Sunday, January 29, 2012

1st Edition Reprints

 WOTC announced last week the company plans to reprint the first three books for 1st edition AD&D, the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual in premium limited editions.  Of course, the company is charging what buyers would have considered a premium price back when the books first came out.  Today, customers don’t bat an eye at paying almost double what the original books sold for back in the late 1970s/early 80s.  We have taken pre-orders for two sets, I know of one store that has pre-orders for over a dozen and another that pre-sold 40 copies the first weekend after the announcement.  Not bad, considering that WOTC will reprint the books in the original black and white, with the complete set retailing for just under $115.  The fact that WOTC announced it will make a contribution (amount currently unknown) to help put into place the planned Gary Gygax statue in Lake Geneva for each book sold has probably helped sales as well. At the store, it certainly picked up interest in our collection of 1st edition AD&D books.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Pre-orders Please

When customers pre-order items, it really helps us gauge the level of interest in the game or book.  The store puts in pre-orders 2-3 months ahead of the estimated release date of the game or book and, once we do that, we are committee to purchasing that quantity of the item from our distributor. Sure we can refuse to take delivery of it, but a store can only do that once before getting a reputation as an unreliable partner with suppliers.

In effect, stores gamble that we know what our customers want and in most cases, we are correct. Those stores that aren't, go out of business.  However, pre-orders allow us to better gauge the level of interest in a product and we get very few of them on most new releases.  Of the half dozen Pathfinder releases in January, and despite the fact that we have a comparatively large Pathfinder Society group, we had a pre-order for exactly one of them.  Pathfinder modules sell very slowly, so we have moved to a special order only on them.  Pazio mapping tiles and flip mats also move periodically.  We sat on a number of the flipmats for several months before most of them sold so are loath to restock them heavily.

Similarly in the field of comics, we had a customer in recently asking if we had gotten in the new hardback collection of Teenage Mutant Turtles comics.  Since we don't sell a lot of the comic off the rack, that indicates to us there is not much interest in a hardback collection of earlier issues. A pre-order on this book would have indicated there was and probalby encouraged us to order another one for the shelf.

Help us have the items on the shelf that you want to buy by either letting us know you are interested in it, or better yet, committing to a pre-order for it. That helps us manage our inventory better and lets us offer a more targeted selection to you.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Pazio Releases

Here's a list of upcoming Pazio releases for the next few months, courtesy of Alliance:

SKU
TITLE
PRICE
Street Date





PZO 1001
Pathfinder Pathfinder RPG Bestiary Box
$34.99
RPG
5/16/2012

The brutal beasts of the Pathfinder Bestiary come alive on your tabletop with this box-busting collection of 300 creature pawns for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or any tabletop fantasy RPG! Printed on sturdy cardstock, each pawn contains a beautiful, full-color image of a nasty monster from the core Pathinder RPG monster reference. The Bestiary Box is the best way to ensure youÕve got the right creatures to push your Pathfinder campaign to the next level!








PZO 1002
Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise/Runelords Ann Ed HC
$59.99
RPG
6/19/2012

The original Pathfinder Adventure Path returns in this complete hardcover edition celebrating five years of Pathfinder and 10 years of Paizo Publishing! Expanded and updated to the current Pathfinder RPG rules, this unprecedented collection brings together six classic Pathfinder adventures to create an entire campaign! The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path begins with a goblin attack and takes players on an epic journey through the land of Varisia as they track a cult of serial killers, fight depraved backwoods ogres, stop an advancing army of stone giants, delve deep into ancient dungeons to reclaim weapons of unbelievable power, and finally go up against an all-powerful wizard-king in his ancient mountaintop city.








PZO 1003
Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise/Runelords Pawn Collection
$15.99
RPG
6/19/2012

Key monsters and NPCs from the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path come alive on your tabletop with this collection of more than 100 creature pawns for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or any tabletop fantasy RPG!








PZO 1104
Visions/War Art of Wayne Reynolds HC
$29.99
RPG
5/16/2012

Take a journey through the amazing worlds of master artist Wayne Reynolds with Visions of WAR, a retrospective of more than 10 years of work from today's leading fantasy illustrator! Packed with full-color covers, interior art, and card art from award-winning work on brands like the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering, and more, this exciting overview includes behind-the-scenes stories about some of fantasy's most exciting images, as well as gorgeous paintings you've never seen before!








PZO 1121
Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide HC
$39.99
RPG
4/18/2012

This definitive sourcebook for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game provides tons of new character options for all seven "core" player character races. Additionally, the Advanced Race Guide offers meaty sections on a dozen "spotlight" races that make interesting and exciting player character options, such as goblins, aasimar, tieflings, dhampyrs, drow, the elemental races from Bestiary 2, and several others, and, for the first time, allows players to create and play characters like merfolk, grippli, duergar, stryx, and every other appropriate monster currently in the Pathfinder game.








PZO 3022
Gamemastery Item Cards Skull & Shackles
$10.99
RPG
2/22/2012

Lay claim to the high seas with a scallywag's stockpile of weapons, magic items, and other plunder. The riches of pirate kings and lost empires awaits discovery in the Skull & Shackles Pathfinder Adventure Path. This 54-card set of beautifully illustrated, full-color item cards allows you to track your newest and most dastardly treasures in vibrant detail.








PZO 3023
Gamemastery Buff Deck
$10.99
RPG
5/16/2012

Track your hero's bonuses and important status effects with the GameMastery: Buff Deck! This beautifully designed accessory speeds up play and cuts down on rulebook consultation during battles by laying out your character's relevant bonuses in an easy-to-add format. From spells like bless, haste, and prayer to class features like a bard's ability to inspire courage, the Buff Deck puts all the details at your fingertips, leaving you to concentrate on smiting your enemies!








PZO 3024
Gamemastery Face Cards Rise/Runelords Ad Path
$10.99
RPG
6/19/2012

More than 50 key monsters and characters put their best face forward in this gorgeously illustrated deck designed for use with the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path. With space on the back to record key information and the work of PaizoÕs finest illustrators on the front, these Face Cards bring the friends and foes of the original Adventure Path campaign to your tabletop, aiding immersion in the game and letting your players look directly into the face of the enemy.








PZO 4036
Gamemastery Map Pack Ships Cabins
$12.99
RPG
2/22/2012

GameMastery Map Pack: Ship's Cabin contains 18 full-color, 5 x 8-inch map tiles, stunningly crafted by cartographer Jason Engle, that combine to form a variety of seaworthy locales fit for both pirates and privateers! These tiles also link up with Flip-Mat: Pirate Ship. Locations include: Captain's Cabin, Officer's Cabin, Sailors' Quarters, Cargo Hold, Galley, and Bilge.








PZO 4038
Gamemastery Map Pack Marketplace
$12.99
RPG
6/19/2012

This GameMastery Map Pack contains 18 full-color, 5 x 8-inch map tiles, stunningly crafted by cartographer Jason A. Engle, that combine to form a variety of marketplace configurations fit for both shopping and chopping.








PZO 8507
Pathfinder Tales Song o/t Serpent
$9.99
Novel
2/22/2012

by Hugh Matthews To an experienced thief like Krunzle the Quick, the merchant nation of Druma is full of treasures just waiting to be liberated. Yet when the fast-talking scoundrel gets caught stealing from one of the most powerful prophets of Kalistrade, the only option is to undertake a dangerous mission to recover the merchantlord's runaway daughter - and the magical artifact she took with her! Armed with an arsenal of decidedly unhelpful magical items and chaperoned by an intelligent snake necklace happy to choke him into submission, Krunzle must venture far from the cities of the merchant utopia and into a series of adventures that will make him a rich man - or a corpse!








PZO 8508
Pathfinder Tales City of the Fallen Sky
$9.99
Novel
4/18/2012

Once a student of alchemy with the dark scholars of the Technic League, Alaeron fled their arcane order when his conscience got the better of him, taking with him a few strange devices of unknown function. Now in hiding in a distant city, heÕs happy to use his skills creating minor potions and wonders - at least until the back-alley rescue of an adventurer named Jaya lands him in trouble with a powerful crime lord! From Hugo Award-winner Tim Pratt comes a new fantastical adventure set in the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.








PZO 8509
Pathfinder Tales Nightglass
$9.99
Novel
6/19/2012

In the grim nation of Nidal, carefully chosen children are trained to practice dark magic for the greater glory of the Midnight Lord. Isiem is one such student, a promising young shadowcaster who's dispatched on a diplomatic mission to the mountains of the Devil's Perch, where he's meant to assist the armies of devil-worshiping Cheliax in clearing out a tribe of monstrous winged humanoids. Yet as the body count rises and Isiem comes face to face with the people he's exterminating, lines begin to blur, and the shadowcaster must ask himself who the real monsters are. From Liane Merciel, critically acclaimed author of The River King's Road and Heaven's Needle, comes a fantastical tale of darkness and redemption set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.








PZO 9054
Pathfinder Adv Path: Jade Regent Part 6 - Empty Throne
$19.99
RPG


War has come to Minkai! As resistance rises against the Jade Regent's tyranny, the heroes must escort their friend Ameiko to one final site - the Imperial Shrine on a hidden island in the capital's harbor. Here they must seek the blessing of Minkai's dead emperors if they hope to liberate the nation - but the Five Storms and the Jade Regent have their influence, and hungry demons and ravenous ghosts yet stand in their way! A Pathfinder adventure for 14th-level characters, The Empty Throne concludes the Jade Regent Adventure Path.








PZO 9055
Pathfinder Adv Path: Skull & Shackles Pt 1 - Wormwood Mutiny
$19.99
RPG
2/22/2012

The adventurers wake up in the hold of a ship at sea, only to discover they've been press-ganged into a crew of scoundrels, thieves, and buccaneers from the pirate isles of the Shackles. When they're assigned to a captured ship as part of a skeleton crew, the adventurers finally have a chance to stage a mutiny, but a sudden storm strands them on an isolated island inhabited by strange monsters? Can the adventurers survive the dangers of the island to overthrow their cruel captors and take control of their own destinies? A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 1st-level characters, this volume launches the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path.








PZO 9056
Pathfinder Adv Path: Skull & Shackles Pt 2 - Raiders of the Fever Sea
$19.99
RPG


Now masters of their own ship, the adventurers can become pirates in their own right, but they must first rename and refit their stolen ship. But to be considered equals by the pirates of the Shackles, they have to prove themselves worthy of the name. When they discover a treasure map tattooed on a defeated pirate rival, the adventurers go in search of buried treasure. If found, they'll have enough plunder to return to the Shackles as true Free Captains! A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 4th-level characters, Raiders of the Fever Sea continues the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path.








PZO 9057
Pathfinder Adv Path: Skull & Shackles Pt 3 - Raiders of the Fever Sea
$19.99
RPG
4/18/2012

Now masters of their own ship, the adventurers can become pirates in their own right, but they must first rename and refit their stolen ship. But to be considered equals by the pirates of the Shackles, they have to prove themselves worthy of the name. When they discover a treasure map tattooed on a defeated pirate rival, the adventurers go in search of buried treasure. If found, they'll have enough plunder to return to the Shackles as true Free Captains! A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 4th-level characters, Raiders of the Fever Sea continues the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path.








PZO 9058
Pathfinder Adv Path: Skull & Shackles Pt 4 - Island of Empty Eyes
$19.99
RPG
5/16/2012

Having won the Free Captain's Regatta, the adventurers must now claim their prize - the uninhabited and dangerous Island of Empty Eyes. After exploring strange ruins and fighting the island's monstrous denizens, the adventurers must host a feast for their new peers on the Pirate Council. But a mysterious saboteur threatens to disrupt the party! Continuing the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, Island of Empty Eyes is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 9th-level characters.








PZO 9059
Pathfinder Adv Path: Skull & Shackles Pt 5 - Price of Infamy
$19.99
RPG
6/19/2012

The adventurers now have their own island and port, but they'll need more than one ship to defend it. But when a rival from their past sends a fleet to attack them, they must defend their island home! Continuing the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, The Price of Infamy is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 11th-level characters.








PZO 9243
Pathfinder Camp Setting Distant Worlds
$19.99
RPG
2/22/2012

Explore the solar system of the Pathfinder campaign setting with Distant Worlds! Along with extensive gazetteers and maps of each of the numerous planets of this system (including the war-torn Red Planet of Akiton, the undead world of Eox, the primeval Green Planet of Castrovel, gas giants, asteroids, moons, and more), this sourcebook includes guidelines for traveling from world to world and exploring the dark depths of outer space. Rules for several new monsters, alien races, and magic round out the otherworldly offerings.








PZO 9244
Pathfinder Camp Setting Isle of the Shackles
$19.99
RPG


This Pathfinder sourcebook explores one of the Inner Sea region's most notorious realms - the pirate isles known as the Shackles. Here, pirates from throughout the region congregate, yet not all of the Shackles isles are civilized, even by buccaneers and freebooters. Some hold ancient cyclopean ruins and lost treasures, while others are infested with horrific monsters and savage beasts. Isles of the Shackles explores these islands, providing dozens of interesting and exciting sites for adventures and makes a perfect companion to the Skull & Shackles Pathfinder Adventure Path.








PZO 9245
Pathfinder Camp Setting Giants Revisited
$19.99
RPG
4/18/2012

This Pathfinder sourcebook explores the societies, ecologies, mythologies, and secrets of ten of the most memorable races of giant-kind, including hill giants, stone giants, frost giants, fire giants, cloud giants, storm giants, rune giants, marsh giants, taiga giants, and cyclopes. Each chapter includes full statistics for a sample leader or jarl, as well as new rules like feats, spells, and magical items crafted not just by these towering monsters, but by those who seek to fight against them.








PZO 9246
Pathfinder Camp Setting Lost Kingdoms
$19.99
RPG
5/16/2012

Six of the most mysterious and legendary ancient empires from Golarion's past cast a long shadow into the present in this secret-packed Pathfinder sourcebook. Explore the monolithic, jungle-draped ziggurats of the ancient cyclops ruins of Ghol-Gan, walk among the towering, megalithic ruins of sin-shrouded Thassilon, or seek your fate among the trap-laden pyramid tombs of ancient Osirion, along with three other legendary realms. Each of the six lost kingdoms detailed in this book come rife with adventure hooks, details on ancient treasures, and statistics for the deadly guardians who lurk there still.








PZO 9247
Pathfinder Camp Set Skull/Shackles Pstr Map
$19.99
RPG
6/19/2012

Command the seas of the Pathfinder world with the Skull & Shackles Poster Map Folio! Chart your pirate empire on three huge, 8-panel poster maps - one of the pirate city of Port Peril, the unexplored Island of Empty Eyes, and the entire Shackles Isles region.








PZO 9422
Pathfinder Player Companion Pirates/Inn Sea
$10.99
RPG
2/22/2012

Details on pirate strongholds, from the tropical isles of the Shackles to the Varisian city of Riddleport and beyond, present a wide range of options for freebooters, corsairs, scallywags, and even government-sponsored privateers throughout the Inner Sea region. Pirate-themed archetypes, new spells and magic, feats, piratical character traits, a pirate slang primer, and more await plunder in this player-friendly Pathfinder sourcebook!








PZO 9423
Pathfinder Player Companion Blood of Fiends
$10.99
RPG
4/18/2012

They have been shunned and feared by society forever. Born of tainted bloodlines and raised in shameful secrecy, the tieflings of Golarion count among their ancestors some of the greatest evils of the Great Beyond. Yet not all tieflings succumb to the sinister compulsions of their evil blood - some strive to rise above the stereotype and become heroes in their own right. This Pathfinder sourcebook explores all that it is to be a tiefling, including not only an extensive discussion of tiefling culture and society, but also presenting numerous variations on the standard tiefling character.








PZO 9424
Pathfinder Player Companion Blood of Angels
$10.99
RPG
6/19/2012

Idolized and adored, but also regarded with jealousy and envy, the aasimars of Golarion count among their ancestors the greatest forces of good throughout the Great Beyond. They are the descendants of majestic angels, beatific celestials, and mysterious but kindly outsiders who have long sought to guide and protect the mortal realm. This Pathfinder sourcebook explores all that it is to be an aasimar, including an extensive discussion of aasimar culture and society.








PZO 9535
Pathfinder Module Midnight Mirror
$13.99
RPG


In shadow-haunted Nidal, the denizens of the Plane of Shadow intermingle with the common man. Now people are disappearing, and it falls to the adventurers to stop the terror. Faced with terrible shadow creatures, an unruly mob of scared citizens, and an unpredictable creature of light, can the heroes undo a greedy and uncaring noble's self-serving mistake? The Midnight Mirror is a Pathfinder adventure for 4th-level characters.








PZO 9536
Pathfinder Module No Response From Deepmar
$13.99
RPG


The island penal mining colony of Deepmar off the north coast of Cheliax has provided the infernal House of Thrune with a steady supply of valuable crystals for decades - but now all contact with the island has ceased! Sent to the isolated island to investigate, the heroes must explore the eerily abandoned mining colony and the surrounding island to discover what sinister threat has silenced the settlement. No Response From Deepmar is a dungeon and wilderness exploration Pathfinder Module designed for 8th-level characters.








PZO 9537
Pathfinder Module Moonscar
$13.99
RPG
5/16/2012

To astronomers and stargazers, the unusual pale patch on the moon is known as the Moonscar. Many theories abound as to the nature of this strange feature, yet the truth is a terrifying legacy from the ancient past. When a renowned archeologist disappears while investigating a strange mountaintop ruin, the adventurers must follow the abductee through a mysterious portal into a land of lunar madness and demonic nightmare - for what scars Golarion's moon is a blight from the depths of the Abyss itself! The Moonscar is a Pathfinder adventure for 16th-level characters.








PZO SQW30044
Gamemastery Flip Mat Urban Tavern
$12.99
Accessories


Get ready for a barroom blitz with GameMastery Flip-Mat: Urban Tavern! Pull up a stool at a high-scale taproom on one side, or take your pick from a block of seedy taverns and feast halls on the other - this durable accessory is perfect for both danger and downtime in any tabletop fantasy campaign.








PZO SQW30045
Gamemastery Flip Mat Town Square
$12.99
Accessories
5/16/2012

Fend off an invasion or throw a festival upon this sweeping tactical map depicting the central square of a fantasy town! Designed specifically for use with the opening encounter of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game's Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path but suitable for any urban engagement, this durable accessory sets a central scene for any tabletop fantasy campaign.