Dear James -
Pathfinder has been called "D&D 3.6", a honorary title indicating the strong roots of the OGL 3/3.5 rule set but with improvements. Some sub-systems - like magic item creation - didn't get as complete a workover from 3.5 as others. It seems they won't either without a new version of the rules.
Do you think - someday - there will be a new edition of the Pathfinder rules? Would it be evolutionary (minor improvements to the existing rule set based on years of game play) or revolutionary (a big departure like D&D 4.0 / D&D 5.0)?
There's no way for me to answer that without fueling expectations and implying things that may or may not be truth.
That said... the BIGGEST goal for Pathfinder was that it let us tell the type of stories we want to tell. If we ever do a revision, you can expect it to be one that will continue to let us tell the stories we've been telling in the Adventure Paths on Golarion without changing what those stories are or what their themes are.
If there was to be a revision, would the old rules be obsolete, or would they remain relevant?
Unless otherwise stated all AP's are designed around 15 point buy pc's correct?
Creative Director
|
If there was to be a revision, would the old rules be obsolete, or would they remain relevant?
An excellent question!
Look at it this way. When a computer operating system updates its OS, say, from Leopard to Snow Leopard, or Windows 95 to Windows 98, does the old OS become obsolete? Yes. Can you still use the types of programs you used under the old OS? Yes... some will need to be patched and tinkered with or even rewritten, but generally the idea is that they get better when you do that.
Anyway... I'm not really interested in talking much more about possible future editions of Pathfinder, since this just isn't the right place to do so.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Unless otherwise stated all AP's are designed around 15 point buy pc's correct?
Yes.
Furthermore... if your players are experienced and really good at building characters... you should consider dropping that to 10 point buy. The lower the point buy, the harder the game gets for the characters after all. If your players or you are disappointed with a perception that the adventures are too easy, the simplest solution isn't to rewrite the adventures to be more challenging. The simplest solution is to compensate for the higher skill level of the player by lowering point buy.
Lower point buy is, essentially, "Hard Mode" for the game.
Personally, I prefer letting players use 20 point buy, though.
Speaking of revised edition, some people seems to take the recent Nth printing as this, would these people point of view be understandable?
In PFS play will a medium (e.g. human-sized) samurai ever have anything other than a camel or horse as his "loyal and trusty steed" regardless of the samurai's level? I do not know how "The GM may approve other animals as suitable mounts" translates to PFS play.
Thank you!
Ultimate Combat - p. 18
Mount (Ex): A samurai gains the service of a loyal and
trusty steed to carry him into battle. This mount functions
as a druid’s animal companion, using the samurai’s level
as his effective druid level. The creature must be one that
he is capable of riding and that is suitable as a mount. A
Medium samurai can select a camel or a horse. A Small
samurai can select a pony or a wolf, but can also select
a boar or a dog if he is at least 4th level. The GM may
approve other animals as suitable mounts.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Some time ago I mentioned to you an Aboleth blooded warlock of mine and the idea that he had reached a point in his growth that if he suffered a mortal wound it would be his human side that died leaving his aboleth side.
You said that such a creature would be unique to Golarion and that the Aboleths would want to dissect him to find how he came to be and how he worked. I'm seeking some further insights in this matter.
Would they consider him an abomination? Would they possibly seek to replicate the conditions that brought him into being or would this instigate a possible purge of any humanoids who bare their blood?
Also, what do aboleths in general like to eat?
|
Creative Director
|
Speaking of revised edition, some people seems to take the recent Nth printing as this, would these people point of view be understandable?
Thing is, I'd rather not speak of revised editions here, as I mentioned in the previous post. I don't have much more to say on the topic, but I certainly understand folks' curiosity.
|
Creative Director
|
In PFS play will a medium (e.g. human-sized) samurai ever have anything other than a camel or horse as his "loyal and trusty steed" regardless of the samurai's level? I do not know how "The GM may approve other animals as suitable mounts" translates to PFS play.
Thank you!
Ultimate Combat - p. 18
Mount (Ex): A samurai gains the service of a loyal and
trusty steed to carry him into battle. This mount functions
as a druid’s animal companion, using the samurai’s level
as his effective druid level. The creature must be one that
he is capable of riding and that is suitable as a mount. A
Medium samurai can select a camel or a horse. A Small
samurai can select a pony or a wolf, but can also select
a boar or a dog if he is at least 4th level. The GM may
approve other animals as suitable mounts.
In PFS play? Nope. The GM doesn't really have the luxury of adjusting the rules, for better or worse, in PFS. It's one of the limitations of the massively multiplayer nature of that campaign.
|
Creative Director
|
Mr. James Jacobs,
Some time ago I mentioned to you an Aboleth blooded warlock of mine and the idea that he had reached a point in his growth that if he suffered a mortal wound it would be his human side that died leaving his aboleth side.
You said that such a creature would be unique to Golarion and that the Aboleths would want to dissect him to find how he came to be and how he worked. I'm seeking some further insights in this matter.
Would they consider him an abomination? Would they possibly seek to replicate the conditions that brought him into being or would this instigate a possible purge of any humanoids who bare their blood?
Also, what do aboleths in general like to eat?
Such a character would be unique, or unusual at best. Aboleths, if they weren't the ones who directly caused that character's condition, would want to know what DID cause it. And they would figure it out via dissection, vivisection, and divination magic. Whether or not they'd seek to replicate it depends on their plans... but they've got lots of other options available to them that are a LOT easier for them than bioengineering a half-human/half-aboleth...
They eat flesh. Individual preferences on species vary.
What's your favorite kind of candy?
|
Creative Director
|
Anyway... I'm not really interested in talking much more about possible future editions of Pathfinder, since this just isn't the right place to do so.James, where is the right place to talk about it? Are people already talking about it? Is there a forum?
I'd rather focus on the game we have today is all.
There's no forum. Folks have talked about it here and there before all over, but it's mostly just idle chatter at this point.
Was The Mountain vs. The Viper everything you hoped it would be?
Is there any chance of a Dark Tapestry book sometime in the future? Including, among other things, something like boons/obediences/etc. for the Tapestry deities, or custom summon lists for worshippers? :)
|
Creative Director
|
Is there any chance of a Dark Tapestry book sometime in the future? Including, among other things, something like boons/obediences/etc. for the Tapestry deities, or custom summon lists for worshippers? :)
That's one of those subjects that I want to write and have kind of set aside my "marker" on, in the same way Erik's marker is on Nex, Wes's marker is on Ustalav, and Sutter's marker is on the First World.
That said, I'm not currently working on a Dark Tapestry book, nor do I have plans to do so anytime soon. So for the short term future... no, there's not a big chance, alas.
If it IS written, it'll be focused for GMs like one of the Books of the Damned. The Dark Tapestry isn't really appropriate for PCs, and I'm not sure it'll contain boons at all since the gods of the Dark Tapestry are different in how they relate to their worshipers (they don't at all for the most part)... but we'll see.
|
Real easy question about Vorel Foxglove - how do you pronounce his name? I've been pronouncing it to rhyme with "moral," but when I finally ran the Misgivings, a player pronounced it to rhyme with "morel." I instantly switched it, since that pronunciation actually jibes with his fate, but I'm just curious what the "official" pronunciation would be.
By the way, The Misgivings is everything I hoped it would be when I read it!
|
Creative Director
|
1)How does Shub-Niggurath view her worshipers?
2)Is Shub-Niggurath a sex and fertility god?
3)Do Shub-Niggurath's worshipers try to mate with Animals and Aberrations and Magical Beasts and Plants and Oozes. As the inner sea gods book said that Shub-Niggurath's worshipers attempt to mate with creatures of
incompatible physiologies as part of their worship? just wanted to know what some of those creatures are anyway.4)would the worshipers of Shub-Niggurath get along with worshipers of Lamashtu and Socothbenoth or even Nocticula?
1) As protein for her spawn. As incubators for her spawn.
2) Yes.
3) Yes.
4) Unlikely.
|
Creative Director
|
Real easy question about Vorel Foxglove - how do you pronounce his name? I've been pronouncing it to rhyme with "moral," but when I finally ran the Misgivings, a player pronounced it to rhyme with "morel." I instantly switched it, since that pronunciation actually jibes with his fate, but I'm just curious what the "official" pronunciation would be.
By the way, The Misgivings is everything I hoped it would be when I read it!
VORE-el
They rhyme with morel is absolutely intentional. ;-)
|
Creative Director
|
1)I was reading inner sea gods and saw this Mwangi god named Easivra(The Dawn Eagle) where did he come from. I don't remember reading about him any where?
2)In the inner sea gods book there are two cyclopes gods called the sun and moon what are there names?
3)How do you say Oinodaemon? and is the Oinodaemon a deity level being?
1) Easivra is a long-dead god of the sun who was worshiped in the Mwangi Expanse. We've not said much about him, but he has a bit more information spread throughout Council of Thieves... particularly in part 3.
2) Unrevealed at this point.
3) OY-no-day-mun. He was (is?) a deity level being.
Hi James! First time poster here, and let me just say that Pathfinder revolutionized my gaming group and how I play tabletop gaming in general!
Now to my question... When it was announced that my group would be playing Wrath of the Righteous I was very keen on finally playing a Champion of Irori that I'd been wanting to bust out for some time. I ultimately chose the Marshal trait, or "Child of the Crusade". Due to the nature of the trait, I didn't want to be some long lost, odd, fish out of water cousin to the crusaders.
My GM and myself worked out a group of Irori worshipers from Vudra who, when the Worldwound opened, chose to travel there to help combat the demonic host. Their intentions are not fully altruistic, as they seek enlightenment by testing their bodies, minds, and wills against the demons, and in recent years, against the prejudices and phobias of the crusaders themselves. Of course, as paladins, they will go out of their way to defend the weak and innocent, but their primary goal is metaphysical enlightenment and the path to perfection.
I'm wondering if you feel this is something that could have happened canonically, or if this is too much of a stretch for the purposes of Golarion world lore.
I would absolutely love a response! (P.S. I agree, the Viper vs The Mountain duel was superb!)
Absolutely. I would nominate Mordiggian, a creation of Clark Ashton Smith, since Mordiggian is closely associated with necromancy and is known as the Charnel God.James,
would there be a Great Old One or Outer God particularly more inclined to teach its followers to create undead?
I am trying to link both themes in an adventure that I am currently DMing.
Perhaps Nyarlathotep in one of his guises would work?What do you think?
Thank you in advance!
Wow, I did not know of him, and he fits perfectly with what I had in mind. Thank you!
How do you think Mordiggian would translate in terms of alignment to pathfinder?
Contributor
|
Absolutely. I would nominate Mordiggian, a creation of Clark Ashton Smith, since Mordiggian is closely associated with necromancy and is known as the Charnel God.James,
would there be a Great Old One or Outer God particularly more inclined to teach its followers to create undead?
I am trying to link both themes in an adventure that I am currently DMing.
Perhaps Nyarlathotep in one of his guises would work?What do you think?
Thank you in advance!
Wow, I did not know of him, and he fits perfectly with what I had in mind. Thank you!
How do you think Mordiggian would translate in terms of alignment to pathfinder?
Not James, but Mordiggian's followers are not really evil. In CoC, his ghouls consume the already dead, but do not kill to make food, at least in the orthodox cult ("merely the usual and expected mode of mortuary disposal"- CAS, The Charnel God).
|
Creative Director
|
1)I was reading inner sea gods and saw this Mwangi god named Easivra(The Dawn Eagle) where did he come from. I don't remember reading about him any where?
2)In the inner sea gods book there are two cyclopes gods called the sun and moon what are there names?
3)How do you say Oinodaemon? and is the Oinodaemon a deity level being?
1) Easivra is a long-dead god of the sun who was worshiped in the Mwangi Expanse. We've not said much about him, but he has a bit more information spread throughout Council of Thieves... particularly in part 3.
2) Unrevealed at this point.
3) OY-no-day-mun. He was (is?) a deity level being.
1)inner sea gods said Easivra is a forgotten god not a dead god as
Lissala is a forgotten but not dead god
I guess I stand corrected.
|
Creative Director
|
4)Why?1)How does Shub-Niggurath view her worshipers?
2)Is Shub-Niggurath a sex and fertility god?
3)Do Shub-Niggurath's worshipers try to mate with Animals and Aberrations and Magical Beasts and Plants and Oozes. As the inner sea gods book said that Shub-Niggurath's worshipers attempt to mate with creatures of
incompatible physiologies as part of their worship? just wanted to know what some of those creatures are anyway.4)would the worshipers of Shub-Niggurath get along with worshipers of Lamashtu and Socothbenoth or even Nocticula?
1) As protein for her spawn. As incubators for her spawn.
2) Yes.
3) Yes.
4) Unlikely.
Because cultists of Shub-Niggurath, and ALL the outer gods/great old ones, do not play well with others. They may be chaotic evil, just like demon worshipers, but they are not allies. Cultists of the mythos deities are pretty much enemies to everyone. Including in many cases each other.
|
Creative Director
|
Hi James,
How do you feel that nostalgia helps the game of Pathfinder?
How do you feel nostalgia doesn't necessarily help the game?
Thanks :-)
It helps new customers who know what they like from previous RPGs feel comfortable and welcome enough to become new customers of Pathfinder.
It doesn't help when someone associates something bad from an earlier game with Pathfinder without realizing that those previous things aren't necessarily a part of Pathfinder.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi James! First time poster here, and let me just say that Pathfinder revolutionized my gaming group and how I play tabletop gaming in general!
Now to my question... When it was announced that my group would be playing Wrath of the Righteous I was very keen on finally playing a Champion of Irori that I'd been wanting to bust out for some time. I ultimately chose the Marshal trait, or "Child of the Crusade". Due to the nature of the trait, I didn't want to be some long lost, odd, fish out of water cousin to the crusaders.
My GM and myself worked out a group of Irori worshipers from Vudra who, when the Worldwound opened, chose to travel there to help combat the demonic host. Their intentions are not fully altruistic, as they seek enlightenment by testing their bodies, minds, and wills against the demons, and in recent years, against the prejudices and phobias of the crusaders themselves. Of course, as paladins, they will go out of their way to defend the weak and innocent, but their primary goal is metaphysical enlightenment and the path to perfection.
I'm wondering if you feel this is something that could have happened canonically, or if this is too much of a stretch for the purposes of Golarion world lore.
I would absolutely love a response! (P.S. I agree, the Viper vs The Mountain duel was superb!)
Thanks for playing!
The whole purpose of the crusades in Mendev is to draw together a lot of different philosophies and believes in one place against a common foe. And to draw more who are just there to take advantage of the situation for their own needs. It's absolutely believable that a group of Irori worshipers like that would show up in the region like that; I don't think it's a stretch at all.
|
Creative Director
|
Absolutely. I would nominate Mordiggian, a creation of Clark Ashton Smith, since Mordiggian is closely associated with necromancy and is known as the Charnel God.James,
would there be a Great Old One or Outer God particularly more inclined to teach its followers to create undead?
I am trying to link both themes in an adventure that I am currently DMing.
Perhaps Nyarlathotep in one of his guises would work?What do you think?
Thank you in advance!
Wow, I did not know of him, and he fits perfectly with what I had in mind. Thank you!
How do you think Mordiggian would translate in terms of alignment to pathfinder?
I'd say Mordiggian would probably be chaotic evil. If only because of the association he'd have with ghouls. Who are also chaotic evil.
|
Creative Director
|
Not James, but Mordiggian's followers are not really evil. In CoC, his ghouls consume the already dead, but do not kill to make food, at least in the orthodox cult ("merely the usual and expected mode of mortuary disposal"- CAS, The Charnel God).Absolutely. I would nominate Mordiggian, a creation of Clark Ashton Smith, since Mordiggian is closely associated with necromancy and is known as the Charnel God.James,
would there be a Great Old One or Outer God particularly more inclined to teach its followers to create undead?
I am trying to link both themes in an adventure that I am currently DMing.
Perhaps Nyarlathotep in one of his guises would work?What do you think?
Thank you in advance!
Wow, I did not know of him, and he fits perfectly with what I had in mind. Thank you!
How do you think Mordiggian would translate in terms of alignment to pathfinder?
I guess that's one way to look at it. Not the way I would look at it though.
|
Would you say that, apart from the active crusade at the Worldwound, the nations of Avistan and Garund, the Inner Sea in general, are in a sort of "Cold War" mentality where they're skirting dangerously close to war with one another with skirmishes, misunderstandings between visitors and border incidents causing them to eye one another warily, but are also desperately trying to avoid starting full-scale armed conflict with one another because they deem the cost too high?
I feel like perhaps this is how the setting is, and that if there ARE wars for PCs to become involved in, they're small-scale affairs that PCs can start and end on their own, because large-scale, multi-national conflicts like the Peloponnesian War, the Punic Wars or Hundred Years' War, or the conquest efforts by the likes of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great or Augustus Caesar, by definition, change the map so much, take so long, and are very hard for groups of individuals like adventurers to have any appreciable effect on, that it doesn't really tell the kinds of stories you want Golarion to tell. Would I be accurate in that assessment?
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Do dreamers in Golarion (at least those who dream deeply enough) reach the same regions of the Dreamlands as the dreamers of Earth? True, there is overlap with Leng and Kadath, but what of dream-places more closely attuned to humanity? Do Golarion's dreamers find themselves in the regions of Celephaïs, Dylath-Leen, Ulthar, Oriab, Ilarnek, and so forth, or have the collective dreams of Golarion created new regions further afield?
What domains should the kyton demagogues grant their followers in your opinion?
I assume they have Evil and Law, being of an outsider race with the lawful and evil subtypes. Should all kyton demagogues grant the Darkness domain? Or perhaps they should all grant the Destruction domain, allowing access to the Torture subdomain? Maybe Evil, Law, one of Darkness OR Destruction, and one domain reflecting their area of concern?
Hi James! First time poster here, and let me just say that Pathfinder revolutionized my gaming group and how I play tabletop gaming in general!
Now to my question... When it was announced that my group would be playing Wrath of the Righteous I was very keen on finally playing a Champion of Irori that I'd been wanting to bust out for some time. I ultimately chose the Marshal trait, or "Child of the Crusade". Due to the nature of the trait, I didn't want to be some long lost, odd, fish out of water cousin to the crusaders.
My GM and myself worked out a group of Irori worshipers from Vudra who, when the Worldwound opened, chose to travel there to help combat the demonic host. Their intentions are not fully altruistic, as they seek enlightenment by testing their bodies, minds, and wills against the demons, and in recent years, against the prejudices and phobias of the crusaders themselves. Of course, as paladins, they will go out of their way to defend the weak and innocent, but their primary goal is metaphysical enlightenment and the path to perfection.
I'm wondering if you feel this is something that could have happened canonically, or if this is too much of a stretch for the purposes of Golarion world lore.
I would absolutely love a response! (P.S. I agree, the Viper vs The Mountain duel was superb!)
Thanks for playing!
The whole purpose of the crusades in Mendev is to draw together a lot of different philosophies and believes in one place against a common foe. And to draw more who are just there to take advantage of the situation for their own needs. It's absolutely believable that a group of Irori worshipers like that would show up in the region like that; I don't think it's a stretch at all.
Thank you so much for responding to me, it means a whole lot! I've really fallen in love with Golarion and the stories you can tell in it, but I find myself constantly worrying over what might work canonically or not, so the world continues to feel cohesive and believable in the campaigns I both play in and run.
Thanks again, really! :)
Hi James,
A very good morning to you, I was just looking at the Shelyn writeup where it says
Shelyn is in a unique position among
the deities in that everyone loves her and
wishes to please her...
And then goes into the various ways that the different deities might want to pay court. I was just wanting to know if this applied to ascetic deities as well, such as Irori, and what form the affection of a deity who disdain's worldly connections might take.
There is probably a religious text involved somewhere here. The 99 temptations of the Master or something.
prototype00
|
Creative Director
|
Would you say that, apart from the active crusade at the Worldwound, the nations of Avistan and Garund, the Inner Sea in general, are in a sort of "Cold War" mentality where they're skirting dangerously close to war with one another with skirmishes, misunderstandings between visitors and border incidents causing them to eye one another warily, but are also desperately trying to avoid starting full-scale armed conflict with one another because they deem the cost too high?
I feel like perhaps this is how the setting is, and that if there ARE wars for PCs to become involved in, they're small-scale affairs that PCs can start and end on their own, because large-scale, multi-national conflicts like the Peloponnesian War, the Punic Wars or Hundred Years' War, or the conquest efforts by the likes of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great or Augustus Caesar, by definition, change the map so much, take so long, and are very hard for groups of individuals like adventurers to have any appreciable effect on, that it doesn't really tell the kinds of stories you want Golarion to tell. Would I be accurate in that assessment?
Not all over. Molthune and Nirmathas are in an active war for one. But for the most part, yes... it's a cold war setting where full on war could break out in many areas real quickly.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Do dreamers in Golarion (at least those who dream deeply enough) reach the same regions of the Dreamlands as the dreamers of Earth? True, there is overlap with Leng and Kadath, but what of dream-places more closely attuned to humanity? Do Golarion's dreamers find themselves in the regions of Celephaïs, Dylath-Leen, Ulthar, Oriab, Ilarnek, and so forth, or have the collective dreams of Golarion created new regions further afield?
Yes, they overlap, as revealed in Shattered Star #5.
|
Creative Director
|
What domains should the kyton demagogues grant their followers in your opinion?
I assume they have Evil and Law, being of an outsider race with the lawful and evil subtypes. Should all kyton demagogues grant the Darkness domain? Or perhaps they should all grant the Destruction domain, allowing access to the Torture subdomain? Maybe Evil, Law, one of Darkness OR Destruction, and one domain reflecting their area of concern?
They'd grant Evil, Law, and 2 more appropriate to their personality. No two demagogues would grant the same domains. And no... not yet ready to reveal the details there.
|
Creative Director
|
Hi James,
A very good morning to you, I was just looking at the Shelyn writeup where it says
Shelyn is in a unique position among
the deities in that everyone loves her and
wishes to please her...And then goes into the various ways that the different deities might want to pay court. I was just wanting to know if this applied to ascetic deities as well, such as Irori, and what form the affection of a deity who disdain's worldly connections might take.
There is probably a religious text involved somewhere here. The 99 temptations of the Master or something.
prototype00
It does indeed apply to them, although it might not be a two-way street. The religious teachings of one deity don't have to be fact or true for another, and there are absolutely contradictions.
|
|
Not all over. Molthune and Nirmathas are in an active war for one. But for the most part, yes... it's a cold war setting where full on war could break out in many areas real quickly.Would you say that, apart from the active crusade at the Worldwound, the nations of Avistan and Garund, the Inner Sea in general, are in a sort of "Cold War" mentality where they're skirting dangerously close to war with one another with skirmishes, misunderstandings between visitors and border incidents causing them to eye one another warily, but are also desperately trying to avoid starting full-scale armed conflict with one another because they deem the cost too high?
I feel like perhaps this is how the setting is, and that if there ARE wars for PCs to become involved in, they're small-scale affairs that PCs can start and end on their own, because large-scale, multi-national conflicts like the Peloponnesian War, the Punic Wars or Hundred Years' War, or the conquest efforts by the likes of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great or Augustus Caesar, by definition, change the map so much, take so long, and are very hard for groups of individuals like adventurers to have any appreciable effect on, that it doesn't really tell the kinds of stories you want Golarion to tell. Would I be accurate in that assessment?
Huh. I classified Molthune and Nirmathas among those "skirmishes" and stuff, since neither side is really winning and thus the map is stable.
|
Creative Director
|
Huh. I classified Molthune and Nirmathas among those "skirmishes" and stuff, since neither side is really winning and thus the map is stable.Not all over. Molthune and Nirmathas are in an active war for one. But for the most part, yes... it's a cold war setting where full on war could break out in many areas real quickly.Would you say that, apart from the active crusade at the Worldwound, the nations of Avistan and Garund, the Inner Sea in general, are in a sort of "Cold War" mentality where they're skirting dangerously close to war with one another with skirmishes, misunderstandings between visitors and border incidents causing them to eye one another warily, but are also desperately trying to avoid starting full-scale armed conflict with one another because they deem the cost too high?
I feel like perhaps this is how the setting is, and that if there ARE wars for PCs to become involved in, they're small-scale affairs that PCs can start and end on their own, because large-scale, multi-national conflicts like the Peloponnesian War, the Punic Wars or Hundred Years' War, or the conquest efforts by the likes of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great or Augustus Caesar, by definition, change the map so much, take so long, and are very hard for groups of individuals like adventurers to have any appreciable effect on, that it doesn't really tell the kinds of stories you want Golarion to tell. Would I be accurate in that assessment?
Nope; Molthune and Nirmathas are very much in there to have two actively warring nations. Just as Ustalav is the "horror" region, Osirion is the "Egypt" region, and the Shackles are the "pirate" region, Nirmathas and Molthune are the "open warfare" region.