and discovery. Even now, after several years and a plethora of sourcebooks, there is still more we don’t know about the setting than we know. Also, Paizo has done a great job of re-imagining many of the standard fantasy RPG monsters, like goblins, bugbears, and even flumphs, in such a way that they seem like brand new (and nastier) monsters. Yes, even the flumph.

But the setting also comes with a ready-made organization, the Pathfinder Society, which practically shoves characters into an adventuring life. Even if characters choose not to be members of the organization, the Pathfinders are always on the lookout for free-agents to take care of small investigations for them. And once you start working for the Pathfinders, you’ll likely run up against their enemy organization, the Aspis Consortium. One way or another, the Pathfinders are a perfect vector for danger and adventure in a Golarion campaign.

Also, Miss Feathers. I dare you not to love that NPC.

What’s your favourite setting? Comment below!

Countdown to Extra Life

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Okay, so my dice tower post is slowly becoming the “Sex & D&D” of my site (don’t get that joke? Start here, and you’re welcome). It’s coming, I promise. Just having issues with hot glue, as one does.

1173Since I’m just three scant days away from 25 hours of continuous gaming, I thought I’d make a penultimate post about Extra Life. This is my first year taking part and I am part of Team Knifeshoes, founded by my friend Devin. I’m pals with pretty much the entire team, so I’m in nerdy good company. While the majority of my team is focused on video games of one description or another, I am bringing the tabletop skillz this year, as I mentioned in an earlier post. If you are in Edmonton and want to take part, here are the links to the Facebook and Meetup event pages.

Children’s charities always have a special place for me. Growing up I was a very healthy child. Apart from the usual spate of injuries caused while under the influence of being a kid, and a bout of pneumonia when I was in my early teens, I grew up hale and hearty. I got to play as much as a kid is supposed to, take part in sports, I was active in the Boy Scouts; your standard Canadian boy’s childhood. The worst thing I can imagine for a child is to not have that luxury. For a child to not be able to play when they want, or to know they will never get to play. That’s terrible for the kids and it has to be heartbreaking for the families as well.

I’m not a doctor or an engineer, so I can’t do anything for these kids directly. But I am a nerd and I can play games. And if playing games for 25 hours helps raise money for these kids, helps fund the doctors and engineers that can help them directly, I’d be pretty damn selfish not to take part in this event.

I hope you agree, and will support Extra Life. I’d love it if you sent a donation through my page. Any amount will do; seriously, if every FB friend, website subscriber, and Twitter follower donated a dollar it would blow my team’s goal out of the water. So don’t be shy, and don’t think your donation won’t help. And if you don’t want to donate through my page, that’s cool. Search the teams and participants on the Extra Life page, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have a local team or player that would welcome your donation.

Thank-you in advance for helping Extra Life, Team Knifeshoes, and me make sure kids get to play.

Extra Life Update and Game Schedule

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1173Taking a break from the 30 Days of Game Mastering Challenge. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up tomorrow. But today I’m talking about my Extra Life fundraising, because the day is fast approaching.

I am not a serious, hard-core video gamer. I have my moments; I play more World of Tanks and World of Warcraft than is probably healthy, and I love getting into games like Card Hunters. But when you compare my “skillz” to just about anyone else on Team Knifeshoes, I’m not a first round draft pick. But while I’m weak in some areas I have very specific strengths, sort of like a Special Teams player. So I’m going with my strengths on this fundraiser, and I’ll be Game Mastering my way through the 25 hours.

Here’s my schedule for the day as it stands right now (all times Mountain Standard):

  • 8am-10am: World of Warcraft. Join me on the Garrosh server if you want to play along or chat.
  • 10am-2pm: GMing my regular Kingmaker campaign for my group. Sorry, can’t join me for this one, I have a full table.
  • 2pm-3pm: More World of Warcraft, cleansing my palette for the long night of GMing ahead.
  • 3pm-8pm: Pathfinder Module We Be Goblins, Too! A fantastic sequel to We Be Goblins!, once again players take on the role of those loveable psychos of Pathfinder universe. Goblin pre-gens are provided, and the table is open to 6 players. You don’t have to be a PFS player for this one, though you can become one pretty easily. Please pre-register on the Facebook or Meetup event page.
  • 8pm-1am: Pathfinder Society Scenario #4-EX: Day of the Demon. This is an exclusive scenario that can only be run by a Venture Officer or Paizo employee, so if you’re an Edmonton PFS player, I hope you’ll join me for this one. I can accept up to six players; please pre-register on the Facebook or Meetup event page.
  • 1am-6am: Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-04: The Stolen Heir. This is a Tier 1-5 scenario, and as part of the Year of the Demon season, makes a great follow-up to #4-EX. Please register on the Facebook or Meetup event page; new players welcome and pre-gens will be provided.
  • 6am-8am: This may end up being buffer time, depending on how long the other sessions go. But assuming they end on time I’ll finish off with World of Warcraft or World of Tanks.

You might be saying, “But Brent, you said 25 hours but that’s only 24. What gives, jerk?” Well my faithful strawman, November 3 at 2am is Daylight Savings, so we’ll roll the clocks back an hour and keep on gaming. Thus, the magic 25 hours.

If you want to play in any of the games listed, the rules are simple. Pre-register on either the Facebook or Meetup event pages so I know how many I have coming for each table. Then make a donation on my Extra Life page to support the Children’s Miracle Network. Any donation amount will do (recommended minimum is $5), and any donations of $25 or more will get a tax receipt. If you prefer to give me the donation on the day rather than use the site, please indicate that in the comments wherever you register. If you have not done one of those two things (donated or pledged to pay on the day), before the evening of October 31 (next Thursday), your seat will be offered up to another player. This is for charity, guys and dolls; you have to donate to play.

In addition to playing some awesomely fun games, I’ll also have prizes available. I have Pathfinder Tales novels, miniatures, dice and a few other surprises I’ll talk about later. Everyone who shows up to play is entered in the draws for these prizes, and you can get extra entries on the day by making extra donations. Game, support an amazing charity, and possible win cool swag; what could be better?

In the event I don’t have enough folks pre-registered for a slot, I’ll either throw the slot open to general board-gaming (donate to play), or I’ll pass the time playing World of Warcraft. I’d rather play games with people, though, so make sure you pre-register.

If you have any questions about Extra Life or my gaming schedule, drop them in the comments and I’ll be sure to respond. And hey, if you can’t make it out but still want to support the Children’s Miracle Network, click on the graphic to the right. It will take you to my secure page and you can donate to your heart’s content. Honestly, any amount helps and any amount is appreciated. And thanks in advance for your support!