Generic Villain's page

ALL I KNOW IS THAT THIS ADVENTURE PATH NEEDS ONE THING ABOVE ALL OTHERS:

plague doctors (possibly as an alchemist variant)

There are plague doctors aplenty in this adventure.

Hey, I just found this thread! Yay me.

Anyway, I actually have a playlist with about 300 songs called "Creepy Music," a lot of which comes from video games. You can find a lot of these soundtracks online for free. Here are some of my favorites:

-Resident Evil Remake
-Resident Evil 0
-Demento (aka Haunting Ground)
-Fatal Frame 1-3
-Siren 1 and 2

I'd also tentaviely reccomend Silent Hill soundtracks, but a lot of that stuff is more industrial/discordant, and not great as ambient music.

Oh, and as for creepy music, you can't do much better than the soundtrack for Resident Evil Remake. The songs Lost in Darkness, Rush of Fear, and Rush of Horror are amazingly spooky ambient music.

So, what is the titular Carrion Crown? Some ideas off the top of my head:

A potent evil artifact utilized by Tar-Baphon
A metaphor for mastery over death
A gross new fashion trend

Noticed a problem: the spell "vermin shape II" allows you to change into a Tiny or Large vermin. It gives stat adjustments for a Large vermin shape, but not Tiny.

Speaking of Qlippoths, I like how Lovecraftian they are. It makes me wonder how the Qlippoth and the Mythos are linked... or perhaps they're one in the same?

Creating a world is complex, and now and then things we create in the early days, with the benefit of several more years of development, don't make as much sense.

For the record, I wasn't criticizing the retcon - merely noting it.

(I actually like the idea of non-Demon Qlippoth Lords)

-I don't remember, was #18 written in character? If not, then like you said, minor.

-Why couldn't they be both, or neither? Deities parallel evolving monsters, or propoganda to get them to worship a deity?

-No, it wasn't written in character. In the section detailing Demon Lords of Golarion, there's a sidebar on qlippoths. That sidebar said that there weren't any Qlippoth Lords - only qlippoths that essentially transformed into demons (Mazzmezz, Dagon, etc.).

-In Rise of the Runelords #6, under "Lamyros Religion," it's actually specifically stated that lamia have no relationship to Lamashtu. The lamia race was created when Pharasma cursed a selfish priestess. Lamashtu, however, gladly accepts lamia worship in spite on this.

Noticed two (admittedly minor) retcons:

-There are now, officially, qlippoth lords comparable to demon lords. In AP #18, it was stated that qlippoths had no lords.

-Lamias are now apparently a creation of Lamashtu. Back in Rise of the Runelords, they were said to be prophets cursed by Pharasma.

Could a seventh evil faith sneak in there as well, say, the Old Cults? We've had some tantalizing Lovecraftian hints, but, other than Groetus, we don't really know what sort of things the 'Old Cultists' revere (or, propitiate, anyway).

The Old Cults will get there do in Wake of the Watcher.

That actually sounds like a fitting villain for Fist of the North Star...

Always keeps plenty of minions and hostages on hand for just that purpose.

And that's great for a villain. Not so great when an NPC can completely "refuel" by killing stray dogs and the like.

*EDIT*

Meant to say that it's not so great when a PC can completely refuel.

One thing that really bugged me was the Hungry Ghost Monk (which is a damn shame, b/c I love the idea).

The steal ki, life funnel, and sipping demon powers all grant the monk some hefty bonuses if he drops a living creature to 0 hit points. There should have been some kind of minimum HD for killed creatures, or a maximum number of uses per day, because here's what I envision:

A high level monk who, after every battle, brutally murders squirrels, goblins, and the like to fully replenish his hit points and ki pool, and gain a bunch of temporary hit points. All at no risk to himself.

Also, there's no archetypes for the cleric, the sorcerer and the 6 new classes.

I was a tad dissappointed about there being no sorcerer/cleric archetypes, but at the same time, it would be fairly tough to do. Cleric's are defined entirely by their domains and energy channeling, so the APG decided to give options for domains. Based on what I've read, Ultimate Magic will feature alternative uses for channeling energy.

Sorcerers? They're entirely defined by bloodlines. The only other thing you could change about them are their proficiencies, HD, saving throws, etc.

Lastly, the six new classes don't have archetypes because... they're new. They already have 47 pages devoted to them. If they had a full suite of archetypes, that would add about another 36 pages (I averaged), and that would certainly cut into the rest of the book.

I really like the Cavalier, but he misses one of the coolest aspect of the 3.5 Knight; the Knight's Code.

The cavalier's "knight's code" is the edicts of his order. If you want to play a traditional feudal knight, go with the Order of the Lion.

Marc Radle wrote:

Can't wait to get this book - the list of creatures looks great!

One creature I WAS kinda sad to see did not make the cut is the Wemic. I don't know why, but I really like them a lot!

Oh well, there's always Bestiary III !!! :)

I am pretty sure that the Wemic is WotC's intellectual property. I cannot find any other references, such as from mythology, with a quick Google search. However, if Paizo wanted to call it a sagittary, that has mythic origins.

Yup, wemic's belong to WotC.

Also, there's an aurumvorax in one of the Kingmaker adventures. One of those (many) stealth previews for the Bestiary II.

Don't make that bet.

Jyoti and sceaduinar are not members of any race but their own.

Crap! *Makes frantic call to bookie*

Ya know, I'd be willing to bet that the jyoti and sceaduinar are actually aeons. I recall reading somewhere that aeons were dual-natured, and what's more dual-natured than beings of pure positive and negative energy?

Upthread in the middle of the excitement, James addressed how the poster list listed the critters[/url]. So, yeah, don't worry...they're in there! :)

D'oh! I deleted my post too late (just read James' post).

On a related note - any ideas on when we'll here about late 2011 releases?

I'm not sure, but I seem to recall Paizo showing their next batch of releases every 4 months.

Thanks for the replies James and Vic. I was hoping it'd come the third week, but oh well. I suppose we could take a session off for the holidays.

Is there any idea whether this issue will ship during the third or fourth week of December?

I know the folks at Paizo do their best to get these volumes out as quickly as they can. That said, the staggered release schedule for this AP has been difficult to manage as a GM.

If it won't be out until the fourth week, I'll need to come up with some filler for my group. Probably something juju zombie-related...

The month of February dissappeared from the product schedule. I have a feeling that means more product push-backs. Grumble.

I noticed some posters don't want anymore sorcerer bloodlines. My two cents...

If Paizo released 100 official sorcerer bloodlines in this book, I'd still want more! While the 20 bloodlines in the CR and APG (plus pestilence and orc from other products) are certainly a great start, the potential for yet more bloodlines is pretty much unlimited. Potentials off the top of my head:

Inevitable, daemon, rakshasa, Lovecraftian horror, shaman/spirit talker, qlippoth, genie, azata, racial (dwarf, elf, etc.), Thassilonian sin, aeon, lycanthrope, ooze, and oni.

And while I could also see the viability of "sub-bloodlines" that functioned as cleric sub-domains ("vampire" instead of just "undead"), brand new bloodlines will continue to have their place.

Now, to tide yourself over/prepare yourself for this particular site, might I suggest reading Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Robert E Howard's "Pigeons from Hell," and Stephen King's "Jerusalem's Lot."

Awesome Wes, thanks for the teaser!

I love Yellow Wallpaper and Jerusalem's Lot both. I'll have to check out Pigeons From Hell. Saffron House sounds like it'll be a great haunted house.

I'm interested in an Ustalav location called the Saffron House. Despite being easy to find on the map in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, it's noted as being the goal of a Pathfinder expedition in AP 27.

Maybe the Pathfinders in Ustalav aren't good with maps...

On this epic level baddie scale how would you rank the following in Golarion in order of power

Tar-Baphon
Baba Yaga
Most powerful Runelord
Treerazer
(have I missed anyone of the class of CR 20++?)

There's no way to rank Tar-Baphon or Baba Yaga yet; they could be 25th level or 55th level, we have no way of knowing. Both are capable of incredible feats such as...

As for other above-CR 20s, there's the ghost necromancer Geb, Kortash Kain (male ghoul wizard 6/cleric 6/mystic theurge 10), and the archmage Nex (at least 23rd level). There are probably many more who have been more discreet in their paths to power.

Questions for the Paizo people:

-1: In the bestiary section, what is the base CR of a greater tribal totem?

-2: In the juju section, juju zombies are mentioned repeatedly, but no specific stat reference is given. Will juju zombies be in Bestiary II? Or are they something like the skeleton champion, but for zombies?

-3: Also in the juju section; it's noted that juju fetishes fall apart after a few days. Does this rule also to laubo powder? There's no indication that it doesn't apply, but it just seems odd that powder can be delicate and fall apart.

I've read the Journal in AP#16, where Eando is in the City of the Serpentfolk below Saventh-Yhi.

Are you sure it's the city beneath Saventh-Yhi (called Ilmurea, btw)? Considering that Eando entered the Darklands all the way up north in Belkzen, I'm not sure he would have been able to make that journey. There's actually an old Serpentfolk city much closer to Belkzen called Sverenagati.

It may not matter one way or another. Just something to consider.

Meh, it's cool. I have a paper to write this weekend, and honestly, if this shipped on Friday, reading it would take precedents.

So um... thanks Paizo for letting me do homework. I think.

The second illustration reminds me of a tien lung (Chinese dragon). It's serene, the embroidery on the robes are vaguely oriental in design, and it has whiskers.

Whether or not the pestilence or the ju-ju elements get into a hardcover is a complex matter entangled with multiple variables... but the chances of something like the ju-ju mystery getting into a hardcover only a few months after it first sees print are small.

Hmm, deduction time:

-Ultimate Magic will (hopefully) be out in April.
-James states that the juju oracle mystery will be published "a few months" before Ultimate Magic.
-A few months before April... That could be October!
-This volume of the AP has a section on juju.

Therefore, I deduce that the juju oracle mystery will be in none other than this very volume! And that Coronel Mustard did it with swordchucks in the library!

We're still anticipating late October.

That's the good thing about being a pessimist - I'm never dissappointed.

Anyone know an EXACT DATE of release of this product?

Given that we haven't even gotten our "going to ship in the next week or so" email, I'd guess this won't be out until early November.

Torag is worshiped in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, through which the PCs will travel on their journey to the Crown of the World/Tian Xia in Jade Reagent.

Pairaka? What's that? And Oni are more of your Asian themed fiends. Think I remember Demodands from the old Planescape books. Asuras used to be a type of Angel back when if I remember right. But again thank you guys for the info, appreciate it.

Pairaka are from Pathfinder AP #20: House of the Beast. They're NE divs similar to succubi/erinyes.

Oni are most definitely from Japanese mythology.

Asuras are from the Hindu religion. While not necessarily evil in Hinduism, they're LE in Pathfinder. The Beatific One is a CR 9 asura statted in Pathfinder #9: Escape From Old Korvosa, while the Adhukait is a CR 7 asura from Pathfinder #28: The Infernal Syndrome.

The first Council of Thieves Adventure, Bastards of Erebus, has a whole section devoted to information on tieflings. There are rules for 10 different tiefling lineages (asura, daemon, demodand, demon, devil, div, kyton, oni, qlippoth, and rakshasa) with different attribute bonuses/penalties, some tiefling-only feats, and 100 alternate abilities that replace the tiefling's darkness spell-like ability. A must have for any tiefling lover.

It's funny that I came on this thread when I did. Earlier tonight I was designing a LE wizard NPC who I wanted to be fairly religious. I wanted him to essentially venerate magic, so of course I choose Nethys as his god. But then I started wandering if a LE person could venerate a N god.

Nethys is described as being dual-minded, partially a protector, partially a destroyer. Couldn't a LE wizard just venerate the destroyer aspect? Or would that make him a heretic, like an economist who believes in supply, but not demand. Or perhaps, could that LE wizard ignore the protection/destruction portfolio altogether, and instead focus entirely on Nethys's control over magic?

I think Nethys might be a special case, b/c he's neutral, and seems fairly dispassionate about the good/evil thing. For example, I'd find it hard to believe that a LE character could worship the neutral nature god Gozreh. But what about the neutral birth/death god Pharasma?

Gah, it's too late to be waxing philosophical. Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

I'm actually kinda glad it was. November's already over $100 for me in subscriptions thanks to Bestiary 2.

Not, sadly it's not. Check the schedule.

Awesome cover. Just wish it's release date wasn't pushed back a month...

Please tell me the module says he can use rage. *crosses fingers*

Alas, it does not. There's no "rage" in his SA line, and no mention of raging in his "during combat" section.

Now whether that was a decission of the author or the editor, I can't say.

Combining monk with barbarian if it was something I saw only once in a blue moon might be a character concept. But it's very clear from that the vast majority if not nearly all of these players aren't looking to make a "concept" they're gaming the system to min/max BAB, saves, and character dips.

Tell that to...

If we get the Stats for Baba Yaga it will probably be int he next module fore people of 20th level :)

As much as I'd like to see the Witch Queen statted out, that won't be happening for a looong time. Baba Yaga is clearly epic level (above 20th), and until Paizo covers those rules, Baba Yaga will continue to be an ominous mystery.

And alas, even after we do get epic rules Paizo-style, there's no telling when (or even if) they'll stat her up.

My 2 cents (directed at no one in particular):

I don't have much interest in Arabic/Middle Eastern mythology. And no, it has nothing to do with the people there - I just don't appreciate their stories as much as I do those of other cultures. Therefore, I wasn't thrilled when Legacy of Fire was announced.

However, I understood that Arabic-themed adventures have a fairly wide following, so an adventure path done in the style of 1,001 Nights was not just likely - it was inevitable. And while this AP was certainly not my favorite, there were still a lot of really enjoyable aspects to it, and as is often the case with Paizo products, I managed to learn some interesting things as well. Will I ever run LoF as a GM? Maybe, though it's unlikely anytime soon. But that's OK.

Which brings me to my point. Eventually, Paizo is going to hit every major fantasy trope, with gothic horror and Southeastern Asian-themed among them. Don't like one or both of these? Well fortunately for you, each will only last for 6 months, then it's on to something else.

A second point. Will the Jade Reageant AP (and related material) include themes from Japan? It's certainly possible. Your average American is far more familiar with Japanese storytelling because of things like anime, manga, and video games (Okami!), and so there will be a certain expectation to see Japanese themes. This is not b/c of prejudice against other cultures and peoples, but rather, a result of Americans having had far more cultural exchange with Japan (and increasingly, China) than, say, Cambodia, Korea, Tibet, or Mongolia.

I, for one, would more than welcome an exploration of the myths and folklore of non-Japanese/Chinese southeast Asian countries in an RPG. I'm sure these countries have just as much to offer, and would prove just as fascinating a source of material for an RPG. But that doesn't mean I don't also want to see dragons, oni, samurai, kitsune, and the like.

Okay done.

I'm merely asking that in offering suggestions on the fictional nations of Tian Xia, that "eunuch" (or any other specific gender role/expression) not become synonymous with non-good and/or evil.

As far as I know, Paizo has yet to vilify a group of real-world people in any of their products (unless orcs are real...). I don't see why they'd start with eunuchs.

My issue with your post is more that we already have L5R, we have a bajillion different "stock fantasy Japans," and that a lot of us would like to see stuff based on other countries :p

Look at the Inner Sea region Paizo has published so far. In it, we have analogues for Russia, Egypt, revolutionary France, viking-era Scandanavian countries, assorted Middle-Eastern countries, Italy, Central Africa, England, and more, as well as several nations with no real-world analogue.

What makes people think that Tian Xia will be any less diverse? If you own thePathfinder Campaign Setting book, a quick glance at the Tian Xia section on page 157 would suggest that it will be (as diverse).

...could we please tread carefully on the whole eunuch=bad guy thing? Thanks.

No.

Specifically, b/c I never said eunuchs were bad guys. However, the Han Dynasty's eunuch court officials are suggested as being a source of that kingdom's corruption and downfall, and so those particular eunuchs are often portrayed as villains.

I decided my previous post was overly subtle, so I'll be blunt:

I was simply listing things I'd like to see in the fantasy setting of Tian Xia. I was not attempting to fully encapsulate the rich and extensive history, folklore, and peoples of the Asian continent in a few-sentence post. If you find my interest in Japanese mythology (ie, fox spirits, dragons, oni), religion (wu shamanism/Shintoism), or Asian architecture to be "banal," I could not care less.

If you want a historically accurate summary of Asian culture and society, I suggest you pick up a textbook. A fantasy roleplaying game, on the other hand, would probably not be the best place to start. Find samurai or ninja to be somehow offensive? Than by all means, stay away from the classic book Oriental Adventures. Too thin-skinned to read about Oni, wu-jen, or dragons? Than steer clear of the excellent Legend of the Five Rings RPG.

If, on the other hand, you're willing to accept that fantasy depictions of Asia will have elements made famous in historical Asian works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari Picture Scroll, and a Journey to the West, as well as modern Asian pop culture such as wuxia films, manga, and anime, than by all means, check these and other works out.

From my Uncle's Satannic cult.

Win.

Also, another thing I'd like to see:

-Eunuchs, viziers, warlocks, or preferably, eunuch-vizier-warlocks (aka, the guys who supposedly corrupted the Han dynasty).

-Edit-

I actually like A Journey to the West, but it seems like it's been done to death in anime/manga. I'm sure Paizo could come up with a unique take on it that I'd enjoy... just so long as no one had gold spiky hair.

QUOTE]

I support any attempt to squeeze a pseudo Di Renjie reference into Pathfinder.

As for the above list, I don't mean to be rude, but that comes across as banal... (Okay. That was probably plenty rude.) That list is basically just a slightly more nuanced variant on the Stereotypical Western pseudo-"Asian" fantasy.

We're not just one country marked Asia.

Oh no, that wasn't rude at all. You'll have to forgive me for being a mindless American racist and stating what I'd like to see in an Oriental setting. I'm simply too blinded by my own ethnocentrism to see how offensive dragons, samurai, ninjas, oni, and other cultural icons are to you.

My deepest and most heartfelt appologies.

Things I'd like to see in Tian Xia:

-Fox spirits
-Wise dragon gods
-Wandering swordsmen seeking to perfect their art (preferably blind)
-All the creative, awesome ghosts/monsters/youkai from Japanese folklore
-Wu shamans
-Amazing, gorgeous architecture
-Oni fortresses
-Gritty, rough-and-tumble ninjas who live tough lives and wield strange, subtle power

Things I don't want to see:

-Pokemon
-Cuteness
-Anything you'd find on a 4chan messageboard
-Sun Wukong the monkey king (who was ruined for me by the Dragon Ball anime)
-Ridiculous ninjas who do stupid hand gestures to accomplish over-the-top magic