James Jacobs wrote:
I remember reading somewhere in a Pathfinder 1e book that time traveling clerics could still get their spells from their gods even if they time traveled to before their gods ascended. I know that's a little different from clerics not being able to get spells from a dead god, but I'm wondering if there's a reason for the distinction? Or am I just misremembering?
Hi again Mr. Stephens. Been following your RWW campaign notes on your blog with interest. Question: If I want to know more about the Xa-Oroso/Blood Space setting for Starfinder, what would you say is the best place to begin? What would you say are the key books that give a good overall picture of the campaign setting?
Salutations, Endzeitgeist. Big fan of your reviews. There's one point that's a little confusing to me. As far as I can tell, the Rajah's whole veil list consists of the Demiurge and the Titles. Therefore, it seems logical to me that you could only shape a number of veils up to the maximum on the table – which is to say, starting at 2 at first level up to 7 at 18th, but within the bounds of that, you can shape a title multiple times, the same way a wizard could prepare fireballs as many times as they have spell slots for. Of course, this hardly addresses the other issues you have with the class, but it does preclude level 1 ant empress shenanigans.
Aha, I was under the misapprehension that in order for the shield bonus to function, it needed to be used for offense, much like weapons with the defending enhancement. ... Of course, it was less than 24 hours after I posted my observations about Sleipnir's fragility that I had the epiphany that a Nexus could always just take Noble Astrologist (or dip Zodiac) and use a constellation champion as a considerably more sturdy mount that comes online much sooner... Thank you for your time, Mr. Sayre, and for the clarifications.
A fan of your work, Mr. Sayre. Very much enjoyed Akashic Realms and am looking forward to the next one. That said, I do have a question... Michael Sayre wrote: In the Asgardian Saga, Gungnir can be wielded in one hand while you're mounted (such as on Sleipnir or even Geri and Freki, depending on your size), and Gungnir grants a shield bonus that scales with essence, so the general idea was that you would basically be using Mjolnir as your primary weapon, but with the ability to guard yourself with Gungnir thanks to its greater reach and shield bonus. I think it works pretty neatly when you've got the various pieces of the set up and running, but YMMV. While I can appreciate the intent, using Sleipnir to invoke a phantom steed only becomes an option for a Nexus (the only class with all of the Asgardian Saga on their class veil list) at level 16, at which you have a steed with an AC in the teens and a hit point total in the twenties. This feels quite late for the fighting style to be used to its full effect, especially since it requires not only Mounted Combat but Two Weapon Fighting to use fully, while suffering the penalties for using two weapon fighting without one of the weapons being a light weapon, meaning either the full style must wait until level 19 to have all the pieces and take the feats, or the feats must be taken ahead of time and will have at least one level where they're still waiting for the style to come online. Of course, a small character can sidestep this, as you mentioned above, using Geri & Freki.
Rysky wrote:
Warpriest with or without the Mantis Zealot archetype gets free proficiency and free Weapon Focus, but won’t get 3rd level spells until 7th level. Still nets more of the prereq feats than Inquisitors, though, and gets bonus combat feats to make up for taking Great Fortitude.
Aw, Modrons only get two arms... There goes the idea for a bolt ace homage to Nordom... Delmoth, how would you feel about a variant orc inspired by Wicked Fantasy's orks? Feels like a good fit for the Athar, with the orks having rejected the control of their gods by devouring the orc pantheon after going to orc valhalla.
While unofficial, Adam Daigle has been kind enough to take a stab at what Fear-baby-blooded tieflings would look like, in case the book doesn't include them.
Now don't take this as gospel, but if memory serves, while they do have an internal explanation, it's been said by one writer that the intention isn't for the readership to be able to piece together the Paizo's internal explanation. Rather, they have an internal explanation so that, if it ever did get out what happened to Aroden, everything else that might have been published that's related to Aroden's death will fit. If someone is able to use what's known to extrapolate Paizo's internal explanation, that would be coincidental, and not intentional – at least on the part of the writer who spoke on the subject. I hope I'm remembering right, and it may be that this is only the intention of the particular writer who spoke to the subject, rather than the Paizo-wide intent, but I haven't seen any Paizo writer say that they're doling out breadcrumbs with the intent of letting some clever segment of the audience to tease out Paizo's internal explanation.
Todd Stewart wrote:
Thank you for the answers and the patience. By your definition of fiends, then, do oni, rakshasa, and sahkil not qualify as fiends to your mind?
I did mean all the non-big nine races, eheh. I suppose it's only fair to list the rest if I want an answer, though. So the ones I neglected to fully list were... Demodands, Div, Garuda, Kami, Kyton, Peri, Psychopomps (if you count Aeons as the 'big nine' representative for TN), Manasaputra, Qlippoth, and Rakshasa. Do you count night hags as fiends? Do you think there's room for more than one race of CN outsiders in Golarion's cosmology or do you feel Protean fills all/any potential needs? What have been some of Il'setsya Wyrmtouched's favorite and/or signature spells?
How do the outsider races other than the big nine rank for you? You've said before that your top three are proteans, daemons, and demons, I believe, so do any of the rest break into your top five? top ten? If so, which ones, and where do they rank? (So, Asuras, Coatls, To what extent do these races feature in your campaigns? Of all the fiendish demigods in the hardcover BotD, who is your favorite of each fiendish race?
I find it rather surprising that Wrath of the Righteous was such a negative experience. The other day I tallied up all the averages of the reviews for the completed APs on the site, and Wrath came in 9th of 20, ahead of eleven other APs, more than half of the other APs released. I suppose, though, that review scores are only part of the story, and that sales are another part? I, too, was rather hoping for an AP in 2018 dealing with the doomsday clock countdown hitting zero... Alas, not to be...
Geramies wrote: Now if only we can get more generic PrC in the RPG line. I find many of the Pathfinder PrC too entrenched in Golarion material to properly adapt to other settings, especially established ones like the Forgotten Realms. Last time we had any was wayyyyy back in Advanced Player's Guide. Not true. The Enchanting Courtesan PrC from Inner Sea Intrigue looks like it's quite serviceable in just about any campaign setting.
Hogun Greyingot:
Hogun Greyingot
Dwarven alchemist (gloom chymist) Appearance
Personality
He is intensely devoted to his family, particularly his daughter, and it is for her sake and the sake of the dwarven people that he has answered the call for the best and brightest of their people. He keeps a journal, and regularly writes letters to his daughter, sending them back to her whenever possible, though he knows chances for that will be far and few between. When he speaks of his daughter or of his late wife, he softens, his air wistful and nostalgic. He has tried to put his broken heart back together, but like a teacup or a mirror that has been shattered, the time has not mended the cracks. Background
But it was not enough to stop whatever befell Dammerhall on that darkest of days. Since then, the Greyingots have continued to serve the Tharnhammers with unwavering loyalty. While the Tharnhammers themselves did not have a great deal to offer the surface races, the Greyingots became merchants among the surface races, and their fine brews, their potions, their alchemical goods earning coin to provide for both the Tharnhammers and themselves. It was into this family that Hogun was born. While no charmer, no merchant born, he was the finest alchemist of his generation, letting his aunts and uncles and cousins handle the mercantile aspects of the business while he devoted himself to alchemy. Among the dwarves of his generation, only one mind matched – and, he would argue, surpassed – his own, the woman who became his wife. A truly dazzling intellect and possessed of sharp wit, she was a vivacious spirit, capturing Hogun's heart. In their years together, Hogun smiled more and more often, in spite of his natural gloomy disposition. Those happy days seem more distant to Hogun now than the golden dream of Dammerhall itself. His wife was lost in childbirth, despite his most desperate efforts, despite having uttered prayers more fervent than any he'd uttered before in his life. But for the sake of his daughter, he might have given up entirely, heart heavy and broken. He devoted himself to her, overseeing every aspect of her rigorous academic curriculum himself, seeing to it that her education would be second to none. And it was his daughter he thought of, when his liege sent out the call for the best and brightest. Hogun sees the state of the dwarven people, and he wants better for their children, for his child, for his daughter. It is in the hope he can provide her a better future that he has left her in the care of her grandparents and answered the call. Relationship to the Tharnhammer Family (ie. direct member, married into, friend of a family member, devoted thane, etc.)
In the days of Dammerhall's apex, the Greyingots were the finest alchemists in all of Dammerhall and served the Tharnhammers loyally as retainers. While most of Dammerhall knew them as the purveyors of fine brews and beers and top-shelf potions, there were also those among them who sought the secrets of transmuting lesser metals into gold. However, to the Tharnhammers, the Greyingots were prized as most as innovators in the field of alchemical warfare – the hated dark elves and many of the stranger things that stalked the Underdark had developed potent defenses against conventional spellcasting, and so the Greyingots turned their alchemical prowess to developing weapons that would bypass these defenses. But it was not enough to stop whatever befell Dammerhall on that darkest of days. Since then, the Greyingots have continued to serve the Tharnhammers with unwavering loyalty. While the Tharnhammers themselves did not have a great deal to offer the surface races, the Greyingots became merchants among the surface races, and their fine brews, their potions, their alchemical goods earning coin to provide for both the Tharnhammers and themselves. Patron Keys
Statblock: Hogun Greyingot
Male dwarven alchemist (gloom chymist) 1 LG Medium humanoid (dwarf) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5 (+2 vs aberrations) -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex); +2 dodge vs aberrations hp 11 (1d8+3) Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +0; +3 vs poison, spells, & spell-like abilities -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 20 ft. Melee battleaxe +0 (1d8/x3) Ranged gloom +4 (1d6+4 cold) Special Attacks +1 on attack rolls against elven humanoids, gloom 5/day (1d6+4 cold, DC 14) Alchemist Extracts Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +5) 1st – adhesive spittle (DC 15), open -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 11, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 10 Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 14 (18 vs bull rush, 18 vs trip) Feats Brew Potion, Point-Blank Shot, Throw Anything Traits clever hands, glory of old, secrets of the dwarven brewers Skills Appraise +8, Artistry (literature) +8, Craft (alchemy) +8 (+9 to create alchemical items), Craft (brewing) +10, Disable Device +4, Heal +5, Knowledge (arcana, nature) +8, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Perception +5, Spellcraft +8, Survival +5; Armor Check Penalty -1; Racial Modifiers +2 Knowledge (history) pertaining to dwarves or their enemies (can be made untrained), +2 Perception vs aberrations Languages Common, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Terran, Undercommon SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +1, identify potions), mutagen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 10 minutes) Gear alchemist's kit, battleaxe, bandoliers (2), formula book (contains all prepared extracts plus crafter's fortune, cure light wounds, polypurpose panacea, reduce person and shield), ink, ink pen, journal, sheets of paper (12), studded leather armor, 6 gp, 1 sp
James Jacobs wrote:
How does this square with Geb forcing lichdom on Arazni? If you had your druthers, would Arazni instead be a juju zombie or some other type of undead? Or is she an exceptional circumstance?
Azten wrote:
I'm pretty sure Phytokineticists from Occult Origins are pretty close to what you're looking for in terms of a kineticist with ties to First World. Thanks for the answer, Mark!
Does your negative perception of how mythic and high level Pathfinder interact extend to your own personal experience adding mythic to Necropolis? Or is the problem a combination of high mythic and high level? I ask as someone entertaining the possibility of running Necropolis if the module/adventure I'm currently GMing goes well.
I know you view Mengkare as evil, but would your vision of Mengkare be the sort to believe he's evil or to associate with the other great evils of Avistan?
It could determine whether or not you're capable of wearing heavy-duty power armor, and tough/strong characters are hardly uncommon in sci-fi. Klingons and John Carter, for instance, or species from higher gravity worlds. Come to think of it, it might be that there are high gravity planets that only characters with good Strength can explore. Then again, it wouldn't exactly be good design to have part of the party sit out because an ability score isn't high enough. It still applies to skill checks (limited in utility, but to a class that needs neither Charisma nor Strength, it's still debatably more valuable than Charisma, because it affects both skill checks and encumbrance). Finally, whether or not it's valuable to player characters, there will almost certainly be hostile indigenous lifeforms that favor melee combat.
James Jacobs wrote: Not unusual at all. Times like this, I really wish paizo forums allowed posts to display youtube videos...
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