Creative Director
|
Hi James,
As I understand it, many forms of undead can rise as the result of someone dying in a particular fashion. Which sorts of undead might arise when someone dies in an accident or natural disaster?
Thanks!
Ghosts are the most common of all undead who form from someone dying in such a way. And they're handy in that you get to make up new powers that match the way they died!
|
Mythical Monsters Revisited mentions that coatls feel very much at home in Varisia, and have a very friendly relationship with the Varisian people (epitomized by their presence in the Harrow Deck as the Winged Serpent card). How do the Shoanti feel about coatls? Would they consider coatls legitimate totems? If so, which Quahs would be the most likely to have coatls as totems? I know the Sklar-Quah have cindersnakes as potential totems.None of the Shoanti tribes consider couatls as totems, but some of them would certainly want to be friends with them. And others would perhaps be enemies.
What DO the Shoanti consider totems anyway?
3) That spells with the Evil descriptor are, somehow, not evil.
How does that work exactly?
Is the usage of the spell turning you evil, or do you need to be evil to use it?
My assumption was that the descriptor was part "requirements" such as a evil spell cant be used by a good character, and that evil normally meant that good creatures normally would react negatively to it ( and neutral to some extent )
You might have heard the whole "using evil to do a neutrals work" and all that stuff, but i think it would be interesting to hear what the effects of casting such spells have on the caster itself since the magic section rarely go into the mindset of casters with certian spells.
|
Creative Director
|
What DO the Shoanti consider totems anyway?Mythical Monsters Revisited mentions that coatls feel very much at home in Varisia, and have a very friendly relationship with the Varisian people (epitomized by their presence in the Harrow Deck as the Winged Serpent card). How do the Shoanti feel about coatls? Would they consider coatls legitimate totems? If so, which Quahs would be the most likely to have coatls as totems? I know the Sklar-Quah have cindersnakes as potential totems.None of the Shoanti tribes consider couatls as totems, but some of them would certainly want to be friends with them. And others would perhaps be enemies.
Animals and concepts akin to their tribe names. So...
The Moon
Axes
Hawks
Spires
The Sun
Skulls
Wind
|
Creative Director
|
3) That spells with the Evil descriptor are, somehow, not evil.How does that work exactly?
Is the usage of the spell turning you evil, or do you need to be evil to use it?
My assumption was that the descriptor was part "requirements" such as a evil spell cant be used by a good character, and that evil normally meant that good creatures normally would react negatively to it ( and neutral to some extent )
You might have heard the whole "using evil to do a neutrals work" and all that stuff, but i think it would be interesting to hear what the effects of casting such spells have on the caster itself since the magic section rarely go into the mindset of casters with certian spells.
It's unfortunate that the game doesn't have a numerical formula for tracking how certain actions might cause your alignment to drift. Since the game doesn't have that, it's left to the GM to decide.
My take... casting an evil spell once won't make a difference. Casting it multiple times will. How many times it takes to shift your alignment depends on my mood and whim as a GM, the circumstances under which your character casts the spell, the amount of delight and pleasure your character takes in casting the spell, and the end result of the spell's effects.
Some classes, such as cleric, bar you from casting spells that don't match your alignment, and so you don't ever really have to worry about the implications.
Other classes, such as wizard, don't care what alignment you are... but casting those spells should still adjust your alignment as certainly as taking any other alignment-changing act should.
It's unfortunate that the game doesn't have a numerical formula for tracking how certain actions might cause your alignment to drift. Since the game doesn't have that, it's left to the GM to decide.
My take... casting an evil spell once won't make a difference. Casting it multiple times will. How many times it takes to shift your alignment depends on my mood and whim as a GM, the circumstances under which your character casts the spell, the amount of delight and pleasure your character takes in casting the spell, and the end result of the spell's effects.
Some classes, such as cleric, bar you from casting spells that don't match your alignment, and so you don't ever really have to worry about the implications.
Other classes, such as wizard, don't care what alignment you are... but casting those spells should still adjust your alignment as certainly as taking any other alignment-changing act should.
1: For the love of the elements the d20 deities and the friggin multiverse dont EVER add a numerical alignment system! it would turn this into "Mass Effect the pen&paper"...
2: Aaah the whole "power corrupts" scenario, yeah i would go by that myself. Thank you for your input!
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
It's unfortunate that the game doesn't have a numerical formula for tracking how certain actions might cause your alignment to drift. Since the game doesn't have that, it's left to the GM to decide.
My take... casting an evil spell once won't make a difference. Casting it multiple times will. How many times it takes to shift your alignment depends on my mood and whim as a GM, the circumstances under which your character casts the spell, the amount of delight and pleasure your character takes in casting the spell, and the end result of the spell's effects.
Some classes, such as cleric, bar you from casting spells that don't match your alignment, and so you don't ever really have to worry about the implications.
Other classes, such as wizard, don't care what alignment you are... but casting those spells should still adjust your alignment as certainly as taking any other alignment-changing act should.
1: For the love of the elements the d20 deities and the friggin multiverse dont EVER add a numerical alignment system! it would turn this into "Mass Effect the pen&paper"...
2: Aaah the whole "power corrupts" scenario, yeah i would go by that myself. Thank you for your input!
1) No promises. I've always been fond of the idea of "alignment ranks" like skill ranks. Although I do understand that doing so would rob the internet of one of its beloved passtimes: Alignment Arguing.
2) No problem.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
Ghosts are the most common of all undead who form from someone dying in such a way. And they're handy in that you get to make up new powers that match the way they died!Hi James,
As I understand it, many forms of undead can rise as the result of someone dying in a particular fashion. Which sorts of undead might arise when someone dies in an accident or natural disaster?
Thanks!
...Crap. Is there a second-string undead for this type of situation? Something corporeal?
|
|
What DO the Shoanti consider totems anyway?Mythical Monsters Revisited mentions that coatls feel very much at home in Varisia, and have a very friendly relationship with the Varisian people (epitomized by their presence in the Harrow Deck as the Winged Serpent card). How do the Shoanti feel about coatls? Would they consider coatls legitimate totems? If so, which Quahs would be the most likely to have coatls as totems? I know the Sklar-Quah have cindersnakes as potential totems.None of the Shoanti tribes consider couatls as totems, but some of them would certainly want to be friends with them. And others would perhaps be enemies.Animals and concepts akin to their tribe names. So...
The Moon
Axes
Hawks
Spires
The Sun
Skulls
Wind
Perhaps I misspoke. I mean more along the lines of totem SPIRITS, spiritual beings that the tribe venerates and calls on for help and guidance instead of the civilized gods, and less than "a symbol that the tribe uses to identify themselves." Does the question make more sense this way?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
...Crap. Is there a second-string undead for this type of situation? Something corporeal?Ghosts are the most common of all undead who form from someone dying in such a way. And they're handy in that you get to make up new powers that match the way they died!Hi James,
As I understand it, many forms of undead can rise as the result of someone dying in a particular fashion. Which sorts of undead might arise when someone dies in an accident or natural disaster?
Thanks!
My advice? Pick an undead that's CR appropriate for your situation, and then work its method of creation into your story. For example...
CR 9: Have the encounter be with a baykok (Bestiary 3, page 35) of a sadistic bounty hunter who perished in the woods after falling from a cliff while hunting an escaped slave.
CR 4: Have the encounter be with an attic whisperer (Bestiary 2, page 34) of a child who was left behind in a house during a hurricane and died as a result.
CR 16: Have the encounter be with a warsworn (Bestiary 4, page 272) created when an army of soldiers was slain during an earthquake that struck a large military camp.
|
Creative Director
|
Perhaps I misspoke. I mean more along the lines of totem SPIRITS, spiritual beings that the tribe venerates and calls on for help and guidance instead of the civilized gods, and less than "a symbol that the tribe uses to identify themselves." Does the question make more sense this way?
Ah. They don't really have those on a tribe-wide basis. Or if they do, it'd be things assocaited with their tribe's theme.
|
|
Perhaps I misspoke. I mean more along the lines of totem SPIRITS, spiritual beings that the tribe venerates and calls on for help and guidance instead of the civilized gods, and less than "a symbol that the tribe uses to identify themselves." Does the question make more sense this way?Ah. They don't really have those on a tribe-wide basis. Or if they do, it'd be things assocaited with their tribe's theme.
I see. What's venerating a totem spirit like for an individual Shoanti?
|
Creative Director
|
I see. What's venerating a totem spirit like for an individual Shoanti?Perhaps I misspoke. I mean more along the lines of totem SPIRITS, spiritual beings that the tribe venerates and calls on for help and guidance instead of the civilized gods, and less than "a symbol that the tribe uses to identify themselves." Does the question make more sense this way?Ah. They don't really have those on a tribe-wide basis. Or if they do, it'd be things assocaited with their tribe's theme.
You might want to check out Pathfinder #10. We did a big article about the Shoanti there, and it's been YEARS since I've read it, and I don't have time to go back and re-read it now to remind myself of its contents, alas...
Nor do I really have the time to do much design work in this thread, which is increasingly what you're asking me to do. Sorry!
|
|
Sorry for getting like that. Sometimes I don't realize I'm doing it. Probably from my bad habit of overthinking things and reading into individual symbols too much.
What do you do if you feel you're in a "role-playing rut," so to speak: when your characters start feeling like the same character with just a palette swap or different outfit?
Lately I've felt uninspired in terms of making characters. That they're all do the same basic thing in combat, have the same personalities, etc. And when I try to break out of my comfort zone and play something different, all I get is a walking RPG stereotype that doesn't really mesh well with the story.
|
Creative Director
|
Sorry for getting like that. Sometimes I don't realize I'm doing it. Probably from my bad habit of overthinking things and reading into individual symbols too much.
What do you do if you feel you're in a "role-playing rut," so to speak: when your characters start feeling like the same character with just a palette swap or different outfit?
Lately I've felt uninspired in terms of making characters. That they're all do the same basic thing in combat, have the same personalities, etc. And when I try to break out of my comfort zone and play something different, all I get is a walking RPG stereotype that doesn't really mesh well with the story.
I deliberately play characters against type. For example... I usually play bards or clerics or rogues. For the Mummy's Mask game Rob just started, I instead am playing a fighter.
Maybe try using the Ultimate Campaign's background tables to help generate a history?
Sorry for getting like that. Sometimes I don't realize I'm doing it. Probably from my bad habit of overthinking things and reading into individual symbols too much.
What do you do if you feel you're in a "role-playing rut," so to speak: when your characters start feeling like the same character with just a palette swap or different outfit?
Lately I've felt uninspired in terms of making characters. That they're all do the same basic thing in combat, have the same personalities, etc. And when I try to break out of my comfort zone and play something different, all I get is a walking RPG stereotype that doesn't really mesh well with the story.
Maybe i can give a bit of help?
Recently i did a character redesign from my cleric to the oracle, and i had some kind of a breakthrough on the character that i had problems with: a "day-to-day" personality.
My concept now is basically a rendition of "Lenneth" from the valkyrie profile series: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=926755
The Curse mechanic actually added something of a 3rd party character to her, as she is striving to be helpful and act serious she have the "haunted" curse which make her seem like a klutz due to things falling over around her. Favorite examples so far is books switching orders in the libary or when using "Pilfering hand" that weapons accidentally fly past her hand and into the wall behind her and ruin the moment.
Another character i did was a noble-ling, a Rogue that i was building into a duelist. The concept for him was a musketeer with the fancy hat and everything. http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=675539
These are just the surface of these characters, but hopefully you can draw a bit of inspiration and try something new? a new class, a different archtype? or a different gender entirely?
Good luck
|
Creative Director
|
Sorry for getting like that. Sometimes I don't realize I'm doing it. Probably from my bad habit of overthinking things and reading into individual symbols too much.
What do you do if you feel you're in a "role-playing rut," so to speak: when your characters start feeling like the same character with just a palette swap or different outfit?
Lately I've felt uninspired in terms of making characters. That they're all do the same basic thing in combat, have the same personalities, etc. And when I try to break out of my comfort zone and play something different, all I get is a walking RPG stereotype that doesn't really mesh well with the story.
Maybe i can give a bit of help?
Recently i did a character redesign from my cleric to the oracle, and i had some kind of a breakthrough on the character that i had problems with: a "day-to-day" personality.
My concept now is basically a rendition of "Lenneth" from the valkyrie profile series: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=926755
The Curse mechanic actually added something of a 3rd party character to her, as she is striving to be helpful and act serious she have the "haunted" curse which make her seem like a klutz due to things falling over around her. Favorite examples so far is books switching orders in the libary or when using "Pilfering hand" that weapons accidentally fly past her hand and into the wall behind her and ruin the moment.
Another character i did was a noble-ling, a Rogue that i was building into a duelist. The concept for him was a musketeer with the fancy hat and everything. http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=675539
These are just the surface of these characters, but hopefully you can draw a bit of inspiration and try something new? a new class, a different archtype? or a different gender entirely?
Good luck
Thanks for helping! But it'd be best if you started new threads or used a PM to do so in the future... I like to keep this thread to questions to me, since that helps me manage the thread easier...
Thanks for helping! But it'd be best if you started new threads or used a PM to do so in the future... I like to...
My apologies, i just tend to think that if i first help others might take advantage of that aswell and not just the one asking the question ^^;;
As for the topic: Are the adventure paths set in a timeline of the Golarion world or are most of them "time neutral" when it comes to the history?
I am sorry that i might have missed some of the APs if they actually had a set time-line, but would it be possible to have a AP of historical Golarion events at some point? ( like a paralell story to the historical events )
|
Creative Director
|
As for the topic: Are the adventure paths set in a timeline of the Golarion world or are most of them "time neutral" when it comes to the history?
I am sorry that i might have missed some of the APs if they actually had a set time-line, but would it be possible to have a AP of historical Golarion events at some point? ( like a paralell story to the historical events )
The Adventure Paths are not assumed to have taken place yet; they can take place in any order you want, as a result (with the exception of Shattered Star, sort of, which is designed as a sequel to the first 3 APs).
An Adventure Path set in the past is unlikely to happen, because the further back we go, the more that requires its own new campaign setting for support and the more you get into areas where players and GMs feel disconnected that the events of their particular game don't have an impact on the world's timeline.
And another:
What is the intent of "Outsider (Native)" for humanoid characters, is it intended that characters of Aasimar or Tiefling race would be immune to spells like "enlarge person", "charm person" or "hold person" ?
I kind of assumed that Aasimar and Tieflings had kind of a "half-outsider" nature like the other half-races, so a Aasimar of a elven host would be "Elf/Outsider" in its type or is it actually designed for these races to be so different from other humanoids of their host race?
Hi James,
I'm a relatively new GM but I want to begin customizing monsters fairly early on in my adventure. A habit that we're all prone to is seeing a creature we've seen, as players, before and adjusting our character's actions to meet the challenge. It's unavoidable.
I've got a lvl 2 party and I'm going to give them an adventure hook to do with a troll encampment. I decided I'd rather not TPK them immediately and while I know I could easily replace them with another creature I thought it might be fun to decrease troll's difficulty. Perhaps make them small size?
At any rate, where can I find instruction on how to do this? I know I can apply the advanced template to make creatures more difficult but what kinds of adjustments can I make to make things easier? What adjustments can I make based on size changes?
Thanks for your help. I really appreciate your making yourself available to me and the gaming community at large.
Oooh, here's one I've been meaning to ask:
Sometimes, when I look through a Bestiary, I find a monster that I think would be nice to have at a higher CR than the one given. Is it advisable (or possible) to apply the Advanced template multiple times? Or should I just give them class levels or something?
On a related note:
Is it advisable to add additional feats or abilities to an Advanced creature? I've always felt Elementals, for example, are kinda underpowered (For sub-example, I find it wrong that Water Elementals can't use Hydraulic Rush as a SLA).
|
Creative Director
|
And another:
What is the intent of "Outsider (Native)" for humanoid characters, is it intended that characters of Aasimar or Tiefling race would be immune to spells like "enlarge person", "charm person" or "hold person" ?
I kind of assumed that Aasimar and Tieflings had kind of a "half-outsider" nature like the other half-races, so a Aasimar of a elven host would be "Elf/Outsider" in its type or is it actually designed for these races to be so different from other humanoids of their host race?
The main intent, rules-wise, is to allow those types of outsiders to be brought back to life as easily as humanoids. The flavor intent is to indicate that while those creatures are outsiders, they are born and of the Material Plane, not another plane.
The fact that it makes them immune to spells that target humanoids is in large part a side effect. An interesting one for sure, but a side effect nonetheless.
When you as a GM allow a non-core race as a PC, your game changes.
|
Creative Director
|
Spoiler:I'm a relatively new GM but I want to begin customizing monsters fairly early on in my adventure. A habit that we're all prone to is seeing a creature we've seen, as players, before and adjusting our character's actions to meet the challenge. It's unavoidable.I've got a lvl 2 party and I'm going to give them an adventure hook to do with a troll encampment. I decided I'd rather not TPK them immediately and while I know I could easily replace them with another creature I thought it might be fun to decrease troll's difficulty. Perhaps make them small size?
At any rate, where can I find instruction on how to do this? I know I can apply the advanced template to make creatures more difficult but what kinds of adjustments can I make to make things easier? What adjustments can I make based on size changes?
Thanks for your help. I really appreciate your making yourself available to me and the gaming community at large.
Well...
More to the point... a group of 2nd level characters shouldn't be facing a troll encampment. That's a TPK waiting to happen. To make it not a TPK, you'd need to decrease those trolls to such an extent that they'd no longer be trolls at all; you should at that point just be using gnolls or hobgoblins. One of the reasons we keep putting out Bestiaries is so that GMs have an increasing stable of monsters to use; you don't need trolls for a CR encounter. There's plenty of other options.
Further... trolls are pretty iconic foes. It's FUN to finally encounter one because they're so recognizable. Changing them too much too soon can spoil that.
|
Creative Director
|
Oooh, here's one I've been meaning to ask:
Sometimes, when I look through a Bestiary, I find a monster that I think would be nice to have at a higher CR than the one given. Is it advisable (or possible) to apply the Advanced template multiple times? Or should I just give them class levels or something?
On a related note:
Is it advisable to add additional feats or abilities to an Advanced creature? I've always felt Elementals, for example, are kinda underpowered (For sub-example, I find it wrong that Water Elementals can't use Hydraulic Rush as a SLA).
You can apply the Advanced template mutliple times if you'd like; the results might get weird though. Class levels are complicated and tend to make monsters more powerful at different rates depending on the monster and the class. The easiest way to make monsters tougher is to just advance their hit dice.
Advanced creatures don't gain HD, and therefore they don't gain more feats. You can always swap out existing feats, though. But this is a great reason to advanced HD.
And elementals are hardly underpowered; their damage reduction is really pretty huge for their CR and they pack a powerful punch. Every game I've seen them in at level-appropriate encounters has resulted in a significant challenge as a result. Furthermore, elementals are in a lot of ways intended to be the "wild animals" of the elemental planes, and as such they thematically shouldn't have spell like abilities. That type of thing is better left for more specific outsiders with the elemental subtype, not the baseline elementals.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
James for a home game I'm playing with the idea of a monk cult of peace, I wan't to make them eery to my players when they encounter them but I'm kind of hitting a wall on how to make peaceful monks scary, any ideas?
Peace isn't scary unless it has an underlying element of hidden agendas. Look at any of the supposedly good-natured cults that pop up now and then that end up committing mass suicide or get into huge government standoffs for inspiration.
Or! Check out the EXCELLENT movie, "The Sacrament," by Ty West.
Would there be any problems with a druid that worships Sarenrae? There doesn't seem to be anything that clashes with a reverence of nature, but you'd know better than I.
Also, any plans to graduate (and expand upon) the Azi into the core bestiaries? Those dragons are seriously freakin' sweet.
|
Creative Director
|
Would there be any problems with a druid that worships Sarenrae? There doesn't seem to be anything that clashes with a reverence of nature, but you'd know better than I.
Also, any plans to graduate (and expand upon) the Azi into the core bestiaries? Those dragons are seriously freakin' sweet.
None whatsoever. She doesn't have an organized druid faith but there are absolutely druids who worship her.
No plans at this point to bring the azi into a hardcover.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Of course he can.
My assumption has always been that he's having John Carter style adventures in Golarion when he's not working.
Mr. James Jacobs,
As the resident Lovecraft authority I have a question. In the real world we refer to lovecraft and his associated work, creatures, etc. as the Mythos. In world though, what do the characters call the creatures, rites, Great Olds, etc. as?
On an unrelated note what would be the reactions of the core 20 if some god or force started actively fighting and trying to hurt Shelyn?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
1)Is a romance of the inner sea Campaign Setting book(talking about romance/relationships/courtship/ and so on in the inner sea)possible to write?
2)What do you think of a temples of the inner sea book?
3)can a cleric of Shelyn cast Miracle to make a painting of an imaginary creature real? would Shelyn approve of such a Miracle?
4)What would happen if Cthulhu Teleported into Sarenrae's realm? would she immediately try to smite him?
1) Yes.
2) Good idea.
3) Yes and yes.
4) Mayhem, plus Cthulhu would probably be swiftly destroyed. He's smart enough to know that he shouldn't do that, and more to the point, has no reason to WANT to go there; there's nothing of interest to him to draw him there.
|
Creative Director
|
Mr. James Jacobs,
As the resident Lovecraft authority I have a question. In the real world we refer to lovecraft and his associated work, creatures, etc. as the Mythos. In world though, what do the characters call the creatures, rites, Great Olds, etc. as?
On an unrelated note what would be the reactions of the core 20 if some god or force started actively fighting and trying to hurt Shelyn?
In world, the worship of these entities is known as the "Old Cults." So... "creatures of the Old Cults" or "magic of the Old Cults" or "gods of the Old Cults."
I'm not gonna go through and list 19 reactions there, because that'll take to much time and would only encourage folks to ask "What about the reactions to attacks on the other 19?" AKA: I can't answer that without coming up with 361 answers, and even if I did that, folks would want to know about the reactions to the other gods beyond the core 20.
It would vary according to deity, the situation and nature of the attack on Shelyn, and the current social climate surrounding the attack.
I'm pretty sure Sarenrae and Desna and Cayden Caylien would come to her aid real quick though.
|
Creative Director
|
Kostchtchie wants to reclaim the Torc of Kostchtchie that contains a piece of his mortal soul, hoping this would undo his deformity without costing him his immortality. Would this actually work?
If some mythic demon-lord slayers got the Torc, would they be able to use it against him in a fight, in some way beyond its listed powers?
What happens to Kostchtchie if the Torc is unmade in a way other than him reclaiming his soul, like by boiling it in Baba Yaga's cauldron, with Mage's Disjunction, or using a Nahyndrian Chisel? Does his soul return to him and restore him? Is it lost, and Kostchtchie weakened or slain?
Yes, it would.
Not directly, but they could use it by holding it hostage or something like that.
Unrevealed, but it would likely help Kostchtchie, which is why his enemies have NOT tried to destroy it.
For some reason (chance, fate, the whim of a god, Sara Marie coming into contact with Cosmo) a dimensional rift opens up and spits the iconics into Paizo headquarters. Now, they will obviously need accommodations while the spellcasters work out a way to go back.
1) Which iconic or iconics would you most like to host?
2) Which iconic or iconics would you least like to host?
3) Does the greater Seattle area survive their visit?
What deity/entity is currently in control of the time & space?
Just wondering since i made a Oracle with the Time Mystery recently with the haunted curse, so i just wondered what kind of pranks a deity like that would have done ( in addition to the spirits that haunt her )