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Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Delightful wrote:
Which Gods did you create for Pathfinder or transfer from your homebrew?

TRANSFERRED FROM HOMEBREW

Abadar
Desna
Erastil
Gorum
Norgorber
Pharasma (under the name Turthonir)
Rovagug
Sarenrae
Urgathoa
Zon-Kuthon
Achaekek
Ghlaunder
Groetus
Kurgess
Milani
Sivanha
Ydersius
Zyphus
Treerazer
Cyth-V'sug
Yamasoth
Xhamen-Dor
Nightripper
Shamira
Menxyr
Murnath

CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR PATHFINDER
Arazni
Besmara
Aldinach
Andirifkhu
Angazhan
Areshkagal
Jezelda
Kabriri
Mazmezz
Mestama
Shivaska
Sifkesh
Xoveron
Yhidothrus
Zevgavizeb
Zura
Ymeri
Ashava
Ylimancha (I think... this might have been Wes...)
Hadregash
Venkelvore
Zarongel
Zogmugot
Mhar (inspired by Greg Vaughan's work in the original Runelords part 6)
Daclau-Sar
Izyagna
Ovonovo
Sithhud
Chavazvug
Isph-Aun-Vuln
Oaur-Ooung
Thuskchoon


James, got a pair of linked questions, but I'll keep them separate :)

I really love the new artwork for the Demoniac, but curious why the change?


Second half:

With the new artwork, all three iconics for the fiendish races are now female. Was this at all intentional, and if so, why?(hope this doesn't count as two questions! If it does, sorry!)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Monkeygod wrote:

James, got a pair of linked questions, but I'll keep them separate :)

I really love the new artwork for the Demoniac, but curious why the change?

Two reasons.

1) I was never a fan of the previous art, which seemed more appropriate for a generic cultist rather than specifically a worshiper of demons that bonds themselves to a demon; the new art shows that relationship.

2) This gave me a chance to get my Hell's Vengeance character, Bezlarue, illustrated. Here's hoping that Rob picks up running that campaign again soon, since it got put on hiatus once his free time got eaten alive by Starfinder duties.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Monkeygod wrote:

Second half:

With the new artwork, all three iconics for the fiendish races are now female. Was this at all intentional, and if so, why?(hope this doesn't count as two questions! If it does, sorry!)

It's not intentional, but I'm fine with it, since the RPG industry has a long tradition of having dudes be illustrated.


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Are there any products in the near future that will give more info or at least art for the kaiju?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Dragon78 wrote:
Are there any products in the near future that will give more info or at least art for the kaiju?

Nope.


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Did Groetus live in Turthonir's realm in your homebrew or was their relationship developed later?


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

In your homebrew, was Zon-Kuthon an altered, formerly-good deity, or did that develop after he became part of Pathfinder and became linked to Shelyn?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:
Did Groetus live in Turthonir's realm in your homebrew or was their relationship developed later?

Groetus made the transition relatively unchanged, and was also a skull-faced moon apocalypse thing as well... although his genesis was a bit different.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cole Deschain wrote:
In your home brew, was Zon-Kuthon an altered, formerly-good deity, or did that develop after he became part of Pathfinder and became linked to Shelyn?

Mike McArtor invented Shelyn, and Zon-Kuthon being corrupted/transformed was Sean K Reynolds. In my homebrew, Zon-Kuthon was more of a Hellraiser nod (before D&D had kytons, in fact... I beat them to the punch in aping Clive Barker there, although they beat me to the punch in publication of that... and of course Clive Barker beat us all!).

Silver Crusade

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James Jacobs wrote:
Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:
Did Groetus live in Turthonir's realm in your homebrew or was their relationship developed later?
Groetus made the transition relatively unchanged, and was also a skull-faced moon apocalypse thing as well... although his genesis was a bit different.

Oh? Can we inquire into that genesis?

Liberty's Edge

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James, have you seen the trailers for the new Godzilla: Monster Planet anime?


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Are the kaiju mentioned in B4 the only ones that exist on Golarion (or it's moon)?


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Why does Golarion have so many Kaiju? Are there any kaiju on the other planets in the Golarion solar system at all?

Radiant Oath

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

Are there giant flowers on Golarion that giant bees feed on? Most giant bugs I’ve seen in the Bestiaries are predators or scavengers except for the giant bees.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:
Did Groetus live in Turthonir's realm in your homebrew or was their relationship developed later?
Groetus made the transition relatively unchanged, and was also a skull-faced moon apocalypse thing as well... although his genesis was a bit different.
Oh? Can we inquire into that genesis?

You could. Easiest reply for me is a link to my "been too long on hiatus blog" where I uploaded a bit of Groetus info from my setting.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Paladinosaur wrote:
James, have you seen the trailers for the new Godzilla: Monster Planet anime?

Not yet. I've been avoiding them so I can see the final thing spoiler-free as possible.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Dragon78 wrote:
Are the kaiju mentioned in B4 the only ones that exist on Golarion (or it's moon)?

I doubt it. My interest in kaiju will likely outstrip that list at some point if I stick with this thing long enough! ;-P

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Dragon78 wrote:
Why does Golarion have so many Kaiju? Are there any kaiju on the other planets in the Golarion solar system at all?

Earth has a LOT of kaiju. More than Golarion, if Toho and other film studios' documentaries on the subject are to be believed.

On a more serious note, Golarion's got a lot of kaiju because Golarion's creative director is a huge fan of kaiju... they're really cool, and their nature makes them VERY easy to sprinkle around without devastating ecosystems and environments since they spend most of their time hibernating or whatever.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Are there giant flowers on Golarion that giant bees feed on? Most giant bugs I’ve seen in the Bestiaries are predators or scavengers except for the giant bees.

Hadn't put any thought into it, frankly. There are certainly large flowers and large flowering monsters in the setting, PARTICULARLY in the First World or Elysium, but on Golarion not enough to support a large scale giant bee presence.

Which makes me think that giant bees don't do much with the pollen thing and instead eat trees or people.


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In your opinion, how developed should a homebrewed campaign setting be before a GM runs players through it?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Mahorfeus wrote:
In your opinion, how developed should a homebrewed campaign setting be before a GM runs players through it?

Developed enough so that the GM is comfortable running the game.


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Are there any plans to eventually have kaiju on the other planets of Golarion's solar system?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Dragon78 wrote:
Are there any plans to eventually have kaiju on the other planets of Golarion's solar system?

Not that I'm aware of, but that's not the same as saying "Other planets cannot have kaiju on them."

Silver Crusade

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James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Chromantic Durgon <3 wrote:
Did Groetus live in Turthonir's realm in your homebrew or was their relationship developed later?
Groetus made the transition relatively unchanged, and was also a skull-faced moon apocalypse thing as well... although his genesis was a bit different.
Oh? Can we inquire into that genesis?
You could. Easiest reply for me is a link to my "been too long on hiatus blog" where I uploaded a bit of Groetus info from my setting.

Yay! Thankies :3


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Are there any deities that have an interest in kaiju or at least have a hand in creating one or more of them?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Dragon78 wrote:
Are there any deities that have an interest in kaiju or at least have a hand in creating one or more of them?

Rovagug comes the closest.

But beyond that, the "big monster created by deities to wreak destruction" is the niche of the behemoth. Kaiju are not appropriate for this role, as a result, and work better (as intended) as personifications of the wrath of nature or the hubris of humanity or as allegories for disasters. Godzilla, remember, is an allegory for nuclear war. And King Kong is, to an extent, about humanity's ego in thinking it can tame and contain nature.

Silver Crusade

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James, How does scribing a Spell book differ from scribing a Scroll?
Why does scribing a Scroll require a feat and Scribing a spell book does not?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Lou Diamond wrote:

James, How does scribing a Spell book differ from scribing a Scroll?

Why does scribing a Scroll require a feat and Scribing a spell book does not?

Because scribing a spell in your spellbook is a class necessity, while scrolls are not. And because a spell in a spellbook is intended to be your own personal version, including your own shorthand notes, and is not intended to be something for others to use, whereas a scroll is something you want other folks to use.

To use gaming as an analogy.

When a GM creates an adventure she plans on running for her game, she might only jot down notes on a sheet of paper, sketch out a few maps, assemble stat blocks that include only the information she knows she needs at hand and doesn't know by heart, and otherwise takes shortcuts because she doesn't have to explain to herself what she's doing—a big part of the adventure is in her head already. This is akin to a wizard writing a spell down in her spellbook.

When the same GM decides to prepare that adventure for publication, she needs to sit down and spell everything out, use full-sentences and industry-standard stat blocks, give the document additional editing passes, make sure the map turnovers are clear and precise, must write to a deadline, and, in short, needs to pull from a larger network of skills, some of which she might not be as natural at (such as the artistry of drawing a map, or the time management skills to finish on time, or the math to generate complex stat blocks). Writing an adventure to submit for publication is HARDER to do than creating an adventure for your home game, because you can't fill in the blanks as you go, and the audience you're writing for is much larger and more demanding and more critical of your work, since the GM is no longer the ONLY one who's running the adventure; it needs to be presented in a way that anyone can run it. This is akin to a wizard preparing a spell as a scroll.

Scarab Sages

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Historically, diplomats have given heads of state exotic animals as gifts/pets (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_pets). Calvin Coolidge alone had A wallaby, A duiker, and a Pygmy hippopotamus.

My question is this:
Is that sort of thing done in Golarion? And what sort of pets would be appropriate?
Like, is a ruler in Kingmaker, or a successful Rebel leader in Hell's Rebels, Pirate King in Skull and Shackles and so on likely to get an undead Dinosaur from from a Nexian ambassador? Or a Hyena from Osirion?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Stratagemini wrote:

Historically, diplomats have given heads of state exotic animals as gifts/pets (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_pets). Calvin Coolidge alone had A wallaby, A duiker, and a Pygmy hippopotamus.

My question is this:
Is that sort of thing done in Golarion? And what sort of pets would be appropriate?
Like, is a ruler in Kingmaker, or a successful Rebel leader in Hell's Rebels, Pirate King in Skull and Shackles and so on likely to get an undead Dinosaur from from a Nexian ambassador? Or a Hyena from Osirion?

First I've heard of it, so no, it's not done in Golarion. It's an interesting idea though, but not something I'd say EVERY nation would do. If I were to include this element, I'd pick one nation and have it be that nation's tradition.


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Welcome Back!!!

Looking the list of deities...Where did Calistria come from?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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John Kretzer wrote:

Welcome Back!!!

Looking the list of deities...Where did Calistria come from?

The combination of myself, Wes, Erik, Sutter, and Jason. I don't remember the details but she didn't exist before we sat down to build the core pantheon.

Dark Archive

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Was wondering how much input if any did you have when it came to designing the Azlanti pantheon?


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How do you determine what races get a racial language and which do not?

Does Paizo have some master list of languages?


Welcome back Jason :)

Now, please, don't hate me... but really, why you didn't specified a duration for the poisons in the design phase? "Until the weapon strike" means essentially that I can carry dozen of quivers of poisoned arrows, after all, just need to draw them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Kevin Mack wrote:
Was wondering how much input if any did you have when it came to designing the Azlanti pantheon?

As much as I wanted. Which was not much, since I knew the whole thing was in very capable and talented Daigle-shaped hands.


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Hi James,

1. Is there any more information you could give on the House of Sky in the Five Kings Mountains above tanglebriar? What kind of problems would they be dealing with, especially with Treerazer minions so close by? What kind of class levels would the ruler and his parliament possibly have? Would any of them worship Tanagaar? How would they aid in a fight against Treerazer, especially if a coalition of forces from Kyonin, Galt, and the River Kingdoms were working together to slay the demonboi once and for all.

2. If an Incubus were to take class levels, which would he take? or might he jump straight to prestige class? Any kind of specializations i.e. eldritch archer magus or tattooed sorcerer as examples?

3. If Mokravud wanted to bring down a city, how might he do it? Class levels suggestion for him as well?

4. Thanks for being so nice and answering these questions. I am near the resolution of a two-year campaign, and I am very solidly in the unexplored territory portion of the world, with little resource to guide me. Each tiny sentence that can help explain enemy motives and methodologies is an extreme boon. I found a small write up on Mokravud in Demons Revisited and it has help immensely. So thanks again.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cunning Linguist wrote:

How do you determine what races get a racial language and which do not?

Does Paizo have some master list of languages?

Personal preference, tempered by a general but not binding design philosophy to not make up new languages all the time.

And yes, we have a master list of languages.


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Is Asmodeus equal parts evil and law, or is he more Lawful with a calloused outlook on morality? The way he's described in the book of the damned, he seems more the latter than the former.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Blackstorm wrote:

Welcome back Jason :)

Now, please, don't hate me... but really, why you didn't specified a duration for the poisons in the design phase? "Until the weapon strike" means essentially that I can carry dozen of quivers of poisoned arrows, after all, just need to draw them.

I'm not Jason. You're in the wrong thread. Oops!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Kryzbyn wrote:
Is Asmodeus equal parts evil and law, or is he more Lawful with a calloused outlook on morality? The way he's described in the book of the damned, he seems more the latter than the former.

He's pretty much the iconic "lawful evil" figure in the game's mythology. You can be a scion of "lawful evil" while still having a "calloused look on morality."


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Also a small follow up

5. Vamollaroth, The Rancorous Wrath is a gargantuan 17 HD advanced hezrou. Does he also have any special abilities? he is described as being able to "vomit prodigious amounts of foul pollution and toxin..."

Are there any more named or special minions in the service of Treerazer unmentioned? If not specific answers, what kind of demons might he have as generals or servants that are called upon for specific tasks?


that guys post got in my head and I also called you jason on accident. I fixed it.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Lucky Number Evan wrote:

Hi James,

1. Is there any more information you could give on the House of Sky in the Five Kings Mountains above tanglebriar? What kind of problems would they be dealing with, especially with Treerazer minions so close by? What kind of class levels would the ruler and his parliament possibly have? Would any of them worship Tanagaar? How would they aid in a fight against Treerazer, especially if a coalition of forces from Kyonin, Galt, and the River Kingdoms were working together to slay the demonboi once and for all.

2. If an Incubus were to take class levels, which would he take? or might he jump straight to prestige class? Any kind of specializations i.e. eldritch archer magus or tattooed sorcerer as examples?

3. If Mokravud wanted to bring down a city, how might he do it? Class levels suggestion for him as well?

4. Thanks for being so nice and answering these questions. I am near the resolution of a two-year campaign, and I am very solidly in the unexplored territory portion of the world, with little resource to guide me. Each tiny sentence that can help explain enemy motives and methodologies is an extreme boon. I found a small write up on Mokravud in Demons Revisited and it has help immensely. So thanks again.

Please limit your posts to one question per post. If that means you post 4 questions as 4 posts, that's fine.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Lucky Number Evan wrote:
that guys post got in my head and I also called you jason on accident. I fixed it.

Yay; thanks! I just posted a reply to it as well—please repost your questions individually. Thanks!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Lucky Number Evan wrote:

Also a small follow up

5. Vamollaroth, The Rancorous Wrath is a gargantuan 17 HD advanced hezrou. Does he also have any special abilities? he is described as being able to "vomit prodigious amounts of foul pollution and toxin..."

Are there any more named or special minions in the service of Treerazer unmentioned? If not specific answers, what kind of demons might he have as generals or servants that are called upon for specific tasks?

He does indeed have some special abilities, perhaps not limited to his stanky breath weapon, but until someone actually stats him up, I don't wanna say more, since I want to retain options for him to mesh with whatever story he ends up in.

There are PLENTY of more special and named minions who work for Treerazer. I don't THINK I've put Lukarayzyll into print yet—he's a unique bone-spur covered demon who served Treerazer in my homebrew. Maybe some day.


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Kryzbyn wrote:
Is Asmodeus equal parts evil and law, or is he more Lawful with a calloused outlook on morality? The way he's described in the book of the damned, he seems more the latter than the former.
He's pretty much the iconic "lawful evil" figure in the game's mythology. You can be a scion of "lawful evil" while still having a "calloused look on morality."

Fair enough. It just seemed like the Evil part of his nature seemed "softer", where as his dedication to order is more core to his being.

He seems more of a "dick" than evil, per se.

How often would/does he engage in contracts with mortals directly?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Kryzbyn wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Kryzbyn wrote:
Is Asmodeus equal parts evil and law, or is he more Lawful with a calloused outlook on morality? The way he's described in the book of the damned, he seems more the latter than the former.
He's pretty much the iconic "lawful evil" figure in the game's mythology. You can be a scion of "lawful evil" while still having a "calloused look on morality."

Fair enough. It just seemed like the Evil part of his nature seemed "softer", where as his dedication to order is more core to his being.

He seems more of a "dick" than evil, per se.

How often would/does he engage in contracts with mortals directly?

To me, Asmodeus's evil feels pretty hard and reprehensible—the misogyny stuff alone, needless to say all the rest. But I guess as with all alignment-based issues, no two folks will ever have quite the same take?

He doesn't engage in contracts with mortals often; that's for his underlings to do. He only gets involved in the big important stuff. Which, considering the multitude of worlds on which he's doing his thing (Golarion being but one of countless)... is still probably quite a lot from a mortal perception.

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