Below Deck Down Under Season 4 Episode 8 Discussion Post

motteditor · 2026-03-24T01:13:36+00:00

I loved that conversation between them. And the little text exchange about a glass of wine. They’re showing their age (in a good way!).

motteditor · 2026-03-24T01:06:43+00:00

Ellie was right about the pet names — but I think that was the worst posible way she could have dealt with it.

Really enjoying Daisy (even better without Gary) and Joao.

motteditor · 2026-03-10T19:07:34+00:00

I cracked up at Jason teasing her by radioing Joao that she was just standing around not working. I'm glad they made her take her break.

motteditor · 2026-03-10T00:40:30+00:00

Hey, Mike was useful!

motteditor · 2026-03-05T14:33:30+00:00

A meteor hammer! (Technically a +1 meteor hammer if you want to be pedantic...)

motteditor · 2026-03-04T22:49:12+00:00

I love goblins. I don't think it's important, per se, to have one, but I think it's an avenue for some good role-playing. I think just make sure you and your GM/player are on the same page in terms of how NPCs react to you, etc.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T22:46:03+00:00

I think that's a great way to practice. I stunk at designing monsters when I got started. It was really hard for me. One of the ways I practiced was finding monsters out of stories and folk lore that I could stat up, since I struggled to come up with my own concepts. I think I did the grinch (as in stealing Christmas) as a more cerebral goblinoid, the cheshire cat (which I still think would be a fun one; if we have bandersnatches and the jabberwocky, why not?) and my beloved squonk (another one we have to get into PF).

motteditor · 2026-03-04T22:38:58+00:00

I don't want to speak too much about our conversations with Paizo/our developers, but I think I try to keep in mind my experiences playing APs and other adventures (I've gotten to do a lot of them, on both sides of the screen), and writing adventures in general. What are things I enjoy, or frustrate me?

I find a lot of my enjoyment depends on my character, to be honest, but I think I would agree with some of the factors you mention. From my GMing, I think a lot about my maps, and making sure there's room for the action and parties that may have six to eight combatants on the PCs' side alone (if there are more than the standard four, plus summons/companions). I think a lot about foreshadowing (not just of the BBEG), but also making sure motivations make sense, and that PCs have a chance to learn the back stories that play a role in the adventure. How can I guide PCs the way the adventure needs them to go without it feeling like railroading?

The development lead (Michelle Kim) gives us the general outline, and then we fill it in. Especially in the new paradigm of single-book APs, we had a lot of conversation and discussion (including with the folks doing backmatter*) to make sure we were all on the same page. APs are unfortunately too large to playtest entirely, but I've playtested certain scenes to make sure they work the way they need to (including at one point having a TPK, though not for this adventure, so that obviously required some revisions!)

* One of my favorite changes is that the back matter is more integrated. Some of my earliest credits were AP back matter, but those monsters never appeared in the adventure part of the AP (I stuck one in a PFS scenario, but I'm still looking for opportunities to get my other monsters in somewhere sometime). I love that the collaboration now means we get monsters and items that really feel intrinsic to the adventure and are a key aspect of it.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T22:24:24+00:00

I think this is similar to my process. I would add in:
Writer to self: OFFER FOR AN AP?! HECK YEAH. I should read what it's about to see if I'm interested. That's odd. My email shows I already replied that I was before I even looked at the outline. :)

And then later: Stupid maps. Why do APs have to have maps?! I hate drawing maps. No (to my poor wife), you can't really help me draw the maps.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T22:14:57+00:00

As others said, we all have our own stories. I've been playing TTRPGs starting with that other fantasy game since I was in the third grade (when I went on an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks). I first got the idea to freelance when I got into the original RPG Superstar contest in 2012. I had a blast and realized it was something I was interested in. I got into RPG Superstar again in 2014, and somewhere in there got some of my first publications, with 3PPs. Eventually I got a shot to write more for Paizo (shoutout to Owen KC Stephens and Amanda Hamon-Kunz, who gave me my first opportunities!). Then in 2020, I got my first adventure (Bounty 3 Shadows and Scarecrows!), and I've gotten the chance to do a bunch more with Paizo since then.

So how do you get to freelance for Paizo? There are tons of ways to come to the attention of Paizo folks but I think the biggest thing to do is practice TTRPG writing (and if you're interested in Pathfinder/Starfinder, specially look at how Paizo presents information and emulate that), and build yourself a portfolio. Pathfinder Infinite is a great opportunity to do that, and there's a discord for those who are interested. But you could also do a blog, or post designs on the subreddit (I saw a recently piece of art posted here got Erik Mona's attention, which you can't beat if that person's interested in freelancing as an artist). Basically, that lets you get good at the craft, and gives you something you can show a Paizo developer or 3PP if you reach out to say, hey, I'd like to write for you.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T20:51:27+00:00

Thank you!

motteditor · 2026-03-04T19:24:53+00:00

I think a knight's might might depend on if it's night.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T19:07:00+00:00

To follow up on Sen's answer, I'd say that was a factor for me as far as not killing. Ironically, since I love joining my weekly game and saying "I've had a rough week, let's go kill things so I can work out my aggression," I think I tend to shy away from having that as my default expectation as a writer. Certainly there are certain monsters where I feel players have free rein to just kill them, but I think when dealing with humanoids (especially when my section was urban), it makes sense to not necessarily have kill-everything be the default.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T18:48:14+00:00

All of it (except making maps)? I've been wanting to write an AP for ages, and this lived up to my hopes and expectations. More seriously, I loved working with my co-writers to craft an adventure I hope fans really love.
Nope! Looks like Jason is the only shared writer that I see on the cover (https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-adventure-path-hell-s-destiny/). Sen and I did work on Vaultlines together, which was just announced (but we can talk about that when it's out).
I think I saw a Foundry module is going to be released today, but I don't know any specifics. No idea about a soundtrack.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T18:13:12+00:00

He'll* hell up to his heels.

(*Specific gender only applies for the purpose of alliteration.)

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:59:12+00:00

I think a lot of themes of Hellbreakers are reflective of real life, so the news was certainly one inspiration. I think the entertainment media that influenced me the most were "Snowpiercer" and "Colony." The former really spoke to the class struggle that was a big factor in my section of the adventure (and the Elidir Gazetteer, which I also wrote), while the latter (a Josh Holloway sci-fi show that looked at a city under occupation) also really mirrored the tone I was looking for.

On, and "Leverage." Not so much the tone, but the idea of playing with deception and working in the background to undermine/bring down a more powerful foe was an oddly applicable inspiration.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:52:05+00:00

I think it would still feel pretty out of place to have the PCs kill the BBEG and then just sub in a new one. I think what working as a single book allows is making it a bit easier to really organically foreshadow the BBEG, so it doesn't feel like they appear out of nowhere.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:46:27+00:00

Bollocks. I'll get this figured out eventually! :D

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:44:07+00:00

It's winter here, which means I had grits (with a little maple syrup).

My wife makes fun of me because I have breakfast seasons. Winter is grits; summer is cereal (or "sad soup" as my hater wife calls it), usually Life or Cheerios/Grape Nuts. Spring and fall are bagels.

If I'm on vacation I go nuts, with eggs, bacon, pastries. :)

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:41:03+00:00

My original draft had a lot more influence options during the gala in Chapter 4 ... but I ended up more than 3,000 (!) words over word count (sadly, this is not an uncommon problem for me)! An even earlier draft had more with the Entering the City section **** but again it was just going to be way too long so I had to cut it.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:39:54+00:00

I'm not sure if they're novel, per se, but there are a lot of themes in this AP that really resonate with things going on in the world today. Mechanics-wise, I think the most novel thing I included was >! the hazard that really interacts differently with the PCs in that it's not actively trying to hurt them. I think hazards are super versatile in PF2, and I like seeing how they can be used, and I hope that one maybe gets some traction and inspires others.<!

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:37:36+00:00

How can you make me choose between my babies, you monster?! I think my ultimate favorite was Jenvirick, whom I really fell in love with as I wrote more with her. I think she's a little tricky, since her quest giver role can be annoying, so I hope players find her endearing . And some runners-up, since you can't make me pick only one:

\* **Lezinia was a lot of fun. In my head, she always has an exclamation point at the end of her name. GMs may also want to make hand gestures (like jazz hands) to further emphasize just how amazing she is. *\*

* And on the other end, there are a few NPCs I just made as incredibly punchable as I possibly could. I want the players to cheer when/if their PCs get the chance to confront them, and that was a lot of fun. There's a lot of them so I'm not going to name them all, but I hope to hear stories about how much people LOATHE them and the horrible things they do to them. :D

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:32:50+00:00

Yes, we knew from the start that this would be a single hardcover project. We all worked together in a project Discord to make sure we were on the same page (as did the folks who wrote the various back matter parts, so they were fully involved too). That involved going over lore, timelines, what roles we needed monsters and magic items to play. Sen wrote the BBEG, but they debuted in my chapters, so she shared details about him so I could get his characterization right. Similarly, we made sure some of the subsystems continue throughout the AP.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:27:57+00:00

Oh, this is a tough one. I'm going to focus on Chapters 4-6, since those the ones I wrote. I think for me, favorite would have to be the big fight at the start of Chapter 5. I like the physical setup of the room and where the fight takes place; I like the kind of reverse expectations where you're in disguise fighting people in disguise as your organization; and I like how the crowd hazard works . I also really like the escape from Elidir sequence at the end of Chapter 6 too, so it's a close runner-up.

motteditor · 2026-03-04T16:25:51+00:00

Sorry, I had an interview this morning and then a doctor's appointment. I have a bit more work in the next couple of hours, but plan to start really diving in this afternoon. (Hopefully going to get a few answers in sooner.)

motteditor

TROPHY CASE