Creative Director
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So you actually do believe in the supernatural, then? That's interesting, but I think we've reached a mutual dead end on this inquiry, since asking any further would probably be an intrusion at this point.Do you think that it's a placebo effect, or do you actually believe that there is a supernatural component to these miracles?Both.
To a certain extent, yes I do. Whether what we view as supernatural effects are ACTUALLY supernatural effects or are merely scientific effects that exist beyond humanity's ability to comprehend or understand is perhaps the question, and being a member of humanity, not one that I can answer. But I think that it's arrogant for any of us to assume we understand reality, when the apparatus we use to interface with reality (our brains) is itself so poorly understood. The more we know, the more we don't know.
Given some of the discussion here about summoning, calling, enslaving, and their effect on alignment, would you disallow a PFRPG conversion Malconvoker prestige class from Complete Scoundrel in a Golarion game you were GMing, or just change their alignment requirement from "any non-evil" to "any neutral?"
What's your five favorite types of regional non-American foods?
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Creative Director
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Given some of the discussion here about summoning, calling, enslaving, and their effect on alignment, would you disallow a PFRPG conversion Malconvoker prestige class from Complete Scoundrel in a Golarion game you were GMing, or just change their alignment requirement from "any non-evil" to "any neutral?"
I'm not familiar enough with that class, so I can't say off the top of my head, but I would probably suggest the player not play that class anyway but instead figure out how to do that concept among the 40 or so classes we have as options in the game already.
JJ,
FWIW, the Malconvoker is a Summoning PrC from 3e that was designed to let G alignment casters summon Evil outsiders to do their bidding (no alignment repercussions, you are using Evil to fight Evil!), granting them bonuses on Calls and Summons, hiding their alignment, and Giving +1 to the amount of Evil outsiders from Summoning spells (i.e. two bone devils instead of one, etc).
It's considered the best (i.e. most overpowered) Summoning class of 3.5, and works equally well for wizards or priests.
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No. In part because summon spells summon a "copy" of something, not the real thing. It doesn't exist before or after it gets summoned; it's whole POINT is to serve. That's the big difference between summon spells and calling spells. BUT feel free to rule otherwise if it makes sense for your game.What about those classes which get a capper that makes summon monster last indefinitely? Would that then be evil since it is not longer a short duration?Given the recent decision that slavery is an inherently evil act... what is your take on the spells "Summon Monster" and "Planar Binding"? Or what about golem production considering that involves stealing the will of an elemental for the animation process?
Is dominate now inherently evil since it is a form of slavery no matter how you choose to use the power?
How about the Manacles of Cooperation?Those spells are in a gray area, along with mind control. But since the servitude enforced by those spells is temporary it's not quite the same as slavery.
Golem production is a concept that slipped through the cracks; in order to keep that from feeling evil, my suggestion is to instead of saying that it requires an elemental to animate, it just requires a fragment of elemental animative power. Or maybe just say it requires a mote of positive energy.
I have to point out that the rules specifically say that summoned creatures are pulled from elsewhere and return there afterwards.
As apposed to calling..,
Is it your intention to change this rule so they are not real creatures but instead magical constructs? Or is there Golarion specific text somewhere which says this? And if so does it still make sense to have an alignment attached to those spells? Since it is not an evil act for an artist to sculpt a devil.
Given that some occasions exist of the rules fluff and Golarion fluff differing (i.e. clerics must be granted power by a specific deity in Golarion but not the core rules), how tightly bound are lycanthropes to alignment?
I love playing lycanthropes, though usually of a feline variety, but not so much evil, I usually play them as neutral or lawful neutral, occasionally good.
I thought about doing a write up on natural lycanthropes, but I'm not sure about Golarion lycan's alignment issues, or if there are any significant sources on lycans specific to Golarion.
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Creative Director
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JJ,
FWIW, the Malconvoker is a Summoning PrC from 3e that was designed to let G alignment casters summon Evil outsiders to do their bidding (no alignment repercussions, you are using Evil to fight Evil!), granting them bonuses on Calls and Summons, hiding their alignment, and Giving +1 to the amount of Evil outsiders from Summoning spells (i.e. two bone devils instead of one, etc).
It's considered the best (i.e. most overpowered) Summoning class of 3.5, and works equally well for wizards or priests.
Oh.
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Creative Director
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Is it your intention to change this rule so they are not real creatures but instead magical constructs? Or is there Golarion specific text somewhere which says this? And if so does it still make sense to have an alignment attached to those spells? Since it is not an evil act for an artist to sculpt a devil.
Do what you want, I guess. It's your game. You ask my opinion on how something works in the game, I give it. I'm not into fighting against you or anyone else to try to make it game law.
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Creative Director
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Given that some occasions exist of the rules fluff and Golarion fluff differing (i.e. clerics must be granted power by a specific deity in Golarion but not the core rules), how tightly bound are lycanthropes to alignment?
I love playing lycanthropes, though usually of a feline variety, but not so much evil, I usually play them as neutral or lawful neutral, occasionally good.
I thought about doing a write up on natural lycanthropes, but I'm not sure about Golarion lycan's alignment issues, or if there are any significant sources on lycans specific to Golarion.
Alignment is not affected by lycanthropy in Pathfinder. Whether or not your GM is fine with you retaining control of your character when you become a lycanthrope is up to the GM. Horror Adventures does provide some options here as well.
THAT SAID, traditional stories about lycanthropy present it in a horror/curse light, and so I do vastly prefer the idea that characters who become lycanthropes should lose control of their actions when they become animalistic; the idea that when you change, control of your character switches over to the GM is a pretty strong reason for players to avoid contracting it!
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Do what you want, I guess. It's your game. You ask my opinion on how something works in the game, I give it. I'm not into fighting against you or anyone else to try to make it game law.Is it your intention to change this rule so they are not real creatures but instead magical constructs? Or is there Golarion specific text somewhere which says this? And if so does it still make sense to have an alignment attached to those spells? Since it is not an evil act for an artist to sculpt a devil.
I'm just trying to understand the game as it is. I play in PFS more than I play in home games. It changes many things if a summoned creature is not a real creature, from "Is it evil to summon a horse to set off a trap"(Yes if it is real, no if it is just a construct) to "Can I ask my summon questions about its life experiences?"(Yes if it is real, yes if it is a direct copy of a specific real creature, no if it is a copy of a creature type not a specific creature).
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Creative Director
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I'm just trying to understand the game as it is. I play in PFS more than I play in home games. It changes many things if a summoned creature is not a real creature, from "Is it evil to summon a horse to set off a trap"(Yes if it is real, no if it is just a construct) to "Can I ask my summon questions about its life experiences?"(Yes if it is real, yes if it is a direct copy of a specific real creature, no if it is a copy of a creature type not a specific creature).Do what you want, I guess. It's your game. You ask my opinion on how something works in the game, I give it. I'm not into fighting against you or anyone else to try to make it game law.Is it your intention to change this rule so they are not real creatures but instead magical constructs? Or is there Golarion specific text somewhere which says this? And if so does it still make sense to have an alignment attached to those spells? Since it is not an evil act for an artist to sculpt a devil.
For PFS, you need to follow the rules as built by that setting, and if you are looking for clarifications, you need to talk to someone on the PFS team. I am not the GM for that particular campaign, and as such I am not the one to ask for rules clarifications.
If you're worried that a character concept might clash against some of the expectations or themes or whatever of PFS, though, the best advice I can give is that you should NOT use that character concept for PFS, but instead set that concept aside for a home game and go with a different character concept.
Personally, the notion that a summon spell plucks a creature out of its life on another plane and places it in your control is something that unnecessarily confuses the summon descriptor with calling, and as such, I much much MUCH prefer to play it that when you summon a thing, you create a magical duplicate of the target. It works SO much better and doesn't confuse things with calling, and makes calling spells more desirable for things like long-term arrangements or asking a creature about its life before it showed up.
If you wanted to design a character based on the Lancer class from Final Fantasy fame (example characters include Kain from FFIV [American 2], Cid from FFVII, and Freya from FFIX, or the generic class from FF Tactics), to be able to emphasize that awesome leap attack that puts Mario's vertical jump to shame, how would you go about it?
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For PFS, you need to follow the rules as built by that setting, and if you are looking for clarifications, you need to talk to someone on the PFS team. I am not the GM for that particular campaign, and as such I am not the one to ask for rules clarifications.
If you're worried that a character concept might clash against some of the expectations or themes or whatever of PFS, though, the best advice I can give is that you should NOT use that character concept for PFS, but instead set that concept aside for a home game and go with a different character concept.
Personally, the notion that a summon spell plucks a creature out of its life on another plane and places it in your control is something that unnecessarily confuses the summon descriptor with calling, and as such, I much much MUCH prefer to play it that when you summon a thing, you create a magical duplicate of the target. It works SO much better and doesn't confuse things with calling, and makes calling spells more desirable for things like long-term arrangements or asking a creature about its life before it showed up.
Oh, that's okay. The PFS ruling for how summons function is the Golarion ruling for how summons function. Up until that changes. So understanding Golarion is enough. I just figured you would have the straight answer for how Golarion functioned.
I agree that magical duplicates could make summoning more convenient in many ways.
Thanks for replying.
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Creative Director
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If you wanted to design a character based on the Lancer class from Final Fantasy fame (example characters include Kain from FFIV [American 2], Cid from FFVII, and Freya from FFIX, or the generic class from FF Tactics), to be able to emphasize that awesome leap attack that puts Mario's vertical jump to shame, how would you go about it?
None of your examples work for me, since all I know as far as FF goes is FF X and FF X2. Rephrase your question with Rikku in mind as the example and I'll understand.
THAT SAID... if you're basically asking what the best way to build a character with awesome jump powers would be... I guess unchained rogue with as many bonuses to Acrobatics and land speed as you can get, with minor magic to gain jump?
Kimahri's jump attack would be the closest I could think of from FFX. It's like 20+ feet in heavy armor.
The thing is they're almost always heavily armored, polearm-wielding, and highly mobile...roughly half the time it's a polearm and a shield, but sometimes it's just a polearm. It almost seems like the dragoon fighter seems inspired by it, until you read how mount-dependant it is, and these are definitely heavy infantry.
It seems one of those things like "hey, you can't do that with heavy armor, it's unrealistic" but then this is a game where multi-ton lizards fly on wings that couldn't possibly support their frame while under the effect of an anti-magic aura, so physics defiance shouldn't be too much of an issue...
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James, who at Pazio is in charge of the Pathfinder Tales Line? I heard James Patterson [The author] on the radio this morning talking about novella's that he is writing for amazon and ibooks. I think something like that would be real cool for us readers of Pazio Tales that would like more content.
Do you think you could ask the person in charge of Pazio Tales to find out if the Pazio Tales authors could write novells that we could buy on line? I think Pazio could make some good money doing this.
Kimahri's jump attack would be the closest I could think of from FFX. It's like 20+ feet in heavy armor.
The thing is they're almost always heavily armored, polearm-wielding, and highly mobile...roughly half the time it's a polearm and a shield, but sometimes it's just a polearm. It almost seems like the dragoon fighter seems inspired by it, until you read how mount-dependant it is, and these are definitely heavy infantry.
It seems one of those things like "hey, you can't do that with heavy armor, it's unrealistic" but then this is a game where multi-ton lizards fly on wings that couldn't possibly support their frame while under the effect of an anti-magic aura, so physics defiance shouldn't be too much of an issue...
IANJ, but it sounds like what you'd need is for the armor to be enchanted with an amped-up version of the dweomer from a pair of Boots of Striding and Springing -- or perhaps to wear a pair of those boots along with Mithral Full Plate of Speed. If the effect is going to be both as powerful and as constant as in the FF-games, you're probably talking about armor with a six-figure gp value at least, if not a priceless artifact.
I have to point out that the rules specifically say that summoned creatures are pulled from elsewhere and return there afterwards.
** spoiler omitted **...
IASNJ, but... summoning appears to function much like Astral Projection (with the outsider you summon being projected onto the Material Plane), while calling works like Gate (and is in fact one of the functions for which Gate can be used).
For flavor, one might add in one's own canon that outsiders volunteer to be available for summoning by Material plane casters of compatible alignment in order to gain experience, status on their home planes, or simply the chance to revisit the material worlds where their spirits originated.
Given that some occasions exist of the rules fluff and Golarion fluff differing (i.e. clerics must be granted power by a specific deity in Golarion but not the core rules), how tightly bound are lycanthropes to alignment?
I love playing lycanthropes, though usually of a feline variety, but not so much evil, I usually play them as neutral or lawful neutral, occasionally good.
I thought about doing a write up on natural lycanthropes, but I'm not sure about Golarion lycan's alignment issues, or if there are any significant sources on lycans specific to Golarion.
Alignment is not affected by lycanthropy in Pathfinder. Whether or not your GM is fine with you retaining control of your character when you become a lycanthrope is up to the GM. Horror Adventures does provide some options here as well.
THAT SAID, traditional stories about lycanthropy present it in a horror/curse light, and so I do vastly prefer the idea that characters who become lycanthropes should lose control of their actions when they become animalistic; the idea that when you change, control of your character switches over to the GM is a pretty strong reason for players to avoid contracting it!
Indeed I agree, but that is only for those who recently gained the affliction. There remains the question of those who have lived many years with it, possibly even decades and what kind of control can they gain, and also natural lycans who are born into it for whom the animal and human sides develop synchronously and potentially as one rather than one being gained long after the other.
Also, where in Golarion would be a good spot to place the central clans of natural lycanthropes?
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Apologies if you've answered this before but by most information I can find cannibalism is considered an evil act, even though the Lizardfolk eat their own dead with a pragmatic standpoint and maintain a Neutral alignment, so at what point is eating your own kind evil? Is it directly related to how likely your race is to become a Ghoul after death?
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Creative Director
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What are some other examples of kineticists in fiction besides Carrie from Stephen King? From my understanding, that's the image you were going for with kineticists, rather than Avatar-style "benders" which was merely a coincidence...
The image I had in mind for kineticists was absolutely Carrie from King's novel, but also other characters from lots of King's stories like Charlie from Firestarter.
I wasn't actually involved in the creation of the class for the book though, so whether King's work played any role at all in inspiring the design team or not... I have no idea.
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James, who at Pazio is in charge of the Pathfinder Tales Line? I heard James Patterson [The author] on the radio this morning talking about novella's that he is writing for amazon and ibooks. I think something like that would be real cool for us readers of Pazio Tales that would like more content.
Do you think you could ask the person in charge of Pazio Tales to find out if the Pazio Tales authors could write novells that we could buy on line? I think Pazio could make some good money doing this.
James Sutter's the one in charge of the Tales line, but I can tell you right now that writing novels for Pathfinder is something we want to continue to control; it's not something we're interested in letting authors write without us approving and proofing the novels.
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Creative Director
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IANJ, but it sounds like what you'd need is for the armor to be enchanted with an amped-up version of the dweomer from a pair of Boots of Striding and Springing -- or perhaps to wear a pair of those boots along with Mithral Full Plate of Speed. If the effect is going to be both as powerful and as constant as in the FF-games, you're probably talking about armor with a six-figure gp value at least, if not a priceless artifact.Kimahri's jump attack would be the closest I could think of from FFX. It's like 20+ feet in heavy armor.
The thing is they're almost always heavily armored, polearm-wielding, and highly mobile...roughly half the time it's a polearm and a shield, but sometimes it's just a polearm. It almost seems like the dragoon fighter seems inspired by it, until you read how mount-dependant it is, and these are definitely heavy infantry.
It seems one of those things like "hey, you can't do that with heavy armor, it's unrealistic" but then this is a game where multi-ton lizards fly on wings that couldn't possibly support their frame while under the effect of an anti-magic aura, so physics defiance shouldn't be too much of an issue...
If you have suggestions for answers it's better to PM the questioner rather than clutter the thread. Keep it to questions here, please.
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Creative Director
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I have to point out that the rules specifically say that summoned creatures are pulled from elsewhere and return there afterwards.
** spoiler omitted **...
IASNJ, but... summoning appears to function much like Astral Projection (with the outsider you summon being projected onto the Material Plane), while calling works like Gate (and is in fact one of the functions for which Gate can be used).
For flavor, one might add in one's own canon that outsiders volunteer to be available for summoning by Material plane casters of compatible alignment in order to gain experience, status on their home planes, or simply the chance to revisit the material worlds where their spirits originated.
Again... in the interests of keeping the thread on topic and not cluttered, there's no need to help me answer questions. Thanks.
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Creative Director
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Given that some occasions exist of the rules fluff and Golarion fluff differing (i.e. clerics must be granted power by a specific deity in Golarion but not the core rules), how tightly bound are lycanthropes to alignment?
I love playing lycanthropes, though usually of a feline variety, but not so much evil, I usually play them as neutral or lawful neutral, occasionally good.
I thought about doing a write up on natural lycanthropes, but I'm not sure about Golarion lycan's alignment issues, or if there are any significant sources on lycans specific to Golarion.
Alignment is not affected by lycanthropy in Pathfinder. Whether or not your GM is fine with you retaining control of your character when you become a lycanthrope is up to the GM. Horror Adventures does provide some options here as well.
THAT SAID, traditional stories about lycanthropy present it in a horror/curse light, and so I do vastly prefer the idea that characters who become lycanthropes should lose control of their actions when they become animalistic; the idea that when you change, control of your character switches over to the GM is a pretty strong reason for players to avoid contracting it!
Indeed I agree, but that is only for those who recently gained the affliction. There remains the question of those who have lived many years with it, possibly even decades and what kind of control can they gain, and also natural lycans who are born into it for whom the animal and human sides develop synchronously and potentially as one rather than one being gained long after the other.
Also, where in Golarion would be a good spot to place the central clans of natural lycanthropes?
Those who have lived "many years" with lycanthropy are best used as NPCs, not PCs.
There are natural lycanthropes throughout Golarion, but Ustalav's the place that thematically is the most on point with them. A close second would probably be the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Beyond that, it varies by species. Weresharks in the Shackles, wererats in Absalom, weretigers in Jalmeray, werecrocodiles in Osirion, etc.
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Apologies if you've answered this before but by most information I can find cannibalism is considered an evil act, even though the Lizardfolk eat their own dead with a pragmatic standpoint and maintain a Neutral alignment, so at what point is eating your own kind evil? Is it directly related to how likely your race is to become a Ghoul after death?
Intent is important here. If you're committing cannibalism out of necessity or tradition, then it's not likely to be an evil act. If you're killing someone specifically to eat them, then yes, it's absolutely an evil act. Whether or not you are doing it for evil or not is irrelevant in many cases as to whether or not you're in danger of becoming a ghoul or a wendigo or whatever... story matters in these cases, so it's up to the GM.
Would you riot if mint was banned? What about if your favourite foodstuff was banned instead?
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Would you riot if mint was banned? What about if your favourite foodstuff was banned instead?
I would not if that was all that got banned... but if enough things DID get banned I might just freak out. Which is the point of what Barzillai's up to... it's not one thing but a lot of things that he does to secure power and abuse it for self-gratification.
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But James, MINT WATER.
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?
!?
Also Molly Moon's scout mint ice cream.
!
???
Given that some occasions exist of the rules fluff and Golarion fluff differing (i.e. clerics must be granted power by a specific deity in Golarion but not the core rules), how tightly bound are lycanthropes to alignment?
I love playing lycanthropes, though usually of a feline variety, but not so much evil, I usually play them as neutral or lawful neutral, occasionally good.
I thought about doing a write up on natural lycanthropes, but I'm not sure about Golarion lycan's alignment issues, or if there are any significant sources on lycans specific to Golarion.
Alignment is not affected by lycanthropy in Pathfinder. Whether or not your GM is fine with you retaining control of your character when you become a lycanthrope is up to the GM. Horror Adventures does provide some options here as well.
THAT SAID, traditional stories about lycanthropy present it in a horror/curse light, and so I do vastly prefer the idea that characters who become lycanthropes should lose control of their actions when they become animalistic; the idea that when you change, control of your character switches over to the GM is a pretty strong reason for players to avoid contracting it!
Indeed I agree, but that is only for those who recently gained the affliction. There remains the question of those who have lived many years with it, possibly even decades and what kind of control can they gain, and also natural lycans who are born into it for whom the animal and human sides develop synchronously and potentially as one rather than one being gained long after the other.
Also, where in Golarion would be a good spot to place the central clans of natural lycanthropes?
Those who have lived "many years" with lycanthropy are best used as NPCs, not PCs.
There are natural lycanthropes throughout Golarion, but Ustalav's the place that thematically is the most on point with them. A close second would probably be the Lands of...
With that being the subject, any opinions of the late White Wolf's Werewolf RPG?
I have recently gotten into Dark Souls, and I have a few playstyle questions:
1. Is the Zweihander worth it? Other than losing 9 humanity from a previous bloodstain when I died to the huge skeleton that was guarding it, it deals a crapton of damage and has a huge attack radius. However, it's swing is extremely slow.
2. Any tips on how to beat the Capra Demon? (The lower undead burg's boss fight).
3. What was your biggest "A-ha!" moment? The moment where you made a lore conjecture that actually makes sense and makes you invested in the world? Mine was when, after summoning Solaire and another white phantom to take on the Bell Gargoyles, I got a special Sunlight Medal for him with the lore text talking about Gwyn's exiled son... who had a strong connection from a sun... and who never really died...
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I have recently gotten into Dark Souls, and I have a few playstyle questions:
Spoiler:1. Is the Zweihander worth it? Other than losing 9 humanity from a previous bloodstain when I died to the huge skeleton that was guarding it, it deals a crapton of damage and has a huge attack radius. However, it's swing is extremely slow.
2. Any tips on how to beat the Capra Demon? (The lower undead burg's boss fight).3. What was your biggest "A-ha!" moment? The moment where you made a lore conjecture that actually makes sense and makes you invested in the world? Mine was when, after summoning Solaire and another white phantom to take on the Bell Gargoyles, I got a special Sunlight Medal for him with the lore text talking about Gwyn's exiled son... who had a strong connection from a sun... and who never really died...
My answers...
2) It's been several years since I played Dark Souls, and the Capra Demon was one of the bosses that, for whatever reason, I didn't have a lot of trouble with. My tactics at the time were likely to use a fast weapon and dodge a lot. Lock on to the demon and stay in motion and stab when you can. You can also, if I remember correctly, set up a plunging attack there pretty easily by getting up on a ledge above the demon. If you drop off a ledge and land on a creature and attack as you're falling/landing, you do a HUGE amount of damage. And of course, if it's still tough, don't be afraid to summon phantoms to help!
3) My biggest a-ha moment was when I realized that running up and just standing there and button mashing a foe was NOT the way to play. I was doing that at the start against most of the foes and doing okay until I got to the hollows who used shields and spears. Running up to them and button mashing was 100% ineffective because they'd block your attacks with a shield, stagger you, and then stab you to death. I avoided those foes for a long time until the game trained me to be more defensive and mobile and to time my attacks easier, at which point I wandered back to attack the shield hollows and they were SUPER EASY to defeat. That was probably why I ended up so strongly favoring the highly mobile fast weapon play style.
But if you're looking for an in-world lore "ah-ha" moment, hmmm... not sure. It's been a while since I played the original Dark Souls.
It seems like all of the evil aligned planes might have different "yield rates" for souls becoming outsiders. Is this accurate, with one type of petitioner (larvae, hunted, damned) more likely to become an outsider of some sort than the others?
Vague estimates based on what I understand of planar lore:
The Abyss loses some unknown number of larvae to random predation and mishaps, but several lesser demon types also produce several demons per larvae once they transform. (Others, like Balors, usually require several larvae to make one demon, but that seems to be the exception.) My guess is that they have the highest yield rate in terms of actual outsiders produced (regardless of whether there are more CE than NE/LE souls to start with), but they then go on to engage in enough fratricide to keep their numbers down.
Daemon's lose some unknown number of the hunted to deliberate daemonic predation, and it seems from their Book of the Damned like this is a pretty high proportion (definitely over 50%) with only a minority who survive long enough or who are particularly ruthless transforming into daemons.
Devils lose some unknown number of the damned to merger with the plane before they are chosen for promotion to devilhood. I have no idea if this proportion is high or low.
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Which mental ability score do you think is most helpful for developing as a society? Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom?
If you were offered the option to have either a belt of giant strength +4, a belt of incredible dexterity +4, or a belt of mighty constitution +4 in real life, which would you pick, and why?
If you could choose between having augury as a spell-like ability 3/day, clairaudience/clairvoyance as a spell-like ability 3/day, or detect thoughts as a spell-like ability 3/day in real life, which would you pick, and why?
All three mental ability scores are helpful for a developing society, but I think Charisma is the most important of the three.
I'd take the constitution belt because it would help fight sickness and help stay in shape better than the other two.
I would pick detect thoughts, because that would help me make the right decisions more often. Augury sometimes gives misleading results, and clairaudiance/clairvoyance is something I can kind of already do with existing technology if I wanted to.
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It seems like all of the evil aligned planes might have different "yield rates" for souls becoming outsiders. Is this accurate, with one type of petitioner (larvae, hunted, damned) more likely to become an outsider of some sort than the others?
Vague estimates based on what I understand of planar lore:
The Abyss loses some unknown number of larvae to random predation and mishaps, but several lesser demon types also produce several demons per larvae once they transform. (Others, like Balors, usually require several larvae to make one demon, but that seems to be the exception.) My guess is that they have the highest yield rate in terms of actual outsiders produced (regardless of whether there are more CE than NE/LE souls to start with), but they then go on to engage in enough fratricide to keep their numbers down.
Daemon's lose some unknown number of the hunted to deliberate daemonic predation, and it seems from their Book of the Damned like this is a pretty high proportion (definitely over 50%) with only a minority who survive long enough or who are particularly ruthless transforming into daemons.
Devils lose some unknown number of the damned to merger with the plane before they are chosen for promotion to devilhood. I have no idea if this proportion is high or low.
Sounds about right. The Abyss has the most, Abaddon has the least.
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James Sutter's the one in charge of the Tales line, but I can tell you right now that writing novels for Pathfinder is something we want to continue to control; it's not something we're interested in letting authors write without us approving and proofing the novels.
James I did not mean I wanted other authors to write Novellas I want the fine authors that you already use to produce more Pathfinder content just in e-book form so it could get to your fans faster. print books take 6 months to a year to get published.
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Creative Director
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James Sutter's the one in charge of the Tales line, but I can tell you right now that writing novels for Pathfinder is something we want to continue to control; it's not something we're interested in letting authors write without us approving and proofing the novels.
James I did not mean I wanted other authors to write Novellas I want the fine authors that you already use to produce more Pathfinder content just in e-book form so it could get to your fans faster. print books take 6 months to a year to get published.
At this time, Paizo is focused primarily on being a print product company with electronic product support, not the other way around. Further, for many years, before we partnered with Tor, the restrictions on publishing e-books were prohibitive for us for various reasons—now that we've partnered with Tor, though, things like e-books and audio books are becoming easier for us to do... but they're still linked to the release schedules of the print copies. Furthermore, we can only physically edit a limited number of books at a time, and the rate at which we're currently releasing titles in the Tales line is pretty much the upper limit for now, so even if we changed our policies regarding when we release electronic books, we wouldn't be producing more books than we currently do.
Why the T-REX avatar?
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Creative Director
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Why the T-REX avatar?
Because once upon a time, management decided that every employee at Paizo should have a unique avatar that is not one of the hundreds of avatars anyone can choose from. When you become a Paizo employee, you get to look through all of the art we own and pick whatever one you want as your custom avatar—the only restriction is that it can't be art that already exists for an avatar. This way we avoid having folks pretend to be us by using our avatars, and it helps Paizo employees on these boards develop their own unique presence on the boards.
As for why I chose a T-rex? Because I heart dinosaurs, and I heart T-rex most of all.
I'm back with more Nocticula questions! Although these are more just a 'what would you do' than anything.
So, you're in Wrath of the Righteous and you've got a PC who has the Touched by Divinity trait but is a heretical worshiper of Nocticula and playing a non-divine class so they're CG and don't get spells directly from faith, they're just very devout.
Naturally, that character will assume that Arueshalae, regardless of how they may or may not personally feel about her, is a vitally important piece for Nocticula's redemption. But how would you have Nocticula herself react to meeting her heretical child and the redeemed succubus? Would she give any hints as to how she felt about the heretics efforts to redeem her? Would she approve? Would she try to tempt them into more conventional forms of worship?
Similarly, how would Arueshalae react to Nocticulan Heresy?
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Creative Director
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I'm back with more Nocticula questions! Although these are more just a 'what would you do' than anything.
So, you're in Wrath of the Righteous and you've got a PC who has the Touched by Divinity trait but is a heretical worshiper of Nocticula and playing a non-divine class so they're CG and don't get spells directly from faith, they're just very devout.
Naturally, that character will assume that Arueshalae, regardless of how they may or may not personally feel about her, is a vitally important piece for Nocticula's redemption. But how would you have Nocticula herself react to meeting her heretical child and the redeemed succubus? Would she give any hints as to how she felt about the heretics efforts to redeem her? Would she approve? Would she try to tempt them into more conventional forms of worship?
Similarly, how would Arueshalae react to Nocticulan Heresy?
Nocticula would be coy and mysteriously welcoming to a Noctiulan heretic that she meets, particularly if doing so would confuse or upset others, but she would also tempt and torment the heretic and do what she could to lure them back to her chaotic evil traits—whether she'd do so to test their resolve or because she prefers them to be chaotic evil would be unclear. In the end, it would depend on the story the GM wanted to tell—the redemption of a demon lord is ABSOLUTELY a mythic storyline, and if a mythic PC wanted to help her along, then it would be up to that PC to do just that. Perhaps as a continuing the campaign element, or perhaps by taking a few "extra credit" missions for the last half of the AP.
Arueshalae would be relatively open and encouraged and inspired by Nocticulan heresies; the idea that Nocticula might be redeemed would only serve to give her more hope and self-confidence, but she would remain a worshiper of Desna herself.