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In that case, then no, absolutely not, you can't make stone guns.Well, from a PFS standpoint. The reason for it is it is significantly cheaper.Can firearms be made of obsidian/stone?
So a +1 stone pistol is legal, and may as well not be stone for purposes of drawbacks?
It's legal if your GM says so.
Thanks for the info!
J.J., while I see your point about Clerics having to worship a deity (and I mostly agree that it's more flavorful than simply being devoted to an ideal), Pathfinder is (theoretically) a setting-neutral system.
So, isn't it better to have the general rules alloe for *more* possibilities of character concepts, rather than fewer of them? (Of course, this isn't always the case with campaign settings, since those are basically huge packs of world concept, so they are lieky to specific rules and rules' exception to enhance their intended flavor, and enjoying the flavor is the whole point of using a published setting).
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That's awesome, but not quite what I was looking for. I'm interested more in sad romances where the lovers end up dying in each other's arms and whatnot. Stuff Naderi would get all misty-eyed over, you know?
On an unrelated note, would an earthbreaker be the best way to simulate a maul in-game, or would that diminish its uniqueness as a Shoanti specialty?
Ah; then no, we haven't made up any of those yet that I know of.
And I thought the maul WAS in the game; hmm. Maybe not. Yeah, that'd work then.
Alright, guess I get to make them up, then! :P
From the PRD I'm looking at, there's the piston maul, which is a gnome invention, and the Maul of the Titans, which is a Large-sized magical warhammer. That's why I asked. Thanks!
Liking Dragon Age: Inquisition so far?
Scenario : Witch possesses a stone statue via "Possess object". Possess object clearly states the witch cannot speak nor cast spells. *Can* the witch use its hexes (su) while in the stone statue?
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Had some questions on how demonic/diabolic sacrifices worked, so that I have it straight in my game.
This is a terrible thing, so I'll assume a terrible hypothetical extreme scenario - let's say a cult of Kostchtchie successfully captures a paladin of Shelyn and sacrifices her, with the appropriate ritual, to their demon lord.
1) Am I correct in understanding that, if the cultists did it right, the paladin's soul would go straight to Kostchtchie's realm?
2) Would another power's vested interest in the paladin's soul be sufficient to prevent the paladin's involuntary damnation?
3) Assuming the paladin is condemned to the Abyss, would the Abyss convert her soul into a larva? Or would the sacrifice arrive as still recognizably herself?
4) If she was converted into a larva, would the larva actually be chaotic evil?
5) Would demons be able to tell that the larva was, well, defective? Rather lacking in sin? [The Demons Revisited entry for succubi noted that they turned their level-draining victims into particularly feeble larva.]
6) Would it be extremely unusual for this larva to ever "ascend" out of larva status and become an actual demon?
7) Do demon lords have any consistent way to sort the "sacrifice" larvae out from the normal larvae?
(Kostchtchie's getting used for the questions because I'm running Reign of Winter and he's kind of important to that AP.)
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So the Red Mantis are media critics as well?"The Conception Exception" is probably the most famous of them; it ended up getting its author being the first confirmed Red Mantis victim, in fact.What would you say are the most famous tragedies in Golarion's literature? Who are their "Tristan and Isoldes," "Romeo and Juliets" or "Anakin and Padmés?"
I'm looking to play a bard who references such star-crossed couples in song.
Not really.
But those who hire them often are.
James,
Do you think that in Golarion, regional languages should be able to be selected as bonus languages for high intelligence, or should, for example, an elf have to put ranks in linguistics to learn Hallit? The setting-neutral core books only list racial and magical languages as high-intelligence bonus languages, but that's partly because of the Regional languages not existing outside of the setting. Also, should Humans get a regional language in addition to or in place of common, depending on where they live?
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J.J., while I see your point about Clerics having to worship a deity (and I mostly agree that it's more flavorful than simply being devoted to an ideal), Pathfinder is (theoretically) a setting-neutral system.
So, isn't it better to have the general rules alloe for *more* possibilities of character concepts, rather than fewer of them? (Of course, this isn't always the case with campaign settings, since those are basically huge packs of world concept, so they are lieky to specific rules and rules' exception to enhance their intended flavor, and enjoying the flavor is the whole point of using a published setting).
Pathfinder IS setting neutral, but it's also the rules we use for our game, and it's best if the basic rules work for the setting we publish. Now that the oracle is in print, the "need" for a non-deity-worshiping divine spellcaster is covered by that class, and just as other classes have flavor requirements (wizards learn spells from books, paladins must be lawful good, etc.), I think it's a great value to have clerics tied more strongly to deities.
Your GM is free to change and adapt the game as she or he wishes, as always. But the game is stronger if it presents a firm baseline for us all to start from.
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Scenario : Witch possesses a stone statue via "Possess object". Possess object clearly states the witch cannot speak nor cast spells. *Can* the witch use its hexes (su) while in the stone statue?
If creating a hex requires speech, then no. Otherwise, this is a great question for the rules board and the FAQ.
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What does Pharasma think of Spiritualists and Phantoms?
I don't know. I haven't looked at one word of the spiritualist class yet.
I would HOPE there's a way that she'd, if not approve, then not wholly DISapprove of the class, but that might not be possible.
In the meantime, I've been pretty focused on Hell's Rebels and am unlikely to look much at Occult Adventures for several months. Maybe not even until it's printed.
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In Shattered Star we saw the effects that several of the previous adventure paths had on the world and the NPCs within. Are their any plans to do something similar with a future or distant future AP or are you more interested in keeping APs as timeline neutral as possible?
For the most part, we want to keep the APs divorced from a timeline that advances the years, because doing so makes each AP we do make playing the previous one more difficult. We want folks playing ALL the APs, and that means giving people fewer and fewer excuses for why they wouldn't' want to play an earlier one, after all.
That said... we might do something some day with another "sequel" style AP, I suppose. Anything is possible.
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James,
Do you think that in Golarion, regional languages should be able to be selected as bonus languages for high intelligence, or should, for example, an elf have to put ranks in linguistics to learn Hallit? The setting-neutral core books only list racial and magical languages as high-intelligence bonus languages, but that's partly because of the Regional languages not existing outside of the setting. Also, should Humans get a regional language in addition to or in place of common, depending on where they live?
Yes; regional languages should be selectable as bonus languages. Absolutely.
Humans gain their ethnic language for free, as detailed on page 11 of the Inner Sea World Guide.
J.J., while I see your point about Clerics having to worship a deity (and I mostly agree that it's more flavorful than simply being devoted to an ideal), Pathfinder is (theoretically) a setting-neutral system.
So, isn't it better to have the general rules alloe for *more* possibilities of character concepts, rather than fewer of them? (Of course, this isn't always the case with campaign settings, since those are basically huge packs of world concept, so they are lieky to specific rules and rules' exception to enhance their intended flavor, and enjoying the flavor is the whole point of using a published setting).
Pathfinder IS setting neutral, but it's also the rules we use for our game, and it's best if the basic rules work for the setting we publish. Now that the oracle is in print, the "need" for a non-deity-worshiping divine spellcaster is covered by that class, and just as other classes have flavor requirements (wizards learn spells from books, paladins must be lawful good, etc.), I think it's a great value to have clerics tied more strongly to deities.
Your GM is free to change and adapt the game as she or he wishes, as always. But the game is stronger if it presents a firm baseline for us all to start from.
I see. But couldn't that be achieved by adding a note that says "In Golarion, Clerics must worship a deity,"
I like deity-worshipping Clerics, but reducing character variety seems counter-intuitive to a setting-neutral system.
Oh, right! Forgot to ask whar I originally intended to ask!
1- What region of Golarion was the most difficult to create? What was the most fun? Why?
2- Do you think creating a region based on where you live or on somewhere you know well is easier or harder? On one hand, you know more about the place, but OTOH, you have the risk of being too biased in favor (or against) said place.
3- What is a good way to offer critiscism without being/sounding too lenient or too harsh? Obviously, being polite helps a lot, but I mean what else can be done.
4- If Irori became a God through mastery of his own body and spirit, could a human theoretically become immortal (as in, ageless, not necessarily invulnerable) following the same path?
5- What are you top 3 favorite images from the bestiaries?
6- Do you speak any other language? How fluently?
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Had some questions on how demonic/diabolic sacrifices worked, so that I have it straight in my game.
This is a terrible thing, so I'll assume a terrible hypothetical extreme scenario - let's say a cult of Kostchtchie successfully captures a paladin of Shelyn and sacrifices her, with the appropriate ritual, to their demon lord.
1) Am I correct in understanding that, if the cultists did it right, the paladin's soul would go straight to Kostchtchie's realm?
2) Would another power's vested interest in the paladin's soul be sufficient to prevent the paladin's involuntary damnation?
3) Assuming the paladin is condemned to the Abyss, would the Abyss convert her soul into a larva? Or would the sacrifice arrive as still recognizably herself?
4) If she was converted into a larva, would the larva actually be chaotic evil?
5) Would demons be able to tell that the larva was, well, defective? Rather lacking in sin? [The Demons Revisited entry for succubi noted that they turned their level-draining victims into particularly feeble larva.]
6) Would it be extremely unusual for this larva to ever "ascend" out of larva status and become an actual demon?
7) Do demon lords have any consistent way to sort the "sacrifice" larvae out from the normal larvae?
(Kostchtchie's getting used for the questions because I'm running Reign of Winter and he's kind of important to that AP.)
1) Correct. If the cultists did the ritual right, they'd send her soul to Kostchtchie's realm. This is not all that different from Pharasma's viewpoint or a metaphysical viewpoint than stranding a soul in the Material Plane as an undead creature, but it IS a lot harder to fix than that for us Material Plane natives.
2) Not necessarily, but perhaps.
3) The paladin's soul would become a petitioner appropriate to the alignment, but would remain stuck on the Abyss.
4) No. If left in the Abyss long enough (the time required varies) though, the petitioner would become a larva and chaotic evil.
5) Yes.
6) No. The longer the sacrificed soul remains in the Abyss, the more it absorbs chaos and evil, and if not rescued, it WILL either eventually turn into a larva and thence eventually a demon, OR it would be absorbed into the quintessence of the plane. This is why cults sacrifice souls; it's basically forced recruitment or conscription.
7) Since the sacrificed soul isn't generally a larva but a different petitioner, they can sort them with ease.
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I see. But couldn't that be achieved by adding a note that says "In Golarion, Clerics must worship a deity,"
I like deity-worshipping Clerics, but reducing character variety seems counter-intuitive to a setting-neutral system.
Pathfinder isn't 100% setting neutral though. It HAS to assume some baseline facts about the world. Such as "There are lots of elves and dwarves and gnomes and halflings and half-orcs and half-elves, therefore it's a fantasy setting." It's not a weakness to assume that, and in fact, the more we can assume, the stronger the game is.
There are PLENTY of ways to solve the problem. I've made my solution pretty clear. It's not the solution everyone likes, yeah, but my job is basically to help find the best solution that will give us (you and me and the rest of the world) the game we want. You can't satisfy all of the people all of the time, after all, but most of the people some of the time is a good goal.
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Oh, right! Forgot to ask whar I originally intended to ask!
1- What region of Golarion was the most difficult to create? What was the most fun? Why?
2- Do you think creating a region based on where you live or on somewhere you know well is easier or harder? On one hand, you know more about the place, but OTOH, you have the risk of being too biased in favor (or against) said place.
3- What is a good way to offer critiscism without being/sounding too lenient or too harsh? Obviously, being polite helps a lot, but I mean what else can be done.
4- If Irori became a God through mastery of his own body and spirit, could a human theoretically become immortal (as in, ageless, not necessarily invulnerable) following the same path?
5- What are you top 3 favorite images from the bestiaries?
6- Do you speak any other language? How fluently?
1) Tian-Xia so far has been the most difficult, since I really wanted to present it in a respectful way that honored the real-world traditions as much as possible while still presenting an obviously fantasy world that let us tell the stories we wanted to tell. The most fun so far has probably been a tie between Sandpoint, the Darklands, and the Abyss. Sandpoint because I'd like to live there, and the Darklands and the Abyss because the things that DO live there are so fun to explore and design.
2) Easier. Writing what you know is ALWAYS easier. Writing about Sandpoint was simple compared to writing about Tian-Xia, because I grew up in "Sandpoint" and not in "Tian Xia". Being biased in favor or against a place is a GOOD THING if you're writing about it, because your passions (and thus, your inspirations) will be stronger.
3) Remember that tempering criticism with compliments is good. Take the time to say what you like, because an author who knows what he did right can continue to do that, while only telling an author what he did wrong doesn't encourage him to keep doing what he did right. Being polite is a must. Offering suggestions for fixes can help. It's better to say, "I love how you characterized goblins as violent children with fat heads, but by saying that they're afraid of the dark kind of diminishes their role as the classic boogeyman. How about instead talking about how folks BELIVE their afraid of the dark but in fact, the reason goblins always carry torches on their heads is because they're pyromaniacs?"
4) In theory, yes. That's actually one of the reasons folks worship Irori, to follow in his footsteps. None have successfully followed that route all the way yet, but that doesn't stop folks from trying. That's what faith's all about.
5) I have no idea. I've got so many tied for first place that I can't say.
6) Nope. I barely speak Spanish and I'm even worse at French (those being the classes I took in High School and college respectively). If I could magically learn a language to be fluent in, it would be Japanese.
By building a society with open sexuality, fluid gender roles, lots of freedom, and lots of emphasis on beauty.I meant "backwoodsy" the way Merisiel does when describing people. How would Arsheans establish themselves with the locals of the Stolen Lands region?How would an Arshean nation establish itself in the Stolen Lands region? The area strikes me as...backwoodsy.Like any other nation. Start small, build from there. There's not really anything in Arshea's personality that pushes toward urban or rural, in my opinion.
And how would the adventurers be able to sell that to the hillbillys living in the Stolen Lands?
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And how would the adventurers be able to sell that to the hillbillys living in the Stolen Lands?By building a society with open sexuality, fluid gender roles, lots of freedom, and lots of emphasis on beauty.I meant "backwoodsy" the way Merisiel does when describing people. How would Arsheans establish themselves with the locals of the Stolen Lands region?How would an Arshean nation establish itself in the Stolen Lands region? The area strikes me as...backwoodsy.Like any other nation. Start small, build from there. There's not really anything in Arshea's personality that pushes toward urban or rural, in my opinion.
There are more than hillbilies in the Stolen Lands. In fact, there's a LOT of fey in the region; appealing to them might help?
In truth though... this type of "what if" is best answered by just playing the game. That's the whole point of it, after all. Much more fun to see how it plays out in play than to theorycraft it.
James,
Where specifically in Golarion could a druid or hunter locate a Spinosaurus to act as his animal companion?
Thanks!
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Can fey be any Alignment? as some of the Eldest are Lawful like Magdh and Imbrex. And does this mean some day we will see a Satyr paladin?
Fey can be any alignment, but tend to drift toward neutrality. That's why all of the eldest (with on exception—Ragadahn) are some form of neutrally aligned.
A satyr paladin is not illegal, but the classical nature of a satyr is at odds with the classical nature of the paladin, and as such I wouldn't expect us to do a satyr paladin antime soon, if ever.
1- How goes your typical work day?
2- How much of the "X revisited" books you wrote? And when can we expect to see more of them? I freaking love those books! I have all of them! :)
3- What race/class are you playing in Dragon Age?
4- What other countries have you visited in the last 10 years?
Oh, yeah... One more!
5- Any plans for (or at least any interest in making) a Pathfinxer version of the Manual to the Planes?
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1- How goes your typical work day?
2- How much of the "X revisited" books you wrote? And when can we expect to see more of them? I freaking love those books! I have all of them! :)
3- What race/class are you playing in Dragon Age?
4- What other countries have you visited in the last 10 years?
1) Get to work somewhere between 10:30 and 11:00, go home at somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00. The day itself is filled with varying numbers of meetings, development/design work on Adventure Paths, answering questions from editors and designers and helping guide the direction of our products, posting to these boards, and drinking coffee.
2) I wrote all of "Demons Revisited." I wrote the goblin chapter for "Classic Monsters Revisited." I wrote the ghoul and derro chapters for "Classic Horrors Revisited." I think that's it. At this point, "Demons Revisited" is the last one we've done; we have no plans to do more of them at this time, but that might change some time in the future.
3) Female elf dual dagger rogue.
4) None. In fact, other than the yearly trip to Gen Con, I've never left the West Coast. Grew up in California, moved up here to Washington in 1995, and pass through Oregon twice a year on the way down and back up from visiting parents over the Christmas holiday, give or take the odd Summer trip. I've visited other states like Texas and Georgia and Colorado and a few more, but only as airport layovers on the trip from Seattle to Indianapolis for Gen Con. I've actually NEVER been to another state other than Washington, California, or Oregon for any reason other than a business trip/work.
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Oh, yeah... One more!
5- Any plans for (or at least any interest in making) a Pathfinder version of the Manual to the Planes?
We've already done "The Great Beyond" several years back.
There's certainly more to say about the planes, but timing of a bigger book than a 64 page book is really really really really really tricky.
Maybe someday. Maybe. Nothing we're currently working on though.
I see. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Demons Revisited is awesome BTW. I love the "X Revisited" line because it overflows with flavor... Many creatures that only get a quick look in the bestiary are presented in more depth. Here's hoping for a "Constructs Revisited" somewhere in the future... ;)
I'm a big fan of our US National Parks and am slowly trying to visit as many as time and money allow. If your projects and budget allowed, what three National Parks (that you haven't visited yet) would you like to see?
Have you visited any? (There are several in the states you are familiar with, so I can't assume a negative response.)
1.Do you have any plans to visit Iblydos? In an adventure path?
2.Would you present the Olympian gods in the same way as you did the Egyptian?
3.Would Iblydos be a land rich in Elysian Bronze?
If no plans have been made let me add my vote of interest to the pot. :)
By the way Wayne Reynolds drawing of "The Attack Of The Hyrda" is what inspired these questions.
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I'm a big fan of our US National Parks and am slowly trying to visit as many as time and money allow. If your projects and budget allowed, what three National Parks (that you haven't visited yet) would you like to see?
Have you visited any? (There are several in the states you are familiar with, so I can't assume a negative response.)
The three I would want to visit would be Yosemitie, Mammoth Cave, and the Grand Canyon.
I've come CLOSE to visiting the Olympic National Park (I"ve been to the peninsula and in the woods there, but not in the official park region), and hope to visit Mount Rainier sometime soon.
I've been to the Golden Gate National Park and the Redwood National Park.
So... no, I've not been to many national parks at all. Two, in fact.
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1.Do you have any plans to visit Iblydos? In an adventure path?
2.Would you present the Olympian gods in the same way as you did the Egyptian?
3.Would Iblydos be a land rich in Elysian Bronze?If no plans have been made let me add my vote of interest to the pot. :)
By the way Wayne Reynolds drawing of "The Attack Of The Hyrda" is what inspired these questions.
1) Not anytime soon, if ever.
2) Not sure yet, frankly. I suspect it'd be more akin to how we handled the Tian Xia deities; some from the core 20, some brand new, and some from the Olympian pantheon.
3) No.
I'm a big fan of our US National Parks and am slowly trying to visit as many as time and money allow. If your projects and budget allowed, what three National Parks (that you haven't visited yet) would you like to see?
Have you visited any? (There are several in the states you are familiar with, so I can't assume a negative response.)
The three I would want to visit would be Yosemitie, Mammoth Cave, and the Grand Canyon.
I've come CLOSE to visiting the Olympic National Park (I"ve been to the peninsula and in the woods there, but not in the official park region), and hope to visit Mount Rainier sometime soon.
I've been to the Golden Gate National Park and the Redwood National Park.
So... no, I've not been to many national parks at all. Two, in fact.
I have not made it to Yosemite yet - I'm working my way west. But I have been to Grand Canyon twice (this year, we hiked rim-to-rim over four days, it was absolutely amazing) and Mammoth Cave, both of which I highly recommend. I hope you are able to make those trips soon - if you are headed into the Canyon, I suggest you start planning early - reservations of any kind are notorious for going very quickly due to high demand.
Thank you for not spoiling the pleasant surprise of Inner Sea Monster Codex popping up on my browser.
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Thank you for not spoiling the pleasant surprise of Inner Sea Monster Codex popping up on my browser.
No problem, although I'm not sure how I could have spoiled it other than to go against company policy and announce it before it was supposed to be announced.
I generally know what products we're putting out 1 to 2 years in advance of when they're publicly announced, and a lot of the "When will we see a book about THIS?" type questions are ones that, generally, I COULD answer with a date and a schedule... but that's not company policy.
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I suppose we should say thank you for being professional? Also answering all our silly questions. Like this one, I know when you guys do world building you leave out specific details to let home groups draw their own things in. Hence my not bothering to ask something along the lines of longest time someone has gone before being resurrected.
However what do you think is the smallest or just the strangest detail you have a locked down answer for that you are free to tell?
Smallest? I'm sure I've forgotten, since that's part of what defines it being the "smallest detail."
Strangest? Too many to choose from.
Both are things that, due to the size of this thread, aren't really questions I can easily answer, in other words.
Is pathfinder unchained the intro for pathfinder 2.0?
also will it include a way for monks to deal dex based damage with unarmerd strikes? or +10 enchantment to theri unarmed strike?
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Is pathfinder unchained the intro for pathfinder 2.0?
also will it include a way for monks to deal dex based damage with unarmerd strikes? or +10 enchantment to theri unarmed strike?
No.
And I doubt it. It's firmly in the hands of the design team, and I'm not involved in the book at all, and I suspect that I'm the main fan of "dex to damage" builds in the company. The design team is not a fan of it. I can see their reasons for it (Dexterity already DOES do way too much)... but that doesn't change the fact that the concept of a finesse damage dealer is very compelling.
Is pathfinder unchained the intro for pathfinder 2.0?
also will it include a way for monks to deal dex based damage with unarmerd strikes? or +10 enchantment to theri unarmed strike?No.
And I doubt it. It's firmly in the hands of the design team, and I'm not involved in the book at all, and I suspect that I'm the main fan of "dex to damage" builds in the company. The design team is not a fan of it. I can see their reasons for it (Dexterity already DOES do way too much)... but that doesn't change the fact that the concept of a finesse damage dealer is very compelling.
ok thank you for the info
What is your definition of maturity?
For example, what makes a story mature?
Do you think a mature story is always better than a non-mature one?
I ask since I've become convinced that maturity is a rather subjective thing, especially considering the ever changing nature of our modern society as well as the wildly varying definitions of maturity people have.
The iconic alchemist Damiel worships Norgorber. It seems an unusual choice because Damiel is Chaotic Neutral while Norgorber is Neutral Evil. That's more than one alignment step away.
What in particular drew Damiel to a religion in which on the surface it looks like he'd be such a poor worshipper?