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Paizo Employee Creative Director

countchocula wrote:
Hello again Mr. Jacobs I was wondering if you can provide your valuable insight on the views and attitude of Asomodean priests towards the priest of the arch devils . Also how do the inquisitors/ clerics of the arch devils collaborate (or not) with their parent(ish) church.

Inner Sea Gods exists for this reason, pretty much; it talks a fair amount about each of the major faiths of the region, including Asmodeus. There's also a lot of in-play examples in Hell's Rebels and the upcoming Hell's Vengeance.

Short version; they respect and fear and admire Asmodeus, and support those who worship the other archdevils. They don't fight with them; they're all part of the same goal and team, after all. The notion of archdevils bickering and plotting against each other is pretty much a D&D thing. It doesn't exist in Pathfinder.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Doomkitten wrote:
Is the halfling on the front cover of the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide of any significance? For some reason, she looks so adorable.

Yes. She's one of the more important characters in the 1st adventure.


James Jacobs wrote:
Not at all = you can't standardize things like this. It's gotta be on a case by case basis, which lets you make the decisions as best fits the story you want to tell.

Thank you for the clarification.

So, is there any particular view of morality/ethics that Alignment tends to follow?

Does Pathfinder assume any of the ideas on Alignment put forth in things like 3.5s Book of Exalted Deeds or Vile Darkness? I'm guessing not since those seem to talk a great deal about reasons and motive.

Are Alignment and morality even synonymous, or just loosely related?

It seems like Alignment judgments are intended to be more of a gut feeling than a codified system, but it's very hard to separate your individual set of morals/ethics from gut feelings.

...

Unrelated question: Do any designers ever jump on the forums with other accounts (anonymous alias) to attempt to guide discussions without having their words used later as "designer statements?"

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Have you noticed that Distant Shores has brought the Asmodean Paladin drive a revival?

Silver Crusade

James, do you think Chelish boarder guards would hit random people for bribes to let in people or goods into Cheiliax or do you think they would be too scared if hitting up the wrong person and winding up on the tines of justice?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Shadowlord wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Not at all = you can't standardize things like this. It's gotta be on a case by case basis, which lets you make the decisions as best fits the story you want to tell.

Thank you for the clarification.

So, is there any particular view of morality/ethics that Alignment tends to follow?

Does Pathfinder assume any of the ideas on Alignment put forth in things like 3.5s Book of Exalted Deeds or Vile Darkness? I'm guessing not since those seem to talk a great deal about reasons and motive.

Are Alignment and morality even synonymous, or just loosely related?

It seems like Alignment judgments are intended to be more of a gut feeling than a codified system, but it's very hard to separate your individual set of morals/ethics from gut feelings.

...

Unrelated question: Do any designers ever jump on the forums with other accounts (anonymous alias) to attempt to guide discussions without having their words used later as "designer statements?"

I'm not really eager to get into a huge discussion/argument about alignment, honestly. It's something that, honestly, is best handled at each individual game table as best suited for the group. In this way, they are indeed intended to be a gut feeling... one that the GM gets final call on and the players need to respect those calls.

As for the other question... I have no idea. I don't. Seems like a good way to get caught and ruin your rep to me.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
LazarX wrote:
Have you noticed that Distant Shores has brought the Asmodean Paladin drive a revival?

No.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Lou Diamond wrote:
James, do you think Chelish boarder guards would hit random people for bribes to let in people or goods into Cheiliax or do you think they would be too scared if hitting up the wrong person and winding up on the tines of justice?

I think that they're very very lawful about it and that it's really tough to bribe them, and that most of them wouldn't be out to look for bribes because they'd be paranoid that they'd just be setting themselves up for a trap.


James Jacobs wrote:
Shadowlord wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Not at all = you can't standardize things like this. It's gotta be on a case by case basis, which lets you make the decisions as best fits the story you want to tell.

Thank you for the clarification.

So, is there any particular view of morality/ethics that Alignment tends to follow?

Does Pathfinder assume any of the ideas on Alignment put forth in things like 3.5s Book of Exalted Deeds or Vile Darkness? I'm guessing not since those seem to talk a great deal about reasons and motive.

Are Alignment and morality even synonymous, or just loosely related?

It seems like Alignment judgments are intended to be more of a gut feeling than a codified system, but it's very hard to separate your individual set of morals/ethics from gut feelings.

...

Unrelated question: Do any designers ever jump on the forums with other accounts (anonymous alias) to attempt to guide discussions without having their words used later as "designer statements?"

I'm not really eager to get into a huge discussion/argument about alignment, honestly. It's something that, honestly, is best handled at each individual game table as best suited for the group. In this way, they are indeed intended to be a gut feeling... one that the GM gets final call on and the players need to respect those calls.

Fair enough. Honestly though, I have never had issues with other GM's alignment rulings when I'm a player. I'm mainly curious to make sure I'm on the right page. Then again, when I'm the GM, I've never had alignment issues in my games with other players. So, since it's more of an art and a gut feeling... I guess I've been doing okay. Again, thank you.

James Jacobs wrote:
As for the other question... I have no idea. I don't. Seems like a good way to get caught and ruin your rep to me.

Yeah, probably so. Lol.

Grand Lodge

James, how well do you understand the dhampir racial feats, Blood Drinker and Blood Feaster? I'm trying to figure them out, but I'm not quite sure I get them. I understand that you pick a humanoid subtype. Got that. It says that it deals 2 Con damage. Is that per bite? Does that mean you can drop them to 0? It doesn't say that there's a maximum, but it doesn't say the opposite either. Blood Feaster gives you better bonuses when you 4 Con or more. Now, is that 4+ over multiple targets (as in 2 from one 2 from another), or 4 from one target?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

kevin_video wrote:
James, how well do you understand the dhampir racial feats, Blood Drinker and Blood Feaster? I'm trying to figure them out, but I'm not quite sure I get them. I understand that you pick a humanoid subtype. Got that. It says that it deals 2 Con damage. Is that per bite? Does that mean you can drop them to 0? It doesn't say that there's a maximum, but it doesn't say the opposite either. Blood Feaster gives you better bonuses when you 4 Con or more. Now, is that 4+ over multiple targets (as in 2 from one 2 from another), or 4 from one target?

I'm not familiar with those feats in the slightest. Sounds like feats that are better suited for NPCs than PCs though.

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
kevin_video wrote:
James, how well do you understand the dhampir racial feats, Blood Drinker and Blood Feaster? I'm trying to figure them out, but I'm not quite sure I get them. I understand that you pick a humanoid subtype. Got that. It says that it deals 2 Con damage. Is that per bite? Does that mean you can drop them to 0? It doesn't say that there's a maximum, but it doesn't say the opposite either. Blood Feaster gives you better bonuses when you 4 Con or more. Now, is that 4+ over multiple targets (as in 2 from one 2 from another), or 4 from one target?
I'm not familiar with those feats in the slightest. Sounds like feats that are better suited for NPCs than PCs though.

Ah. They're from the Advanced Race Guide. And normally I'd say yes they are more for NPCs, but we're doing Way of the Wicked, and one player really wants to play a fang dhampir strangler (brawler) with these feats.


James, what are some of your favorite nations on Golarion? They're all interesting, but what are a couple that, when you guys had the landmass all plotted out and the history established you thought, "Wow, we are good at this?"

On a one-for-one basis, which would you say is more potent in terms of CR, an archdevil or a demon lord? Hell Unleashed makes it fairly clear that infernal dukes are more powerful than a nascent demon lord, so I'd figure as above, then so below.

Have you ever tried a cookie butter and banana sandwich?


Have you had the chance to see Crimson Peak yet? If you have, what did you think of it?


Hi James.
I've got a problem with the Heresy Inquisition.
My level 3 inquisitor has Wis 20 and Cha 13.

The first Heresy Inquisition power granted is:
Righteous Infiltration (Ex): You use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Charisma modifier when making Bluff and Intimidate checks.

and we found in the Heretic Archetype this one:
Lore of Escape (Ex): At 1st level, the heretic uses every trick she knows to escape those now pursuing her. She adds her Wisdom modifier on Bluff and Stealth skill checks in addition to the normal ability score modifiers.

With 3 ranks in bluff, wich is my total bonus:

Bluff +11 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus) or
Bluff +13 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus and +1 cha bonus) or
Bluff +17 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus and again +5 wis bonus)?

Thank you!

Radiant Oath

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Perpdepog wrote:

James, what are some of your favorite nations on Golarion? They're all interesting, but what are a couple that, when you guys had the landmass all plotted out and the history established you thought, "Wow, we are good at this?"

On a one-for-one basis, which would you say is more potent in terms of CR, an archdevil or a demon lord? Hell Unleashed makes it fairly clear that infernal dukes are more powerful than a nascent demon lord, so I'd figure as above, then so below.

Have you ever tried a cookie butter and banana sandwich?

Varisia, Mediogalti, Ustalav, Numeria, and the Darklands are my favorite regions. I never really thought "Wow, we are good at this" though... it's kinda easy for me to see the warts and blemishes and obsess over those, unfortunately.

Archdevils and demon lords are equal power—they range in CR from CR 26 to CR 30. The toughest ones are all CR 30. Whether or not Nocticula or Pazuzu is tougher than Mephistopheles or Baalzebul is going to depend much more on the situation and location than it is on their individual CRs. (Infernal dukes and archdevils, by the way, are essentially in the same CR band category—the difference between an infernal duke and an archdevil is merely that the archdevil rules a layer of hell and a duke does not. On the Abyss, this category division doesn't exist. The analogue in Hell to a nascent demon lord are the maelbranche.)

No.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?

Because it's a giant thread and most folks don't read the thread regularly, I suspect. Rules questions that pop up here tend to be to newcomers to the thread and they see only that someone from Paizo is answering questions, and that the title of the thread doesn't say anything about rules, so they give it a try. And now and then they get lucky and I DO answer a rules question, so it's kind of like a lottery.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Tirisfal wrote:
Have you had the chance to see Crimson Peak yet? If you have, what did you think of it?

I have. I loved it. Not the best movie of the year (that goes to Mad Max: Fury Road) or the second best (that goes to It Follows)... but it MIGHT be the third best movie of the year.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

fomore wrote:

Hi James.

I've got a problem with the Heresy Inquisition.
My level 3 inquisitor has Wis 20 and Cha 13.

The first Heresy Inquisition power granted is:
Righteous Infiltration (Ex): You use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Charisma modifier when making Bluff and Intimidate checks.

and we found in the Heretic Archetype this one:
Lore of Escape (Ex): At 1st level, the heretic uses every trick she knows to escape those now pursuing her. She adds her Wisdom modifier on Bluff and Stealth skill checks in addition to the normal ability score modifiers.

With 3 ranks in bluff, wich is my total bonus:

Bluff +11 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus) or
Bluff +13 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus and +1 cha bonus) or
Bluff +17 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus and again +5 wis bonus)?

Thank you!

Not all archetypes and rules options play perfectly well together—that's just one of the side effects of a rules system as complex, expansive, and ever growing as Pathfinder. In cases like this, it's best to consult with your GM to see what works best for your table. If you happen to be playing Pathfinder Society, then you'll need to either consult the list of rules and guidelines that the PFS coordinators lay out, or even better, abandon one part of the concept and set it aside for a home game—play a heretic archetype but don't take the heresy inquisition, for example. Complex characters with lots of mixed rules are generally more trouble than they're worth in a Massively Multiplayer campaign where the GM often doesn't have or doesn't feel like she/he has the power to make rulings.

In my opinion, and if you were playing in my game, you wouldn't get to add your wisdom bonus twice—that represents the same bonus and as such it wouldn't stack with itself. In effect, if you take the Heresy Inquisition and then take the Heretic Archetype, the Heretic Archetype power of Lore of Escape overrides the Righteous Infiltration power granted by the Heresy inquisition—it does everything the inquisition power does, but better. In this case, if you're crunching the numbers, you should NOT take the heresy inquisition if you're playing a Heretic archetype. It might seem a bit non-intuitive, but fortunately there are a LOT of other inquisition and domain options to choose from if you're set on being a Heretic archetype.

TL;DR—The character you mention would have Bluff +12 (3 ranks, +5 Wisdom, +1 Charisma)

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?
Because it's a giant thread and most folks don't read the thread regularly, I suspect. Rules questions that pop up here tend to be to newcomers to the thread and they see only that someone from Paizo is answering questions, and that the title of the thread doesn't say anything about rules, so they give it a try. And now and then they get lucky and I DO answer a rules question, so it's kind of like a lottery.

That's fair.

Why is it that the healthy thing to do always seems more miserable?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?
Because it's a giant thread and most folks don't read the thread regularly, I suspect. Rules questions that pop up here tend to be to newcomers to the thread and they see only that someone from Paizo is answering questions, and that the title of the thread doesn't say anything about rules, so they give it a try. And now and then they get lucky and I DO answer a rules question, so it's kind of like a lottery.

That's fair.

Why is it that the healthy thing to do always seems more miserable?

That's not always the case. A big part of it is habit. If you have bad habits, then switching to good ones will feel disruptive... but once you establish good habits, the "healthy thing" feels good and doing the non-healthy thing feels gross.

EXAMPLE: I used to drink a LOT of soda—Dr. Pepper in particular. These days, I barely drink it at all, and when I do, it's the diet versions. Now and then when I try the full-on sugar soda, it tastes outright nasty to me.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?
Because it's a giant thread and most folks don't read the thread regularly, I suspect. Rules questions that pop up here tend to be to newcomers to the thread and they see only that someone from Paizo is answering questions, and that the title of the thread doesn't say anything about rules, so they give it a try. And now and then they get lucky and I DO answer a rules question, so it's kind of like a lottery.

That's fair.

Why is it that the healthy thing to do always seems more miserable?

That's not always the case. A big part of it is habit. If you have bad habits, then switching to good ones will feel disruptive... but once you establish good habits, the "healthy thing" feels good and doing the non-healthy thing feels gross.

EXAMPLE: I used to drink a LOT of soda—Dr. Pepper in particular. These days, I barely drink it at all, and when I do, it's the diet versions. Now and then when I try the full-on sugar soda, it tastes outright nasty to me.

I can understand that but what about feelings like "I shouldn't be sittin' here playing all these RPGs. I should go to the gym and run?" I don't WANT to give up gaming, but I feel like given my work schedule and the pressures from my social circle, it's the only way I'll have time for exercise, and sweating always makes me feel gross.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
I can understand that but what about feelings like "I shouldn't be sittin' here playing all these RPGs. I should go to the gym and run?" I don't WANT to give up gaming, but I feel like given my work schedule and the pressures from my social circle, it's the only way I'll have time for exercise, and sweating always makes me feel gross.

I've actually been doing a regular gym routine myself—try to get 10 to 20 minutes of running in each day, and twice a week go in for about an hour of weight training and hard-core personal trainer workout stuff.

My trick? To get all of that stuff done at the START of the day. On gym days, I go in at 9:00 AM and am done by 10:00. On non-gym days, I generally just wake up a half hour early if I can and go running.

If you take care of the exercise early like that, it's not really "robbing" any of your day, especially if you do it before you'd normally wake up anyway. It avoids the work and social circle impact entirely—at least, it does for me, since that extra hour or half hour at the start of the day would just be spent sleeping anyway. Just make sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night!

And sweating is part of the deal. By doing it early, though, you can grab a shower once you're done and the rest of the day is normal.


James Jacobs wrote:
Varisia, Mediogalti, Ustalav, Numeria, and the Darklands are my favorite regions. I never really thought "Wow, we are good at this" though... it's kinda easy for me to see the warts and blemishes and obsess over those, unfortunately.

The fact that so many of my own favorite nations are on that list tickles me more than it probably should. Numeria and Ustalav in particular have been some of my favorite places to read about.

Do you have any advice for someone who can't use a gaming grid that might help game play go more smoothly? For a blind player or GM, say.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Perpdepog wrote:
Do you have any advice for someone who can't use a gaming grid that might help game play go more smoothly? For a blind player or GM, say.

Oooh... that's a tough one. I really don't have advice for someone who can't use a grid in that way, other than maybe to assign numerical values to all creatures rather than sort them by squares? Or perhaps just abandon the grid entirely and run the game more abstract?

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?
Because it's a giant thread and most folks don't read the thread regularly, I suspect. Rules questions that pop up here tend to be to newcomers to the thread and they see only that someone from Paizo is answering questions, and that the title of the thread doesn't say anything about rules, so they give it a try. And now and then they get lucky and I DO answer a rules question, so it's kind of like a lottery.

It also helps that you actually answer the questions given, whether it be a rules answer that you happen to know, or you let us know that you aren't sure or don't know the answer. It's a big help.

Contributor

Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?

Both.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Great thread...and thank you for taking the time. Mr. Jacobs..I'd love to see hardcovers of the Pathfinder Chronicles. Starting with Book #1 I'd love to see author's commissioned to contribute to the story for that book...or short stories...include maps...etc....this is something that the Pathfinder geek in me would immediately hand over money for. I could see a new volume being released every few months or something like that. I can bet that something like this has been discussed. I'd want it to be different than Pathfinder Tales...actually written, drawn, and presented by Pathfinders for Pathfinders...would love to see something like this done. I guess my question is...is this something the minds over there have talked about...my this come into fruition some day? So the first volume would be the entire account of Durvin Gest's exploration of the ruins of Azlant and Selmius Fosters race against a marid and efreeti, and Gregaro Voth's adventures in the Mwangi Expanse. Could be a great work of love with illustrations, maps, goodies. I get goose bumps just thinking about the possibilities. Make it so! lol

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Professor wrote:
Great thread...and thank you for taking the time. Mr. Jacobs..I'd love to see hardcovers of the Pathfinder Chronicles. Starting with Book #1 I'd love to see author's commissioned to contribute to the story for that book...or short stories...include maps...etc....this is something that the Pathfinder geek in me would immediately hand over money for. I could see a new volume being released every few months or something like that. I can bet that something like this has been discussed. I'd want it to be different than Pathfinder Tales...actually written, drawn, and presented by Pathfinders for Pathfinders...would love to see something like this done. I guess my question is...is this something the minds over there have talked about...my this come into fruition some day?

Actual publications of the Pathfinder Chronicles in the real world is unlikely to happen, for the same reason you never saw Lovecraft create an actual Necronomicon. These books work MUCH better when their contents are NOT exactly quantified. They can serve their role equally well in-world whether or not their exact contents are revealed, but once we do nail down those contents, we immediately limit their utility in all future products, particularly those we haven't yet imagined.

The closest we've come to doing something like this is the Pathfinder's Journal in each volume of the Adventure Path. At the start, back with Runelords, we intentionally presented these as in-world versions of unpublished volumes by actual Pathfinders, but by the time we switched over to the Pathfinder Rules with Council of Thieves, we increasingly abandoned this tactic.


James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Why do people keep asking you rules questions after you've made it clear those should go to the Rules board to be FAQ'ed?
Because it's a giant thread and most folks don't read the thread regularly, I suspect. Rules questions that pop up here tend to be to newcomers to the thread and they see only that someone from Paizo is answering questions, and that the title of the thread doesn't say anything about rules, so they give it a try. And now and then they get lucky and I DO answer a rules question, so it's kind of like a lottery.

That's fair.

Why is it that the healthy thing to do always seems more miserable?

That's not always the case. A big part of it is habit. If you have bad habits, then switching to good ones will feel disruptive... but once you establish good habits, the "healthy thing" feels good and doing the non-healthy thing feels gross.

EXAMPLE: I used to drink a LOT of soda—Dr. Pepper in particular. These days, I barely drink it at all, and when I do, it's the diet versions. Now and then when I try the full-on sugar soda, it tastes outright nasty to me.

I read some interesting stuff a while ago that there is evidence to support that various bacteria etc, in your gut are responsible for making you crave stuff that feeds them. Therefore, if you cut out the crappy foods for a few weeks your cravings for them will diminish.

Eating healthy foods will give you cravings for healthy foods.

Of course the author presented it much better than that! ;)

So in other words you only need to be strong willed for a few weeks. Which oddly enough is generally how long it takes to make a new habit.

Anyways, apologies for the interruption. Back to James. :)


James Jacobs wrote:
fomore wrote:

Hi James.

I've got a problem with the Heresy Inquisition.
My level 3 inquisitor has Wis 20 and Cha 13.

The first Heresy Inquisition power granted is:
Righteous Infiltration (Ex): You use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Charisma modifier when making Bluff and Intimidate checks.

and we found in the Heretic Archetype this one:
Lore of Escape (Ex): At 1st level, the heretic uses every trick she knows to escape those now pursuing her. She adds her Wisdom modifier on Bluff and Stealth skill checks in addition to the normal ability score modifiers.

With 3 ranks in bluff, wich is my total bonus:

Bluff +11 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus) or
Bluff +13 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus and +1 cha bonus) or
Bluff +17 (3 ranks, +5 wis bonus and again +5 wis bonus)?

Thank you!

Not all archetypes and rules options play perfectly well together—that's just one of the side effects of a rules system as complex, expansive, and ever growing as Pathfinder. In cases like this, it's best to consult with your GM to see what works best for your table. If you happen to be playing Pathfinder Society, then you'll need to either consult the list of rules and guidelines that the PFS coordinators lay out, or even better, abandon one part of the concept and set it aside for a home game—play a heretic archetype but don't take the heresy inquisition, for example. Complex characters with lots of mixed rules are generally more trouble than they're worth in a Massively Multiplayer campaign where the GM often doesn't have or doesn't feel like she/he has the power to make rulings.

In my opinion, and if you were playing in my game, you wouldn't get to add your wisdom bonus twice—that represents the same bonus and as such it wouldn't stack with itself. In effect, if you take the Heresy Inquisition and then take the Heretic Archetype, the Heretic Archetype power of Lore of Escape overrides the Righteous Infiltration power granted by the Heresy inquisition—it does everything the inquisition power does, but...

I'm not a crunchy James, it suits well with the history.

Thank you very much!!!


Dear Mr. Jacobs,

I'm preparing to run a Lovecraftian horror game with a Gothic aesthetic soon, and I need your advice. As I have a twisted, sick, and deeply disturbed mind, I will have no trouble coming up with sanity-shattering monsters that I can use. However, one of the conventions of horror is that you can't fight the Big Bad directly. This comes into direct conflict with the combat-centric nature of most roleplaying games. So how would you suggest finding the right balance between things that my players can fight and things that they can't?


Another question: where the Necrocrafts inspired by the Necromorphs from Dead Space?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Doomkitten wrote:
Another question: where the Necrocrafts inspired by the Necromorphs from Dead Space?

Not that I'm aware of. I didn't design them or order them, so I can't say either way.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Doomkitten wrote:

Dear Mr. Jacobs,

I'm preparing to run a Lovecraftian horror game with a Gothic aesthetic soon, and I need your advice. As I have a twisted, sick, and deeply disturbed mind, I will have no trouble coming up with sanity-shattering monsters that I can use. However, one of the conventions of horror is that you can't fight the Big Bad directly. This comes into direct conflict with the combat-centric nature of most roleplaying games. So how would you suggest finding the right balance between things that my players can fight and things that they can't?

Honestly? I'd suggest running your game using Call of Cthulhu, not Pathfinder. You want to run a different type of game than Pathfinder is built to portray.

That said, you CAN still do gothic Lovecraftian horror where the PCs are heroes. See "Carrion Hill" or "Wake of the Watcher" or "Feast of Ravenmoor" for examples, or the upcoming Strange Aeons Adventure Path for that matter.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Will Pratt wrote:
What's your opinion on the beginner's box I wasn't able to find anything when I was going through this massive forum

I think it's the best way to learn how to play Pathfinder, and it's one of the best introductions to roleplaying that's ever been published!

And the original post vanished! I'm keeping this here though!

Dark Archive

James what is the easiest way, you would say, to model a battle between to flying ships, using pathfinder?

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Am I a bad person? :(
I have no idea.

Though I will say that if you're asking the question, then chances are you're not.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

ulgulanoth wrote:
James what is the easiest way, you would say, to model a battle between to flying ships, using pathfinder?

By adapting the ship-to-ship combat rules detailed in the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path. An even EASIER way would be to handle the fight between the ships as flavor text, then have the PCs board the enemy ship and do standard fights against the crew on board the enemy deck.


Dear James

As my previous messages have indicated, I am a big fan of divine classes (soooo much RP potential)..... and in particular clerics

1) What are the chances of Great Old Ones/Outer Gods becoming PFS legal?

2) When oh when will Paizo design a D6 divine class?!?!.... there is a class waiting/begging/grovelling to be filled!

Anti/Paladin -----> Warpriest/Inquisitor ----> Cleric/Oracle ----> Priest/Saint/Anointed One/Apostle/Divine Paradigm/Other flavoursome name!

D6 HD, 1/2 BAB, poor armour and weapons.... etc

There clearly is a demand, as indicated by the several 3PP attempts and there clearly is a niche.....

It really would be birthday, Easter and Xmas combined if you were to give it a go!!

Contributor

James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?
Both.

Which Map Pack would you say is the one that gets the most milage at your games?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?
Both.
Which Map Pack would you say is the one that gets the most milage at your games?

None actually. I get too frustrated by the map packs, personally. I love the flip mats (and that's what I'd mistakenly thought you were initially asking about), but the map packs are too tiny and slide around too much for me to use much at all. I prefer bigger, more stable play surfaces like battlemats, tactiles, gaming paper, or flip mats for my games.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Silver Surfer wrote:

Dear James

As my previous messages have indicated, I am a big fan of divine classes (soooo much RP potential)..... and in particular clerics

1) What are the chances of Great Old Ones/Outer Gods becoming PFS legal?

2) When oh when will Paizo design a D6 divine class?!?!.... there is a class waiting/begging/grovelling to be filled!

Anti/Paladin -----> Warpriest/Inquisitor ----> Cleric/Oracle ----> Priest/Saint/Anointed One/Apostle/Divine Paradigm/Other flavoursome name!

D6 HD, 1/2 BAB, poor armour and weapons.... etc

There clearly is a demand, as indicated by the several 3PP attempts and there clearly is a niche.....

It really would be birthday, Easter and Xmas combined if you were to give it a go!!

1) Probably zero, since those deities are intended to be bad guy deities for bad guys to worship, and PFS doesn't allow bad guy PCs. Allowing non villain worshipers of the Great Old Ones/Outer Gods dilutes them in a way I find distasteful and unappealing.

2) Probably never. That's a better question for the design team though, I suppose.


James Jacobs wrote:


1) Probably zero, since those deities are intended to be bad guy deities for bad guys to worship, and PFS doesn't allow bad guy PCs. Allowing non villain worshipers of the Great Old Ones/Outer Gods dilutes them in a way I find distasteful and unappealing.

But why? There are plenty of CE, LE, NE deities that are PFS legal?

James Jacobs wrote:


2) Probably never. That's a better question for the design team though, I suppose.

Bizarre....truly bizarre

I would love to be able to ask that question to a design team member if possible?


Silver Surfer wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
2) Probably never. That's a better question for the design team though, I suppose.

Bizarre....truly bizarre

I would love to be able to ask that question to a design team member if possible?

Here you go.

Silver Crusade

James,which if any Inner sea countries have regular coach service between
major cities and towns?

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