Paizo Publishing®, leading publisher of award-winning fantasy roleplaying games and novels, announces the release of NPC Codex for the Pathfinder ® Roleplaying Game (RPG), in-stores now!
NPC Codex is a 320-page, hardcover, must-have rules reference for the Pathfinder RPG. It contains more than 250 fully detailed non-player characters (NPCs) ready for instant insertion into your Pathfinder campaign. With full statistics and tactics for characters of every level of every class in the Core Rulebook, NPC Codex speeds prep time and adds new dimension to your campaign.
NPC Codex also provides dozen of commoners, warriors, and the like, scores of ready-to-use prestige-class characters, and a look at the iconic characters of the Pathfinder RPG with statistics at various levels of development, providing pre-generated player characters for any occasion. Gorgeous illustrations by Paizo’s finest artists appear on nearly every page of this beautiful volume.
“This is the first time an RPG company has attempted a book of ready-to-use NPCs at this magnitude,” says Erik Mona, Publisher. “The overall approach is similar to a Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, with complete stat blocks and tons of full-color illustrations. The focus here is on utility, and I’m pleased to say I’ve already used the NPC Codex in my own Pathfinder campaigns and found it to cut prep-time and speed up play. Pathfinder fans are going to love the NPC Codex. For sheer in-game utility, it can’t be beat!”
The Pathfinder RPG is currently the world’s best-selling fantasy roleplaying game. It builds on more than 10 years of system development and the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming to create an unparalleled fantasy roleplaying experience. Players need only the Pathfinder Core Rulebook play, but Paizo Publishing produces a wide range of books and accessories to enhance your Pathfinder experience, from rules compendiums to complete campaigns to packets of beautiful full-color maps. For more information, please visit paizo.com.
Todd has updated the map and added the country of NaeraCull. NaeraCull and Pradjna are not available to choose as your primary country. You may however choose to assist Todd in his development of Pradjna as he will need some assistance with statistical information and editing as he builds his part of the world. You can be sure it will be filled with all manner of amazing inventions and wonderful sketches/works of art!
Make sure you jump into the forum and voice your opinion if you’re interested in becoming involved in the world building on Adventureaweek.com. If you’ve never been active on the site you may still have the chance to get involved. Simply sign up for a free account and get involved now! It’s never too late to get started. There are still many territories to be explored and defined.
Let us shed some light on the new country of NaeraCull shall we?
NaeraCull has been an ongoing project designed by Joshua Gullion of Adventureaweek.com. Due to his daily hard work on Adventureaweek.com and non-stop work on PDF development and HERO LAB files, Todd and Jonathan have agreed to grant him this section of the world to develop however he sees fit. I would like to take a moment to thank Joshua for all his hard work, introducing us to HERO LAB, and pushing all of us to make our website, the PDFs, and the artwork the best it can be. Salute Joshua, here’s to your dedication and impeccable work ethic.
Country Name: NaeraCull (pronounced Nair-a-cool)
Climate: Temperate, think Mexico (desert, dense tree coverage, and coastlines)
Ruling Race(s): Lands ruled by three powerful undead, with a conglomeration of two distinctly different cultures of humans populating their lands (an Incan inspired people, and classic fantasy gypsy) 70% human, 17% lizardmen, 3% kobold, 3% elven, 3% dwarven, 3% other (standard), 1% construct.
Brief Synopsis:
Davional, classic elder vampire with a deeply ingrained sense of patriarchal responsibility to his “people”. Davional still interacts with his people on a daily basis as time permits, and treats them as much like his children as a food source….there is a loyalty between them that goes both ways, he provides for them and keeps watch over them (an unholy guardian angel if you will), and they in return watch while he sleeps, and give freely when he hungers and can find no other source for sustanance.. He participates in their wedding ceremonies, and celebrations of birth, as well as funerals for friends he has watched grow their entire lives…he sits in judgement when crimes must be heard, and punished.
Kham-u-Tael, a former holy ruler of these lands who returned from the grave believing himself to be the voice of his Gods, until Davional arrvied to educate him as to the nature of the undead. A mummy, but not in the sense of a rag wrapped corpse, Kham-u-Tael is still coming to terms with what he is, and that he is not an agent of his Gods…not wishing to shatter his people, and their new founded faith and sense of purpose, he continues to uphold their belief that the Gods have returned him to them to guide them through life. Understanding that to “live” as openly as he is, he would need support from powerful allies, he struck a bargain with Davional when the vampire sought him out, and the corpse that haunted the vampire’s shadow, Malakittal.
And Malakittal (the lich who did not wish to be), found over a hundred years ago by Davional, and hidden from the world by possibly one of the only things on this planet that could ever befriend it. Cursed by his former master for slaying him and stealing his grimmoires, Malakittal found himself thrust into the existence of a lich against his will by the power of an unresolved demonic pact, unresolved since he slew his master before he had fulfilled his obligations in the pact. Hiding himself from all, sealing himself away in an attempt to not meet the working end of an adventurer’s weapon, Malakittal might have simply faded away had it not been for a chance encounter with a certain vampire seeking shelter from a paladin that was hunting him. Befriending the pitiful lich, and promising him that he would never again face the curse of eternity alone, Malakittal has been a trusted and dangerous comrade to Davional ever since. Whereas he cannot rule as openly as his peers within NaeraCull, his thoughts and opinions still carry much weight and power, and all know there is a dark shadow behind the men who share these lands. One who must never be crossed.
Together these three have formed an alliance that allows them the freedom to exist without drawing unwanted attention from “do-gooder” types who seem to always want to end the existence of those challenging the concept of traditional life. Their lands are rich in exportable materials (coffee, cocoa, wood, spice, iron, gold and gems to name but a few), and they have established “buffer” communities along the edges of their land mainly comprised of Davional’s people, allowing those who have had the most contact with the outside nations to deal with them the most, sheltering Kham-u-Tael’s people from as much outside influence as possible while still leaving a lifeline for commerce open to facilitate export and import with many of the world’s largest conglomerates and organizations, all the while hiding their true nature as undead.
I know, you are all wringing your hands waiting for the first installment of the Pathfinder Beginner Box through the eyes of my son and his friends. I swear to you it is coming so please don’t locate me using Google Earth and pound on my door and windows like the mob of angry zombies that attacked while waiting for my latest SKYRIM article! If you missed that article you can jump back and read my son’s reactions to the Pathfinder Beginner Box here!
This article will still whet your taste buds in preparation for additional Pathfinder articles to come. This is the story of Kids GMing for Parents or how I got my wife to play role-playing games!
My son Justice has been very excited about role-playing games ever since he saw some friends and I gather around the table with small painted miniatures, funny yet colorful looking dice, and beautiful model scenery and maps. From the age of 5 he was asking me when he would have the chance to play. I told him that his time would come, he just needed to wait a few more years until he could understand the basics. That time finally came, and for the past three nights, Justice has sat behind the GM screen running Pathfinder games! (Actually he paces around the room with the adventure module in hand!)
I’ll start at the beginning. During Justice’s first game with his friends he was GM. My wife was in the kitchen baking up one of her delicious concoctions (she really should start her own bakery) and overheard the entire adventure. Her post-adventure comment to me: “I like the way they play!” “How do you mean?” I said. “The players say what they want to do and Justice lets them do it!” My wife let loose a devilish grin revealing a starved role-player hiding inside. Although I always encourage exploration and pushing the limits in my games there are limitations to characters abilities. For example a plain old fighter doesn’t know how to use a magic wand without a special skill and that’s just how it is… or is it? The old seers who crafted the first couple editions of AD&D always prefaced the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters guide with something important and meaningful. I think Zeb Cook’s preface to the AD&D 2nd edition Dungeon Master’s guide sums up how I feel about RPGs and the way they are meant to be played:
Let’s assume that since you’re reading this, your are, or plan to be, a Dungeon Master. By now, you should be familiar with the rules in the Player’s Handbook. You’ve probably already noticed things you like or things you would have done differently. If you have, congratulations. You’ve got the spirit every Dungeon Master needs. As you go through this rule book, I encourage you to continue to make these choices.
Choice is what the AD&D game is all about. We’ve tried to offer you what we think are the best choices for your AD&D campaign, but each of us has different likes and dislikes. The game that I enjoy may be quite different from your own campaign. But it is not for me to say what is right or wrong for your game. True, I and everyone working on the AD&D game have had to make fundamental decisions, but we’ve tried to avoid being dogmatic and inflexible. The AD&D game is yours, it’s mine, it’s every player’s game.
So is there an “official” AD&D game? Yes, but only when there needs to be. Although I don’t have a crystal ball, it’s likely that tournaments and other official events will use all of the core rules in these books. Optional rules may or may not be used, but it’s fair to say that all players need to know about them even if they don’t have them memorized. The Player’s Handbook and the Dungeon Master Guide give you what you’re expectedto know, but that doesn’t mean the game begins and ends there. Your game will go in directions not yet explored and your players will try things others think strange. Sometimes these strange things will work; sometimes they won’t. Just accept this, be ready for it, and enjoy it.
Take the time to have fun with the AD&D rules. Add, create, expand, and extrapolate. Don’t just let the game sit there, and don’t become a rules lawyer worrying about each piddly little detail. If you can’t figure out the answer, MAKE IT UP! And whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of believing these rules are complete. They are not. You cannot sit back and let the rule book do everything for you. Take the time and effort to become not just a good DM, but a brilliant one.
At conventions, in letters, and over the phone I’m often asked for the instant answer to a fine point of the game rules. More often than not, I come back with a question—what do you feel is right? And the people asking the questions discover that not only can they create an answer, but that their answer is as good as anyone else’s. The rules are only guidelines.
At the beginning of the first Dungeon Master Guide, Gary Gygax stressed that each of us, working from a common base, would make the AD&D game grow in a variety of different directions. That is more true today than ever. Don’t be afraid of experimentation, but do be careful. As a Dungeon Master, you have great power, and “with great power comes great responsibility.” Use it wisely.
David “Zeb” Cook (Preface to the AD&D 2nd edition Dungeon Masters Guide)
2/9/1989
Notice the bold underlined text above? “The rules are only guidelines.” I realized with great sadness that this ethos had begun to slip away from me as time had gone by. Players who constantly reference their PHB, rule lawyers, and perfectionism have pushed me away from all that I hold dear in the game. The freedom to do whatever you want? I want my fantasy back!
So, coming back to my wife and I talking… she had mentioned that the kids were doing whatever they wanted in the game. If they didn’t understand a rule they threw it away or made up their own. In the end they had an AMAZING time! My wife had such a great time listening to them play I realized this was my chance. The chance to finally convince my wife she needs to play role-playing games. (If you ever get this chance don’t let it slip away, they come only once a decade!) How was I to get the entire family involved in a way which would promote healthy exploration and complete and utter freedom and creativity? Ah ha! Instead of my experienced hand and mind behind the GM screen I would let Justice run the game. My wife and I would play a couple characters in the Pathfinder Beginner Box and run through the dungeon.
In the past my wife would take a week just rolling up a character. She spent hours writing every detail down with perfect penmanship and absolute purpose. By the time she was done she didn’t want to play her character lest she die! Realizing this I grabbed the pre-made characters that come with the Pathfinder Beginner Box, golden! I asked her if she wanted the female cleric that looked like a man or the slender and attractive elvish rogue. She of course went with the rogue. I handed her the sheet, we put our 2 dimensional cardboard avatars upon the flipmat and Justice opened his adventure module. He read the intro to the adventure which I won’t display here since I hate spoilers as much as you do! We were whisked away into a fantasy world just like that! No need to spend hours rolling up characters or arguing over mundane details (this is NOT a mundane detail MICHAEL!! sorry, random Office Space reference…)
Oh yes, my choice? I went with the warrior. I prefer to play wizards, but I knew since our party numbered only two that I would have to play the tank. Plus, if my wife died in the first adventure she may never try playing again. This was one of the most purposeful adventures I had ever been on! The fate of my family’s ability to play role-playing games hung in a precarious balance. We were attempting to take on an adventure meant for 4 players with only 2 and my son GMing. I hoped he would go easy, at least on my wife.
Our first encounter with a couple goblins went brilliantly! My wife used stealth to sneak up behind the first goblin and slayed him with a sneak attack outright. That put a smile on her face! I charged into battle swinging my trusty longsword prepared to decapitate the last goblin.. and missed! The goblin attacked me and rolled high, he hit. Next my wife attacked and hit again, rolling another high damage roll and killed the other goblin as well. I stood there looking like a big dumb brute. “Uh, nice work beautiful. Perhaps I should relinquish party leadership to you seeing as you best me at both combat and skill.” She gladly accepted (what wife doesn’t like having power over her husband’s player character?) and we moved into the next room.
Justice thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of GM and although he has a ways to go, he reminds me of myself at his age. Except this time, the parents are encouraging the child to get lost in a fantasy world. Throughout the adventure he made mistakes and said “Whoops, oh no! I messed up!” I gave him my sagely wisdom that I have learned from years of GMing. “Son, don’t tell the players when you mess up. Trust me, they will never ever know. Plus, there are no mistakes- there are just chances to use your imagination!” He smiled and nodded and we kept playing.
We have played 2 short sessions since that initial game. Now we keep our Pathfinder Beginner Box game sitting on the coffee table. Now each night instead of sneaking off to work on my website or watching Star Trek- the Next Generation, we spend time as a family adventuring through a dungeon while my son GMs!
When Justice walks upstairs he sees my towering bookshelves lined with the entire Forgotten Realms catalog from 1st edition, all of 2nd, and every book (save 1) from Forgotten Realms 3.5. I also have the healthy beginning of a Pathfinder RPG library (the core books and Advanced Players book). Oh yeah, don’t forget all the old issues of Dragon magazine dating back as far as the late 70’s all missing covers! 😛 I try to imagine having access to such a library at his age and I just can’t do it. Is it overwhelming? Exciting? In time I’m sure he will pull a few of the old RPG tomes off that shelf, dust them off, and ask “Dad, what’s ADVANCED Dungeons & Dragons?” I will smile proudly and sit him down to roll up a character while I try my hand at DMing for HIM!
Last week I spoke with Erik Mona over at Paizo Publishing about getting a crack at the new Pathfinder Beginner Box set. After watching the Youtube video of Erik slamming down that heavy box of goodies and pulling out stuff like rabbits from a hat, I could not resist. I am a hard core RPG Dungeon Master hailing from the old school days of Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and the Forgotten Realms. Why would I be interested in a beginner box set? My son is 9 years old and try as he might, he has yet to master the complexities of D&D 3.5 or the Pathfinder Role-Playing game.
We bought him the Pathfinder Core Rules book for his birthday. He was so excited to start playing with his friends. When they finally sat down they were so confused by the rules that they needed my help with every little detail.
I would love to help them, but one of the best experiences in my life was opening those brand new RPG books as a child, and not understanding a thing. The mystery that all those charts and skills (in those days proficiencies) held behind closed doors would slowly come to light as the years went on and we advanced in our games.
I wanted my son to have a similar experience, but since the Pathfinder Core Rules book is such a large book it is fairly daunting for a 9 year old. After watching him in frustration I finally gave in and helped him figure out how to roll up a druid.
In the old days as children we would dig aimlessly through the 1st edition PHB & DMG, right around age 9 as I recall. Soon after, TSR came out with the D&D Red Box which was aimed toward a younger audience and was a great relief to us kids. When I found out that Paizo was releasing a new beginner box set I knew it was time to get to work on a new product review. I would experience this review through the eyes of my son.
Last night the box set arrived. When my son found out he could hardly stand the anticipation! We tore open the cardboard shipping box to get at the glossy colorful contents inside.
This box had everything! One by one all of the goodies started popping out (perhaps this was a box of holding!!).
Pathfinder Beginner Box (contents):
A 64-page Hero’s Handbook, detailing character creation, spells, equipment, and general rules for playing the game
A 96-page Game Master’s Guide packed with adventures, monsters, magical treasures, and advice on how to narrate the game and control the challenges faced by the heroes
A complete set of 7 high-impact polyhedral dice
More than 80 full-color pawns depicting tons of heroes, monsters, and even a fearsome black dragon
Four pregenerated character sheets to throw you right into the action
Four blank character sheets to record the statistics and deeds of your custom-made hero
A durable, reusable, double-sided Flip-Mat play surface that works with any kind of marker
We cleared everything off the dining room table and started setting things up. We spread out all the goodies as if we were in the middle of a session. I was very impressed with the detail that Paizo has put into their product. Everything was in full color glossy and there were TONS of illustrations throughout the books. This is eye candy for kids and is great for the imagination. I give two thumbs up to whoever in the creative department said “These books will be for kids, we need LOADS of illos!”
Next off, the miniature cardboard tokens are ingenious. I love being able to pop them in and out of the stands as needed. I currently have over 10 plastic boxes of miniatures. If I take them all to a gaming session I have to load my hiking pack up well over my head just to fit them all. If I had these cardboard tokens it would make my life a lot easier. These tokens bring to mind the Dragonlance Tales of the Lance box set from TSR… they had little cardboard cut outs that you could use instead of miniatures. GREAT for kids!
The cardboard glossy flip map is fun as well, but since it’s so stiff it tends to bow up when you’re playing and the cardboard minis with their plastic stands aren’t heavy enough to hold it down. I’m sure it won’t be long before my son asks to use my Chessex Battlemat and pens for his gaming sessions!
The pre-generated character sheets are exactly what I need to finally convince my wife she needs to play role-playing games. In the past she would spend an entire week rolling up and creating a character. By the time she was done writing down every single spell and ability she no longer wanted to risk having the character killed in combat. Bonk! The sound of me hitting myself in the forehead… Ugh… NOW, I can simply hand her a pre-generated character sheet and say “Look honey, sit down… our son is now the game master and my fighter will tank. Don’t you worry about your precious wizard. No harm will come to him.”
Finally, Paizo has simplified the rules and placed them in two books. The Game Master’s Guide contains a complete adventure which goes hand in hand with the battlemat. The book also gives you the basics on how to run a game. The Hero’s Handbook is the equivalent of the Player’s Handbook and contains simple instructions for players on the different races and classes as well as spells and abilities.
After my son and I went through everything he was super excited to play, but would have to wait until morning to invite his friends over…
Today my son woke up bright and early as his friends were arriving. They would finally have a chance to play the new Pathfinder Beginner Box! My interview with him and his friends through the eyes of 9-10 year olds is forthcoming. Check back to NERD TREK and sign up for our email list to get the dirt straight from the mouths of the next generation of gamers!
Paizo Publishing®, leading publisher of award-winning fantasy roleplaying games and novels, announces the release of NPC Codex for the Pathfinder ® Roleplaying Game (RPG), in-stores now!
