>>Ask *James Jacobs* ALL your Questions Here!<<

The problem of the price of poisons.

Wolfsbane is fairly common and recognizing it isn't so hard, but the in game price is very high for something that I can find in a meadow.

How do you manage the prices of poison, James?

That's a really good question, which I also have. My brother has tried to reverse-engineer the pricing formula for existing poisons, because he wanted to figure out how to price new custom poisons. He worked out a formula with variables for damage potency, save DC, duration, and means of exposure. His formula came really close to the listed prices of a lot of the existing poisons.

So, question: Do you know if there's an actual pricing formula for poisons that Paizo uses? Or was there one at Wizards back when 3.5 was developed?

If not, how would you suggest one could design new poisons, and price them reasonably?

The problem of the price of poisons.

Wolfsbane is fairly common and recognizing it isn't so hard, but the in game price is very high for something that I can find in a meadow.

How do you manage the prices of poison, James?

A druid or ranger with the right skills, in theory, could easily find several doses of wolfsbane in a day. Even selling it at 50% of raw material cost, i,.e. 50% of 1/3 of the sale price of the poison, it would net him 83 gp for each plant. Sure, the market is limited, but the plant has medicinal uses so there will be a few buyers. EVen selling 1 plant every few days will net him a lot of money.

The sale price of several other poisons are extremely high, while it is relatively easy to find them in nature.

Actually, according to Adventurer's Armory wolfsbane is only 5sp per dose required.

Aconite (wolfsbane) is extremely dangerous. The deadliness of taking a dose based on the Core are actually lower than in the RW.

Tiny amounts are used in traditional medicine around the world (and in alcoholic drinks - Chhaang - in Tibet). The medicinal form requires extensive preparation to detoxify it.

From wikipedia: "Poisoning may also occur following picking the leaves without wearing gloves; the aconitine toxin is absorbed easily through the skin. In this event, there will be no gastrointestinal effects. Tingling will start at the point of absorption and extend up the arm to the shoulder, after which the heart will start to be affected."

That's why it's expensive. Fail your Knowledge (nature) or Heal check, and you can poison yourself gathering the herb.

(Presently working on a freelance assignment involving this very subject...)

Some random questions:

1. Are Darklands a Golarion-only thing, or are they also present on other worlds in the Solar System of sufficient size (Akiton, Castrovel, etc)?

2. Are the Red Humans on Mars related to the Azlanti?

3. For that matter, are the Akiton Lizardfolk/Ratfolk related to the Golarion versions?

4. Will we ever get Pathfinder versions of:

a. Sidhe/Tuatha De Danaan
b. Firbolga
c. Fomori

5. Any Celtic monsters scheduled to appear soon in an AP's?

6. New Qlippoth coming out soon? and if yes, can you give a rough estimate of how many? I recall seeing reference you were writing an article on them for one of the Shattered Star AP volumes.

4. Will we ever get Pathfinder versions of:

a. Sidhe/Tuatha De Danaan

I'd like to see them myself.

James, clarify one thing for me: Alchemist:

Feral Mutagen- gains two claws- but at the cost of using a weapon in those appendages?

Tentacles- can use them INSTEAD OF a weapon attack, not in addition to?

Vestigial Limb- same question?

In other words, as I read it, none of these things give you extra attacks, (well Feral does give a extra Bite attack) just more choices of what attacks to make, things to do?

MMCJawa wrote:

4. Will we ever get Pathfinder versions of:

a. Sidhe/Tuatha De Danaan

I'd like to see them myself.

James, clarify one thing for me: Alchemist:

Feral Mutagen- gains two claws- but at the cost of using a weapon in those appendages?

Tentacles- can use them INSTEAD OF a weapon attack, not in addition to?

Vestigial Limb- same question?

In other words, as I read it, none of these things give you extra attacks, (well Feral does give a extra Bite attack) just more choices of what attacks to make, things to do?

Yes. They're supposed to be a choice. Use the claws/tentacles or use a weapon. All monsters with claws and tentacles have to make that choice.

Some random questions:

1. Are Darklands a Golarion-only thing, or are they also present on other worlds in the Solar System of sufficient size (Akiton, Castrovel, etc)?

2. Are the Red Humans on Mars related to the Azlanti?

3. For that matter, are the Akiton Lizardfolk/Ratfolk related to the Golarion versions?

4. Will we ever get Pathfinder versions of:

a. Sidhe/Tuatha De Danaan
b. Firbolga
c. Fomori

5. Any Celtic monsters scheduled to appear soon in an AP's?

6. New Qlippoth coming out soon? and if yes, can you give a rough estimate of how many? I recall seeing reference you were writing an article on them for one of the Shattered Star AP volumes.

1) There are probably extensive undergrounds on other planets. The underdark is in Greyhawk, for example. These realms are called different things and work differently if they exist at all. There's a few of our planets that specifically have extensive inner workings, in fact.

2) Nope. Not that I know of, at least.

3) They use the same stats, I suspect, but they have different cultures.

4) Probably.

5) Probably.

6) Yes. There's a new qlippoth and a qlippoth lord statted up in Pathfinder #64, along with a short article about the qlippoth.

James something that I just noticed:

Check: You can use Acrobatics to move on narrow surfaces and uneven ground without falling. A successful check allows you to move at half speed across such surfaces—only one check is needed per round. Use the following table to determine the base DC, which is then modified by the Acrobatics skill modifiers noted below. While you are using Acrobatics in this way, you are considered flat-footed and lose your Dexterity bonus to your AC (if any). If you take damage while using Acrobatics, you must immediately make another Acrobatics check at the same DC to avoid falling or being knocked prone.

but there are no entry about uneven terrain in the table, only narrow surfaces.

The only instance of uneven terrain I have found in the PRD is this one:

Uneven Flagstone: Over time, some floors can become so uneven that a DC 10 Acrobatics check is required to run or charge across the surface. Failure means the character can't move that round. Floors as treacherous as this should be the exception, not the rule.

As it allow you to charge with an acrobatic check I doubt it will make you flat footed at the same time.

So, that piece of text is a remnant of older rules? Or we are missing the appropriate table?

(This discovery was generated by a person thinking to use silent image to create the illusion of uneven terrain and me trying to find the relevant rules)

Not every rule can account for every situation.

The check for moving across uneven ground is normally DC 10, but can be lower or higher depending on HOW uneaven the ground is.

What demon lord would you suggest for an isolated, headhunting(of the "you kill it, you keep it in the afterlife" variety) splinter tribe of the Ekujae elves?

I was originally looking for an Arawn-like figure for them, with the explanation that they had a sort of hero-god that started their practice(and was apparently so blessed by his deeds that his skin became black as night to aid in his hunting(duhn duhn duuunh), but I was wondering if there are any figures already in place that could fit that role that Book of the Damned 2 may have skipped over(or that might actually be in the book that I overlooked....)

I was kind of leaning towards Gorum as an alternate...but this character's particular beliefs and practices may be a bit much even for that god, even if he goes after "worthy opponents" or "men who chose to be beasts" exclusively.

Not every rule can account for every situation.

The check for moving across uneven ground is normally DC 10, but can be lower or higher depending on HOW uneaven the ground is.

I fail to see the difference with difficult terrain or situations where other rules are used (icy ground, a deck ship in a storm, csltrops and marbles and so on).

Most difficult terrain is uneven, but stacking the the effects for difficult and uneven terrain would stop most PC and NPC in their tracks.
Maybe it would be a benefit for rogues and other agile characters but most melee characters would be seriously hampered. Being flat footed is a serious disadvantage.

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Or do you look at statues the same way after watching "Blink" or "The Angels Take Manhattan"?

James, sorry if this has been asked before. I see some threads on it, but no official response.

Can you tumble while making a charge? IE, Rogue wants to charge an orc who is 20 feet away, and her ally and a hobgoblin are engaged just off to the side of her charging lane. So, when she runs through the space the hobgoblin threatens, she draws an AoO. Can she tumble through those threatened squares instead as part of her charge?

My players came up with a rather clever solution to the problem of arrows getting smaller when launched from an Enlarged Person.

Could a player Enlarge themselves, and then someone could simply give them Large Arrows to fire with their Large Longbow? That way, the bow would deal 2d6 damage as opposed to 1d8.

Also, do Enlarge Person and Lead Blades stack?

We have an easy way to make Desert Elves, but for a homebrew game set in a desert world, how could we make "Desert" Dwarfs and "Desert" Halflings?

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Nah. Kinda hard to think of starfish as sinister after growing up with a rich tradition of tidepooling/abalone hunting with dad. Kinda gross, maybe, but not sinister.

What demon lord would you suggest for an isolated, headhunting(of the "you kill it, you keep it in the afterlife" variety) splinter tribe of the Ekujae elves?

I was originally looking for an Arawn-like figure for them, with the explanation that they had a sort of hero-god that started their practice(and was apparently so blessed by his deeds that his skin became black as night to aid in his hunting(duhn duhn duuunh), but I was wondering if there are any figures already in place that could fit that role that Book of the Damned 2 may have skipped over(or that might actually be in the book that I overlooked....)

I was kind of leaning towards Gorum as an alternate...but this character's particular beliefs and practices may be a bit much even for that god, even if he goes after "worthy opponents" or "men who chose to be beasts" exclusively.

First off... there's ALWAYS more room for demon lords, so if you wanna make up a new one, that's cool.

Otherwise, a few demon lords that come to mind would include Nergal, Angazhan, or Zura.

Evil Lincoln wrote:

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Or do you look at statues the same way after watching "Blink" or "The Angels Take Manhattan"?

I'm not sure, having never seen either of those movies.

James, sorry if this has been asked before. I see some threads on it, but no official response.

Can you tumble while making a charge? IE, Rogue wants to charge an orc who is 20 feet away, and her ally and a hobgoblin are engaged just off to the side of her charging lane. So, when she runs through the space the hobgoblin threatens, she draws an AoO. Can she tumble through those threatened squares instead as part of her charge?

You can generally add a tumble to avoid an Attack of Opportunity at any time you move, using any type of speed (including swimming and flying and even climbing, although those would also require normal checks for the alternative speed as well). I'm not seeing any reason you can't add tumbling to a charge. (You would NOT be able to use Acrobatics to move through an enemy's square to enable a charge though.)

My players came up with a rather clever solution to the problem of arrows getting smaller when launched from an Enlarged Person.

Could a player Enlarge themselves, and then someone could simply give them Large Arrows to fire with their Large Longbow? That way, the bow would deal 2d6 damage as opposed to 1d8.

You could absolutely do this.

Also, do Enlarge Person and Lead Blades stack?

Not in my opinion; they're both pretty much size bonuses to weapons, after all, and letting them stack is pretty overpowered for a pair of 1st level spells.

We have an easy way to make Desert Elves, but for a homebrew game set in a desert world, how could we make "Desert" Dwarfs and "Desert" Halflings?

By doing what you just did. By adding "desert" to the word. They don't need new stat mods or abilities.

BUT! If you wanted to give them new stat mods or abilities... the Advanced Race Guide's race building rules are perfect for the situation.

LazarX wrote:

Evil Lincoln wrote:

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Or do you look at statues the same way after watching "Blink" or "The Angels Take Manhattan"?

I'm not sure, having never seen either of those movies.

Just a note: "Blink" is the only Dr. Who episode that scared me. It would be worth looking up.

Hmm. So a Ranger could have Enlarge Person cast on themselves, then someone gives him Large Arrows (which currently have no magic on them) and a Large Longbow which does 2d6 damage, then he casts Gravity Bow, so that when he shoots, he does 3d6 damage per shot?

My gut feeling tells me no, but if neither the bow nor the arrows were enlarged by Enlarge Person, wouldn't that make them effectively stack?

Could a melee Ranger do the same thing, taking a large Greatsword after they were enlarged, and then they cast Lead Blades?

LazarX wrote:

Evil Lincoln wrote:

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Or do you look at statues the same way after watching "Blink" or "The Angels Take Manhattan"?

I'm not sure, having never seen either of those movies.

They're episodes of Doctor Who, which I believe you've said you're not a fan of.

James Jacobs wrote:

LazarX wrote:

Evil Lincoln wrote:

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Or do you look at statues the same way after watching "Blink" or "The Angels Take Manhattan"?

I'm not sure, having never seen either of those movies.

Just a note: "Blink" is the only Dr. Who episode that scared me. It would be worth looking up.

Ah! That explains why I've never even heard of those two. I'm not a Dr. Who fan.

Hmm. So a Ranger could have Enlarge Person cast on themselves, then someone gives him Large Arrows (which currently have no magic on them) and a Large Longbow which does 2d6 damage, then he casts Gravity Bow, so that when he shoots, he does 3d6 damage per shot?

My gut feeling tells me no, but if neither the bow nor the arrows were enlarged by Enlarge Person, wouldn't that make them effectively stack?

Could a melee Ranger do the same thing, taking a large Greatsword after they were enlarged, and then they cast Lead Blades?

Technically, yes... but that's still kinda cheesy in my opinion. Not as cheesy as a 1st level wizard doing so, since the ranger's a bit above 1st level when he can cast spells... but still kinda cheesy.

AKA: lead blades and gravity bow are too low level, I think. Because I'm relatively sure that no one took into account how quickly damage scales for weapons once they're for larger creatures. The spells probably would have been more balanced (and less confusing) if they just did +1d6 damage.

danielc wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

LazarX wrote:

Evil Lincoln wrote:

James, did starfish somehow seem more sinister after you first read At the Mountains of Madness?

Or do you look at statues the same way after watching "Blink" or "The Angels Take Manhattan"?

I'm not sure, having never seen either of those movies.

Just a note: "Blink" is the only Dr. Who episode that scared me. It would be worth looking up.

Ah! That explains why I've never even heard of those two. I'm not a Dr. Who fan.

Those angels are marvelous though:)

zean wrote:

Hmm. So a Ranger could have Enlarge Person cast on themselves, then someone gives him Large Arrows (which currently have no magic on them) and a Large Longbow which does 2d6 damage, then he casts Gravity Bow, so that when he shoots, he does 3d6 damage per shot?

My gut feeling tells me no, but if neither the bow nor the arrows were enlarged by Enlarge Person, wouldn't that make them effectively stack?

Could a melee Ranger do the same thing, taking a large Greatsword after they were enlarged, and then they cast Lead Blades?

Technically, yes... but that's still kinda cheesy in my opinion. Not as cheesy as a 1st level wizard doing so, since the ranger's a bit above 1st level when he can cast spells... but still kinda cheesy.

AKA: lead blades and gravity bow are too low level, I think. Because I'm relatively sure that no one took into account how quickly damage scales for weapons once they're for larger creatures. The spells probably would have been more balanced (and less confusing) if they just did +1d6 damage.

Interesting suggestion. If someone start piling size bonus on the same person in my games I will take it in consideration.

A tabletop RPG is more than "find the weakness in the PC program and hammer it to win".

If you summoned a creature, and it swallowed somebody... what would happen when the summoning spell expired?

Daron Woodson
Abandoned Arts

What is your opinion on the Paragon Surge + Expanded Arcana Feat Combination? Is it legal?

Paragon Surge is a Level 3 Spell for Half-Elves from the ARG which lets you, among other things, gain 1 feat of your choice.

And of course, Expanded Arcana is a feat which gives a Spontaneous Caster an additional spell known.

If you summoned a creature, and it swallowed somebody... what would happen when the summoning spell expired?

The person would appear wherever the creature was when it vanished. Covered in gut juice, of course, and depending on the size of the creature, might take a little falling damage.

What is your opinion on the Paragon Surge + Expanded Arcana Feat Combination? Is it legal?

Paragon Surge is a Level 3 Spell for Half-Elves from the ARG which lets you, among other things, gain 1 feat of your choice.

And of course, Expanded Arcana is a feat which gives a Spontaneous Caster an additional spell known.

That's legal, if a bit weird... but then, any spell that lets you pick a feat is a bit weird (and a bit more powerful each time we invent a new feat, alas...).

Abandoned Arts wrote:

If you summoned a creature, and it swallowed somebody... what would happen when the summoning spell expired?

The person would appear wherever the creature was when it vanished. Covered in gut juice, of course, and depending on the size of the creature, might take a little falling damage.

Would suffocation rules apply?

(Sorry, I had to.)

James Jacobs wrote:

Abandoned Arts wrote:

If you summoned a creature, and it swallowed somebody... what would happen when the summoning spell expired?

The person would appear wherever the creature was when it vanished. Covered in gut juice, of course, and depending on the size of the creature, might take a little falling damage.

Would suffocation rules apply?

(Sorry, I had to.)

No more so than anyone being swallowed whole normally has to.

Looks like the poison question got missed:

Is there a formula behind the way currently-published poisons are priced?

If there isn't, what would be a good way of determining the prices for newly-designed custom poisons?

Looks like the poison question got missed:

Is there a formula behind the way currently-published poisons are priced?

If there isn't, what would be a good way of determining the prices for newly-designed custom poisons?

There is no formula. The best way for determining prices for new poisons is to simply compare the new poison to the current ones and price accordingly so that the new poison is more expensive than lesser poisons but not as expensive as greater poisons.

I know the spell says what it says, but 'shouldn't' Paragon Surge give a Size Bonus to INT/DEX instead of Enhancement?
It seems like every other Polymorph spell works like that, and the idea that you yourself are really changing/polymorphing to have these qualities would be in line with that, rather than using Enhancement bonus which is basically 'magical augmentation' on top of whatever your effective stats are...?
I pretty much call Size Bonus 'Polymorph Bonus' because it can work regardless of whether you are changing Size category or not.

Am I correct in thinking that Share Spell's wording about affecting your Familiar regardless of Type would allow ANYBODY to cast Paragon Surge on their Familiar (anybody can cast it, not just half-elfs, it just affects half-elves only), getting the Familiar a free Feat. Would Familiars be able to choose Feats using the Master's BAB or character level as a feat pre-req?

Hey James,
I have a leadership feat question for you. I have a player who's planning on making a necromancer mystic theurge so that he can amass as many undead as possible. In addition to the ones he'll have from spells, he also wants to use the leadership feat to have even more undead under his command. Specifically, he wants skeletal champions, both for his cohort and for his followers.

We've been in a disagreement about just how many he would be able to amass just from leadership however. My opinion of course is that skeletal champions will count as having more levels for the purposes of leadership because of the benefits they get from their template. The Monster Cohorts chart handles the cohort, but I have the following questions:

1. Should I follow the suggestion on that cohort chart for the 'value' of a skeletal champion follower as well? I wasn't sure, because counting a CR 2 monster as a level 6 follower that can't level up seemed kind of harsh.

2. If my player wanted to replace the warrior level the basic skeletal champion has with a class level (like fighter) should I have that count as a base level 7 cohort instead of level 6?

In the ARG, Aasimar can get the feat "Angel Wings" to grant them wings at level 10, while Sylphs can grab "Wings of Air" to grant them wings at level 9. Angel wings aren't a combat feat, they aren't a monk Bonus feat, what's the rationale behind giving them level 10 as a prereq? or is it a typo?

I know the spell says what it says, but 'shouldn't' Paragon Surge give a Size Bonus to INT/DEX instead of Enhancement?

It seems like every other Polymorph spell works like that, and the idea that you yourself are really changing/polymorphing to have these qualities would be in line with that, rather than using Enhancement bonus which is basically 'magical augmentation' on top of whatever your effective stats are...?
I pretty much call Size Bonus 'Polymorph Bonus' because it can work regardless of whether you are changing Size category or not.

Am I correct in thinking that Share Spell's wording about affecting your Familiar regardless of Type would allow ANYBODY to cast Paragon Surge on their Familiar (anybody can cast it, not just half-elfs, it just affects half-elves only), getting the Familiar a free Feat. Would Familiars be able to choose Feats using the Master's BAB or character level as a feat pre-req?

Whether it should or shouldn't is a decision that needed to be made during the spell's development. I wasn't part of that process, so I can offer no insight or explanation for as to why it ended up working like that.

As for having this spell shared with a familiar... I'd say that the familiar just gains the same feat you gain.

In the ARG, Aasimar can get the feat "Angel Wings" to grant them wings at level 10, while Sylphs can grab "Wings of Air" to grant them wings at level 9. Angel wings aren't a combat feat, they aren't a monk Bonus feat, what's the rationale behind giving them level 10 as a prereq? or is it a typo?

I didn't design or develop that book, so I can't say for sure what the rationale was. There ARE other ways to gain bonus feats, though, but certainly for most characters, you'll need to wait until 11th level to get Angel Wings. Unless it's actually an errory and should be 9th or 11th level, which it might well be.

Hey James,

I have a leadership feat question for you. I have a player who's planning on making a necromancer mystic theurge so that he can amass as many undead as possible. In addition to the ones he'll have from spells, he also wants to use the leadership feat to have even more undead under his command. Specifically, he wants skeletal champions, both for his cohort and for his followers.

We've been in a disagreement about just how many he would be able to amass just from leadership however. My opinion of course is that skeletal champions will count as having more levels for the purposes of leadership because of the benefits they get from their template. The Monster Cohorts chart handles the cohort, but I have the following questions:

1. Should I follow the suggestion on that cohort chart for the 'value' of a skeletal champion follower as well? I wasn't sure, because counting a CR 2 monster as a level 6 follower that can't level up seemed kind of harsh.

2. If my player wanted to replace the warrior level the basic skeletal champion has with a class level (like fighter) should I have that count as a base level 7 cohort instead of level 6?

0. Shouldn't your player be trying to use leadership to gain undead cohorts who can create spawn, and therefore build a pyramid scheme of leadership over his cohorts' spawn?

1. The reason undead cohorts are so "expensive" is because they have a LOT of really useful immunities that regular flesh-and-blood cohorts don't have. Immunity to mind-affecting effects is alone pretty awesome.

2. I would make the cohort gain levels normally, first of all. Replacing that 1st level with a PC class instead of an NPC class would indeed raise its base level by +1.

0. Shouldn't your player be trying to use leadership to gain undead cohorts who can create spawn, and therefore build a pyramid scheme of leadership over his cohorts' spawn?

Shh! Don't give him ideas! ;)

So, for your answer to number 1, I guess I should take that as meaning that I should have them count as level 6 followers as well as level 6 cohorts. Meaning, since you can only have 2 level 6 followers at level 20, he can only have 3 skeletal champions using leadership (including 2 followers and the 1 cohort).

Thanks for the clarification!

What region of golarion has the strongest celtic influence? Does the first world have such an influence? If not, can Kevin Andrew Murphy write about the first world so it does? :)

AlgaeNymph wrote:

Can you bottle other outsiders and make them into de-facto magic items a-la bottled genies? (binding spell using minimus containment; see Pathfinder #22, p. 50-51)

Yes; that's what the binding spell's all about. Often, a spellcaster does this and then promises to let the bound outsider go in return for it doing a service once it's released.

1. If I can turn outsiders into cost-effective magic items with binding, why isn't it used more that way?

2. Do I have to play nice with binding or can I make a monster my slave with no escape condition?

3. If I use a glyph of warding to guard a treasury, can it tell the difference between honest withdrawals and genuine theft?

4. Is Pathfinder #66 going to talk about what each Runelord would do were they to awaken, and what each one's motives were/are in general?

5. Which Runelord is your favorite, and why?

After reading your write up of Shank's Woods, in the Pathfinder #2 comic I was wondering if when you were creating Sandpoint and the surroundings, did you just place monsters and lairs regardless of CR as a sandbox, or did you keep everything CR appropriate.

I'm more and more leaning towards the former, and let the PCs know that running is sometimes the appropriate response, and was wondering your take.