As a HUGE Godzilla fan, I become ridiculously excited whenever I sniff out a mention of kaiju. I know you guys have said you don't plan to show kaiju as monsters until after you have the higher-than-level-20 thing figured out (a decision I firmly agree with).
However, I recently discovered a mention of kaiju in the Dragom Empires Gazetteer! Again, I understand entirely if there hasn't been any thought put towards Golarion's kaiju, but I am curious what they may eventually turn out to be like.
Do you think they're just really really big animals with weird powers, or do you think they'll eventually end up a little more... alien?
So, out of curiosity, are there any places other than Alkenstar that actually make guns?
Anywhere in Tian Xia, for example?
Or is Alkenstar (and occasional expatriates trained there) really the only origin for such things in Golarion?
And if there are such places, where are they?
I'm actually cool with either answer, I'm just deeply curious which is more true, and really curious where such alternate locations are if they do exist.
At this point, the only locations that make guns are in the eastern Mana Wastes (there are some factories that are technically outside of the city of Alkenstar there). There's probably a few gunsmiths operating elsewhere in the world, but on a one-person level, where they're creating guns at such a slow pace that they don't really factor in on a large scale.
For now, with guns having only recently emerged into the scene in Golarion, Alkenstar is the main and pretty much only place that's producing them.
(This, by the way, is on purpose—we may or may not do a "guns" themed adventure path or something like that some day, and if we do, I'd like the plot to be able to do something along the lines of having the PCs either help spread guns around or stop them entirely, depending on the plot I end up liking more... but in either case, the idea of having the PCs involved in the next stage of firearm spread through the world of Golarion is too cool an idea to abandon by saying there's gunsmithing happening anywhere other than Alkenstar.)
Damn you and your cool ideas for APs that will keep me buying them ad infinitum.
Creative Director
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well the sprinter piece is in the catfolk racial build in B3 and that one has bothered me since launch as it can have some very big connotations when it comes down to movement. As for the second part I was just curious on that one.
Here's what I'm talking about with sprinter
Ah. Yeah, you adjust the catfolk's speed and THEN do the adjustments for the other move. So when a catfolk charges he can go 80 feet. When he runs he can go 160 feet. When he withdraws he can go 80 feet.
As for the second one... the book's almost here—have patience!
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Creative Director
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As a HUGE Godzilla fan, I become ridiculously excited whenever I sniff out a mention of kaiju. I know you guys have said you don't plan to show kaiju as monsters until after you have the higher-than-level-20 thing figured out (a decision I firmly agree with).
However, I recently discovered a mention of kaiju in the Dragom Empires Gazetteer! Again, I understand entirely if there hasn't been any thought put towards Golarion's kaiju, but I am curious what they may eventually turn out to be like.
Do you think they're just really really big animals with weird powers, or do you think they'll eventually end up a little more... alien?
We've mentioned monsters by name without giving out their stats from the start. There's whirlmaws in Rahadoum, for example. Mentioning kaiju as being one of the things that lives in Valashmai is, at this point, more or less an easter egg that we'll eventually do something more with.
They are what you get in Godzilla movies. Which means they could just be a giant spider or giant praying mantis, or they could be a pollution-spewing flying shapechanging animated tower of ooze, for example.
This makes me very happy indeed. :) Thank you
Ok, question: Under the rules for creating an intelligent item it says items of, say, chaotic neutral alignment can be used by characters of the non-neutral alignment (CG, CE) with no penalty... why not a true neutral character?
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Creative Director
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Ok, question: Under the rules for creating an intelligent item it says items of, say, chaotic neutral alignment can be used by characters of the non-neutral alignment (CG, CE) with no penalty... why not a true neutral character?
That is a holdover from 3rd edition D&D I believe, and I'm really not sure WHY that's in there. Frankly, I'd be tempted to remove the asterisks entirely from table 15-21 entirely. I see no reason to treat those alignments that have asterisks special for any reason.
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Creative Director
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We've mentioned monsters by name without giving out their stats from the start. There's whirlmaws in Rahadoum, for example.What are whirlmaws and where are they mentioned for Rahadoum?
They were mentioned in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting.
As for what they are... you'll have to wait for the Inner Sea Bestairy later this year.
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Creative Director
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So the Pathfinder comic is coming out and that brings to mind a few questions:
How accurate will the comic be towards Golarion lore?
Will information on Golarion presented in the comic become part of the setting?
We're aiming for it to be as accurate as the novels are... so pretty accurate.
Yes, since each issue of the comic will have several pages written by me that will present game rules and information about something associated with that issue's theme and plot.
If you had to pick one nation, other than Varisia, and could only play there for the rest of your life, which would it be?
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Creative Director
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James how could a PC build a planet from scratch in pathfinder?
Step 1) Find a pushover, gullible GM.
Step 2) REDACTED
Step 3) Rule your new world!
AKA: A PC can't and shouldn't be able to do this. Closest he should be able to come would probably be by using the spell create demiplane from Ultimate Magic.
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So the Pathfinder comic is coming out and that brings to mind a few questions:
How accurate will the comic be towards Golarion lore?
Will information on Golarion presented in the comic become part of the setting?
We're aiming for it to be as accurate as the novels are... so pretty accurate.
Yes, since each issue of the comic will have several pages written by me that will present game rules and information about something associated with that issue's theme and plot.
Aargh, my wallet.
Actually I must say I don't like much the art I see previewed and that is an important thing in evaluating comics.James, the material that you will add to the comic will be new material or a rehearsal of material that as already been published in Paizo books?
I suppose it will be possible to subscribe tot eh comic through the Paizo site and receive it with other Paizo material, right?
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James how could a PC build a planet from scratch in pathfinder?Step 1) Find a pushover, gullible GM.
Step 2) REDACTED
Step 3) Rule your new world!
AKA: A PC can't and shouldn't be able to do this. Closest he should be able to come would probably be by using the spell create demiplane from Ultimate Magic.
Been there and done the math in another thread. To make a demiplane with the approximate volume of the palace of Versailles and its ground the spellcaster would have to cast create greater demiplane and permanency every day for over 100 years.
As my idea of a good life isn't to spend 12 hours every day casting the same spell for 100 years that idea was discarded.|
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From another thread:
A friend and I are contemplating playing a rather interesting pair of characters at an upcoming convention. I'd like to double check that no one sees any problems with this in PFS before we arrive. Please, do not punt this to the rules board, all that gets is homebrew answers. I want a PFS answer, thank you.
The concept is that one of us will play a synthesist summoner with the mount evolution, and the other a small paladin. Our question is, is there anything that would make that a not valid option in PFS? Second question, could the Paladin make a ride check to potentially negate an attack on his "mount"? Curious to see what other Society Members think of such a concept.
While I am not against using other PC as a mount when needed (especially shapechanged druids, but a eidolon is reasonable), I found that idea somewhat irritating. I can foresee the summoner pouncing a target while the paladin hack enemies without any malus and use ride checks to avoid incoming damage to the sintesist and that seem somewhat against the spirit of the rules (same thing if he was a druid).
A lot of the people that replied seem to find it a funny idea that will not create trouble. I am too strict in my vision of the game?|
Creative Director
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Aargh, my wallet.
Actually I must say I don't like much the art I see previewed and that is an important thing in evaluating comics.James, the material that you will add to the comic will be new material or a rehearsal of material that as already been published in Paizo books?
I suppose it will be possible to subscribe tot eh comic through the Paizo site and receive it with other Paizo material, right?
I'm still waiting for someone to actually complain that the art in the comic book looks too comic booky.
It's certainly an unusual art style, but I quite like it. It gives the look of the comic a REALLY distinctive feel. I can certainly see why some folks might not enjoy the art style... since that is, after all, what art does.
The material I'll be adding to the comics will mostly be new stuff. What appears in the first volume will be 3 times the size of what'll be appearing in the following ones, and that first volume will have some "rerun" type stuff (four pages of iconic stats, for example), but it'll also have a new encounter area in Sandpoint, as well as a gazetteer of Sandpoint that'll hopefully work as a nice supplement to the larger gazetteer that will be appearing (and has appeared already) in Rise of the Runelords.
Going forward, the new content will generally be an encounter and then a few new magic items or monsters or NPCs or iconics... depends what's in that issue.
I'm not sure how the subscription stuff will work yet.
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Creative Director
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From another thread:
A friend and I are contemplating playing a rather interesting pair of characters at an upcoming convention. I'd like to double check that no one sees any problems with this in PFS before we arrive. Please, do not punt this to the rules board, all that gets is homebrew answers. I want a PFS answer, thank you.
The concept is that one of us will play a synthesist summoner with the mount evolution, and the other a small paladin. Our question is, is there anything that would make that a not valid option in PFS? Second question, could the Paladin make a ride check to potentially negate an attack on his "mount"? Curious to see what other Society Members think of such a concept.
While I am not against using other PC as a mount when needed (especially shapechanged druids, but a eidolon is reasonable), I found that idea somewhat irritating. I can foresee the summoner pouncing a target while the paladin hack enemies without any malus and use ride checks to avoid incoming damage to the sintesist and that seem somewhat against the spirit of the rules (same thing if he was a druid).
A lot of the people that replied seem to find it a funny idea that will not create trouble. I am too strict in my vision of the game?
ugh... Hate hate hate this character concept, for several reasons:
1) PCs playing the role of mounts are goofy.
2) Summoners frustrate me. And the synthesist is the most frustrating kind of summoner.
3) The use of the word malus instead of penalty is a pet peeve.
A player who uses this concept in Pathfinder Society should expect to see their character cause a LOT of conflict and trouble and problem and frustration at the table. It's the type of character that breaks and bends so many established rules and expectations that it really only functions (if even then!) at a home-brew game where the GM is able and willing to bend rules and alter expectations of game play experience—two things that Pathfinder Society GMs either can't or won't or aren't comfortable doing.
It's a deliberately strange and awkward and fringe character that, to me, seems to be custom built to cause disruptions and problems.
In any case... the various mounted combat options are meant to be used with a mount that's an extension of a single character. They're not meant to be used between two separate characters.
IF I were to allow this class combo in a game I was running... I'd require the mount PC to pretty much be completely subservient to the rider PC in every way, because that's what a mount is. A minion. A pet. A tool.
And since it seems like the concept of playing a support character like a bard or a cleric rankles the number cruncher "I want to be the star of the game because I'm doing the most damage and bending the most rules" type of player who, in my opinion, might want to abuse the mounted combat and synthesist rules in this way... I suspect that solution will go a long way toward encouraging the players to select a less disruptive, less frustrating, and less ridiculous class combo.
That's my take, at least. Other GMs will certainly have a different take on it.
James how could a PC build a planet from scratch in pathfinder?Step 1) Find a pushover, gullible GM.
Step 2) REDACTED
Step 3) Rule your new world!
AKA: A PC can't and shouldn't be able to do this. Closest he should be able to come would probably be by using the spell create demiplane from Ultimate Magic.
Been there and done the math in another thread. To make a demiplane with the approximate volume of the palace of Versailles and its ground the spellcaster would have to cast create greater demiplane and permanency every day for over 100 years.
As my idea of a good life isn't to spend 12 hours every day casting the same spell for 100 years that idea was discarded.
Isn't this _exactly_ what Nex must have been doing, though? : )
James when can I subscribe to the Pathfinder Comic?
Holy macaroni I just noticed many Pathfinder PDFs are only $9.99 is this a sale, or is this now the normal price? While I prefer hard copies of books, I like to have PDFs too for when games are not at my house I can just take my laptop... However, buying PDFs of books at or near full price isn't something I can afford when I already have the book in hard copy... So, are those low PDF prices normal now? If so, I'll totally be buying some PDFs for my laptop :)
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Creative Director
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Isn't this _exactly_ what Nex must have been doing, though? : )James how could a PC build a planet from scratch in pathfinder?Step 1) Find a pushover, gullible GM.
Step 2) REDACTED
Step 3) Rule your new world!
AKA: A PC can't and shouldn't be able to do this. Closest he should be able to come would probably be by using the spell create demiplane from Ultimate Magic.
Been there and done the math in another thread. To make a demiplane with the approximate volume of the palace of Versailles and its ground the spellcaster would have to cast create greater demiplane and permanency every day for over 100 years.
As my idea of a good life isn't to spend 12 hours every day casting the same spell for 100 years that idea was discarded.
Nope. He's powerful enough to do use rules that are so bad-ass that players can't use them because they've not even been invented yet.
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Creative Director
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Holy macaroni I just noticed many Pathfinder PDFs are only $9.99 is this a sale, or is this now the normal price? While I prefer hard copies of books, I like to have PDFs too for when games are not at my house I can just take my laptop... However, buying PDFs of books at or near full price isn't something I can afford when I already have the book in hard copy... So, are those low PDF prices normal now? If so, I'll totally be buying some PDFs for my laptop :)
We've always offered the PDFs of our hardcover rulebooks at that price.
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Why is Modify Memory just for bards, and not for enchanter wizards?
Would you recommend GM's houserule that it is a level 4 enchantment spell for the Sor/Wiz spell list?
Holy macaroni I just noticed many Pathfinder PDFs are only $9.99 is this a sale, or is this now the normal price? While I prefer hard copies of books, I like to have PDFs too for when games are not at my house I can just take my laptop... However, buying PDFs of books at or near full price isn't something I can afford when I already have the book in hard copy... So, are those low PDF prices normal now? If so, I'll totally be buying some PDFs for my laptop :)We've always offered the PDFs of our hardcover rulebooks at that price.
OH wow I guess I just never noticed (I admit, I am not very observant.) Thanks. :)
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Creative Director
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Why is Modify Memory just for bards, and not for enchanter wizards?
Would you recommend GM's houserule that it is a level 4 enchantment spell for the Sor/Wiz spell list?
For one thing... it's nice that bards get some bard-only spells.
For another, modify memory was invented specifically for bards —it's not a legacy spell that got into the game from previous editions.
I would recommend GMs don't give modify memory out, because it's more interesting a spell if it's a bard spell... but if they DO give it out to wizards and sorcerers, I'd suggest making it a 5th level sorcerer/wizard spell, not a 4th level one.
Where's the information about the comic? Are any issues out yet?
Where's the information about the comic? Are any issues out yet?Here and there around the internets... I don't have a link handy, alas. It's not out yet—it's scheduled to debut, I believe, around the time Gen Con's here.
Thanks. I thought I might've missed out somewhere along the way. :)
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Chief Technical Officer
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Steve, we haven't said a lot about Pathfinder Comics yet, but you might want to check this thread for some links and what other info is available.
Steve, we haven't said a lot about Pathfinder Comics yet, but you might want to check this thread for some links and what other info is available.
Thanks, Vic. Not sure how I missed it...
James, if you were to do a character build for Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, what levels/feats would each have in your opinion?
James,
Will you join me in founding a club for awesome Paizo community users whose names (first and last) are an alteration?
Heya. I remember seeing you write somewhere (or possibly it was repeatedly in several different places) that you don't like stacking multiple templates on monsters most of the time. But I also noticed one particular monster in an adventure path...
That has two templates. I'd like to know your thoughts on him, since you normally don't like stacking templates. Is the advanced template a sort of exception to that for being so simple? And if so, are there other templates that you're more likely to consider exceptions to the "no template-stacking" rule? Was that one monster an exception itself? If so, why? I'm curious as to what makes a monster an exception.
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Creative Director
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Heya. I remember seeing you write somewhere (or possibly it was repeatedly in several different places) that you don't like stacking multiple templates on monsters most of the time. But I also noticed one particular monster in an adventure path...
** spoiler omitted **
That has two templates. I'd like to know your thoughts on him, since you normally don't like stacking templates. Is the advanced template a sort of exception to that for being so simple? And if so, are there other templates that you're more likely to consider exceptions to the "no template-stacking" rule? Was that one monster an exception itself? If so, why? I'm curious as to what makes a monster an exception.
To start...
Advanced isn't really, in my view, a template. It's a way to bolster a monster's stats without shooting his HD through the roof (which takes longer and makes for much "swingier" adjustments).
In the 3.5 D&D days, we had an option called "the elite array" which was basically just an increase to the monster's stats equivalent to what they'd get if they had class levels (a +4, +4, +2, +2, –2 set of bonuses). The Advanced simple template more or less replaces that.
More to the point, the Advanced simple template carries with it no real flavor–it's just "more." As such, it doesn't change a monster's appearance or function or niche... it just makes it more powerful.
NOW.
That said, there's perhaps a bit of confusion going on. When we say in print that a monster is "advanced" that can mean one of three things. It could mean that the monster has the Advanced simple template...
It could mean that the monster's Hit Dice have been increased...
Or it could mean that BOTH of those things are in effect.
In the case of the monster from the spoiler... if I remember correctly, it's merely an advanced HD monster, and as such it really does only have one template on it.
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We've mentioned monsters by name without giving out their stats from the start. There's whirlmaws in Rahadoum, for example.What are whirlmaws and where are they mentioned for Rahadoum?They were mentioned in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting.
As for what they are... you'll have to wait for the Inner Sea Bestairy later this year.
Ah, thank you.
Is there any detailed info on White Estrid's raid on Nisroch and her break of the Chelaxian blockade at the Arch of Aroden? I'm going to be running a Land of the Linnorm Kings campaign soon, and I want my players to take part in that, so anywhere I could find info would be awesome.
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Creative Director
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What if he has the Improved Unarmed Strike Feat?Can a T-rex make an unarmed strike?No. His limbs are not designed to make unarmed strikes. Also he's just an animal—he can't do an unarmed strike any more than a condor or an alligator or a bear or a tiger can.
He needs an intelligence of 3 or higher first.