Taking a Stab At Pathfinder Infinite (Would You Like to See More?)

As a lot of my regular readers know, the Pathfinder Infinite platform came online in late 2021. And at the time I said I had a couple of ideas I'd like to publish on it assuming progress was made regarding the ugliness that had come to light regarding Paizo's treatment of workers. And since Paizo's employees now have a union, and the company seemed to support rather than fight those efforts, I figured it was time for me to make good on that tease I'd put out.

And though 150 Sights To See (And Rumors To Hear) in Absalom dropped this past weekend, I wanted to pull back the curtain a bit to let folks know what's going on, and how they can help keep the wheels moving.

Because I can't do this one alone.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

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Do Readers Want Me To Add More To Golarion?

In case some readers are confused, I'll catch you all up to speed. Pathfinder Infinite is a community use platform that lets independent and 3rd-party creators make content set in the world of Golarion (the base setting for the Pathfinder RPG), and which uses Paizo's intellectual property (as long as the project obeys all the appropriate rules set forth by the company). So rather than just making generic content that could be used with the Golarion setting if one wanted to (like my supplement 100 Random Bandits to Meet), or creating content that uses the Pathfinder rules system but which is part of an independent setting (like Gods of Sundara for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting), I can just explore parts of Golarion that I enjoy, but which haven't gotten the attention that I feel they should have.

Like this one.

My supplement, 150 Sights to See (And Rumors To Hear) in Absalom is actually the second Pathfinder Infinite supplement that's been released by Azukail Games. The first was 100 Rumors and Hooks To Hear in (or About) Magnimar, and it came out a few weeks previous. However, the issue that we've run into is that neither of these two supplements has been a particularly noteworthy success. In fact with slow sales and the cost of splitting profits for the community-use platform, it seems like Pathfinder Infinite just isn't a great investment when taking these two products as examples of what one can expect.

However, I didn't want to just shrug my shoulders and walk away. As someone who contributed to Paizo products in the past, I felt this would be a solid opportunity to get some of my own ideas out for the setting that I'd never had a chance to before... but for that to happen, I need the folks out there playing these games to come along for the ride.

Because on the one hand, it's possible there just aren't a lot of people playing Pathfinder anymore. On the other hand, it might be that there are lots of players, but they don't use the Golarion setting for their games. It might be that the type of supplement just isn't what folks want, and they'd prefer something more mechanical like fresh archetypes and prestige classes, modules to play through, or lists of world-specific NPCs they might meet while traversing the setting. Or maybe there are a lot of GMs out there who want lists of weird sights and side-quest worthy rumors, but they'd prefer to find them in Varisia, or Ustalav, or one of the other nations or cities we didn't actually cover yet.

There's a lot of possibilities here, is what I'm saying.

So if you're reading this, and you would actually like to see me put out some stuff for use in Golarion proper, there are two things I'd like to ask you to do.

- Leave a comment (either here or on social media) with the kind of supplement you would be most interested in seeing in the future.

- Help boost the signal on 150 Sights to See (And Rumors to Hear) in Absalom and 100 Hooks and Rumors to Hear in (or About) Magnimar. Consider sharing them on social media, or getting copies for yourself and leaving reviews once you've read through them.

The reason I'm asking my readers to do this is, first of all, I want to make sure that folks get the content from me they want. All that talk about following your interests and drive as a creator makes for good sound bites, but at the end of the day I want to make sure there's actually a desire among my fellow players for the stuff I'm putting together. Secondly, the best way to get my publisher to agree to let me keep going down a particular vein of content is to prove there's a paying market for it. They want to sell copies, I want to sell copies, and if the stuff we produce for Pathfinder Infinite just stalls out and doesn't sell, then the company just won't sign off on further Pathfinder Infinite projects in the future.

Most products on Drive Thru RPG don't even sell the 50+ copies you need to hit Copper status, let alone the 100+ copies you need to hit Silver status, but I've had a really good track record with my Azukail Games releases. I feel confident in saying that if we can push one, or even both, of these supplements up into Copper territory, that would be enough of a sign of gamer interest to get approval for at least a couple more ideas.

So if you're not done playing in Golarion yet, and you want to see what dark corners of the world I'd like to explore, take a few moments and help me spread the word so we can build up some momentum!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Games Workshop Should Have Gotten on The Community Use Bandwagon By Now

Folks who can read between the lines know that over the past few years I've become something of a Warhammer 40K fan. While I don't play the minis game, I've been enjoying the lore and learning about the setting, and I did recently join a Black Crusade campaign. Part of what allowed me to really dig into the world and start finding enjoyment in it was the vibrant community of fan creators. From lore videos on YouTube, to animations depicting important events, it was an introduction that let me move at my own pace, and to find elements that really appealed to me. I even made a few contributions of my own, such as my character conversion guides for the Imperial Commissar, the Death Korps of Krieg, and the Catachan Jungle Fighters. I also wrote a few fan stories, like Waking Dogs: A World Eaters Tale about what happens when one of the Blood God's berserkers remembers what he used to be, and is very upset about it. Or Almost, a tale about a Cadian trooper who refuses to give up, which was dramatized by A Vox in The Void below!

However, if you are also a fan of this Games Workshop property, then you know about the demolition that recently occurred. For those who aren't familiar I'm going to do my best to break it down, and to make a suggestion as to what I think a better course of action would have been. A course of action that I think Games Workshop could still take in order to undo some damage, and win back some positive regard from fans and creators alike.

Before I get into it, make sure you subscribe to my weekly newsletter to stay on top of all my latest releases. And if you have a little extra cash this holiday season, consider becoming a Patreon patron so I can keep the lights on and the wolf from the door. Lastly, if you want to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my Linktree!

Warhammer +, And What Went Down

For those who have been living under a rock (or who aren't a big part of this community), Warhammer 40,000 has been going strong for decades. With minis war games, board games, novels and short stories, video games, at least one official film, and dozens of other properties, there's always been a strong thread of ingenuity and creativity among the fans. Whether it was kitbashing together different minis to create unique looks, building terrain out of literal garbage, or making all kinds of unique art and stories of their own to tell, there's real passion among folks who enjoy the grim darkness of the far future.

In the past this was encouraged by Games Workshop (with unique creations often being featured in White Dwarf magazine, among other publications), or at the very least tolerated. And while there had been moves more recently to try to limit the impact of fan creations on their product and sales (such as not allowing 3rd-party or 3D-printed designs in official tournaments and such), it seemed to have been more of an irritation than a serious problem for a lot of the fan base.

Then they decided to drop a bomb.

And it looked like some Exterminatus-level shit.

The short version is that there has been a large community of fan creators who made a variety of projects. From channels like Baldermort's Guide To Warhammer (for fellow lore lovers), to readers like A Vox in The Void, to perhaps the most famous fan-created thing right now Astartes, there were people who put time, energy, sweat, and blood into making things they thought were cool. And a lot of people had built up an audience on platforms like YouTube and Patreon to help them keep making cool fan content.

Then Games Workshop changed their policies.

More to the point, they made it abundantly clear that fan animations were no longer allowed. And while some creators received an opportunity to contract with the company (something that had a very shady vibe to it given the alternatives), others were put under serious legal threat. And while this was initially about animators, it seemed like GW might be willing to wipe out creators across the board, dealing a huge, self-inflicted blow to their own community. After all, these creators were essentially doing a ton of free advertising and PR for Warhammer 40K as a product, bringing in all sorts of fans who may otherwise never have engaged with the property at all... and for some reason the company suddenly decided that was a problem instead of a benefit.

The why of all this quickly became apparent. Games Workshop wanted to get into the streaming game, it seems, and their Warhammer + program would have been in competition with a lot of fan creations (many of which are far more beloved than similar things produced by the company itself). While the service comes with shows besides animation including painting tutorials, access to a lot of digital content, etc., this whole clumsy consolidation of power appears to have been an attempt to sweep the board so that fans would feel compelled to subscribe to this service in order to get their fix.

And hoo boy did it not go over well. At all.

What They Should Have Done Instead

There has been a huge problem with streaming services of late, particularly for those coming to the party at this stage of the game. Because the more services there are, and the more subscriptions someone needs, the more it's going to cost... and the whole point of subscribing to a streaming service is to save money by not paying for cable, movie rental, etc. If someone just wants exclusive content, and they don't want to pay yet another streaming subscription, they're just going to pirate it... and if the company making that exclusive content has angered the fans of the content in question then they're more likely to pirate it out of spite. I don't know if that was brought up in any business meetings, but it would have been the first thing out of my mouth if someone had asked what the potential fallout from these kinds of actions could be.

I'm just saying, the numbers don't look good.

In their defense, Games Workshop appeared to realize they were hemorrhaging fans, so they softened up a little bit. They put out rules about fan-made animations, communicated more openly with creators whose work and livelihoods seemed in peril, and didn't push as hard as they'd been threatening to. The damage was done to a lot of people's goodwill, though.

However, I think that the company made a gross miscalculation trying to make their own streaming platform in the first place. Because at the end of the day, they make games, not movies and TV shows. What they should have done instead was to create a community use platform so that all those eager fans could keep making cool content, while also ensuring that GW gets a tithe for the use of their intellectual property.

Again, if I'd been in a meeting to offer advice, I would have suggested creating something like The Administratum Archive as a kind of community-use version of the Black Library. Let fans create 3rd-party rulebooks and splats, supplements for games like Necromunda or Assassinorum, write stories, put out RPG products, and even make animations. Allow those fan creators to sell those things, and to take a percentage of the profit the same way Paizo does with Pathfinder Infinite, or how Onyx Path does with Storyteller's Vault, or how Wizards of The Coast does with DMs' Guild. It makes you money without all that much extra effort, it lets you gauge who the fans want for future potential creators, and it gives you ideas for things you can choose to make official or not going forward.

Would this make the company as much money as Warhammer +? I have no idea, as I don't have the internal numbers. However, what I do know is that a community use platform is basically free money if you have a large number of active fans who are making stuff that you can capitalize on. Because you, as the company, don't have to do any work in this situation. You don't make the videos, write the books, or drum up attention... but you get a cut of the action all the same. And, in this case, it would have had the added benefit that it would have looked like Games Workshop was giving its fans a chance to step up and get paid for all their hard work, even if it meant they were subtly taking a cut of all the action the way a mob boss does from outside dealers who operate on their turf.

And if there's anyone from Games Workshop who comes across this blog who thinks this is a great idea, feel free to make it happen. I want this as much as any other creator because it would open up a whole new sandbox for me to play in, and at the end of the day that's what we all really want.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Should I Tell More Tales? (Expanding Back Into Tie-In Fiction)

Folks who know me primarily for my gaming articles and RPG supplements may not be aware that when I decided I was going to be an author my original goal was to write novels and short stories; working on RPGs is something I just sort of fell into. While regular readers have no doubt noticed it peeking out in scenes like the dragon race in the beginning and end of Hoardreach: City of Wyrms, or in the introduction to character concept articles like The Anti-Party, I don't mention those projects as often as I might on this particular blog.

The closing section doesn't count. Practically no one actually reads that, much less follows the links in it.

I wish it were otherwise, but it is what it is.

With that said, I'm contemplating combining my writing about RPGs and my desire to put out more fiction. I've even been putting out some small feelers to see how feasible it is, and I wanted to take this Monday's post to draw folks' attention to them, and to lay out some of the ideas I had going forward along with the challenges inherent in these projects.

For folks who want to stay on top of all my latest content, subscribe to my weekly newsletter! Also, if you want to help me keep the wheels turning then you can also become a Patreon patron... even small donations make a big difference.

Trying Something Different (If Not, Exactly, New)

For folks who haven't checked it out (since my analytics tells me that Table Talk is one of my least read features on this blog) you may not have come across one of my latest projects. The Silver Raven Chronicles is my re-telling of my group's run through the Hell's Rebels adventure path... but rather than just writing the roll-by-roll recounting as I have in previous installments, I thought I'd do something different. So instead of following my old formula, I'm putting together a series of pulpy short stories that each focus on a notable event throughout the campaign as it unfolds.

And at time of writing, we're two tales in with a third on the way! We started off with a bit of a prequel in Devil's Night, told from the perspective of one of Kintargo's dottari who finds out that the rumors of a so-called ghost that's been leaving a trail of splintered bones and broken patrols is far more than an urban legend. From there we move onto From The Ashes, which details the riot in Aria Park instigated by Barzillai Thrune as he tries to teach the common folk a lesson... a lesson which sows the seeds of much more widespread rebellion!

Of course, folks who regularly check out what's new in my Vocal archive will note these aren't the first short tales I've published this year. I also penned Waking Dogs- A World Eaters Tale which takes place in the Warhammer 40K setting. If you ever wanted to see what happens when one of the berserkers of the World Eaters calmed down long enough to realize how thoroughly and completely they'd been screwed by their father, and their so-called allies, then you are definitely going to want to check out what happens when Crixus and the Butcher's Nails in his skull decide to be mad at the same people for a little while.

There's even a lovely audio rendition of it from A Vox in The Void if you haven't checked it out yet!

Folks who are more familiar with my older work might be asking why I'm posting stories on a free site like Vocal when I could sell stories on the various community use platforms out there? After all, a lot of folks read and enjoyed my Pathfinder Tale The Irregulars about a team of saboteurs sent out by Andoran to douse the fires of war before they ever really get going across the Inner Sea, so why not build on that with some sequels? Or tell some entirely fresh tales now that Pathfinder Infinite is a thing, along with the World of Darkness, Pugmire, the Shattered Lands, the various worlds and properties available on DM's Guild, and so on, and so forth?

Trying To Gauge What My Readers Want

The main reason I opted to use Vocal as a kind of test platform was to try to get some hard numbers for readership. I know there's a dedicated reader base out there who enjoys tie-in fiction, and it's a product that can also appeal to those who don't play certain RPGs, but who still enjoy getting lost in stories about the world. It's also a lot easier to write stories in a pre-made setting where I don't have to do any ground-up construction or world building, which can be very freeing (especially after spending the past few years cranking out novels of my own).

The issue I run into with this project is, of course, the same issue most creators run into... walking that line between something we want to create, and something you want to read as our audience.

Seriously, gauging the market is like throwing runes or talking to demons at the best of times.

So that's what I wanted to ask this week... what would you be interested in as a reader? Current ideas include:

- Writing More Pathfinder Stories: I'd either put these on Vocal as with my Hell's Rebels breakdown, or doing fresh tales like sequels to the Irregulars, as well as some of the pitches for the Pathfinder Tales I never got a chance to write to be published on Pathfinder Infinite.

- Writing Stories Set in the World of Darkness: There is a collection coming out soon called Tales From The Moot with Werewolf: The Apocalypse stories which I'll be talking about when it drops since it has some of my work in it, but I'd like to write stories for Changeling, and possibly even for Vampire if there's an audience for it. For folks interested in a sample check out A Garou Thing by Justin Duncan, a good friend of mine who was quite eager to get in on the project.

- Writing Stories Set in Sundara: Since I already put the time and effort into creating places like Ironfire: City of Steel, Moüd: City of Bones, and Archbliss: City of The Sorcerers, it seems a shame not to build off of them as a foundation. Stories of Sundara would likely be short novellas detailing some of the adventures one could have in the setting, along with some gaming goodies at the end like write-ups on NPCs, or unique spells or magic items seen in the adventure itself.

Each of these strategies has their benefits and drawbacks. For example, both Pathfinder Infinite and Storyteller's Vault would tap into an existing audience, allow me to use premade settings, and I could get some of the stories I've had clogging up my brain out into the world. But a cut of all my earnings would go to Paizo or Onyx Path/White Wolf, too. Writing free stories means more people could read them (at least in theory), but the amount of traffic they'd need to get to be a return on investment is rather large. Sundara has the advantage of being my own setting, but it's less well known, and would generally be a harder sell to people not already familiar with it. Then you have the question of whether to write disparate short stories, novellas, or to go all-out and try to write a novel or two.

There's a lot of guesswork in here... which is why I wanted to ask folks reading this what they want to see!

Do you want to see me put out more free stories that you can just eyeball and share around without having to crack your wallet? Would you be more interested in stories in an established setting, or would you like to see how I'd expand Sundara going forward? And would you want something short, something mid-range, or a full-on novel?

Let me know... I'm listening.

And If You Can't Wait Till Then...

If you're in the market for fresh fiction, and you don't want to wait until I've finished spinning fresh yarns, well, I do have a library of novels you can check out if you haven't seen them yet!

Every copy you get means more treats and toys for me!

If you're the sort of person who loves cats and noir-style mysteries, then I'd recommend checking out my Hard-Boiled Cats series, starring Leo. Our Maine Coon heavy is always trying to keep his whiskers out of other people's business, but trouble keeps winding up in his back alley in the Big Apple. In Marked Territory he gets roped into a territorial dispute in the South Bronx that's more than it appears to be, and in Painted Cats he goes looking for a missing cat as a favor to an old flame. When bruisers start coming out of the woodwork to wave him off, Leo can't help but wonder what, exactly, happened to Mischief to bring all this heat his way?

If that series isn't your cup of tea, I have other options. My most recent release is a sci-fi dystopia where our protagonist is a de-commissioned bioweapon just trying to live among the civilian populace. When a conspiracy shows its hand, though, Pollux re-activates what's left of his old unit to go hunting in Old Soldiers. For the sword and sorcery fans, Crier's Knife may be more your speed. When his cousin goes missing, Dirk is tasked with bringing the boy back home to the mountain. Dark times lie ahead, according to his Sighted mother, so he brings his good dagger with him. As the foothill folk say, only a dead man crosses a Crier.

And for those looking for a variety plate, I'd recommend my short story collection The Rejects. The best of my stories over the past 10 years that just couldn't find a home this one has monsters and wizards, demons and mysteries... 13 tales in all!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

What Are The Rules For Writing About Pathfinder?

So, as folks have pointed out, I write a lot about Pathfinder. And, while I try to make sure that as much of my content is system-neutral as possible, sometimes I have to get system-specific. Because, after all, Crunch topics that work in Pathfinder won't work in other systems. Aside from the fact that Pathfinder is one of the games I play most regularly, and one of the more popular systems out there, it also has an open game license. Not only that, but Paizo has put forth a list of rules regarding who can use their game content, and under what circumstances.

Those rules, if you're curious, are the Paizo Inc. Community Use Policy.

Take a minute and read it through, if you're curious.

If you've considered becoming a blogger, or you'd like to include Pathfinder content in your YouTube videos, podcasts, or even your own adventure paths and campaign modules, all you have to do is read through these use rules, and see if anything you want to do violates the community use policy or open game license.

For example, if you are going to charge people for access to your product (membership fee on a website, purchase price for a mod, etc.), then you cannot use any of Paizo's intellectual property in it. That means you can use Pathfinder's rule system, but you cannot take the gods, the countries, the history, etc. All of those things are off-limits if you're charging for them.

So where does that leave someone like me, or Simon Peter Munoz, the man behind the Creative Repository Blog? Well, we fall into a much safer place than people who are publishing and selling RPG content. Because our blogs are free to anyone who wants to read them, we don't have to worry as much. That's why you'll see articles specifically about world lore, suggesting particular nations for particular concepts, and talking about adventure paths and modules here in Improved Initiative.

The Rules Can Change

It's important to remember that the rules can, and will, change. So, if you're ever in doubt, it's a good idea to check the community use policy to be certain that you're still in compliance with it. Also, remember, that neither I, nor Improved Initiative, are endorsed by Paizo. I am just a guy with a blog, who talks about gaming. If you want to get a certain answer on whether your idea is going to be okay, legally speaking, all you have to do is email Paizo, and ask.

Seriously, it's that simple.

As always, thanks for checking out this week's Moon Pope Monday update. Also, as I said, this blog is free to everyone. So, if you'd like to leave me a tip to help me keep producing the content you want, why not go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, and become a patron? As little as $1 a month makes a big difference, and it's enough to net you some sweet swag, too! Lastly, if you haven't done so yet, why not follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, too?