Every week, Now You Know recaps the Know Direction content of the past week, previews the Know Direction content of the week to come, as the director of operations, Ryan Costello, shares his thoughts on the state of the network.
The OGL debacle brought a lot of new eyes to our content, in particular our YouTube video on the history of the OGL, and a couple of Tweets with more reach that we’re used to. It also made a lot of TTRPG gamers try Pathfinder (and I mean a lot) for the first time.
Other sites covered introducing new gamers to Pathfinder 2e already, but if you’re new to the Know Direction Network, welcome! We’ve been producing original TTRPG news, reviews, and interviews network since Oct 30, 2007, when we launched a podcast dedicated to 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons, along with written reviews of D&D 3.5 sourcebooks. We launched shortly after WotC announced that they were working on a 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. We thought we would provide commentary of interest to gamers who preferred D&D 3.5, with the reviews meant to help gamers decide what out of print books were worth tracking down.
Within a few months, we found out that Paizo had the same idea on a much larger scale. Even though 3.5 Private Sanctuary went on for years, it eventually evolved into The Private Sanctuary Podcast, a talk show dedicated to Pathfinder topics. But first, we launched what was meant to be a sister podcast to cover Pathfinder news: Know Direction.
As Pathfinder grew, it overtook 3.5 as the focus of our content. Eventually, we added more podcasts, started sharing recordings of Paizo’s convention seminars, and our first blogger: Alex Augunas. With all this growth, we became a network proper. And for years, it seemed we were the only podcasters dedicated to Pathfinder.
That’s changed over the years. Pathfinder Actual Plays like The Glass Cannon and Dice Will Roll grew to prominence. Other Pathfinder talk shows launched, like Rise of the Rulelords. And the launch of Pathfinder 2e kicked off an influx of YouTube channels and content, like Deadly D8, How It’s Played, and Nonat1s.
Although we still release regular content, staffing changes forced our Pathfinder onto hiatus in the middle of last year. For now, you can still listen to our Starfinder content, our Actual Play Intrepid Heroes and talk show Digital Divination. We also cover content that might be of interest to Pathfinder players, namely our board game design podcast Game Design Unboxed and our Essence20 RPG talk show Upshift. And if you’re eager for a return to Pathfinder podcast content, we have news in the Network Update, below. In the meantime, our blogs cover Pathfinder, Starfinder, Essence20, and other RPG content.
Know Direction staff includes Paizo staff Luis Loza, Vanessa Hoskins, and Dustin Knight, frequent Paizo contributors Alex Augunas, Jason Keeley, Owen KC Stephens, John Godek, Jessica Redekop, Scott D. Young, Nate Wright, Michelle Jones, and myself, as well as Cathy Dolan, James Ballod, Loren Sieg, Randal Meyer, Rob Pontious, and Danielle Reynolds. We’re a collection of gaming professionals and passionate players, sharing our love of the hobby with our audience.
And you’re always welcome at the Know Direction Network.
Network Update
Not mentioned on the staff list, our new co-hosts of the Know Direction Podcast. We want to keep their identities a surprise.
“Wait,” you might be saying if you listened to the introduction of the hosts on the Know Direction Network Patreon. “Wasn’t one of the hosts listed?”
Unfortunately, we’ve had to change our plans. One of the announced hosts has to deal with personal issues and so won’t be able to contribute after all. We have another new host lined up, but we won’t be announcing who until they record their first episode.
On the subject of announcing content after it’s recorded, expect the return of Legend Lore soon! Our Pathfinder 2e talk show, formerly hosted by Luis Loza and Loren Sieg, returns in February. Loren’s back, and is joined by Jessica Redekop. Since 2019, Jessica’s contributed to over a dozen product for Paizo. She’ll be filling the designer perspective, while Loren continues to fill the fan perspective. I look forward to listening to their dynamic, and see what topics the duo covers together.
Recap of January 23rd to January 27th
What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?
Monday, January 23rd
Article
Now You Know – Office (Adventuring) Parties
I talk about all of the TTRPG gaming that goes on at my office.
Tuesday, January 24th
Podcast
Game Design Unboxed 55: Lost for Words
Find out how Lost for Words co-designer Ami Baio’s research brings out the best in her language games.
Article
Eldritch Excursion – Bibbidi Bobbidi Bang
By Nate Wright
Nate fires off another round of magical firearm options.
Thursday, January 26th
Podcast
Digital Divination 075 – ORC License Implications for Starfinder
John and Jason talk about how they see Paizo’s ORC license affecting Starfinder.
Friday, January 27th
Podcast
Upshift 011 – New Player Friendly
After you have new players agree to try out Essence20, what options are best for them?
Preview of January 30th to February 3rd
This is back to Block 2 of our 2-block schedule.
Note: Because of the holidays, some of the below content might not see release this week.
Monday, January 30th
Article
Now You Know – Get To Know Know Direction
It’s so weird that we took forever to join Twitter, then it looked like everyone abandoned Twitter, and now Twitter is the area in which we’re growing the most.
Wednesday, February 1st
Podcast
Presenting: Isabelle Thorne
John speaks with TTRPG freelancer Sen.H.H.S about her work on Pathfinder, Starfinder, and other games.
Thursday, February 2nd
Article
Investing In
By Rob Pontious
Rob shares what he loves about the RPGs he’s been playing lately, and why you should check them out.
Now you know,
Ryan Costello
