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Paizo Employee Creative Director

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LazarX wrote:
xavier c wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
Are the members of Erastil's family gods?
Unrevealed.
Are you going to reveal it in that "romance of the inner sea book" that you are working on? :-)
Is that part of Paizo's new Harlequin subscription line?

No.

It would be a book in the Campaign Setting line... but your snarky comment is a good example of the difficulties facing getting such a book greenlit for production. Which is a damn shame, since I think it'd be a VERY interesting book that covers elements of the world that we haven't ever had the opportunity to cover, and yet in-world would likely be orders of magnitude more important to the average person in said world than would be a book of combat feats.

Very frustrating.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Kalindlara wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Kalindlara wrote:

Is the "ramification" theorized in this post the way it works, re: attacking gods?

Thank you! :)

I"ve already started posting in that thread, but if you could summarize your question rather than asking me to read the entire thread, that'd be awesome.

Sorry - I thought the specific question I had was limited to the linked post. I just realized that I only know that because I've read the thread. :)

In the trial of Iomedae, it says that attacking Iomedae is a chaotic and evil act with potentially immediate alignment consequences. One of the other posters wondered whether the equivalent was true for other gods - would attacking Desna be a lawful and evil act? For Lamashtu, a lawful and good act (with hints of suicide)? What about the neutral, yet vital, Pharasma?

I was curious about your take on this. :)

No. Attacking a deity is generally always a chaotic act. Whether or not it's a good or neutral or evil one depends on the deity. Deities are the rightful rulers of creation, and opposing them by attacking them is rarely lawful. I suppose one could orchestrate events where it WOULD be lawful to do so, of course... but in the end, it's the situation, not the opposite of the target deity's alignment, that determines what sort of alignment repercussions such a foolish act might have.
So you're saying that all deities in a sense, are kind of neccessary, in the same way Reed Richards defended his saving the life of Galactus, when every intersteller civilization in the Three Galaxies put him on trial for doing just that?

If you have deities, then they're necessary. If you don't, then they're not. If you have them and switch to a reality in which they're not, or vice-versa, that is a VERY disruptive, and thus chaotic, change to reality.


What is the Harlequin subscription line? is that something new?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
xavier c wrote:
What is the Harlequin subscription line? is that something new?

An attempt at humor that did not pan out as I hoped.


James Jacobs wrote:
He's [Erastil] from my homebrew setting, but there, he's not a god of family at all—he's a god of farming, hunting, and trade.

Why was he given the extra item in his portfolio when he was ported to Golarion? Did it have to do with having the right number of domains, or was it to fill a gap in the pantheon, or something else?

Did/do you have a deity of family, hearth, and home in your homebrew that covers that area of concern?


Besides any dinosaur what is your favorite animal companion to choose?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Joana wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
He's [Erastil] from my homebrew setting, but there, he's not a god of family at all—he's a god of farming, hunting, and trade.

Why was he given the extra item in his portfolio when he was ported to Golarion? Did it have to do with having the right number of domains, or was it to fill a gap in the pantheon, or something else?

Did/do you have a deity of family, hearth, and home in your homebrew that covers that area of concern?

Because Golarion is not Baria.

For Baria, I'm the one who made the decisions about everything.

For Golarion, those initial decisions were made by me, Erik, Jason, Wes, Sutter, and several others. My homebrew has a core pantheon of 56 or so deities, and the general consensus for Golarion was we wanted fewer deities as the core. We settled on 20 because it seemed like a good number—the game uses the d20 rules, there are 20 character levels, etc. And that meant that certain deities had to be combined or take on new roles. In my homebrew, the god of families and the hearth is a separate entity, but for Golarion, he didn't make it in and the family aspect got rolled into Erastil's areas of concern.

My homebrew split the concept of "family" into home and children and fathers and mothers more or less; there was no one deity of "family." Sort of. My Asia-inspired land DID have a deity called Tsatar who was a god of Honor, Ancestors, Loyalty and Family.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

BigP4nda wrote:
Besides any dinosaur what is your favorite animal companion to choose?

I've never given it much thought, and don't have a favorite in that case. It'd depend on the region the character came from.


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xavier c wrote:
What is the Harlequin subscription line? is that something new?

A reference to Harlequin romance novels.

James, I've been wondering something about the deities that came from humans or other mortal races. Would they still be considered humanoids in some way? I know you don't stat up deities, but IF you did, would Iomedae, for example, have a type/subtype of Humanoid (human, deity, law, good) or something along those lines? Or would she be Outsider (augmented humanoid, deity, law, good)?

Totally hypothetical, just asking you to think about what you might do if you were inclined to stat up deities, while I understand entirely why you chose not to.


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So did you see the news on this new critter yet?

Yi Qi, the bat-winged dinosaur

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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MMCJawa wrote:

So did you see the news on this new critter yet?

Yi Qi, the bat-winged dinosaur

Neat!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:

James, I've been wondering something about the deities that came from humans or other mortal races. Would they still be considered humanoids in some way? I know you don't stat up deities, but IF you did, would Iomedae, for example, have a type/subtype of Humanoid (human, deity, law, good) or something along those lines? Or would she be Outsider (augmented humanoid, deity, law, good)?

Totally hypothetical, just asking you to think about what you might do if you were inclined to stat up deities, while I understand entirely why you chose not to.

I'm not inclined to stat them up, and haven't really put much thought into it as a result. Furthermore, gods can be whatever they want, so they kinda transcend beyond typing like that. If Iomedae wanted to be an ogre or an owlbear or an otyugh or an orangutan or a box of cookies, she could.


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You said the ways of the deities can't really be comprehended about a page back, specifically how they don't self-doubt or act out of alignment.

What about those that used to be human? Was the change that drastic on a fundamental level, even of their mind? I thought you just kind of got Quasi-Infinite power. Do you literally change to an aspect of your personality personified, then?

How come only humans ever achieved divinity of the core, or even the expanded 0-HD races? (I'm wondering this both from a story and design perspective.)


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Back to your own page, no crossovers allowed!!

not to worry James, he's been chasing me around with aliases for awhile, its a thing we do, all done in good fun:-p

also great question there the thegreenteagamer:-)

edit: yeah i deleted that one, stupid question remorse and all:-p


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Captain...:
captain yesterday wrote:
what kind of Cookies would Iomedae appear as tho:-)

Really? These are your questions? You'll never make Commodore with that line of thinking, sailor...

EDIT - Don't think you can get the best of me with that ninja delete. I'm on to you!

He's right, we do, and it's hilarious. Okay, keep thread on track with legit questions...Okay...okay...

James, in the way that qlippoth are primordial soulless versions of demons (to the point where qlippoth lords can absorb souls and literally become demon lords), are there soulless versions of other outsiders that can absorb souls and become those newer versions?


James Jacobs wrote:
Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:

James, I've been wondering something about the deities that came from humans or other mortal races. Would they still be considered humanoids in some way? I know you don't stat up deities, but IF you did, would Iomedae, for example, have a type/subtype of Humanoid (human, deity, law, good) or something along those lines? Or would she be Outsider (augmented humanoid, deity, law, good)?

Totally hypothetical, just asking you to think about what you might do if you were inclined to stat up deities, while I understand entirely why you chose not to.

a box of cookies, she could.

what kind of cookies would Iomedae appear as?

my original plan was to have you go down the whole twenty core list, but you're a busy man:-)

also as my young Ward Robin Yesterday (i let him keep up the Admiral charade, but we all know who came first:-p) pointed out, it was dumb and i felt bad and deleted it.

then i remembered the last question i asked was "Are we there yet" so only place to go is up:-p

also i'm incredibly sorry for giving you a hard time awhile back about Cassandalee, i'd been watching too much Sons of Anarchy and suspect that made me more confrontational then i otherwise usually am, however i've cut back on Dramas so won't happen again:-)


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James Jacobs wrote:
Tacticslion wrote:

What do you think of this quote/idea?

Sara Marie wrote:
qa erik: think like, merisiel sitting on the iron throne.
People who sit there tend to die. I'd rather stand behind it. With a knife.

Is Lisa Stevens and/or Erik Mona aware of this?

Scarab Sages

Which country in Tian Xia makes the best sushi?


Why is there no spell that completely wipes your existence from someone's memories? I mean all of it from the time you met the person? Why is the maximum length in time to erase memories 5 minutes?


Hi James!

I had an industry related question for you. Do you think there is any danger in relying too heavily on Internet reaction in determining viability of future products? I'm sure you folks use a variety of factors in determining the nature of upcoming products. Can you share any of the process of how that decision is made?

Have a good day, and thanks again for all you do for our hobby. You're appreciated!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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thegreenteagamer wrote:

You said the ways of the deities can't really be comprehended about a page back, specifically how they don't self-doubt or act out of alignment.

What about those that used to be human? Was the change that drastic on a fundamental level, even of their mind? I thought you just kind of got Quasi-Infinite power. Do you literally change to an aspect of your personality personified, then?

How come only humans ever achieved divinity of the core, or even the expanded 0-HD races? (I'm wondering this both from a story and design perspective.)

The operative word there is used to be human. They aren't anymore. The more recent ones DO still retain a fair amount of humanity, which is why Iomedae, the newest of the deities, may have erred in directly interacting with mortals in Wrath of the Righteous.

And further, even the older deities, like Desna, can do things that make them SEEM human. They're just not bound by humanity is all.

We haven't yet explored any non-human ascended deities for one primary reason: Because we wanted to portray Golarion (and thus its most popular deities) as humanocentric.

That said, there ARE cases of other races becoming demigods or even deities. Some are pretty obscure, such as the demon lord Kabriri starting out as an elf. Others are implied but not detailed, as in the case of Sivanah. Milani was a half-elf, I believe. There are exceptions out there... they're just not things we have focused much on yet.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Admiral Day-Before-Yesterday wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

James, in the way that qlippoth are primordial soulless versions of demons (to the point where qlippoth lords can absorb souls and literally become demon lords), are there soulless versions of other outsiders that can absorb souls and become those newer versions?

Nope. Qlippoth in fact are probably the OLDEST form of life. I suspect they even predate proteans, although the proteans would be the first to deny this. Yet that doesn't change the fact that when they cracked open the Outer Sphere and peered into the rifts, those rifts were ALREADY infested with qlippoth.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

captain yesterday wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:

James, I've been wondering something about the deities that came from humans or other mortal races. Would they still be considered humanoids in some way? I know you don't stat up deities, but IF you did, would Iomedae, for example, have a type/subtype of Humanoid (human, deity, law, good) or something along those lines? Or would she be Outsider (augmented humanoid, deity, law, good)?

Totally hypothetical, just asking you to think about what you might do if you were inclined to stat up deities, while I understand entirely why you chose not to.

a box of cookies, she could.

what kind of cookies would Iomedae appear as?

my original plan was to have you go down the whole twenty core list, but you're a busy man:-)

also as my young Ward Robin Yesterday (i let him keep up the Admiral charade, but we all know who came first:-p) pointed out, it was dumb and i felt bad and deleted it.

then i remembered the last question i asked was "Are we there yet" so only place to go is up:-p

also i'm incredibly sorry for giving you a hard time awhile back about Cassandalee, i'd been watching too much Sons of Anarchy and suspect that made me more confrontational then i otherwise usually am, however i've cut back on Dramas so won't happen again:-)

Fair enough.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Kajehase wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Tacticslion wrote:

What do you think of this quote/idea?

Sara Marie wrote:
qa erik: think like, merisiel sitting on the iron throne.
People who sit there tend to die. I'd rather stand behind it. With a knife.
Is Lisa Stevens and/or Erik Mona aware of this?

They're smart, so I would assume so.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
Which country in Tian Xia makes the best sushi?

Minkai.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

BigP4nda wrote:
Why is there no spell that completely wipes your existence from someone's memories? I mean all of it from the time you met the person? Why is the maximum length in time to erase memories 5 minutes?

You might want to check out the mythic version of modify memory.

That said... one big reason is that this effect is nearly impossible to roleplay out.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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MeanDM wrote:

Hi James!

I had an industry related question for you. Do you think there is any danger in relying too heavily on Internet reaction in determining viability of future products? I'm sure you folks use a variety of factors in determining the nature of upcoming products. Can you share any of the process of how that decision is made?

Have a good day, and thanks again for all you do for our hobby. You're appreciated!

I absolutely think there's a danger in listening too closely to the Internet. The Internet is a vast wildland, yes, but it also tends to equalize voices. One lone person on the internet could in theory have as loud a "voice" as a king or a president or a queen or an empress. There's PLENTY of recent examples of vocal minorities pretty much ruining lives and destroying things in this way via the internet.

I think the best thing to do is to weigh Internet feedback in one hand as ONE way to hear back from folks. I also think that there's a lot of wisdom in finding folks who like what you do and engage mostly with them. Keep what you're creating attractive to the people who are already your customers and like what you do and listen to them, and then expand outward as you can. Don't try to change your game to appeal to people who hate you, because they probably enjoy hating you and it's not worth the time to try to appeal to them anyway. AND... keep in mind that you should continue doing things YOU like.


Kind of an odd question to start here...

1. Am I correct in assuming that oracles and shamans can actively worship particular gods?
Seems obvious but I want to be sure...
2. If yes, does that make it possible for oracles and shamans to take the exalted prestige class?

In particular I was thinking of an oracle of the ancestor mystery and perhaps a shaman (speaker for the past archetype) with the wind spirit (relating it to one of the five rings/elements- earth, fire, water, air, and void) who worship Shizuru.

Of course, I need to come up with some obediences...

3. Do many samurai become Sentinels of Shizuru?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Thing from Beyond the Edge wrote:

Kind of an odd question to start here...

1. Am I correct in assuming that oracles and shamans can actively worship particular gods?
Seems obvious but I want to be sure...
2. If yes, does that make it possible for oracles and shamans to take the exalted prestige class?

In particular I was thinking of an oracle of the ancestor mystery and perhaps a shaman (speaker for the past archetype) with the wind spirit (relating it to one of the five rings/elements- earth, fire, water, air, and void) who worship Shizuru.

Of course, I need to come up with some obediences...

3. Do many samurai become Sentinels of Shizuru?

1) Anyone can worship particular gods. That's kind of the norm in Golarion.

2) Absolutely. In fact, those prestige classes in that book are built to encourage and reward players who choose to have their characters worship single deities.

3) Probably not. Prestige classes should be prestigious, and part of that means they're also not super common.

Silver Crusade Contributor

Is the name "leukodaemon" a reference to a specific geographical feature of Greyhawk? (I remember the name from the Kambranex adventure in one of my earliest Dungeon magazines.)

If so, I'm guessing their name predates their first Pathfinder appearance back in #8. Am I correct there?

Thank you! :)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Kalindlara wrote:

Is the name "leukodaemon" a reference to a specific geographical feature of Greyhawk? (I remember the name from the Kambranex adventure in one of my earliest Dungeon magazines.)

If so, I'm guessing their name predates their first Pathfinder appearance back in #8. Am I correct there?

Thank you! :)

Nope.

For our daemons, we generally look to obscure or Latin or Greek words for inspiration, then fiddle with them a bit and then stick them in front of the suffix -daemon.

In the case of the leukodaemon, we took the Greek word "leuko," which means "white" or "colorless" and is associated with not only the white skulls of their heads and the pallid color of a dead body, but also with disease. Things like leukemia.

No ties to Greyhawk at all, in fact. I'm pretty sure that the name "Leuk-O" from Greyhawk was instead an Easter Egg associated with Gygax's son, Luke. VERY different inspirations.

Silver Crusade

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As usual, thanks for answering all our questions, Mr. Jacobs.

And as usual, I have some..

1.) Back in 2e, devils seemed to progress through different ranks and types as a promotion scheme (spinagon to Erinyes, Hamatulas needing a 'downgrade' to a rank so they can get promoted to Cornugon, etc), does mainstream Pathfinder use this system or are all of the fiends whatever type they begin as?

2.) The entire deal of the House of Thrune seems suspect. How can you sign off on the soul of someone else? I know it sounds somewhat dramatic to have your family have a curse and all, but by this same logic couldn't someone make a deal for all goblins, everyone named Morty, anybody who ate someone's cooking? Or are the diabolical forces just playing the house of Thrune's members into thinking they're already damned?

3.) This came up from another thread. What means did Razmir use to destroy the city of Melcat? Even a 19th level wizard doesn't seem to have the capability of destroying an entire city. Was it genuine arcane power he used (and if so, what? Even 9th level spells like meteor swarm couldn't cause city-scale devastation), did he arrange something with followers or summoned creatures, or is he talking out of the side of his mouth about the entire incident?


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Is Xanderghul Peacock Spirit?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Ashkar wrote:
Is Xanderghul Peacock Spirit?

You're missing at least ONE word in your question. Therefore, I get to dodge answering it on the technicality that I'm not sure EXACTLY what you're asking.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Spook205 wrote:

As usual, thanks for answering all our questions, Mr. Jacobs.

And as usual, I have some..

1.) Back in 2e, devils seemed to progress through different ranks and types as a promotion scheme (spinagon to Erinyes, Hamatulas needing a 'downgrade' to a rank so they can get promoted to Cornugon, etc), does mainstream Pathfinder use this system or are all of the fiends whatever type they begin as?

2.) The entire deal of the House of Thrune seems suspect. How can you sign off on the soul of someone else? I know it sounds somewhat dramatic to have your family have a curse and all, but by this same logic couldn't someone make a deal for all goblins, everyone named Morty, anybody who ate someone's cooking? Or are the diabolical forces just playing the house of Thrune's members into thinking they're already damned?

3.) This came up from another thread. What means did Razmir use to destroy the city of Melcat? Even a 19th level wizard doesn't seem to have the capability of destroying an entire city. Was it genuine arcane power he used (and if so, what? Even 9th level spells like meteor swarm couldn't cause city-scale devastation), did he arrange something with followers or summoned creatures, or is he talking out of the side of his mouth about the entire incident?

1) "Mainstream Pathfinder?" That's a thing? Anyway. No, that specific method of diabolic advancement is D&D. We have different methods in Pathfinder. One of which is spelled out in the pit fiend's special abilities.

2) It's a complicated contract and Thrune doesn't reveal much about it... but we'll be revealing peeks into that whole setup later in the year once Hell's Rebels starts coming out... so I'm not gonna say much more about it quite yet...

3) That's unrevealed. More to the point, that's something Jason likely came up with, and he's the one that I want to be the one to decide how Razmir did it. And one 9th level spell couldn't do it, perhpas, but multiple wishes ABSOLUTELY could, as could multiple gates to call in deadly outsiders. At the very least, wish used to cast earthquake would do the trick. More likely, though, it was a powerful and rare ritual that Razmir used to do the trick. Anyway... it's up to Jason.


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When are you going to revel who the gods are for the deity articles in hell's rebels?

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

1) Is there any particular reason why the magic of pride, the sin with the most powerful Runelord in Thassilon, is Illusion? It seems like if Xanderghul was obsessed with standing on his own and being better than anyone else, why would he hide behind spells to create fakes and lies, with no ACTUAL strength to affect the world the way Karzoug or Alaznist could. It seems like an Abjuration/Envy Runelord could have exposed him as a fraud or something by dispelling his magics. Not saying it was a BAD decision, it's an INTERESTING decision, and I'm curious about the thought process that led to it. :)

2) What terrain would a ranger fighting in the Worldwound against demons want for their Favored Terrain?

3) What are good ways to draw inspiration from existing fictional characters in a subtle way? One problem I keep running into is that when I play a character, their mannerisms or modus operandi reveal their inspiration immediately:

"You're playing a vigilante who uses martial arts and intimidates bad guys? You're CLEARLY playing Batman!"

"You're playing a monster-slayer with wolf-like characteristics and uses swords? You're CLEARLY playing Geralt of Rivia!"

"You're playing a druid trying to restore the old ways in a land of knights in shining armor? Why don't you just play a wizard, you're OBVIOUSLY Merlin!"


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James Jacobs wrote:
Ashkar wrote:
Is Xanderghul Peacock Spirit?
You're missing at least ONE word in your question. Therefore, I get to dodge answering it on the technicality that I'm not sure EXACTLY what you're asking.

Terribly sorry, not native english speaker, therefore do make mistakes. But I'll try again:

Is the Runelord of Pride, Xanderghul, the Tassilonian God known as the Peacock Spirit?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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xavier c wrote:
When are you going to revel who the gods are for the deity articles in hell's rebels?

At the earliest, Paizocon, but only if people ask specifically during a panel.

At the latest, when the descriptions of those volumes go live on the website.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Ashkar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ashkar wrote:
Is Xanderghul Peacock Spirit?
You're missing at least ONE word in your question. Therefore, I get to dodge answering it on the technicality that I'm not sure EXACTLY what you're asking.

Terribly sorry, not native english speaker, therefore do make mistakes. But I'll try again:

Is the Runelord of Pride, Xanderghul, the Tassilonian God known as the Peacock Spirit?

Hee... no worries! I was sorta being snarky, because I like the fact that there's so much mystery surrounding the Peacock Spirit. Sorry about that! :-/

In any case... it's not QUITE time yet to reveal more about the Peacock Spirit, including what he/she/it is not. I wanna keep it mysterious for a bit longer... ;-)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

1) Is there any particular reason why the magic of pride, the sin with the most powerful Runelord in Thassilon, is Illusion? It seems like if Xanderghul was obsessed with standing on his own and being better than anyone else, why would he hide behind spells to create fakes and lies, with no ACTUAL strength to affect the world the way Karzoug or Alaznist could. It seems like an Abjuration/Envy Runelord could have exposed him as a fraud or something by dispelling his magics. Not saying it was a BAD decision, it's an INTERESTING decision, and I'm curious about the thought process that led to it. :)

2) What terrain would a ranger fighting in the Worldwound against demons want for their Favored Terrain?

3) What are good ways to draw inspiration from existing fictional characters in a subtle way? One problem I keep running into is that when I play a character, their mannerisms or modus operandi reveal their inspiration immediately:

"You're playing a vigilante who uses martial arts and intimidates bad guys? You're CLEARLY playing Batman!"

"You're playing a monster-slayer with wolf-like characteristics and uses swords? You're CLEARLY playing Geralt of Rivia!"

"You're playing a druid trying to restore the old ways in a land of knights in shining armor? Why don't you just play a wizard, you're OBVIOUSLY Merlin!"

1) There are reasons why ALL of the magic schools are what they are in Thassilon. For pride, it's associated with illusion because those spells are the best suited toward masking and hiding flaws in your person, your belongings, and your environs. And you can change them as needed if someone dares try to one-up you. The fact that these aren't REAL changes only furthers your psychological damage about being obsessed with them. Envy is instead associated with abjuration because those are the spells and magical effects you use to ruin other people's magic.

2) Planar (Abyss) is a good choice. As would be Mountain/hill, or plains. Actually... go check out the Wrath of the Righteous Player's Guide... that info is in there.

3) Maybe play with players who aren't as obsessed with calling out your inspirations? Or rather than be dismayed at that, say, "You're damn right I'm playing Batman/Geralt/Merlin, because that guy/gal is inspiring and cool!"


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Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Ashkar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ashkar wrote:
Is Xanderghul Peacock Spirit?
You're missing at least ONE word in your question. Therefore, I get to dodge answering it on the technicality that I'm not sure EXACTLY what you're asking.

Terribly sorry, not native english speaker, therefore do make mistakes. But I'll try again:

Is the Runelord of Pride, Xanderghul, the Tassilonian God known as the Peacock Spirit?

Hee... no worries! I was sorta being snarky, because I like the fact that there's so much mystery surrounding the Peacock Spirit. Sorry about that! :-/

In any case... it's not QUITE time yet to reveal more about the Peacock Spirit, including what he/she/it is not. I wanna keep it mysterious for a bit longer... ;-)

Do I detect the early hints of the next AP?!?!?!?!


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1. Why are there so many more groups of evil outsiders than good? Seems like there's at least two evil outsiders categories (demon, devil, etc) per alignment, but one per good alignment and the encompassing angel group.

2. Why do celestials have a multi-alignment encompassing subgroup in angels, but fiends don't seem to have the same?

3. Is there a multi-alignment encompassing description of outsider groups for other alignment groups than good and evil (celestial and fiend)? Is there a name for all lawful outsiders regardless of g/e axis, or all chaotic? Feel like coining one here if not?

4. Alignment isn't good for real life, obviously, due to the complexities of ethics and reality, but if you had to guess your own alignment as a fun game, what would it be? How about some of your co-workers?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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j b 200 wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ashkar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ashkar wrote:
Is Xanderghul Peacock Spirit?
You're missing at least ONE word in your question. Therefore, I get to dodge answering it on the technicality that I'm not sure EXACTLY what you're asking.

Terribly sorry, not native english speaker, therefore do make mistakes. But I'll try again:

Is the Runelord of Pride, Xanderghul, the Tassilonian God known as the Peacock Spirit?

Hee... no worries! I was sorta being snarky, because I like the fact that there's so much mystery surrounding the Peacock Spirit. Sorry about that! :-/

In any case... it's not QUITE time yet to reveal more about the Peacock Spirit, including what he/she/it is not. I wanna keep it mysterious for a bit longer... ;-)

Do I detect the early hints of the next AP?!?!?!?!

Nope. You don't.

You might detect hints of plans I have for something regarding the Runelords... but it's not the next AP.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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thegreenteagamer wrote:

1. Why are there so many more groups of evil outsiders than good? Seems like there's at least two evil outsiders categories (demon, devil, etc) per alignment, but one per good alignment and the encompassing angel group.

2. Why do celestials have a multi-alignment encompassing subgroup in angels, but fiends don't seem to have the same?

3. Is there a multi-alignment encompassing description of outsider groups for other alignment groups than good and evil (celestial and fiend)? Is there a name for all lawful outsiders regardless of g/e axis, or all chaotic? Feel like coining one here if not?

4. Alignment isn't good for real life, obviously, due to the complexities of ethics and reality, but if you had to guess your own alignment as a fun game, what would it be? How about some of your co-workers?

1) Because the monsters in the game are, overall, weighted toward evil, because the monsters in the game are, overall, weighted toward foes that traditionally good parties face.

2) Because that's a deliberate design choice to break symmetry between the good outsiders and evil outsiders.

3) Nope. I don't feel like coining one either. I like the fact that the current setup favors good versus evil, and doesn't try to do the same for law versus chaos. And not only because in the vast majority of adventuring parties law and chaos traditionally don't clash NEARLY as much as good and evil.

4) I'd like to be chaotic good, but I tend to be more lawful good. So I guess I'd say I'm neutral good. HAIL SARENRAE!

Not gonna classify co-workers, since that's kinda weird.

Radiant Oath

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

1) So...greed is transmutation because you're taking things and improving them, making them more valuable, sloth is conjuration because you're making others do your dirty work for you, gluttony is necromancy because you can use it to consume the life of others, enchantment is lust because it charms and messes with people's heads, and wrath is evocation because those are the best spells for wrecking s*~$ when you're pissed?

2) Thanks!

3) In that case, where do you think the line between playing a PC inspired by an existing fictional character and out-and-out plagiarizing an existing fictional character is?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

1) So...greed is transmutation because you're taking things and improving them, making them more valuable, sloth is conjuration because you're making others do your dirty work for you, gluttony is necromancy because you can use it to consume the life of others, enchantment is lust because it charms and messes with people's heads, and wrath is evocation because those are the best spells for wrecking s$+# when you're pissed?

2) Thanks!

3) In that case, where do you think the line between playing a PC inspired by an existing fictional character and out-and-out plagiarizing an existing fictional character is?

1) Pretty much, yup.

2) No prob!

3) I think that line is different for each and every person. For me, the line is drawn when you have 2 of the following 3 locked down:
1: Name
2: Appearance
3: Personality

For a character that you're playing in an RPG... that's not going anywhere other than your game table and in that case, it's less of a concern. For a character you're publishing, it's obviously more of a concern.


Hi james was wondering in the long term..does paizo plan to release less rule books and more campaign related material....not trying to start the bloat war argument..i would rather see more campaign books...have a great weekend


Is it possible for a Mezlan (AP 66, pg 90-91) who was once a wizard to become a wizard again after the transformation?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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watchmanx wrote:
Hi james was wondering in the long term..does paizo plan to release less rule books and more campaign related material....not trying to start the bloat war argument..i would rather see more campaign books...have a great weekend

I would rather see more campaign books as well and less rule books... but rule books sell better, so I wouldn't expect to see that shift anytime soon. I'll keep trying though!

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