Now You Know recaps the Know Direction content of the past week, previews the Know Direction content of the week to come, and shares the thoughts on the state of the network of the director of logistics, Ryan Costello.
This past weekend was PAX Unplugged. I attended the inaugural two editions of this new gaming convention with my day job in 2017 and 2018, but we moved out of tabletop gaming by 2019, so I missed the first PAX Unplugged that Perram attended. So even though this isn’t one of the cons I get to spend time IRL with Perram, seeing his diligent updates on Facebook this weekend made me sad I was missing out.
Perram and I haven’t spent analog time together since Gen Con 2019. Granted, our 11+ years of friendship and podcast partnership started online, and predominantly stayed there. I’d estimate we’ve spent less than 100 hours together in meat space. That may seem like a lot, but considering we put out 26 episodes of a two hour podcast a year, we’ve spent five times that amount together on air for Know Direction alone.
Danielle also attended PAX Unplugged this year. Again, one of my favourite people and best friends, and someone I haven’t seen offline since Gen Con 2019.
And Rob Pontious was there too. Rob’s been Investing In the Know Direction Network since October 2019 (happy belated network anniversary, Rob!) and I’ve yet to even meet him in person.
So when I say I miss PAX Unplugged, it’s not the con itself, or cons in general that I miss. It’s the people. I don’t see myself attending PaizoCon next year, since I’ll probably spend my vacation time hitting a few G.I. JOE centric events to promote Essence20, so the earliest I can expect to see (and in some cases, meet) Network friends again is Gen Con 2022. This may seem like I’m getting way ahead of myself, but I need to make the most out of that opportunity. I am mentally preparing to fit as much time catching up and hanging out with friends next August. Even if that means missing out on gaming and shopping. Odds are, we’ll get plenty of both in, but if I have to choose, I’m prioritizing people in 2022.
Speaking of the amazing people of the Know Direction Network, here’s a recap of the amazing content they created for the Know Direction Network over the last week:
Recap of December 6th to 10th
What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?
Monday, December 6th
Article
Now You Know – Tweet
By Ryan Costello
Know Direction’s on Twitter! I mean, we have been for, like, a while, but now even moreso!
Tuesday, December 7th
Podcast
Legend Lore 037 — Pathfinder Year in Review 2021
Loren and I play in Vanessa’s Abomination Vaults campaign Monday nights. Shortly before the scheduled start of the session, Loren messaged me to let me know she and Luis hadn’t had time to record this week’s Legend Lore, so it would be late. When the session was unexpectedly cancelled at the last minute, the silver lining was that not only did that give Luis and Loren an opportunity to record, but they invited me to join them.
I feel like most of our reviews this year ended with me saying “What a good book, even better than I expected.” Looking back at all of the Pathfinder products from 2021 really hit home how good this year was for Pathfinder 2e. And it’s always a treat to spend time with Luis and Loren.
Article
Fox’s Cunning – Ranking the Runes: Weapons Edition
By Dustin Knight
Runes were made to be ranked.
I have a confession. When Sean K Reynolds asked me my thoughts on equipment before assigning me work on Ultimate Equipment, I lied and inflated my feelings. The truth is, in both editions, micromanaging my gear is an aspect of the game I don’t care for. But I understand it’s importance to my character’s power level. As a result, I super appreciate when Dustin does the work for me. When I need a weapon rune going forward, I’m absolutely using this article to guide me.
Wednesday, December 8th
Podcast
Presenting – Nicole Heits
Hey, it’s Patron’s Private Sanctuary regular Nicole!
Nicole dove into PFS and Pathfinder 2e head first, going from non-fan to Venture Officer and freelancer faster than anyone I can think of. She and Jon talk about that journey, and the influence of musical theatre.
Articles
Behind The Screens – Diet Coke Elemental Wants The Party’s Mentos
By Ryan Costello
A Twitter conversation inspired me to write about designing an encounter from the middle out. I was bummed this didn’t get much reaction, because I thought it was fun and informative. I don’t know if I went too weird with the title, but I stand by it!
Thursday, December 9th
Podcast
Valiant Episode 27: In Which They Fight Some Bugs
In this episode of Luis’ original campaign, I learned more about sahkils, former psychopomps who rebel against their role as soul shepherds for the River of Souls.
Article
Investing In: Back to PAX Unplugged
By Rob Pontious
Rob does a better job summing up why he was excited for PAX Unplugged, specifically, than I did.
Friday, December 10th
Podcast
Know Direction: Beyond 64 – Technobabble: Tech Questions in Starfinder
This episode shows the purest form of the love Alex and James have for Starfinder. Both are analytical in different ways, and they use Starfinder as a jumping off point to dive deep into the technicalities of sci-fi technology.
Preview of December 13th to December 17th
Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.
Monday, December 13th
Article
Now You Know – PAX Withdrawal
By Ryan Costello
PAX Unplugged? More like PAX Unattended by Ryan, who misses seeing friends at cons. If you came here from a social media share, I apologize for reusing this verbatim. I try not to repeat myself, but I tickled myself too much with that line.
Tuesday, December 14th
Podcast
Digital Divination 045 – High Level Starfinder
John and Ron talk about building high level characters for high level APs.
Article
Eldritch Excursion
By Nate Wright
Nate Wright’s journal of flavour and mechanics.
Wednesday, December 15th
Twitch
Know Direction 265 Live – Hero Forge Spotlight
We’ve loved Hero Forge® for years, and been amazed at their ability to constantly address concerns and improve the product. Now, Teagan Morrison, CEO of Hero Forge®, joins us to talk about Hero Forge’s past, present, and future.
Podcast
Game Design Unboxed 26: Raccoon Tycoon
Danielle speaks with Glenn Drover about building a better Monopoly, and using a cute theme to hide that fact and sell it.
Article
More Lore
By Scott D Young
Scott D Young’s deep dive into the minutia of Golarion lore.
Thursday, December 16th
Podcast
Know Direction 265 – Hero Forge Spotlight
For those keeping track, this is my last traditional episode of Know Direction. I’m looking forward to talking to the CEO of Hero Forge, and then chatting PAX Unplugged with Perram, either in the banter segment, or the Private Sanctum.
Article
Something Creates
By Andrew Sturtevant
Andrew Sturtevant creates Starfinder content, and shares insight into his decisions and his struggles along the way.
Friday, December 17th
Podcast
Intrepid Heroes 75
With last episode acting as an episode zero for book 6, this episode kicks off the final volume of the Starfinder Dawn of Flame Adventure Path.
Now you know,
Ryan Costello
