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Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Belle Mythix wrote:

Probably been asked before, but; if you had one or more kid(s) how would you name him/her/them?

Well, I'm sure naming them after my favorite Pathfinder NPCs would go over well.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cheapy wrote:
Do any groups or cultures in Golarion use glass weapons?

Not as a culture or a group.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cfoot wrote:

Does my Grenadier's class ability “Directed Blast" allow him to throw an explosive bomb twenty feet and then have it explode in a cone instead of a burst.

-Or-

Is the terminology "throws" really meant more like "activate or detonate" and is used because you effectively still throw the bomb, since you make a ranged attack roll against a target that is within the blast radius of the cone. But you cannot actually use this ability in conjunction with a thrown bomb attack.

Directed Blast (Su)
At 6th level, a grenadier can detonate a bomb so that it splashes in a 20-foot cone rather than affecting a radius. The cone starts at the alchemist and extends away from her in the direction she chooses. The alchemist designates one creature in the squares affected by the cone to be the target of the bomb and makes her attack roll against that creature; all other squares in the cone take splash damage. If the alchemist has the explosive bomb discovery and throws an explosive directed blast, the cone of splash damage is 30 feet long instead of 20 feet.
This ability replaces swift poisoning.

The cone starts at the alchemist. In other words, the alchemist who uses Directed Blast as an option does not throw the bomb; he triggers it with his hands and causes it to spew out from him in a manner similar to how a dragon's breath weapon spews out of a dragon. You get to designate one target in that cone-shaped area as the primary target and make your attack against him.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Greg Wasson wrote:

I remember reading a few lines about an ancient city sitting timeless under a crystal dome, where did I read that and has there been any modules/ap's that used said city?

Greg

That would be Crystilan, in northwest Varisia. It's not yet been used in any adventures.


James Jacobs wrote:
Greg Wasson wrote:

I remember reading a few lines about an ancient city sitting timeless under a crystal dome, where did I read that and has there been any modules/ap's that used said city?

Greg

That would be Crystilan, in northwest Varisia. It's not yet been used in any adventures.

Wow, that place seems prime for an adventure path! Or at the very least one of those new bigger modules.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Stratagemini wrote:

So, The Emerald Spire. I can't help but notice the cover has a giant Clockwork Spider-tank on it. Your influence?

How much Input as creative Director do you have over stuff like the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter books? I ask because you're the Creative Director of Paizo, but Goblinworks isn't Paizo, but they're releasing books set in part of Golarion. Or at least they're released in connection to the Golbinworks Kickstarters. And you Did write an awesome Sanctum of a lost age in the last one... but Officially, you don't seem to be an officer or employee of Goblinworks from what I can tell, so how does that work?

I helped pick the mock-up art for the cover, yeah (that picture first appeared on pages 203–204 of Ultimate Equipment—it's an illustration of an aparatus of the crab). We chose that image because what little we know about the Emerald Spire at this point is that it involves a fair amount of constructs and perhaps some Numeria stuff, and the image had the bonus of being the right color. The fact that it's set in a jungle and not a temperate forest is something we felt fine with compromising on. It is, after all, a mock-up cover.

The book's final cover will be completely different, in any event.

As for my input into the project as Creative Director—it's as much input as I get into any Paizo product, pretty much. (My entry for Thornkeep was the Enigma Vaults, by the way... but also, I'm the one who came up with the various names for that book in the first place...)

My influence on Emerald Spire will be as its Creative Director, in other words. And possibly as an author for a dungeon level, depending on how the kickstarter continues...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

zean wrote:

Freedom of Movement vs Create Pit.

Does FoM let the person auto-pass their save?

Nope.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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The NPC wrote:

Mr. James Jacobs,

Considering how Merisiel is presented, what would you say are her positive qualities?

She's incredibly loyal to her friends; she's very creative when it comes to tactics; she's an excellent rogue; she's super super beyoootiful; she stabs good; she's brave; she's really good at revenge; and she has a good Reflex save.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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TheLoneCleric wrote:

At what point would you say a Gunslinger can't use an advanced weapon? Say if they pick up a Gauss Needler pistol from inside the Silver Mount in the middle of a crazy 3 way fight between the Technic League, internal defense systems, and his party. Would he have to take the -4 for Exotic Weapon?

Did I mention I'm loving the Gunslinger? LOVING IT!

Depends on if the GM built the needler pistol as a weapon or a wondrous item or some brand new category of gizmo. In my game, gunslingers can use any gun-like weapon, but they only really get their best boons and benefits when they're using bullet shooters. And really, I prefer those to be pistols.


I have a question regarding a particular aspect of the challenge for a Cavalier/Samurai character of the ronin/knight errant order:

***
Challenge: Whenever a ronin is the target of a challenge, a smite, a quarry, or similar effect, and he issues a challenge against that character in return, the ronin receives a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls made against the target of his challenge and a +1 dodge bonus to his AC against attacks made by the target of his challenge. These bonuses increase by +1 for every four class levels the samurai possesses (to a maximum of +5 at 20th level).
***

I interpret this strictly to be regarding being the target of a class or monster ability by the rules.

But, as a DM, how would you handle it if such a character would be challenged to a duel by a character without such an ability? A character such as a fighter of the aldori swordlord archetype (or prestige class) or a character that had levels in the duelist prestige class?

Would you be inclined to bend the rules and treat it as a challenge for the ronin/knight errant?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Coridan wrote:

I always only asked how you would rule something to work in your home games for that reason. I have a question like that for right now.

My gnoll wizard in Legacy of Fire gave birth to six half celestial gnolls. I would like to play one of those children in Broken Chains, the upcoming module (and my GM is amenable). Without level adjustment in pathfinder we are trying to figure out the best way to balance it.

The module is level six, the 3.5 LA was +4, gnoll was 2hd +1 LA. I will probably use the Advanced race guide gnoll which I believe is balanced agains the PC races. +4 seems a bit high as good as half celestial is, a level two char would probably get smushed. Any recommendations?

The best way to balance it is for every player to play half-celestial gnolls.

The second best way would be to use the Advaned Race Guide's race building rules to build as close as you can get to the celestial gnoll, figure out how many race points it cost, then let the other players augment their character races with additional purchases to bring them in line with your character.

I would not recommend involving LA at all.


Masterful Mr. James Jacobs,

Do you know if the deliciously demented Mr. Nicolas Logue will be attending PaizoCon 2013? If you don't know, would you be so kind as to direct me towards whichever of the other Dark Lords who may know? :D

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:

Say you have an extraordinarily lucky player at your table, what would you do?

I ask, because I have a player that (using multiple sets of dice, even from other people) manages to roll a natural 20 at least once every 3 rounds or so, using a longbow (which he nearly always confirms). A full attacking archer at 10th level is bad enough, but knowing that once every 3 rounds he's going to crit with that bow is kind of depressing. I have a paladin using Improced Crit and a Scimitar that doesn't get as many critical hits as this guy does with a longbow.

If you're 100% sure it's only luck and not some sort of cheating (intentionally or accidentally), then there's not much you can do.

Kicking the player out of the game is an option, but a terrible one.

You could adjust treasure found so that magic items are no-brainer choices for the other players and not for the lucky character, so that the other players have an increase in power and defense to compensate and then you can just slowly ramp up the danger of the game... but that can backfire super easy.

Waiting for the lucky streak to end is what I would do.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
2) That's a cool idea! I've always quite liked the idea that planets are sentient and alive and aware.
What's your favorite living planet(s) from either novel, comic book, or other source.?

A short story called "The Tugging," by Ramsey Campbell.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Nawtyit wrote:

Based on Monk of the Four Winds capstone ability, is he FORCED to reincarnate, or is it a choice?

** spoiler omitted **

Also, any chance of seeing the fifth horseman statted up with the other four?

A player ALWAYS can choose not to come back to life, regardless of the method by which he is granted the opportunity to come back to life. Whether or not that also means the character has been judged by Pharasma and goes on to his final reward/punishment as a petitioner in the outer planes and thus can no longer be brought back to life by any mortal magic is up to the player and the GM.

Unlikely; the fifth horseman is better as a legendary boogeyman rather than an actual demigod.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Lucent wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Greg Wasson wrote:

I remember reading a few lines about an ancient city sitting timeless under a crystal dome, where did I read that and has there been any modules/ap's that used said city?

Greg

That would be Crystilan, in northwest Varisia. It's not yet been used in any adventures.
Wow, that place seems prime for an adventure path! Or at the very least one of those new bigger modules.

Agreed. There's actually LOTS of places in Varisia that could make a great spot for an adventure or an entire Adventure Path. Just need to convince those folks out there who are "tired" of Varisia that they're wrong is all... ;-P

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Thing from Beyond the Edge wrote:

I have a question regarding a particular aspect of the challenge for a Cavalier/Samurai character of the ronin/knight errant order:

***
Challenge: Whenever a ronin is the target of a challenge, a smite, a quarry, or similar effect, and he issues a challenge against that character in return, the ronin receives a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls made against the target of his challenge and a +1 dodge bonus to his AC against attacks made by the target of his challenge. These bonuses increase by +1 for every four class levels the samurai possesses (to a maximum of +5 at 20th level).
***

I interpret this strictly to be regarding being the target of a class or monster ability by the rules.

But, as a DM, how would you handle it if such a character would be challenged to a duel by a character without such an ability? A character such as a fighter of the aldori swordlord archetype (or prestige class) or a character that had levels in the duelist prestige class?

Would you be inclined to bend the rules and treat it as a challenge for the ronin/knight errant?

I'm not seeing a problem there. In order for a ronin to gain his challenge bonus, he merely needs to challenge a character back in return. It doesn't matter what the thing that challenged him is.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Black Fang wrote:

Masterful Mr. James Jacobs,

Do you know if the deliciously demented Mr. Nicolas Logue will be attending PaizoCon 2013? If you don't know, would you be so kind as to direct me towards whichever of the other Dark Lords who may know? :D

We haven't nailed down the list of special guests for PaizoCon 2013 yet, nor have I heard word from Nick that he's coming to the show anyway. AKA: At this point, no one knows except maybe Nick.


James Jacobs wrote:
The Thing from Beyond the Edge wrote:

I have a question regarding a particular aspect of the challenge for a Cavalier/Samurai character of the ronin/knight errant order:

***
Challenge: Whenever a ronin is the target of a challenge, a smite, a quarry, or similar effect, and he issues a challenge against that character in return, the ronin receives a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls made against the target of his challenge and a +1 dodge bonus to his AC against attacks made by the target of his challenge. These bonuses increase by +1 for every four class levels the samurai possesses (to a maximum of +5 at 20th level).
***

I interpret this strictly to be regarding being the target of a class or monster ability by the rules.

But, as a DM, how would you handle it if such a character would be challenged to a duel by a character without such an ability? A character such as a fighter of the aldori swordlord archetype (or prestige class) or a character that had levels in the duelist prestige class?

Would you be inclined to bend the rules and treat it as a challenge for the ronin/knight errant?

I'm not seeing a problem there. In order for a ronin to gain his challenge bonus, he merely needs to challenge a character back in return. It doesn't matter what the thing that challenged him is.

Thanks

Contributor

James Jacobs wrote:
3) Nope; not a fan of that book. I don't even own a copy, and I got copies of all the 3rd edition stuff for free.

I ... actually want to hear your opinions on the Tome of Battle now. :O


James Jacobs wrote:
Belle Mythix wrote:

Probably been asked before, but; if you had one or more kid(s) how would you name him/her/them?

Well, I'm sure naming them after my favorite Pathfinder NPCs would go over well.

Heh. I wanted to name my daughter Imoen. My husband liked it until he remembered where it came from.


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James Jacobs wrote:

“Well... for better or worse, one of the side effects of the "Paizo needs to get its house in order" is that I'm not supposed to be answering as many raw rules questions.”

WTF?!? Because of some complainers you change your entire companies outlook, the way it does business and how you post on a daily basis?

That sort of ilk are wrong. Paizo, headed by the inimitable JJ, is all about the RAI, not about the pettifogging rules arguments that plagued 3.5 and caused it to become unplayable. Where finding a misplayed comma meant you could boost a PC’s power by an order of magnitude.

That whole way of playing was something I hate, and I hope it won’t creep into PF.

RAI rules, RAW drools!

Now sure, I agree, that answering a whole wall of rules questions is not what this thread seems to be about, and such are not suitable.

But as long as your games are written by humans, some one will make a mistake. I don’t want to have to pay 10X for a module because each page has to be vetted by a team of lawyers. Use some common sense, people!


DrDeth wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

“Well... for better or worse, one of the side effects of the "Paizo needs to get its house in order" is that I'm not supposed to be answering as many raw rules questions.”

WTF?!? Because of some complainers you change your entire companies outlook, the way it does business and how you post on a daily basis?

That sort of ilk are wrong. Paizo, headed by the inimitable JJ, is all about the RAI, not about the pettifogging rules arguments that plagued 3.5 and caused it to become unplayable. Where finding a misplayed comma meant you could boost a PC’s power by an order of magnitude.

That whole way of playing was something I hate, and I hope it won’t creep into PF.

RAI rules, RAW drools!

Now sure, I agree, that answering a whole wall of rules questions is not what this thread seems to be about, and such are not suitable.

But as long as your games are written by humans, some one will make a mistake. I don’t want to have to pay 10X for a module because each page has to be vetted by a team of lawyers. Use some common sense, people!

Rules As Intended vs Rules As Written vs Rules As Interpreted... they are supposed to be the same in theories, but in practice...


James Jacobs wrote:
Well... for better or worse, one of the side effects of the "Paizo needs to get its house in order" is that I'm not supposed to be answering as many raw rules questions. Especially things that are super complicated, or at least have the appearance of being super complicated due to wall-of-text posts or long arguments in process in other threads.

I swear, we cannot have nice things. James, I for one have enjoyed your clarifications and while I understand you are not the final answer you are far more accessible than the other Paizo staff members. Especially since we (as a community) have alienated some of them.

- Gauss


James Jacobs wrote:
[Merisiel's] super super beyoootiful

1. What physical attributes do you look for in a woman?

2. Speaking of women, have you gotten a look at this whopper of a howler? Talk about not doing the research. "Poor Sorshen, oppressed by patriarchy" indeed.

3. Why, in-game, do androids have measly human lifespans?

4. When making an android PC's backstory, it's perfectly plausible to say she doesn't remember anything before waking up in the local area?

5. Why doesn't the make whole spell work on androids? Don't they count as constructs?

6. Besides sex and mind control, what else was Sorshen interested in?

"Me: What's Korvosa's law say about anyone who comes up from beneath the castle basement (i.e., the Grand Mastaba)?"

"You: No law yet, because it hasn't yet happened and no one knows it's a problem."

7. Isn't there a law that says everything beneath the castle is the ruler's property? (Unfortunately, I can't find the reference.)

8. How straightforward would Sorshen be in taking over Korvosa? Would she opt for slow diplomancy or would she sooner mind control people when they're not looking?

9. Given how vampire-like Sorshen is, would an adventure path featuring her be anything like White Wolf's Vampire games?

10. What do you think of White Wolf in general?


Hello James!

Just a few questions for you. :)

1) What did Nocticula think of Desna infiltrating the Abyss and slaying Aolar?

1a) What about Lamashtu?

2) I remember a while back Dragon magazine #323 mentioned allowing thrush stats (minus the language) to be used for big butterflies and moths, and I think this was even carried over to the article on Varisians in Pathfinder #7. Desnans (of any class, but especially clerics and bards) could then use the Eldritch Heritage feat to gain a butterfly/moth familiar! Do you think this use of re-skinning is a good thing, and would you allow it?

2a) What boon would you give to owners of a butterfly/moth familiar (or would you keep it the same as the thrush with a +3 bonus to diplomacy)?

3) Any chance for an updated Spherewalker Prc in the future?

4) I really love the deity-related monsters in the Inner Sea Bestiary! Especially the Star Monarch. Would you allow a Desnan to summon/call a Star Monarch (even though it is technically a magical beast) with Planar Ally/Binding or Summon Monster spells?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
[Merisiel's] super super beyoootiful

1. What physical attributes do you look for in a woman?

2. Speaking of women, have you gotten a look at this whopper of a howler? Talk about not doing the research. "Poor Sorshen, oppressed by patriarchy" indeed.

3. Why, in-game, do androids have measly human lifespans?

4. When making an android PC's backstory, it's perfectly plausible to say she doesn't remember anything before waking up in the local area?

5. Why doesn't the make whole spell work on androids? Don't they count as constructs?

6. Besides sex and mind control, what else was Sorshen interested in?

"Me: What's Korvosa's law say about anyone who comes up from beneath the castle basement (i.e., the Grand Mastaba)?"

"You: No law yet, because it hasn't yet happened and no one knows it's a problem."

7. Isn't there a law that says everything beneath the castle is the ruler's property? (Unfortunately, I can't find the reference.)

8. How straightforward would Sorshen be in taking over Korvosa? Would she opt for slow diplomancy or would she sooner mind control people when they're not looking?

9. Given how vampire-like Sorshen is, would an adventure path featuring her be anything like White Wolf's Vampire games?

10. What do you think of White Wolf in general?

1) Your link in #2 made me paranoid about answering this question because there's no way to answer it without the internet calling me a misogynist.

2) I have not. How unpleasant.

3) Because they're meant to be as close to humans as possible. That's the point of an android.

4) Yes.

5) Androids are humanoids, not constructs. That's why make whole doesn't work on them.

6) Power.

7) Not in Korvosa.

8) Stay tuned.

9) No.

10) I've never played any White Wolf RPGs. I played the Vampire computer game that came out a while back and very much enjoyed it, though. And I absolutely approve of how White Wolf challenged the status quo of roleplaying.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Varisian Wanderer wrote:

Hello James!

Just a few questions for you. :)

1) What did Nocticula think of Desna infiltrating the Abyss and slaying Aolar?

1a) What about Lamashtu?

2) I remember a while back Dragon magazine #323 mentioned allowing thrush stats (minus the language) to be used for big butterflies and moths, and I think this was even carried over to the article on Varisians in Pathfinder #7. Desnans (of any class, but especially clerics and bards) could then use the Eldritch Heritage feat to gain a butterfly/moth familiar! Do you think this use of re-skinning is a good thing, and would you allow it?

2a) What boon would you give to owners of a butterfly/moth familiar (or would you keep it the same as the thrush with a +3 bonus to diplomacy)?

3) Any chance for an updated Spherewalker Prc in the future?

4) I really love the deity-related monsters in the Inner Sea Bestiary! Especially the Star Monarch. Would you allow a Desnan to summon/call a Star Monarch (even though it is technically a magical beast) with Planar Ally/Binding or Summon Monster spells?

1) She regretted that she wasn't there to try to take Desna down a notch when her back was turned.

1a) Lamashtu was not pleased that Desna invaded the Abyss, but figured Aolar probably got what she deserved.

2) I'd just make up a butterfly or moth stat from scratch.

2a) Butterfly +3 Fly. Moth +3 Stealth.

3) There is indeed a chance.

4) I would.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Are you excited to see a superdungeon being made that will definitely include Numerian robots?

Are you afraid James L. Sutter, Keith Baker, and Lisa Stevens will steal all the Robots and leave none for you (presuming you get to write a level, I hope you do)?


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
[Merisiel's] super super beyoootiful
What physical attributes do you look for in a woman?
Your link in #2 made me paranoid about answering this question because there's no way to answer it without the internet calling me a misogynist.

Wow, now I feel bad about showing you that silly stupidity. It was all so blatantly wrong that I didn't see it as threatening.

Lemme rephrase my question then…

1. What about Merisiel is beyoootiful? Sure, she's healthy-looking but I'm not getting anything.

"Me: Besides sex and mind control, what else was Sorshen interested in?"

"You: Power."

2. Didn't she have any hobbies? Even people who belong in a 4chan party van do things besides being evil.

The Exchange

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Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
AlgaeNymph wrote:
Even people who belong in a 4chan party van do things besides being evil.

Nope.avi All they have are evil hobbies. Evil Miniture Train Building, Evil Knitting, Evil Photography. You name it, they shop from the catalog of evil activities.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Rocs are known for using Flyby Attack and Grab to swoop in, snatch a victim, and then fly away again.

Mechanically speaking, how does this work exactly? Wouldn't the roc be forced to stop its movement the moment it entered into a grapple, then wait until it could maintain the grapple on its next turn to move?

However, the grapple rules are written with the assumption that you move and take a standard action, or take a standard action and then move. Having been written with players in mind, the rules don't seem to account for special abilities like Flyby Attack and Grab.

Seems like the intent contradicts the rules.
So, how is this creature (and others like it) meant to be run?

Is the roc forced to stop, leaving it highly vulnerable to attack? Or can it move grapple, then move again all in the same turn?


James, on the topic of Dhampirs:

The advanced race guide states that Dhampirs are not adults until they are 110(!) years old. This implies that dhampir children (which are born to humans according to the book) are raised as orphans by several generations of families until they are adults? Presuming that they are not taken in by other long-lived races.

It also shows that dhampirs in a trained class (such as wizard) tend to be in study anywhere between 10 to 60 years.

Was this an intended design choice for the race, or was this an accident much as the aasimar age ranges were? I can understand dhampir having an extended maximum age, but taking over 100 years to reach maturity for a race born in human civilizations seems highly unusual.

What are your thoughts on this?


Oh wise saurian of words and writing, based on your expressed disinterest and (therefore likely) limited knowledge of the topic of sports...

1) What sport would the iconics most likely play well together as a team?
2) Which sport would they utterly fail at playing together?
3) If they were evenly divided into opposing teams with one serving as a referee, what sport would they most WANT to play against each other?
4) If there were two teams, who would be on each and who would be the captains? Who would be the ref?
5) Would there be any intense rivalries or cool pair-ups that would emerge from the iconics playing together / against each other?
6) Would it be impossible to convince some of the iconics to leave their weapons off the field? *looks at Merisiel*
7) What advertisements would play during the commercial breaks/half-time show/7th inning stretch and would any of the iconics feature in them?

Feel free to insert any misconceptions, rumors, stereotypes, and wild speculations on the sport(s) in question if it makes it easier and/or more fun to answer. Oh, and happy Friday!


Lucent wrote:

James, on the topic of Dhampirs:

The advanced race guide states that Dhampirs are not adults until they are 110(!) years old. This implies that dhampir children (which are born to humans according to the book) are raised as orphans by several generations of families until they are adults? Presuming that they are not taken in by other long-lived races.

It also shows that dhampirs in a trained class (such as wizard) tend to be in study anywhere between 10 to 60 years.

Was this an intended design choice for the race, or was this an accident much as the aasimar age ranges were? I can understand dhampir having an extended maximum age, but taking over 100 years to reach maturity for a race born in human civilizations seems highly unusual.

What are your thoughts on this?

+1 for Sylphs. The Sorcerer PC from Sandpoint in my RotRL game is struggling with how to write this into her background story.


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LazarX wrote:
The usual way I introduce a roc as a first time encounter, is to have them carry off and kill some hapless NPC that I include in a party for this purpose.

Aww no, not agaiiiiiiiiiiiiin...


Red Shirt # 44 wrote:
LazarX wrote:
The usual way I introduce a roc as a first time encounter, is to have them carry off and kill some hapless NPC that I include in a party for this purpose.
Aww no, not agaiiiiiiiiiiiiin...

LMAO!


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Yours is mined wrote:
What do the numbers 12, 24, 35, 85, 89, 92, 95, 98, 134, 139 and possibly 112 have in common?

They all appear in your question.

Come ON folks! Ask me some HARD questions!

OK, You asked for this now...

What is the absolutely worst thing you have done that your current partner doesn't know about, and what excuse did you use to avoid discovery?

Is that hard enough to answer? :P


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TheLoneCleric wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
Even people who belong in a 4chan party van do things besides being evil.
Nope.avi All they have are evil hobbies. Evil Miniture Train Building, Evil Knitting, Evil Photography. You name it, they shop from the catalog of evil activities.

Don't forget Evil Basketweaving.


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JMD031 wrote:
TheLoneCleric wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
Even people who belong in a 4chan party van do things besides being evil.
Nope.avi All they have are evil hobbies. Evil Miniture Train Building, Evil Knitting, Evil Photography. You name it, they shop from the catalog of evil activities.
Don't forget Evil Basketweaving.

Oh, is that where the hand baskets that take you to Hell come from?

Dark Archive

Is it crewl to awaken a T-rex?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Stratagemini wrote:

Are you excited to see a superdungeon being made that will definitely include Numerian robots?

Are you afraid James L. Sutter, Keith Baker, and Lisa Stevens will steal all the Robots and leave none for you (presuming you get to write a level, I hope you do)?

We already did a superdungeon with robots—the Red Redoubt in Dungeons of Golarion.

And Emerald Spire doesn't "definitely include robots." It definitely includes constructs, but whether or not we want robots in there depends on the writers.

I'm not afraid of anyone stealing my robots or the like because it's not a competition of who gets to use what monsters first. The end product is the point of it all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:

Lemme rephrase my question then…

1. What about Merisiel is beyoootiful? Sure, she's healthy-looking but I'm not getting anything.

"Me: Besides sex and mind control, what else was Sorshen interested in?"

"You: Power."

2. Didn't she have any hobbies? Even people who belong in a 4chan party van do things besides being evil.

1) Healthy looking is absolutely a part of it, but I also like her hair and her eyes and the fact that she's not comic-book superhero proportioned. And elf ears are hot anyway.

2) Yes, she did have hobbies, but I've not decided what they are because I've never put that much thought into it.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

EDIT: That's odd. My original post disappeared then came back. Sorry for the redundancy.

Can a flying creature with Flyby Attack and grab, a roc for example, swoop in, grapple a target, then fly off with its remaining speed, carrying the grappled victim aloft to be dropped as a free action at the end of its move?

Or is there something in the rules that would prevent that?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Lucent wrote:

James, on the topic of Dhampirs:

The advanced race guide states that Dhampirs are not adults until they are 110(!) years old. This implies that dhampir children (which are born to humans according to the book) are raised as orphans by several generations of families until they are adults? Presuming that they are not taken in by other long-lived races.

It also shows that dhampirs in a trained class (such as wizard) tend to be in study anywhere between 10 to 60 years.

Was this an intended design choice for the race, or was this an accident much as the aasimar age ranges were? I can understand dhampir having an extended maximum age, but taking over 100 years to reach maturity for a race born in human civilizations seems highly unusual.

What are your thoughts on this?

My thoughts are that I'll need to have dhampir age categories errataed in the same way we errataed the aasimar and tiefling ages. Advanced Race Guide really went too far in expanding lifespans for lots of races without thinking about the impact of those rules on established characters in Golarion canon. I personally think that long-lived races should be an exception, mostly limited to elves and gnomes and a few others, because there's a lot of story-based implications that we haven't yet adequately explored or explained about how such a long-lived humanoid intelligent race impacts societies.

I just looked over all the race ages with a critical eye in that book, and fortunately... the accident seems to be limited to dhampir, aasimar, and tieflings. The elemental races are long-lived, but we haven't used those characters all that much in other products, and so I'm fine with having them be long lived since it doesn't contradict any established storylines.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ravingdork wrote:

Rocs are known for using Flyby Attack and Grab to swoop in, snatch a victim, and then fly away again.

Mechanically speaking, how does this work exactly? Wouldn't the roc be forced to stop its movement the moment it entered into a grapple, then wait until it could maintain the grapple on its next turn to move?

However, the grapple rules are written with the assumption that you move and take a standard action, or take a standard action and then move. Having been written with players in mind, the rules don't seem to account for special abilities like Flyby Attack and Grab.

Seems like the intent contradicts the rules.
So, how is this creature (and others like it) meant to be run?

Is the roc forced to stop, leaving it highly vulnerable to attack? Or can it move grapple, then move again all in the same turn?

Again, as a result of the "Paizo needs to get its house in order," thread, I'm not going to be answering the wall-of-text complex rules questions. What qualifies as a complex rules question (or its commonly spotted variant—the "please render a ruling on a confusing bit of rules text") is not something I'm willing to post guidelines on. If it qualifies to me as something that's better served being posted in the rules forums, I'll make that decision based on my own gut feeling.

This question's one such example. Please repost to the appropriate rules discussion forum.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Bitter Thorn wrote:
Lucent wrote:

James, on the topic of Dhampirs:

The advanced race guide states that Dhampirs are not adults until they are 110(!) years old. This implies that dhampir children (which are born to humans according to the book) are raised as orphans by several generations of families until they are adults? Presuming that they are not taken in by other long-lived races.

It also shows that dhampirs in a trained class (such as wizard) tend to be in study anywhere between 10 to 60 years.

Was this an intended design choice for the race, or was this an accident much as the aasimar age ranges were? I can understand dhampir having an extended maximum age, but taking over 100 years to reach maturity for a race born in human civilizations seems highly unusual.

What are your thoughts on this?

+1 for Sylphs. The Sorcerer PC from Sandpoint in my RotRL game is struggling with how to write this into her background story.

Sylphs (and the other elemental races) will not be having their ages errataed down. There's no in-game or in-canon precedent to suggest such errata for these races, unlike the case with aasimars, dhampirs, and tieflings. And I don't want to force change just for the sake of change.

That doesn't mean that you can't make similar changes to your game, of course! If you're the GM and a player is having a problem with a rule and you think it should change, by all means, change it! GMs are SUPPOSED to have that kind of power.


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James Jacobs wrote:

Again, as a result of the "Paizo needs to get its house in order," thread, I'm not going to be answering the wall-of-text complex rules questions. What qualifies as a complex rules question (or its commonly spotted variant—the "please render a ruling on a confusing bit of rules text") is not something I'm willing to post guidelines on. If it qualifies to me as something that's better served being posted in the rules forums, I'll make that decision based on my own gut feeling.

This question's one such example. Please repost to the appropriate rules discussion forum.

"This is why we can't have nice things!"

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Cerberus Seven wrote:

Oh wise saurian of words and writing, based on your expressed disinterest and (therefore likely) limited knowledge of the topic of sports...

1) What sport would the iconics most likely play well together as a team?
2) Which sport would they utterly fail at playing together?
3) If they were evenly divided into opposing teams with one serving as a referee, what sport would they most WANT to play against each other?
4) If there were two teams, who would be on each and who would be the captains? Who would be the ref?
5) Would there be any intense rivalries or cool pair-ups that would emerge from the iconics playing together / against each other?
6) Would it be impossible to convince some of the iconics to leave their weapons off the field? *looks at Merisiel*
7) What advertisements would play during the commercial breaks/half-time show/7th inning stretch and would any of the iconics feature in them?

Feel free to insert any misconceptions, rumors, stereotypes, and wild speculations on the sport(s) in question if it makes it easier and/or more fun to answer. Oh, and happy Friday!

1) Valeros, Kyra, Merisiel, and Seoni would. Mostly because they're the four iconics that have been around the longest, and as a result in my mind, they're the four who've had the most experience working together as a team.

2) That depends if they get to bring their gear.

3) That depends on the iconic.

4) ...

I just discovered that sports questions bore me even when they're involving iconic Pathfinder characters! Fascinating! :-P

Sorry for not answering the remainder of the questions. The iconics just left the field to go explore the catacombs under the stadium where they bury athletes who die during the game.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Anthony Adam wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Yours is mined wrote:
What do the numbers 12, 24, 35, 85, 89, 92, 95, 98, 134, 139 and possibly 112 have in common?

They all appear in your question.

Come ON folks! Ask me some HARD questions!

OK, You asked for this now...

What is the absolutely worst thing you have done that your current partner doesn't know about, and what excuse did you use to avoid discovery?

Is that hard enough to answer? :P

Nope. That's easy. I'm single, so the answer is "haven't done anything that requires me to lie or deceive a girlfriend/wife."

NEXT QUESTION.

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