Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Oh, since it came up, what are some of the design ideas that had been shelved, for any of the stuff you worked on (not including PF2 obviously)?
A lot, most of which were bad ideas in the first place which is why they got shelved, and the good ones I'll be keeping around for later. So... don't really wanna say in either case. :-P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Is part of the reason you moved to a more active role in the RPG line because others on the RPG line were moved over to P2?
Actually, that was one of the things that told me 2e was coming. I mean, what else was the RPG team doing if not working on the RPG book line?
What is it about faith that aboleths don't understand? And why don't they?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Actually, that was one of the things that told me 2e was coming. I mean, what else was the RPG team doing if not working on the RPG book line?
Is part of the reason you moved to a more active role in the RPG line because others on the RPG line were moved over to P2?
Hindsight is often 20/20.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Was it intentional for Lamashtu to have two different deific obediences?
Makes sense to have alternate ways to honour a deity.
No. A miscommunication between the design philosophies between Book of the Damned and Inner Sea Gods had the Inner Sea Gods obediences for many deities being a bit less powerful than the original intent in Book of the Damned.
Choose the one you prefer and go with that one.
|
Was it intentional for Lamashtu to have two different deific obediences?
Makes sense to have alternate ways to honour a deity.
No. A miscommunication between the design philosophies between Book of the Damned and Inner Sea Gods had the Inner Sea Gods obediences for many deities being a bit less powerful than the original intent in Book of the Damned.
Choose the one you prefer and go with that one.
Are alternate obediences a good or bad idea to you?
Some obediences are rather difficult to do.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Assuming you have time to do so, what computer games are you playing at present?
I just recently bought a new PC a month ago, and bought a HUGE pile of games on Steam during a sale. I've kinda lost track of them. The two I'm playing the most now are "7 Days to Die" (Ravenhearst mod) and "Far Cry 5," but I'm hoping to get back to the DLC for Horizon: Zero Dawn, the new Life is Strange, Vaporium, Civ VI, and a few others.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
In a related news - as I feel this should be a semi-regular question for you ;) - what TTRP games are you playing/running at present?
I'm not running any games now. I'm currently playing in Jason Nelson's Legendary Planet adventure path, but that game only meets once per month and I've missed the last 5 or 6 sessions I think. It IS happening this Saturday, and now that I'm finally caught up on stuff here at work I can probably attend the game again.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Was it intentional for Lamashtu to have two different deific obediences?
Makes sense to have alternate ways to honour a deity.
No. A miscommunication between the design philosophies between Book of the Damned and Inner Sea Gods had the Inner Sea Gods obediences for many deities being a bit less powerful than the original intent in Book of the Damned.
Choose the one you prefer and go with that one.
Are alternate obediences a good or bad idea to you?
Some obediences are rather difficult to do.
I prefer no alternates, and just have one. And some are difficult for some people and not so difficult for others. That's kind of the point. Variety and different themes and all that. If they were all the same, that'd be boring and repetitive.
Hi James,
I don't know how involved you were in writing Hell's Rebels' plot details, but there's a bit I'm curious about.
“The ruler of Cheliax is free to name her own heir within House Thrune, but the non-dissolution clause prevents House Thrune from being disbanded as a means to nullify the Cheliax Covenant. Likewise, the church must abide by its alliance with House Thrune to the extent that it cannot dissolve the family or its power. Basically, only Asmodeus can give House Thrune permission to cease to exist. Hence the primary contract is perpetual, even if Thrune were to consist of nothing but simpering fools. There’s no way for them to quit, so Abrogail wanted another way to force a breach of contract.”
So, the part I've bolded is interesting.
Does that mean that if only a single member of House Thrune is left among the living, the Cheliax Covenant's power would render that individual incapable of dying without Asmodeus' assent?|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Do you know if switching Return of the Runelords with the un-announced final first edition AP was considered, so that things could end with the last part of the trilogy?
It was never considered. Return of the Runelords was intended to be a third part of the trilogy from more or less "Burnt Offerings," and switching editions in the middle was never an option. We wanted to space things out, so that Rise of the Runelords was in the start, Shattered Star was in the middle, and Return of the Runelords is last. Or in this case, 2nd to last, since that's the window in which I was available and able to helm the Adventure Path. (It couldn't be the very last one because I'm gonna be working on other projects in that window.)
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi James,
I don't know how involved you were in writing Hell's Rebels' plot details, but there's a bit I'm curious about.
Spoiler:In the Path's fifth adventure, when the PCs question the contract devil Odexidie about the Cheliax Covenant's non-dissolution clause, he says:“The ruler of Cheliax is free to name her own heir within House Thrune, but the non-dissolution clause prevents House Thrune from being disbanded as a means to nullify the Cheliax Covenant. Likewise, the church must abide by its alliance with House Thrune to the extent that it cannot dissolve the family or its power. Basically, only Asmodeus can give House Thrune permission to cease to exist. Hence the primary contract is perpetual, even if Thrune were to consist of nothing but simpering fools. There’s no way for them to quit, so Abrogail wanted another way to force a breach of contract.”
So, the part I've bolded is interesting.
Does that mean that if only a single member of House Thrune is left among the living, the Cheliax Covenant's power would render that individual incapable of dying without Asmodeus' assent?
I outlined and developed and helped write Hell's Rebel's, so you've come to the right place!
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Looking back, do you think the "alternate class" model was a success, or should those classes have just been presented as archetypes?
I know that I would have rather had the swashbuckler in the Advanced Player's Guide (I'd been pushing for it to appear in print since then, in fact). As for the rest... in hindsight, I think 10 classes was about 7 too many to try to cram into the book. ;-P
How silly is it of me to be feeling guilty about having a post deleted?
What is it about faith that aboleths don't understand? And why don't they?It's part of what makes them aberrations—their minds are incapable of having faith in the same way their bodies are incapable of wearing boots.
Hm... That tells me about them, but not faith. What is faith? The (New Oxford American) dictionary says (to paraphrase) "strong belief in (a) god(s) or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual understanding rather than proof." Is that it, or something else?
When it comes to science-fiction (either fiction or games), do you prefer worlds to have a mix of climates and terrains across their surface (similar to Earth), or the Star Wars Desert/Jungle/Ocean/City world approach?
I'm curious about this for any fiction.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hm... That tells me about them, but not faith. What is faith? The (New Oxford American) dictionary says (to paraphrase) "strong belief in (a) god(s) or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual understanding rather than proof." Is that it, or something else?What is it about faith that aboleths don't understand? And why don't they?It's part of what makes them aberrations—their minds are incapable of having faith in the same way their bodies are incapable of wearing boots.
That's what faith is. The more we can rely upon real world definitions for our products and not have to define each and every word anew, the better.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think we've got some crossed wires here, James - I'm talking about the Antipasta/Ninja/Samurai, as opposed to the hybrid classes from the ACG.Looking back, do you think the "alternate class" model was a success, or should those classes have just been presented as archetypes?I know that I would have rather had the swashbuckler in the Advanced Player's Guide (I'd been pushing for it to appear in print since then, in fact). As for the rest... in hindsight, I think 10 classes was about 7 too many to try to cram into the book. ;-P
Antipasta, huh?
My answer remains the same, though. I prefer fewer classes and more stories in my games.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Any advice on writing adventure seeds for GMs?
Not talking just for PF, but for RPGs in general.
Consume fiction. Not just by reading novels/stories and watching movies/shows (and don't just limit to one genre—spread it out), but ESPECIALLY by reading published adventures and sourcebooks. The more you consume in all of these ways, the more your imagination gets inspired.
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Any recommended method of telling your bosses that you don't get paid enough, James?Does anyone ever tell your bosses that you don't get paid enough? :PNope! But they SHOULD. :-P
Email them. Or go to conventions and tell them. And don't complain when and if we start charging prices for our products what they should actually be worth—the amount of work and technical writing and editing and graphic design that goes into a tabletop RPG is comparable to a textbook, but you'll note that RPG books are nowhere NEAR as expensive as textbooks.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
When it comes to science-fiction (either fiction or games), do you prefer worlds to have a mix of climates and terrains across their surface (similar to Earth), or the Star Wars Desert/Jungle/Ocean/City world approach?
I prefer more believable worlds. Things like Star Wars' desert planets are more akin to fantasy than science fiction.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
This one may be a little tricky to answer, as I'm not sure how close to the rules side of things you are during development - but are there any archetypes or prestige classes which, looking back on them, you'd do differently if you had the chance?
Yes, but I'm not gonna go into that, because that can be interpreted by my co-workers or authors as me nitpicking and critiquing their work publicly. Not into that.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How do you understand the two "half-" races came to be part of the "traditional seven" PC races, and why do we never see "half-" races of other mixes (a Half-Gnome, for example, or a Quarterling")?
Half-elves came into the game likely because of Tolkein's influence.
Half-orcs came into the game likely because there was a need for a "brutish ugly monster antihero" race.
The more of these that you make, the more complicated and clunky it gets, and frankly, the sillier it gets.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Do you think Paizo will ever return to Falcon's Hollow?
Anything is possible, but I'm more interested in other parts of the world, personally... be they places we've never been, or places like Varisia that I'm more personally invested in and proud of creating. (I had VERY little input on the Falcons' Hollow stuff.)
So have you seen any new movies lately?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
So have you seen any new movies lately?
Yup. Lots, plus several old ones. The best one I've seen lately is Pyewacket.
Hi James,
Do drow still retain the elven capacity to physically adapt to their environment over time?
|
Developer
|
Heya James
So I'm diving deep into Taldan lore for the new AP. I'm looking into the Karthis family, but can't find much on them outside of the small blurb in the Noble Scion feat from the Player's Guide and a small mention in Echoes of Glory of a "Senator Karthis."
Is there a named Patriarch or other family? Any new political goals? It sounds like they're against Eutropia, but anything more would be welcome information.
Thanks for any help you can give!