I've suddenly found myself in the financial position to afford some really fancy scotch. I've had my eye on a 30 year Talisker for some time now and am currently leaning towards that.
I hear tell that you are a connoisseur of said spirit. What would you recommend?
Talisker is a fine scotch. If you like their less expensive bottle (the 12 year, then you should really enjoy the 30).
Scotch, like all fine booze, depends heavily upon your personal taste. More peat, more smoke, fruit notes, caramel notes.. its pretty wide ranging. This is why I currently have about 15 different bottles in the house.
Okay, that's a few more bottles than I've got. I'm clearly not Jason Bulmahn. Though I do love me some Scotch (or, as we call it where I'm from, whisky). Have you ever had a Lagavulin (I have an unopened 16 year in the cabinet waiting for the right occasion)?
Hey Jason, thanks for answering all of our inane questions! Of all the villains you've run, who was your favorite and what was their crowning moment of villainy?I had a necromancer in an old campaign named Zenith who killed off the entire party at the end of one session. At the start of the next one, I had all the players play undead versions of themselves, under his control! Good times...
I have wanted to do a campaign like this for forever.
I have wanted to do a campaign like this for forever.Hey Jason, thanks for answering all of our inane questions! Of all the villains you've run, who was your favorite and what was their crowning moment of villainy?I had a necromancer in an old campaign named Zenith who killed off the entire party at the end of one session. At the start of the next one, I had all the players play undead versions of themselves, under his control! Good times...
I'd suggest making sure the players have some awareness of this. That happened as, essentially, an adventure in one game I played, and it made me very angry.
Specifically, an antagonistic character far beyond our capabilities, who had previously bullied us into working for her, showed up (in an apparently impossible way), killed us, and then brought us back as enslaved undead. To the extent where if she had told us "do not think about betraying me", we could not have thought about it. This was not, at all, what I had signed up to play, and I was considering quitting over it. A few sessions later, we got out of that... at the cost of being in debt to a different powerful NPC. Fortunately the campaign ended there for other reasons.
I'd suggest making sure the players have some awareness of this. That happened as, essentially, an adventure in one game I played, and it made me very angry.I have wanted to do a campaign like this for forever.Hey Jason, thanks for answering all of our inane questions! Of all the villains you've run, who was your favorite and what was their crowning moment of villainy?I had a necromancer in an old campaign named Zenith who killed off the entire party at the end of one session. At the start of the next one, I had all the players play undead versions of themselves, under his control! Good times...
If/when I do it, it'll be laid out right at the beginning of the campaign. Heck, I'll even give the players options as what kind of undead they come back as.
What beers do you miss the most from Wisconsin?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thank you for your time.
What templates would you consider applying to the child of a summoner and their Eidolon?
I can't talk for the Bul-Man, but personally, I wouldn't use templates at all, they're generally inappropriate for PCs and don't take into account the RP system from Advanced Race Guide.
What I would likely do is create a new race from scratch from the ARG tailored to the power-level you as a GM are comfortable with. I may also elect to make a Summoner variant for that race where they do not get an Eidolon at all but are allowed to augment themselves with their evolution points (ensuring to make it different from how a synthesist works).
At the very least I would imagine the race would be a outsider with the native subtype (unless the Eidolon is from a First World summoner archetype, then they'd likely either be Fey or Humanoid.)
That's my two cents! I'm curious what the Minotaur says.
Does James Jacobs give you a +4 bonus on saving throws against the maze spell in the campaign of his that you play in?
Lead Designer
|
Okay, that's a few more bottles than I've got. I'm clearly not Jason Bulmahn. Though I do love me some Scotch (or, as we call it where I'm from, whisky). Have you ever had a Lagavulin (I have an unopened 16 year in the cabinet waiting for the right occasion)?
Lagavulin is a fine scotch, although I do not currently have a bottle in my cabinet.
|
The "Im not sure that appropriate and its kinda creepy template".Thank you for your time.
What templates would you consider applying to the child of a summoner and their Eidolon?
That's sad. I kinda thought it was cool and potentially interesting and a logical outgrowth of the 'close personal relationship between a summoner and an Eidolon (provided you do it right)'. Oh well.
Is there a universal dislike of the summoner among the higher ups at Paizo?
|
Lead Designer
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
That's sad. I kinda thought it was cool and potentially interesting and a logical outgrowth of the 'close personal relationship between a summoner and an Eidolon (provided you do it right)'. Oh well.
Is there a universal dislike of the summoner among the higher ups at Paizo?
As the guy who designed most of the summoner, I can say that most of us like the class, but it is also one of the most common sources of abusive characters. That said, it can also make for some of the most unique and interesting character stories, especially if the character is playing to some existing tropes.
That said... my previous comment was a joke, but it is a little creepy, since this is basically a creature that is bonded to you and bound to obey your commands for the most part.
Planescape: I never ran planescape... so I am going to cheat and say Die Vecna Die! (The Vecna The.. no one who speaks german could be a bad man)
Is that from the "Trial of Kas" episode, where Sideshow Kas, Vecna Simpson's sworn enemy, reveals the tattoo on his chest?
|
Lead Designer
|
Planescape: I never ran planescape... so I am going to cheat and say Die Vecna Die! (The Vecna The.. no one who speaks german could be a bad man)Is that from the "Trial of Kas" episode, where Sideshow Kas, Vecna Simpson's sworn enemy, reveals the tattoo on his chest?
It is indeed.. well remembered.
|
|
That's sad. I kinda thought it was cool and potentially interesting and a logical outgrowth of the 'close personal relationship between a summoner and an Eidolon (provided you do it right)'. Oh well.
Is there a universal dislike of the summoner among the higher ups at Paizo?
As the guy who designed most of the summoner, I can say that most of us like the class, but it is also one of the most common sources of abusive characters. That said, it can also make for some of the most unique and interesting character stories, especially if the character is playing to some existing tropes.
That said... my previous comment was a joke, but it is a little creepy, since this is basically a creature that is bonded to you and bound to obey your commands for the most part.
Thanks for the answer.
Hello Jason Bulmahn,
I don't know if you want to let the cat out of the bag on this one, but is there any plans to re-write any existing classes, prestige classes, or archetypes in the near future?
Thank you,
-Hexen
I'm trying to stat up a runelord and I have some questions related to that.
1. What use would arcane surge be vs mythic characters, who don't have saving throw penalties?
2. Why take wild arcana at all? 1 use of mythic power for metamastery nets 10 enhanced spells instead of one.
3. James Jacobs said that every 2 tiers = +1 CR. So if a level 20 wizard (CR 19) has 6 tiers then she'll have CR 22, correct?
|
Lead Designer
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hello Jason Bulmahn,
I don't know if you want to let the cat out of the bag on this one, but is there any plans to re-write any existing classes, prestige classes, or archetypes in the near future?Thank you,
-Hexen
I am not quite sure what you mean by this.. so this hypothetical cat shall indeed stay in the bag.. where it will be either dead or alive...
|
Lead Designer
|
I'm trying to stat up a runelord and I have some questions related to that.
1. What use would arcane surge be vs mythic characters, who don't have saving throw penalties?
2. Why take wild arcana at all? 1 use of mythic power for metamastery nets 10 enhanced spells instead of one.
3. James Jacobs said that every 2 tiers = +1 CR. So if a level 20 wizard (CR 19) has 6 tiers then she'll have CR 22, correct?
Well.. unfortunately, I am not sure I can answer these, as they pertain to a playtest document that is now quite out of date... I'll do what I can...
1. Well, you still get a bonus spell to cast, so that is still a good deal.
2. Well, as with Arcane Surge.. this is a bonus spell, casting it does not eat up one of your slots. Metamastery eats up your slots and prepared spells as normal.
3. James is letting things out of the bag from the final book.. bad James, but yes, we did adjust the CR calculation formula. (I dont think I released that change in one of the forums.. hmm.. memory hazy).
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
|
Jason, James has mentioned that to do a Vudra/Casmaron book, he'd first need rules for psychic magic, and you've mentioned that you have a lot of decision making ability for the hardcover rulebook line. So, without confirming if a psychic magic book might be planned, can you say on a scale of 1-10 what your interest level is to do a book about or including psychic magic?
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
3. James is letting things out of the bag from the final book.. bad James, but yes, we did adjust the CR calculation formula. (I dont think I released that change in one of the forums.. hmm.. memory hazy).
Oops. Guess we need to burn the books and start over! :-P
3. James is letting things out of the bag from the final book.. bad James, but yes, we did adjust the CR calculation formula. (I dont think I released that change in one of the forums.. hmm.. memory hazy).Oops. Guess we need to burn the books and start over! :-P
You could just give it a Vulcan funeral. Might be more epic.
3. James is letting things out of the bag from the final book.. bad James, but yes, we did adjust the CR calculation formula. (I dont think I released that change in one of the forums.. hmm.. memory hazy).Oops. Guess we need to burn the books and start over! :-P
I am suddenly extremely conflicted.
3. James is letting things out of the bag from the final book.. bad James, but yes, we did adjust the CR calculation formula. (I dont think I released that change in one of the forums.. hmm.. memory hazy).Oops. Guess we need to burn the books and start over! :-P
NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
What's your favorite rules subsystem that you've designed?
I recall hearing tell of an alternative class being dropped from one of the classes in the APG. I think it may have been a Paladin-type class, but I'm more certain it was a divine-oriented class of some sort. Could you shed some light on that? Is a draft of it available anywhere?
|
Lead Designer
|
Jason, James has mentioned that to do a Vudra/Casmaron book, he'd first need rules for psychic magic, and you've mentioned that you have a lot of decision making ability for the hardcover rulebook line. So, without confirming if a psychic magic book might be planned, can you say on a scale of 1-10 what your interest level is to do a book about or including psychic magic?
I am gonna go with a 6.5. I am interested in such a system, but I have a fair number of reservations. Psionics is a tricky system that some folks wont use at all (it be like a whole book on guns.. useful to some, banned by others). Secondly, the 3.5 psionics system leaves much to be desired, so there would have to be a lot of work done to make the system what I would want it to be.
So... yeah.. 6.5
|
Lead Designer
|
What's your favorite rules subsystem that you've designed?
I recall hearing tell of an alternative class being dropped from one of the classes in the APG. I think it may have been a Paladin-type class, but I'm more certain it was a divine-oriented class of some sort. Could you shed some light on that? Is a draft of it available anywhere?
Well, I had a dragon-rider archetype for the paladin that got cut for a variety of reasons, including space in the book and overall balance.
Its something I would revisit in the future.. but its got a lot of hurdles to clear before it could ever be released... so no, its not currently available anywhere.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I am not quite sure what you mean by this.. so this hypothetical cat shall indeed stay in the bag.. where it will be either dead or alive...Hello Jason Bulmahn,
I don't know if you want to let the cat out of the bag on this one, but is there any plans to re-write any existing classes, prestige classes, or archetypes in the near future?Thank you,
-Hexen
..or both simultaneously until you open the bag to collapse the waveform.
What's your favorite rules subsystem that you've designed?
I recall hearing tell of an alternative class being dropped from one of the classes in the APG. I think it may have been a Paladin-type class, but I'm more certain it was a divine-oriented class of some sort. Could you shed some light on that? Is a draft of it available anywhere?
Well, I had a dragon-rider archetype for the paladin that got cut for a variety of reasons, including space in the book and overall balance.
Its something I would revisit in the future.. but its got a lot of hurdles to clear before it could ever be released... so no, its not currently available anywhere.
Have you checked out the Dragonrider by Owen K.C. Stephens? There's a certain subtlety in its balance that I think you'd appreciate.
I don't know if you glanced over the RPGSS R2 archetypes that didn't make it thread, but did you see the Wyvern Rider? While I liked the idea...I didn't so much like the execution but I think it would be a pretty hard thing to accomplish a class (or archetype) that uses a dragon...there'll be really high expectations and to meet even half of them it could easily become TOO good of a class (or archetype).
You could substitute true dragons for dragon-type creatures like Drakes, which run a wide gamut of CR and still have that "winged, scaly, element-breathing" focus to them. Though that seems like it would be more of a cavalier archetype or something than Paladin, if only because of the mount similarity.
Alternately, you could easily pare down the mechanical disparity by creating generic "dragon companion" stats much like how animals are pared down to their "animal companion" stats for druids/rangers. Make a drake-like companion, perhaps a new monster entirely specially bred to be the bonded mounts of the rider. It keeps the theme but dodges some of the mechanical nastiness of riding an actual dragon.
Otherwise if mounting up on a full-fledged dragon is what must be done, a prestige class could likely be the best fit. Require "bonded mount" and the cavalier/paladin who takes the prestige class trades out their normal mount for a huge dragon.
Going forward from there, it could even work like Winter Witch (archetype)/Winter Witch (PrC) where the "Dragon Rider" archetype synergizes beautifully into the "Dragon Rider" prestige class, but both can exist independently of one-another.
You could substitute true dragons for dragon-type creatures like Drakes, which run a wide gamut of CR and still have that "winged, scaly, element-breathing" focus to them. Though that seems like it would be more of a cavalier archetype or something than Paladin, if only because of the mount similarity.
A dragon rider archetype for the cavalier might be the thing that actually gets me to play that class. But yea, I agree that anything dragon rider related that starts at level 1 probably requires lesser dragons of some type.
The power balance of a dragonrider is really my big concern. Dragons are just too good to be in the hands of players unless you are looking at really high level play. Its a tricky widget... a trope of fantasy, but hard to pull off in a balanced way.
Its one of the reasons I really like the dragon rider class cheapy mentioned, it keeps alot of the flavor of a dragon rider, but the dragon is not as powerful as a dragon of its size normally would be (closer to an animal companion profile) and it has the fairly subtle rule of 'focus' limits the effectiveness of the more powerful dragon types until higher level.
The only real balance concern is the fact that you have a flying mount from level 1. But in using one that was only a minor issue. No more of a problem (probably less) then including a strix pc.
You could substitute true dragons for dragon-type creatures like Drakes, which run a wide gamut of CR and still have that "winged, scaly, element-breathing" focus to them. Though that seems like it would be more of a cavalier archetype or something than Paladin, if only because of the mount similarity.A dragon rider archetype for the cavalier might be the thing that actually gets me to play that class. But yea, I agree that anything dragon rider related that starts at level 1 probably requires lesser dragons of some type.
You might want to check out the dragon rider then. It has multiclass rules for other classes with pets. So you could theoretically take 1 level of dragon rider, and the rest cavalier and get your wish, or just go straight dragon rider if it suits your interests more.
You might want to check out the dragon rider then. It has multiclass rules for other classes with pets. So you could theoretically take 1 level of dragon rider, and the rest cavalier and get your wish, or just go straight dragon rider if it suits your interests more.
I've looked at it, but I was put off by the complex rules involving weakening true dragons so that they were suitable as mounts. It kind of messed with my suspension of disbelief and seemed forced. Not that it wasn't a good attempt, it just seems that they might as well have just used a different dragon type.
Follow up question to this line about dragonriders:
If you were to make a dragon riding character, what kind of dragon would you want to be your mount?
|
Lead Designer
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Jason, I believe I saw you in the gamers 3 trailer, how did that go down?
What you saw was about the extent of my cameo in the film. They were shooting around our booth and asked me to do a standin...
I was happy to oblige.
Now I can finally get that IMDB entry I've always wanted... :)
I am not supposed to post this here, but seriosly after having our group argue over this for 4 hours instead of playing.
You wrote previosuly in the FAQ that the racial heriage feat allows a human to take racial archtypes if they meet the prerequites.
The racial heritage feat says, it makes humans qaalify for effects related to race, for what ever race they choose. straight forward.
Now the Faqs says half-elfs dont qualify for human and elf archtypes, because racial archtypes are not effects with regard to race.
I brought this up and in rules section, and it was check as FAq answered.
I'm trying keep my anger in check as a write this. If you are going to over rule a previous rule, you should say that you are over ruling a previous rule and instuting a new rule.
second if your new ruling contradicts what written in your new rule book specially under the topic of (Humanoid) in the ARG you should say that the new faq rule supercedes and modifies the arg rules to the extent mentioned in the new rule. so people, like the ones in my group, who have spent countless hundreds of dollars and never get to play, don't waste a session trying to figure out what it all means if someone wants to create a new half race.
all it would take is a few sentences that says, either 1. we are now overruling over previously ruling with regards to race and effects and this new ruling supercedes and modified the ARG and our previous ruling on the human heritage feat.
or the new ruling does not effect the racial heritage feat, which we are writing not rewriting to reflect this change.
Please if you guys on the design team are going to be overuling previous rulings by clear implications please say so and acknowledge that you are overruling a previous rule, espically when the new rule significately alters a feat, in this case the racial heritage feat. we as players don't know if it was an oversight, if it was a mistake, we are just left with our hardcover books and zero guidance.
Thank you.
|
I'll ask a tough one, since the message boards are always clogged with class A verse class B threads.
Do you think the classes are currently well balanced (if it is even a concern to you), or would you like to make some further changes to class balance?
A tougher one.
Out of your coworkers, who inspires you the most?
Toughest question.
If you were a tree, what kind would you be?
My girlfriend tells me that recent evidence in geological study suggests that triceratops are really just juvenile torosaurus. If that pans out, will the bestiary entry be changed?
|
Lead Designer
|
I am not supposed to post this here, but seriosly after having our group argue over this for 4 hours instead of playing.
You wrote previosuly in the FAQ that the racial heriage feat allows a human to take racial archtypes if they meet the prerequites.
The racial heritage feat says, it makes humans qaalify for effects related to race, for what ever race they choose. straight forward.
Now the Faqs says half-elfs dont qualify for human and elf archtypes, because racial archtypes are not effects with regard to race.
I brought this up and in rules section, and it was check as FAq answered.
I'm trying keep my anger in check as a write this. If you are going to over rule a previous rule, you should say that you are over ruling a previous rule and instuting a new rule....
I cut that short for brevity.
I can understand how that sort of ruling would be frustrating and it is frustrating to me as well when we contradict a particular ruling. I am going to look into this and see what I can do. It is never our intent to anger our players by issuing rulings that confuse and upset folks.
In this particular case, these rulings were made months apart and I just plain forgot about the first one when making the second one.
Ill investigate and see what I can do about getting a succinct ruling, one way or the other.
Jason
|
Lead Designer
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'll ask a tough one, since the message boards are always clogged with class A verse class B threads.
1. Do you think the classes are currently well balanced (if it is even a concern to you), or would you like to make some further changes to class balance?
A tougher one.
2. Out of your coworkers, who inspires you the most?Toughest question.
3. If you were a tree, what kind would you be?
Numbered them for ease of answering...
1. Depends heavily on what you mean by balanced. In terms of combat effectiveness, no, they are not, nor were they designed to be. We understand that each class has a niche to fill and sometimes that means better advantages in one area of play over another. A lot of folks get really hung up over combat effectiveness, and for them, there are certainly some classes that rise above the rest. That is ok. I can live with that so long as we are also providing a bounty of options for players that are more interested in other parts of the game.
2. Hmm... tricky. I dont want to play favorites, but there are a lot of folks on our design and development teams that have some great ideas and work really hard to bring those to fruition. I think I will leave it at that.
3. As one of the tallest people in the office, I am gonna go with redwood.