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James Jacobs wrote:
DrDeth wrote:


Could not Profession Sailor also help or be linked to Astronomy as it is what you use to navigate, right?

You guys should brainstorm one day and add whatever outre knowledges and Professions are covered under the listed ones. I'd like to see that!

It could, but I think that Knowledge (geography) works better. And that's what I've been using in some recent adventures that feature space stuff (like "Doom Comes to Dustpawn" and "The Dragon's Demand").

As mentioned above, I'm not eager to add more skills to the list.

No, no what I meant was what outré knowledges and Professions should be already covered under the listed ones, in other words,

“Ks Geography: Also covers Astrology,
Ks Engineering: Mathematics,
Ps Sailor: Navigation at sea"


Drat, I missed posting on this threads page of ultimate evil. Oh well. James, what did you think of Man of Steel? Or have you not seen it yet?


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Dear Magnanimous King Tyrant Lizard,

Given the brief write up in the ISWG, would it be fair to assume that Razmir has Mythic Tiers? Or might that have been overblown rumors to enhance his reputation? Would it be more appropriate to aim these questions at Jason Bulmahn instead?

Thanks!

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:


5) Sometimes a hat is just a hat.

I go with the theory that the Eidolon is a rabid Matt Smith fan who chose a fez, because he had problems with the cowboy hat.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
The Golux wrote:


James: Would you rather have a module set on Castrovel or Akiton?
Castrovel. But only just barely. And mostly because I like the color green better than red.

Just as well. I'd kind of shudder to think of you as a Red Lantern. But I imagine you'd be fine as a Black Lantern. The entrance requirement is rather steep though. :)


James Jacobs wrote:
Ral' Yareth wrote:

James,

What skills should be used to represent a character with knowledge in astronomy and advanced mathematics?

Knowledge (mathematics) + knowledge (astronomy)?
Or one of the several subgroups of the knowledge skill already published (arcana, nature, planes, geography etc)?

Every new skill you add to the game causes inflation, in that each time you do so, the value of a skill rank decreases since there's more to choose from. As a result, I really don't encourage the addition of new skills to the base game unless you're making some fundamental changes to the assumption of what the base game is.

Astronomy is already more or less covered by Knowledge (geography) in the game. It's not perfect, but it's close enough. Also, it's a skill that doesn't get a lot of use in the game, so giving it more to do is good.

In the same vein, I'd link knowledge of advanced mathematics and technology to Knowledge (engineering).

Boost Skill Points per Level/HD? (I'm aware this can bloat the system/sheet).

Paizo Employee Creative Director

richard develyn wrote:

Does a doppleganger's "perfect copy" ability include all the senses (the word "appearance" doesn't just have to pertain to vision, as far as I can sense), and would a doppleganger be able to fool an animal companion?

Richard

Yes. Assuming it makes its Disguise check. And assuming your GM wants it to function that way—there's good story seeds either direction.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Threeshades wrote:

If great A'Tuin and three others of her species got covered in the ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and we called it Ancient Mutant Star Ninja Turtles, would that make an awesome saturday morning cartoon or an amazing saturday morning cartoon?

Also, what would happen to the elephants and the disc's populations on their backs?

Nope. I was never a fan of TMNT.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Jose Suarez 916 wrote:

James did you knew that this is the thread page number 666? does that scare you a bit? does this number mean anything to you?

Next question, what happens when you start a high level campaign(lets say level 12) and you have an alchemist player that took the Mummification discovery(as his level 10 discovery), would you allow him to start with the immunities at level 12? or would you make him do the 30-day regimen when the adventure begins even tho he took it at has the level 10 discovery?

Mummification (EX)

The alchemist has mastered preserving flesh and applied this knowledge to his own body, turning himself into an undead-like creature. After learning this discovery, the alchemist must perform a 30-day regimen of a special diet, rigorous exercise, and drinking a mildly poisonous alchemical tea. At the end of this regimen, he falls unconscious for 24 hours, then awakens as a “living mummy.” The alchemist’s type does not change, but he becomes immune to cold, nonlethal damage, paralysis, and sleep.

I did. It does not. It does.

I would allow the alchemist to start with the immunities; one of the things you have to do when you start a high level game is let the players get their high level benefits.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

littlehewy wrote:
You mentioned you've not played an inquisitor before. What other core/base classes have you never played since PF was published?

So far I've played clerics, rogues, and bards. I believe that is all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Dabies wrote:
James can you delay when under the effects of hold person or do you have to save each round? I ask because it has come up and the text in the spell states you can't take any actions but you may attempt a save. Which says to me you could opt not to do it and delay. Is not taking an action considered an action?

I feel like I've answered this question before. No, you can't delay. Attempting a save is not an action as much as it is just something to give the player SOMETHING to do when their turn comes up.


1) At what point do souls make the transition into their petitioner forms?

For example A demon cultist dies and goes on to face judgment. Pharasma or an authorized functionary examine the cultist, determine the cultist belongs to a specific demon lord, and sentences the cultist to the demon lord's realm. Souls sent to the Abyss normally become larva, as I understand it. Doe the soul become a larva at the moment of judgment? Does it become a larva upon entering the Abyss? Would the soul normally be sent from the Boneyard straight into the appropriate demon lord's realm? Would a standard demon lord have the mojo to make its petitioners something other than larva (ravenous fungus hounds, eyeless porcelain dolls, vuvuzela-playing tentacle monsters, goblin bikini models, etc.)? Would a nascent demon lord, who has the realm necessary to receive petitioners, be able to shape its petitioners?

2) Do demon lords often "claim" the demons that happen to be created within their realm? Is this considerably harder to do with the various demons that teleport at will?

3) Are souls awaiting judgement at the Boneyard already petitioners, but in a transitory/temporary form? Or are they something else and have to be judged before becoming actual petitioners?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

DrDeth wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
DrDeth wrote:


Could not Profession Sailor also help or be linked to Astronomy as it is what you use to navigate, right?

You guys should brainstorm one day and add whatever outre knowledges and Professions are covered under the listed ones. I'd like to see that!

It could, but I think that Knowledge (geography) works better. And that's what I've been using in some recent adventures that feature space stuff (like "Doom Comes to Dustpawn" and "The Dragon's Demand").

As mentioned above, I'm not eager to add more skills to the list.

No, no what I meant was what outré knowledges and Professions should be already covered under the listed ones, in other words,

“Ks Geography: Also covers Astrology,
Ks Engineering: Mathematics,
Ps Sailor: Navigation at sea"

Knowledge (geography) should cover Astronomy.

Knowledge (arcana) should cover Astrology.

Astronomy is not Astrology.

As for other categories, I'd rather not attempt to sort those all out at once, and instead just wait until the need arises.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cerberus Seven wrote:
Drat, I missed posting on this threads page of ultimate evil. Oh well. James, what did you think of Man of Steel? Or have you not seen it yet?

I haven't seen it, nor am I likely to until it hits Netflix. I'm not a Superman fan, and I've been disappointed by Zack Snyder's movies once to often to give him another try just yet.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Memento Mortis wrote:

Dear Magnanimous King Tyrant Lizard,

Given the brief write up in the ISWG, would it be fair to assume that Razmir has Mythic Tiers? Or might that have been overblown rumors to enhance his reputation? Would it be more appropriate to aim these questions at Jason Bulmahn instead?

Thanks!

Razmir's levels are listed in Inner Sea Magic. He is a 19th level wizard, and is by design NOT a mythic character.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Belle Mythix wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ral' Yareth wrote:

James,

What skills should be used to represent a character with knowledge in astronomy and advanced mathematics?

Knowledge (mathematics) + knowledge (astronomy)?
Or one of the several subgroups of the knowledge skill already published (arcana, nature, planes, geography etc)?

Every new skill you add to the game causes inflation, in that each time you do so, the value of a skill rank decreases since there's more to choose from. As a result, I really don't encourage the addition of new skills to the base game unless you're making some fundamental changes to the assumption of what the base game is.

Astronomy is already more or less covered by Knowledge (geography) in the game. It's not perfect, but it's close enough. Also, it's a skill that doesn't get a lot of use in the game, so giving it more to do is good.

In the same vein, I'd link knowledge of advanced mathematics and technology to Knowledge (engineering).

Boost Skill Points per Level/HD? (I'm aware this can bloat the system/sheet).

Or better yet, don't add skills and don't mess with skill ranks per level. Once you do that, you need to adjust every single published stat block in the game, and that makes the GM's job one step more frustrating.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (And yes, I'm aware that some folks think Pathfinder's skill system IS broken. I'm not one of them.)


What, in your opinion, would be the prerequisites to make/build mechanical prosthetics (let say arms, feet, hands, legs... and leave the body/head out of it)?


James Jacobs wrote:
Belle Mythix wrote:

Boost Skill Points per Level/HD? (I'm aware this can bloat the system/sheet).

Or better yet, don't add skills and don't mess with skill ranks per level. Once you do that, you need to adjust every single published stat block in the game, and that makes the GM's job one step more frustrating.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (And yes, I'm aware that some folks think Pathfinder's skill system IS broken. I'm not one of them.)

Thought so...

An idea I had once, about modifying 3.5, was in the opposite direction of what paizo did, instead of merging skills, boost skill points.

... Maybe if I ever do my own system.


James Jacobs wrote:
Dungarees Master wrote:
Here is a question you most likely get all the time, but how did you end up with such a cool career?

Luck, perseverance, and stubbornness.

I moved from California to Washington pretty much to be local to Wizards of the Coast, and eventually ended up working as a temp there. And eventually got hired permanently there, until I was laid off and then brought back as a temp and then eventually hired on at Paizo after about 5 attempts to get hired by WotC's R&D department and the magazine department while it was still there. I started submititng writing samples to TSR and Dungeon magazine at about 14 years old back in 1984 or thereabouts, got my first publication in Dungeon #12, and have been working at it ever since.

Cool!

Thanks for the reply:)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Belle Mythix wrote:

What, in your opinion, would be the prerequisites to make/build mechanical prosthetics (let say arms, feet, hands, legs... and leave the body/head out of it)?

Craft Construct.

Or if you're more sci-fi, a Craft Cybernetics feat.


James, is there any particular reason that blunt weapons don't have any kind of enchant to increase the impact or frequency of their critical hits? Looking at their stats, they don't seem at all overpowered compared to the array of bows, spears, swords, and other such implements that do slashing or piercing damage. If anything, they might be a tad bit behind in general. It's just an oddity I've noticed, was wondering if there was any official reason for it.


Do you think a "rules patch" would be a viable option instead of a new edition of Pathfinder? Something like a book that "converts" existing rules to a new edition, rather than re-releasing all the core books again. It would be like the 3.5 conversion book, except big and replacing new edition core books. That would certainly solve the problem of keeping all of the books useful moving forward.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cerberus Seven wrote:
James, is there any particular reason that blunt weapons don't have any kind of enchant to increase the impact or frequency of their critical hits? Looking at their stats, they don't seem at all overpowered compared to the array of bows, spears, swords, and other such implements that do slashing or piercing damage. If anything, they might be a tad bit behind in general. It's just an oddity I've noticed, was wondering if there was any official reason for it.

That's a holdover from 3rd edition, which had a new spell called "keen edge" invented for the game. And since that spell has the word "edge" in its title, the creators of that edition decided that spell can't affect blunt weapons. They eventually came up with an effect that applies to blunt weapons, but that effect was not in a book that was part of the SRD and therefore wasn't something we could use.

When it came to us doing Pathfinder, we were really hesitant to make many changes from 3rd edition, and so in cases like this, we decided to keep things as they were.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Albatoonoe wrote:
Do you think a "rules patch" would be a viable option instead of a new edition of Pathfinder? Something like a book that "converts" existing rules to a new edition, rather than re-releasing all the core books again. It would be like the 3.5 conversion book, except big and replacing new edition core books. That would certainly solve the problem of keeping all of the books useful moving forward.

So... something like 3.5 was for 3rd edition?

I think that's a viable option, but I also think that folks will regard that as a new edition in the same way that folks regarded 3.5 as a new edition, despite WotC's claims that it was not.


So, with the sterling track record of risky successes, do you feel that Paizo has more freedom to explore new and risky areas than they used to?

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
brent norton wrote:

James,

I had a player who played in the Second darkness AP and is prepping a character for the Wraith of the Righteous AP. He asked me what would happen if an asteroid struck the World Wound like it did in second darkness?
That depends on what kind of story you wanted to tell. I would say that the demons there would teleport out of the way at the last minute, and that while the crater and devastation would destroy a lot of the worldwound, it would also finish the job and tear reality open. In the same way you start bleeding if you rip off a scab, the Worldwound would explode and cause a much more deveastating Abyssal plague upon the world than the meteor itself did.

So less Aliens 2 "Nuke them from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." and more Final Fantasy: Spirits with In. "What do you mean it didn't kill it."

His story was he was one of the hirelings of his Paladin and when he heard they could make a comet strike the Worldwound it would end the conflict. I think I might let him keep thinking that.


Me: "Would it be safe to say that two 15-square bunks are better furnished than one 30-square bunk?"

You: "Nope."

1. If that's the case then what's the difference between the 15-square bunk and the 30-square one? They both cost the same and only have room for 10 people. Same goes for other types of rooms.

2. How many students can a classroom hold? Is it a flat number or does it vary by room size?

Me: "What bonus would crafting spells (like fabricate or polymorph any object) give to generating capital?"

You: "They let you make things instantaneously rather than slowly over time. You make your money faster as a result."

3. So…would that mean extra rolls to generate capital per day or what?

4. If I have a building that grants bonuses for multiple types of capital, can I roll for all of them per day or just one?

5. Let's say I have a party of characters who are all devoted to the same god (for example, Arshea). How would I keep them from being clones who only differ in the powers they have?

6. Does Spell Focus affect the difficulty of skill checks?

7. "The subject of a statue spell can return to its normal state, act, and then return instantly to the statue state (a free action) if it so desires as long as the spell duration is in effect." Does that mean the spell essential gives me DR 8/-?

8. Say I want to create a metamagic rod with two metamagic feats, but with the condition that a spell must use both feats at once. How would that modify the price? Would the next most costly ability still be 75% of the price or would it be less?

9. Let's say I have an Azlanti immortal (+2 to all physical attributes, +5 to all mental attributes) built on 25 points but with no equipment. What would the CR modifier be?

10. I want to write for Wayfinder. Should I just start writing or or is there some sort of approval process I need to go through first?


Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities. As Creative Director, what in that book are you most excited to see players/GMs to get their hands on?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Albatoonoe wrote:
So, with the sterling track record of risky successes, do you feel that Paizo has more freedom to explore new and risky areas than they used to?

Absolutely.


agnelcow wrote:

Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities.

Oh, wow, Arazni is going to be detailed in it!

Nipah!

Do you know what this means?

Answer:
It means this. So this.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:

Me: "Would it be safe to say that two 15-square bunks are better furnished than one 30-square bunk?"

You: "Nope."

1. If that's the case then what's the difference between the 15-square bunk and the 30-square one? They both cost the same and only have room for 10 people. Same goes for other types of rooms.

2. How many students can a classroom hold? Is it a flat number or does it vary by room size?

Me: "What bonus would crafting spells (like fabricate or polymorph any object) give to generating capital?"

You: "They let you make things instantaneously rather than slowly over time. You make your money faster as a result."

3. So…would that mean extra rolls to generate capital per day or what?

4. If I have a building that grants bonuses for multiple types of capital, can I roll for all of them per day or just one?

5. Let's say I have a party of characters who are all devoted to the same god (for example, Arshea). How would I keep them from being clones who only differ in the powers they have?

6. Does Spell Focus affect the difficulty of skill checks?

7. "The subject of a statue spell can return to its normal state, act, and then return instantly to the statue state (a free action) if it so desires as long as the spell duration is in effect." Does that mean the spell essential gives me DR 8/-?

8. Say I want to create a metamagic rod with two metamagic feats, but with the condition that a spell must use both feats at once. How would that modify the price? Would the next most costly ability still be 75% of the price or would it be less?

9. Let's say I have an Azlanti immortal (+2 to all physical attributes, +5 to all mental attributes) built on 25 points but with no equipment. What would the CR modifier be?

10. I want to write for Wayfinder. Should I just start writing or or is there some sort of approval process I need to go through first?

1) Now that you've given me more information—I'd say that the 30 foot square one has less fancy and less comfortable furniture.

2) It varies. I'd assume 1 student per five-foot-square at a minimum.

3) I'd just give it a bonus to the roll. As for what magnitude, I can't say. I'd start with 2x the spell level and go from there.

4) Pick one, I believe. Again—I didn't work on the building section; I worked only on the random event tables, so I'm not all that familiar with the rules.

5) By relying on your players to have different personalities. EXAMPLE: I know a lot of Christians, and they're VERY different from each other. A cleric of Arshea will be a very different feeling character than an inquisitor or a wizard or a rogue who worships Arshea. The PCs SHOULD have some similarities because of their shared beliefs, but since they're played by different people, they won't be clones at all. If it's one thing you can trust players to do, it's to be individuals.

6) No.

7) No. It gives you hardness 8; that's different than DR 8/—. It does mean that if someone wants to hit you when you're not a statue, they need to ready an action to attack you as soon as you turn back to flesh, which would limit them from making full attacks on you.

8) A metamagic rod sort of has a body slot—you have to be holding it in your hand for it to work. Therefore, it'd be a 50% price increase to the additional power—it's better to have one rod with multiple powers than 2 rods, after all.

9) If you're making it as a PC, you don't have to worry about CR at all. If you're making it as an NPC, I'd say CR +1, mostly based on the 25 point buy bit. Whether or not his no equipment makes a difference depends on his level and class. And in the end, you should still compare the NPC's numbers to Table 1–1 and change as needed.

10) You'll want to contact Wayfinder's editor in chief, Tim Nightengale, for info there.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
agnelcow wrote:

Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities. As Creative Director, what in that book are you most excited to see players/GMs to get their hands on?

The most interesting part to me are the new monster and NPC stats. But also there's some big reveals about some pretty famous locations in the world... the Mordant Spire stuff in there is probably my favorite new revelation.


I suspect that you may have been asked some of these questions before, but this thread has grown to insanely unwieldly proportions, so my apologies if some of these are repeats.

1. When you GM, how much stuff do you usually have prepared for each session? Is it the equivalent of an adventure path installment worth of stuff, a few general ideas or mostly improvised?

2. With regards to Shadow Under Sandpoint Campaign, how much stuff did you have ready when you started the campaign? For example:

-Did you already have the possessed Sheriff plot worked out?
-Had you already mapped out the Devil's Platter and assigned monsters to the rooms?
-Did you already have stats for the Fungus Queen?
-Was the Magnimar stuff and the whole plot about Ilvarandin and the Intellect Devourers already worked out ahead of starting the campaign

3. As a GM, do you keep your notes, maps, stat blocks, etc.. for your campaigns in a note-book, a laptop, a wiki or somewhere else?


James Jacobs wrote:
agnelcow wrote:

Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities. As Creative Director, what in that book are you most excited to see players/GMs to get their hands on?

The most interesting part to me are the new monster and NPC stats. But also there's some big reveals about some pretty famous locations in the world... the Mordant Spire stuff in there is probably my favorite new revelation.

Side question: by the content description, will it be bigger than the usual Campaign Setting book?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Belle Mythix wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
agnelcow wrote:

Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities. As Creative Director, what in that book are you most excited to see players/GMs to get their hands on?

The most interesting part to me are the new monster and NPC stats. But also there's some big reveals about some pretty famous locations in the world... the Mordant Spire stuff in there is probably my favorite new revelation.

Side question: by the content description, will it be bigger than the usual Campaign Setting book?

Nope. It's 64 pages long.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Laric wrote:

I suspect that you may have been asked some of these questions before, but this thread has grown to insanely unwieldly proportions, so my apologies if some of these are repeats.

1. When you GM, how much stuff do you usually have prepared for each session? Is it the equivalent of an adventure path installment worth of stuff, a few general ideas or mostly improvised?

2. With regards to Shadow Under Sandpoint Campaign, how much stuff did you have ready when you started the campaign? For example:

-Did you already have the possessed Sheriff plot worked out?
-Had you already mapped out the Devil's Platter and assigned monsters to the rooms?
-Did you already have stats for the Fungus Queen?
-Was the Magnimar stuff and the whole plot about Ilvarandin and the Intellect Devourers already worked out ahead of starting the campaign

3. As a GM, do you keep your notes, maps, stat blocks, etc.. for your campaigns in a note-book, a laptop, a wiki or somewhere else?

1) As a general rule, when I GM I either have a published adventure that I run with little to a lot of modifications, or just a few hardcovers and a general idea of the plot. Sometimes I don't even have that and I ad-lib pretty much all of it. Depends on the game.

2) I had several of the plot elements planned out to happen organically as those events made sense to introduce. Among them were the possession of the sheriff and the intellect devourer plot. I didn't really have any of that written down before hand, although I did have the Ilvarandin poem written up as a player handout all formatted like it was a page torn out of a book of poetry. I didn't map out Devil's Platter before hand at all—I used the caves of chaos map from the Keep on the Borderlands for a general bit of inspiration for the map but made changes as I went; I also had a piece of scrap paper that sketched out where the various entrances to the caves in the Pit were at, as well as the monster theme for each cave section. I had the fungus queen statted up as a variant fungal creature succubus, but her stats as they appear in Inner Sea Bestiary are different than those original stats, since a few of her powers I didn't really decide on until the combat was already in progress.

3) Most of them are files on my computer or various scraps of hand-written notes on paper, in a moleskin notebook, or the like.


Can a Barbarian with Jotungrip dual-wield two-bladed swords and get four attacks with them? And can you imagine Darth Maul trying that style of fighting?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LordofBacon wrote:
Can a Barbarian with Jotungrip dual-wield two-bladed swords and get four attacks with them? And can you imagine Darth Maul trying that style of fighting?

No. That's too ridiculous.


LordofBacon wrote:
Can a Barbarian with Jotungrip dual-wield two-bladed swords and get four attacks with them? And can you imagine Darth Maul trying that style of fighting?

There is a four armed jedi in the clone wars tv show that dual wields doublesabres. He totally ripped off my style (i dual-wielded double sabers in Jedi Academy using a mod)

As a GM i'd allow it with multi-weapon fighting, just because. Jotungrip would become an alternative prerequisite for the feat instead of multiple arms.


James,
I was looking at how Pathfinder got its name and Wes Schneider's notebook. I"m guessing that you were at the brainstorming sessions because you are awesome. In the second column, a few words down, does that say dork? Did you guys really consider 'dork' as a viable name? Would you play a game named Hero Dork?


I think that says "Dark".

Also, James, thank you x100 for including the Oliphaunt of Jandelay in Mythic Realms. I was planning on including the Spindlehorn and the Oliphaunt as a continuation of Rise of the Runelords to keep things going for my players past Levels 17-18 but I wasn't expecting to see it in print before we got to that point. So thanks again (not really a question).


Reposting my questions from yesterday, since they may have been overlooked:

1) At what point do souls make the transition into their petitioner forms?

For example A demon cultist dies and goes on to face judgment. Pharasma or an authorized functionary examine the cultist, determine the cultist belongs to a specific demon lord, and sentences the cultist to the demon lord's realm. Souls sent to the Abyss normally become larva, as I understand it. Doe the soul become a larva at the moment of judgment? Does it become a larva upon entering the Abyss? Would the soul normally be sent from the Boneyard straight into the appropriate demon lord's realm? Would a standard demon lord have the mojo to make its petitioners something other than larva (ravenous fungus hounds, eyeless porcelain dolls, vuvuzela-playing tentacle monsters, goblin bikini models, etc.)? Would a nascent demon lord, who has the realm necessary to receive petitioners, be able to shape its petitioners?

2) Do demon lords often "claim" the demons that happen to be created within their realm? Is this considerably harder to do with the various demons that teleport at will?

3) Are souls awaiting judgement at the Boneyard already petitioners, but in a transitory/temporary form? Or are they something else and have to be judged before becoming actual petitioners?


James Jacobs wrote:
Belle Mythix wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
agnelcow wrote:

Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities. As Creative Director, what in that book are you most excited to see players/GMs to get their hands on?

The most interesting part to me are the new monster and NPC stats. But also there's some big reveals about some pretty famous locations in the world... the Mordant Spire stuff in there is probably my favorite new revelation.

Side question: by the content description, will it be bigger than the usual Campaign Setting book?

Nope. It's 64 pages long.

That's a lot of stuff for a mere 64 pages, imho.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Threeshades wrote:
LordofBacon wrote:
Can a Barbarian with Jotungrip dual-wield two-bladed swords and get four attacks with them? And can you imagine Darth Maul trying that style of fighting?

There is a four armed jedi in the clone wars tv show that dual wields doublesabres. He totally ripped off my style (i dual-wielded double sabers in Jedi Academy using a mod)

As a GM i'd allow it with multi-weapon fighting, just because. Jotungrip would become an alternative prerequisite for the feat instead of multiple arms.

Once something has four arms, fighting with 2 double weapons gets less ridiculous. Not completely so though.

My personal opinion is that pretty much all double weapons are silly, though, so I have a skewed perspective on them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Nawtyit wrote:

James,

I was looking at how Pathfinder got its name and Wes Schneider's notebook. I"m guessing that you were at the brainstorming sessions because you are awesome. In the second column, a few words down, does that say dork? Did you guys really consider 'dork' as a viable name? Would you play a game named Hero Dork?

There were several of us in those initial meetings; me, Wes, Erik, Lisa, Sutter, and more.

And no... that says "Dark," not "Dork."

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Block Knight wrote:

I think that says "Dark".

Also, James, thank you x100 for including the Oliphaunt of Jandelay in Mythic Realms. I was planning on including the Spindlehorn and the Oliphaunt as a continuation of Rise of the Runelords to keep things going for my players past Levels 17-18 but I wasn't expecting to see it in print before we got to that point. So thanks again (not really a question).

Thanks! There was some resistance from some parts here about putting the super high-level stat blocks into the book, but I'm glad I won that battle, because those high level stats are fun!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Zhangar wrote:

Reposting my questions from yesterday, since they may have been overlooked:

1) At what point do souls make the transition into their petitioner forms?

For example A demon cultist dies and goes on to face judgment. Pharasma or an authorized functionary examine the cultist, determine the cultist belongs to a specific demon lord, and sentences the cultist to the demon lord's realm. Souls sent to the Abyss normally become larva, as I understand it. Doe the soul become a larva at the moment of judgment? Does it become a larva upon entering the Abyss? Would the soul normally be sent from the Boneyard straight into the appropriate demon lord's realm? Would a standard demon lord have the mojo to make its petitioners something other than larva (ravenous fungus hounds, eyeless porcelain dolls, vuvuzela-playing tentacle monsters, goblin bikini models, etc.)? Would a nascent demon lord, who has the realm necessary to receive petitioners, be able to shape its petitioners?

2) Do demon lords often "claim" the demons that happen to be created within their realm? Is this considerably harder to do with the various demons that teleport at will?

3) Are souls awaiting judgement at the Boneyard already petitioners, but in a transitory/temporary form? Or are they something else and have to be judged before becoming actual petitioners?

1) At some point after the passage of when they can be resurrected. Since that passage of time is defined as 10 years per level for true resurrection, it's a variable amount of time... but I'd say at minimum it takes 170 years for some souls to make the transition into petitioner. Some take 200 or even more. Once the transition happens, you can only be restored to life by deity power or MAYBE wish/miracle, or by having your friends do an intervention by traveling to the outer plane and dragging you back to life physically. Wish/miracle likely still needs to happen. In any event, once a soul is judged, it's sent hurtling through the appropriate portal and "lands" pretty quickly, at which point it transforms into a petitioner. The part of the outer plane they're sent to depends on the soul, but generally, a soul's only sent to a specific deity or demigod's realm if they were key to that religion in life. Demon lords don't actually "mold" larva into demons, by the way—that's something the Abyss does.

2) Yes. Larvae are considered to be a form of currency in the Abyss.

3) No. There are petitioners in the Boneyard, but they've been judged. The ones waiting for judgement are still just souls.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Belle Mythix wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Belle Mythix wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
agnelcow wrote:

Hi James,

The updated product description for Mythic Realms has my head swimming with the story possibilities. As Creative Director, what in that book are you most excited to see players/GMs to get their hands on?

The most interesting part to me are the new monster and NPC stats. But also there's some big reveals about some pretty famous locations in the world... the Mordant Spire stuff in there is probably my favorite new revelation.

Side question: by the content description, will it be bigger than the usual Campaign Setting book?

Nope. It's 64 pages long.

That's a lot of stuff for a mere 64 pages, imho.

Yup. I could say the same thing for a lot of our 64 page books, particularly something like Dragon Empires Gazetteer or Into the Darklands. 64 pages is a good size, but I could see pretty much all of our 64 page books supporting longer books in a crazy other world where we had 3 times the time to make products.


1) Can demon lords tell what their assorted larvae were before judgment and transformation? I.e., "that one was a layman cultist, that one was a cleric, that one was an ogre warlord..."

2) Can a demon lord evaluate what sort of demon a larva will most likely become? Do larvae with certain exceptional qualities (like the ones that are actually balor material) get marked by the Abyss somehow?

3) Are the larva who transform inside of a demon lord's realm predisposed to serve that demon lord?

4) The Koschtchie article indicated that Koschtchie will mark the demons in his employ (most notably by disfiguring any female demons in his service). Does this sort of mark happen during the abyssal transformation into a demon, or is it something individual lords do later?

5) What sort of demons do goblin souls tend to turn into? Hyperactive murderous pyromaniacs that they are...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Zhangar wrote:

1) Can demon lords tell what their assorted larvae were before judgment and transformation? I.e., "that one was a layman cultist, that one was a cleric, that one was an ogre warlord..."

2) Can a demon lord evaluate what sort of demon a larva will most likely become? Do larvae with certain exceptional qualities (like the ones that are actually balor material) get marked by the Abyss somehow?

3) Are the larva who transform inside of a demon lord's realm predisposed to serve that demon lord?

4) The Koschtchie article indicated that Koschtchie will mark the demons in his employ (most notably by disfiguring any female demons in his service). Does this sort of mark happen during the abyssal transformation into a demon, or is it something individual lords do later?

5) What sort of demons do goblin souls tend to turn into? Hyperactive murderous pyromaniacs that they are...

1) Not normally, no. When something becomes a petitioner, most of its previous life is washed away, along with its memories and the like.

2) A larvae would be infused with a specific type of sin, so any creature capable of sensing and interpreting sin would be able to predict what sort of demon a larvae might turn into. Most demons do not have this ability, but there's certainly some who do, and there's probably spells and magic items out there that do so.

3) Nope.

4) It's after the demon's a demon, since a mark on a larvae would vanish when it transforms into a demon.

5) Goblins tend not to turn into demons—they tend to go to Abaddon since they're normally neutral evil. Those who worshiped the goblin hero gods and died in favor instead go to Basylfeyst on the Abyss, where they become larvae—the type of demons they become would depend on the goblin's sins, as with any other soul.

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