James, how do you think the evolution surge, lesser evolution surge and greater evolution surge should work as far as stacking with each other or even themselves?
I'm arguing with a few friends on the issue, one of us thinks they shouldn't stack at all, you should only be able to use one at a time. Two of us think They should stack with each other but not themselves and the last of us thinks they should stack even with themselves as long as they're working within the rules of the spell.
Hi James,
I'm running a Conjurer Wizard in the Varisia region. I need a mythic source for my mythic ascension. I've bought Mythic Origins and Mythic Realms, and none of those mythic wellsprings presented are quite doing it for me for a variety of reasons.
Could you see your way clear to suggest a couple of Golarion based, thematically appropriate mythic sources that would work well for a Conjurer Wizard in Varisia? In particular, it's an infernal binder (Academae).
Thanks!
Have you heard of Bound by Flame?
Looks like a cross between Dragon Age and Dark Souls from some of the game play videos, what is your impression?
1. I can't say I've read all the books with information on them, but it seems historically the Spawn of Rovagug have gone West or stayed in Casmaron, not going near Tian Xia. Is this because Rovagug worship is more prevalent in Avistan and Garund, the distance is just easier to cross, or do the Kaiju have something to do with it?
2. In Bestiary 4, it's written that Mogaru is not the strongest Kaiju. Which one is the most powerful then?
3. Are there any kaiju in/from the Darklands?
4. Where in Avistan would one be most likely to encounter Kami?
5. How much do people in Tian Xia know about Tar-Baphon? Or the Worldwound?
6. I'm writing a bit of personal background story for The Nameless Spires (both Erutaki creation myths and what I think would be there, with help from the cool Under Frozen Stars module and AP #51), but are we ever going to get any more official info on them? To me, it's one of the most interesting and mysterious places on Golarion.
7. Am I correct in assuming Charon is CR 30?
8. If you had to take the Paizo team anywhere in Golarion for a company dinner, where would you go?
9. Have you ever played in or run a game that was intentionally silly?
Thanks again for answering a lot of questions! Hope everything is going all right in your world.
Creative Director
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Are previously unillustrated lesser gods such as Gyronna getting art ordered for them in Inner Sea Gods, or is that something you can't tell us just yet?
Nope. They're not getting new art. The book REALLY focuses on the core 20, and someone like Gyrona gets about a half page. Which she's gotten before... so in her case, there's not a lot of new info at all.
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Creative Director
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Q: What phone/tablet apps do you use for your Pathfinder game? I already own the Crit and Fumble decks (physical and electronic) so no need for a gratuitous plug :-)
Q: What, in your opinion, are the top 5 (or 10) non-Pathfinder related phone/tablet apps?
A: Rarely I'll use a dice roller. I'll also use the PRD via the internet. I have the Crit and Fumble decks, but prefer using cards for Crits and prefer not to use Fumbles at all.
A: I actually don't have a top five OR a top 10 for these, since I really don't use my phone or tablet much at all in games. When I do... I use them as PDF readers, and prefer to do that with my iPad and iBooks.
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Creative Director
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Hi James.
1) What are your favorite Sorcerer bloodlines, if any?
I seem to recall your two favorite classes are Bard and Cleric so here are some Cleric questions:
2) What are your favorite Cleric domains?
3) What domains you think seem to be the most underrated?
4) What kind of Clerics do you usually play? Melee, Jack of all trade, caster or something else?
5) What is the most fun (pathfinder) Cleric you ever have played and why?6) The Hobbit: Did movie being shot in video bother you? That is, did the Image quality bother you?
1) I don't really have any favorites there. Haven't played enough of them to pick one, and when I'm building a sorcerer for an adventure, it's the nature of that sorcerer's role in the adventure that determines the bloodline, not my personal favorites.
2) Luck and Travel and Trickery and Void.
3) I don't really follow the internet debates over what's best vs. what's worst, so I'm not sure what domains are thought of as being underrated in the first place.
4) Usually a combination of support/healing and social/diplomacy ones.
5) Echo Sidra, a cleric of Desna in Rob's Iobaria Kingmaker game.
6) I didn't see it projected at 48 fps; saw it in 2D projected in the standard frame rate so it didn't look any different to me than any other modern movie, projection-wise.
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Creative Director
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What happens to the souls that go to Sarenrae's planar realm
They become cleansed petitioners (see Bestiary 2, page 209), and take on various animal forms as appropriate to their personalities, and thus make up the wildlife of her realm. Eventually, they ascend beyond these forms into angels if they reach true enlightenment.
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Creative Director
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Do you think empyreal lords should have at-will shapechange as part of their spell-like ability suite (since gods are always changing shape in stories) or do you think it should be different (because they're not demon lords)?Nope, because that'd be an unnecessary bit of rules-creep. We've already designed them. I'd rather work with what we've published than continue to tinker now that they're in print. They SHOULD be different, in any event, from demon lords because they are not demon lords.
1. Is that what "rules creep" means? I thought it was when it applies to the player.
2. Do you really want to base empyreal lords based on what's been published? Their mental ability scores were low across the board, their spell-like abilities weren't standardized, and they're even missing crafting and vital strike feats.
3. Do you really think it's appropriate for the most power of celestial demigods to be less mentally capable in every way than the least mentally capable demon lords?
4. How much trouble would it be to write up an errata for Bestiary 4? I suspect enough that you can't make it a priority with how busy Paizo makes itself but I'm still curious.
5. Back to empyreal lords and shapechanging: you don't think they should have at-will shapechange but (based on a previous answer of yours) you do think they all should have some kind of shapechanging power, correct?
1) "Rules creep" isn't a defined term in a book. To me, rules creep is when a designer doesn't stop tinkering with a concept and keeps tacking new rules onto something well past publication. Spreading all the rules out to run something in multiple places is inefficient and frustrating.
2) If I had a time machine, I'd probably go back and standardize their spell-like abilities in a different but similar way to the demon lords... but I wouldn't necessarilly change their mental scores or feat selection at all. Remember... we've only statted up 3 so far, and that doesn't mean that we'll do ALL of them with "low" mental scores or no crafting feats. The three we have currently statted up are what they are because of what they are. And even then, of the 3 we've statted up... Korada's mental scores are actually quite high. In fact, 2 of his highest scores are mental scores—Wisdom and Charisma. So... I honestly don't get the complaint that "ALL EMPYREAL LORDS HAVE LOW MENTAL SOCRES." Because that's obviously untrue. If we ever stat up more of them, their feat selection and mental scores will be appropriate to their themes.
3) In the case of Cernunnos and Vildeis? Yes I do. In the case of Korada, I do not. On average, Korada's mental scores are higher than Dagon's or Kostchtcie's, and are pretty comperable to Pazuzu's, despite the fact that Pazuzu is 4 CR higher than Korada. If we stat up an Empyreal Lord who is all about mental stuff rather than physical stuff, we'll do the same. And I'm kinda done talking about this subject, since what it really comes down to is a difference in opinion between you and me about the philosophy of Empyreal Lord design for a SMALL PERCENTAGE of the empyreal lords we may some day stat up.
4) We'll issue errata for Bestiary 4 when we get the chance to sync up with a new printing, as normal for all of our hardcovers. Changing stat blocks in the way you want/hope for Empyreal Lords is not errata, though. The stats work as intended.
5) If it makes sense for an Empyreal Lord to have shapechanging powers... we'll give the power or SLA or something to them. Cernunnos casts spells a s a 20th level druid, so if he wants, he can just prepare shapechange, you know... And it isn't on theme for Korada or Vildeis to be shapechangers at all.
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Creative Director
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A bit of an uncomfortable question for many, but:
How much of an incest taboo is there in Avistan? Specifically in the Mendev/Brevoy areas and amongst Iomedaeans? Or even Iomedae herself?
Just wondering how angst levels should be calibrated for a couple of characters.
It varies from region to region, as in the real world, but overall there's a taboo against it simply because incest tends to produce birth defects, just like in the real world. Iomedae's faith and Iomedae herself would count incest as a taboo for sure. In Brevoy, it's still somewhat of a taboo but it happens—Brevoy is inspired by Game of Thrones, after all... and there's ABSOLUTELY incest there, and it's ABSOLUTELY a taboo in some circles.
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Creative Director
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The Inner Sea NPC Codex includes reference to the Harbingers of Fate, a group based in Absalom attempting (and who have continued to attempt) to make a prophecy come true in the wake of Aroden's death, based off the Book of 1000 Whispers (which they hope, if it works, will bring about the Age of Glory). However, since the book lost accuracy after 4606 AR when Aroden died, they're been trying to force them.
It says that the final pronouncements of the book are for 4714 AR. I remember back with the Reign of Winter AP that the foreword talked a bit about a "countdown" to when she returned in 4713. Is it likely that the Harbingers of Fate will get any attention (e.g. adventure module) this year, since this is when their prophecies run out?
We've discussed some possible plot elements for the Harbingers coming soon, but they won't be having much of a role anytime soon. Turns out, it's more interesting seeing how they react AFTER their prophecies fail to result in anything rather than seeing how they react when they're still culminating... so I wouldn't expect to hear much from them until 4715 AR. If then. They're a pretty small portion of the world overall, compared to something like Irrisen and Baba Yaga. There's a good chance we'll just let them pass by without comment simply because we don't have room in the schedule to do much with them.
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Creative Director
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James, how do you think the evolution surge, lesser evolution surge and greater evolution surge should work as far as stacking with each other or even themselves?
Frankly? With the summoner being so overly complex and such an eager target for people seeking to bend or flex or just break rules...
... I think they should stack in the LEAST advantageous way possible. Not at all would be my preference. Pick one and use it, and the other two become useless.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
I'm running a Conjurer Wizard in the Varisia region. I need a mythic source for my mythic ascension. I've bought Mythic Origins and Mythic Realms, and none of those mythic wellsprings presented are quite doing it for me for a variety of reasons.
Could you see your way clear to suggest a couple of Golarion based, thematically appropriate mythic sources that would work well for a Conjurer Wizard in Varisia? In particular, it's an infernal binder (Academae).
Thanks!
In Varisia, you've got the Runelords and Thassilon. There's mythic potential there all over the place.
In the case of you being an infernal binder from the Acadamae, the most obvious source of mythic power is that Lorthact has invested a seed of great power in your character in hopes that your character ends up being a powerful minion or perhaps even a host for his power to aid in ending his exile. Whether or not your character succumbs to Lorthact's manipulations or manages to make the mythic power his own and retain his free will is up to your character, but seems to me to be a pretty cool element for a mythic storyline.
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Creative Director
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Have you heard of Bound by Flame?
Looks like a cross between Dragon Age and Dark Souls from some of the game play videos, what is your impression?
Ooooh.... I hadn't heard of it! I will be most likely playing this game.
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Creative Director
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Both Ragathiel and Thais had one of their six wings taken off because of a devil. In these cases it was Dispater and Asmodeus respectively. Is it pure coincidence or is there a reason they had a wing taken off? If it isn't coincidence do arch devils have a tactical reason for doing so or is it just a thing they like to do to humiliate winged empyreal when they have a chance?
Does doing that also make it so the empyreal can't regenerate their missing wing? I'm assuming both Ragathiel and Thais have more than enough resources to do so if they wanted baring something keeping them from it.
I suspect there's something more than coincidence at work. I believe there's a few others who've had similar wing issues as well. It's mostly a Wes question—I believe he's the one behind all those missing wings.
And the excision goes beyond mere amputation; it's not something a regenerate can fix.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Without going into spoilers would the events of WotR, particularly towards the end, be enough to propel a mythic hero to full godhood?
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Creative Director
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1. I can't say I've read all the books with information on them, but it seems historically the Spawn of Rovagug have gone West or stayed in Casmaron, not going near Tian Xia. Is this because Rovagug worship is more prevalent in Avistan and Garund, the distance is just easier to cross, or do the Kaiju have something to do with it?
2. In Bestiary 4, it's written that Mogaru is not the strongest Kaiju. Which one is the most powerful then?
3. Are there any kaiju in/from the Darklands?
4. Where in Avistan would one be most likely to encounter Kami?
5. How much do people in Tian Xia know about Tar-Baphon? Or the Worldwound?
6. I'm writing a bit of personal background story for The Nameless Spires (both Erutaki creation myths and what I think would be there, with help from the cool Under Frozen Stars module and AP #51), but are we ever going to get any more official info on them? To me, it's one of the most interesting and mysterious places on Golarion.
7. Am I correct in assuming Charon is CR 30?
8. If you had to take the Paizo team anywhere in Golarion for a company dinner, where would you go?
9. Have you ever played in or run a game that was intentionally silly?
Thanks again for answering a lot of questions! Hope everything is going all right in your world.
1) It's because Rovagug worship is more of an Avistan/Casmaron/Garund thing, yes.
2) Unrevealed. The reason is because I have my preferences but I've not yet thought through all the ramifications, nor have I settled on what Kaiju story line I want to eventually do or even imply, so I'm not yet ready to reveal who's more powerful than Mogaru.
3) Yes.
4) Nowhere. They're pretty much a Tian Xia creature. You CAN encounter then in Avistan, but they're super rare and thus no more or less likely to appear in one corner of Avistan than they are another.
5) Not much. Some of their scholars know about them, but just as relatively few folks in Avistan know about Mogaru or the Valashmai Jungle... it's just not common knowledge.
6) There will be more info about them, yes. I've got a fair amount in my head and know who built them and what they're for... but we're still quite a ways out from revealing that information.
7) Yes.
8) Sandpoint.
9) Yes.
And thanks! Things are going all right here; got my final diagnosis in for my gallbladder surgery (which was scary to find out what was wrong with it—the word gangrenous came up—but relieving to know it's all behind me now), and we had an hour and a half or so of no power at the office followed by website trouble... but things seem to be back to normal now.
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Creative Director
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Why does Alderpash from Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth not possess the feat Martial Weapon Proficiency (ranseur)?
Because he never bothered to learn more about how to fight with his ranseur. When you're a 20th level wizard or something like that... your magic weapon artifact isn't your primary focus. It's a perk. And the fact that you've got a –4 penalty for no proficiency is pretty minor compared to all the other bonuses you're getting and all the other magic powers your ranseur gave you.
Another reason is that it's been 10,000 years since he's actually owned a ranseur, and so if he HAD at one point had weapon proficiency in it, that's plenty of time to retrain to get a new feat or us a wish to swap it out or whatever.
Not that he did that, since I doubt he ever really cared enough or bothered to "waste" a feat on something as mundane and tertiary to his strengths as a weapon proficiency.
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Creative Director
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Mr. James Jacobs,
Without going into spoilers would the events of WotR, particularly towards the end, be enough to propel a mythic hero to full godhood?
Since by the end of WotR the players will have 10 tiers of mythic power, that does mean they can take the Divine Source universal path ability 3 times (the max) if they want. The adventure makes no assumptions about that—if a PC does this or doesn't, it won't make a difference to the adventure as written.
Nothing in the Mythic Adventures rules nor in the Adventure Path itself allows a PC to become a full deity like Sarenrae or Pharasma... indeed, nothing in either of those allows a PC to even become a demigod like Deskari or Dispater. The best a PC using Mythic Adventures can aim for is to take Divine Source 3 times, which technically makes them something on the power level of a nascent demon lord like Treerazer or an Infernal Duke like Lorthact—a category of divinity we haven't really given a name to in print, but if we did, would be something like "Quasi Deity."
Rules for becoming a full-fledged demigod or deity are not something we currently offer. Your GM can do so if he wants, though, of course.
Oh, crud. If Charon is CR 30, then the three other Horsemen must be around that range, too. Which means a couple of highly optimized level 20/MT 10's could handily slaughter the entire Daemon command-and-control infrastructure.
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Creative Director
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Oh, crud. If Charon is CR 30, then the three other Horsemen must be around that range, too. Which means a couple of highly optimized level 20/MT 10's could handily slaughter the entire Daemon command-and-control infrastructure.
Actually... the other Horsemen are likely ranged from CR 26 to CR 28. Charon is the only one of the four who's never been replaced. The others are MUCH younger than him, and thus varying degrees of less powerful.
And yes... the whole entire point of Mythic Adventures is to allow for adventures of PRECISELY the type you're talking about there.
Hello, James!
1) Any chance we'll get more information on Iblydos anytime soon? Seems like a lot of mythical monsters have their origins there!
2) Think we'll get any more information on the Darklands soon?
3) Do you think we'll get some more information or adventures with drow involved?
4) I actually wouldn't mind a campaign for non-good (or even evil) PCs (aside from Skull and Shackles). Maybe even combining that with a Darklands campaign. What are your thoughts on this? Something you or Paizo might be interested in doing one day?
Also, REALLY liked the latest adventure, Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth. I found the Baphomet article to be really well done, as well as the adventure itself. Definitely got my creative side going! Before I was lukewarm on Baphomet, but he is now probably my second favorite demon lord (Socothbenoth still being my first!).
Oh, crud. If Charon is CR 30, then the three other Horsemen must be around that range, too. Which means a couple of highly optimized level 20/MT 10's could handily slaughter the entire Daemon command-and-control infrastructure.Actually... the other Horsemen are likely ranged from CR 26 to CR 28. Charon is the only one of the four who's never been replaced. The others are MUCH younger than him, and thus varying degrees of less powerful.
And yes... the whole entire point of Mythic Adventures is to allow for adventures of PRECISELY the type you're talking about there.
I understand, but it's surprising. I figured the Four Horsemen would be in the "unfightable" category with Asmodeus, Lamashtu, and Rovagug. I mean, what are the Harbingers for?
...In any case, Szuriel had better watch her back. I predict major hilarity when her war-god credentials fall utterly short.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Without going into spoilers would the events of WotR, particularly towards the end, be enough to propel a mythic hero to full godhood?
Since by the end of WotR the players will have 10 tiers of mythic power, that does mean they can take the Divine Source universal path ability 3 times (the max) if they want. The adventure makes no assumptions about that—if a PC does this or doesn't, it won't make a difference to the adventure as written.
Nothing in the Mythic Adventures rules nor in the Adventure Path itself allows a PC to become a full deity like Sarenrae or Pharasma... indeed, nothing in either of those allows a PC to even become a demigod like Deskari or Dispater. The best a PC using Mythic Adventures can aim for is to take Divine Source 3 times, which technically makes them something on the power level of a nascent demon lord like Treerazer or an Infernal Duke like Lorthact—a category of divinity we haven't really given a name to in print, but if we did, would be something like "Quasi Deity."
Rules for becoming a full-fledged demigod or deity are not something we currently offer. Your GM can do so if he wants, though, of course.
I was thinking from the narrative perspective not the mechanical perspective.
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This question kind of got buried after Set pre-empted it:
How the heck does understanding of mathematics and sciences even occur on Golarion when magic throws a monkeywrench into EVERYTHING?!
What's the point of figuring out things like physics and biology when magic can solve the majority of the problems Golarion would have in those fields? How does penicillin get invented if a cleric of Sarenrae can just cast remove disease? What value does the theory of relativity have in space exploration when a wizard can just teleport from planet to planet and spare yourself the trouble? Why bother domesticating the wolf over millenia to evolve into the many breeds of dog when you can just conjur them from the ether or mind-control them, or just elevate them to sapience with a single spell from a druid? Why bother studying the intricacies of the human brain and the psychology of human behavior when a bardic performance can instantly make them like you?
What value is Richard Dawkins or Carl Sagan when you've got Gandalf and Jesus roving around?
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Creative Director
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This question kind of got buried after Set pre-empted it:
How the heck does understanding of mathematics and sciences even occur on Golarion when magic throws a monkeywrench into EVERYTHING?!
What's the point of figuring out things like physics and biology when magic can solve the majority of the problems Golarion would have in those fields? How does penicillin get invented if a cleric of Sarenrae can just cast remove disease? What value does the theory of relativity have in space exploration when a wizard can just teleport from planet to planet and spare yourself the trouble? Why bother domesticating the wolf over millenia to evolve into the many breeds of dog when you can just conjur them from the ether or mind-control them, or just elevate them to sapience with a single spell from a druid? Why bother studying the intricacies of the human brain and the psychology of human behavior when a bardic performance can instantly make them like you?
What value is Richard Dawkins or Carl Sagan when you've got Gandalf and Jesus roving around?
Because having science and magic working together gives us a wider range of story elements to work with, and having a foundation of realism (aka scienc) allows us to not have to use magic to explain everything; if we do that, magic becomes mundane and dull.
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Creative Director
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Hello, James!
1) Any chance we'll get more information on Iblydos anytime soon? Seems like a lot of mythical monsters have their origins there!
2) Think we'll get any more information on the Darklands soon?
3) Do you think we'll get some more information or adventures with drow involved?
4) I actually wouldn't mind a campaign for non-good (or even evil) PCs (aside from Skull and Shackles). Maybe even combining that with a Darklands campaign. What are your thoughts on this? Something you or Paizo might be interested in doing one day?
Also, REALLY liked the latest adventure, Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth. I found the Baphomet article to be really well done, as well as the adventure itself. Definitely got my creative side going! Before I was lukewarm on Baphomet, but he is now probably my second favorite demon lord (Socothbenoth still being my first!).
1) Maybe.
2) Yes.
3) Some day, perhaps.
4) I'm interested in doing an evil AP, but in a lot of ways, that's a risker move than even Iron Gods is.
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Creative Director
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You once said that even good outsiders view mortals as nothing more then animals but do all good gods and demigods view mortals as such?
how does Sarenrae and Shelyn or Desna or Iomedae view there mortal worshipers? do they view them as animals? are there lives worth so little to the gods of good?
I'm not sure I said that... sounds like paraphrasing or something.
The VAST MAJORITY of the gods value their worshipers. How they regard them varies from deity to deity, and sometimes from worshiper to worshiper.
It's actually not something that mortals can really understand, frankly... and that goes for me explaining it as well. The value the gods have for us and how they view us is something for them to know and for us to argue about. The fact that they DO value mortals is not something that can really be argued, since they do keep us around and all that... but WHY they value us... we can't say.
At least, not until we do a big book of rules for deities. Which I doubt we'll do.
Mr. James Jacobs,
I am current working on a base class that specializes in becoming a non-humanoid. With options spanning about half of the creature types with multiple alignment options for outsiders. My question is besides areas that a creature of a certain type would naturally be (Like some of the great forests for a fey) what would be some cities or places where people with such a class might be more likely to be run into? Absalom, Katapesh, and Jalmeray come to mind.
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Creative Director
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Mr. James Jacobs,
I am current working on a base class that specializes in becoming a non-humanoid. With options spanning about half of the creature types with multiple alignment options for outsiders. My question is besides areas that a creature of a certain type would naturally be (Like some of the great forests for a fey) what would be some cities or places where people with such a class might be more likely to be run into? Absalom, Katapesh, and Jalmeray come to mind.
Golarion is humanocentric, and as such, it's pretty unusual to be "likely to run into" non-humanoids in the majority of the cities. Katapesh is probably a good choice, since that city's so cosmopolitan, I suppose.
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Because having science and magic working together gives us a wider range of story elements to work with, and having a foundation of realism (aka scienc) allows us to not have to use magic to explain everything; if we do that, magic becomes mundane and dull.This question kind of got buried after Set pre-empted it:
How the heck does understanding of mathematics and sciences even occur on Golarion when magic throws a monkeywrench into EVERYTHING?!
What's the point of figuring out things like physics and biology when magic can solve the majority of the problems Golarion would have in those fields? How does penicillin get invented if a cleric of Sarenrae can just cast remove disease? What value does the theory of relativity have in space exploration when a wizard can just teleport from planet to planet and spare yourself the trouble? Why bother domesticating the wolf over millenia to evolve into the many breeds of dog when you can just conjur them from the ether or mind-control them, or just elevate them to sapience with a single spell from a druid? Why bother studying the intricacies of the human brain and the psychology of human behavior when a bardic performance can instantly make them like you?
What value is Richard Dawkins or Carl Sagan when you've got Gandalf and Jesus roving around?
I think my wording was kind of vague again. What I'm trying to understand is how the people of Golarion even do science with magic's presence essentially making getting a bead on the laws of physics or biology impossible.
I dunno. Maybe my growing understanding of concepts like evolution and psychology and my growing disbelief in a god or afterlife are making me jaded and more frustrated as I try to reconcile that knowledge with playing in a game where magic basically throws them all out the window with a wave of the hand.
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Creative Director
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So my A/C retains everytthing (feats,skills etc) except the link ,share spells etc? Does these new HD count only at HP or at BAB,saves etc?And i need the leadership feat to take him as cohort?i thought the spell "provide" that feat and i only had to calculate the leadership score!Mr. James Jacobs
how the spell awaken acctually works if i want to cast it on my animal companion? how doe his level as cohort progress? it will start with 1 lvl class when i cast the spell or 2hd animal and start to take class levels as the party takes xp?
The animal companion becomes a magical beast and retains its stats it gained as your animal companion, but is no longer your animal companion. It's just a friend or an rival, depending on how you treated it up to that point. If you take Leadership, your GM might let you take the awakened animal companion as a cohort. In any event, you would be able to gain a replacement animal companion of the appropriate level.
The awakened animal companion cohort gains the +2 HD as normal per the spell. Whether or not it can later gain class levels, and when it gains its 1st class level, is up to your GM.
Yup; it retains everything but would lose the things that depend on that link with you. The new HD affect hp and BAB and saves as normal. And yes, you'd need Leadership for it to be a cohort... but chances are good an awakened animal companion will be too powerful for that, frankly. The best bet is to simply let the awakened animal companion (aka the GM, who now controls it) make its own decisions.
Awaken is a better thing to cast on non-animal companions in other words.
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Creative Director
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I think my wording was kind of vague again. What I'm trying to understand is how the people of Golarion even do science with magic's presence essentially making getting a bead on the laws of physics or biology impossible.
I dunno. Maybe my growing understanding of concepts like evolution and psychology and my growing disbelief in a god or afterlife are making me jaded and more frustrated as I try to reconcile that knowledge with playing in a game where magic basically throws them all out the window with a wave of the hand.
There's room for both those who seek magical answers in world and those who seek scientific answers in world, and room for both to believe they're right even if sometimes they're not.
Keep in mind that in-world characters do not have the luxury of us in knowing indisputably which one is right.
What I'm saying is that this is a case where you can have your cake and eat it too. You can have folks on Golarion understanding the world via physics AND by magic. And if you're the GM, you get to decide who's right and if that even matters.
But magic doesn't throw things out a window with a wave of the hand. I'm not sure where you're getting that idea. If it did, then there'd be increasingly little for us in the real world to associate and identify within the setting. I'd rather have gamers be interested in the plots and characters rather than wondering why, for example, the sky in Golarion is green.
It's not; it's blue because of science and that's the way it is. Whether or not a specific person in world believes the sky is blue because of the way light refracts through the atmosphere or because it's Sarenrae's favorite color is beside the point.
And who says both can't be correct?
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Creative Director
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I think my wording was kind of vague again. What I'm trying to understand is how the people of Golarion even do science with magic's presence essentially making getting a bead on the laws of physics or biology impossible.I dunno. Maybe my growing understanding of concepts like evolution and psychology and my growing disbelief in a god or afterlife are making me jaded and more frustrated as I try to reconcile that knowledge with playing in a game where magic basically throws them all out the window with a wave of the hand.
My take: Dropped objects still accelerate at 9.8m/s^2, or whatever local g is. Mendelian inheritance (presumably) still happens. Natural selection still happens - magic just provides another set of pressures. I'll grant that people might not bother with exploring these natural laws or coming up with ways to use them if magic is readily available.
There's a very good discussion about this topic in one of Steven Erikson's Malazan books, how people haven't bothered to develop technology since magic is so prevalent.
Speaking of: Have you read that series, James?
And are you looking forward to the Burnt Offerings audio play that's coming out next month?
Correct, because if we designed a world where dropped objects accelerate at a different speed or a variable speed... suddenly we have to spend lots of writing describing that and everything it affects. I'd rather spend that time assuming it works the same as it does in reality, and tell a story about derros abducting folks from their bedrooms or whatever.
I haven't read that series.
And as it turns out... I don't have to look forward to that audio play. I've got it on my computer at work waiting for me to listen to it when I get a chance.
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What all Demon Lords are currently opposed towards Deskari and Baphomet?
Pretty much none of them are "opposed" against them.
If there were, they'd play a role in the WotR Adventure Path. The closest you're gonna get is Nocticula's role in the AP, and she's not so much opposed to them as she is eager to use them to further her own goals.
If the Worldwound opens completely and engulfs Avistan, that's pretty much a win for ALL the demon lords in one way or another.
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What all Demon Lords are currently opposed towards Deskari and Baphomet?Pretty much none of them are "opposed" against them.
If there were, they'd play a role in the WotR Adventure Path. The closest you're gonna get is Nocticula's role in the AP, and she's not so much opposed to them as she is eager to use them to further her own goals.
If the Worldwound opens completely and engulfs Avistan, that's pretty much a win for ALL the demon lords in one way or another.
K, just checking. Szuriel it is!
It's not; it's blue because of science and that's the way it is. Whether or not a specific person in world believes the sky is blue because of the way light refracts through the atmosphere or because it's Sarenrae's favorite color is beside the point.
And who says both can't be correct?
Heard it here first folks! Saranrae's favorite color is blue!
(My favorite color too, does this mean Saranrae and I are true loves?)
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Creative Director
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It's not; it's blue because of science and that's the way it is. Whether or not a specific person in world believes the sky is blue because of the way light refracts through the atmosphere or because it's Sarenrae's favorite color is beside the point.
And who says both can't be correct?
Heard it here first folks! Saranrae's favorite color is blue!
(My favorite color too, does this mean Saranrae and I are true loves?)
Unless I lied and her favorite color is yellow. Or orange. Or gold. Or mauve.
Unless I lied and her favorite color is yellow. Or orange. Or gold. Or mauve.It's not; it's blue because of science and that's the way it is. Whether or not a specific person in world believes the sky is blue because of the way light refracts through the atmosphere or because it's Sarenrae's favorite color is beside the point.
And who says both can't be correct?
Heard it here first folks! Saranrae's favorite color is blue!
(My favorite color too, does this mean Saranrae and I are true loves?)
The thought crossed my mind, but I reject that reality and substitute my own!