Why am I not surprised that errata regarding Explosive Runes got brought up?
That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.
Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?
Creative Director
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That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?
Folks using telekinesis to do a bazillionty points of damage by launching dozens or hundreds of magic arrows is the classic loophole folks use.
Not the intent of the spell.
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Some Questions on NPC naming in stories:
As a writer, how do you go about it when it comes to naming your NPCs, specifically if the story is set in setting or in-game location that reflects a real world culture?
For example for a story set in Tian, which echos Japan.
Do you:
1) Ask a native Japanese speaker?
2) Research on how Japanese names are written and sound? And come up with the a name?
3) Google translate English to Japanese and just use what sounds best?
4) Just wing it and come up with a name that sounds Japanese/Asian?
I'm asking cos, having played and run a number of PFS scenarios, I noticed the ones the focus on settings with real world relations like Season's 3 Tian Xia setting, often do have names that make sense, BUT! At other times the names just sounds/feels weird. Such names are either 1) A dead give away to players who understand the real world language used to formulate the NPC's name, like a boss whose name translates to something obviously bad or 2) Names that while "sounds Asian", just won't sense from a language view to be given to a person. Like names that translate to something obviously not flattering.
(I assume the differences in NPCs naming styles is due to different authors.)
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Hi James! Hope you are taking your immune boosters before Gen Con (I know I am).
That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.
I've often seen you say that, in hindsight, the one thing you wished Paizo had done differently is to deviate more from the 3rd edition rules. I understand why you didn't, but is this an instance where you would have made some changes?
What's the fastest, most efficient, no-nonsense path for my wizard to achieve flat-out five domain deity status in Golarion? Because he totally wants to be all about that.No such thing as a fast, efficient, no-nonsense path to that goal.
Ok, so given there is no directly efficient route within the setting, if my wizard wanted to become a deity, what would he likely be trying to do to achieve said goal?
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Spoiler:For Reign of Winter, were any of the Dancing Hut configurations "dungeon" encounters meant to be a tesseract like the old Dancing Hut in dragon? If so, which book is that in?
No.
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Creative Director
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Some Questions on NPC naming in stories:
As a writer, how do you go about it when it comes to naming your NPCs, specifically if the story is set in setting or in-game location that reflects a real world culture?
For example for a story set in Tian, which echos Japan.Do you:
1) Ask a native Japanese speaker?
2) Research on how Japanese names are written and sound? And come up with the a name?
3) Google translate English to Japanese and just use what sounds best?
4) Just wing it and come up with a name that sounds Japanese/Asian?I'm asking cos, having played and run a number of PFS scenarios, I noticed the ones the focus on settings with real world relations like Season's 3 Tian Xia setting, often do have names that make sense, BUT! At other times the names just sounds/feels weird. Such names are either 1) A dead give away to players who understand the real world language used to formulate the NPC's name, like a boss whose name translates to something obviously bad or 2) Names that while "sounds Asian", just won't sense from a language view to be given to a person. Like names that translate to something obviously not flattering.
(I assume the differences in NPCs naming styles is due to different authors.)
1) If you know one, absolutely.
2) This works.3) This works.
4) This works, and is in fact my favorite, and is the same tactic we use for most of the NPC names we come up with.
For something like a PFS scenario, where you have a HUGE range of different authors of different backgrounds and different skills and a VERY compressed amount of time to develop and edit them, you are absolutely going to see a variety of different naming conventions. And frankly, that's a strength of that system, I think, because these names are supposed to sound, overall, Minkian and not Japanese.
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Hi James! Hope you are taking your immune boosters before Gen Con (I know I am).
That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.I've often seen you say that, in hindsight, the one thing you wished Paizo had done differently is to deviate more from the 3rd edition rules. I understand why you didn't, but is this an instance where you would have made some changes?
No immune boosters here. Just gonna try to get lots of sleep and wash my hands all the time.
Explosive runes and telekinesis are both spells we should have fixed, and doing so wouldn't have been any more of a deviation from 3rd edition than the other things we did. They just slipped through the cracks is all.
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can you answer my question about deities?
I apparently missed it, which happens if I answer a page of questions and while answering those questions someone asks a new one, and by the time I am done answering that page, the thread itself has moved on to another page.
So... yes, I can answer it, but you'll need to re-post it.
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1) What are the odds we'll get a robot improved familiar over the course of Iron Gods?1) Zero, or close to it.Aww. Oh well, guess I'll make do with the clockwork familiar from Shattered Star...I just like the idea of a caster with a robotic spider familiar or something along those lines.
1) Speaking of robots, what are some of your favorite robots and artificial intelligences from fiction, whether video games, television, books, etc., and what makes them your favorites?
2) Of the non-Vancian magic systems in 3.5 (binding, incarnum, invocation* psionics, and truenaming), what did you think of each, both mechanically and flavor-wise?
*dragonfire adepts and warlocks
3) How do daemons and soul-devouring undead get along in general? Do daemons view such entities as something like allies in the quest for nihilism, or are they just another kind of entity that needs to be destroyed? Or does it just depend on the daemon?
You know you can just apply the robot subtype to any construct, clockwork familiar included, and presto, robot familiar! With GM approval, of course.
1) My five favorite AIs/Robots would be the one from the Hyperion books (being vague to avoid spoilers, but because of overall excellence), ED-209 (cause of the violence and the stairs), HAL (cause of the iconicness and the spookyness), the Iron Giant (because how could you not love the Iron Giant), and ED-E (because he had my back in the New Vegas wasteland).
2) Binding, no contest.
3) They are relatively allied, especially if they're daemons who serve Charon... but there's still plenty of competition and conflict.
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Would you say that there are particular physical appearance changes to somebody who drinks Numerian Fluid and gains permanent bonuses? Some of them are obvious, such as forming a metal mesh that diverts electricity, becoming a mutant, or growing a pair of wings. Others less so, but specifically:
1) Three-dimensional touch? It grants blindsense, but isn't clear about how/what.
2) Phasing? Do you envision it as becoming ghostly/spectral before walking through something, or the person just walking through without appearing (on sight, at least) to change?
There could be physical changes, or could not be. That's left to the GM and the player to decide on a case-by-case basis.
1) Daredevil style.
2) More like that one mutant from the X-men who's name escapes me.
** spoiler omitted **No. ** spoiler omitted **
No problem. Which issue of Dragon had the Baba Yaga Tesseract hut?
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Ok, so given there is no directly efficient route within the setting, if my wizard wanted to become a deity, what would he likely be trying to do to achieve said goal?What's the fastest, most efficient, no-nonsense path for my wizard to achieve flat-out five domain deity status in Golarion? Because he totally wants to be all about that.No such thing as a fast, efficient, no-nonsense path to that goal.
Step 1) Inform your GM of said character goal.
Step 2) Wait for the GM's story to begin unveiling the process.
Step 3) Become a deity.
There IS no method, currently, in the rules that specifically allow player characters to do this. In Golarion, we know it can happen—it's happened before with Aroden, Irori, Cayden Cailean, Norgorber, and Iomedae—three via the Starstone and two via other methods.
But it's left to the GM as to what method will work for any one PC. And that's not something I'm interested in deciding for GMs.
That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?Folks using telekinesis to do a bazillionty points of damage by launching dozens or hundreds of magic arrows is the classic loophole folks use.
Not the intent of the spell.
But you can't launch dozens of magic arrows. It's explicitly limited to a maximum of 15 using the violent thrust option, both in 3.5 and in Pathfinder.
That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?Folks using telekinesis to do a bazillionty points of damage by launching dozens or hundreds of magic arrows is the classic loophole folks use.
Not the intent of the spell.
You already can't do that with telekinesis. You're limited to 15 objects and 375 pounds, so the best you can do is 4d6 15 times, relying on your extremely bad wizard attack rolls (not touch attacks). Using it to hurl a bunch of objects at an enemy is both extremely underwhelming as a use of an action and requires you to cart around a large number of very large and heavy objects ready for throwing.
You already can't do that with telekinesis. You're limited to 15 objects and 375 pounds, so the best you can do is 4d6 15 times, relying on your extremely bad wizard attack rolls (not touch attacks). Using it to hurl a bunch of objects at an enemy is both extremely underwhelming as a use of an action and requires you to cart around a large number of very large and heavy objects ready for throwing.That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?Folks using telekinesis to do a bazillionty points of damage by launching dozens or hundreds of magic arrows is the classic loophole folks use.
Not the intent of the spell.
Magi have better usage for telekinesis.
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But you can't launch dozens of magic arrows. It's explicitly limited to a maximum of 15 using the violent thrust option, both in 3.5 and in Pathfinder.That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?Folks using telekinesis to do a bazillionty points of damage by launching dozens or hundreds of magic arrows is the classic loophole folks use.
Not the intent of the spell.
I was exaggerating, obviously. I'll leave it to better number-crunchers than me to show how the spell's loopholes can be abused to get more damage from it than intended. And if I'm wrong and you can't blow out the damage curve with the spell, then that's good!
Sorry to intrude James, but on Telekinesis:
1) it uses the wizard's Int bonus to hit, which does a lot for overcoming the poor BAB
2) GMW on the weapons is usually +3 th/dmg or better. They are ammo, so you can do a bundle with one spell.
3) that's 60d6+180 damage potential for a 5th level spell (avg 400 pts). If half of them hit, that's 30d6 +90, or 200 damage. Not bad for a level 5 and level 3 slot.
4) An Item spell on your ammo takes care of all encumbrance issues.
5) the 4d6 per item is from using Colossal Javelins. Which are still ammunition.
As JJ noted, it's pure cheese.
==Aelryinth
Magi have better usage for telekinesis.
That's true. But considering that telekinesis was originally a wizard/sorcerer only spell (even in 3e), that seems more like an artifact of giving the spell to a class not designed to have it than a problem with the spell itself.
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You already can't do that with telekinesis. You're limited to 15 objects and 375 pounds, so the best you can do is 4d6 15 times, relying on your extremely bad wizard attack rolls (not touch attacks). Using it to hurl a bunch of objects at an enemy is both extremely underwhelming as a use of an action and requires you to cart around a large number of very large and heavy objects ready for throwing.That said... the explosive runes hack is lame and that spell needs errata as badly as telekinesis.Huh? What's so wrong with Telekinesis? What did I miss?Folks using telekinesis to do a bazillionty points of damage by launching dozens or hundreds of magic arrows is the classic loophole folks use.
Not the intent of the spell.
And there you go.
4d6 15 times is way too much damage for a 5th level spell. It's arguably too much damage for a 9th level spell. And there are plenty of ways for non-wizards to use the spell, or for wizards to bolster their attack options. Compare this amount of damage to other spells. It's over the top.
ANYway... I don't want to derail this thread. The subject is already done to death elsewhere.
Let's get back to questions!
Yeah. Good point, better not derail the thread.
So, seeing as I'm not going to be able to get my hands on the Technology Guide for another week, are technological items shut down by dispel magic? Or is there an equivalent spell in the book for dealing with them?
Wait, I thought there were four, including Aroden, who got there by the Starstone and two who got there by other means, including Nethys not in your list.
Anyway, I wasn't trying to strong arm a sweeping ruling from you, just trying to cadge a cool story idea from the creator of the setting.
After all, while deciding story for GMs may not be interesting, providing creative suggestions can be.
Ok, so given there is no directly efficient route within the setting, if my wizard wanted to become a deity, what would he likely be trying to do to achieve said goal?What's the fastest, most efficient, no-nonsense path for my wizard to achieve flat-out five domain deity status in Golarion? Because he totally wants to be all about that.No such thing as a fast, efficient, no-nonsense path to that goal.Step 1) Inform your GM of said character goal.
Step 2) Wait for the GM's story to begin unveiling the process.
Step 3) Become a deity.
There IS no method, currently, in the rules that specifically allow player characters to do this. In Golarion, we know it can happen—it's happened before with Aroden, Irori, Cayden Cailean, Norgorber, and Iomedae—three via the Starstone and two via other methods.
But it's left to the GM as to what method will work for any one PC. And that's not something I'm interested in deciding for GMs.
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Yeah. Good point, better not derail the thread.
So, seeing as I'm not going to be able to get my hands on the Technology Guide for another week, are technological items shut down by dispel magic? Or is there an equivalent spell in the book for dealing with them?
No. Tech items aren't magic, and thus aren't affected by dispel magic. There are several new spells in the book, like discharge or antitech field or destroy robot among others that specifically interact with technic items.
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Creative Director
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Wait, I thought there were four, including Aroden, who got there by the Starstone and two who got there by other means, including Nethys not in your list.
Anyway, I wasn't trying to strong arm a sweeping ruling from you, just trying to cadge a cool story idea from the creator of the setting.
After all, while deciding story for GMs may not be interesting, providing creative suggestions can be.
Ok, so given there is no directly efficient route within the setting, if my wizard wanted to become a deity, what would he likely be trying to do to achieve said goal?What's the fastest, most efficient, no-nonsense path for my wizard to achieve flat-out five domain deity status in Golarion? Because he totally wants to be all about that.No such thing as a fast, efficient, no-nonsense path to that goal.Step 1) Inform your GM of said character goal.
Step 2) Wait for the GM's story to begin unveiling the process.
Step 3) Become a deity.
There IS no method, currently, in the rules that specifically allow player characters to do this. In Golarion, we know it can happen—it's happened before with Aroden, Irori, Cayden Cailean, Norgorber, and Iomedae—three via the Starstone and two via other methods.
But it's left to the GM as to what method will work for any one PC. And that's not something I'm interested in deciding for GMs.
Aroden became a demigod by raising the Starstone, not by taking the test.
Yeah, add Nethys to the list. And maybe Urgathoa and a few others.
And I could certainly provide suggestions... but that starts to feel like design work, and I try not to do much of that here on this thread, if at all.
I just recently learned about Thomas Ligotti due to the controversy surrounding allegations that True Detective plagiarized some of his work.
However, that aside, I picked up his first collection Songs of a Dead Reader yesterday.
1. Are you a fan of his work?
2. Is there a particular story of his that is your favorite.
Just reading the very first story in the collection I bought, I can see why people say he sometimes has a Lovecraft vibe to his work.
The story
what day is the AP Q&A?
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Creative Director
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I just recently learned about Thomas Ligotti due to the controversy surrounding allegations that True Detective plagiarized some of his work.
However, that aside, I picked up his first collection Songs of a Dead Reader yesterday.
1. Are you a fan of his work?
2. Is there a particular story of his that is your favorite.Just reading the very first story in the collection I bought, I can see why people say he sometimes has a Lovecraft vibe to his work.
The story
** spoiler omitted **.
1) Yes. VERY much a fan. He's one of the best writers of weird working today.
2)My personal favorites of his short stories are "The Last Feast of Harlequin" and "The Prodigy of Dreams." In fact, the Call of Cthulhu adventure I've run the most at Paizocon is sort of a pseudo sequel/inspired by "The Prodigy of Dreams."
The True Detective controversy is really disappointing if it's true.
This is the wrong thread. The subject has been dropped at JJ's request.
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Hi James, I have a question for you. Why do you think some Pathfinder gamers only play with core rules and the PRD?
I find that these type of gamers complain the loudest on things like dex to damage and other things. Most of this catagory of gamers are younger
I a middle aged gamer.
I don't understand if they find a hole in the rules that they think needs plugging for their group, they should sit down as a group and write a feat or other ability that they all agree on and use it instead of loudly whining on the boards. That is the wonderful thing about Pathfinder it allows creativity from its players.
I think that the group that only plays with core rules tend not to buy other pazio products and only use free stuff.