Every week, Recall Knowledge recaps the Know Direction content of the past week, a preview of the Know Direction content of the week to come, and the director of operations, Ryan Costello, thoughts on the state of the network.
Normally, the day after Gen Con is a mixed bag. There’s tiredness from setting up, working at, and tearing down a booth for five days straight, but accomplishment from the experience as well. There’s warmth from the memories of the people I spent time with but sadness for the people I missed. There’s energy from everything I got to do but longing for everything I missed.
Today, on the day after Gen Con Online, I am tired because I celebrated my birthday and my youngest daughter’s with my family, despite those birthdays falling on days I would have been in Indianapolis under normal circumstances.
Anyone I missed over the weekend, there’s nothing stopping me from reaching out to and having the same webcam or chat program interaction I would have had at Gen Con Online.
And most of what I missed? Between Twitch, YouTube, and company social media pages and websites, odds are it’s still accessible to me.
Gen Con Online may no longer be live, but it’s not dead. The content lives on out there somewhere. Now it’s time to find it. Which is as much a plug that our Gen Con Online seminar recordings are starting soon as it is my sincere outlook as a fan who is looking forward to extending my Gen Con Online experience over the next few weeks.
Speaking of weeks of content, here is the Know Direction Network content from last week:
Recap of July 27th to July 31st
What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?
Monday, July 27th
ARTICLE
Recall Knowledge – July 20th to July 31st
I was getting set for Gen Con and the APG. Oh boy, can’t wait for those!
Exclusive Starship Operations Manual Preview: Squadron Combat
Vanessa gives her impressions and advice on the Starship Operations Manual squadron combat rules, as well as previews the rules straight from the SOM.
Tuesday, July 28th
PODCAST
Digital Divinations 009 – GMing Starfinder
John and Ron discuss their preferred GMing styles (and the air conditioning of their living conditions).
Wednesday, July 29th
TWITCH
Know Direction Live – Advanced Player’s Guide Breakdown
We broke down the APG.
PATREON
Patron’s Private Sanctum 002
Perram and I talked (the then upcoming) Gen Con Free RPG Day, my birthday game, and, the deepest cut I can remember a listener bringing up, Vinyl Ryan.
Gen Con delayed the release of this episode to our Patrons. It will be released this week, just not positive when. Because, again, Gen Con.
ARTICLE
Iconic Design: Starfinder Battle Leader
By Alex Augunas
Alex (replacing Dustin, who will in turn replace Alex over the next two weeks) follows up on a statement he made in his previous article. In Dev Pit: Designing Archetypes for Starfinder 101, he listed the Battle Leader as one of the best archetypes in Starfinder. This week, he dusts off Iconic Design and presents build of the battle leader he’s playing in the Signal of Screams Adventure Path.
Phantasmal Killer—The Skill Trap
By Crystal Frasier
Y’all. This article, y’all. All-or-nothing checks are the worst. Crystal’s example about the bomb either getting disarmed or the campaign ending is all too relatable. As I was reading the article, I was thinking about how the bomb isn’t the threat because it can’t be or else the campaign ends, so instead have every failure to disarm it deals Wisdom damage or extend the duration of a stupefied condition as the pressure starts getting to the PC.
An article that inspires ideas as I read it is my favourite kind of article.
Thursday, July 30th
TWITCH
Gen Con Online Seminar Coverage Day 1
Featuring: Paizo 2020 & Beyond; Paizo Preview Q&A; Level Up – Building Characters with the Advanced Player’s Guide; Behind the Pages with Lyz Liddell; and Pathfinder Adventure Overview.
PODCAST
Know Direction 229 – Advanced Player’s Guide Breakdown with Mark Seifter
This was great. We’re still working out our breakdown format and expectations. Before this one, we underestimated the Gamemastery Guide, overestimated Bestiary 2 and Lost Omens: Legends, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with the APG. Ends up, it needed even more time than the GMG. So yeah, the time a breakdown needs is dictated by the number of sections. Bestiaries and Legends are basically one section books. The APG? More. Much more. It needed the entire 3+ hour episode dedicated to it. And it’s a tonne of fun.
ARTICLE
Something Creates! – An Adventure (Quest #3 Outline)
By Andrew Sturtevant
I’m going to call myself out on something here. I try to read blogs before sharing them to social media so that if I need to find an original image (which is better for search engine optimization), I can find one that represents the heart of the article. I didn’t have the time for that here so I skimmed the article and found out Andrew was thinking of bringing the bloatmage into Starfinder. Great, I thought. I searched for bloatmage images, found a digital rendering of the Pathfinder Battles miniature from the Paizo blog, and used that.
Thankfully, Andrew reached out as asked me to replace the image with a different one, which I did. When I finally had the time to read the blog, I saw the mistake I made. Immediately after mentioning wanting to use the bloatmage, Andrew explained why: He liked the blood banking theme of the archetype, but wanted to move it away from the body shaming history. By attaching a prototypical image of the 1e bloatmage, I was applying a visual that ran contrary to the social advancement Andrew was hoping for.
Randal Reads APG 2e: Ch 1 – Ancestries and Backgrounds (part 1)
Randal’s reading again! Last year, Randal reviewed the Core Rulebook one chapter at a time (breaking his review across multiple installments for particularly robust chapters). He’s doing it again with the Advanced Player’s Guide, starting with the catfolk and kobold ancestries.
Friday, July 31st
TWITCH
Gen Con Online Seminar Coverage Day 2
Featuring: Inside the Newest Playtest; Behind the Pages with Robert McCreary, Starfinder Creative Director, Jason Tondro, Developer, Jason Keeley, Developer, and Joe Pasini, Lead Designer, Behind the Pages with Luis Loza; The Age of Lost Omens – Pathfinder Society Guide; Delving into Organized Play with Tonya Woldridge, Organized Play Manager
PODCAST
Intrepid Heroes 040 – Moving On
As of this writing, I’m on Intrepid Heroes episode 25. That means I have 25 episodes to listen to before episode 50, and John has 10 episodes to release before episode 50. The race is on!
ARTICLE
Bend the Knee – Global Domination
By Loren Sieg
Hey, I did this one! Green Ronin Publishing staff designer Steve Kenson and fan and freelancers Dave Nelson did too! It’s a Bend The Knee about crafting a high stakes super villain.
Randal Reads APG 2e: Ch 1 – Ancestries and Backgrounds (part 2)
Randal’s still reviewing the APG Ancestries and Backgrounds chapter, finishing off the ancestries with the orc, ratfolk, and tengu, and introduces the idea of versatile heritages.
Saturday, August 1st
TWITCH
Gen Con Online Seminar Coverage Day 3
Featuring: Behind the Products with Mark Moreland, Director of Brand Strategy; Ask the Experts: Pathfinder RPG; Behind the Pages with Jason Bulmahn, Director of Game Design; Building a Starship in the Starfinder RPG; Behind the Pages with John Compton.
ARTICLE
Randal Reads APG 2e: Ch 1 – Ancestries and Backgrounds (part 3)
Randal reviews the versatile heritages, changling, dhampir, aasimar, duskwalker, and tiefling, in the APG Ancestries and Backgrounds chapter.
Sunday, August 2nd
TWITCH
Gen Con Online Seminar Coverage Day 4
Featuring: The ABCs of Pathfinder Characterbuilding; Pathfinder Adventure Path: Agents of Edgewatch & Beyond; Behind the Pages with Ron Lundeen, Developer; Ask the Experts: Starfinder RPG
ARTICLE
Randal Reads APG 2e: Ch 1 – Ancestries and Backgrounds (part 4)
Randal finishes reviewing the APG Ancestries and Backgrounds chapter with a look at backgrounds, both common and rare.
Preview of August 3rd to 7th
This is back to Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.
Monday, August 3rd
PODCAST
It’s been a busy week, and unfortunately that means Adventurous is late. Hopefully today, though!
ARTICLE
Recall Knowledge (also available now)
Remember Gen Con Online?
Randal Reads APG 2e: Ch 2 – Classes (part 1)
In the fifth installment of Randal Reads the APG, Randal has reached Chapter 2: Classes, and starts by talking about the investigator and the oracle.
Tuesday, August 4th
PODCAST
Legend Lore 008 – Wizard Class Feature
You’re a wizard, Batman!
ARTICLE
Randal Reads APG 2e: Ch 2 – Classes (part 2)
Randal pulls double duty today, continuing his look at the new classes by covering the swashbuckler and the witch.
Wednesday, August 5th
TWITCH
The Starship Operations Manual has landed and the KD Beyond team is here to break it down. I know they’ve been itching to dive into this book because they wrote a huge chunk of it.
PODCAST
Presenting: Paizo freelancer James Abendroth
James is a novelist, publisher, and long time gaming freelance author.
ARTICLE
Fox’s Cunning by Dustin Knight
Dustin returns the favour and covers Alex this week, continuing his Summon-Dex series, now with APG content!
Thursday, August 6th
ARTICLE
Friday, August 7th
PODCAST
Know Direction: Beyond – Starship Operations Manual Breakdown
ARTICLE
Monstrous Physique by Luis Loza
Important Reminders
Like a bulletin board of all the adventures you should be on.
- Gen Con Online Coverage: The con’s done, which means the seminar recordings! They aren’t mentioned above, but expect the KD Con Team’s Gen Con coverage to begin releasing either this week or next.
- Randal’s Patreon: In addition to all the APG reading and reviewing and his regular blog, Groundbreaking, Randal GMs the Societous play-by-post channel on the Know Direction Discord server. He designed the Halfmug Tavern Sage bot, which knows Pathfinder 2e rules and helps run an immersive pbp experience. He has a Patreon that helps fund the bot, which is honestly an awestriking piece of code that changes the play-by-post game.
Now you know,
Ryan Costello
