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James Jacobs wrote:
Diego Rossi wrote:

I think the problem we all have is at what range we can see something/someone when the source or illumination are the moon or the stars. it is a hard question as the condition can vary heavily.

Full moonlight and a snowy plain? We can notice someone moving at a few hundred meters.
Under the tree canopy of a dense forest? We are lucky if we can notice a tree trunk before hitting it.
Add that we are used to strong artificial illumination and judging what can see a human used to softer artificial illumination and with the time to adapt to the dim light become difficult.
It would be nice to have some guideline.

In those two situation, when you are the GM, what can be seen?

We also don't have rules for how far you can see on a sunny day.

It would indeed be nice to have those guidelines, but they didn't end up in Pathfinder for whatever reason.

When I'm the GM, I just revert back to earlier editions for the info or, much more often, just go off of real-world experience and/or decide what's good for the mood of the scene.

James Jacobs, can you relate the rules you use for Starlight and Moonlight? I have not found any rules for that in all of 3.X/PF.

- Thanks

Liberty's Edge

James Jacobs wrote:


If you're holding the weapon in a way that you can make an attack with it, you are wielding it. If something requires you to be wielding a weapon in order to use a power or activate something, you have to be "using the weapon effectively or handling it actively." If you've got a 2-handed weapon, that means using both hands. If you're holding a 2-handed weapon in one hand, such as might be the case where you want a hand free to cast a spell or cling to a ledge, you are not wielding the weapon.

I think I will print this explanation and make a clip of it, it work better than SKR explanation for something like 95% of the situation, for the last 5% I will use GM interpretation.

- * -

One of my player has made an insightful and somewhat troubling comment about the AP covers: "The main enemy of the AP is the creature on the cover." That is not a problem when the main enemy is a human, is clearly foreshadowed in most of the AP or the image is that of a stock monster, possibly one of several similar variations, but it can be a problem when it is something fairly unique like the main enemy of Kingmaker 3. It is almost impossible for the players not to get a glimpse of the cover either while playing or at a gaming store.
The player in question was buying miniatures and even stumbled on the lead miniature of the aforementioned main enemy (BTW he liked them a lot, he brougth a miniature of the Stag Lord for our group archer that use the Stag Helm).
I know that the cover of the module is a important part of advertising and this choice probably is done to give the GM a glimpse of what is in the module, but there is any way to help keeping the secret when it is important for the module? In the AP module in question keeping who is the enemy for the first half of the adventure is important.


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LazarX wrote:
Saint Caleth wrote:
LazarX wrote:
Saint Caleth wrote:


The universe is not necessarily homogeneous with respect to physical laws. Golarion could exist in a part of the universe where magic exists, whereas Earth is in a region ruled by the physics which we observe.

That is what I always assume when Earth gets worked into a fantasy-esque setting.

Hear that rumbling sound in the distance? That's the mob of angry physicists coming your way. :)
It's a good explanatory cop-out though, admit it.
And get impaled by a slide rule? (Some of those physicists are really old school.)

So old-school in fact that they may not have heard that research is being done to investigate the possibility that the laws of physics may not be constant throughout the universe. Granted, I'm not using that to advocate the existence of magic, but Saint Caleth may potentially be partially correct when he says that the constancy of Physics applies to the immediately observable universe only. Time may tell.

Also, I have quite a few friends that are physicists that wouldn't join said old-school angry mob. Keeping an open mind is an important part of being a scientist. Becoming an old-school codger opens one up to becoming irrelevant. Admittedly, I'm not a scientist since I switched majors after 3 years of Biochemistry (into Business and Economics - long story) but I haven't forgotten what I learned in my astrophysics and advanced physics courses (I took them as electives).

Apologies for the derail. Loving the responses as always, James, and I never cease to be amazed by the amount of time you set aside to interact with the fans. Kudos.

Liberty's Edge

Saint Caleth wrote:
LazarX wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
LazarX wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Unspeakable Futures takes place on Earth, about 100 to 200 years in the future. So... in the same universe as Golarion, but not ON Golarion.
Is there any particular authorial reason for dropping Earth into Golarion's universe, besides the fact that perhaps it was something that TSR/WOTC never did?

Doing something that TSR/WOTC never did is reason enough for me!

But also, putting Earth in the same universe as Golarion helps to set things up so that if a gamer wants, you can also have whatever other world you like in the universe as well, while simultaneously making the universe (aka the Material Plane) seem really big.

Given that a universe is defined as a place where the same set of natural laws in place, I have to say it kind of twitches my eye at the implication that Earth is run by Pathfinder mechanics. As to the latter reason, I think Distant Worlds did that job for you. :)

The universe is not necessarily homogeneous with respect to physical laws. Golarion could exist in a part of the universe where magic exists, whereas Earth is in a region ruled by the physics which we observe.

That is what I always assume when Earth gets worked into a fantasy-esque setting.

I have decided some time ago to assume that our gaming universes are set in a 9 (or more) dimension frame where there are 3 spatial dimensions, 3 temporal (for time travel and parallel universe voyages) and 3 that define how magic/technology/psionic work.

The physical laws we know are a local condition and what we know is actually less "universal" than we think, like Galileian physic is correct as long as you are working within a specific subset of condition but Newtonian physics encompass a broader understanding of the physical laws and includes the law described by Galileo and it comprehension of the universe was then surpassed be Einsteinian physics.
So on Earth we are working under a heavy magical/psionic pressure that block most of the powers and make them unreliable while the local conditions on Golarion make them easily available.
Think to it as the air around us: for thousand of years it has been taken for granted and little thought was spent on it, now we comprehend it and we utilize vacuum and high pressure environments for specific kind of productions and other activities, we use that comprehension to make airplanes fly and so on.

Liberty's Edge

Gauss wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Diego Rossi wrote:

I think the problem we all have is at what range we can see something/someone when the source or illumination are the moon or the stars. it is a hard question as the condition can vary heavily.

Full moonlight and a snowy plain? We can notice someone moving at a few hundred meters.
Under the tree canopy of a dense forest? We are lucky if we can notice a tree trunk before hitting it.
Add that we are used to strong artificial illumination and judging what can see a human used to softer artificial illumination and with the time to adapt to the dim light become difficult.
It would be nice to have some guideline.

In those two situation, when you are the GM, what can be seen?

We also don't have rules for how far you can see on a sunny day.

It would indeed be nice to have those guidelines, but they didn't end up in Pathfinder for whatever reason.

When I'm the GM, I just revert back to earlier editions for the info or, much more often, just go off of real-world experience and/or decide what's good for the mood of the scene.

James Jacobs, can you relate the rules you use for Starlight and Moonlight? I have not found any rules for that in all of 3.X/PF.

- Thanks

I recall that there is something in AD&D 1st edition. Gary Gygax was a wargamist first and we tend to define that kind of thing.


I seem to recall that as well Diego, but I have nothing of 1st or 2nd edition. In my youth I sold off such things when I stopped using them. Ahhh well.

I am hoping JJ has either the references or can at least impart his wisdom on that topic on how he runs it.

- Gauss


James Jacobs wrote:
Ash_Gazn wrote:

The following is NOT a complaint of any kind.

I was just struck when checking out the Artifacts and Legends book coming out this week (which I WILL be buying as a PDF) that the PDFs in the Players Companion line cost more than the PDFs of the core books.

If you can, would you touch on how that works financially? Is it all to do with the PC line being one off prints, where the core books are expected to go through multiple printings?

The rulebooks are, if you will, the "guts" of the system. They're the essential part. You need them to play. And therefore we want as many people to be able to afford them as possible, which is why the PDFs are only 10 bucks, and which is why we try to get all the rules up online for free.

One way to look at is is an analogy of paint and paintings. The rulebooks themselves are basically the paint.

The Golarion books are the story and the adventures and the like. They're the paintings we use our paint to make.

You can buy a bunch of paint for not much money, but a nice painting can cost you a LOT.

James gives a wonderful analogy. As to how that works financially, the short non-analogous answer is that the hardcover Core Books are loss leaders .

Liberty's Edge

Gauss wrote:

I seem to recall that as well Diego, but I have nothing of 1st or 2nd edition. In my youth I sold off such things when I stopped using them. Ahhh well.

I am hoping JJ has either the references or can at least impart his wisdom on that topic on how he runs it.

- Gauss

Mine are in the basement in a crate. You will have to pry my gaming paraphernalia from my dead hands (at least for the stuff I like).

:-)
I can gift some of it away to deserving people (like I did with the magic cards to break the habit) but selling it is against my way of thinking.
Probably the little thing that I have and had a steady pay check for most of my gaming life help here ;-)

Reading 2nd ed. and going from memory:

"Simple" infravision was like curent darkvision
The more complex version was thermal vision with a range of 60' (both version were spoiled by light sources)

Elves had ultravision (SP?) and were capable to see normally with source of ultraviolet, substantially they had normal vision under a starlit or moonlight sky.

People with normal vision had some malus to hit, damage and sawing throw that required dodging (current Reflex saves), with variable penalties depending on the degree of darkness.
In 2nd ed. I don't see a sight range listed for normal vision in darkness.
Maybe we should start a thread about this in the suggestion forum?


The Block Knight wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ash_Gazn wrote:

The following is NOT a complaint of any kind.

I was just struck when checking out the Artifacts and Legends book coming out this week (which I WILL be buying as a PDF) that the PDFs in the Players Companion line cost more than the PDFs of the core books.

If you can, would you touch on how that works financially? Is it all to do with the PC line being one off prints, where the core books are expected to go through multiple printings?

The rulebooks are, if you will, the "guts" of the system. They're the essential part. You need them to play. And therefore we want as many people to be able to afford them as possible, which is why the PDFs are only 10 bucks, and which is why we try to get all the rules up online for free.

One way to look at is is an analogy of paint and paintings. The rulebooks themselves are basically the paint.

The Golarion books are the story and the adventures and the like. They're the paintings we use our paint to make.

You can buy a bunch of paint for not much money, but a nice painting can cost you a LOT.

James gives a wonderful analogy. As to how that works financially, the short non-analogous answer is that the hardcover Core Books are loss leaders .

I think they might be "small profit leaders". I have no special knowledge though.


1. Can someone semi-reliably be turned into an Oracle? Such as by going through some shamanic initiation ordeal or Old Cults immersion ritual, where those who survive/return have been cursed as Oracles?

2. Related to 1). If an Oracle cult leader, shaman or the like trains acolytes or lesser priests, would those be best represented as Oracles or as Clerics/Druids?

3. Does an Oracle have to actually like, revere or side with the powers of their mystery, or are there Oracles literally cursed with abilities contrary to their allegiances, such as priests of Pharasma turned into involuntary necromancer Oracles of Bones through the curse of Urgathoa?

4. Historically, in which human cultures have Old Cult worship played an important part? Old Osirion and Ustalav have been mentioned; any others you would list in particular?


Have you ever read The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Gauss wrote:

James Jacobs, can you relate the rules you use for Starlight and Moonlight? I have not found any rules for that in all of 3.X/PF.

- Thanks

They provide dim light.

What's missing from Pathfinder is, essentially, "encounter distances" or any mechanic that gives you a range at which folks can see in any light. Earlier editions of the game had this, but for whatever reason this information seems to have atrophied away from the rules.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Diego Rossi wrote:

One of my player has made an insightful and somewhat troubling comment about the AP covers: "The main enemy of the AP is the creature on the cover." That is not a problem when the main enemy is a human, is clearly foreshadowed in most of the AP or the image is that of a stock monster, possibly one of several similar variations, but it can be a problem when it is something fairly unique like the main enemy of Kingmaker 3. It is almost impossible for the players not to get a glimpse of the cover either while playing or at a gaming store.

The player in question was buying miniatures and even stumbled on the lead miniature of the aforementioned main enemy (BTW he liked them a lot, he brougth a miniature of the Stag Lord for our group archer that use the Stag Helm).
I know that the cover of the module is a important part of advertising and this choice probably is done to give the GM a glimpse of what is in the module, but there is any way to help keeping the secret when it is important for the module? In the AP module in question keeping who is the enemy for the first half of the adventure is important.

Your player is absolutely right.

Also, for example, Darth Vadar shows up in the trailer for Star Wars.

Turns out, we kind of HAVE to do things like show off our bad guys and certain key elements of our adventures because, while we love and adore all you GMs out there... we can't just rely on you to get the word out for us about our products. We have to spread some of that word ourselves, and part of that is teasing ALL players of the game with imagery and hints about our adventures, so that you can have players seeing that "Oh... there's a lich or a dragon or a devil in this adventure!"

Frankly, I think GMs are a bit TOO precious with their secrets. If you don't tease players with hints and images of what's to come, it's a LOT harder to get them interested and excited about the game you're going to run. And by extension, about the adventure we're trying to sell. I would MUCH rather have a player who's eager and into a game because he saw a cool picture of a bad guy he wants to find out more about than have a player who's not been told anything about the adventure and has nothing to look forward to and thus is less into the whole thing.

In the end... our covers more or less do the same thing for our products that movie trailers do. Some reveal more than others, but they're all there to drive excitement and desire to find out more.

(Of course... it's worth pointing out that we don't ALWAYS put the main bad guy on the cover of an Adventure Path. Sometimes that character shows up on a cover where he/she doesn't make an appearance in an adventure at all. Sometimes the cover character is an ally. Sometimes the cover character is just a generic representation of a theme from the adventure.)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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The Block Knight wrote:
James gives a wonderful analogy. As to how that works financially, the short non-analogous answer is that the hardcover Core Books are loss leaders .

Yeah... the concept of a loss leader does indeed sum up the rulebook line well...

Save for two things:

1) There's only one Core Rulebook. We call the line the rulebook line, not the core books, because we are sensitive to the fact that not all gamers are filled with money and we don't want to scare folks away by making them think that in order to play the game they need to keep buying every book.

2) Calling the rulebook line loss leaders is pretty inaccurate. Even though we price the PDFs really low and even though we give the rules away for free online... the rulebook line sells VERY well. It's hardly a loss leader as a result. We're making good money off them EVEN THOUGH we give them away.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:
Have you ever read The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop?

Nope.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Analysis wrote:

1. Can someone semi-reliably be turned into an Oracle? Such as by going through some shamanic initiation ordeal or Old Cults immersion ritual, where those who survive/return have been cursed as Oracles?

2. Related to 1). If an Oracle cult leader, shaman or the like trains acolytes or lesser priests, would those be best represented as Oracles or as Clerics/Druids?

3. Does an Oracle have to actually like, revere or side with the powers of their mystery, or are there Oracles literally cursed with abilities contrary to their allegiances, such as priests of Pharasma turned into involuntary necromancer Oracles of Bones through the curse of Urgathoa?

4. Historically, in which human cultures have Old Cult worship played an important part? Old Osirion and Ustalav have been mentioned; any others you would list in particular?

1) Yes; but that type of element is best handled by in-game story development.

2) Depends on the nature of the cult. As a general rule, the cultists should be the same class as their leader. Keep in mind that clerics MUST worship a single deity, so if you have an oracle, it's best for that oracle to worship a deity. Or a pantheon of related deities, and in that case, you can have different clerics serving different roles in the cult.

3) Oracles gain their powers from mysterious sources. That's why they're called mysteries. An oracle who worships Pharasma but has undead related powers is something of a blasphemer and a heretic, but could also be really helpful and loyal to the church. The clerics of a faith would be weirded out (at best) or antagonistic (at worst) to such fringe worshipers, though.

4) Beyond old Osirion and Ustalav, there's bits of Old Cult activity throughout the Inner Sea region. Osirion and Ustalav are the main places, but there's not really any place where finding Old Cult activity would be outlandish or impossible.


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James Jacobs wrote:


Even though we price the PDFs really low and even though we give the rules away for free online... the rulebook line sells VERY well. It's hardly a loss leader as a result. We're making good money off them EVEN THOUGH we give them away.

Does that ever strike you as a "beautiful" thing, as it strikes me?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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If not beautiful, at the very least delightful.

Sometimes, the best way to make money is to give things away for free.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I see it that way too James, seeing the crunch on the PRD is great, and extremely helpful for a DM teaching new people the game, but an RPG doesn't feel right without fluff and pretty pictures. For that reason I do plan on eventually buying the whole of the rulebook line (most in both formats) because the rules HAVE enticed me so from the PRD. Tax return will be very pretty indeed.


James, right at the end of the Moonscar module there is a small section where it describes the small clay statues the BBEG possesses. One is described as wearing the robes of a runelord of wrath and wielding a ranseur. Is this really implying what I think it is implying!!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alan_Beven wrote:
James, right at the end of the Moonscar module there is a small section where it describes the small clay statues the BBEG possesses. One is described as wearing the robes of a runelord of wrath and wielding a ranseur. Is this really implying what I think it is implying!!

What do you THINK it's implying?


Two, completely unrelated:

1: When you create a world/setting, what do you usually start with?

2: While I don't take a strong position or have a vested interest in the whole monk kerfluffle, and I think your idea of them being highly mobile and resistant skirmishers rather than frontline fighters is a decent one, but how does that position interact with flurry of blows, one of the monk's main features, being a full-round action? That makes it trickier to be mobile. Do you recommend taking advantage of combat maneuvers to weaken enemies more and flurrying less? Like I said, not that important to me and not asking for a ruling or anything, just an opinion on two things that don't seem to quite work together.


James Jacobs wrote:
Alan_Beven wrote:
James, right at the end of the Moonscar module there is a small section where it describes the small clay statues the BBEG possesses. One is described as wearing the robes of a runelord of wrath and wielding a ranseur. Is this really implying what I think it is implying!!
What do you THINK it's implying?

Hah! I didn't want to spoil too much! I took it that the "queen" (don't have the module here so I don't have all the names) at some point in the past broke that particular statue to "activate" the Runelord of Wrath as one of her agents as the description of the magic item states. That's seems..... hard to believe, but also kinda cool.


Alan_Beven wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alan_Beven wrote:
James, right at the end of the Moonscar module there is a small section where it describes the small clay statues the BBEG possesses. One is described as wearing the robes of a runelord of wrath and wielding a ranseur. Is this really implying what I think it is implying!!
What do you THINK it's implying?
Hah! I didn't want to spoil too much! I took it that the "queen" (don't have the module here so I don't have all the names) at some point in the past broke that particular statue to "activate" the Runelord of Wrath as one of her agents as the description of the magic item states. That's seems..... hard to believe, but also kinda cool.

Spoiler Tags:
Are Spoilered.
Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Knights of the Inner Sea wrote:

ROLES

Roles can be considered builds, templates, or kits for creating new characters tied to a specific premise. Each of these versatile themes highlights rules and roleplaying elements tying new characters to the Pathfinder campaign setting.

Whose idea was this? I really like the roles since they present a bit of background to base a character on. I am not a fan of the "class options", but they are well received by others I play with. They are good to point a player toward a class that thematically fits, especially those not very familiar with Golarion.

I hope these stick around for a while! Any chance of adding Paizo blogs listing roles for older material? Or some sort of web enhancement?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Golux wrote:

Two, completely unrelated:

1: When you create a world/setting, what do you usually start with?

2: While I don't take a strong position or have a vested interest in the whole monk kerfluffle, and I think your idea of them being highly mobile and resistant skirmishers rather than frontline fighters is a decent one, but how does that position interact with flurry of blows, one of the monk's main features, being a full-round action? That makes it trickier to be mobile. Do you recommend taking advantage of combat maneuvers to weaken enemies more and flurrying less? Like I said, not that important to me and not asking for a ruling or anything, just an opinion on two things that don't seem to quite work together.

1) A small town that the new PCs can call home.

2) You don't have to use flurry of blows every single round. But when you can use it, it's handy. Flurry is best used when you're surrounded, when you're up against a single foe, and perhaps as a finishing move. At the start of combat, though, a monk should use his mobility and defenses to outlast the enemy so that the enemy tires out first. Then move in and punch out some lights.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
Knights of the Inner Sea wrote:

ROLES

Roles can be considered builds, templates, or kits for creating new characters tied to a specific premise. Each of these versatile themes highlights rules and roleplaying elements tying new characters to the Pathfinder campaign setting.

Whose idea was this? I really like the roles since they present a bit of background to base a character on. I am not a fan of the "class options", but they are well received by others I play with. They are good to point a player toward a class that thematically fits, especially those not very familiar with Golarion.

I hope these stick around for a while! Any chance of adding Paizo blogs listing roles for older material? Or some sort of web enhancement?

I believe that idea was Wes's.

Adding Paizo blogs with a significant amount of new rules content or new web enhancements is tricky, and it's not something we do often since that kind of content is better served being in print.


Alan_Beven wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alan_Beven wrote:
James, right at the end of the Moonscar module there is a small section where it describes the small clay statues the BBEG possesses. One is described as wearing the robes of a runelord of wrath and wielding a ranseur. Is this really implying what I think it is implying!!
What do you THINK it's implying?
Hah! I didn't want to spoil too much! I took it that the "queen" (don't have the module here so I don't have all the names) at some point in the past broke that particular statue to "activate" the Runelord of Wrath as one of her agents as the description of the magic item states. That's seems..... hard to believe, but also kinda cool.

Now as a question, is the conclusion I am drawing a legit one, or is the person in question just a random Azlanti with a ranseur??

Dark Archive

A few years back I was surprised to learn you did not like the old school mod Temple of Elemental Evil. Fair enough.

That being said, if something akin to the Temple were to be set in Golaraion, which (Demi) god (/goddes) would you substitute for Iuz and which demon lord for the trapped Zuggtmoy?

I don't assume Cyth-V'sug (or even Treerazor, although he may work as a good fit) is the automatic choice, feel free to extrapolate.

Which other nacent demon lords are acticve on Golarion?


Which continents are next on the line-up?

I'm really looking forward to hear more about Garund, especially Iblydos.

Who are the guys who designed the Pathfinder pantheons and deities? Want to give those people some applauds.

Contributor

I won't flood you with a bajillion questions this time. :(

1) I *think* at one point you mentioned that you had a hand writing a bunch of the Paths of Prestige classes. If you did, which ones did you write? If not, which ones are your favorite in the book?

2) Who came up with the prophet of Kalistrande? The imagery of a real rich guy casting spells he couldn't normally cast by using money as a material regent is hilariously cool. Reminds me of Yojimbo from Final Fantasy X.

3) Are there any Lovecraftian monsters that haven't been stated up yet that you want to be written up?

4) When it comes time to write a Bestiary, how do you decide what (if any) Adventure Path monsters get reprinted? Are there any Adventure Path monsters that you'd love to find their way in a future Bestiary. (Assuming a 4th Bestiary happens, of course.)

5) Which hardcover book are you most proud to have worked on? (Not restricted to Paizo hardcovers or even RPG hardcovers.)

6) Since this thread was started by someone who wasn't you, how did you find out about it?

7) As a kid: teddy bear or nightlight?

8) Roll 1d12. What was your result and what was your favorite book in the corresponding grade?

9) Can you think of a movie that you wish had never been made? Why?

10) Same as #9, except a TV show.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Of the various Nursery Rhymes you've created for Golarion, which is your favorite?

Are there any more Nursery Rhymes coming down the pipe, for Golarion?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alan_Beven wrote:
Alan_Beven wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alan_Beven wrote:
James, right at the end of the Moonscar module there is a small section where it describes the small clay statues the BBEG possesses. One is described as wearing the robes of a runelord of wrath and wielding a ranseur. Is this really implying what I think it is implying!!
What do you THINK it's implying?
Hah! I didn't want to spoil too much! I took it that the "queen" (don't have the module here so I don't have all the names) at some point in the past broke that particular statue to "activate" the Runelord of Wrath as one of her agents as the description of the magic item states. That's seems..... hard to believe, but also kinda cool.
Now as a question, is the conclusion I am drawing a legit one, or is the person in question just a random Azlanti with a ranseur??

It's pretty legit!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
baron arem heshvaun wrote:


A few years back I was surprised to learn you did not like the old school mod Temple of Elemental Evil. Fair enough.

That being said, if something akin to the Temple were to be set in Golaraion, which (Demi) god (/goddes) would you substitute for Iuz and which demon lord for the trapped Zuggtmoy?

I don't assume Cyth-V'sug (or even Treerazor, although he may work as a good fit) is the automatic choice, feel free to extrapolate.

Which other nacent demon lords are acticve on Golarion?

I loved reading Temple of Elemental Evil. It's a GREAT read, filled with cool stuff. But every time I tried to run it or play through it... it collapsed under its own weight before getting to the 2nd level of the temple... sometimes before that. Not sure why, but that's always frustrated me.

Cyth-V'sug is pretty much the obvious replacement for Zuggtmoy, but if I were to set the Temple in Golarion, I wouldn't use Zuggtmoy at all. After all... the Temple is more about elemental evil than it is fungus themes. ANY demon lord can work for Zuggtmoy in that adventure.

In fact, what I would do would be to make up a new nascent demon lord and have her trapped in there... or maybe one of the "dead" demon lords who managed to hide a life away in a prison in the Temple. And I'd probably use Razmir/Razmiran as the Iuz replacement.

Another nascent demon lord that's on-again/off-again active on the Material Plane is Yamasoth—there's lots more info about him coming in Pathfinder #64.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Icyshadow wrote:

Which continents are next on the line-up?

I'm really looking forward to hear more about Garund, especially Iblydos.

Who are the guys who designed the Pathfinder pantheons and deities? Want to give those people some applauds.

None are next on the line-up at this time.

And while Garund is interesting... Iblydos is part of Casmaron.

And while all of us here had a hand at creating parts of the Golarion deities, myself and Sean Reynolds have by far put the most work into them. About 75% of the deities and demigods of Golarion are from my homebrew world, and Sean's been going through every few volumes of Pathfinder AP and expanding each one into a 6–10 page article.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Stratagemini wrote:

Of the various Nursery Rhymes you've created for Golarion, which is your favorite?

Are there any more Nursery Rhymes coming down the pipe, for Golarion?

The Goblin Song, if that counts.

If not, then Zuddiger's Picnic, if that counts.

There's always more poetry in the works. Not sure where or when it'll pop up though.


James Jacobs wrote:
Icyshadow wrote:

Which continents are next on the line-up?

I'm really looking forward to hear more about Garund, especially Iblydos.

Who are the guys who designed the Pathfinder pantheons and deities? Want to give those people some applauds.

None are next on the line-up at this time.

And while Garund is interesting... Iblydos is part of Casmaron.

And while all of us here had a hand at creating parts of the Golarion deities, myself and Sean Reynolds have by far put the most work into them. About 75% of the deities and demigods of Golarion are from my homebrew world, and Sean's been going through every few volumes of Pathfinder AP and expanding each one into a 6–10 page article.

And where is Casmaron?

Oh, so I'd have to applaud Sean for something? Who knew.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Alexander Augunas wrote:

1) I *think* at one point you mentioned that you had a hand writing a bunch of the Paths of Prestige classes. If you did, which ones did you write? If not, which ones are your favorite in the book?

2) Who came up with the prophet of Kalistrande? The imagery of a real rich guy casting spells he couldn't normally cast by using money as a material regent is hilariously cool. Reminds me of Yojimbo from Final Fantasy X.

3) Are there any Lovecraftian monsters that haven't been stated up yet that you want to be written up?

4) When it comes time to write a Bestiary, how do you decide what (if any) Adventure Path monsters get reprinted? Are there any Adventure Path monsters that you'd love to find their way in a future Bestiary. (Assuming a 4th Bestiary happens, of course.)

5) Which hardcover book are you most proud to have worked on? (Not restricted to Paizo hardcovers or even RPG hardcovers.)

6) Since this thread was started by someone who wasn't you, how did you find out about it?

7) As a kid: teddy bear or nightlight?

8) Roll 1d12. What was your result and what was your favorite book in the corresponding grade?

9) Can you think of a movie that you wish had never been made? Why?

10) Same as #9, except a TV show.

1) I didn't actually write any of the prestige classes in Paths of Prestige. The book was my idea though, and I created the outline to send to the authors, so all of the prestige classes that were chosen were chosen by me.

2) I believe that was Erik or Jason. In either case, I can more or less guarantee that Yojimbo from FFX was not the inspiration.

3) Yes. All of the Great Old Ones, for example.

4) That's actually complicated. It's a mix of which ones we like, which ones ended up being popular, which ones help us fill gaps in CR or monster type, which ones fill gaps in the alphabet, and which ones we need to reprint because they're important to the game.

5) I'm proud of ALL of my work on Pathfinder books, but the hardcover book I'm probably the most proud of having had the chance to work on is Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk. Because I got to write a third of one of the incarnations of Castle Greyhawk. That's pretty incredible to me.

6) I keep a pretty close eye on the boards, actually, and when my name is used in a thread title, that really helps me notice it even faster.

7) Nightlight.

8) HA! First time a question requires me to roll a die. Rolled a 9. Freshman in High School. My favorite book at that time was probably the 1st edition Monster Manual.

9) The 1998 version of Godzilla. It train-wrecked the franchise's chance to have a bigger audience in the USA, and did so in the most insulting way possible. If it hadn't been made, we would probably have had more Godzilla movies... as it is, the next attempt by the USA to do a Godzilla movie is coming along pretty soon... but it did take 15 years or so. Also, before the 1998 Godzilla was released, there were plans afoot for a special edition of the original Godzilla to be released on DVD. At that point, I'd never seen the original Japanese version, and I was really excited to finally get the chance to rectify that. But then, after the 1998 Godzilla bombed at the box office and ruined so much else, the special edition of Gojira "mysteriously" ended up being cancelled. It would be over a decade before that edition would be published. Grrrr.

10) Nope; while there's plenty of TV shows I think are terrible, I can't think of any I wish were never made in the first place.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Icyshadow wrote:
And where is Casmaron?

It's the largest continent on Golarion. It's western border is pretty much the same as the eastern border of Avistan, so it's pretty much just to the east of the Inner Sea Region.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

What is the least delicious monster in Golarion?


James Jacobs wrote:
The Block Knight wrote:
James gives a wonderful analogy. As to how that works financially, the short non-analogous answer is that the hardcover Core Books are loss leaders .

Yeah... the concept of a loss leader does indeed sum up the rulebook line well...

Save for two things:

1) There's only one Core Rulebook. We call the line the rulebook line, not the core books, because we are sensitive to the fact that not all gamers are filled with money and we don't want to scare folks away by making them think that in order to play the game they need to keep buying every book.

2) Calling the rulebook line loss leaders is pretty inaccurate. Even though we price the PDFs really low and even though we give the rules away for free online... the rulebook line sells VERY well. It's hardly a loss leader as a result. We're making good money off them EVEN THOUGH we give them away.

That's good to know and great to hear. Yeah, I meant to type "Core BOOK IS" instead of the plural. Still, your second point stands. I was under the impression that you guys didn't make any money from the PFCRB. It's times like this when I'm happy to be wrong.

Steve Geddes, you were on point when you said "Small Profit" rather than "Loss". Good call.

Silver Crusade

Hello,

Raging Drunk ability in Drunken Brute Barbarian archetype provides the character to use his potions as a move action. One of my players want to have barbarian/alchemist(Rage Chemist archetype) multiclass and asks about if he can use his extracts with a move action. Since extracts are said in PRD as "In many ways, they behave like spells in potion form" so I guess he can use it that way. Can he?

Thanks


What things from D&D do you use in your own setting that you couldn't put into Pathfinder/Golarion, and are all of those due to intellectual rights or are there any for other reasons?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Stratagemini wrote:
What is the least delicious monster in Golarion?

The flumph.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Yücel Okçu wrote:

Hello,

Raging Drunk ability in Drunken Brute Barbarian archetype provides the character to use his potions as a move action. One of my players want to have barbarian/alchemist(Rage Chemist archetype) multiclass and asks about if he can use his extracts with a move action. Since extracts are said in PRD as "In many ways, they behave like spells in potion form" so I guess he can use it that way. Can he?

Thanks

Nope.

He can use his potions as a move action because all you do to activate a potion is drink it. Extracts also need to be "cast" (AKA mixed and all that from ingredients), and that means he can't drink them fast while raging. In fact, I would argue that you can no more use extracts while raging than you can cast spells.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Golux wrote:
What things from D&D do you use in your own setting that you couldn't put into Pathfinder/Golarion, and are all of those due to intellectual rights or are there any for other reasons?

Well... I did just have one of my groups fight a beholder a month ago...


Hey James. Not sure if you remember but I am the guy who got "The James Jacobs heart shaped stamp of approval for naming my RPG room into a Pathfinder Lodge". Without further ado here is the link to the pictures of the current Pathfinder Lodge on the great expansive prairies of Canada.
What do you think?
And do I live up to my alias "The Minis Maniac"?


1)Are there any monsters in APs that will more then likely not get into a hardcover Bestiary? Not including ones that can't be reused for legal reasons.

2)What is the most delicous monster on Golarion?

3)Will the Innersea Bestiary have all new art or will it be mixed with new and old?

4)Will we ever get info for the monster and non-standard race based dieties?

5)Do the lesser orbs of dragonkind in the Artifacts and Legends book count as major or minor artifacts?

6)Why no Sovyrian Stone in the Artifacts and Legends book?

7)Since Shelyn has her brothers glaive does that mean she has an evil weapon in her grasp?


James,

Are there going to be any AP's centered around Numeria and/or Alkenstar after the next few AP's you have planned out?

Contributor

Quick question, are the agathonians based on any real-world mythology? If so, what?

Edit: NEW PAGE! I hear by dub this page, the Page of Pact Magic!

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