Creative Director
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Would you consider sparing Marvel Studios from your infernal fury?I'd have to burn Hollywood down in such a case, alas.What if it was a Rom Com? ;)hey james, What happens if cthulhu meets the tarrquseBox office records are made.
I'm afraid I would not. My fury in this case would be a red curtain of equal opportunity mayhem.
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Creative Director
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So I picked up the Technology Guide this week along with Occult Mysteries. I gave the former to my brother to glance at (he's playing a Rocket Raccoon-inspired character in one of our games) while I read Occult Mysteries.
Its been almost two hours later. He won't give me the book back. Instead, he just keeps quoting items and equipment out of the book with a maniac grin on his face.
No question, just thought you might like to know about the in-fathomable acts of chaos that will no doubt ensue from your brainchild.
Excellent!
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What should I do if I get the desire to play as a spooky, scary skeleton in an AP? Which one would be most conducive to a skeleton PC?Skeletsons have no Intelligence score, and undead aren't really appropriate races as PCs, so ... I'd say none of them.
Darnit! NOW how am I gonna get that stupid song out of my head?!
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Creative Director
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James, what is a good way to get in contact with John Compton to get a chronicle sheet for a game he ran on Sunday after PaizoCon ended? I don't think he checks his Paizo messages. And how much longer should I wait?
All of our emails are printed on the "Contact Us" page. That's the best way to get ahold of one of us in particular.
James, what is a good way to get in contact with John Compton to get a chronicle sheet for a game he ran on Sunday after PaizoCon ended? I don't think he checks his Paizo messages. And how much longer should I wait?All of our emails are printed on the "Contact Us" page. That's the best way to get ahold of one of us in particular.
Which is a better way for a civilian to get ahold of you? E-mail or the Ask James Jacobs thread?
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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James, what is a good way to get in contact with John Compton to get a chronicle sheet for a game he ran on Sunday after PaizoCon ended? I don't think he checks his Paizo messages. And how much longer should I wait?All of our emails are printed on the "Contact Us" page. That's the best way to get ahold of one of us in particular.
Thanks! I hope your character doesn't get eaten by the purple worm when it gets hungry and comes back for tasty humanoid morsels...
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Creative Director
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Which is a better way for a civilian to get ahold of you? E-mail or the Ask James Jacobs thread?James, what is a good way to get in contact with John Compton to get a chronicle sheet for a game he ran on Sunday after PaizoCon ended? I don't think he checks his Paizo messages. And how much longer should I wait?All of our emails are printed on the "Contact Us" page. That's the best way to get ahold of one of us in particular.
Both work. As do PMs.
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Both work. As do PMs.Which is a better way for a civilian to get ahold of you? E-mail or the Ask James Jacobs thread?James, what is a good way to get in contact with John Compton to get a chronicle sheet for a game he ran on Sunday after PaizoCon ended? I don't think he checks his Paizo messages. And how much longer should I wait?All of our emails are printed on the "Contact Us" page. That's the best way to get ahold of one of us in particular.
What about tying a note to a brick and then tying the brick to a goat and sending it to the Paizo offices, would that work?
Dear James,
I have some questions on how spellcasting summoned creatures relate to the real thing, which I'll try to put in context:
Suppose I am a mighty evil wizard, with armies of greedy mercenaries out scouring the Elven lands after the young heroine who escaped with "my" artifact. The elves are covering her tracks and my mercenaries often return with bow wounds, poisoned or diseased after Elven druids got to them. Being a wizard I know no healing spells, and I've exhausted potential allies in the region when I stole that artifact from the temple of the deity with the least reason to hate me. However, I can cast Summon Monster IX which lets me summon several types of celestial with the ability to cast cleric spells.
1. If I summon a Trumpet Archon (say) and ask it to heal my soldiers, will it?
2. If so, will it recognize the larger context of my evil plans and express disapproval of the act even as it heals, or will it just be focused on what it is asked to do?
3. If I do this repeatedly (this campaign takes months), will the archon remember and become wise to how its magic is used for evil purposes?
4. For that matter, will whatever deity the archon gets spells from become wise to it and stop either those spells or the summoning (even if arcane) itself?
5. Since I'm a level 20 Conjurer, I can keep a single summon on for prolonged duration, so I can ask the archon to pray for a new spell selection. If I ask it to prepare and cast speak with dead spells for me to interrogate the dead elves my soldiers keep bringing in for the whereabouts of the heroine, will it do so? Will it complain? Will its deity eventually cut me off?
6. Since I'm repeatedly casting a Good-tagged wizard spell, will I find myself growing more compassionate and eventually shift alignment to Neutral or Good as a result of this?
7. Are there more thematic ways for me (or any similar Golarion wizard villains) to achieve these goals that you would suggest?
6. Since I'm repeatedly casting a Good-tagged wizard spell, will I find myself growing more compassionate and eventually shift alignment to Neutral or Good as a result of this?
IANJJ, but while becoming more compassionate would be unlikely, said evil wizard might realize that he is coming to greatly prefer the constant celestial company to his regular associates, and perhaps start to doubt himself.
Couple questions for Mr. Jacobs, concerning Great Cthluhu:
1) First, the goofy one - let's assume Big C using its compression ability to crunch down to the smallest possible size (about 5x5x5, which I find hilarious, because it means Cthulhu fits in a minivan if it wants to), which would also conceivably then give it the greatest possible density. Cthulhu then leaps off of a high cliff overlooking solid ground. What happens at impact? A new grand canyon? A wormhole? Something weirder?
2) Do you think summoning other Great Old Ones would be a viable use of Cthulhu's gate SLA? I'm guessing it wouldn't grab one that's already on the prime, but could perhaps bust one out of an extraplanar prison?
3) Are there any hotbeds of Cthulhu worship on Golarion? Versex County in Ustalav seems like one good location, but I'm curious as to whether there are other major locations.
How large of a "permanent" structure (keep, castle) be created with a Polymorph Any Object spell ?
What size building would be a reasonable request using a Wish/Miracle ?
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Creative Director
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What about tying a note to a brick and then tying the brick to a goat and sending it to the Paizo offices, would that work?Both work. As do PMs.Which is a better way for a civilian to get ahold of you? E-mail or the Ask James Jacobs thread?James, what is a good way to get in contact with John Compton to get a chronicle sheet for a game he ran on Sunday after PaizoCon ended? I don't think he checks his Paizo messages. And how much longer should I wait?All of our emails are printed on the "Contact Us" page. That's the best way to get ahold of one of us in particular.
Nah. It'd be eaten by Wes.
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Creative Director
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Well, I love reading the PRD and D20 just cause of the amount of awesomesauce you guys have made. Have you considered adding a radiation mystery to the oracle? Or do something for robots involving the alchemist?
We have not. We're just in the early stages of doing tech stuff in the game, and where we go from here beyond Iron Gods and its support remains to be seen.
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Creative Director
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Dear James,
I have some questions on how spellcasting summoned creatures relate to the real thing, which I'll try to put in context:
Suppose I am a mighty evil wizard, with armies of greedy mercenaries out scouring the Elven lands after the young heroine who escaped with "my" artifact. The elves are covering her tracks and my mercenaries often return with bow wounds, poisoned or diseased after Elven druids got to them. Being a wizard I know no healing spells, and I've exhausted potential allies in the region when I stole that artifact from the temple of the deity with the least reason to hate me. However, I can cast Summon Monster IX which lets me summon several types of celestial with the ability to cast cleric spells.
1. If I summon a Trumpet Archon (say) and ask it to heal my soldiers, will it?
2. If so, will it recognize the larger context of my evil plans and express disapproval of the act even as it heals, or will it just be focused on what it is asked to do?
3. If I do this repeatedly (this campaign takes months), will the archon remember and become wise to how its magic is used for evil purposes?
4. For that matter, will whatever deity the archon gets spells from become wise to it and stop either those spells or the summoning (even if arcane) itself?
5. Since I'm a level 20 Conjurer, I can keep a single summon on for prolonged duration, so I can ask the archon to pray for a new spell selection. If I ask it to prepare and cast speak with dead spells for me to interrogate the dead elves my soldiers keep bringing in for the whereabouts of the heroine, will it do so? Will it complain? Will its deity eventually cut me off?
6. Since I'm repeatedly casting a Good-tagged wizard spell, will I find myself growing more compassionate and eventually shift alignment to Neutral or Good as a result of this?
7. Are there more thematic ways for me (or any similar Golarion wizard villains) to achieve these goals that you would suggest?
1) Yes.
2) Yes, but as a summoned creature, it doesn't have free will, so it does what you want.
3) No, because summoned monsters don't really exist before they're summoned or after they go away; that's calling monsters, not summoning them.
4) No, because the summoned monster exists only for the few short rounds your spell duration lasts, and isn't a real archon. You as the wizard who keeps summoning the good outsider will eventually risk shifting from evil toward good, though, since you're constantly exposing yourself to good magical energy. How long this would take to do would depend on your GM, and of course by sending your minions out to hurt those elves you'll be back to evil in no time.
5) It's summoned, so it has to do what you ask, but yes it will complain, and if it actually casts spells as a cleric, it'll quickly lose its spellcasting when it soon loses its faith.
6) Yes.
7) Mind control spells on things that can heal is always an option.
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Creative Director
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1) First, the goofy one - let's assume Big C using its compression ability to crunch down to the smallest possible size (about 5x5x5, which I find hilarious, because it means Cthulhu fits in a minivan if it wants to), which would also conceivably then give it the greatest possible density. Cthulhu then leaps off of a high cliff overlooking solid ground. What happens at impact? A new grand canyon? A wormhole? Something weirder?
2) Do you think summoning other Great Old Ones would be a viable use of Cthulhu's gate SLA? I'm guessing it wouldn't grab one that's already on the prime, but could perhaps bust one out of an extraplanar prison?
3) Are there any hotbeds of Cthulhu worship on Golarion? Versex County in Ustalav seems like one good location, but I'm curious as to whether there are other major locations.
1) A sanity check happens.
2) Yes, although he would likely avoid doing so since they are powerful foes who hold grudges.
3) No such hotbeds have been yet revealed.
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How large of a "permanent" structure (keep, castle) be created with a Polymorph Any Object spell ?
What size building would be a reasonable request using a Wish/Miracle ?
Up to 100 cubic feet per level; if the thing is hollow (as most structures tend to be) the space inside counts against this limit.
Look to other spells that make buildings, such as mage's magnificent mansion, and then extrapolate from there, I suppose. A wish or miracle should be able to create something bigger than that. That spell creates a mansion of up to 3 ten-foot cubes per level. I'd say 5 ten foot cubes per level is a good place for wish/miracle to reside.
Howdy James,
How would the people of Iadenveigh view Golarion-native firearms, ie those made in Alkenstar?
Will we see someday from Paizo a book like elder evils?Unknown. I like the basic idea of a book like this, but it would be built and presented and organized VERY differently than that one.
If it were me, I would want to see a 64-page book set up sort of like Occult Mysteries, except it was sort of an "Pathfinder Campaign Setting: End of Days" book that set up scenarios where the world "could" potentially end, and what sort of creatures and events would have to transpire to make that happen. Sort of like a big semi-expansion on the "If the PCs Fail" section in books like Wrath of the Righteous. Or for a better comparison, a Golarion version of Marvel's "What If" brand of comics.
That could actually be pretty cool. A few pages on events that could potentially lead to Rovagug's freedom and what that would do to Golarion. A few pages on what would happen if Azathoth were to regain his sanity. And so on.
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Creative Director
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how big of a castle can a full-power miracle create?How large of a "permanent" structure (keep, castle) be created with a Polymorph Any Object spell ?
What size building would be a reasonable request using a Wish/Miracle ?
Up to 100 cubic feet per level; if the thing is hollow (as most structures tend to be) the space inside counts against this limit.
Look to other spells that make buildings, such as mage's magnificent mansion, and then extrapolate from there, I suppose. A wish or miracle should be able to create something bigger than that. That spell creates a mansion of up to 3 ten-foot cubes per level. I'd say 5 ten foot cubes per level is a good place for wish/miracle to reside.
Up to the GM. Using my above suggestions, 5 10 foot cubes would allow for a 20th Caster Level wish/miracle to create something that consists of 200 10 foot cubes. That said... it's up to the GM if you want to create something bigger. Since create demiplane exists... and since miracle is more powerful... depending on the situation, you'd be able to make a really big castle.
No exact formula should exist though. It should vary according to the situation. AKA: Up to the GM.
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Creative Director
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Will we see someday from Paizo a book like elder evils?Unknown. I like the basic idea of a book like this, but it would be built and presented and organized VERY differently than that one.If it were me, I would want to see a 64-page book set up sort of like Occult Mysteries, except it was sort of an "Pathfinder Campaign Setting: End of Days" book that set up scenarios where the world "could" potentially end, and what sort of creatures and events would have to transpire to make that happen. Sort of like a big semi-expansion on the "If the PCs Fail" section in books like Wrath of the Righteous. Or for a better comparison, a Golarion version of Marvel's "What If" brand of comics.
That could actually be pretty cool. A few pages on events that could potentially lead to Rovagug's freedom and what that would do to Golarion. A few pages on what would happen if Azathoth were to regain his sanity. And so on.
I'd kinda rather focus that kind of energy on Adventure Paths, which often have the same thing going on.
What would be a good substitute for turkeys on Golarion if I want my PC to say to someone "you look like a turkey" but there aren't turkeys on Golarion for that frame of reference to work?
Try guineafowl, the pre-Columbian turkey.
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What about Black Forest Ham?What would be a good substitute for turkeys on Golarion if I want my PC to say to someone "you look like a turkey" but there aren't turkeys on Golarion for that frame of reference to work?There are turkeys on Golarion. So... no need for turkey substitutes.
There's certainly ham, but the Black Forest is too far away from Golarion.
Why there are a lot of factors as to what needs to occurs to provoke the creation of an adventure path compendium like Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. But if such conditions were met and you were able to choose which adventure path to hardcover compile which would you like to see?
I’ll put my own thoughts into a spoiler,
Second Darkness: Probably not considering the time and effort it would take to both update the mechanics and flesh out the storyline in a more desired direction. Plus the details of the adventure paths reveal of the Drow is sort of already covered by the NPC Koriah in Shattered Star. All in all I believe this path is officially swept under the rug never to be seen again.
Legacy of Fire: Lot of potential here with possibilities of revisiting Katapesh, updating mechanics, including downtime rules, relationship possibilities, possibilities to include more genie blood characters and options for such characters. Lot of potential in making a hardcover of this one.
Council of Thieves: Most in need of updates for at least Hellknight NPC’s and fleshing out more of the Children of Westcrown members. Making the story flow in a manner for adventure parts 4 and 5 to reduce the tendency for adventure part swap. Using new rules from ultimate campaign and upcoming Hell’s Rebels Adventure. Adjust to new Tiefling racial stats. While another excellent possibility the release of Hell’s Rebels means we won’t be seeing this for a while at least.
Kingmaker: Adding updated kingdom building rules, fleshing out characters in terms of the mechanical aspects. The presence of the Fey BBEG needs to be stronger throughout the adventure path, with more Fae encounters and enemies. Perhaps introducing Briar earlier in something like a legacy item with enemies trying to steal the weapon constantly until it awakens as a full blown artifact. Another good option with a lot of possibilities. While a great idea still a lot of work.
Curse of the Crimson Throne: This Adventure Path to me is the most likely you guys would turn into a hardcover compilation, Updating the mechanics, including more of the mechanics that were partially mentioned in flavor (Blackjack the Swashbuckler, Ileosa with the devilbound contract template). In fact many of the changes are minimal enough that the changes done should be about the same or less as what was given in ROTRL AE. I am also certain that the complied version would sell really well.
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What would be a good substitute for turkeys on Golarion if I want my PC to say to someone "you look like a turkey" but there aren't turkeys on Golarion for that frame of reference to work?There are turkeys on Golarion. So... no need for turkey substitutes.
There are? Where? I thought turkeys were post-Columbus.
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James, I wanted to thank pazio for the ACG it isw a great book with lots of potential I really like the Slayer, Bloodrager, Swashbuckler and the Hunter.
Now on to my question. Can you explain why when Pazio puts feat taxes in martial feats that have nothing to do with the feat it self. Example the great new feat Pack Flanking has the feat Combat expertise which has a prereq of int of 13. This makes it real hard to take the feat in a lot of builds if you are limited to a 20 point build. I don't see them same feat taxes for casting classes. Maybe that is because I have not delved too deeply in to caster classes other than Magus's and Bloodragers.
Question 2: Would you ask Jason to consider letting the weapons training ability that fighters and some others get substitute for Weapons Focus as a prerequisite for feats that require Weapons focus as a prerequisite.
Also I would like to tell you that you did a great job on the Technology guide. there was only one item that I did not like and that was powered armor. Most of what I did not like was having to refer to other sections of the book to look up abilities.
IMO all magic item descriptions
should be able to fit on a 3x5 or 4x6 index card but that is just my own individual quirk because that is what my GM in my formative gaming years did.
Pazio is really rocking with great content for Pathfinder!!
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There are? Where? I thought turkeys were post-Columbus.
Golarion's eco-system is quite a bit different than Earths, even apart from the megafauna, dinosaurs and dragons. Jaguars, for instance, are mentioned to exist in the Mwangi Expanse, as are tigers, neither of which exist in Africa. Both prehensile-tailed new world monkeys and 'old world' monkeys and apes seem to co-exist in the Mwangi Expanse, as well. Plus those marsupial thylacines as far north as Brevoy, quite far away from 'fantasy Australia' / Sarusan. :)
I haven't looked too closely, but I wouldn't be surprised to see things like corn, peppers, potatoes, tobacco and tomatoes** existing in Golarion, outside of Arcadia, as well. (Whether or not such flora and fauna evolved 'naturally' in Avistan/Garund, or where introduced by Azlanti or even pre-Azlanti world-travelers, is up for grabs.)
**In Cities of Golarion, in the city of Ilzmagorti, for example, one of the sample drinks on p. 32 includes a tomato wedge, and another is mentioned to taste like tomato.
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There are? Where? I thought turkeys were post-Columbus.What would be a good substitute for turkeys on Golarion if I want my PC to say to someone "you look like a turkey" but there aren't turkeys on Golarion for that frame of reference to work?There are turkeys on Golarion. So... no need for turkey substitutes.
That bastard Columbo better not be taking credit for creating turkeys now. Fowl genetics do not work that way!
Splnterwaif's my favorite creature. It's a typically profound creature in my opinion in terms of its being evil in our eyes on how it treats children but when you truly look at it,it's just how most people treat chickens,cows,etc; we even have popular cooking shows (i'm not a vegetarian btw). It's a great moral dilemma setup at low levels for players as preparation for more complex dilemma at higher levels. But I digress; i thought this creation was from some popular myth but I just learned that this was your creation! So I am just curious, seriously, how did you come up with this?
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There are? Where? I thought turkeys were post-Columbus.Golarion's eco-system is quite a bit different than Earths, even apart from the megafauna, dinosaurs and dragons. Jaguars, for instance, are mentioned to exist in the Mwangi Expanse, as are tigers, neither of which exist in Africa. Both prehensile-tailed new world monkeys and 'old world' monkeys and apes seem to co-exist in the Mwangi Expanse, as well. Plus those marsupial thylacines as far north as Brevoy, quite far away from 'fantasy Australia' / Sarusan. :)
I haven't looked too closely, but I wouldn't be surprised to see things like corn, peppers, potatoes, tobacco and tomatoes** existing in Golarion, outside of Arcadia, as well. (Whether or not such flora and fauna evolved 'naturally' in Avistan/Garund, or where introduced by Azlanti or even pre-Azlanti world-travelers, is up for grabs.)
**In Cities of Golarion, in the city of Ilzmagorti, for example, one of the sample drinks on p. 32 includes a tomato wedge, and another is mentioned to taste like tomato.
To which it's probably worth mentioning that Golarion is already in its post-"Columian" phase of history.
...Possibly for the second time.
James, I am really looking forward to the Giantslayer AP. In fact I have created my own race of monsters for the AP I hope to insert into encounters there. But here is where we get into the tricky situation. I created a 10(RP) NPC humanoid npc race called the giantkin (inspired by ogrekin). I split the Giantkin into 4 distinct types Tethyn (Ice giant kin), Gorn (Hill giant Kin), Braunn (Fire Giant Kin), Kolan (Stone Giant Kin). Giant kin are tribal generally loosely allied with giant tribes often a meritocracy led by a half giant. Giant kin are minimum 3 quarters Human (except for the Braunn who look like they come from dwarves) and a quarter giant blood.
The problem came from the fact a friend reviewed these NPCs creations and wants to play one during the Giantslayer AP. And I am unsure if that would be appropriate where it has been stated the giants are the enemy. Is there a way you can think where I can get solve this situation without saying outright NO?