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’ve been talking a lot about how busy I’ve been with a deadline. It didn’t just affect my network participation, but my home life as well and, by extension, my gaming time. I managed to fit in one session of Vanessa’s Abomination Vaults campaign in the last two months, at which I retired my wyrmblooded sorcerer Blister and introduced Savior, my automaton inventor with the time traveler background.
Have you ever had a character that just wasn’t working for you? I’ve talked about how I’ve struggled to make effective, fun 2e characters, such as my Snake Eyes-inspired ranger Seyes in Randal’s Societous play-by-post on the Know Direction Discord, and, to a lesser extent, Spruce Spanner, my leshy alchemist for Luis’ Legend Lore Special Edition adventure. Seyes was serviceable in his mediocracy, and Spruce was so much fun to roleplay it didn’t matter how badly I botched the build. But Blister was the peak of bad characters. His personality didn’t fit the group, his build was completely useless, and I just wasn’t having fun playing him.
If you ever find yourself in this situation, I strongly suggest cutting your loses. Not only was I missing opportunities for a good time by forcing myself to keep giving this losing effort another chance, I was impacting everyone else’s ability to have the most fun they could. No one wants to play with someone who’s always annoyed, and their characters had to pick up my slack.
As soon as I switched to Savior, I felt energized. The personality’s big, the play style’s in line with the characters I enjoy, and he’s filling a gap that makes the team more effective. Everyone’s better off thanks to this switch, and the only loss was accepting that Blister didn’t live up to his potential.
One reason I built a character outside of my normal playstyle was to achieve an old goal I set for myself to play every 2e class. Now that I’m not hosting Know Direction, I’ve lost much of my motivation to do so. So I took this opportunity to play a class I know I enjoyed (at least in the playtest), regardless of the potential for network content.
Speaking of network content, here’s a recap of the Know Direction Network content that came from last week:
Recap of May 2nd to May 6th
What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?
Monday, May 2nd
Twitch
Know Direction 275 Live – Knights of Lastwall Sneak Preview
Luis and Vanessa preview Knights of Lastwall Chapter 3 – Knights of Lastwall Options. And let me tell you, it may not seem like it, but the name of the chapter gave me so many issues properly describing what the episode would be about.
Podcast
Intrepid Heroes 085 – The End!
With the conclusion of Dawn of Flames, Intrepid Heroes becomes the first Know Direction Network actual play to complete a campaign. And they’re still going strong, picking up the Starfinder Horizons of the Vast adventure path next episode, with GM Ron Lundeen!
Article
Now You Know – Intrepid Achievement
By Ryan Costello
I congratulate the cast of Intrepid Heroes for their accomplishment.
Tuesday, May 3rd
Article
Eldritch Excursion – Big Heroic Six
By Nate Wright
I’ve long heard the complaints about the Big Six magic items in Pathfinder 2e, and while it wasn’t as much of an issue for my groups as it’s been described, I thought I understood the issue. After reading Nate’s breakdown, I get it on a whole new level.
Wednesday, May 4th
Podcast
Know Direction 275 – Knights of Lastwall Sneak Preview
I haven’t written much for Pathfinder 2e, but I got to write a few thousand words spread across the book, including the Backgrounds in the chapter Luis and Vanessa preview in this episode. Luis even called out that you can expect clever wordplay in my section. It’s nice to feel seen.
But seriously, this is the release I’m most excited about of the PF2 books coming out this year. Which, somehow, still isn’t that many. But PaizoCon’s around the corner.
Oh! You may have noticed KD came out Wednesday. That’s going to be the new normal going forward, with Game Design Unboxed moving to Tuesdays in a few weeks.
Game Design Unboxed 36: Cascadia
Danielle speaks with Randy Flynn about Flatout Games’ Cascadia. It sounds like a game I’d enjoy, but I have to be honest: My favourite part of the interview was him defending that Cascadia was a strong name for the game even if people don’t know what Cascadia means.
Thursday, May 5th
Podcast
Digital Divination 056 – Tips for Switching over to Starfinder
I don’t know the sales numbers or have any insight into Starfinder’s audience, but I believe that new players continue to discover it. As long as people go back and forth between D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e, Starfinder will be a common stopover for variety’s sake. So if you or someone you know is interested in trying Starfinder, John and Ron have you covered with the rules to watch out for.
Preview of May 9th to May 13th
This is back to Block 2 of our 2-block schedule.
Monday, May 9th
Podcast
Valiant Episode 34: In Which They’re Stymied By a Door
As a GM who’s had to wait out their players as they explore every option of overcoming a dead end, I strongly related to Luis’ latest installment of Hey It’s Me, Luis, Your Valiant GM.
Article
Now You Know – When It’s Time To Change Characters
By Ryan Costello
Sometimes you just have to rip off that blister.
Tuesday, May 10th
Podcast
Young And Adventurous – Lost Maid of Anactoria 005
Scott D Young GMs the old Adventurous crew through a modified version of an adventure he wrote for Paizo, Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-17: Lost Maid of Anactoria.
Article
Fox’s Cunning
By Dustin Knight
Dustin offers expert insight and helpful tools to enhance your game..
Wednesday, May 11th
Twitch
Know Direction: Beyond 69 Live – Drift Crisis the Interview
John Compton joins Alex and James to talk Starfinder.
Podcast
Presenting: James Beck
John Godek chats with James Beck from Deadly D8.
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, May 12th
Podcast
Legend Lore 43 – Witches
Luis and Loren talk Witches in the latest Class Feature.
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.
Friday, May 13th
Podcast
Know Direction: Beyond 69 – Drift Crisis the Interview
Nope, not saying “Nice”.
Now you know,
Ryan Costello
