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I know you've said before that Dragon Empires will not be getting errata'd but I have a question about the White-haired Witch archetype. Was the white-haired witch not getting INT to hit intentional?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

FallenDabus wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
zerzix wrote:
Yeah, Scepter of the Underworld was the first adventures I actually remember going through. What stuck out in my mind was the ending when Alaznist threw back his hood and revealed he was a drow elf. Ewww I was so mad. lol

You're welcome! :-)

And it might also amuse you to know that your avatar is from an illustration of the demon lord Lascer, who was also one I made up for my homebrew but that I more or less sold to Wizards of the Coast in the adventure "The Razing of Redshore."

I infest everything, apparently!

And now I'm going to have to go read the entire Demonomicon of Iggwilv again. There'll be some incoming questions coming from that end soon. Those things almost singlehandedly got me into Planescape, along with Todd's Storyhour, so thank you!

Did you have any plans for the loumara demons in 3.5 that never came to fruition because of the edition change?

Keep in mind that in 3.5 Lascer was not a demon lord, he was an epic-level Abomination (CR 60 or something?), a Paragon Infernal, as I recall.

The Razing of Redshore remains one of the best adventures I've ever read, and an awesome way to introduce people to Epic levels in 3.5 (totally ignoring other problems with that system, of course).

The module would port over to Mythic Rules seamlessly. In the module, there's a McGuffin that gives mortals the ability to become epic, which works perfectly well for the ability to become Mythic.

I also liked the Sperm Whale Druid/18!

Still fond memories of that adventure. They only printed like 4 Epic adventures in Dragon, and they were all awesome.

==Aelryinth


Hi James.
A friend of mine wants to play a Samurai, but don’t want to be a Tian so I’ve got som question regarding the Tians, Tian Xia and the Samurai.

1. Is it possible to be a Samurai without being brought up in Tian Xia or being a Tian?
2. Are there any areas in the Inners sea region ruled by Tians?
3. Which Inners sea region has the largest population of Tians?
4. If any, what other Inners sea regions have large populations of Tians?
5. Were in the Inner sea region would it be most likely to find Samurais?
6. Beside Tians, what other Ethnic groups would be likely to have Samurais?
7. Would slavery be common in Tian Xia or in a Inners sea region ruled by Tians?


James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
Do the Gods of Ancient Osirion have outsider servants
All deities have outsider servants.
How many outsider servants do deities and demigods usually have
Countless minions. Essentially an infinite number for all practical purposes.
Can deities and demigods create outsider servants from nothing
Yes.
Can deities and demigods create mortals from nothing

Deities, yes. Demigods, depends on a case by case basis.

Deities don't have stat blocks and can pretty much do anything they want as a result.

Demigods have stat blocks and can only do what those stat blocks allow them to do.

Can Demigods just use miracle or wish to create mortals(or outsiders) from nothing?I know many Demigods can use miracle in there realms

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The Golux wrote:

James,

just to check, will Inner Sea Gods include stats for the heralds of all 20 main deities, or at least the heralds that were only statted for 3.5?

Stats for all 20 heralds and 20 new less powerful minions will be included.

If that pleases you, thank me, since I actually had to kind of fight hard to get the heralds in there at all.

Was it a matter of space? If so, what did you have to jettison to make room?

It was a matter of space to some extent, but also a matter that many folks felt that high CR monsters weren't a valuable use of space in the book.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The Golux wrote:

James,

just to check, will Inner Sea Gods include stats for the heralds of all 20 main deities, or at least the heralds that were only statted for 3.5?

Stats for all 20 heralds and 20 new less powerful minions will be included.

If that pleases you, thank me, since I actually had to kind of fight hard to get the heralds in there at all.

Does this mean that Rovagug will be getting a CR15 summonable herald or is that position still taken by Mr. Tarrasque?

It means that Rovagug's herald remains the Tarrasque... and that we reprinted a more appropriate stat block for the Tarrasque in that role (aka made him chaotic evil and gave him the spawn of Rovagug traits).

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kevin Mack wrote:
Really hoping there is another spawn of Rovagug in Inner sea gods (Since if memory serves he dosent have regular heralds?)

Just the Tarrasque. Other books have the spawn, and will continue to do so now and then.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kairos Dawnfury wrote:

So how did the Necromancers of the Impyrium become the Runelords?

Were they already based off Sin, or was that a new addition when they were converted?

They became runelords because when management tasked me with coming up with an entire Adventure Path and an entire campaign setting to put it in (which ended up being Varisia and 2/3 of the setting's deities), I had only a few months to do so. Months in which I also still had a full time job as Dungeon's Editor-in-Chief. So using names and setting lore and deities and the like from my homebrew, which I'd been working on since 1983 or thereabouts, was a lifesaving shortcut.

The 7 schools of Thassilonian magic were the standard schools of magic in my homebrew (I've had wizard specialists beyond the illusionist in my setting longer than D&D has had them, in fact), but I added the sins to them as a way to give them new flavor. The fact that I started with 7 schools is what cinched that... I thought to myself "What cool real-world traditions come in groups of seven that I could use to flavor this stuff more than what I've already got, and thus give it a new feeling even to me?" The sins were there for me!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The Golux wrote:

James,

just to check, will Inner Sea Gods include stats for the heralds of all 20 main deities, or at least the heralds that were only statted for 3.5?

Stats for all 20 heralds and 20 new less powerful minions will be included.

If that pleases you, thank me, since I actually had to kind of fight hard to get the heralds in there at all.

Thank you. :)

Why would have to fight for something so fundamental, however? Who were you fighting with?

Not everyone at Paizo is equally interested in high-CR creatures, or their value in a book that was perceived as being as much as for for players as for GMs. Doesn't matter who I had to argue with, though. The final book is better for it. Arguments are normal when concepting books, because no one person knows the best way to come up with a new book. Multiple ideas are healthy for concepting!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Three questions for you:

I have to admit I find myself at a bit of a loss as to what kind of deity a PC could become upon taking the Test of the Starstone or doing something equally mythic. It seems like all the available concepts and ideas a deity could represent are already filled. How does a PC deal with this? How could you become a deity of justice if Iomedae already fills that position? Or of strategy when that's Torag's gig?

And on an unrelated note, I have a friend I'm seeking advice for. We're going to be playing in Curse of the Crimson Throne and he wants to play something unique, something different than the rogues he's used to playing. I'm playing a warrior priest of Sarenrae. Any suggestions I can pass along to him to help him create a character uniquely Korvosan?

And speaking of warrior priests, what would separate a LG warrior priest type from an actual paladin? I assume the average LG cleric of a deity, even if said deity isn't LG, would behave similarly to the paladin's code for that deity anyway. If you're divinely empowered by your god, and you're more comfortable with a sword in hand than a crosier, what's to stop you from calling yourself a paladin even though you're not a paladin by class?

The best way is to super specialize. There's already a god of cities, but there's not a god of coastal cities in particular, for example. It's also okay to overlap with other deities.

Has your friend read "Guide to Korvosa?" There's all sorts of ideas in there to go with.

What separates a LG warrior priest from a paladin is the fact that the paladin is more concerned with following his specific paladin code than anything else. The LG warrior priest follows the deity's code, which is similar but not the same as that of a paladin.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

xavier c wrote:

In Alushinyrra (The Ten Thousand Delights district)there are conjure-brothels. now what are conjure-brothels are they brothels conjured from

nothing or are they brothels where they conjure creatures?

What exactly a conjure-brothel is is left intentionally vague. The phrasing suggests a place where you can "order" a companion of any sort and the madams will summon/conjure your companion for you. They have an infinite variety without having to have an infinitely large floorplan, in other words.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Albatoonoe wrote:

How would you run a game/campaign where there were no/very rare opportunities for safe places and mercantile?

I'm creating a game based on the Heretic/Hexen game series, which involves fighting through dimensions all completely occupied and controlled by the villains, The Serpent Riders. This would allow no opportunities to sell equipment or even use gold at all.

More or less how Dark Souls/Dark Souls II works. I'd make sure that crafting/repairing items is something every PC can do and build in places to do so in the setting, and would also make sure that there were merchants that the PCs could find and rescue as they explore but whom would have VERY limited resources, and then would make sure that the PCs would have plenty of opportunities to loot or find treasure appropriate for their characters. I would also be ready to adjust and change things in gameplay as they came up to account for the different-than-expected play style; for example, the game assumes that at 4th level, players have magic weapons (CR 4 is when DR/magic starts getting more common, as iconically represented by the gargoyle), so I'd make sure that by 4th level they would have had chances to find +1 weapons of their favored flavor.


James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The Golux wrote:

James,

just to check, will Inner Sea Gods include stats for the heralds of all 20 main deities, or at least the heralds that were only statted for 3.5?

Stats for all 20 heralds and 20 new less powerful minions will be included.

If that pleases you, thank me, since I actually had to kind of fight hard to get the heralds in there at all.

Does this mean that Rovagug will be getting a CR15 summonable herald or is that position still taken by Mr. Tarrasque?
It means that Rovagug's herald remains the Tarrasque... and that we reprinted a more appropriate stat block for the Tarrasque in that role (aka made him chaotic evil and gave him the spawn of Rovagug traits).

So will the Herald Tarrasque and the Tarrasque in the bestiary be different? In that the Herald will be weaker? If so, will this represent a sort of 'baby' Tarrasque or something?

Just seems odd to have two creatures named 'Tarrasque' with different stat blocks.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
There are absolutely religious wizards, just as there are religious scientists.

More of a comment than a question but you may be interested in Byakuren Hijiri.

** spoiler omitted **

Now a question: She an interesting character to you?

She could be. Mixing science and religion, or arcane magic and religion, is something I've been interested in doing for my characters for a long time.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

xavier c wrote:
What type(or race) of outsider servants does Calistria and Norgorber have?

These questions will be addressed in the upcoming Inner Sea Gods; each of the core 20 has a specialized outsider servant detailed.

Beyond that... Calistria is served mostly by azatas who tend toward the chaotic side of their personalities rather than the good side.

Norgorber is mostly served by daemons, but also by divs in places.

Radiant Oath

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

Three questions for you:

I have to admit I find myself at a bit of a loss as to what kind of deity a PC could become upon taking the Test of the Starstone or doing something equally mythic. It seems like all the available concepts and ideas a deity could represent are already filled. How does a PC deal with this? How could you become a deity of justice if Iomedae already fills that position? Or of strategy when that's Torag's gig?

And on an unrelated note, I have a friend I'm seeking advice for. We're going to be playing in Curse of the Crimson Throne and he wants to play something unique, something different than the rogues he's used to playing. I'm playing a warrior priest of Sarenrae. Any suggestions I can pass along to him to help him create a character uniquely Korvosan?

And speaking of warrior priests, what would separate a LG warrior priest type from an actual paladin? I assume the average LG cleric of a deity, even if said deity isn't LG, would behave similarly to the paladin's code for that deity anyway. If you're divinely empowered by your god, and you're more comfortable with a sword in hand than a crosier, what's to stop you from calling yourself a paladin even though you're not a paladin by class?

The best way is to super specialize. There's already a god of cities, but there's not a god of coastal cities in particular, for example. It's also okay to overlap with other deities.

Has your friend read "Guide to Korvosa?" There's all sorts of ideas in there to go with.

What separates a LG warrior priest from a paladin is the fact that the paladin is more concerned with following his specific paladin code than anything else. The LG warrior priest follows the deity's code, which is similar but not the same as that of a paladin.

No, he has not read Guide to Korvosa, and I don't know how I'd be able to get it to him short of transcribing the whole thing to him via PM. We live in different states and are collaborating for a play-by-post. All he knows is he wants to play something "cool."

Can a LG warrior priest adopt the paladin code anyway, even though they won't gain things like smite evil from it? Or is that the point where you'd say, "Why don't you just make the character an actual paladin?"

Paizo Employee Creative Director

FallenDabus wrote:
Did you have any plans for the loumara demons in 3.5 that never came to fruition because of the edition change?

Yes, but I've pretty much entirely abandoned them.

The loumaras were intended to cover the entire range of possibilities of demons that possess people, places, and things. Movies about exorcists and hauntings are VERY popular these days, and each one of those movies (such as Paranomral Activity, Sinister, The Conjuring, Insidious, The Last Exorcisim, etc.) could have served as inspiration for a separate and new type of loumara.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ilya Mxyzptlk wrote:
I know you've said before that Dragon Empires will not be getting errata'd but I have a question about the White-haired Witch archetype. Was the white-haired witch not getting INT to hit intentional?

I suspect so. I wasn't involved in that archetype's design, really, though. That's a good question to post on that book's product page, but it's been years since it came out and I'm not sure the developer will notice a new question there anytime soon...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aelryinth wrote:
FallenDabus wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
zerzix wrote:
Yeah, Scepter of the Underworld was the first adventures I actually remember going through. What stuck out in my mind was the ending when Alaznist threw back his hood and revealed he was a drow elf. Ewww I was so mad. lol

You're welcome! :-)

And it might also amuse you to know that your avatar is from an illustration of the demon lord Lascer, who was also one I made up for my homebrew but that I more or less sold to Wizards of the Coast in the adventure "The Razing of Redshore."

I infest everything, apparently!

And now I'm going to have to go read the entire Demonomicon of Iggwilv again. There'll be some incoming questions coming from that end soon. Those things almost singlehandedly got me into Planescape, along with Todd's Storyhour, so thank you!

Did you have any plans for the loumara demons in 3.5 that never came to fruition because of the edition change?

Keep in mind that in 3.5 Lascer was not a demon lord, he was an epic-level Abomination (CR 60 or something?), a Paragon Infernal, as I recall.

The Razing of Redshore remains one of the best adventures I've ever read, and an awesome way to introduce people to Epic levels in 3.5 (totally ignoring other problems with that system, of course).

The module would port over to Mythic Rules seamlessly. In the module, there's a McGuffin that gives mortals the ability to become epic, which works perfectly well for the ability to become Mythic.

I also liked the Sperm Whale Druid/18!

Still fond memories of that adventure. They only printed like 4 Epic adventures in Dragon, and they were all awesome.

==Aelryinth

Actually...

In the last Dragon magazine, where the art in question appears, he IS a demon lord. And in my homebrew setting, he's a demon lord (I invented him back in 1988 or thereabouts).

He was presented as something else in Razing of Redshore because at that time, Wizards of the Coast was still kind of confused and conflicted internally on how to handle demon lords in 3rd edition. I put Orcus into an earlier adventure, "Headless," which was the first official stats and presentation of a demon lord in 3rd edition, and that inclusion apparently caused a lot of internal strife and conflict between the R&D Design Team and the Magazine team... and so when I wrote my next adventure, I decided to present Lascer as a new category of super powerful evil demigod-like entity so as to sidestep any "tampering" or "confusion" or "conflict" issues that might arise from some upstart writer of adventures in the magazine might cause.

If I were able to redo "Razing of Redshore" today, Lascer would be revised back into his proper role as a demon lord.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Zark wrote:

Hi James.

A friend of mine wants to play a Samurai, but don’t want to be a Tian so I’ve got som question regarding the Tians, Tian Xia and the Samurai.

1. Is it possible to be a Samurai without being brought up in Tian Xia or being a Tian?
2. Are there any areas in the Inners sea region ruled by Tians?
3. Which Inners sea region has the largest population of Tians?
4. If any, what other Inners sea regions have large populations of Tians?
5. Were in the Inner sea region would it be most likely to find Samurais?
6. Beside Tians, what other Ethnic groups would be likely to have Samurais?
7. Would slavery be common in Tian Xia or in a Inners sea region ruled by Tians?

Fiction is filled with examples of non-asian samurai. "The Last Samurai" is an example that comes to mind, but there's also "Shogun" as well. We've also got examples in our world; there's a nation of elven samurai, for example, in Tian Xia. All that in mind...

1) No; it's a cultural thing, but you don't have to be a human Tian to be a samurai.

2) Not in the Inner Sea Region, although Varisia, Land of the Linnorm Kings, and parts of Realms of the Mammoth Lords have pretty significant Tian elements to some of their cities.

3) Varisia, Land of the Linnorm Kings, Realm of the Mammoth Lords, Absalom, Katapesh... there's Tians found all over the region though, so any region can support such a character, ESPECIALLY if that character is a PC... which is another way of saying ESPECIALLY if that character is SUPER UNIQUE.

4) These questions are all kinda starting to sound the same...

5) Actual Samurai are probably most common in small numbers in Absalom. Ronin are probably more common and more numerous to the northwest in Varisia, Linnorm Kingdoms, and Mammoth Lord lands.

6) Any are equally likely beyond Tians.

7) Varies from region to region.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

xavier c wrote:


Can Demigods just use miracle or wish to create mortals(or outsiders) from nothing?I know many Demigods can use miracle in there realms

Yes. If the GM allows them to. Miracle/wish is intentionally left pretty open-ended that way.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:

So will the Herald Tarrasque and the Tarrasque in the bestiary be different? In that the Herald will be weaker? If so, will this represent a sort of 'baby' Tarrasque or something?

Just seems odd to have two creatures named 'Tarrasque' with different stat blocks.

They're pretty much identical. Both have the same stats. The Golarion version has a different alignment, and it includes errata that's not yet in the Bestiary (such as the addition of immunity to ability drain). They're the same creature statwise pretty much.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

No, he has not read Guide to Korvosa, and I don't know how I'd be able to get it to him short of transcribing the whole thing to him via PM. We live in different states and are collaborating for a play-by-post. All he knows is he wants to play something "cool."

Can a LG warrior priest adopt the paladin code anyway, even though they won't gain things like smite evil from it? Or is that the point where you'd say, "Why don't you just make the character an actual paladin?"

Exactly. And if SOMEONE needs to do something like transcribe the book to him via PM... it needs to be his GM, not me. AKA: I'd rather not get into the business of building characters for folks, since I don't have time to do that for everyone, and I don't want to do it for just a few folks and make it look like favoritism.

A LG warrior priest can adopt a paladin code, especially since "warrior priest" doesn't really mean much in game in the first place. Whether or not you "just make a paladin" depends on the character builder's preference for class abilities at that point... but also is influenced by the fact that using the word "Paladin" when talking about a character tends to set of mental switches and cause pre-determined actions and opinions in the minds of other players and GMs. The word "Paladin" has a LOT of mental and emotional baggage for players and GMs... most of it unproductive, in my experience.


James Jacobs wrote:
Ilya Mxyzptlk wrote:
I know you've said before that Dragon Empires will not be getting errata'd but I have a question about the White-haired Witch archetype. Was the white-haired witch not getting INT to hit intentional?
I suspect so. I wasn't involved in that archetype's design, really, though. That's a good question to post on that book's product page, but it's been years since it came out and I'm not sure the developer will notice a new question there anytime soon...

There is now a Golarion FAQ, so maybe a "Golarion Rule Questions" board could be an idea.

What do you think?


James Jacobs wrote:
Tels wrote:

So will the Herald Tarrasque and the Tarrasque in the bestiary be different? In that the Herald will be weaker? If so, will this represent a sort of 'baby' Tarrasque or something?

Just seems odd to have two creatures named 'Tarrasque' with different stat blocks.

They're pretty much identical. Both have the same stats. The Golarion version has a different alignment, and it includes errata that's not yet in the Bestiary (such as the addition of immunity to ability drain). They're the same creature statwise pretty much.

So Rovagug will be an exception to the whole 'Heralds are CR 15' thing? It's kind of... well... terrifying to think that high level clerics of Rovagug can use Planar Ally to summon forth the Tarrasque as an ally.


James Jacobs wrote:


4) These questions are all kinda starting to sound the same...

True, I wrote the post in a hurry.

Thanks for the answers and your patience! :D

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Belle Mythix wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ilya Mxyzptlk wrote:
I know you've said before that Dragon Empires will not be getting errata'd but I have a question about the White-haired Witch archetype. Was the white-haired witch not getting INT to hit intentional?
I suspect so. I wasn't involved in that archetype's design, really, though. That's a good question to post on that book's product page, but it's been years since it came out and I'm not sure the developer will notice a new question there anytime soon...

There is now a Golarion FAQ, so maybe a "Golarion Rule Questions" board could be an idea.

What do you think?

Prolly a good a idea.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Tels wrote:

So will the Herald Tarrasque and the Tarrasque in the bestiary be different? In that the Herald will be weaker? If so, will this represent a sort of 'baby' Tarrasque or something?

Just seems odd to have two creatures named 'Tarrasque' with different stat blocks.

They're pretty much identical. Both have the same stats. The Golarion version has a different alignment, and it includes errata that's not yet in the Bestiary (such as the addition of immunity to ability drain). They're the same creature statwise pretty much.
So Rovagug will be an exception to the whole 'Heralds are CR 15' thing? It's kind of... well... terrifying to think that high level clerics of Rovagug can use Planar Ally to summon forth the Tarrasque as an ally.

Correct. And no, you can't use any planar ally type spells to conjure the Tarrasque.


James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
How many pantheons are in the Inner Sea Gods hardcover? i read there is an orc pantheon so will there be new gods?
I don't remember. A lot. And yes, there is an orc pantheon and the orc gods now actually have names.

Do the Orcs have a lot of variety in their pantheon, or is it several deities whose tenets consist of Kill, Crush, Destroy?

Are all of them evil and chaotic aligned?

Shadow Lodge

Mr. Jacobs, if you dont mind I'd like your opinion on a ruling I've made concerning prone and trip.

"To me, prone means your not a valid trip combat maneuver target.

Now for things like ki throw, meteor hammer and seven branched sword. All these things say you can do someting instead of making your target prone, which means to me that they must first be a valid trip combat maneuver target. So to me you can't use ki throw, meteor hammer or seven branched sword on a prone target."

Do you feel I'm being to narrow-minded about the ki throw, meteor hammer and seven branched sword? I want to fair about my rulings and not lessen these other things but this is they way the rules read to me.


1)In the Innersea Gods, did all(or most) of the Heralds get new art?

2)Have you seen ParaNorman yet?

3)In the Great Beyond book it mentions a demiplane, Freehold of the Rogue Angel", were a celestial-like being calling itself the "Forsaken Martyr" dwells, is this being Tabris or someone/something else?

4)The demi plane of "The Lost", page 53 of the Great Beyond, was this supposed to be based on an old Twilight Zone episode?

5)Do you plan on getting Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD coming out this Tuesday on PS3 and Xbox360?

Contributor

So I took your advice and played my Carnivalist Rogue build for my group's new Wrath of the Righteous campaign. He's been a blast to play and I've been looking ahead for my ability choices. One feat that I'm dead-set on taking is Evolved Familiar, which allows me to give a 1-point summoner evolution to my familiar. My plan is to give my familiar the reach evolution, which will give my Tiny fox a 5-foot reach, allowing him to flank with me.

Can you help me brainstorm three different ways for my familiar to manifest this evolution?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Axial wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
xavier c wrote:
How many pantheons are in the Inner Sea Gods hardcover? i read there is an orc pantheon so will there be new gods?
I don't remember. A lot. And yes, there is an orc pantheon and the orc gods now actually have names.

Do the Orcs have a lot of variety in their pantheon, or is it several deities whose tenets consist of Kill, Crush, Destroy?

Are all of them evil and chaotic aligned?

There's not nearly the variety you see in the core pantheon as far as alignments and diversity are concerned. The orc pantheon is very gritty, cruel, and violent. I don't believe they're all chaotic evil, but they're mostly chaotic or evil.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Jacob Saltband wrote:

Mr. Jacobs, if you dont mind I'd like your opinion on a ruling I've made concerning prone and trip.

"To me, prone means your not a valid trip combat maneuver target.

Now for things like ki throw, meteor hammer and seven branched sword. All these things say you can do someting instead of making your target prone, which means to me that they must first be a valid trip combat maneuver target. So to me you can't use ki throw, meteor hammer or seven branched sword on a prone target."

Do you feel I'm being to narrow-minded about the ki throw, meteor hammer and seven branched sword? I want to fair about my rulings and not lessen these other things but this is they way the rules read to me.

Prone means you can't be tripped. That's a variation on the rule that a creature with no legs (like a snake) can't be tripped. Other effects CAN affect you when you're prone, such as bull rush or being thrown around or whatever.

But that said, whether or not a trip attack works on a prone target or not should be the GM's call, and it should be something that has flexibility to vary as needed in strange cases... but once you establish how something works, don't change it later.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Dragon78 wrote:

1)In the Innersea Gods, did all(or most) of the Heralds get new art?

2)Have you seen ParaNorman yet?

3)In the Great Beyond book it mentions a demiplane, Freehold of the Rogue Angel", were a celestial-like being calling itself the "Forsaken Martyr" dwells, is this being Tabris or someone/something else?

4)The demi plane of "The Lost", page 53 of the Great Beyond, was this supposed to be based on an old Twilight Zone episode?

5)Do you plan on getting Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD coming out this Tuesday on PS3 and Xbox360?

1) Some did, some did not.

2) Nope.

3) Unrevealed.

4) Not that I'm aware of... although Twilight Zone episodes have been around for decades and that's a long time to slip into the subconscious in a lot of different ways.

6) I'm not sure yet. I'll probably get it eventually, but I'm pretty obsessed with Dark Souls 2 at the moment.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alexander Augunas wrote:

So I took your advice and played my Carnivalist Rogue build for my group's new Wrath of the Righteous campaign. He's been a blast to play and I've been looking ahead for my ability choices. One feat that I'm dead-set on taking is Evolved Familiar, which allows me to give a 1-point summoner evolution to my familiar. My plan is to give my familiar the reach evolution, which will give my Tiny fox a 5-foot reach, allowing him to flank with me.

Can you help me brainstorm three different ways for my familiar to manifest this evolution?

As I mentioned in another reply a few posts above, I've decided to not answer "help me design my character" requests. Let's keep this thread to questions with answers; I don't have the time to build characters for everyone, alas...

Shadow Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Jacob Saltband wrote:

Mr. Jacobs, if you dont mind I'd like your opinion on a ruling I've made concerning prone and trip.

"To me, prone means your not a valid trip combat maneuver target.

Now for things like ki throw, meteor hammer and seven branched sword. All these things say you can do someting instead of making your target prone, which means to me that they must first be a valid trip combat maneuver target. So to me you can't use ki throw, meteor hammer or seven branched sword on a prone target."

Do you feel I'm being to narrow-minded about the ki throw, meteor hammer and seven branched sword? I want to fair about my rulings and not lessen these other things but this is they way the rules read to me.

Prone means you can't be tripped. That's a variation on the rule that a creature with no legs (like a snake) can't be tripped. Other effects CAN affect you when you're prone, such as bull rush or being thrown around or whatever.

But that said, whether or not a trip attack works on a prone target or not should be the GM's call, and it should be something that has flexibility to vary as needed in strange cases... but once you establish how something works, don't change it later.

Thank you for your reply.

Liberty's Edge

James,
1)will we see any aboleths in a module or AP soon?
2)If you could to go back to when you guys designed pathfinder, would you change the "unwriten rule" about a deity aways having its alignment domains?

Radiant Oath

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

You think there should be a "Help Me Design My Character" thread for those kinds of questions (not specifically to be answered by you, of course, but for anyone to contribute to it)?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

5 people marked this as a favorite.
Paladinosaur wrote:

James,

1)will we see any aboleths in a module or AP soon?
2)If you could to go back to when you guys designed pathfinder, would you change the "unwriten rule" about a deity aways having its alignment domains?

1) Wait and see!

2) More likely, I'd have argued to move the alignment domains out of domains entirely and hardcode them into being cleric abilities that they gain as they level up, leaving the domians to more interesting choices.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
You think there should be a "Help Me Design My Character" thread for those kinds of questions (not specifically to be answered by you, of course, but for anyone to contribute to it)?

Not a bad idea. In fact, I'd be shocked if there wasn't a thread like that already somewhere on these boards.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

How would generally approach a Roy Greenhilt Fighter build now, given that the Lore Warden seems to have become a questionable archetype. Not asking you to build a character per se, just a general idea.

Just in case you don't read Order of the Stick, Roy Greenhilt is a Fighter built with the Intelligence of a Wizard.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:

How would generally approach a Roy Greenhilt Fighter build now, given that the Lore Warden seems to have become a questionable archetype. Not asking you to build a character per se, just a general idea.

Just in case you don't read Order of the Stick, Roy Greenhilt is a Fighter built with the Intelligence of a Wizard.

I don't read Order of the Stick.

That said, our own Iconic Fighter, Valeros, is actaully himself pretty smart. It's hardly a unique idea.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
I don't read Order of the Stick.

Why not?

Would experiencing Curse of the Crimson Throne be enhanced with the upcoming Harrow book?

And what's your strategy for motivating yourself to do something for entertainment purposes that you actually are procrastinating over? For example, I'm trying to play through the Dragon Age games in preparation for Inquisition, but I'm finding myself spending what free-time I have checking these and other RPG forums and stuff for updates on questions I've posed or Play-by-Post games I'm in. It's at the point where playing Dragon Age, a leisure activity, feels more like a job or a chore, one that I keep putting off for weeks, months or even years at a time. How do I motivate myself to finish the damn game so I can move on to other ones?


1) Would a Hobgoblin army that worships Moloch be more likely to a) surrender in the face of defeat or b) fight to the death?

2) I imagine that said army would view Hell as some kind of fiery valhalla where they're reborn into immortal devils, especially if their knowledge (planes) is low. Would that be correct?

3) When a castle full of hobgoblins recently fell in my campaign, I had a lot of them surrendering, alchemists pledging to work in human cities, worship good-aligned deities, et cetera. It was partially because human soldiers were revenge-killing them and they wanted to stay alive. How often do bad guy-species convert over to good (or at least neutrality) for the sole purpose of surviving?

4) And speaking of which, I've had some overzealous humans wanting to wipe out the hobgoblins. In Golarion, how common is it for people to want to go all Final Solution on goblins, ogres, gnolls, orcs, et cetera? Just to covere my ass here, I've portrayed it as an evil act and the PCs have tried very hard to convince the NPCs to change their tune.

5) I would also imagine that normal goblins would worship Moloch as well: he's within one step of NE and associated with fire. But what about bugbears? Would they have to be mercenaries?

6) Pharasma's portfoilo is of the dead, prophecy, the afterlife, water, killing undead, et cetera. Does being an NE cleric of Pharasma entail adhering to all those things while also being a prick, or is there more to it then that?

7) Would Pharasma's followers see dhampirs as abominations?

8) The party paladin took two AoO crits from greataxe-wielding enemies last session and was dismembered. My party wants to buy a scroll of ressurection, but I want to put them through hoops. Meaning, there's no divine spellcaster in society powerful enough to cast Resurrection and they need to go to some hideous 14th-level Worm That Walks oracle to do a favor for him to revive their paladin. What do you think? What's in the bestiary that can use Resurrection as a SLA?


alright, JJ... I have played quite a few different systems in my time as a gamer so I really have to know. Is the Swashbuckler class based on or influenced by 7th Seas (published by AEG)?

Liberty's Edge

James,

i) Gorum and Calistria are CN, but their realms are in Elysium... Does that mean that the soul of a CE Antipaladin might go to Elysium?


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

1) The rules state that, "unless otherwise noted, polymorph spells cannot be used to change into specific individuals." That means that, for example, you wouldn't be able to use monstrous physique II, for example, to turn into Grendel, since he seems to be a unique monster, rather than a race?

2) Have you all decided where exactly Grendel is at in Golarion and what his origins are? And if not, where, off the cuff, would you place him as being?

3) Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on psionics as 3.5 handled it?


Hi James

I have travelled extensively and have met and gotten to know people from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures. One thing I really like about Golarion is how you guys try to include everyone in a non-racist way. So, question: What are the inspirations for the Mauxi people? Ethiopian, or someone else? And what does it mean that they have ash-grey skin - I don't think I've ever come across someone with ash-grey skin?
Thanks

Contributor

I was scouring the Great Beyond last night and noticed mention of a Plane of Time. Is that something that may be visited again?

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