Aenigma's page

I really look forward to more Callings and mythic desnities as soon as possible. At least we should be able to replicate the mythic paths appeared in Wrath of the Righteous CRPG!

Thought of something

There is already a level 12 Archetype that makes you immortal. Could it be retrofitted into a Mythic destiny. could we Rise as the Mythic Lich to overtake Tar Baphon?!

Is there? Can you tell me the name of the archetype?

As far as I remember, the Oliphaunt appeared on Golarion only once, during an Azlanti invasion of Thassilon in -6301 AR, in the Age of Legend. So can I assume that the men in the art are Azlanti soldiers?

Vulot? I have never even heard that name. Has he ever been mentioned in other books? And since he is a demon lord, and also since demon lords' power range was from 26 to 30 CR in First Edition, his level would be 26, at least? And since Agyra's CR was 27 in First Edition, her level would be 27, I presume.

Speaking as a guy who saw some stuff, why are the kaijus not...kaiju-sized? Like, they're Gargantuan with nothing else. I can't believe that a Gargantuan creature can do the kind of damage that it's described from them.

Yeah, that's why I stil lthink removing the colossal size in Second Edition was a huge mistake. I think Paizo not only should bring the colossal size back in Third Edition, but also should add an even bigger size category, to properly represent truly big monsters like kaiju or the Oliphaunt!

So daemons have their own unique mythic destiny, while other evil outsiders (not sure if Pathfinder still uses this term or not though) share archfiend? I have always suspected that Paizo favors daemons over other evil outsiders, or perhaps over all the other outsiders (perhaps because daemons are entirely Paizo's creation?), and now it is proven!

Not sure why neutral outsiders have no mythic destiny of their own.

I'm surprised at prophesied monarch, since after Aroden died no prophecy works at all.

Not sure who designed the Starstone Cathedral (perhaps Aroden himself?), but the art suggests the building is quite a mess!

Why didn't you not include this alternate rules into War of Immortal book in the first place though?

Will we see more mythic callings and destinies in the future?

Travel by turtle? I guess my main question is, can the turtle fight? If so, how high its level would be?

With mythic spell, can I raise an entire island from depth of the ocean, just like Aroden?

Does this game use Pathfinder Remaster rules?

So while evil outsiders have two mythic destinies (apocalypse rider and archfiend), good outsiders have only one (ascended celestial)?

Sigh. I have no idea why Thurston Hillman (the author of Darklands Revisited) said urdefhans have three eyes in the book.

Huh. So their third eye is located on their neck, and they can freely see using it regardless of whether their mouth is open or shut? I have seen many arts depicting them but I couldn't see an eye on their neck though.

What does cur-Deaf-fin mean? Can you spell the word?

1. On page 53 of Darklands Revisited, there is this sentence:
"The entire urdefhan species is purposed toward the wholesale extermination of other species across the world, for there can be no greater accomplishment than the final extinction of an entire people. Most urdefhans currently remain locked in the depths of the Darklands fulfilling one great endeavor: expunging the last descendants of lost Azlant. Perhaps, when they feel certain they have eradicated the underground remnants of that ancient human empire, they will turn their attention to the human descendants on Golarion's surface."

By "the wholesale extermination of other species across the world", does it mean the extermination of sentient species only, or the extermination of literally all life, including animals, vermin, plants, and microorganisms?

2. By "the wholesale extermination of other species across the world", does it mean the extermination of species on Golarion only, or does it include species on other planets as well? I'm not sure if urdefhans know about other planets or the cosmology though.

3. By "the wholesale extermination of other species across the world", does it mean the extermination of species in the Material Plane, or does it extend to species in other planes as well?

4. Why do urdefhans hate Azlant and its descendants so much? The book didn't mention it at all.

5. On page 53 of Darklands Revisited, there is this sentence:
"Every urdefhan has a third eye, located inconspicuously at the back of its mouth."

I'm not sure if I understood this correctly. So, if an urdefhan wishes to see using its third eye, it has to open its mouth? And if it shuts its mouth, the third eye becomes effectively blind? Since the arts for urdefhans don't clearly describe this third eye, I'm honestly not sure.

6. How do you pronounce "urdefhan"? I'm not sure whether it's a creation of Wizards of the Coast or Paizo, but I honestly don't know how to say it. I'm also not sure if urdefhans appear in Pathfinder Remaster, because I couldn't find them in Monster Core.

I discovered that the initial stretch goal is USD 371,178. I'm not sure why Ossian Studios chose this specific number instead of, say, USD 350,000 or 400,000.

I'm really disappointed that this game is turn-based, rather than real-time like those developed by Owlcat Games.

As far as I remember, the backstory of this adventure is related to the Dominion of the Black, not the Elder Mythos. However, the USD 810,000 stretch goal features the Elder Mythos. Perhaps did Ossian Studios revise the story?

Thanks for the answers! Actually, I had a similar thought regarding Lightning Bolt. In Start of Darkness, a prequel book of the famous webcomic The Order of the Stick, Xykon kills a lizardfolk with a Lightning Bolt, which blasts the creature several meters back, killing him instantly. Since this webcomic follows D&D 3.5 rules very strictly (the most memorable example, in my opinion, is from this page where Vaarsuvius tries to scribe Power Word Blind into his spellbook. According to the laws of magic, it takes up seven whole pages, even though the spell is literally just one word. He still needs to leave the next six pages blank and cannot scribe another spell that day because the laws of magic somehow prevent anyone from scribing more than one spell per day. Facing this extremely illogical irrationality, he eventually has a mental breakdown and sobs. And he still has to pay 350 gp for the ink, despite only writing one word), I had always assumed that D&D and Pathfinder's Lightning Bolt could actually do that. Sigh. Perhaps I was mistaken.

Well, because this game will be launched after the Second Edition mythic rules are published, and I didn't know the level cap of it would be so low.

In The Hobbit film, Smaug's breath weapon is shown to be strong enough to blast apart stone towers during the sacking of Dale and Erebor. However, in the opening cinematic of Baldur's Gate 3, we see the fire breath of red dragons having virtually no effect on the nautiloid, the bizarre flying ship used by mind flayers, as if it is pure flame with no concussive force.

My main question is: Does the fire breath weapon of red dragons in D&D and Pathfinder lack any physical force, functioning more like a very large flamethrower? For example, if a red dragon were to use its fire breath on a stone tower, castle, palace, modern military tank, battleship, or starship, would it have virtually no effect at all, since stone is non-flammable? Likewise, if I were wearing bunker gear, the personal protective equipment used by firefighters, would it make me immune to a red dragon's breath weapon, since it has no physical force and only deals fire damage?

Does it also include mythic rules?

I thought this game was cancelled, since the Kickstarter page does not open. Not sure why though.

Is it based on Pathfinder Remaster?

By the way, wasn't Aeteperax in The Dragon's Demand a green dragon? It seems that there appears a black dragon in the teaser trailer.

Are avenger, bloodrager, and vincidator mythic paths? Or they are just non-mythic archetypes, and mythic paths are not revealed yet?

One of the reasons I look forward to Pathfinder Third Edition is that I hope the technology and magic levels of Golarion increase enough to introduce more steampunk elements, like steam tanks, ironclad warships, or dwarven helicopters. In Second Edition, the setting has become more gunpowder-friendly, so I imagine Third Edition will include even more steampunk elements. The various arts in Agents of Edgewatch suggest that the cultural level of Absalom is similar to Victorian-era England, as many characters are depicted wearing Victorian-style outfits rather than typical medieval fantasy attire. Not sure when Third Edition will come out though.

Thanks for the answer James.

Sigh. Actually, I didn't like storm giants that much, but in Pathfinder Second Edition, they've become my favorite giants due to the art change. While they looked like just giant Greeks (or perhaps giant Romans? I really can't tell the difference) in D&D and Pathfinder First Edition, the new art for storm giants in the Second Edition Bestiary really makes them feel like truly fantastic creatures. It's too bad they're removed from Pathfinder Remaster. :(

Now, I'm really looking forward to Monster Core 2 because I hope to see the return of the good old monsters in Pathfinder Remaster. I'm not sure if Paizo is inclined to bring them back, though. :)

Thanks for your kind and detailed answer.

That raises another question. As you can see, stone giants clearly seem like D&D creations to me. They are not from any real-world mythology as far as I know. But somehow, Paizo used them in Pathfinder Remaster. This surprised me a lot because, while Wizards of the Coast certainly cannot own the term "stone giant", it surely owns the various lore regarding them, including their distinctive appearance (I'm not sure how to describe it, but... their moai-like look?). However, Paizo retained this moai-like appearance in Pathfinder Remaster, which I thought was owned by Wizards of the Coast.

In a similar case, while there are barghests in Pathfinder Remaster, Paizo not only rewrote the whole lore about them but also completely redrew the art, changing their appearance entirely—something it did not do for stone giants. I'm not sure if I'm missing something.

So hill giants and storm giants are creations of Wizards of the Coast? I have always thought storm giants are from Greek mythology because in D&D and Pathfinder they look and dress like ancient Greeks.

I asked ChatGPT whether cloud giants and storm giants are from real-world mythology or fairy tales, or if they are purely D&D creations, and it answered that they are indeed D&D creations. If it's true, I have no idea how can cloud giants be used in Pathfinder Remaster though.

Can I assume that hill giants and storm giants are 100% D&D creations? That's why they don't appear in Monster Core?

There are six giants in Monster Core: marsh, stone, frost, fire, cloud, shadow, and rune. As far as I know, marsh giants are from the Cthulhu Mythos, and frost giants and fire giants are from Norse mythology. But where are the remaining four types of giants (stone, cloud, shadow, and rune) from? Honestly I've thought Wizards of the Coast created stone and cloud giants as well.

Sigh. I hoped there would be a school in New Thassilon or Xin-Edasseril in this book.

Is the University of Lepidstadt a magic school? I have always thought it is a normal school, albeit very knowledgeable about the Elder Mythos and undead.

It seems that among the six schools in this book, none are from Absalom, Cheliax, or Varisia. This is quite strange, considering that Cheliax is the most powerful country in the world, and I have always thought that Varisia and Absalom are two centers of attention for Paizo developers. Does this mean that the Arcanamirium, the Egorian Academy of the Magical Arts, the Acadamae, the Order of Cyphers, and the Twilight Academy are not as prestigious as those included in this book? I'm also surprised to learn that there is no magical school in Magnimar at all.

It is confirmed that the remastered runelord archetype will appear in this book. But I heard that the ancient Thassilonian wizards actually didn't use the runelord archetype and they instead used the Thassilonian specialist archetype. Will the Thassilonian specialist archetype appear as well?

I have never heard of this adventure path. When was it announced? Does it take place in Azlant? Is it a mythic adventure path?

James, thanks for the kind answers.

You mentioned that the elves on Golarion have ears that stick straight up vertically, not horizontally. However, according to various arts in Pathfinder books, elf ears seem to be positioned at some angle in-between, neither entirely horizontal nor entirely vertical.

For example, let's consider the elves depicted on page 46 and 49 of Pathfinder Remaster Player Core. Would you say their ears could be considered as sticking straight up vertically?

Also, I just thought of a weird question: Are goblin ears and hobgoblin ears bigger and longer than elf ears?

On page 5 of The Armageddon Echo, James Jacobs said:

Elf ears are a funny issue. They're one of those things that everyone seems to have strong opinions about, and I'm not really sure why. The exact length and shape of these things sends our readers into shockingly passionate debates. I'm sure we didn't help things by going all over the board in the early days of Pathfinder as we experimented with a look that would be Golarion's. I knew I didn't want Spock-length ears (I wanted to save those for our half-elves), but I also knew that the overly huge "anime-ears" threw a lot of our readers into fits of rage. The direction of those ears caused problems too; do they stick straight up, straight out, or at some angle in-between?

After reading this, I have some questions.

1. My knowledge of Japanese animation is limited, but don't the elves on Golarion have overly huge anime-ears?

2. Can I also assume that the elves on Golarion have ears that stick straight up?

3. Azatas are the most elf-like of the celestial races. Do they also have overly huge anime-ears that stick straight up?

4. Can I assume that Calistria, Desna, Nocticula, and Socothbenoth have overly huge anime-ears that stick straight up?

5. Additionally, can I assume that elves in Dungeons & Dragons have short ears, like Spock-length, that stick straight out? At least, that's how the elves in Baldur's Gate 3 appear to me.

I'm really frustrated because this adventure path is a three-book adventure path. I honestly think it has the potential to be a six-book adventure path. Sigh. I know recently Paizo makes three-book AP only, but this particular AP, where the PC face and kill the iconic monster of Paizo, should have been a full six-book AP! Not sure why Paizo made such a decision.

This is not a mythic adventure? Sigh. It seems I need to wait several more months to see a true mythic adventure path where the final boss is a level 30 demon lord, rather than just a nascent demon lord like Treerazer. I thought Treerazer is described as a non-mythic creature in Monster Core only because there were no mythic rules then, and since we will have mythic rules very soon, he will become a mythic creature in the upcoming Spore War adventure path!

James, can I assume that all demon-infested lands are blighted lands, as described on page 60 of Prisoners of the Blight? In these areas, the trees grow eyes, the skies are unnaturally dark, and it feels as if nature itself has become an enemy to all living things?

I'm not sure "Spore War" is a good name for the adventure path featuring Treerazer. This name would be more fitting if the final boss were related to fungi or vermin, such as Cyth V'sug, Deskari, Jubilex, Mazmezz, or Yhidothrus. However, Treerazer, while known for his environmental destruction, resembles a dinosaur or dragon, not a fungus or vermin.

James, if First Edition mythic rules were much more successful, would this adventure path have been published in First Edition?

"Treerazer" is just a nickname, and we still don't know his real name. I really hope his real name is revealed in this adventure path, as it would be the perfect opportunity (and likely the last, since Treerazer will be killed in this adventure path and won't appear or be mentioned again).

I guess we have another reason why they couldn't call the mythic destiny Horseman of the Apocalypse - the iconic is riding a goblin dog.

I don't remember I have ever seen that particular art. Where can I see it?

So the mythic power is not a post level 20 content? Sigh. I really wish the mythic power would let my wizard do truly mythic deeds, like: Raising an island from the bottom of the sea (just like what Aroden did) so that he would recreate the drowned Azlant once again! Or transporting thousands soldiers with one teleport spell so that he would conquer literally anywhere in the world! Or an outright planet-destroying spell, perhaps. But if it's a below level 20 content, that means my mythic wizard would not be able to do such things?

I really wish Paizo to publish post level 20 rules someday. I like the flavor of the mythic power, sure, but advancing beyond level 20 seems better I guess.

I honestly have no idea why Paizo decided to make minotaurs a PC race. I mean, they are mostly evil. They are the minions of Baphomet. If minotaurs can be a PC race, I guess ogres and trolls can too, but surprisingly Paizo has no intention to make them PC races at all though. Also, I'm still not sure whether making a large race into a PC race is desirable or not.

I just realized that Great Planar Ally can only summon an outsider (not sure if the word "summon" is appropriate in this context though). And Tarrasque, the herald of Rovagug, is a magical beast, not an outsider. So even if Great Planar Ally has no HD limit, it can still not be used to summon Tarrasque right? Sigh. It's clearly disadvantageous for Rovagug worshippers.

Pathfinder First Edition Core Rulebook was published in 2009, and Second Edition Core Rulebook was published in 2019. So logically Paizo will publish Third Edition in 2029! I only need to wait five more years, which thrills me a lot!

I'm not sure when Starfinder Second Edition will come out, but since Starfinder First Edition Core Rulebook was published in 2017, logically the new edition will be published in 2027 I guess.

In Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth, Baphomet transformed Iomedae's herald into his own. His CR is 20 and he also has 8 MR. Does that mean, while he is the herald of a god, he cannot be conjured with Greater Planar Ally spell?

I was very curious about this so I checked the core rulebooks of Pathfinder First Edition, Second Edition and Starfinder again yet still found nothing. Can I assume that the OP's assumption (teleportation is accomplished by going through the Astral or Ethereal plane to move to the destination) has no evidence at all? Not sure if it was mentioned somewhere in the D&D rulebooks but I honestly have no idea.

We know that magical teleportation is accomplished by going through the Astral or Ethereal plane to move to the destination, which I assume what happens is that you actually move that direction within the Ethereal Plane in a split second and then shift back to the Universe.

Is it? Where is it mentioned? I don't remember reading it in any of the D&D, Pathfinder, or Starfinder rulebooks. Can you tell me?

I have a similar question. The endonyms of serpentfolk and troglodytes are sekmin and xulgath respectively (plural forms are sekmins and xulgaths). Likewise, do elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, kobolds, orcs, goblins, and boggards have their own endonym too?

It's the third time Paizo has had to do a big shift as a result of being dependent on another company, and in the grand scheme of things was the simplest one to pull off (the other two being losing the Dragon and Dungeon magazine licenses resulting in the creation of the Pathfinder brand and Pathfinder Adventure Path, and 4th edition not being friendly to the OGL resulting in the creation of the Pathfinder RPG).

Does that mean, originally Paizo didn't plan to make Pathfinder RPG at all? That if Wizards of the Coast didn't take away the Dragon and Dungeon magazine licenses from Paizo, Paizo would not have created the Lost Omens campaign setting in the first place?

Or if D&D 4th was friendly to the OGL, then Paizo would have used D&D 4th and 5th rules, not creating Pathfinder RPG?

Also, if the OGL crisis didn't happen, would Paizo still have used the OGL?

I ask these because I have always thought that creating its own rules and dumping each and every OGL element (including the OGL monsters like chromatic and metallic dragons, or golems, and the alignment system) entirely are Paizo's eventual goals from the beginning.

...compounded by the fact that the tradition of doing city maps where every individual building is shown is the industry standard and the customer expectation even though that means that if you do it right, you need poster maps or rolls of butcher paper or a parking lot in order to do that right for a city that's got hundreds of thousands or millions of people living in it.

Wait, so does that mean the maps of various settlements like Magnimar, Korvosa, or Oppara do not exactly describe the settlements like Google Earth? I mean, the number of buildings and houses drawn in the maps are clearly fewer than the actual buildings and houses needed to accommodate the population?

I have always thought that the map in City of Lost Omens Poster Map Folio accurately describes the city, that it includes literally every house and building in Absalom. Well, I didn't actually count the numbers of the houses to find out if there are enough houses to accommodate more than 300,000 people, though. Turns out even that map is not entirely accurate?

Magnimar is growing rapidly? I'm glad to hear that. I have always thought that Magnimar's population is too small considering its area.

It seems that even GM Core has no information about the approximate population of each settlement size category. Not sure if pre-Remaster Second Edition rulebook has mentioned this or not though.

If Paizo remakes Rise of the Runelords or Return of the Runelords using Pathfinder Remaster, how high would Xin-Shalast's or Xin-Edasseril's settlement level be? Near 20 perhaps, because of the presence of the runelord?

By the way, can the settlement level be higher than 20? If a settlement is very populated and developed, and has many high level mythic characters, then perhaps...? For example, I think the Eternal City of Axis' settlement level would be much higher than 20!

Sigh. I'm still not sure if not doing a playtest for the mythic rules is a good idea.

What is the giant mushroom creature on the cover of Pathfinder Godsrain?

Is Battlecry the name of the book? Have it been announced before? I have never even heard it.

On the cover of Divine Mysteries, are the three deities behind Arazni Sarenrae, Pharasma, and Asmodeus?

I still have no idea when and how Arazni has become a deity. In Tyrant's Grasp, Arazni was not even a demigod, just a powerful mythic character. Now, Tar-Baphon is still a mortal (albeit very powerful), yet Arazni has become a full-fledged deity? Did she touch the Starstone?

I didn't even know there would be this stream today! Was it announced on the website? Will it be uploaded on YouTube?

Now that Gorum's death is confirmed, does that mean The Godsrain Prophecies are over and there will be no part eleven?

Does that mean there will be no playtest for the mythic rules?

Perhaps the cover art implies that Szuriel will be a deity in Pathfinder Remaster?

We don't officially categorize what the height break point is for creature sizes in 2nd edition...

According to this webpage, in Pathfinder First Edition the typical height and length of each creature size are concretely defined. I have always thought that Paizo has categorized the creature sizes in Second Edition just like it did in First Edition. But turns out there is no such concrete numbers in Second Edition and Remaster?

By the way, I tried to find the description about the typical height and length of each creature size that can be found in the above link from the First Edition Core Rulebook but I couldn't. Do you know on which page that particular content is located?

I thought this adventure takes place in Magnimar because of the Skinsaw Man... turns out the Skinsaw Cult is in Ravounel too? Sigh. I really wish we would revisit Magnimar as soon as possible.

Is this book written using Starfinder First Edition rules?

I have always thought that the Sandpoint Devil is the name of a race, just like bearded devils, horned devils, and sea devils. Is the Sandpoint Devil the name of a specific creature, and not the name of a race? In other words, is there no baby Sandpoint Devil at all?

Also I recently discovered that the alignment of the Sandpoint Devil is neutral evil. Then why does people of Sandpoint call it the Sandpoint Devil, instead of the Sandpoint Daemon? Well, considering Saul Vancaskerkin and all those who have participated in the Cheat the Devil and Take his Gold tournament in Shadow in the Sky didn't realize that succubi are actually demons rather than devils and would be considered mortal enemies of the latter, perhaps normal humans on Golarion have no knowledge or interest in the finer distinctions of the Lower Planes. Thus it would not be unlikely for the people of Sandpoint not being able to properly distinguish devils from daemons. Sigh. If the Sandpoint Devil lived near a developed city like Magnimar or Absalom, then perhaps it got a proper and correct name. :)

Not sure if I understood correctly. So qlippoth is purely the creation of Paizo, but shoggti, nyogoth, chernobue, and Shiggarreb cannot be used in Pathfinder Remaster? I didn't know they were created by Green Ronin because they appeared in First Edition Bestiary 2 and Book of the Damned. But if they were created for Pathfinder in the first place instead of D&D, perhaps they are still usable in Pathfinder Remaster?

Qlippoth still exist? I thought they are created by D&D. Turns out they are purely Paizo's creation?

I'm very frustrated that kobolds now have nothing to do with dragons. I have liked them very much due to their resemblance to dragons. Is the depiction of kobolds as little dragons a creation of D&D too, and not part of the origianl mythology?

I do find it funny that thanks to ogl removal, the "sea devils" finally got better name than that

Not sure if I understood correctly, but does that mean you didn't like the name "sea devils" and like the new name "sedacthy"? I actually hate the new name very much, and am very surprised that Paizo cannot use the name sahuagin. Is sahuagin created by D&D as well?

Sigh. No more remaster books? I really wish Secrets of Magic to be remastered. That book gave detailed information about magic, essences, and schools. Since the previous information regarding magic schools are completely useless now, I wish to see the remastered version of Secrets of Magic someday.