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Who would you say is the chief war deity of the Abyss?


James Jacobs wrote:
2) Yes; deities who don't currently have followers are known as "forgotten deities." They might have worshipers eleswhere on other worlds, or they might be truly forgotten.

Intriguing. And yet despite this, they don't "lose power" from being a "forgotten" demigod/full deity?

Are there Empyreal Lords or beings of similar power/status who follow the same concept? Not taking followers or passing out spells, and instead doing more or less their own thing?

Chronicle of the Righteous does have one Empyreal Lord, Vildeis, who is constantly on the move, and mentions a couple of "lesser Empyreal Lords" who focus mostly on their jobs rather than any cultivation of followers. Is this (only generally, mind you) also the case for some Infernal Dukes (like perhaps Lorthact, pending any changes), Nascent Demon Lords, Protean Lords, and so on and so forth?

Quote:
3) More details on that are likely coming soon as we head into the "Mummy's Mask" and other Osirion stuff at the end of the year/start of next year.

Should we expect some expanded Nethys articles with that, or at this point is it too early to tell?

Radiant Oath

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

I don't know if you're able to talk about this yet, but which of the older Adventure Paths do you feel would be the best ones to retool with the new Mythic rules to add another dimension to them? I imagine ones like Carrion Crown, Shattered Star and Serpent's Skull would be likely candidates, given the epic nature of those conflicts.


How do merfolk move on land?

The description of the Strongtail trait seems to imply they (even the non-strongtail merfolk) use their tails in some fashion.

Is that some sort of slithering motion, akin to the way hydralisks from starcraft move?


James Jacobs wrote:
Moorluck wrote:
Urizen wrote:
Moorluck wrote:
How do I stop my children from driving me insane? How many times must I watch Cars before my head explodes? :/

Is this where I tell you...

** spoiler omitted **

Ok, new question. How do I stop Cars 2 from being made?

Should I build a time machine and send back a Terminator to kill Sarah Connor before she gives birth to the founder of Pixar, or should I send it back to kill Walt Disney?

If you go back in time to stop movies from being made, you should ignore Cars 2 and think about stopping Baby Geniuses or Three Ninjas. Those have already come out and have done irreparable damage to the fundamental coolness of the universe.

I'm still slumming back in page 85 of this thread, but I LIKE 3 NINJAS! How dare you try and destroy my childhood!? Are you like Sam Worthington in Terminator Salvation and thinking you're really human when you're actually a robot secretly trying to make us slip up and destroy ourselves?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Considering how many Ask The Staff threads there are now, maybe you might want to put them all together in an Ask The Staff subforum?


James Jacobs wrote:
Matrix Dragon wrote:

Hey James!

What is the most fun mythic character that you've played so far?

I actually haven't had a chance to play ANY mythic characters yet.

Wow, I had assumed that everyone at Paizo would be jumping at the chance to try the rules out before they got to market. At least I assumed that everyone at Paizo was given that sort of chance ;)


Hi James,

Assassin's Death Attack:

Can an assassin use all of its attacks/round (lets say a Rogue 4/Assassin2 with TWF) to do a Death Attack? If so, then the foe has to make one or more FOR saves to prevent dying or becoming paralyzed.

Thanks.

Radiant Oath

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

So...here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Why is Iomedae not venerated in Korvosa, a city that strives to be as Chelish as possible, while she IS venerated in Magnimar, a city that wanted to divorce itself from that nation? I find it odd that the people in Varisia who are most proud of their Chelaxian heritage favor a Kelish goddess (Sarenrae having more adherents in Korvosa than Iomedae, but trailing behind Abadar and Asmodeus, of course) rather than one of their peoples' own cultural heroes.


Hi James,

- If a 4th lvl sorcerer gets a negative level, does he loses access to his 2nd level spells, since the caster level lowers to 3rd?

- Can you tell me if

Rise of the Runelords spoiler:
Gargadros (the Rune giant that appears on The Hook Mountain Massacre) has any class levels? Or is he a standard rune giant?

Thanks.

Silver Crusade

What is the use of Sleepwalk spell that is written in APG? It is a 4th level spell, doesn't make sense for that level.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Secane wrote:

With Mythic Adventures out, would it be possible to use the Mythic system to have an adventure path or a homebrew(ed) Golarion, where the end goal is to "balance the books" by killing the Evil Elemental Lords?

Would killing the Elemental Lords be even advisable from a Golarion lore perspective?
Or are they just way too powerful or world breaking to be killed?

Wellllll...

Mythic Adventures isn't QUITE out yet... but the Elemental Lords are indeed demigods and as such we can now stat them up. They'd all be close to or at CR 30, though, and that's a fight even a maxed out mythic party will have trouble against.

I wouldn't advise it, really, since I think that the elemental lords are more useful as things for enemies to serve and worship than they are things to fight. I could see doing a campaign where the PCs end up going after one of them—maybe as an example, a sequel to Legacy of Fire focusing on Ymiri. But all four? That feels like too much and overkill to me.

And it's not a matter of it being four. Wrath of the Righteous has at least two, perhaps more, fights of this level. But there's a LOT more demon lords to go around than there are Elemental Lords.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Albatoonoe wrote:
Who would you say is the chief war deity of the Abyss?

Well... a scan through the demon lords listed on the inside back cover of Lords of Chaos reveals only one demon lord with "warfare" in his area of concern, and that's Nurgal.

There are others who are into war, of course, including Deskari, Kostchtchie, Angazhan, Baphomet, Orcus, Urxehl, and Xoveron, to name a few. None of them have "war" or "warfare" as a primary area of concern, but several of them are more powerful than Nurgal.

Basically, there are a lot of good contenders. Pick the one that matches your story's needs best.


Question regarding Outflank:

Feat Description:
Benefit: Whenever you and an ally who also has this feat are flanking the same creature, your flanking bonus on attack rolls increases to +4. In addition, whenever you score a critical hit against the flanked creature, it provokes an attack of opportunity from your ally.

Assume a party of three, each with the teamwork feat Outflank. This party has a Magus (M), Ninja (N) and Fighter (F)

The party flanks a large (or bigger) opponent.

NF
OO
OO
M

The Magus gets a critical hit. The Ninja and the Fighter are on the other side and both are in flanking position with the Magus (but not with each other.) May they both make attacks of opportunity, or only one? Does the +4 to attack rolls apply only to one "pair" or to all three?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alleran wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
2) Yes; deities who don't currently have followers are known as "forgotten deities." They might have worshipers eleswhere on other worlds, or they might be truly forgotten.

Intriguing. And yet despite this, they don't "lose power" from being a "forgotten" demigod/full deity?

Are there Empyreal Lords or beings of similar power/status who follow the same concept? Not taking followers or passing out spells, and instead doing more or less their own thing?

Chronicle of the Righteous does have one Empyreal Lord, Vildeis, who is constantly on the move, and mentions a couple of "lesser Empyreal Lords" who focus mostly on their jobs rather than any cultivation of followers. Is this (only generally, mind you) also the case for some Infernal Dukes (like perhaps Lorthact, pending any changes), Nascent Demon Lords, Protean Lords, and so on and so forth?

Quote:
3) More details on that are likely coming soon as we head into the "Mummy's Mask" and other Osirion stuff at the end of the year/start of next year.
Should we expect some expanded Nethys articles with that, or at this point is it too early to tell?

A forgotten god's influence over the mortal realm fades and loses power, but that's more of a result of their faith dwindling. The god itself does not lose power as a result of dwindling faith. What it is gods need faith for (or indeed if they even need it at all) is as of yet unrevealed.

There are some demigods who do the same thing and do their own thing, but as a result they're super super obscure and unlikely that we'll ever talk about them unless we do a specific storyline about one of them.

There will be quite a bit more information about Pharasma, Nethys, and the old gods of Osirion in "Mummy's Mask." Pharasma and Nethys already had their articles though, and they'll be in the upcoming Inner Sea Gods book... but the adventures themselves will have plenty of new info scattered through them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
I don't know if you're able to talk about this yet, but which of the older Adventure Paths do you feel would be the best ones to retool with the new Mythic rules to add another dimension to them? I imagine ones like Carrion Crown, Shattered Star and Serpent's Skull would be likely candidates, given the epic nature of those conflicts.

They'd all work fine as mythic adventures if you rework them appropriately. We try to make sure all of our Adventure Paths are about big, epic, sweeping stories.

I wouldn't really want to do so officially though, since I'd rather build a mythic AP from the ground up.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Threeshades wrote:

How do merfolk move on land?

The description of the Strongtail trait seems to imply they (even the non-strongtail merfolk) use their tails in some fashion.

Is that some sort of slithering motion, akin to the way hydralisks from starcraft move?

A combination slithery crawl type thing. Like a slow snake that might drag itself along with its hands. They're not graceful on land. Not at all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kairos Dawnfury wrote:
I'm still slumming back in page 85 of this thread, but I LIKE 3 NINJAS! How dare you try and destroy my childhood!? Are you like Sam Worthington in Terminator Salvation and thinking you're really human when you're actually a robot secretly trying to make us slip up and destroy ourselves?

Well... if I did my job right, you wouldn't know about it and wouldn't be angry. So no worries!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:
Considering how many Ask The Staff threads there are now, maybe you might want to put them all together in an Ask The Staff subforum?

Not my call.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Matrix Dragon wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Matrix Dragon wrote:

Hey James!

What is the most fun mythic character that you've played so far?

I actually haven't had a chance to play ANY mythic characters yet.
Wow, I had assumed that everyone at Paizo would be jumping at the chance to try the rules out before they got to market. At least I assumed that everyone at Paizo was given that sort of chance ;)

As it turns out, the buildup to the convention season (AKA Summer) is pretty much the WORST time of year for us to get in gaming opportunities. I've been canceling most of the games I've been running for the past few months due to a combination of no time/having to work weekends/general exhaustion & burnout. And since Mythic was only recently available... yeah, not a lot of chances to play with it.

Furthermore, and at least for me... my preference is for long-running games with strong story elements. I'm STILL running a Serpent's Skull game, for example. I generally don't drop everything and restart whenever we print something new, otherwise my games would be, at most, a month long each.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cojonuda wrote:

Hi James,

Assassin's Death Attack:

Can an assassin use all of its attacks/round (lets say a Rogue 4/Assassin2 with TWF) to do a Death Attack? If so, then the foe has to make one or more FOR saves to prevent dying or becoming paralyzed.

Thanks.

Nope. Only the one attack he spent 3 rounds studying and prepping for counts as an actual death attack. Depending on the situation, the other attacks he makes are certainly sneak attacks which can finish a job that a failed death attack starts.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
So...here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Why is Iomedae not venerated in Korvosa, a city that strives to be as Chelish as possible, while she IS venerated in Magnimar, a city that wanted to divorce itself from that nation? I find it odd that the people in Varisia who are most proud of their Chelaxian heritage favor a Kelish goddess (Sarenrae having more adherents in Korvosa than Iomedae, but trailing behind Abadar and Asmodeus, of course) rather than one of their peoples' own cultural heroes.

Because Iomedae isn't that big a deal in Cheliax, frankly. She has a presence there, but mostly as a result of her association with Aroden.

And because Korvosa was not settled by Iomedae worshipers, and thus they haven't really brought any of her faith into the city.

OUT OF GAME REASON: When we first developed Korvosa, the actual world itself was still being built. As a result, I focused primarially on deities and world elements that I was adding to the world, rather than trying to mind-read or predict the future of what Erik or the others would add. I didn't invent Iomedae—she was Erik's invention, and her faith is always intended to be more focused in the east in Lastwall, Mendev, Absalom, and the like. The deities you see heavily worshiped in Varisia, like Desna or Sarenrae or Abadar or Erastil or Asmodeus or Pharasma were ones that had varying degrees of importance in my home campaign, or in most cases, were invented by me. And since 25 years or so of familiarity with a deity is better than zero... they're the ones who ended up being the most important in Varisia, the region we set our first 3 APs in (again, because at the time we were doing those APs, the gazetteer and even the world map of Golarion and the Inner Sea region did not yet exist).


James Jacobs wrote:
Kairos Dawnfury wrote:
I'm still slumming back in page 85 of this thread, but I LIKE 3 NINJAS! How dare you try and destroy my childhood!? Are you like Sam Worthington in Terminator Salvation and thinking you're really human when you're actually a robot secretly trying to make us slip up and destroy ourselves?
Well... if I did my job right, you wouldn't know about it and wouldn't be angry. So no worries!

...In hindsight, it is a really crappy movie and after calling my cousin Tum Tum for several years, it may explain why he seems like he secretly hates me and his brother...

Also, to sum up my current read of this thread, you seem like you'd be pretty fun to hang out with. I really enjoy getting a look at the behind the scenes of Golarion, how certain things came to be and I feel like Pathfinder and Golarion are in great hands. I'll have to make it to the next Paizocon.

And question I've been mulling. Andoran is Chaotic Good (I love it) and most Eagle Knight NPCs I have seen are Lawful Good. How do you feel this colors their beliefs/personalities? Compared to the Knights of Ozem?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Sc8rpi8n_mjd wrote:

Hi James,

- If a 4th lvl sorcerer gets a negative level, does he loses access to his 2nd level spells, since the caster level lowers to 3rd?

- Can you tell me if ** spoiler omitted **

Thanks.

Nope; negative levels do not block access to spells, nor do they actually lower your level. That's how they worked in D&D. In Pathfinder, they merely represent cumulative penalties to your d20 rolls and a cumulative lowering of your hp by 5 per negative level. Your negative levels also lower your effective caster level... but not your ACTUAL level. So if you're a 4th level sorcerer who gains 1 negative level, you scan still cast and retain access to your 2nd level spells, but you determine their range and effect and concentration and spell penetration and all that as if you were CL 3rd, not CL 4th.

Spoiler:
Gargadros was not a spellcaster, but he was more than a standard rune giant. He probably had some fighter levels. Note that he's wearing half-plate armor—that pretty much rules out spellcasting levels.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Yücel Okçu wrote:
What is the use of Sleepwalk spell that is written in APG? It is a 4th level spell, doesn't make sense for that level.

(goes to read sleepwalk for the first time ever...)

It feels like it's better used by an NPC on other NPCs or PCs to build story elements, frankly. It's a great spell for pranks and trickery and the like. And it's a perfect spell to move a sleeping character without waking him, especially if you aren't strong enough to pick them up and move them physically (an act that's a lot more likely to waken them).

It's a weird spell, sure, but like all weird spells, they suggest cool ideas for adventures.

For example; say a cabal of evil spellcasters stumbles upon a sleeping party. They all cast sleepwalk, and then walk the PCs who succumb into the nearby forest, marching the PCs for several hours and then having them fall asleep in the middle of a wyvern nest while the wyverns are out hunting. Then, if the PCs are lucky, they wake up naturally before the wyverns return, but find themselves lost in an unfamiliar location and the adventure becomes: "Find out where you are and how to get back to civilization." If the PCs are unlucky, the wyverns come back before they wake up.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kairos Dawnfury wrote:
And question I've been mulling. Andoran is Chaotic Good (I love it) and most Eagle Knight NPCs I have seen are Lawful Good. How do you feel this colors their beliefs/personalities? Compared to the Knights of Ozem?

They're very patriotic, even if they don't always agree with the government's sometimes haphazard and disorganized methods.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

tocath wrote:

Question regarding Outflank:

** spoiler omitted **

Assume a party of three, each with the teamwork feat Outflank. This party has a Magus (M), Ninja (N) and Fighter (F)

The party flanks a large (or bigger) opponent.

NF
OO
OO
M

The Magus gets a critical hit. The Ninja and the Fighter are on the other side and both are in flanking position with the Magus (but not with each other.) May they both make attacks of opportunity, or only one? Does the +4 to attack rolls apply only to one "pair" or to all three?

Yup; both the ninja and the fighter get to make attacks of opportunity, if they have any available, and the +4 bonus to attack rolls applies to them all. Assuming they have Outflank as well, of course.

Being large has advantages, such as reach, but also has disadvantages, such as how it's easier to get flanked.


James Jacobs wrote:
Kairos Dawnfury wrote:
And question I've been mulling. Andoran is Chaotic Good (I love it) and most Eagle Knight NPCs I have seen are Lawful Good. How do you feel this colors their beliefs/personalities? Compared to the Knights of Ozem?
They're very patriotic, even if they don't always agree with the government's sometimes haphazard and disorganized methods.

Hah, very insightful. Sounds like myself!

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
So...here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Why is Iomedae not venerated in Korvosa, a city that strives to be as Chelish as possible, while she IS venerated in Magnimar, a city that wanted to divorce itself from that nation? I find it odd that the people in Varisia who are most proud of their Chelaxian heritage favor a Kelish goddess (Sarenrae having more adherents in Korvosa than Iomedae, but trailing behind Abadar and Asmodeus, of course) rather than one of their peoples' own cultural heroes.

Because Iomedae isn't that big a deal in Cheliax, frankly. She has a presence there, but mostly as a result of her association with Aroden.

And because Korvosa was not settled by Iomedae worshipers, and thus they haven't really brought any of her faith into the city.

OUT OF GAME REASON: When we first developed Korvosa, the actual world itself was still being built. As a result, I focused primarially on deities and world elements that I was adding to the world, rather than trying to mind-read or predict the future of what Erik or the others would add. I didn't invent Iomedae—she was Erik's invention, and her faith is always intended to be more focused in the east in Lastwall, Mendev, Absalom, and the like. The deities you see heavily worshiped in Varisia, like Desna or Sarenrae or Abadar or Erastil or Asmodeus or Pharasma were ones that had varying degrees of importance in my home campaign, or in most cases, were invented by me. And since 25 years or so of familiarity with a deity is better than zero... they're the ones who ended up being the most important in Varisia, the region we set our first 3 APs in (again, because at the time we were doing those APs, the gazetteer and even the world map of Golarion and the Inner Sea region did not yet exist).

I see. So are Korvosan Sarenrae worshipers different than their Kelish counterparts? Or was the religion imported from Qadira? Was it present in Varisia before the Padishah Empire of Kelish showed up in the Inner Sea region? Is it possible for a devout worshiper of Sarenrae to wield a sword that isn't curved? I like Sarenrae's dogma and ethos...but...but...I just HATE curved swords!

Damn, that sounded racist. :(

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

I see. So are Korvosan Sarenrae worshipers different than their Kelish counterparts? Or was the religion imported from Qadira? Was it present in Varisia before the Padishah Empire of Kelish showed up in the Inner Sea region? Is it possible for a devout worshiper of Sarenrae to wield a sword that isn't curved? I like Sarenrae's dogma and ethos...but...but...I just HATE curved swords!

Sarenrae's faith, like all the core 20 deities of the Inner Sea region, is more than just one method of worship. Her worship has been spread throughout the Inner Sea region for thousands of years, and is no longer just a Keleshite religion. It's a relative newcomer to Varisia, along with many other now common religions in the region... but it's still been in Varisia since around 4407 when Cheliax began expanding into the region. That's over 300 years ago... longer than the USA has been the USA. That's a LONG time... certainly long enough to not really be considered an "imported" religion.

In fact, the less warmongery and more kindly and laid back approach to how Sarenrae is worshiped in Varisia is more in keeping with how she's worshiped in most parts of the world; she gets pretty quick to smite evil outsiders and undead, but is not generally a deity whose followers go to war. The schism happening in Qadira is an exception.

Her favored weapon remains the scimitar, and her clerics gain proficiency in that weapon for free. But just because you worship a deity doesn't mean you HAVE to use that deity's favored weapon. There are plenty of other ways to be a devout worshiper of a deity that don't involve using their favored weapon.


1) Can an Earth Elemental use Earth Glide to gain the improved cover of creatures chest-deep in water, while still attacking 'creatures on land' with no penalties for itself?

2) Can an Earth Elemental wear equipment? In which slots? Does equipment and gear an Earth Elemental carries go into the ground with it? Can it entomb things?

3) Can an earth elemental take creatures with it when it earth glides, and if it can, can it entomb creatures by making grapple or reposition combat maneuvers?

Radiant Oath

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

Everything I've read about Sarenites seems to indicate otherwise, especially in Knights of the Inner Sea, mentions white scarves around peaked helmets and curved blades at their sides. More directly, Faiths of Purity says "When you travel, you can often recognize others of your faith by their dress, as the Keleshite robes of the desert dervishes have become synonymous with the faith in many worshipers minds," (McComb 12). It goes on to say "and even in the cold north, far from the deserts of Qadira and Osirion, the truly devoted carry scimitars in homage to your goddess."

I like what you're saying, but it doesn't seem to gel very well with the indications I've been reading that state that no matter where Sarenrae worshipers go, they often prefer Keleshite fashions and that not using a scimitar indicates you don't believe as strongly as the person who does.


Sorry. My Chelaxian Tiefling Paladin wears spiked plate armor and does subdual damage with a bardiche. He spends his first round of combat, almost always, demanding surrender and warning that he's a paladin. As if they couldn't tell by the facial tattoo and the relic armor.

-Carry- a scimitar, but don't use it in combat if it's important to your religious rituals. Clerics are going to use them because they're superior to basically any other weapon they can wield without blowing a feat slot. Besides, it'd be nice to have a nice one handed slashing weapon for if your arm is trapped or broken and you can't use that spiffy Falchion.

That being said...

Can you grapple a character/vampire using Gaseous Form?


James,

Speaking of favored weapons and such, is there a reason why Pharasma's favored weapon is a dagger, rather than something more useful versus undead? There is only one weapon artifact (that I know of) that is associated with Pharasma, and it isn't a dagger.

Sometimes it seems like some of the favored weapons were chosen as much to have a different weapon for each deity rather than what would seem logical, though some do make perfect sense.

Just curious what your thoughts are on it.


James Jacobs wrote:
A forgotten god's influence over the mortal realm fades and loses power, but that's more of a result of their faith dwindling. The god itself does not lose power as a result of dwindling faith. What it is gods need faith for (or indeed if they even need it at all) is as of yet unrevealed.

Might it be possible to expect any insights into the nature of demigods/deities in either Mythic Adventures or Mythic Realms? Given that the latter includes the Starstone according to the product description and hopefully the ability to grant spells to followers (etc.), even a relatively brief look at the nature of demigods seems plausible.

Quote:
There will be quite a bit more information about Pharasma, Nethys, and the old gods of Osirion in "Mummy's Mask."

Nyarlathotep as well? He did have a great deal of influence over Ancient Osirion. More information about him and his influence would be very interesting.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Everything I've read about Sarenites seems to indicate otherwise, especially in Knights of the Inner Sea, mentions white scarves around peaked helmets and curved blades at their sides. More directly, Faiths of Purity says "When you travel, you can often recognize others of your faith by their dress, as the Keleshite robes of the desert dervishes have become synonymous with the faith in many worshipers minds," (McComb 12). It goes on to say "and even in the cold north, far from the deserts of Qadira and Osirion, the truly devoted carry scimitars in homage to your goddess."

I like what you're saying, but it doesn't seem to gel very well with the indications I've been reading that state that no matter where Sarenrae worshipers go, they often prefer Keleshite fashions and that not using a scimitar indicates you don't believe as strongly as the person who does.

Do what you want then, I guess.

I mean... if you already knew the answers, why did you ask me? Just to trick me into talking about Sarenrae from a viewpoint of how she should function in my mind, based on her traditions over the last 25 years in my homebrew world, rather than the way she comes across in print because I've done a terrible job at conveying those ideas to the various authors who've since written about her?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Purplefixer wrote:

1) Can an Earth Elemental use Earth Glide to gain the improved cover of creatures chest-deep in water, while still attacking 'creatures on land' with no penalties for itself?

2) Can an Earth Elemental wear equipment? In which slots? Does equipment and gear an Earth Elemental carries go into the ground with it? Can it entomb things?

3) Can an earth elemental take creatures with it when it earth glides, and if it can, can it entomb creatures by making grapple or reposition combat maneuvers?

1) Sure!

2) Yes; assuming it's human shaped, in all the human shape slots. If it's not human shaped, then all the slots that it has that makes sense. It can't carry things with it into solid rock when it earth glides. If it wants to bring its gear with it into the ground, it has to burrow normally without earth glide.

3) No. See #2 above.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Purplefixer wrote:

Sorry. My Chelaxian Tiefling Paladin wears spiked plate armor and does subdual damage with a bardiche. He spends his first round of combat, almost always, demanding surrender and warning that he's a paladin. As if they couldn't tell by the facial tattoo and the relic armor.

-Carry- a scimitar, but don't use it in combat if it's important to your religious rituals. Clerics are going to use them because they're superior to basically any other weapon they can wield without blowing a feat slot. Besides, it'd be nice to have a nice one handed slashing weapon for if your arm is trapped or broken and you can't use that spiffy Falchion.

That being said...

Can you grapple a character/vampire using Gaseous Form?

1) Please refrain from being annoying. Pro tip: dragging obnoxious self-perpetuating arguments from other parts of these boards into here and using them to attempt to make a joke is a good way to annoy me.

2) You cannot grapple a character in gaseous form, because there's nothing to grapple.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Zerzura wrote:

James,

Speaking of favored weapons and such, is there a reason why Pharasma's favored weapon is a dagger, rather than something more useful versus undead? There is only one weapon artifact (that I know of) that is associated with Pharasma, and it isn't a dagger.

Sometimes it seems like some of the favored weapons were chosen as much to have a different weapon for each deity rather than what would seem logical, though some do make perfect sense.

Just curious what your thoughts are on it.

Not every deity is all about "How do I best arm my clerics in battle with weapons?" Some of them. particularly those that are not martial deities (like Pharasma) instead have favored weapons that are more about flavor. Pharasma's is a dagger because you use a knife to cut an umbilical cord, basically... (but also because we wanted variety and no repetition among the core 20 favored weapons, and daggers are one of the more common weapons so leaving it off the list seemed like an error, and so we gave it to Pharasma because as mentioned above she's not particularly martial and doesn't really see her favored weapon as a big part of her faith).

She doesn't expect her clerics to attack undead with weapons anyway. That's what channeled energy and cure wounds spells are for.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alleran wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
A forgotten god's influence over the mortal realm fades and loses power, but that's more of a result of their faith dwindling. The god itself does not lose power as a result of dwindling faith. What it is gods need faith for (or indeed if they even need it at all) is as of yet unrevealed.

Might it be possible to expect any insights into the nature of demigods/deities in either Mythic Adventures or Mythic Realms? Given that the latter includes the Starstone according to the product description and hopefully the ability to grant spells to followers (etc.), even a relatively brief look at the nature of demigods seems plausible.

Quote:
There will be quite a bit more information about Pharasma, Nethys, and the old gods of Osirion in "Mummy's Mask."
Nyarlathotep as well? He did have a great deal of influence over Ancient Osirion. More information about him and his influence would be very interesting.

Mythic Adventures doesn't talk much about forgotten gods at all. Mythic Realms does a little, but it doesn't focus on the topic. The subject comes up in a support/ancillary manner.

Nyarlathotep is, as far as I know, not playing a role in "Mummy's Mask."

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
So...here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Why is Iomedae not venerated in Korvosa, a city that strives to be as Chelish as possible, while she IS venerated in Magnimar, a city that wanted to divorce itself from that nation? I find it odd that the people in Varisia who are most proud of their Chelaxian heritage favor a Kelish goddess (Sarenrae having more adherents in Korvosa than Iomedae, but trailing behind Abadar and Asmodeus, of course) rather than one of their peoples' own cultural heroes.

Also... if you're going to ask the same question of multiple folks at Paizo (I noticed you copy/pasted this question in the "Ask Wes" thread)... don't be surprised or freak out if we give different answers.

Turns out... we are not a hivemind at Paizo. If we were, I'd be more accurate about describing how Sarenrae's faith should be verses what got printed in books I probably should have paid closer attention to during their writing and development.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Everything I've read about Sarenites seems to indicate otherwise, especially in Knights of the Inner Sea, mentions white scarves around peaked helmets and curved blades at their sides. More directly, Faiths of Purity says "When you travel, you can often recognize others of your faith by their dress, as the Keleshite robes of the desert dervishes have become synonymous with the faith in many worshipers minds," (McComb 12). It goes on to say "and even in the cold north, far from the deserts of Qadira and Osirion, the truly devoted carry scimitars in homage to your goddess."

I like what you're saying, but it doesn't seem to gel very well with the indications I've been reading that state that no matter where Sarenrae worshipers go, they often prefer Keleshite fashions and that not using a scimitar indicates you don't believe as strongly as the person who does.

Do what you want then, I guess.

I mean... if you already knew the answers, why did you ask me? Just to trick me into talking about Sarenrae from a viewpoint of how she should function in my mind, based on her traditions over the last 25 years in my homebrew world, rather than the way she comes across in print because I've done a terrible job at conveying those ideas to the various authors who've since written about her?

Well, you're the Creative Director. You decide canon for Golarion and I view canon as sacrosanct. If you say something is or isn't in your Golarion, I will or won't use it in my characters. When I play in an Adventure Path, I want to play a fundamentally Golarion story and I don't want to introduce discordant elements with certain types of characters styles. That's why I asked about analogues for the Celtic peoples in Golarion earlier. I didn't want to violate Golarion's canon by introducing a human character whose cultural practices and mode of dress doesn't match what's been clearly established in Golarion.

It's why I twitch when I try to do an Adventure Path and someone wants to use psionics. You haven't established psionics as a part of Golarion, so in my view, it shouldn't be allowed to players.


Are some of the Iobarian tribes loosely Celtic in nature? I mean the drawing of an Iobarian women in the gazetteer was unquestionably Celtic looking. Also you have the Empyreal Lords Ogma and Cernunnos which were both Celtic gods, they also have the same titles as the real world Ogma and Cernunnos. Also do other Celtic gods and Tuatha Dé Dannan exist as powerful fiends, celestials, and other outsiders?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Shroomheart wrote:
Are some of the Iobarian tribes loosely Celtic in nature? I mean the drawing of an Iobarian women in the gazetteer was unquestionably Celtic looking. Also you have the Empyreal Lords Ogma and Cernunnos which were both Celtic gods, they also have the same titles as the real world Ogma and Cernunnos. Also do other Celtic gods and Tuatha Dé Dannan exist as powerful fiends, celestials, and other outsiders?

There may be some inspiration there, but Iobaria is more inspired by Russian mythology than Celtic, I believe.

Sarkoris was pretty Celtic in feel in certain areas, but it's not really that way these days.


James Jacobs wrote:

There may be some inspiration there, but Iobaria is more inspired by Russian mythology than Celtic, I believe.

Sarkoris was pretty Celtic in feel in certain areas, but it's not really that way these days.

"People of Iobaria: In Iobaria, unlike the lands of the Inner Sea, no single ethnic group or race controls the majority of power. In the eyes of Avistani or Garundi natives, “Iobarian” seems to mean “any human from the northeast who is not obviously Keleshite or Casmar.”"

It definitely has a Russian feel, but it also says a plethora of different ethnic groups are "Iobarian". Also almost all of the Europe cultures passed through the Russian Steppes at one point, so I think there is potential for many ethnic groups to exist in this Russian Steppe/ Wilderness like place.

Besides the Sarkorians are there any other Celt like groups in the world? Also how did earth gods become Empyreal Lords?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Shroomheart wrote:
Besides the Sarkorians are there any other Celt like groups in the world? Also how did earth gods become Empyreal Lords?

We don't have a strongly Celtic-themed area in the Inner Sea region. Doesn't mean there's not one somewhere else, but it's not something we've done a lot with. There's a little bit of it in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, I guess.

And the Earth deities who are Empyreal Lords have been Empyreal Lords all along. Our ancestors just didn't know it.


James Jacobs wrote:
Shroomheart wrote:
Besides the Sarkorians are there any other Celt like groups in the world? Also how did earth gods become Empyreal Lords?

We don't have a strongly Celtic-themed area in the Inner Sea region. Doesn't mean there's not one somewhere else, but it's not something we've done a lot with. There's a little bit of it in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, I guess.

And the Earth deities who are Empyreal Lords have been Empyreal Lords all along. Our ancestors just didn't know it.

Will you ever officially add more Ethnicities/Cultures to the world? My one problem with the setting is that it doesn't have such a rich abundance of different cultures.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Shroomheart wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Shroomheart wrote:
Besides the Sarkorians are there any other Celt like groups in the world? Also how did earth gods become Empyreal Lords?

We don't have a strongly Celtic-themed area in the Inner Sea region. Doesn't mean there's not one somewhere else, but it's not something we've done a lot with. There's a little bit of it in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, I guess.

And the Earth deities who are Empyreal Lords have been Empyreal Lords all along. Our ancestors just didn't know it.

Will you ever officially add more Ethnicities/Cultures to the world? My one problem with the setting is that it doesn't have such a rich abundance of different cultures.

Yes. We do this now and then. We added several with Dragon Empires, and a few more during Jade Regent. As we explore more continents, we'll do the same.

Silver Crusade

Have you been introduced to Dr. Dinosaur from Atomic Robo yet?

James Jacobs wrote:
Yes. All nascent demon lords are at that point. Her domains and favored weapon and all that is listed on the inside back cover of Lords of Chaos.

Augh, forgot all about that. Thanks!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Mikaze wrote:

Have you been introduced to Dr. Dinosaur from Atomic Robo yet?

no

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