Eric Hinkle's page

I remember a while back that a Alchemist's formula called Anthropomorphize Animal was listed in the Paizo blog. Without going into too many details, can I get some information on what this is like? Is it limited to alchemists only, and do they give a template or the like to use with it?

Thanks for any help.

Scott Andrews wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

And honestly... I'm actually quite pleased that folks are this interested in other planets. Means that us perhaps doing a planetary book some day in the future is more likely to happen, since it seems that there's lots of interest in the topic.

Extremely interested +1

Extremely interested also, +1

Even more extremely interested here, I loved the old Spelljammer settin and I think Paizo would do a great 'fantasy space' book.

j b 200 wrote:

Can you give a quick rundown of the new Summoner Archetypes and new Eidolon base-forms/evolutions plz.

Synthesist summons his eidolon as a living power armor suit, basically engulfing him and wearing it; this one is my favorite. =3

This alone makes me want to have this book right [BLEEP] now. It sounds so awesome!

For mechanics sake, I'd say that a Human / Halfing offspring has either the full Traits as a human (who's short for a person) or the full Traits of a halfling (who's tall for a hobbit).

That way you don't have to mix the Racial Traits of Human and Halfling.

Sorta OT but I had figured that this was usually how it worked for cross-racial/species reproduction in a fantasy setting like Golarion. I usually run it as "the boys take after the father racially, and the girls the mother."

Actually, one of the design goals given to us as authors on this product involved taking a group of NPCs (a rival adventuring party) and crafting one for each of the major APs. Thus, the Night Harrows (the one I worked on) are specifically meant to enhance the Carrion Crown AP. I believe Brandon's group is oriented for Second Darkness. Todd had the Council of Thieves group (I think?). And so on. The Rival Guide itself doesn't specifically call it out. But, you should be able to find a group of NPCs to introduce as "rivals" to your PCs and have them be a recurring cast of characters for them to encounter over the course of an AP's campaign.

My two cents,
--Neil

Is there one for the Kingmaker AP?

This book assumes an environment similar to the River Kingdoms. We have plans to do additional supplements if there is interest (and it looks like there is). One of those supplements will be adapting these rules to alternate environments and cultures. Even then, little adaptation will be required. Building costs will change if it is a tent-based nomadic city. Additional rules about water supplies and population will be required. The exploration and travel time box will need an additional line covering sand travel times.

But beyond that, these rules can be used as is.

That bolded line is among the best news I've heard on this site in a long time. I'll be looking forward to any such books.

It's great to see this amazing book on the front page; it really is worth every penny if you're running Kingmaker or jjst like the whole idea of building and running your own kingdom.

Hargor, Archmage_Atrus, and Mister Kilcoyne, thank you for the answers. The 'use it like a house for requirements' option sounds best to me.

Benchak the Nightstalker wrote:

Someone answering questions? OMG!

Could you please tell me what new Witch patrons there are?

Ancestors

Death
Enchantment
Healing
Insanity
Light
Moon
Occult
Portents
Spirits
Stars
Time
Vengeance
Winter

Hmm, that sounds like one nice list for witch patrons, especially Death, Insanity, Moon, Vengeance, and Winter. Nice to see the witches getting some official Pathfinder love!

Detect Magic wrote:

If you don't mind my asking, what does the synthesist archetype for the summoner class receive?

Basically it summons a eidolon that fuses with them. They use their own mental stats but their eidolon's physical stats and most of the rest of their abilities deal with that.

And suddenly I find a renewed interest in writing up and/or playing a Gnome summoner.

This book will be so great!

It's so nice to see that Lem has finally fond an audience that appreciates his music. Does this mean that from now on when we see Lem in art he'll be getting followed around by undead groupies like some necromantic Pied Piper?

This is all great stuff here; I'm eagerly looking forward to getting my grubby paws on the actual book.

I am curious about two archetypes in particular:

Druids get new Arch-types:
Pack Lord
Reincarnated Druid

Just what are they like, generally speaking? I have the idea that the Packlord has a small army of animal companions, and the reincarnated druid was, well, reincarnated. But how does that affect his class abilities as a druid?

Pardon my asking, but have any reasons been given for why a Mansion costs 10 Build Points but only gives a +1 to Stability? That seems like an awfully high BP cost for what is effectively a very small benefit.

Should I lower the cost, change the benefits it grants, or just leave it be?

Chris Gunter wrote:

Dark_Mistress, even though I don't have any questions for you (I'd rather have "discovery fun" with my own copy when I finally get it), I just have to send out a thanks to you for spending so much of your personal time answering everyone's questions!

You really are something else! ...just downright awesome!

Round of applause for Dark_Mistress!

Awww so sweet, I may not skin you alive in the future now. Instead you can be my pet or foot stole... either or much the same.

I second what Chris Gunter said. Thanks for all the tempting bits you've revealed to us, Dark_Mistress! Er, from the book, I mean.

One thing I wonder about though now that I think of it, is how would this fare in your typical Pathfinder setting. For instance I build an order Lycos ranger and have him become a follower of the Green Faith and especially Erastil. How would others of the faith look at him?

While everyone should run their campaign however they prefer, I'd figure on "furries" being viewed as at best odd or unusual in any remotely normal Pathfinder campaign. Even in a multi-racial society in which people like dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings are acceptable, some folks will still get looked at as being Just Plain Weird.

After all, in the game, the most common "beastfolk" are the nearly-always Chaotic Evil gnolls and usually evil werebeasts. True, there are the bestial agathions, but I'm not too sure how many normal non-adventuring people would know about them.

That said... people who get to know a "furry" would probably start to view them with fondness, especially if said "furry" helped them out or protected them. I'd love to make an Earthborn Lycos for a Kingmaker campaign, for instance, who helps to build a new nation in the Stolen Lands. He might start out being viewed as something bizarre, but after the kingdom starts to rise, they may well take pride in their bestial king so long as he doesn't act like a monster. "Look at King Grizzlefang, he works so hard to build up the kingdom! Kind of makes the place stand out too; how many other folks have a warg for a king?"

So I guess I'm saying that in the end... they should react to him however you & your DM wish. Maybe they like and respect him as a child of nature who's been gifted with a human mind and form. Maybe they despise him as a mockery of the noble wolf he once was. But since Erastil is a god of hunting, I doubt they'd be too harsh so long as he doesn't try eating his fellow worshippers.

Fredric Brown-

From These Ashes - The complete short stories.

Martians and Madness - The complete science fiction and fantasy novels

Stanley Weinbaum-
The Best of Stanley G. Weinbaum
This is still the best book for Weinbaum. You can pick a used copy for around $5.

Thanks for the links, though the second one for Fred Brown just leads back to the main Paizo page.

And with Stanley Weinbaum -- his career lasted just 18 months? And I thought Henry Kuttner was cut down in his prime.

I'd like to see a few more explicitly Mythos creatures to add to the Denizens, shoggoths, and hounds.

I'd love to see write-ups for the Mi-go, the Elder Things, and the Great Race of Yith.

I'd also like to see some of the creatures from Northlands, but I may be biased there.

And devils and demons. There ALWAYS need to be more demons and devils.

And agreed on both of these as well.

I have a question about the "Torturous Transformation" bit with the vivisectionist.

The part I'm wondering about says:

Torturous Transformation: At 9th level, a vivisectionist adds awaken and baleful polymorph to his formula book as 3rd-level extracts. When he uses the awaken and baleful polymorph extract, he injects it into the target (not a plant) as part of a 24-hour surgical procedure.

Does that mean that when the vivisectionist uses awaken in his 'procedure', that he has to use baleful polymorph on the same subject as well? Or can he use them separately?

It sounds like something I remember from the 70's movie version of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" in which Prendick is getting mutated by the doctor, and is becoming animalistic but retains his human intelligence.

Copied from another thread, not my idea. I want this so bad. IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO FIX THE FIGHTER.

Martial Academy:

You have attended a war college or fighter school.
Prerequisites: This feat can be selected at first level if you are selecting fighter as your first class.

Benefit: Your fighter class has 4 + Int modifier skill ranks per level. Add 3 skills of your choice to the list of class skills. One of those skills must be a Knowledge skill.

Normal: A fighter has 2 + Int modifier skill ranks per level.

Special: You may select a specific martial academy if allowed by the GM. A fighter may select this feat as his first level bonus feat and can not be exchanged for a different feat.

I do like this idea. Maybe it could work as an archetype for the fighter class?

Awww... rats make awesome pets.

That they do. Just ask Willard! ;)

More seriously, this book is one I'm looking forward to. I've long wanted to see a in-depth treatment of Golarion's lycanthropes.

Finishing off the Book of the River Nations: Complete Player's Reference for Kingdom Building preview week, we talk about the PDF Guarantee and we definitively answer the question about those that purchased the three separate Book of the River Nations PDFs. Check it out!

Thank you for giving folks who previously purchased the three PDFs a chance to get the complete set for the new book for free. It's really decent of you

On the other hand, if you buy from another store Paizo still gets a cut. They are just as happy getting good sales numbers other places because it means increased ordering from those places and larger exposure. If you are also picking up the PDF they probably end up making almost the same amount as from a subscription.

In the end, whatever works for you works for Paizo.

Considering that I buy 99% of the Paizo books I own through the big chains, this is news that makes me happy. I just wish that said chains would put more Paizo books actually on the store shelves for people to browse through. Heck, I started in on Paizo after an impulse buy of "Rise of the Runelords #5" and its article on Lamashtu.

Eric Hinkle wrote:

Yeah, that's what elder vampires ought to look like.

And is it just me, or do all the monsters in this AP seem to be focusing on Seoni in the cover art?

Well, it's a known fact that horror monsters go after 'sexual' female characters first :D. Oh and here's the obligatory TVtropes link.

Thanks for the link.

And I was wondering less the obvious "the monsters like sexy women" and more the fct that the less armor an adventurer wears, typically the more ways they have of blasting you to kingdom come with a snap of the fingers. You'd think that even the dimmest beasts would eventually learn to avoid the sexy half-naked sorceress after she incinerates a few dozen of them.

This book looks like going to be great. Especially for me, as I love planetary romance/space opera of the 50's pulp "Planet Stories" stripe.

But one quick question if I may ask it here: in the intro to The Anubis Murders, we get a list of the books that Gygax credited with inspiring D&D way back when. I was just wondering if anyone here could pint me at anything by two of the authors, Stanley Weinbaum and Fredric Brown?

I vaguely recall reading "A Martian Odyssey" a long time ago, and I think I once read a collection of short-shorts by Fredric Brown. Mostly a guy getting kidnapped by a female Yeti, and something about scientists who make the universe' mightiest computer and ask it, "Is there a God?" The response: "There is NOW!"

Thanks for any help.

I finally got the book, and I love it... but is it just me, or does Hok come off less as a Stone Age Hercules and more like Einstein, given all the inventions he comes up with?

And I enjoyed the inclusion of the "War of the World meets Cavemen" story; very bizarre, reminiscent in some ways of Wellman's novel Sherlock Holmes and the War of the Worlds in all the good ways, and a great read.

It could also serve as inspiration for an adventure based around the Starfall in Numeria, and what became of the aliens.

Finishing off the Book of the River Nations: Complete Player's Reference for Kingdom Building preview week, we talk about the PDF Guarantee and we definitively answer the question about those that purchased the three separate Book of the River Nations PDFs. Check it out!

Thank you so very much for giving folks who bought the three PDFs on Paizo a chance at getting the collected version from you for free. I'll make sure to order the hardcopy as well; people who go as far as you will for the customers are worth the extra cash.

Never mind, I was able to find it with a little more looking.

Tian Xia has a whole country crawling with nagas. I'm really looking forward to see what the lads do with it. I just finished proofing a chapter of Dave Gross's upcoming Master of Devils novel featuring a martial arts team from that region, so the bar he sets is pretty high.

I'm especially eager to see what Naga-land is like, and if it's anything like the real world Southeast Asia, which is the origin of the mythical Naga in the first place.

And hmm, they have legends of Naga-descended royal families too... could we dare hope for a sorcerous Naga bloodine in this AP? I loved the Pestilence one in Council of Thieves.

I'm supposing that the last three books will cover the actual campaign/adventures in Tian Xia, then? Becuase it seems like the first half is covering the whole trip there.

Not that I'm complaining, as we'll be seeing lots of places I've long wanted to read more about in Golarion.

This looks like a truly great idea for bringing in new players.

Today we start delving into the very heart of the book. Find out what is new and exciting in the Kingdom Building section.

Hmm, I see that now Apiaries are listed as a variant of the Farm; does this man that they can't be built as individual buildings in cities any more?

I got the PDF and I like it far more than I thought I would (vampires just don't usually do it for me when compared to other monsters), but I do have one question about a comment from the chapter on Prestige Classes. Namely, it's about the Vampiric Disciple. Just where is the free PDF that has the information about the ritual they needto do to gain more levels in the class?

I check the Necromancers website and wasn't able to find it; can someone help me out here?

Yeah, that's what elder vampires ought to look like.

And is it just me, or do all the monsters in this AP seem to be focusing on Seoni in the cover art?

We likely to see any new weapons, armour or equipement unique to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings?

I've a long hankering for the Skeggöx or bearded axe to appear [perhaps in the fashion of a "bastard axe"??] and the atgeir polearm...

Wouldn't the Dwarven Waraxe cover any "Bastard Axe"? That's usually how I handle it, anyway.

Generic Villain wrote:

Q2: What happened to the anicent Kellids of Ustalav? Based on what I can piece together, Ustalav was originally ruled by primitive people who worshiped the Great Old Ones. However, there seem to be hints that, at some point, they realized the folley of propitiating such awful things, and found some more friendly deities (maybe - I'm not sure on this). Despite being scattered by the Varisians, I figure pockets of Kellids had to survive. What did they do? I know some interbred with Varisians (the swamp people of Sinaria for example), but what of the rest of them? And do they continue worshiping their dark gods?

As a side note, I think the Kellids would make a perfect backdrop for a Pathfinder version of "The Rats in the Walls," wherein a PC slowly learns that his/her ancestors were cannibals who enslaved - and fed on - subhuman Kellids.

The ancient Kellids mostly movied into areas like the Realm of the Mammoth Loards, Numeria, and Sarkoris (which is now the Worldwound), where in time they became the modern Kellids. There are indeed still isolated pockets of them in Ustalav, and some of them DO still worship the Great Old Ones.

Heck, those man-eating ancestors might still be around, given the ghoul love we see in Golarion/Pathfinder.

And thanks for the info on the Kellids and their continuing worship of eldritch abominations. Hmm, given the tendency of such horrors to dwell in the endless night between the stars, and the Kellids living in Numeria, and that fallen starship... I wonder, was the crash entirely an accident?

Today we start delving into the very heart of the book. Find out what is new and exciting in the Kingdom Building section.

Ooh, I love the new ideas you have listed there for developing open lands and castles, especially given that one of the first things I'd ever do in a Kingmaker campaign would be to claim the Stag Lord's castle for my very own.

Any chance of rules for how to set up your own harem? (I'm kidding, I'm kidding...)

Dark_Mistress wrote:

I know it is a mockup but nice cover

Lately, some of the Paizo covers have a very heavy metal vibe to them (Dungeons of Golarion, Academy of Secrets, mock-up for the daemon book). I like it, though.

I agree on the new way some covers are being done. Though when I hear "heavy metal" combined with the evil deities, I'm left wondering what a heavy metal Asmodeus would look like.

And really, a perfect final cover would feature Lamashtu standing triumphant with the other evil deities cringing before her. ;)

More seriously, I am SO looking forward to this! Such a year for Paizo -- Utimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, the new Inner Sea World Guide, books covering the Linnorm Kings and Ustalav, the Carrion Crown and Jade Regent APs, and now books on daemons and the evil gods of Golarion?

Thank you, Paizo!

Just announced! The cover is a mockup, and will change prior to publication.

I'd say that cover looks plenty cool as it is. And the souldrinker PrC alone sold me on this book, let alone a whole book devoted to those fun-loving daemons.

And it'll be coming out for Halloween, no less.

Symar wrote:

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

Symar wrote:

I'd have thought pig familiars would give some sort of Divination bonus.

Hen Wen?

Totally. Been years since I read that, so I'm fuzzy on most of the details and am sure I have the plot confused in my head. I remember the beginning though!

Works for me!

I reread the whole thing once a year. ;D

You too? I loved that series as a kid! Still do. So many great characters -- Fflewdur, Doli, Gurgi...

Getting back to pig familiars, they sound like a good choice for dropping an Animal Growth spell on too. Turn your cute little piggy-wiggy into giant tusk-bearing engine o' death.

On the flip-side, though, Liefeld has used other comics as "pose reference" throughout much of his early career. Take a look. The article's in Spanish, but you can view the images by clicking on them.

And then there's this thread from StarDestroyer.net...

** spoiler omitted **

And finally, the infamous Naked Captain America gag.

Remember kids, a sword is better with a gun on it.

I dunno... the characters listed under the spoilers look a little too well-done to be properly Liefeldian.

Thank you, Mister Kilcoyne and Mister Jacobs.

Eric Hinkle wrote:

Pardon my asking, but are you using homebrew rules for your beast-folk characters or the Fursona PDF from Skortched Urf? I'm just curious.

Another option for animal characters is the Noble Wild book. Sorry to get off topic.

That it is, and thanks for the reminder, though critters from the Noble Wild look more like actual animals AFAIK (I have yet to get the book). They might work easier than beast-folk, though; you can always say that they're pets/mounts/the druid's buddy.

Just so long as they don't go casting spells or talking in public.

Ooh, this sounds so very good from what I'm reading here.

So many books... so little money!

Eric Hinkle wrote:

Is there any chance there will be more such Monster PC PDFs from Rite Publishing in the future?

I can take that one. :)

The answer is "Yes."

The "In the Company of Kappa" was recently released (though it's in the wrong section of the Rite offerings.) "In the Company of Hengeyokai" and "In the Company of Tengu" are both with the editor as we speak.

With the hengeyokai, I tried to create a base class with multiple customization options, all focused on shape-changing.

The tengu paragon class is all about swords, leaping and flying.

All three of these books contain a full racial write-up, multiple archetypes, and some feats.

I'm already looking forward to both the Hengeyokai and Tengu books. Thanks for letting me know about them.

The Bladebound and Hexcrafter magus archetypes sound very intriguing indeed. I liked the Hexblade from 3.5's "Complete Warrior", mainly as a class for a villain, and the Bladebound, well... who doesn't see a bit of Elric in Seltyiel?

F. Wesley Schneider wrote:

Lucimar: "You want me to square off against a bunch of high-level PCs?"
Me: "No, Mr. Lichwolf... I expect you to die"

Tune into PF #48 for the resolution to all that.

Lucimar may be expected to die...but he doesn't do so easily. Stay tuned, true believers!!!

Just the news that we'll get a statblock and writeup for Lucimar the Lichwarg has sold me on PF #48. It's always good to see some more anthropomorphic wolves in PFRPG.

I just got an idea for a weird, especially by Ustalav standards, party that would come into play:

A wolf ranger (Archery Combat Style and maybe a Spirit ranger from the APG)

A vixen sorceress (My own Witch bloodline which I offer for free to all http://www.pathfinderdb.com/character-options/class-options/411-sorcerer-bl oodline-witch)

A cat oracle of life

A skunk alchemist

A rabbit bard (archivist archetype)

After saving Ravengro and teaching one group of humans that there are monsters they can trust they move on to defend the Beast of Leipistadt. I can only imagine what the freakshow would make of them.

Pardon my asking, but are you using homebrew rules for your beast-folk characters or the Fursona PDF from Skortched Urf? I'm just curious.

I just read this book/PDF, and I want to say that I find this to be one of the very best 3rd party books for PFRPG. I really enjoy how the racial background and history of the Taurians were portrayed, and I think that the way it was done (as though being told to the reader by a Taurian) was handled very well.

The APG-style character class options were also well done and a joy to read. And I enjoy the Feats and the crunch for the Rog-Kalem class. My sole problem would be finding a place to set these bully boys and their kingdom in Golarion.

I hope you make offer more PDFs like this for the PFRPG monsters in the future, Rite Publishing.

I just got this and read through it, and while the Minotaurs are still my favorite "Monster PC" from Rite Publishing the Gargoyles are exceedingly cool as well. I like that you gave as many Enticements as you did; you struck the right balance between enough to individualize PC gargs and avoiding overload.

Is there any chance there will be more such Monster PC PDFs from Rite Publishing in the future?

Thanks for the love, the staff of the festhall would like to "love" you as well :)

Greater doppleganger was taken from Goodman Games 3.5 The Complete Guide to Dopplegangers by Kieth Baker (of Eberron Fame)

Inveigler is a template taken from the green Ronin 3.5 Advanced Bestiary by Mathew Sernett, which has seen alot of use in the Adventure Paths.

You will find these books listed in the section 15 of the OGL.

Thanks for the responses. I have the AB and I'll have to check it out again.

And the funny thing is, I was wondering about the 'Complete Guide to Dopplegangers' as a possible source for what I was seeing here on the 'gangers and mimics.

I bought this PDF, and I really do love it, but I have a couple of questions:

1) Just where do I find the writeup for a Greater Doppleganger?

and

2) Where is the class writeup for the 'Inveigler'?

Okay, everything anyone would or could need is with the book, but I'd still like to know where I can find aht above information.

Thank you, Rite Publishing, for the great job you did on the Intimate Shape Festhall.