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Tag: Pathfinder

  • Pathfinder’s War of Immortals includes the first new character classes designed without the OGL

    Pathfinder’s War of Immortals includes the first new character classes designed without the OGL

    Paizo, fresh off a highly-anticipated refresh of Pathfinder’s 2nd edition ruleset, announced some big moves for the game’s ongoing narrative on Tuesday. The War of Immortals meta-event will kill a god, span multiple rulebooks, and restart the publisher’s line of hardcover novels. It will also introduce the first two original classes built following the company’s formal departure from the legacy Dungeons & Dragons ruleset and the OGL.

    At the center of the new narrative arc will be Pathfinder War of Immortals, a 240-page hardcover rulebook expected in October that will introduce “mythic rules” for Pathfinder Second Edition. These rules should function similarly to past mythic-tier content, which represented ways to make your high-level characters stand out with powerful boons and abilities. According to a news release, the book will also include two new character classes — the animist and the exemplar — which are “the first original classes built on the remastered foundation of Pathfinder Player Core.”

    (Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core were released in November 2023. The team moved the game off of Wizards of the Coast’s Open Game License (also known as the OGL), which had allowed the original version of Pathfinder Second Edition to use some legacy materials from D&D, following Wizards’ attempts to change that agreement. Paizo now publishes its fantasy TTRPG under its own license, called the Open RPG Creative (ORC) License. You can read more about that transition in Polygon’s interview with publisher Eric Mona.)

    Next, Pathfinder Lost Omens: Divine Mysteries is a setting book with a smattering of character options — not unlike Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide detailed here at Polygon in March. Instead of a guide to an entire region, however, this 320-page hardcover will include a remastered pantheon of deities. It will also feature new deities, such as Aleph, god of darkness, and Nin, god of vampires. The $79.99 book is expected in November.

    Several new adventures are included in the War of Immortals arc. Pathfinder Adventure: Prey for Death is a standalone 128-page adventure for high-level characters (level 14 and above). Expect the larger-than-usual, hardcover format to make a splash when it is released at Gen Con on Aug. 1, 2024.

    Two even larger campaigns are also on the docket.

    Pathfinder Adventure Path: Curtain Call — Pathfinder’s 40th since its launch in 2009 — will take characters from level 11 all the way to 20. The episodic release will begin at Gen Con with Pathfinder Adventure Path #204: Stage Fright and will conclude in September. Pathfinder Adventure Path: Triumph of the Tusk, which has players fighting alongside a band of orcs, will pick up in October with Pathfinder Adventure Path #207: The Resurrection Flood and continue into December.

    Both Adventure Paths are included in their entirety as part of the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

    Finally, a new novel titled Pathfinder: Godsrain, written by Liane Merciel, is also due out in November. Paizo said in its news release that the book will follow “four iconic heroes — the wizard Ezren, the barbarian Amiri, the cleric Kyra, and her wife, the rogue Merisiel — as they witness the calamity of the Godsrain and are faced with the opportunities — and consequences — of mythic power.”

    Charlie Hall

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  • Pathfinder Developer Bans AI Art, Takes A Hard Stance

    Pathfinder Developer Bans AI Art, Takes A Hard Stance

    Image: Paizo

    Between games, art, and even journalism, a lot of industries are dealing with the rise of artificial intelligence removing the human element of creative works. As people have begun using AI and algorithms to create art rather than hiring workers to do it, companies are making hard stances about whether or not they’ll allow work made by these means to be used on their projects. This includes table-top developer Paizo, which has taken a hard stance against AI art being used as art and writing prompts with its products.

    In a post on its website, the Pathfinder and Starfinder developer says it is adding new language to its contracts that will require any work submitted to the company to have been created by a person and not an AI. The statement makes it clear it believes AI art and writing are a “serious threat” to the livelihood of its creative partners and workers, and it wants a human touch in all its products moving forward. This extends to products on the community content marketplace for both Pathfinder and Starfinder.

    “Our customers expect a human touch to our releases, and so long as the ethical and legal circumstances surrounding these programs remains murky and undefined, we are unwilling to associate our brands with the technology in any way.

    Stated plainly—when you buy a Paizo product, you can be sure that it is the work of human professionals who have spent years honing their craft to produce the best work we can. Paizo will not use AI-generated ‘creative’ work of any kind for the foreseeable future.

    We thank the human artists and writers who have been so integral to our success in the past, and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

    Paizo and its employees have been central to conversations around labor in the tabletop space, with the studio having formed the first tabletop union back in 2021. The United Paizo Workers allied with the Communications Workers of America, which has had a hand in much of the unionization efforts within the video game industry over at Activision Blizzard.

    Kenneth Shepard

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  • ‘Zfigs Dungeon Tiles,’ Toy Vault’s Affordable Tabletop Gaming Terrain, Now on Kickstarter

    ‘Zfigs Dungeon Tiles,’ Toy Vault’s Affordable Tabletop Gaming Terrain, Now on Kickstarter

    Press Release
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    updated: Nov 30, 2018


    LONDON, Ky., November 30, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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    Toy Vault, Inc. introduces Zfigs Dungeon Tiles – the affordable solution for Epic Dungeons. These unique modular tiles interlock with special edge connector pieces. Prices start at just $40 for a 36-piece unpainted set. 

    Zfigs Dungeon Tiles are made of durable ABS plastic and are approximately 2” x 2”.  Two versions are available: painted and unpainted. Their modular and interlocking design allows rooms and maps to be built beforehand and placed when needed. When connected, the pieces stay together tightly and can be moved as one unit. 

    Each Zfigs Dungeon Tile Base Set includes 36 Pieces – 13 Floors, 11 Walls, 8 Corners, and 4 Doors. Stand-alone packs of floors, walls, corners, and doors are also available. Additional pieces available as expansion sets include pillars, smooth floors, and battlements.

    Available on Kickstarter until December 20, 2018.

    About Toy Vault, Inc. Toy Vault, Inc., founded in 1998, designs and manufactures high-quality products for the toy, game, and novelty market. Toy Vault has an aggressive design and product-research department that consistently provides the newest and hottest-selling products within the industry. The company utilizes a highly-skilled sales force to penetrate all levels of retail.

    Toy Vault’s key strengths include the ability to deliver a competitive product while maintaining high quality, flexibility, and expertise in tailoring the product to individual retailers large and small, and the ability to create unique and compelling designs.

    Media Contact: 
    Jason Haynes
    Phone: 859-302-3189
    Email: jason.haynes@toyvault.com

    Source: Toy Vault Inc

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