Creative Director
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James,
you mentioned that the Shoanti were modeled after Native Americans (from tribes that were near your hometown, if I'm not mistaken). What real life tribes, in particular, inspired which Shoanti tribes? Also, what specific practices or themes from those tribes helped flavor the barbarians of Varisia?
Thanks,
Abyssian
The real-life tribe where I grew up were the Pomos... but the Shoanti weren't really modeled on them as much as they were on the idea of an indigenous people who have animal/nature and hunter/gatherer elements to their society.
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Creative Director
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Do you have big plans to ring in the New Year, James?
Not "BIG" plans, really. Might go see a movie on the day before and/or the day of. The evening of the New Year I'll be heading over to a party at Rob McCreary's house. I suspect Cards Against Humanity will become involved at some point.
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Creative Director
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I'm about to start GMing Rise of the Runelords (Anniversary Edition). I'm very excited about this, obviously, and I'm thinking of ways to make the experience really memorable for the players. I don't have to make any changes to the text because it's freakin' brilliant. I've been in the game for enough decades to know plenty of general GM tricks. I intend to make Sandpoint as vibrant as possible and to make the key NPCs sympathetic and interesting. My mind is already racing with ways to make the Kreegs more horrible than they already are, to make the Runeforge oppressive and unsettling, and to make the overall menace palpable and urgent. However, I've never experienced this campaign either as a player or a GM, and who better to ask for advice than you? So my question is this: what's the one piece (or more, if you're feeling exceptionally generous) of campaign-specific advice you'd give me to get the very most out of this AP and give my players the best time possible?
Don't feel constrained by time or by the order in which events occur in the book. If the PCs want to take their time and get distracted, don't punish them for going off course. Sandpoint's detailed to the extent it is to ENCOURAGE that. Let the PCs react to events rather than forcing them into the next stage of things, and they'll have more fun!
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Creative Director
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Dear Mr. Jacobs,
Do you, upon occasion, enjoy recreational alcoholic beverages?
If so, do you favor one particular kind over another?
If so, which one(s)? And would you consider yourself a connoisseur of said type of alcoholic beverage?
If the first answer is no, please disregard.
Thank you
I do; anything with raspberry flavoring in it is delicious. I'm not a big fan of beer... but I do like Blue Moon. As far as cocktails go... anything with citrus or fruit involved is deeeelightful. I'm not really a connoisseur of any type of booze, but there's plenty of folks at Paizo who are and who are always eager to impart their wisdom.
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Creative Director
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Contingency and Teleport. Oh great & powerful Tyrant Lizard. Can you think of a module or time when a wizard cast a Contingency Tport with the added proviso where his companions also left with him?
I thought I remembered an old Greyhawk module where one of the Circle did exactly that, but it sorta backfired, as the rest of the Circle didn’t want to go, in effect snatching defeat from the jaws of Victory.
Would you allow such a use in your games?
It's a pretty common contingency, so I suspect it's happened before. It's easy enough to pull off when you're just teleporting yourself, but you need to be conscious to direct the spell; if you die or get knocked out before you can pick the location, it misfires. It gets more complex if you're trying to include allies, since they have to all be touching you when the spell goes off, and since contingency is one that can have some hard to time stuff associated with when it triggers... well, it's complex.
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Creative Director
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1. What are the cultural similarities and differences between Xin-Eurythnia and a stereotypical drow city?
2. When Sorshen wakes up, how concerned would she be about people knowing who she is? Would she want to cow the world with her power or surprise them in their ignorance?
3. How would Sorshen feel about Sermignatto Writing a tell-all book about her and the other runelords?
4. Why didn't Sorshen bother to transcribe the names of the incubi she embedded in her lighthouse? Is she sexist or are incubi stigmatized?
5. How did Sorshen organize her closest minions? Did she give each one a specific role ("You're in charge of the city infrastructure, you're in charge of the economy, etc.") or did she just make demands and let her minions figure it out for themselves?
6. How do you feel about the minion rules in Way of the Wicked?
7. How would you scale said minion rules to, say, a runelord's level?
8. What in-world reason would the runelords have for not using genie wishes? "Genies are more of a Qadira/Katapesh theme" wouldn't matter to wizardly despots as much as it does game designers?
9. How much did the runelords use glabrezu wishes?
10. When I asked "Are all elves European-looking or are there any African-looking ones as well?" I meant on Golarion. I ask because Kwava is from the Mwangi Expanse but is rather Caucasian-looking (Pathfinder #13, p.35, 38) So, why doesn't he look more African?
1) I've not done a lot of thinking or writing on Xin-Eurythnia beyond what's in print, but I'd say that they share the extreme levels of decadence and depravity and the same casual attitude toward sex and related topics.
2) Until she was sure she had her power and support structures in place, she'd stay pretty behind the scenes.
3) Enraged, to the point of violence.
4) Because she didn't need to record that information, and because incubi represent male dominated sex she's pretty intolerant of them and sees them useful only as tools or fuel or guardians.
5) Not sure yet.
6) Dunno; I'm playing that game, not running it, so I haven't read it.
7) Dunno; see #6 above.
8) Tradition, combined with the fact that if you can cast your own wish spells, that's less dangerous than relying on capricious and sometimes untrustworthy genies.
9) Not much. Belimarius used them the most.
10) Because Golarion elves are mostly European looking, since the mythological source of their real-world legends are European.
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Creative Director
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James,
Given House Ardoc's preference for constructing golems and distaste of non magic users where would Gunslingers and Alchemist fit in their family/ranks?
Gunslingers would not have a place in House Ardoc.
Alchemists would serve as suppliers and creators of several raw materials for creating stuff. And they might even help by creating some elements or even entire constructs of their own. (Using rules for crafting constructs for alchemists we've not yet revealed, of course...)
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Creative Director
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Would you OK a item crafter in your game adding the same item to itself if it was reasonable and made sense? For instance, say a Wizard or Magus filled up a Blessed Book (unlikely, but possible), so he decides duplicate another Blessed Book on top of the one he's already got. In effect, he's merging two Blessed Books together, to get a spellbook with 2,000 pages.
There are other combinations like this, but the Blessed Book is the easiest one to explain. I was wondering about your thoughts on it before proposing it to my GM.
If it was reasonable and made sense and the crafter had all the resources to do so... probably.
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Creative Director
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Hi James !
I copy here my questions from that topic : http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pb60?Dragon-Empires-Gods-and-the-Great-Beyond
I am trying to figure on which planes live the gods worshipped in Tian-Xia.
There are the easy ones :
- Fumeiyoshi --> Abaddon
- General Susumu --> Hell
- Irori --> Axis (but not mentioned in the Great Beyond)
- Kofusachi --> Elyseum
- Lady Nanbyo --> Abyss
- Qi Zhong --> Nirvana
- Shizuru --> Heaven
- Tsukiyo --> Heaven
- Yaezhing --> HellThere are the ones on the "I am not sure" wing :
- Hei Feng --> boundary between the elemental planes of Air and Water ?
- Lao Shu Po --> Abaddon ? (it does not fit very well her portfolio)
- Sun Wukong --> Elyseum or Maelström ?
- Yamatsumi --> Earth ?And there this 2 who are totally problematical for me :
- Daikitsu --> ???
- Nalinivati --> ???
That's my only real problem with the Great Beyond : there is neither a neutral plane (apart from the boneyard) nor a "nature plane". Would there be one of those, it would be fine.
So, where live the goddess of agriculture and the goddess of fertility ?(and I'am still trying to figure why Gorum live in Elyseum and not in Maelström, considering his/its nature)
We haven't yet assigned otherplanar realms to those deities, so I'm not ready to reveal those locations yet.
There are neutral planes and nature planes out there. The First World comes to mind immediately, but there are also plenty of other planes in the Great Beyond other than those we've listed so far.
Gorum lives in Elysium because it's more organized. He gets more attention in a realm where there's less craziness than the Maelstrom.
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Creative Director
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With the end of the year approaching, what were your top 5 movies this year? (top 10 if you want to go nuts).
Also, have you seen Django Unchained? I thought it was great and had some wonderful performances - quite possibly my favorite Tarentino movie.
I haven't yet seen Django Unchained yet... will probably see it tomorrow.
Of the movies I've seen this year, I would say that my top 10 of 2012 would be (in no particular order):
1) Prometheus (this is my favorite of the year)
2) The Hobbit
3) End of Watch
4) Sinister
5) V/H/S
6) The Bay
7) Cabin in the Woods
8) The Raid
9) Skyfall
10) Looper
Honorable Mention: The Avengers, Thale, The Dark Knight Rises, Chernobyl Diaries, Chronicle, Arbitrage, The Collection, Hitchcock, Piranha 3DD
Movies I still want to see: Seven Psychopaths, Django Unchained, Jack Reacher, Lincoln, Cloud Atlas, Dredd
James, was hoping you could help me clear something up concerning familiars: are they supposed to get feats as normal when they advance? The description for Hit Dice reads, "For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher." Now, if they're not supposed to gain feats as the PC (and therefore the familiars too) levels, I'm wondering why they get a bump to INT that seems clearly meant to allow more skill point allocation for the familiar. You typically gain both feats and skill points as you level. Unless...do familiars not gain skill points, either?
Also, does it make sense to allow a spellcaster to deliver a touch attack to an enemy or buff spell to an ally that isn't adjacent using the Lunge feat?
Thanks in advance.
Mr. James Jacobs,
I hope your holidays continue to go well.
Question: I had the thought of a character doing a kind of reverse possession. Where he summons a fiend, lets it into himself/his body, and then instead of being possessed normally he keeps the fiend trapped and uses it to power his other abilities.
While such a thing is heavily story depended what spells and game mechanics would you suggest to work or allow for that? Think of it like magic items. Each item has spell perquisites but ultimately do something not specifically mechanically similar to the component spells.
I had the idea for a (dragon compendium) mountebank who managed to get out of his contract to Mephistopheles (Which has already occurred) to uses such a trapped fiend power his infernal patron and other mountebank abilities.
1)Does castrovel have polar regions with snow/ice?
2)Does Castrovel have seasons or is it's temperature consistant all year round?
3)What gods/goddesses do the Lashunta worship from the core 20 deities(or any other diety or demi power that has been mentioned)?
4)If Castrovel has strong ties to the positive energy plane or first world is it safe to assume that undead are not very common? It would be nice to have a few planets with little or no undead.
5)Does Castrovel have any Grippli, Boggard, Serpentfolk, Lizardfolk, Vanara, Syrinx, Tengu, Ratfolk, or Charau-Ka?
6)Do Froghemoths come from another planet in the Golarion solar system or outside it's solar stystem?
7)Are elves the only core race found on Castrovel?
8)Are there any dragons(true, linnorms, drakes, etc.) on Castrovel?
9)Are there any giants on Castrovel? since there are no humans I gues it makes sense since most giants are based on humans but a giant based on the Lashunta would be interesting.
Also since you did like Coraline I would suggest you see Paranorman.
James,
I'm plotting a small segment for a game where my players will be stripped of their gear for a bit. How would you suggest scaling back encounters to account for this? Obviously I would have to watch out for things with DR and the like, that they won't be able to deal with, but how much of a CR decrease do you think would be good to give them a sporting chance?
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Creative Director
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James, was hoping you could help me clear something up concerning familiars: are they supposed to get feats as normal when they advance? The description for Hit Dice reads, "For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher." Now, if they're not supposed to gain feats as the PC (and therefore the familiars too) levels, I'm wondering why they get a bump to INT that seems clearly meant to allow more skill point allocation for the familiar. You typically gain both feats and skill points as you level. Unless...do familiars not gain skill points, either?
Also, does it make sense to allow a spellcaster to deliver a touch attack to an enemy or buff spell to an ally that isn't adjacent using the Lunge feat?
Thanks in advance.
That's a good question. It should be re-posted in the rules forum so it can get FAQed and so the designers can take notice.
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Creative Director
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Mr. James Jacobs,
I hope your holidays continue to go well.
Question: I had the thought of a character doing a kind of reverse possession. Where he summons a fiend, lets it into himself/his body, and then instead of being possessed normally he keeps the fiend trapped and uses it to power his other abilities.
While such a thing is heavily story depended what spells and game mechanics would you suggest to work or allow for that? Think of it like magic items. Each item has spell perquisites but ultimately do something not specifically mechanically similar to the component spells.
I had the idea for a (dragon compendium) mountebank who managed to get out of his contract to Mephistopheles (Which has already occurred) to uses such a trapped fiend power his infernal patron and other mountebank abilities.
Sounds like that character should check out the demoniac prestige class in Lords of Chaos, since that's pretty much the entire point of that prestige class—to let a demon possess you to give you more power. If you don't want it working for demons, you can work with your GM to rewrite it as you wish.
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Creative Director
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James,
I'm plotting a small segment for a game where my players will be stripped of their gear for a bit. How would you suggest scaling back encounters to account for this? Obviously I would have to watch out for things with DR and the like, that they won't be able to deal with, but how much of a CR decrease do you think would be good to give them a sporting chance?
I would first of all suggest taking that plot easy. Stripping gear is a great way to start a campaign (we've done it a couple of times for Adventure Paths) but it's not so great a plot hook to plan for in the middle of a game. If the PCs end up getting defeated, it's a GREAT way to avoid a TPK; have the players captured by the bad guys instead of being killed and then give them a chance to escape and recover their gear.
In any event, once you have it started, how you scale back encounters really depends on the type of players. A group of wizards and clerics with no gear will be mostly useless with the lack of spellbooks, components, and divine foci, so the encounters will need to be scaled back more than if you have a group of barbarians and monks who don't really need their gear as much to do their thing.
It's not a question of CR decrease, though. You have to look beyond mere numbers of CR and look at each and every encounter as it's built, since CR doesn't cover it all. A shadow and an ogre are both CR 3... but against a group with no spells and no magic, a shadow is a MUCH more dangerous foe than an ogre.
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Creative Director
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1)Does castrovel have polar regions with snow/ice?
2)Does Castrovel have seasons or is it's temperature consistant all year round?
3)What gods/goddesses do the Lashunta worship from the core 20 deities(or any other diety or demi power that has been mentioned)?
4)If Castrovel has strong ties to the positive energy plane or first world is it safe to assume that undead are not very common? It would be nice to have a few planets with little or no undead.
5)Does Castrovel have any Grippli, Boggard, Serpentfolk, Lizardfolk, Vanara, Syrinx, Tengu, Ratfolk, or Charau-Ka?
6)Do Froghemoths come from another planet in the Golarion solar system or outside it's solar stystem?
7)Are elves the only core race found on Castrovel?
8)Are there any dragons(true, linnorms, drakes, etc.) on Castrovel?
9)Are there any giants on Castrovel? since there are no humans I gues it makes sense since most giants are based on humans but a giant based on the Lashunta would be interesting.
Also since you did like Coraline I would suggest you see Paranorman.
1) I suspect so.
2) It's probably got seasons somewhere.
3) Unrevealed.
4) Nope; strong ties to the First World or Positive Energy Plane doesn't mean no undead.
5) Unrevealed, but unlikely, particularly in the case of vanaras, syrinxes, tengus, ratfolk, and especially charau-ka. I'm 99.7994% sure there are no charau-ka there, in fact.
6) Unrevealed, but for tradition's sake I'd vote for another world.
7) Nope.
8) Yes.
9) Yes.
When Sorshen wakes up, how concerned would she be about people knowing who she is? Would she want to cow the world with her power or surprise them in their ignorance?Until she was sure she had her power and support structures in place, she'd stay pretty behind the scenes.
1. Do you mean governmental, social, economic, and military institutions (there has to be a more concise term for all this) or others as well?
2. How geographically expansive will Sorshen want her power base before she acts? Just Korvosa and it's holdings? Every settlement in Varisia? The entire Inner Sea region?
3. In terms of CR, how powerful are Sorshen's closest minions?
4. Have you thought of writing an AP where the PCs have to fight a conspiracy with a counter-conspiracy, lest they be discovered by the opposing mastermind?
5. If Sorshen discovers that heroes are thwarting her plans, what in-game reason will she have for not simply finding out where they sleep and mind-controlling them while they're vulnerable?
6. Given that the wish spell costs money, and runelords have means to keep a genie from twisting intent, why would they have to worry about wishes gone wrong?
7. If an incubus is formed from violent lust, and a succubus forms from manipulative lust, what sort of lust would create an omnibus?
8. Do devils generally have a "bad things won't happen to me" mentality? Their worshipers seem to, as do Sermignatto and Lorthact.
9. How do you feel about women with visibly toned muscles?
10. What specifically about elves do you find sexy?
James,
In "The Great Beyond" book on Heaven's summit is "The Garden". Is this Eden or is it also called Eden? Or does a place called Eden exist in Golarion anywhere? Even if its just a small town in the middle of no where.
Don't feel constrained by time or by the order in which events occur in the book. If the PCs want to take their time and get distracted, don't punish them for going off course. Sandpoint's detailed to the extent it is to ENCOURAGE that. Let the PCs react to events rather than forcing them into the next stage of things, and they'll have more fun!
Awesome! Thanks.
One more question: is "Black Magga and the Mothers of Oblivion" a great name for a rock band?
James,
I'm plotting a small segment for a game where my players will be stripped of their gear for a bit. How would you suggest scaling back encounters to account for this? Obviously I would have to watch out for things with DR and the like, that they won't be able to deal with, but how much of a CR decrease do you think would be good to give them a sporting chance?I would first of all suggest taking that plot easy. Stripping gear is a great way to start a campaign (we've done it a couple of times for Adventure Paths) but it's not so great a plot hook to plan for in the middle of a game. If the PCs end up getting defeated, it's a GREAT way to avoid a TPK; have the players captured by the bad guys instead of being killed and then give them a chance to escape and recover their gear.
In any event, once you have it started, how you scale back encounters really depends on the type of players. A group of wizards and clerics with no gear will be mostly useless with the lack of spellbooks, components, and divine foci, so the encounters will need to be scaled back more than if you have a group of barbarians and monks who don't really need their gear as much to do their thing.
It's not a question of CR decrease, though. You have to look beyond mere numbers of CR and look at each and every encounter as it's built, since CR doesn't cover it all. A shadow and an ogre are both CR 3... but against a group with no spells and no magic, a shadow is a MUCH more dangerous foe than an ogre.
I figured it would be something like that. It's a short segment and is something along the lines of the escape and recover idea. Thanks for the input.
Sounds like that character should check out the demoniac prestige class in Lords of Chaos, since that's pretty much the entire point of that prestige class—to let a demon possess you to give you more power. If you don't want it working for demons, you can work with your GM to rewrite it as you wish.
I had the idea for a (dragon compendium) mountebank who managed to get out of his contract to Mephistopheles (Which has already occurred) to uses such a trapped fiend power his infernal patron and other mountebank abilities.
Not exactly what I was thinking. The demoniac is more of a mutualistic or commensal relationship. The demon agrees to it. What I had in mind is the summoner forcing the fiend into the entrapped position. More parasitic with a role reversal from the fiend's norm. There is no swearing of fealty to a fiend involved. In fact that is actively being avoided.
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Are there any plans to add more crunch based stuff or publish systems to show off the benefits of characters having families, npc friends, and/or children? I've been thinking about trying to find ways to integrate these things on more then just roleplay and backstory and allow them to have actual statistical benefits for players who want characters to have those unique nuances and challenges.
Of the movies I've seen this year, I would say that my top 10 of 2012 would be (in no particular order):1) Prometheus (this is my favorite of the year)
Prometheus? Really? What did you like about it?
I found that there were plot holes and that we did not get any real answers, not to mention the ending was just a set up for another movie.
Didn't Radovan meet Sun Wukong, The Monkey King in a novel?
Hi James.
I've opened a post at Rules Questions but we really need a settling by a dev about it, so I'm copying my question here:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pbkw?Intimidate-language
What happens when the creature you are using intimidate on--to DEMORALIZE it--does does not understand you language?
Case one: You cannot speak the creature's language (Intimidating a Gnoll)
Case two: You do not share a common body language (Intimidating a will-o'-wisp)
Case three: None of the above (Intimidating a shoggoth, for example, and you do not speak Aklo)
Case four: Animals / creatures with INT 1 or 2
Thank you!!
1)What kind of dragons can be found on Castrovel? If there is a connection to the first world then Linnorms would make sense.
2)Does Akiton, Castrovel, Verces, or Triaxus have a darklands of there own?
3)Wich of the core races(other then elves) can be found on Castrovel? I am talking about in numbers not just as adventurers.
4)What kind of giants can be found on Castrovel? standard types or new species all together.
5)Did Catfolk get to Castrovel by the "Elf Gates" or by other means?
6)If Ratfolk can be found on Golarion and Akiton wouldn't it make sense they could find there way to Castrovel as well?
7)Is it safe to assume that Froghemoths are not unkown on Castrovel?
Re: Ratfolk on Castrovel: Distant Worlds says that there are some Ysoki ratfolk from Akiton who came to Castrovel through the interplanetary portal network.
If I cloned Ed Greenwood and locked the clone in my basement to be my personal GM, is it kidnapping?
If I cloned Ed Greenwood and locked the clone in my basement to be my personal GM, is it kidnapping?
I'm pretty sure that qualifies as demon binding. Best hope he never gets free!
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Creative Director
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When Sorshen wakes up, how concerned would she be about people knowing who she is? Would she want to cow the world with her power or surprise them in their ignorance?Until she was sure she had her power and support structures in place, she'd stay pretty behind the scenes.1. Do you mean governmental, social, economic, and military institutions (there has to be a more concise term for all this) or others as well?
2. How geographically expansive will Sorshen want her power base before she acts? Just Korvosa and it's holdings? Every settlement in Varisia? The entire Inner Sea region?
3. In terms of CR, how powerful are Sorshen's closest minions?
4. Have you thought of writing an AP where the PCs have to fight a conspiracy with a counter-conspiracy, lest they be discovered by the opposing mastermind?
5. If Sorshen discovers that heroes are thwarting her plans, what in-game reason will she have for not simply finding out where they sleep and mind-controlling them while they're vulnerable?
6. Given that the wish spell costs money, and runelords have means to keep a genie from twisting intent, why would they have to worry about wishes gone wrong?
7. If an incubus is formed from violent lust, and a succubus forms from manipulative lust, what sort of lust would create an omnibus?
8. Do devils generally have a "bad things won't happen to me" mentality? Their worshipers seem to, as do Sermignatto and Lorthact.
9. How do you feel about women with visibly toned muscles?
10. What specifically about elves do you find sexy?
1) Yes, plus others. Again... all these Sorshen questions are based on my vague ideas—I've actually NOT done a lot of design on what-if scenarios where she might come back to power, so I can't really go into great detail.
2) Depends on too many factors to summarize in a single sentence.
3) CR 18+
4) Yup. There was going to be some of that in Council of Thieves, but it didn't totally work out that way.
5) No different than any plot that has the PCs fighting a powerful foe over the course of a campaign.
6) Story reasons.
7) Huh?
8) Some do, some don't. Like people.
9) I generally kind of find visibly toned muscles kinda creepy in men AND women.
10) Ummm... I'm starting to wonder why the need for exact details... ;P
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Creative Director
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James,
In "The Great Beyond" book on Heaven's summit is "The Garden". Is this Eden or is it also called Eden? Or does a place called Eden exist in Golarion anywhere? Even if its just a small town in the middle of no where.
Depends what you the GM want it to be... but no, it's not the Eden from the Christian mythology/bible. Incorporating too much from Christianity into the game is a slippery slope.
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Creative Director
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Don't feel constrained by time or by the order in which events occur in the book. If the PCs want to take their time and get distracted, don't punish them for going off course. Sandpoint's detailed to the extent it is to ENCOURAGE that. Let the PCs react to events rather than forcing them into the next stage of things, and they'll have more fun!Awesome! Thanks.
One more question: is "Black Magga and the Mothers of Oblivion" a great name for a rock band?
Nah... seems kinda long. How would you fit all that on the marquee at the Tacoma Dome?
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Creative Director
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Are there any plans to add more crunch based stuff or publish systems to show off the benefits of characters having families, npc friends, and/or children? I've been thinking about trying to find ways to integrate these things on more then just roleplay and backstory and allow them to have actual statistical benefits for players who want characters to have those unique nuances and challenges.
Yes. In the upcoming "Ultimate Campaign," in fact.
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Creative Director
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Of the movies I've seen this year, I would say that my top 10 of 2012 would be (in no particular order):1) Prometheus (this is my favorite of the year)
Prometheus? Really? What did you like about it?
I found that there were plot holes and that we did not get any real answers, not to mention the ending was just a set up for another movie.
I liked the directing, the acting, the plot, the visuals, the expansion to the "Alien" mythos, the special effects, the music, the actors, the Lovecraftian undertones, the subtle ties to the possibility that Jesus was an Engineer, the monsters, the "birth" scene, the opening credits, the reaction of the Engineer upon meeting humans, David, Shaw, the giant facehugger, the mythological elements, and more.
Including the fact that it's a "set up for another movie." I knew that going in, in fact, that Ridley Scott wanted to do 2 or more movies, perhaps even a trilogy, with the next movie being called "Paradise." Love it.
I did just see Django Unchained yesterday, and it's probably my 2nd favorite of the year.
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Creative Director
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Hi James.
I've opened a post at Rules Questions but we really need a settling by a dev about it, so I'm copying my question here:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pbkw?Intimidate-language
What happens when the creature you are using intimidate on--to DEMORALIZE it--does does not understand you language?
Case one: You cannot speak the creature's language (Intimidating a Gnoll)
Case two: You do not share a common body language (Intimidating a will-o'-wisp)
Case three: None of the above (Intimidating a shoggoth, for example, and you do not speak Aklo)
Case four: Animals / creatures with INT 1 or 2
Thank you!!
You're right. The rules forum is the correct place for this question.
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Creative Director
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1)What kind of dragons can be found on Castrovel? If there is a connection to the first world then Linnorms would make sense.
2)Does Akiton, Castrovel, Verces, or Triaxus have a darklands of there own?
3)Wich of the core races(other then elves) can be found on Castrovel? I am talking about in numbers not just as adventurers.
4)What kind of giants can be found on Castrovel? standard types or new species all together.
5)Did Catfolk get to Castrovel by the "Elf Gates" or by other means?
6)If Ratfolk can be found on Golarion and Akiton wouldn't it make sense they could find there way to Castrovel as well?
7)Is it safe to assume that Froghemoths are not unkown on Castrovel?
1) There's unlikely to be linnorms. There's probably primal dragons, and perhaps chromatic and metallic. And wyverns. And new dragons.
2) Unknown. They wouldn't be called "Darklands" though.
3) Unknown. We've not done much more decision and design work on Castrovel beyond what's in Distant Worlds, by the way...
4) Unknown; see #3 above.
5) Various forms of interplanetary transport; same as most other non-native races.
6) Not necessarily.
7) Yes.
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Creative Director
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If I cloned Ed Greenwood and locked the clone in my basement to be my personal GM, is it kidnapping?
More of a self-correcting situation, given the eerie mind-control powers, super strength, ability to escape and plot revenge, and mutations common to Ed Greenwood clones.
If I cloned Ed Greenwood and locked the clone in my basement to be my personal GM, is it kidnapping?I'm pretty sure that qualifies as demon binding. Best hope he never gets free!
As the foremost authority on binding in all its forms, rest assured that this certainly does not qualify as demon binding.
It does, however, constitute an unlawful use of simulacrum science.
What did Merisiel want for Christmas?
On an unrelated topic, I want to portray a smug, condescending noble. How do I make him annoying without the players deciding "screw the consequences, we're killing this schmuck?
Depends what you the GM want it to be... but no, it's not the Eden from the Christian mythology/bible. Incorporating too much from Christianity into the game is a slippery slope.James,
In "The Great Beyond" book on Heaven's summit is "The Garden". Is this Eden or is it also called Eden? Or does a place called Eden exist in Golarion anywhere? Even if its just a small town in the middle of no where.
Well, Uriel the area in Heaven in the book mentioned isn't THE Uriel either. Considering the names of at least four angels are used in the same area of Heaven AND one of the most popular city's name, Absalom, is pulled from Christian lore I don't see it being much of a issue since I know you would do it in moderation.
I'm not asking for direct Christian mythology in Pathfinder (nor would I want it) I'm was just wondering if the word "Eden" can be found anywhere on Golarion be it the garden, or someone's favorite cocktail. I'll take that as a "No" unfortunately. Though should you name a Golarionian alcoholic beverage a "Eden" I would be gratefully amused. Thanks for your time.
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Creative Director
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What did Merisiel want for Christmas?
On an unrelated topic, I want to portray a smug, condescending noble. How do I make him annoying without the players deciding "screw the consequences, we're killing this schmuck?
She wanted more knives.
And the best way to play a smug, condescending noble without having the players decide to screw the consequences and kill him is to have mature players who realize that not every annoyance needs or can be solved with violence.
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Depends what you the GM want it to be... but no, it's not the Eden from the Christian mythology/bible. Incorporating too much from Christianity into the game is a slippery slope.James,
In "The Great Beyond" book on Heaven's summit is "The Garden". Is this Eden or is it also called Eden? Or does a place called Eden exist in Golarion anywhere? Even if its just a small town in the middle of no where.
Well, Uriel the area in Heaven in the book mentioned isn't THE Uriel either. Considering the names of at least four angels are used in the same area of Heaven AND one of the most popular city's name, Absalom, is pulled from Christian lore I don't see it being much of a issue since I know you would do it in moderation.
I'm not asking for direct Christian mythology in Pathfinder (nor would I want it) I'm was just wondering if the word "Eden" can be found anywhere on Golarion be it the garden, or someone's favorite cocktail. I'll take that as a "No" unfortunately. Though should you name a Golarionian alcoholic beverage a "Eden" I would be gratefully amused. Thanks for your time.
Exactly. In moderation. Calling a location "Eden" and having it be the same place Adam and Eve were at is not moderation.
With the end of the year approaching, what were your top 5 movies this year? (top 10 if you want to go nuts).
Also, have you seen Django Unchained? I thought it was great and had some wonderful performances - quite possibly my favorite Tarentino movie.
I haven't yet seen Django Unchained yet... will probably see it tomorrow.
Of the movies I've seen this year, I would say that my top 10 of 2012 would be (in no particular order):
1) Prometheus (this is my favorite of the year)
2) The Hobbit
3) End of Watch
4) Sinister
5) V/H/S
6) The Bay
7) Cabin in the Woods
8) The Raid
9) Skyfall
10) LooperHonorable Mention: The Avengers, Thale, The Dark Knight Rises, Chernobyl Diaries, Chronicle, Arbitrage, The Collection, Hitchcock, Piranha 3DD
Movies I still want to see: Seven Psychopaths, Django Unchained, Jack Reacher, Lincoln, Cloud Atlas, Dredd
FINALLY someone agrees with me about Prometheus...
How was Alareon the alchemist in the novel City of the Fallen Sky by Tim Pratt able to affect multiple people with his Confusion bombs since according to the rules a Confusion bomb only confuses the target directly struck?