Every week, 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 from the director of operations, Ryan Costello.

I’d originally intended to cover Paizo’s PaizoCon 2022 annoucement here, but with the evolving situation in Ukraine, I need to shift gears for a minute.

In the complex world of global politics, it’s not supposed to be so easy to tell right from wrong. In the case of Russia’s latest nuclear hissy fit over the territory they knowingly gave away but now want back, Putin is the clear villain. That’s sadly pretty standard behaviour from the childish dictator. If I ran a campaign with a Putinesque villain, it would probably come off as cartoonishly over the top.

What’s different this time is the heroes standing up to him. I don’t mean to trivialize real world events by comparing them to escapist gaming, but the stories coming out of Ukraine are nothing short of legendary, and would fit right into a fantasy RPG. The Ukrainian soldiers who turned telling a Russian warship to f-off into a rallying cry. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the comedian turned politician who went from playing the president on TV to actually being the Ukrainian president. Now he’s on the battlefield in armor, publicly standing up to Putin’s tyranny. The brewery that’s halted production to use its facilities bottling Molotov cocktails. The Ghost of Kyiv, an ace fighter pilot tearing apart the Russian air force and raising awareness that Kyiv is the Ukrainian spelling of its capital. The lady who told a Russian soldier to keep sunflower seeds in his pocket so that at least his corpse can do some good by fertilizing some flowers.

Although the veracity of the Ghost of Kyiv is unconfirmed, most of these equally legendary stories are corroborated as fact. In a world wrung dry by an endless string of tragedy, hardship, and regular occurrences of the literally unbelievable, somehow the epicenter of the worst of the latest bad news is a source of hope for many of us.

Regularly Scheduled Content

That said, if anyone’s curious, here’s my original editorial for this week:

Last Thursday, Paizo officially announced PaizoCon 2022, happening simultaneously in person and online. Although a lot can still happen between now and May 27th (not like a lot isn’t happening, of course), I feel confident that Pathfinder and Starfinder enthusiasts will be able to meet up in person at one of my favourite conventions for the first time since 2019. If there are other conventions like PaizoCon, I don’t know about them. The casual atmosphere, panels geared towards an avid and knowledgeable fanbase, the way staff is treated both like celebrities and as one of the gang; It’s not an atmosphere that can be manufactured.

That said, I won’t be attending this year, unfortunately. At least not in person. And I have nothing official to announce about Know Direction’s involvement as a network. Hopefully I haven’t attended my last PaizoCon, but my 2022 gaming and convention time is committed to Essence20 promotion.

On that note, as discussed in the latest Upshift, this weekend is RenegadeCon 2022 and I can say I’ll officially be participating in two of the panels:

• Reveals: G.I. JOE Tabletop & RPG Games on Friday, March 4th at 2:30pm Pacific (5:30pm Eastern)
• How To Play: The G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game on Saturday, March 5th, at 5:30pm Pacific (8:30pm Eastern)

Both can be watched live on Renegade’s Twitch Channel. Like PaizoCon 2022, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to offer RenegadeCon coverage as Know Direction Network content, but we’ll see.

Speaking of Network content, here’s a recap of the podcasts and blogs from last week at the Know Direction Network:

Recap of February 21st to 25th

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Monday, February 21st

Twitch

Know Direction 270 Live – Beadle and Grimm’s is Back

Bill and Jon from Beadle and Grimm’s weren’t the only ones who were back. Due to a last minute Internet issue, I replaced Perram in the first chair, making my Monday night Know Direction debut!

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 080 – Out the Frying Pan and into the Laser Death Rays!

My big takeaway from this episode was learning about the LaMontague maneuver to avoid attacks of opportunity, the group’s name for the zigzag movement PCs are known to make to avoid attacks of opportunity. I may not know the eponymous Mr. LaMontague, but I plan on using that term in my games going forward.

Article

Now You Know – Happy Birthday Dustin
By Ryan Costello

I’ve owed Dustin some shout outs for a while now. What better time to catch up on them than on his birthday?

Tuesday, February 22nd

Patreon

KD: Beyonder 001

Kicking off a new Know Direction: Beyond aftershow, Alex and Vanessa followed up on Know Direction: Beyond 66 – Evolutionist Retrospective‘s look at the Evolutionist, with a Discord chat speculating what kind of Starfinder rulebook the class fits into.

Podcast

Know Direction 270 – Beadle and Grimm’s is Back

I thought I was rusty, but Vee assures me I was fine. Although I promise I had nothing to do with Perram losing his Internet, I was happy that this was the episode I was needed on. I’d just received my Complete Rogue Chronicles book and had a lot of feelings about the content and quality of the book.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – A Prelude to Greatness
By Nate Wright

I feel like I’ve had ideas similar to what Nate proposes here -preludes, a set of one-on-one session between players and the GM to play out the point where backstory ends and campaign begins- but had neither the name nor the fully fleshed out concept. Needless to say, I’m eager to try it out.

Wednesday, February 23rd

Twitch

Upshift – RenegadeCon 2022 Preview

With the bar for insight and announcements set by the last RenegadeCon, Perram and I went over the schedule for the March 4th and 5th edition, and what Essence20 awesomeness to expect.

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 31: Blinks System

In this fascinating episode, Danielle speaks with Jon Bobrow not about a game, but about a set of hardware tools – The Blinks System- for programming digital tabletop games.

Article

Behind The Screens – Great Responsibility

I wrap up my Basics of Game Mastery series by laying out the unfun truth that playing as the GM means taking on a lot of responsibility.

Thursday, February 24th

Podcast

Digital Divination 050 – So Far, So Good

Almost two years in the making, John and Ron look back on 50 episodes of Digital Divination.

Article

February 2022 Black Excellence Showcase
By Michelle Jones

What started with Michelle inquiring if the Network did anything for Black History Month lead to this profile of noteworthy black RPG industry creators. Michelle’s worked hard on this over the past month, and I’m happy not only with the results, but that she used the network’s reach to put the spotlight on such deserving individuals.

Friday, February 25th

Patreon

Patron’s Private Sanctum 39

Dustin and Alex joined Vee and I for a fun chat about birthdays, the legitimacy of horoscopes, where we’re each at in terms of our participation in organized play.

Podcast

Upshift – RenegadeCon 2022 Preview

This episode reminded me how fun it is to chat 80s and 90s kids action media with Perram. What could have been a dry reading of a schedule was an engaging conversation that bounced between fond memories of our youth (and adulthood) and excitement for what’s coming out for Essence20.

Preview of February 28th to March 4th

This is back to Block 2 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, February 28th

Podcast

Valiant Episode 30: In Which They Deal 8 Damage

Our Valiant heroes get buffer and toss throwing pistols at a tonguey skeleton.

Article

Now You Know – Slava Ukraini
By Ryan Costello

The modern heroes in a global campaign are the legends coming out of Ukraine.

Tuesday, March 1st

Patreon

Downshift 002

Perram and I are joined by friend of the Lucas Servideo in this chat about why the latest Upshift isn’t episode 1, Super7’s recent G.I. JOE retro line, and other stuff I’m sure.

Article

Fox’s Cunning
By Dustin Knight

Dustin offers expert insight and helpful tools to enhance your game..

Wednesday, March 2nd

Podcast

Presenting – Michelle Jones

Get to know the newest member of the Know Direction Network when John Godek interviews Michelle Jones.

Article

More Lore
By Scott D Young

Scott D Young’s deep dive into the minutia of Golarion lore and how you can use it to enhance your game.

Thursday, March 3rd

Podcast

Legend Lore 40 – Swashbuckler

Luis and Loren are currently fielding questions in the Shows Discussion Discord channel about the swashbuckler for the latest Class Feature.

 

 

Now you know,
Ryan Costello