Bill McGrath's page

Emailed my support.

Are you familiar with the cryptid Genoskwa? Would you stat one as an advanced sasquatch or as a unique beast, or something else?

How is Angradd pronounced? Particularly that dd at the end - is that just a d sound or could you say it with a th sound, like dd in Welsh.

Hi James,

I have been thinking for a while now of running a game where the PCs are gladiators - but treat them as professional athletes, not as slaves or condemned criminals. I thought it'd be fun to spin away from the typical story of rebellion etc that comes with media about gladiators, and allow me to play with themes from stories about boxing and other sports instead.

I worry though that some of this might not translate well to a game. Having the enemy cheat their way to victory is powerful in a film but I'm worried it'd just be frustrating in an rpg. Obviously the players would have a chance to right that wrong in the end, but them losing at first and ultimately triumphing seems important to the kind of story that goes with sports media.

Do you think there's a way to pull this off? Is it plausible for a GM to do a story like this, or would I be better off taking a different approach?

Hi James,

this thread is one of my favourite things across the entire Internet; thank you for making it such a joy for so many years.

Hope all is well and you can look after yourself properly.

James, recently I've been reading the Temeraire series. I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's an alt-history/fantasy series set in the Napoleonic Era but with dragons - a pretty silly idea that's very well thought out and very well executed.

I was thinking about how to run a game in this setting, where players could play both as a dragons and the dragons' attendant crews. They obviously have very different power levels and areas of focus. If you want to infiltrate an enemy fortress, a dragon isn't any good at sneaking down tunnels, but a human isn't any good at wrecking enemy ships.

Can you think of a way to equalize this in an rpg system, or of any system that could accommodate this difference in abilities?

Hey Paizo, hope it's okay for me to post a promotional link here!

Artifexian

A year ago, my friend Edgar started Artifexian, a YouTube channel dedicated to scientifically plausible worldbuilding. He's creating a fictional universe from the top down; a galaxy, star systems, planets inhabited with life and cultures. He's taking viewers on his own voyage of learning as he teaches himself the necessary information for this huge task, and it should be of great interest to anyone interested in sciences, science fiction, or speculative worldbuilding.

Today we launched the Artifexian podcast, which is available through our website, through iTunes, or via the RSS feed. I co-host with Edgar, and in addition to discussing his videos, we talk about fiction, gaming, broader worldbuilding topics, and our own lives.

If this is better suited somewhere else let me know and I'll move it!
Thanks, Pazio!

So I was thinking something earlier- I know because I was there- and it got me thinking about nuclear explosions.

Besides the obvious drops on Japan in 1945 and possibly Chernobyl, what are some significant explosions where a number of people died?

Chernobyl wasn't a nuclear explosion.

I remember one character in Snow Crash was motivated by anger that the Aleuts had been recklessly exposed to American bomb testing - I don't know if that's based in historical fact or not, but might be worth a look.

Terribly sorry to read this, yellowdingo. Thoughts are with you and your family.

Bill McGrath wrote:

I have a problem with writing plots and I'd be interested in your feedback. Whenever I try to write a plot where characters are faced with an interesting challenge - whether it's morally good or bad - I find myself getting too caught up in how the characters solve that problem, rather than how to turn that problem into a story.

For example: the ambassador's house is too well guarded so the bad guys can't sneak in and murder them; or if the diplomat is murdered the bad guys do it professionally and don't leave any clues behind. I can't seem to come up with an out in these situations without making it seem cheap.

Is this a writing difficulty you've ever encountered, and if so how do you deal with it?

Practice is, alas, the answer here. The more you write adventures and the more you see how your particular group plays the encounters out and the more you learn from that playing out, the better you'll get in the future at writing encounters.

Reading published adventures is a close second to practice. Reading published adventures gives you concrete examples how other people build encounters, and you can use the construction of those encounters provided by professional game designers to hone your own skills. In the same way that reading novels makes you a better writer.

Thanks for the reply, as ever! I'll keep writing and hopefully get to run some more games soon.

I thought of another question: can you think of any Paizo books that have information about gladiators or gladiatorial combat? I have the rules info from Ultimate Combat, and I have hard copies of the old Dragon and Dungeon magazines from the Age of Worms AP that have the gladiatorial adventure - can you think of any other adventures or Golarion-specific information about gladiators or similar topics?

I have a problem with writing plots and I'd be interested in your feedback. Whenever I try to write a plot where characters are faced with an interesting challenge - whether it's morally good or bad - I find myself getting too caught up in how the characters solve that problem, rather than how to turn that problem into a story.

For example: the ambassador's house is too well guarded so the bad guys can't sneak in and murder them; or if the diplomat is murdered the bad guys do it professionally and don't leave any clues behind. I can't seem to come up with an out in these situations without making it seem cheap.

Is this a writing difficulty you've ever encountered, and if so how do you deal with it?

Orthos wrote:

Err... I'm pretty sure most Irish people speak Irish primarily, and most Portuguese speak Portuguese, at least. I have no doubt many of them know English and Spanish, respectively, but I'm still pretty sure they have their own languages.

I'm not quite as familiar with the others on your list but I'm fairly sure their situation is similar.

... unless your whole post was sarcasm, in which case it's too early in the morning for my sensor to be active...

Technically Gaelic is the official language of the Republic of Ireland but English prevails most of the time!

and of course there are the countries of Avalon (right next to Camelot) the land of Nod and I am reliably informed some Americans believe in the Easter Bunny

Of Note Hungary fought for a couple of century's against the Ottomans (but were eventually conquered) and the Winged lancers of Poland were instrumental in breaking the siege of Vienna

We almost always refer to it as Irish rather than Gaelic, but you're right.

Russell Brand should be beaten with a stick

Bill McGrath wrote:

Well for one, when the majority of the ground team flee from the caves, why was there only one truck left if the other two guys were still lost somewhere inside the facility?

I imagine they where intending to set up a base camp, so the other truck was probably positioned somewhere else. Maybe they didn't bother to look with the silicon storm? I don't know, but what doe that have to do with not understanding what is going on in the movie?

It's nothing to do with understanding the plot, just an example of what I considered poor writing.

Bill McGrath wrote:

And why was there a fire axe in the spaceship airlock?

It's a military/corporate vehicle. Probably standard operating procedure. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of issues with things in the movie. Probably no more or less than any other movie, but it doesn't really confuse the story.

Why would a state of the art and extremely expensive automated surgical center, owned by a woman, not be calibrated to operate on a woman? Or even have that option?

Why would the beacon she set up at the end need to be translated in the next Alien Movie (it clearly states don't come. There is only death here).

Why did the decapitated Engineer's head not decompose at all, or at the very least, being already infected from the inside, suddenly stop. Not get reactivated with the reintroduction of atmosphere, but only later.

Why did the Engineer's leave a freaking map to find what would have been an abandoned, lifeless planet on earth which should have been utterly devoid of life.

How did the black goo from the drink infect his body so fast that he was able to transfer it through intercourse within minutes of imbibing it. And after that, within hours he has visible symptoms and goes crazy, but she is fine for at least a few days?

Or the fact that she is knocked the F out with sedatives, then runs to the medbot, hits herself with 2 more doses of something, then gets a local anesthetic, but is rational enough to run around with staples, locate the robot and hear Mr. Wealands hole story and argue it, while no one...

Yeah but a fire axe would be pretty useless on a spaceship surely!

Yah, I'm not really sure what didn't make sense?

Well for one, when the majority of the ground team flee from the caves, why was there only one truck left if the other two guys were still lost somewhere inside the facility?

And why was there a fire axe in the spaceship airlock?

I almost turned this into a post where I list each problem I had with Prometheus and ask if the video addresses that, but I don't want to put that kind of strain on the site's servers!

I'm very dubious that video will redeem the film for me - I had so many problems with it other than the plot being opaque - but I might give it a look.

Prometheus made perfect sense, you just have to pay attention and maybe watch it a few times to get everything out of it.

Here is a great video that explains why the plot wasn't nonsensical and many of the other question you have about Prometheus, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpEx7pdp2-Q

If I have to watch a half-hour video about a movie for the movie to make sense, that movie has failed, in my opinion.

Who is responsible for creating the Gorilla King? I fell in love with Golarion when I saw "one enraged gorilla king" listed as one of the forms of government in the Mwangi expanse.

Bill McGrath wrote:

yellowdingo wrote:

China unifies africa into a single communist state to fight ebola and terrorism...

Yeah that's not difficult at all. I mean it's not like it's a continent of a billion people with thousands of distinct identities.

Is that a serious comment about China or a sarcastic comment about Africa?

Sarcastic.

@Bill McGrath:

I think you are somewhat confused thinking that all of YD's posts are

A: sensible
B: related or
C: realistic

Mostly they are food for thought. Like dingoes. :)

Yeah, I'm familiar with YD idiosyncratic posting style. I've been writing about postcolonialism recently and I guess that specific stuff was just getting to me!

Bill McGrath wrote:

yellowdingo wrote:

China unifies africa into a single communist state to fight ebola and terrorism...

Yeah that's not difficult at all. I mean it's not like it's a continent of a billion people with thousands of distinct identities.

If they all die from ebola, the foreign occupier takes all.

If they all die from ebola, there's not much left to unify into a single communist state, is there?

One which would be bigger than any country or empire in history, too.

This such an absurdly racist scenario. You realise Africans aren't all starving in mud huts, right?

Also wait if they all die from ebola a) why would you unify them into a state to fight ebola and b) who's left to be the terrorist threat to fight?

I'm not sure why you think a Wiccan-style witch should be privileged as the kind of witch portrayed, anyway.

China unifies africa into a single communist state to fight ebola and terrorism...

Yeah that's not difficult at all. I mean it's not like it's a continent of a billion people with thousands of distinct identities.

Asmodeus sees himself as the hero of the story of reality.

He's not right, of course, but he doesn't see it that way.

When you say the hero, do you mean he actually sees himself as the good guy, or that he thinks of himself as the protagonist?

Beyond harmful to undead, you mean?

We haven't actually done much with positive energy effects in Pathifnder yet. In D&D, you could "overheal" by being on the plane for too long, at which point you basically explode from an overdose of life, which ironically basically kills you.

I did work on Elder Evils—I did the chapter on the obyrith lord Sletorous or however it was spelled.

Yeah, harmful to living creatures. Do you think it's even appropriate to use positive energy in this way, or should it remain a force for healing?

Bill McGrath wrote:

What kinds of monsters would be appropriate to have in an irradiated area?

Will Iron Gods have monsters for irradiated areas, or templates for creatures mutated by radiation?

Radiation is a poison effect, so anything that's immune to poison would be a good fit for a radioactive area. And yes, there will be some radiation-themed monsters now and then in Iron Gods. Including the irradiated dead!

That's exactly what I was hoping for. Excellent!

Are there any examples of positive-energy effects being harmful? I know the positive energy plane is a dangerous place to visit, and 3.5 book Elder Evils had a positive-energy themed threat (did you work on that book?), but are there any others that come to mind?

What kinds of monsters would be appropriate to have in an irradiated area?

Will Iron Gods have monsters for irradiated areas, or templates for creatures mutated by radiation?

Hi James,

Is Calistria's name inspired at all by Kallisti/ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ, the inscription on the Apple of Discord from Greek Myth?

Is Calistria in general based on Eris? Some interpretations of Eris (spite, trickery) seem to match up with what I've read about Calistria.

Are you familiar with the 20th Century Discordian movement at all, and if so what do you think of it?

As ever, thanks for your time!

Found some badass chicks in a book about pirates, Under the Black Flag, one whom might not be real.

Madame Cheng
Granny O'Malley, the Sea Queen of Connaught
Princess Awilda

A small point:

I don't see a pronunciation guide on the wiki anywhere, and I don't know who widely this name is known, but its pronunciation is something like "Graw-nye".

All that said, Gráinne Mhaol is one of the most badass women in Irish history! Glad she's getting some appreciation!

...the link doesn't have a test for me (on mobile).

I don't know if linking to Wikipedia is considered kosher on this thread, but it's the only source I could find covering all the points I wanted to mention.

Roger Casement was one of the world's first international human rights activists, compiling reports of colonial mistreatment in the Belgian Congo and later in Peru. He was friends with Arthur Conan Doyle, who based his character Lord Roxton - a badass anti-abolitionist swashbuckler - on Casement.

He later became an Irish revolutionary, and was arrested and hanged for his part in an attempt to smuggle German guns to Ireland.

Rikkan wrote:

But is a half-elven foetus a different species compared to the human mother?

Biologically, a species is a group capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. Technically, this means that most sapient races in Pathfinder are indeed races, as they would appear to be highly divergent subsets of the same species.

That's a fairly rough and de facto definition, with a lot of exceptions.

If remove disease can be used to kill off all creatures of another species inside the subject's body, could you use it to kill off someone's intestinal bacteria?

I just can't stand looking at that annihilator robot on the numeria picture in the inner sea world guide

You could just not look at it.

I think my wording was kind of vague again. What I'm trying to understand is how the people of Golarion even do science with magic's presence essentially making getting a bead on the laws of physics or biology impossible.

I dunno. Maybe my growing understanding of concepts like evolution and psychology and my growing disbelief in a god or afterlife are making me jaded and more frustrated as I try to reconcile that knowledge with playing in a game where magic basically throws them all out the window with a wave of the hand.

My take: Dropped objects still accelerate at 9.8m/s^2, or whatever local g is. Mendelian inheritance (presumably) still happens. Natural selection still happens - magic just provides another set of pressures. I'll grant that people might not bother with exploring these natural laws or coming up with ways to use them if magic is readily available.

There's a very good discussion about this topic in one of Steven Erikson's Malazan books, how people haven't bothered to develop technology since magic is so prevalent.

Speaking of: Have you read that series, James?
And are you looking forward to the Burnt Offerings audio play that's coming out next month?

I'm not sure if this has been asked before - how familiar are you with H Rider Haggard? Was his work an influence at all on Serpent's Skull?

I've always found him interesting - he has surprisingly modern views for a Victorian writer (he's less racist than you would expect, though somewhat classist and occasionally very misogynistic), and I came across an article a few years ago alleging that he ought to be considered the father of modern fantasy literature, rather than Tolkien or Lewis.

Dragon78 wrote:

So what movies have you seen recently?

Last movie I saw in the theater was NOT the Hobbit... still haven't seen that one.

Yesterday I saw "Flight," "Olympus Has Fallen," and "Jack Reacher." A few days ago I saw "Devil's Pass." All were entertaining.

Have you read any of the Jack Reacher novels? They're a lot better than I expected them to be - fairly standard thrillers but with really solid and well-written plots, and he mixes up the formula in interesting ways every fews books. Very easy to read as well.

Hope you're recovering well, and happy new year!

Some people prefer neutral pronouns, of which a variety exist in English and there's no consensus on which is standard. Personally I prefer "they" a singular, though it sounds weird in some uses because of object agreement (I think is the term).

Bill McGrath wrote:

Would a kaiju dragon be an awesome monster, or would it be weird and clunky? Do the two categories not complement each other well?

I'd say King Ghidorah from the Godzilla movies would be a dragon kaiju. There's been plenty of other examples in kaiju movies too. I think it'd be fine but you'd want to keep in mind that it should be a low intelligence dragon if it's a kaiju.

Thank you James!

Have you listened to any good music recently?

Would a kaiju dragon be an awesome monster, or would it be weird and clunky? Do the two categories not complement each other well?

Also, comparing modern Christianities potential to go nuts and slaughter people to modern Islam's potential is a bit of a false equivalency.

Christianity is almost 2000 years old.

Islam is a hair over 500.

What was Christendom up to at the same age?

Oh yeah, torturing and slaughtering anyone who didn't agree with them.

What does the age of the religion have to do with it? Wrong is wrong.

Yo mama is so eldritch, she drove Nyarlathotep insane.

Yo mama so ugly, she uses the colour out of space as makeup.

Yo mama so stupid, she thinks she can gaze upon the horrid architecture of R'lyeh and not succumb to a madness from beyond the stars.

I completed a BA in Composition a few months ago. I don't yet have my own soundcloud, but I'll post up a link as soon as I get that sorted. I do have a blog

Mostly I write chamber music, though I've also done electroacoustic pieces and I'm interested in popular music - just about every genre interests me!

I look forward to listening to all you guys' work!

Oliver Cromwell was pretty cool.

Introducing freedom of religion into England: Awesome.

Genocide: Significantly less awesome.

As for size large spikes on medium armor...no, the rules are less clear, but common sense rule, by my GM instinct, says no, trying to move with spikes the size of short-swords sticking out everywhere is implausible.

Though if you did, you gain automatic free admission to a GWAR concert.

The security would quickly escort you out... and then bring you onstage.

There are places that might SEEM similar to everyday Material Plane life out there... but those are cases where illusions and trickery is in play. Overall... the Great Beyond is not a duplicate of the Material Plane—the Material Plane is itself big enough to cover all the possible variations on those themes we all might want to see.

It would likely not be possible to set up human settlements in places like that, simply because those regions are too dangerous, unwelcoming to humanity, or too good for humanity. The material plane is, after all, where humanity does its thing to earn its place in the outer planes.

Thank you for your answer! What do you mean by saying some places too good for humanity, and how does this prove problematic?

Inspired by this idea, I've just built a Titan Mauler/Oracle/Rage Prophet (I've been wanting to build a rage prophet for a while). I know Titan Mauler rules are a little vague, but by my reading I should be able to wield a Large Bastard Sword two-handed without penalty.

Will post up stats when I'm complete.

Are there places in the planes where everyday life is more or less the same as the material plane? Is there anywhere in the Great Beyond with populations of humans that lead normal (by Material Plane standards) lives? I'm imagining demiplanes where people just farm and fight and trade (and since it's a fantasy setting, a handful encounter monsters and go off on adventures too).

If not, would it in theory be possible to set up a human settlement in someplace like the Boneyard or Elysium? Assuming that the difficulties or getting people there and such can be overcome.

When I am creating I listen to some Classical. One peace that scares me is Threnody to The Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki.

I got to see Penderecki conduct that about a year ago. Was astonishing live.

I'm glad to see Guinness love in this thread - have many of you had it in Ireland? Is there much of a difference? I've never had it abroad, but I've heard it can taste pretty different.

Also discovered Blue Moon by chance recently, when I was over at a friend's house. The very next week I was discovered a new burrito place that had bottles of it for sale. So, so happy.

I've been drinking Smithwick's recently - quite a tasty red ale.

Crimson Jester wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

nightflier wrote:

Dogheads had a pretty large role in the common conception of the world during Middle Ages. They were part of many English geographies, for instance. Slavs called them "Psoglavi". They were thought to have a dog's head and only one eye, and to live in the Cursed Mountains (translation of real life mountain ranger, called Prokletije).

That's not a question...

...but I appreciate the example of a real-world mythological creature. There are others as well.

I'm still not a big fan of this type of creature, though.

Don't Gnolls cover this classically from DND?

Gnolls cover it from the hyena angle, not a wolf angle.

And strictly speaking, hyenas are feliformia rather than than caniformia. But it's a common enough misconception, and I doubt anyone in the typical campaign setting has that level of taxonomic knowledge!