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.
For the past few weeks, I’ve talked about my first PaizoCon experience, my last in-person PaizoCon experiences, and everything in between. Today marks the last day of PaizoCon Online 2021, but for me the con ended yesterday. And I have thoughts.
First of all, where was the stress? Unlike last year, the Know Direction Network didn’t produce the PaizoCon seminars. Dragons And Things producer 2 Kings Entertainment handled the technical side of the event. Perram, Loren, John, and myself acted as on air personalities. We were on standby in case seminars ran short or had technical issues -neither of which happened- and we hosted the pre-shows and a few interview segments. Basically, what you saw us doing was all we had to do.
Not only that, but without travel, expenses, and a 1:00 – 9:00 pm window where I was working, I was able to sleep in, spent time with my family before and after the con, even have some healthy, homemade meals (one of which I shared in the PaizoCon discord server’s whats-cooking-recipe-discussion channel). It’s nice to have a PaizoCon without the travel wear, tiredness, time away from my family, and expenses.
Second of all, something came up a few times that I want to address. The idea that the future of PaizoCon will be a hybrid online/in-person convention. I don’t object to PaizoCon 2022 being a hybrid con, only that it’s being called the first hybrid PaizoCon. Since 2018, when Perram spearheaded live streaming from the con, including taking questions from a global audience online, PaizoCon has been hybrid. The online gaming component is new, but one of the reasons that PaizoCon Online 2020 happened despite a tiny planning window is because of Perram’s experience in the area from the previous years.
Finally, seminar coverage. The plan is to start releasing the 21 seminar recordings two at a time starting next Monday, June 7th. However, our patrons will receive them as they’re edited. Patrons, expect the first seminars to start releasing Wednesday.
Speaking of network content, here’s a recap of what you might have missed last week from the Know Direction Network:
Recap of May 24th to May 28th
What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?
Monday, May 24th
Article
Recall Knowledge – PaizoCon Memories: PaizoCon 2016-2020
By Ryan Costello
I shared my thoughts on my most recent 5 PaizoCons.
Tuesday, May 25th
Podcast
Legend Lore 026 — Dwarves
Luis is back! He and Loren talk dwarves, which reminded me how much setting-specific lore Pathfinder dwarves have. From the quest for sky to their clan daggers, if you like mining (heh) setting for character inspiration, dwarves are a great choice of ancestry.
Article
Fox’s Cunning – Energy Type Rundown
By Dustin Knight
You can tell Dustin loves charts and new Bestiaries. Here he lays out the energy types you are most likely to encounter when facing adversaries from the first three Bestiaries, as well as what energies those adversaries are resistant to.
Wednesday, May 26th
Patreon
Patron’s Private Sanctum 21
With the Snake Eyes teaser trailer out, DebrickWookie wanted to hear my thoughts. Even though I didn’t have many, it lead to a lot of fun G.I. Joe follow-up questions from Perram, a topic, it ends up, I’m always ready to talk about.
Podcast
Presenting – Perram
Hey, it’s Perram! Always nice to see Perram get the spotlight, talking about his history with the network and the impact he’s had on the hobby.
Article
Guidance, Gibbering Mouth — Unlocking Ancestry Boons in OP, Is It Too Much?
By Alex Augunas
Well this blew up. Similar to Perram’s reaction to how hard it was for Pathfinder Society players to access any content in Lost Omens Ancestry Guide, Alex looks at the numbers and calculates how many hours players need to spend to access uncommon and rare ancestries.
This article spread around, with Paizo’s Organized Play staff addressing it publicly on social media. I am glad Alex did his research and wrote a thorough, informed article. The same topic handled as a pure opinion piece could have done damage and look like a hit piece. But I know Alex considers ancestries an important part of character creation, and he feels strongly about having some of Pathfinder’s more noteworthy original ancestries inaccessible.
Thursday, May 27th
Podcast
Valiant Episode 17: In Which They Meet A Priestess
More fun character interactions as the party explores the ramifications of their recent brush with godhood before moving on.
Article
Investing In: PaizoCon 2021 Hype
By Rob Pontious
Rob goes over the PaizoCon Online 2021 schedule, highlighting the seminars he’s particularly excited about.
Friday, May 28th
Article
Monstrous Physique — Forest Drake & Lava Drake (PF2E)
By Luis Loza
Coinciding with PaizoCon, you may have missed that Luis continued his series updating Ironfang Invasion monsters to Pathfinder 2e. Check out his take on a couple of classic drakes.
Preview of May 31st to June 4th
This is back to Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.
Monday, May 31st
Article
Recall Knowledge –PaizoCon Online 2021
By Ryan Costello
And that’s a wrap on PaizoCon Online 2021.
Oh! That reminds me: Because of how busy the Know Direction network staff gets at PaizoCon, there’s a chance some of the below doesn’t drop. Everyone who needs the week to recover from the seminar coverage, gaming, or network they were involved in is free to take it.
Tuesday, June 1st
Podcast
Digital Divination 031
John and Ron talk about Starfinder from the perspectives of a fan and a Paizo developer.
Article
Burst of Insight by Andrew Marlowe
Andrew Marlowe shares GM and design advice for and from other game systems.
Wednesday, June 2nd
Twitch
Know Direction 251 Live –PaizoCon Online 2021 in Review
Podcast
Game Design Unboxed 16 – Orphans & Ashes
Danielle Reynolds and Denice have me on to talk about Orphans & Ashes, the first game I designed based on Looking For Group. Wow, that’s a triple dose of me today!
Article
Behind The Screens by Ryan Costello
I deconstruct common GM advice and offer tips and tricks that have improved my games.
Thursday, June 3rd
Podcast
Know Direction 251 –PaizoCon Online 2021 in Review
PaizoCon Online is next week, and we’re here to talk all about it!
Article
Something Creates by Andrew Sturtevant
Andrew Sturtevant creates Starfinder content, and shares insight into his decisions and his struggles along the way.
Friday, June 4th
Podcast
Intrepid Heroes 61
An actual play podcast of the Starfinder Adventure Path Dawn of Flame from Paizo.
Bend the Knee Heightened By Loren Sieg
Loren asks members of an actual play podcast an elaborate question about their tabletop gaming opinions.
Now you know,
Ryan Costello
