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What is the correct word to describe a painting of abbadon? Hellscape does not seem right here or would get lots of devils pissed.


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Have any plans this Friday the 13th, haunted house or otherwise? =]

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cole Deschain wrote:

Speaking of Blade Runner... kind of...

What are your three favorite performances by an actor playing an android/replicant/other form of "artificial person," as Bishop liked to be called?

Lance as Bishop.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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doctor_wu wrote:
What is the correct word to describe a painting of abbadon? Hellscape does not seem right here or would get lots of devils pissed.

No word exists. Use spooky adjectives, like "fiendish landscape" or "morbid landscape" or "nightmare landscape" or "apocalyptic landscape" or whatever one works for the specific subject of the painting in question.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cuuniyevo wrote:
Have any plans this Friday the 13th, haunted house or otherwise? =]

My plans are likely to go home and continue recovering from the flu.

Silver Crusade

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James Jacobs wrote:
Cuuniyevo wrote:
Have any plans this Friday the 13th, haunted house or otherwise? =]
My plans are likely to go home and continue recovering from the flu.

*offers hugs and tummy wubs*

Scarab Sages

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*Thank you for coming back to this thread*
*Speedy recovery from the flu*
Is there any current or upcoming adventure or accessory for Call of Cthulhu that cought your interest or that you would recommend? I crave for a few evenings of that game but Mountains of Madness, Orient Express or Masks of Nyarlatothep might take up more time than I can plan for, right now.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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feytharn wrote:

*Thank you for coming back to this thread*

*Speedy recovery from the flu*
Is there any current or upcoming adventure or accessory for Call of Cthulhu that cought your interest or that you would recommend? I crave for a few evenings of that game but Mountains of Madness, Orient Express or Masks of Nyarlatothep might take up more time than I can plan for, right now.

The latest book they've published is the Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic. It collects all the previously published spells and updates them to the latest edition, and most of those spells all serve as really cool adventure hooks as well.

Dark Archive

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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
CorvusMask wrote:
So something about Verik Vancascerkin, what is appropriate punishment for desertion in Korvosa? That particular crime ain't in Guide to Korvosa, but Korvosa in general has harsh punishments so I'm wondering what is his chances of showing up later since he surrendered and all without fight.
Under the old king it would be imprisonment with a possibility of working the crime off with hard labor, but under the new queen it'd likely be death.

Thank you very much, that gives me several ideas for my campaign since party liked Orik well enough :D

Are there any differences with Petitioners born from commoners or "normal" villains compared to Petitioners born from villains like Karzoug or powerful monsters?


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The Goldenfire Order in Thornkeep is a guild of wizards. And every known member is confirmed as a wizard. Can a non-wizard arcane caster(sorcerer, bard, alchemist) or a divine or psychic caster join the guild?


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

At the end of book 4 of rise of the runelords, I took 30 minutes for a quick scene of the church of abadar, calistria, and the Lord mayor making the transfer of funds and church/government purchase of an army's worth of loot taken in jorgenfist.

How do you like to handle this aspect of higher level adventuring? Do you make it no big deal in the world? Say it happens off screen? Provide a justification?

As an aside, it feels like RPGs get less leeway on suspension of disbelief than other media.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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CorvusMask wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
CorvusMask wrote:
So something about Verik Vancascerkin, what is appropriate punishment for desertion in Korvosa? That particular crime ain't in Guide to Korvosa, but Korvosa in general has harsh punishments so I'm wondering what is his chances of showing up later since he surrendered and all without fight.
Under the old king it would be imprisonment with a possibility of working the crime off with hard labor, but under the new queen it'd likely be death.

Thank you very much, that gives me several ideas for my campaign since party liked Orik well enough :D

Are there any differences with Petitioners born from commoners or "normal" villains compared to Petitioners born from villains like Karzoug or powerful monsters?

Not really, although a more powerful soul will be more likely to spend less time as a petitioner before graduating to a more powerful outsider.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Aenigma wrote:
The Goldenfire Order in Thornkeep is a guild of wizards. And every known member is confirmed as a wizard. Can a non-wizard arcane caster(sorcerer, bard, alchemist) or a divine or psychic caster join the guild?

Sounds to me like the answer is no; they're just wizards. That said, I've had very little to do with matters related to Thornkeep and it's not likely to be something we do much with in the future, so develop it as you wish for your game.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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BobTheCoward wrote:

At the end of book 4 of rise of the runelords, I took 30 minutes for a quick scene of the church of abadar, calistria, and the Lord mayor making the transfer of funds and church/government purchase of an army's worth of loot taken in jorgenfist.

How do you like to handle this aspect of higher level adventuring? Do you make it no big deal in the world? Say it happens off screen? Provide a justification?

As an aside, it feels like RPGs get less leeway on suspension of disbelief than other media.

It very much depends on the preference of the players and the restrictions on the game. If they're into roleplaying I play it out. If they just want to fight, I have it happen off screen. If we have limited time to play, I'll expedite it as well to happen off screen.

Whether or not RPGs get less or more leeway depends on the folks you hang out with.


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Curious on if you have heard about Fox's New Mutants trilogy, and the plan to make them horror movies as well as xmen movies. Any thoughts on the idea?


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The city of Sasserine you made famous in the Savage Tide AP has a large ruined bridge –the Teraknian Arch.

Magnimar has the Irespan and Riddleport has the Cyphergate.

Were these features imported from your homebrew world? If so, what role did the original bridge/arch play in Baria?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Yours is mined wrote:

The city of Sasserine you made famous in the Savage Tide AP has a large ruined bridge –the Teraknian Arch.

Magnimar has the Irespan and Riddleport has the Cyphergate.

Were these features imported from your homebrew world? If so, what role did the original bridge/arch play in Baria?

I actually never had giant bridges in my homebrew. The inspiration for the Teraknian Arch in Sasserine is the Golden Gate, which is my favorite landmark, but Wes Schneider's the one who added the Irespan to the world, not me (Magnimar in my homebrew didn't have an Irespan and was a very different city overall), and the Cyphergate in Riddleport isn't really a bridge at all. (And, like Magnimar, Riddleport in my homebrew is different... but closer—it's a pirate city in both settings.)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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MMCJawa wrote:
Curious on if you have heard about Fox's New Mutants trilogy, and the plan to make them horror movies as well as xmen movies. Any thoughts on the idea?

Hadn't heard of it. Have no real knowledge about the New Mutants. If they want to mine comics for horror movies, they should go to titles like "House of Mystery" and "Tales of the Unexpected" and "Beware!" and "Creepy" and "Vault of Horror," though.

Dark Archive

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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Which books have info on titans and were to find one on Golarion?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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CorvusMask wrote:
Which books have info on titans and were to find one on Golarion?

Dunno. Hasn't come up yet in any plots/stories/adventures we've worked on, so we haven't decided yet.


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Baron Tervin of Thornkeep is a werewolf, and no one except for his closest people knows it. But is being a werewolf a bad thing? I mean, I'm really not sure if being a werewolf or a vampire is considered a crime or not. And Thornkeep is a lawless settlement in the first place. If others find out he is a werewolf, would he be in trouble? Thornkeep has served many evil lords anyway. The fact that the current evil lord happens to be a werewolf doesn't matter that much, I guess. And I'm sure there are vampire lords in Ustalav and Kaer Maga. Geb is also a nation controlled by an undead. What do you think?


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Yay, you're back! Welcome back! And thanks for this thread, really. Lots of cool stuff in here.

Other than the few cases of outsiders retaining memories of their mortal lives, is it something that affects their personality at all, besides just in terms of whatever alignment they had and what deity they were faithful to? Like, would an azata who had a happy mortal life be likely to act any different than an azata who hadn't? Or is it a completely blank slate kind of thing, generally?

Silver Crusade

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When was the last favourite meal you had?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Aenigma wrote:
Baron Tervin of Thornkeep is a werewolf, and no one except for his closest people knows it. But is being a werewolf a bad thing? I mean, I'm really not sure if being a werewolf or a vampire is considered a crime or not. And Thornkeep is a lawless settlement in the first place. If others find out he is a werewolf, would he be in trouble? Thornkeep has served many evil lords anyway. The fact that the current evil lord happens to be a werewolf doesn't matter that much, I guess. And I'm sure there are vampire lords in Ustalav and Kaer Maga. Geb is also a nation controlled by an undead. What do you think?

Lycanthropy in Pathfinder doesn't change your alignment. There's certainly suspicion and stigma attached to it, but it doesn't automatically make you a bad person.

Again, I know very little about Thornkeep, wasn't really involved in its creation, and haven't put any thought into the location, really. So I have no particular insight into the situation there.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Kaladin_Stormblessed wrote:

Yay, you're back! Welcome back! And thanks for this thread, really. Lots of cool stuff in here.

Other than the few cases of outsiders retaining memories of their mortal lives, is it something that affects their personality at all, besides just in terms of whatever alignment they had and what deity they were faithful to? Like, would an azata who had a happy mortal life be likely to act any different than an azata who hadn't? Or is it a completely blank slate kind of thing, generally?

Since a mortal's personality influences their alignment and soul, and since their alignment and soul is what turns into a petitioner and becomes, in some cases, an outsider, then yes that does affect the personality of the end result. Not always in obvious ways, though.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Rysky wrote:
When was the last favourite meal you had?

Cinnamon roll french toast.


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Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Of the "minor" demideities and quasideities who were examined in the Book of the Damned for the first time beyond being listed in a chart, who are your top three favourites and why?

Thanks as always. Great to hear that our Dinodirector is feeling revitalized!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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FallenDabus wrote:

Of the "minor" demideities and quasideities who were examined in the Book of the Damned for the first time beyond being listed in a chart, who are your top three favourites and why?

Thanks as always. Great to hear that our Dinodirector is feeling revitalized!

I was glad to finally have a place to start talking about the Kyton demigods.


Goblins hate writing. They even banish any goblin who writes. If they find out a non-goblin writes, would they become angry and attack him? I ask this because if it is, it would make it hard for them to coexist with humans.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Aenigma wrote:
Goblins hate writing. They even banish any goblin who writes. If they find out a non-goblin writes, would they become angry and attack him? I ask this because if it is, it would make it hard for them to coexist with humans.

There's a lot more to goblins being afraid of words that makes them hard to coexist with humans. The fact that they eat humans is a bigger reason that makes it hard to coexist with humans.

The fear of writing is a superstition, and while most goblins share it, not all do. Goblins who find out a fellow goblin is writing or reading tend to react in extreme ways, usually either attacking or exiling the writer/reader.

The first volume of Jade Regent, along with the first We Be Goblins adventure, uses this as a plot point.


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Welcome back James!! You've been sorely missed! I have a bunch of questions that I've come up with since you were gone, but will limit them to one at a time, as asked.

I have really loved all the books you have had a hand in developing lately, going back to Inner Sea Gods, and including Paths of Prestige, Inner Sea Faiths and Adventurer's Guide(just starting Book of the Damned, but I already like it a lot).

Any other books that have been announced that you will have a similar role on?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Monkeygod wrote:

Welcome back James!! You've been sorely missed! I have a bunch of questions that I've come up with since you were gone, but will limit them to one at a time, as asked.

I have really loved all the books you have had a hand in developing lately, going back to Inner Sea Gods, and including Paths of Prestige, Inner Sea Faiths and Adventurer's Guide(just starting Book of the Damned, but I already like it a lot).

Any other books that have been announced that you will have a similar role on?

I had very little to do with Inner Sea Gods (other than building the big table of deities at the end of the book and fighting tooth and nail to get the harbingers in the book), and apart from writing the Achaekek entry, had little to do with Inner Sea Faiths. BUT I'm delighted you're enjoying them anyway.

I worked a fair amount on Ultimate Wilderness but didn't outline that one. I did outline and am developing Planar Adventures, due out next year.


What I tried to ask was that if goblins are annoyed when they see non-goblins write. For example, if some goblins are civilized enough to coexist with humans(somewhat begrudgingly), but not civilized enough to do away with the superstition regarding writing(the goblins in Thornkeep would be a good example), would they become frightened and angry when they see a human writes? Or they would not care because they think non-goblins are immune to the harmful effects of writing?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Aenigma wrote:
What I tried to ask was that if goblins are annoyed when they see non-goblins write. For example, if some goblins are civilized enough to coexist with humans(somewhat begrudgingly), but not civilized enough to do away with the superstition regarding writing(the goblins in Thornkeep would be a good example), would they become frightened and angry when they see a human writes? Or they would not care because they think non-goblins are immune to the harmful effects of writing?

They're frightened by writing, regardless of who does it, because writing steals words out of your brain. Has nothing to do with civilization, and everything to do with not wanting their thoughts stolen by having someone make the words in their heads real things on papers or signs.

Dark Archive

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Dear James Jacobs-

How would you handle the aging of an Eidolon? The reason for this question is that I am prepping to run a Reign of Winter campaign soon and one of the characters in the group is an Unchained Summoner. In Book 3 of the AP, pg. 52, details the Eon Pit which is a save or age area as you progress down the pit.

I have a feeling that the Summoner will be sending his Eidolon down the pit. I am tempted to have the Eidolon making the saves while the aging effects be transferred to the Summoner whenever he fails, or for every round the Eidolon is in the Pit the Summoner needs to make the saves due to their link. These options are due to the fact that I cannot find any information on the aging of an Eidolon. Any help or guidance you could give me on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and have a pleasant night.

Silver Crusade

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James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:
When was the last favourite meal you had?
Cinnamon roll french toast.

Ooo, that sounds yummy.


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Which was more powerful and numerous, the goblinoid army in the Goblinblood Wars, or the Kingdom of Zog, which was in the northwestern River Kingdoms?


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Any idea why evil outsiders races almost all start with the letter D and good ones start with A?


If you didn't do the outline for Ultimate Wilderness then who did?


Are you excited about the shifter class?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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the Haunted Jester wrote:

Dear James Jacobs-

How would you handle the aging of an Eidolon? The reason for this question is that I am prepping to run a Reign of Winter campaign soon and one of the characters in the group is an Unchained Summoner. In Book 3 of the AP, pg. 52, details the Eon Pit which is a save or age area as you progress down the pit.

I have a feeling that the Summoner will be sending his Eidolon down the pit. I am tempted to have the Eidolon making the saves while the aging effects be transferred to the Summoner whenever he fails, or for every round the Eidolon is in the Pit the Summoner needs to make the saves due to their link. These options are due to the fact that I cannot find any information on the aging of an Eidolon. Any help or guidance you could give me on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and have a pleasant night.

I wouldn't. They're outsiders and shouldn't age nearly as fast (if at all) like us mortals. More to the point, they'er SUMMONED outsiders, so they don't really have lives outside of being summoned—they don't exist except when summoned. If an eidolon were to somehow be magically aged to die of old age, the summoner would just be able to resummon the eidolon the same way as if it had died any other way and it'd restart fresh.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Aenigma wrote:
Which was more powerful and numerous, the goblinoid army in the Goblinblood Wars, or the Kingdom of Zog, which was in the northwestern River Kingdoms?

The Isger goblinoids, by far. The kingdom of Zog is a tiny little outlying speck, relatively speaking, that doesn't have much world impact at all beyond a very localized thing.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Monkeygod wrote:
Any idea why evil outsiders races almost all start with the letter D and good ones start with A?

Because that's the way folks translated them into English ages ago. Almost all of the ones you mention are from mythology.

But also, the words "devil, daemon, and demon" more or less are synonyms. Daemon and demon are in fact the SAME word in the real world; just with different spellings.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Dragon78 wrote:
If you didn't do the outline for Ultimate Wilderness then who did?

Someone on the Design Team. I think it was Stephen.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:
Are you excited about the shifter class?

I was a year ago, but it's old news to me now. :-P


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Why is cernunos listed as a "lesser empyreal lord" in chronicle of the righteous if he is literally the strongest statted one(CR 30)?


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Any chance will eventually see a Varisia campaign setting book? We have lots of smaller books, but I feel like the country that is sorta the default for Golarion, and was I believe the origin of the whole world, deserves it's own 64 page book.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Potato disciple wrote:
Why is cernunos listed as a "lesser empyreal lord" in chronicle of the righteous if he is literally the strongest statted one(CR 30)?

Because of miscommunication among us developers, I suppose.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Monkeygod wrote:

Any chance will eventually see a Varisia campaign setting book? We have lots of smaller books, but I feel like the country that is sorta the default for Golarion, and was I believe the origin of the whole world, deserves it's own 64 page book.

I think Varisia deserves a 320 page book or a boxed set.

The tricky part is that I want to be the one to write this book, or at the VERY LEAST write a big chunk and develop and outline the whole book, and for the past few years, my time to do that type of thing has been taken up by lots of other things like Crimson Throne, Bestiary 6, Return of the Runelords, Ultimate Wilderness, Planar Adventures, Adventurer's Guide, Book of the Damned, and several emergency lost lambs like Construct Handbook and Cradle of Night.

So... someday, if I have the time and energy OR I no longer feel like I need to be the one in charge of the book OR management takes that decision out of my hands.


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Is Planar Adventures still a Spring release or has that changed?

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