AlgaeNymph's page

What's it like mentally being a cleric of a deity (Arshea, for example) in contrast to being a lay worshipper (i.e., not a divine spellcaster)?

Nothing about druid anathemas prevents labwork or utilizing and inventing technology - though it’s worth underscoring that you do magic.

I'm a bit confused by that statement, mainly because I'm someone who sees magic as something that can be developed as a form of technology. But that's going on a tangent.

You use natural tools as much as you can. This is enough IMO to not rely on processed goods.

And now this is raising the question of what a biomancer would use as tools, which is yet another tangent altogether. I may have to start another thread, or two...

keftiu wrote:

A scholar can exist outside of a library, and the Magaambya places a strong emphasis on ‘field work.’ Most Magaambyan mages are traveling the Mwangi Expanse, and many more are currently aiding on humanitarian missions up north in Avistan; they’re hardly huddled up in Nantambu. Staying in one place long enough to finish your early studies is not the same as settling down and betraying your oath to the wilds.

Heck, look at the shape of the AP; fully half of the books take place well beyond Nantambu, and even the ones set there leave the Magaambya’s halls.

I agree with all of this.

Fair enough. But what about labwork mid-career and later? To say nothing of utilizing and developing technology.

The first reference I can find is in the Lost Omens Character Guide, pg 98, which was October of 2019.

...That recently?

And why didn't I notice it sooner! >_<

Becoming fully domesticated by the temptations of civilization is anathema to your order. (This doesn’t prevent you from buying and using processed goods or staying in a city for an adventure, but you can never come to rely on these conveniences or truly call such a place your permanent home.)

Given the aforementioned constraints, how would a wizard who opted for the order that grants the best shapeshifting powers function in the Magaambya? A scholar would rely on processed goods, and the students are encouraged to think of the campus as their home. This is especially pertinent if said character had a magi-biotech focus, looking to modify and create life.

AlgaeNymph wrote:

Was the Perquisite intentionally named such? Because it's a prerequisite, which is a different word entirely.

New Oxford American Dictionary wrote:

USAGE

Perquisite and prerequisite are sometimes confused.
Perquisite usually means ‘an extra allowance or privilege’: he had all the perquisites of a movie star, including a stand-in.
Prerequisite means ‘something required as a condition’: passing the examination was one of the prerequisites for a teaching position.

It's been named that for years, so even if it was an error originally (which I doubt), it's deliberate now.

You'd think Paizo would do one of their quiet retcons... -_-;

Anyway, you have a page reference? I trust you, I just want the details. We are talking about an academic setting, so citing sources is good practice. ; )

Was the Perquisite intentionally named such? Because it's a prerequisite, which is a different word entirely.

USAGE

Perquisite and prerequisite are sometimes confused.
Perquisite usually means ‘an extra allowance or privilege’: he had all the perquisites of a movie star, including a stand-in.
Prerequisite means ‘something required as a condition’: passing the examination was one of the prerequisites for a teaching position.

Part of that realization might require her escaping the toxic culture of Rahadoum first, though.

I've noticed you kinda have it in for that nation (you stated in the Paizocon chat you wanted to "blow it up" like what happened with Lastwall), which has unfortunate implications since it's the only one that's openly atheistic. Especially in a type of setting where they haven't been historically treated very well. As an example, in D&D 2e all atheists got sucked into Asmodeus's body no matter what. When I asked the author he he just did it for horror. Certainly real-world horror, to be sure. Even in Pathfinder, I recall an earlier supplement stating that atheists were buried alive in the afterlife.

I don't go for arresting theists either, and not just because I'm dating one, or that I'd be a casual Arshean in Golarion. And while I don't consider Sarenrae evil I do think Kassi has a point; gods do tend to be negligent. (Also, angels in literature tend to have violent tempers. Even Arshea, to an extent, given the vengeful reason for their favored weapon. Maybe it's a biological thing?)

To phrase this all in the form of a question, how do we reconcile all this?

If you have questions about whether your idea(s) run up against the guidelines, then sure, I'll answer that.

All right. : )

I'm thinking of writing up a random generator of Things to See at the Radiant Festival, and I bet a lot of people are as well. What category would this go under, assuming any at all?

Since 2nd edition undead have Constitution scores, and since they aren't blanket-immune to all mind-affecting things and poison-

Wait, how would beings without metabolisms, or even much biochemistry, be affected by poison?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Ron Lundeen is your guy for "Strength of Thousands"! :-)

Hm. : )

So what's the better way to get in contact with him? Through Paizo's PM system or through Discord?

Also, what about contacting you via Discord?

Post a question in the Strength of Thousands forum, I guess.

I'll do that just as soon as it exists. In the meantime I'll have to make do. : p

Anyway, I read that said adventure path'll invert many of the magic school tropes. Would you elaborate on those?

Like the title asks. I was told to post questions there but it doesn't seem to exist yet. Same thing for Ruby Phoenix, come to think of it. What's going on?

Ron Lundeen is your guy for "Strength of Thousands"! :-)

Hm. : )

So what's the better way to get in contact with him? Through Paizo's PM system or through Discord?

Also, what about contacting you via Discord?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

So, Paizocon...now that it's done with, let's talk Strength of Thousands. : )

What're you most looking forward to from this adventure path?

It being finished and folks being able to read it and play it.

...Yes, I'd like that too.

Anything interesting that stands out to you?

Also, do you need a break from questions? I can back off for a bit if you want.

AlgaeNymph wrote:

[And that last comment got me thinking...what would your ideal body be?

Different. And in hindsight a topic I wish I hadn't mentioned but I was distracted and stressed by Paizocon and other stuff so I kinda overshared, I suppose.

Oop, sorry.

So, Paizocon...now that it's done with, let's talk Strength of Thousands. : )

What're you most looking forward to from this adventure path?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

What's your opinion of Werewolf: the Apocalypse?

I never played it (or any White Wolf game, for that matter), so I don't have an opinion. Other than that the closer a game gets to a LARP, the less interested I am in playing it since I'm not interested playing a character in a game who looks even close to remotely like myself.

No, no; it doesn't have to be a LARP. And the aforementioned game you play as (to put it in Pathfinder terms) werewolf barbarians who fight demons and pollution.

And that last comment got me thinking...what would your ideal body be?

What's your opinion of Werewolf: the Apocalypse?

I'm thinking of writing a Pathfinder Society Scenario. Where in Paizo's site can I find out what I need to do?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Interesting Character wrote:

What do you think of Sanderdon's laws of magic?

The laws in case you don't know them:

1. An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.

2. Weaknesses, limits and costs are more interesting than powers.

3. The author should expand on what is already a part of the magic system before something entirely new is added, as this may otherwise entirely change how the magic system fits into the fictional world.

0. Always err on the side of what's awesome.

P.S. The ooc tags don't work right. I had to edit this 3 times. Irritating.

I agree with law 1 and 3, but disagree with 2.

Why's that?

Because it's hyperbolic. Sometimes powers are more interesting than weaknesses. Sometimes they're not. One is not always more interesting than the other, but they're MOST interesting when they work together.

Hm. Any examples come to mind?

Interesting Character wrote:

What do you think of Sanderdon's laws of magic?

The laws in case you don't know them:

1. An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.

2. Weaknesses, limits and costs are more interesting than powers.

3. The author should expand on what is already a part of the magic system before something entirely new is added, as this may otherwise entirely change how the magic system fits into the fictional world.

0. Always err on the side of what's awesome.

P.S. The ooc tags don't work right. I had to edit this 3 times. Irritating.

I agree with law 1 and 3, but disagree with 2.

Why's that?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

With magical transmutation, whether becoming a giant monster or turning someone to stone, where does the extra mass come from?

Magic gets to break the rules of physics. That's what makes it magic.

For transmutation spells, it'd not pull that mass from elsewhere, otherwise it'd be a conjuration spell.

Instead, it creates the additional mass out of magic.

Though magic does have rules or else it couldn't be academically studied. It can't be all sentiment and symbolism, right?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

How's Winterhold secretive and unaccepting? The school would like to interact with the public more, but Nords are superstitious yokels. And as for being accepting all I had to do was pass a rubber stamp test with a spell I got on spot discount. Is it something in the lore that the game did a poor job of showing?

I guess it's not. To be honest, the Winterhold part of Skyrim was pretty minor to me in my playthrough; I was doing a rouge/archer type character, so I really didn't pay nearly as much attention to the Winterhold stuff. Got to it late in the game and burned through the quests and found the storyline there to be kind of meh.

The fact that there's about a dozen or so students there also helped to make it feel like it was secretive and unaccepting. I know that's a limitation of the game itself, but the remote locaiton on the map combined with the fact that there were simply not a huge number of people there is kind of the polar opposite to the Magaambya, which is in the heart of a city and is a sprawling campus.

Ah.

If you'll pardon me answering you, Winterhold was phoned in during the rush to release the game on 11/11/11. You'd think they would've polished it a bit with a DLC, but then the narrative did prefer you be a macho viking. And a dozen students? That's a pretty high estimate since I'm guessing there's maybe half that, and I only ever see three of them. Would explain why the teachers just sit on their duffs eating bread, or sleeping.

But right, I'm here for questions. So...

With magical transmutation, whether becoming a giant monster or turning someone to stone, where does the extra mass come from?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

So...how's the Magaambya compare to Hogwarts? Or Winterhold?

It's very different from both. It's more grown-up in nature than Hogwart's in that it's more like a research college than a high school, and less secretive/selective than Winterhold.

It's more mature than Hogwart's, and more accepting than Winterhold.

How's Winterhold secretive and unaccepting? The school would like to interact with the public more, but Nords are superstitious yokels. And as for being accepting all I had to do was pass a rubber stamp test with a spell I got on spot discount. Is it something in the lore that the game did a poor job of showing?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

In my Web wanderings I came upon Strength of Thousands, and it looks like I can be a research wizard! : D

At least I hope so. What can I expect from the adventure path? I wanna do some magical science projects, you see.

We'll have a lot more to say about "Strength of Thousands" in a couple of weeks at Paizocon, but if you want to play a research wizard, I'm pretty sure that this one is the best Adventure Path to pursue that character that we've published yet.

Very good to know. : )

So...how's the Magaambya compare to Hogwarts? Or Winterhold?

In my Web wanderings I came upon Strength of Thousands, and it looks like I can be a research wizard! : D

At least I hope so. What can I expect from the adventure path? I wanna do some magical science projects, you see.

AlgaeNymph wrote:

I know you stated losing interest in isekai-type adventures (someone from our world in a fantasy one, for those unfamiliar with the term), likely since they've become saturated with cliche, but do you think the genre is redeemable? If so, how? They did use to be interesting back when they were heroines' adventures rather than boys' power (and sex) fantasies. But maybe you have something else in mind?

I've never really been interested in that trope, to be honest. The closest I've ever come to enjoying it was as a kid with the D&D Saturday Morning cartoon, but even then, that part of the show was my least favorite. They've hardly "just now" been saturated with cliche, I feel. And as long as men are writers, the male power/sex fantasy trope will be a subset of that. Nothing new there either.

It's absolutely possible to do stories well with that trope, for sure. The popularity of "The Princess Bride" proves it. I don't think it needs to be redeemed at all. It's obviously a trope a lot of people love. Just because I don't enjoy it doesn't mean it's not valuable. It certainly doesn't need to be redeemed. I feel that things are at their worst when they're trying to appeal to the people who don't or aren't interested in that thing. Play to your audience, respect your audience, and don't try to change just because some folks have other preferences.

It's god to see you're okay with isekai stories since...I often daydream about them. ^_^;

So let's suppose I make up such a story, and because making up my own companions feels too much like cheating I look into NPCs. Assuming I'm in Sandpoint circa AR 4708, who in town has adventuring spirit?

I know you stated losing interest in isekai-type adventures (someone from our world in a fantasy one, for those unfamiliar with the term), likely since they've become saturated with cliche, but do you think the genre is redeemable? If so, how? They did use to be interesting back when they were heroines' adventures rather than boys' power (and sex) fantasies. But maybe you have something else in mind?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

Wow, it's been a while. I even forgot to wish us a Happy Birthday. Sorry about that.

Anyway, Sorshen question, because of course.

From what I've read, she made a lot of backup clones of herself. How far afield did she stash them? Asking for an origin story.

Welcome back, and no worries!

All the ones we've mentioned were within Thassilon's borders.

I suppose it would make sense she wouldn't stash any beyond Eurythnia (though she did like to go as far up to her borders as possible; i.e., that nice lighthouse of hers). Have to rethink my idea some then.

A more abstract question now. Suppose a character wants to get from Point A to Point Z, but they're both active port cities. What motivation would there be to walk? Not sure what adventures one can have while waiting for the next ship, mainly.

And thank you for welcoming me back. : )

Wow, it's been a while. I even forgot to wish us a Happy Birthday. Sorry about that.

Anyway, Sorshen question, because of course.

From what I've read, she made a lot of backup clones of herself. How far afield did she stash them? Asking for an origin story.

Roswynn wrote:

Anyways! Another question about PF came to mind - you said you like Wayne Reynold's rendition of Ameiko, right? (I *love* Wayne!) - what's the story with her white strands of hair, does she bleach them or did they lose their color because of a wound, or stress, idk?

Her white strands of hair are a fashion statement. If not bleach, then an alchemical analog or maybe even a long-lasting prestidigitation effect. It's hardly a game breaking thing to allow prestidigitation to give you a flourish like that without having to re-cast it over and over and over.

On the subject of cosmetic magic, is there a variant of humanoid form allowing for customizable detail and lasting for more than 10 minutes?

This may seem like an odd question but I'm always looking to timeline things. What year (AR, of course) was Nualia born?

Honestly in full hindsight, knowing what I know now, I probably would have cut the encounter entirely and had the PCs talking with a solar or something instead, so that if they DO attack or whatever, there's stats to handle the fight and I wouldn't have had to build rules for something we don't normally do rules for in a "just in case" possibility.

Or, since you often mention that deities are beyond stats then have her stop them by pure divine fiat to demonstrate this; no new rules required. I like talking to deities, and don't want to lose that opportunity because of players out of r/rpghorrorstories.

Anyway, what I originally came back to this thread for: given your (and Pharasma's) views of the undead, how do you feel about this article (first entry, about the zombies)? Best (only, really) counterargument I've seen to anyone who just wants to use zombies as labor-saving devices rather than Evil™.

3Doubloons wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

The scene you're referring to where Iomedae "wrecks your face" is an error in our writing, not in her personality. We mistakingly leaned into the idea that PCs would be antagonistic toward her, and should have focused instead on how she can help you. It's the one thing I wish I could go back in time and fix about the storyline of that adventure path, because it's flat out wrong in how it presents Iomedae. I've said this before on these boards, but our lack of a process by getting story errata out means that this clarification and admission of error gets lost soon after each time I point it out or admit to it.

Are you keeping (or have you kept, if that part of the development is already over) an eye on how Owlcat are handling that scene to try and update how this encounter plays out?

I've chatted with them about it, but their version of the game is not a point-by-point recreation of the tabletop experience. Neither was Kingmaker. The realities of how you play a single player computer game verses a group dynamic in a tabletop game are VERY different. I honestly think that a scene like this will play out much better in a computer game, since the creators have much more control over the situation and Iomedae only has to react to one human rather than a whole party of them.

That's good to know! : D

But...why did you lean into the idea that PCs'd be antagonistic towards her? Just because she's a paladin? Something else?

So, you might've seen that D&D's doing away with races being always evil. Obviously a good thing, but what do you think this would mean for fiends and such? No change, I suspect, but I want an expert assessment for better information to work with.

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

AlgaeNymph wrote:

For my completely unrelated question: Socothbenoth's areas of concern are pride, perversion, and taboos. The last two are the very obvious sorts I want to be careful asking about, but thankfully I want to know about the first: pride. How does that manifest? I checked Book of the Damned, but it's unclear.

He's proud of his masculinity, his appearance, his power, and his history. Vanity and narcissism are significant ways his pride manifests. From a game design point, having both him and his sister Nocticula embody two of the seven deadly sins was important thematically.

Masculinity? What do you mean?

He's proud of being a man in a chaotic evil way is what I mean. Take that pride however you want in your games, where you have your player's consent. It's not a topic I'm gonna get into further though, other than to double down and then triple down on the fact that he's a bad guy and not someone to admire; he's someone to fight and defeat.

Sorry about upsetting you; just asked because I thought literal sex fiends were more genderfluid than that.

I am curious about your last sentence, though; who is admiring him? Is this a thing in the fandom?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

For my completely unrelated question: Socothbenoth's areas of concern are pride, perversion, and taboos. The last two are the very obvious sorts I want to be careful asking about, but thankfully I want to know about the first: pride. How does that manifest? I checked Book of the Damned, but it's unclear.

He's proud of his masculinity, his appearance, his power, and his history. Vanity and narcissism are significant ways his pride manifests. From a game design point, having both him and his sister Nocticula embody two of the seven deadly sins was important thematically.

Masculinity? What do you mean?

JoelF847 wrote:

Would there be interest in publishing a product which was all about traveling on Golarion? More about trade routes, shipping lines, etc and including distances between major cities and towns both by land, by sea, and by air, which would be extremely useful when calculating how long it would take getting from point A to point B by different methods of travel? I know I'd buy that, and as a 1st edition player, it might be the first 2E product I'd purchase.

Whether or not there's an interest at the office for a book like that isn't as important is if it is for customers. Traditional wisdom is that books on that subject simply don't sell as well as books with PC options or adventure content.

I, for one, would love a book on the microeconomics of Golarion. : D

For my completely unrelated question: Socothbenoth's areas of concern are pride, perversion, and taboos. The last two are the very obvious sorts I want to be careful asking about, but thankfully I want to know about the first: pride. How does that manifest? I checked Book of the Damned, but it's unclear.

It's been a while since I asked any Sorshen questions. Somebody has to do it. ; p

Nowadays, how is she as a tutor? What sorts of student would she be interested in? On a likely related note, how is she as a partner, both vocationally and romantic?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

AlgaeNymph wrote:

What's the afterlife like for faithful and successful servants of evil deities?

A violent, dangerous, non-stop horror show of backstabbing and plotting and betrayal in which only the strongest or smartest or fastest or trickiest survive. AKA: They love it.

Interesting... : )

Any chance of seeing such characters in a future adventure?

AKA Devils, daemons, demons, and other evil fiends? That's what these servants become in the afterlife, after all, so... Yup! Lots of chances.

So you mean to say that successful worshippers of Evil's might get fast-tracked to fienddom, without an eternity or two of torture?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

What's the afterlife like for faithful and successful servants of evil deities?

A violent, dangerous, non-stop horror show of backstabbing and plotting and betrayal in which only the strongest or smartest or fastest or trickiest survive. AKA: They love it.

Interesting... : )

Any chance of seeing such characters in a future adventure?

What's the afterlife like for faithful and successful servants of evil deities?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

AlgaeNymph wrote:

All right, so far so good. So how do I make NPCs that fit in with the PC's personal story without them being a one-note harem? Especially in the context of interesting/fun/unusual PC/NPC relationships.

That's pretty much up to you. I'd suggest letting the player build up their character and then looking at the rules options they chose and looking at the personalty and history they decide on and then build NPCs to compliment or challenge those choices. How much of this becomes a one-note harem is 100% up to the GM and player. Do what's fun for the table... don't worry about it having to be something that's fun for everyone.

Good to know. : )

In building the NPCs, one thing I like to figure out is "why are they following the PC?" When they're equally powerful, what makes the PC special?

1) What makes the PC special is that they're controlled by someone else, not the GM. What makes them special is that they aren't played by someone who knows what the plot is.

2) And that said, an NPC accompanying a PC is always going to be at a disadvantage because the PC has one person focusing on them, whreas the NPC has to share that focus with everything else. A player will often be better at playing their one character and building the best option for that character over the course of a campaign than a GM who'll have to do the same for EVERY other NPC.

I mean in-setting. In a party of 1st level adventurers, all else being equal regardless of differing capabilities, why would the rest follow this one other person they just met?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

All right, so far so good. So how do I make NPCs that fit in with the PC's personal story without them being a one-note harem? Especially in the context of interesting/fun/unusual PC/NPC relationships.

That's pretty much up to you. I'd suggest letting the player build up their character and then looking at the rules options they chose and looking at the personalty and history they decide on and then build NPCs to compliment or challenge those choices. How much of this becomes a one-note harem is 100% up to the GM and player. Do what's fun for the table... don't worry about it having to be something that's fun for everyone.

Good to know. : )

In building the NPCs, one thing I like to figure out is "why are they following the PC?" When they're equally powerful, what makes the PC special?

Multiple PCs for a player work as well, but in my experience, the game is more enjoyable as a player if you're playing one character. The GM is already playing ALL the other NPCs in the game, so adding a few more is no big deal.

And as the GM you get to make whatever sort of helper NPCs you want, so there's always 1st level NPCs as far as that's concerned. If the Adventure Path doesn't have NPCs that would make good choices, whip up some of your own design. If I were in this situation, I'd let the one player read through the Adventure Path Player's Guide, let them pick their background and all that, and then I'd build up 2 or 3 helper NPCs as first level adventurers to fit in other backgrounds that would allow me to tell a more compelling story as they interact with the campaign and the PC.

All right, so far so good. So how do I make NPCs that fit in with the PC's personal story without them being a one-note harem? Especially in the context of interesting/fun/unusual PC/NPC relationships.

AlgaeNymph wrote:

If I'm adapting an adventure path for a solo campaign, should I have the player make up other characters or have NPCs tag along?

That's up to you, but when I've run solo campaigns in the past I've always included a few NPC companions for the player character. Not only does this help keep the game's action economy going and help prevent incapacitation or unconsciousness from being unduly punishing, but it helps to give the game a sense of relationship building that's missing if you don't have a group of PCs constantly interacting. In fact, depending on the real world relationship you have with your player, this can let you get into some really interesting/fun/unusual PC/NPC relationships that would be a lot more awkward to roleplay out in a group! (Of course, player and GM consent remain, as always, the number one thing to keep in mind!)

So NPCs instead of multiple PCs for the solo player, correct? What if there aren't any 1st level NPCs?

And yes, I like really interesting/fun/unusual PC/NPC relationships~ : 3

If I'm adapting an adventure path for a solo campaign, should I have the player make up other characters of have NPCs tag along?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

AlgaeNymph wrote:

How do adventuring wizards learn spells? There aren't many opportunities to visit a library while adventuring in the wilderness, plus magic had to start somewhere, so where do wizards learn spells from?

Whether or not there are many opportunities to visit a library depends 100% on the nature of the campaign the wizard is on. Not every wizard spends their time always in the wilderness, as even a casual glance at the adventure paths we've published prove. Beyond that, wizards learn magic by leveling up, by discovering scrolls and spellbooks, and by researching.

I'll elaborate. Whether the adventure path is urban intrigue or wilderness exploration a wizard will learn, on their own, just about any two spells they want per level. This is in addition to scrolls and spellbooks. These spells can be anything, regardless of what they themselves have cast or even witnessed.

So, in terms of in-setting flavor, how would a wizard research magic absent any references? And what is leveling up from a character and story perspective?

Without references? A wizard is limited to the spells they'd learn by leveling up or by those they research on their own. We don't yet have rules for spell research in 2nd edition, as far as I know, but in previous editions that plays out like an author writing a novel–except instead of a novel, a spell is what's being written.

From a character/story perspective, leveling up is "getting better at something you practice at doing."

(Oh dear, I forgot to continue my thread and got everyone worried.)

Lemme try to clarify some more. I'm not asking about researching spells according to as-yet implemented research mechanics. How would a wizard research the 2 spells/level they get based on only the magic they cast or witness?

(Also, I'm doing well under quarantine. Calmer, actually, since staying indoors, online, and solitary isn't so stigmatized at the moment.)

AlgaeNymph wrote:

How do adventuring wizards learn spells? There aren't many opportunities to visit a library while adventuring in the wilderness, plus magic had to start somewhere, so where do wizards learn spells from?

Whether or not there are many opportunities to visit a library depends 100% on the nature of the campaign the wizard is on. Not every wizard spends their time always in the wilderness, as even a casual glance at the adventure paths we've published prove. Beyond that, wizards learn magic by leveling up, by discovering scrolls and spellbooks, and by researching.

I'll elaborate. Whether the adventure path is urban intrigue or wilderness exploration a wizard will learn, on their own, just about any two spells they want per level. This is in addition to scrolls and spellbooks. These spells can be anything, regardless of what they themselves have cast or even witnessed.

So, in terms of in-setting flavor, how would a wizard research magic absent any references? And what is leveling up from a character and story perspective?

How do adventuring wizards learn spells? There aren't many opportunities to visit a library while adventuring in the wilderness, plus magic had to start somewhere, so where do wizards learn spells from?

AlgaeNymph wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

AlgaeNymph wrote:

But...how would said introvert work as an adventurer?

I'm not seeing how that makes any difference.

I don't follow; could you explain? Yes, I know an introvert can be an adventurer, Raistlin pulled it off well enough, but I mean what specific things could an introverted Arshean do? Besides follow along with an adventure path's plot, I mean (p.487 of the 2E core notwithstanding). If not as an adventurer, what sort of behind-the-scenes are we talking about here?

I know I ought to keep it simple, but maybe this'll clarify things? Assuming you're familiar with the alignment grid of pop psychology, the MBTI. How would an INTx (i.e., coldly analytical) Arshean go about adventuring, particularly in a way that supports their faith (which comes across as very ESFx, or sociably sentimental)?

I'm not familiar with it beyond only the bare essentials, but I don't think a coldly analytical Arshean would make too much sense to me. That said, often what draws people to play a certain type of character is that they're the exact opposite of the expectation.

I guess an Arshean like that would be like a hedonistic android, perhaps? Someone who understands the theory of passion but doesn't understand it? Dunno. I'm pretty sure I can't answer the question the way you want me to answer it though. Part of the issue is, I guess, that I really don't know that much about Arshea. I didn't invent the character and I've never written about them. I'm not sure who did, initially... I suspect it was Wes though since he did the lion's share of the work on setting up Empyreal Lords.

So I don't really have a lot of hidden insights into Arshea. In fact, I suspect you know more about Arshea than I do.

I've got a better grip on Ashava and Sarenrae and a few others that I've specifically worked on, but I don't know how to answer you question about an introverted Arshean without potentially saying something that would disappoint you. Sorry!

No, that's actually an informative answer. And flattering, too. ^_^

(As proof by example, the old Gods & Magic explained the reason for their favored weapon being the flail: it symbolizes striking back at slavers with their own scourges.)

And yes, Arshea was Wes's creation; the idea came about at a con when a gamer expressed desire for someone relatable. The same article mentions the empyreal lords were created to make good deities diverse and engaging, which bears mentioning since that philosophy strongly influenced my sharp critique of their stats in 1E Bestiary 4, which I’m bringing up since it influenced Mark Seifter before they joined Paizo. You might remember them as the fellow who started up Arshea to my satisfaction. : )

Since my posts are supposed to ultimately questions…is it okay if I brag a bit?