Graeme Lewis's page

Meanwhile, the last few lines of a certain poem by one Edgar Allan Poe run through my head:

Out — out are the lights — out all!
And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, "Man,"
And its hero...

Question, are the accessibility options priced so that a character could start out with, say, a prosthetic hand/foot/arm/leg without it eating *too much* cash?

Oooh... Will we get rules for pyronite? Because I want rules for this fantasy dynamite (I'm assuming it's dynamite and not TNT). I want rules for this fantasy dynamite so bad.

You seem to think that this is something that is only plaguing Paizo? It's not. Books across multiple industries are getting delayed, because the supply chain is in shambles after 18 months of a pandemic and multiple long term disruptions of shipping channels.

Yeah, global pandemics and a weeklong blockage of one of the biggest trade arteries in the world are not things one's supply chain easily gets over, much like how you don't overcome treatment for a blockage in a major artery and the flu in just a couple days.

I wonder if the PDF is released at midnight local Paizo time or at open of business release day?

From what I recall, the PDF becomes available for public sale at midnight Pacific.

To be honest, a Galt campaign could go the opposite route. Rather than trying to overthrow the Grey Gardeners or the like, a Galt campaign could be about Revolutionaries who are in fact evil PCs who are seeking to further their own ambitions and doing so by becoming essential to the Gardeners. It doesn't need to be QUITE as evil as the Hell's Vengeance campaign (as in Neutral characters could actually be potentially possible in the campaign) but still go darker than most other APs have been.

One of the benefits of a campaign with Galt could be that rather than a plot with high stakes, this one is about furthering the PCs own power and ensuring the "stability" of the existing power structure in Galt. And there could even be geopolitical aspects (such as Taldor or Andoran being involved in the anti-Grey Gardener plots).

It looks like "Overthrow the Grey Gardeners" is going to be the point of the upcoming standalone adventure "Night of the Gray Death"; I think having a Galt AP based on rebuilding the nation after the decades of bloodshed, trying to shape its future from the ground up into one based on actual principle of justice, and possibly bringing about said justice by finally shattering the final blades would be a more likely plot.

Love how the English language is thrown out the door and "they" is used to refer to an individual....

So Shakespeare threw English out the door, eh?

Question for when people get their subscriber copies:

I know that the last volume of Age of Ashes had a few Rare Backgrounds for campaigns taking place after the AP that tied into the events of the AP. Are there backgrounds like those in this volume?

Heine Stick wrote:

The Gold Sovereign wrote:

As a three-part AP, I suppose this doesn't take the PC to 20 level. Yet, we are talking about a megadungeon...

I'm fairly certain the developers said levels 1-11 in the adventure path panel at PaizoCon Online., with Fist of the Phoenix being 11-20.

Where might we get access to this information?

The Twitch Stream. They mention the upcoming APs at the beginning of the second part.

Same thing happening as chopswil, Mac OS Catalina and Safari 13.1

Gorbacz wrote:

You might be a librarian, but I'm a lawyer and I can tell you that trade dress and page design are sue-worthy level of copyright protected as far as they constitute a significant original work, which Paizo's do.

Hmm, you may be right, nevertheless the offending material was removed.

Yeah, once the art & layout are added it would (in the opinion of this admittedly-not-a-lawyer) no longer fall under "Mere listings of ingredients or contents".

Wow. Aroden is good at not planning ahead or checking results of his actions xD

What colonizer is? XP

Zaister wrote:

Then what's the etymology of these very similar names?

Coincidence.

Like a more extreme example of how sow (a female pig) and sow (to plant seeds) are, etymologically, unrelated. Or like how foil (thwart) and foil (thin sheets of metal) are unrelated.

logic_poet wrote:

Customer Service just created the June shipping thread 17 min ago, so it should be updated with final image soon.

I don't see the connection. These are usually updated a couple of months, minimum, before the product goes on sale. There's a nontrivial chance the image has been lost or there's some sort of tech/personnel issue preventing the update. We might just see this go on sale without the real cover ever being updated.

A personnel issue like, say, not having a Webstore Coordinator?

Also, the previous volume's cover & blurb weren't updated until early May. I have a feeling that was also because the Webstore Coordinator position is currently open, although I fully admit I could be wrong.

So something’s bothering me (no surprise): the adventure implies that Arazni sends the PCs to Arcadia once she realizes what the Radiant Fire is and how it connects to the shattered shield, but in book 3 the PCs got the manuscript of exposition (AKA The Testimony of Count Jomah Gildais) so they already know that the Tyrant’s nukes are because of the shield fragments. Wouldn’t the PCs just tell that to Arazni and she’d have her revelation earlier?

I feel like there’s something I’m not quite understanding with Arazni’s reasoning. The adventure implies that she only realizes that the fragments and the Radiant Fire are one and the same at the very last moment—like she realized something the PCs didn’t (which she did, with respect to the kumaru tree) and only had enough time to teleport the PCs and give a cryptic message. If she knew when she saw them earlier then it seems like it would break the plot.

Is there something I’m just not understanding?

Ah, but she didn't necessarily know that Aroden had crafted the Shield out of that particular wood. The webstore blurb for Part 5 (as of this posting, at the very least) implies that Aroden and Tar-Baphon both had some rather dark secrets in their past, ones that Arazni knew nothing about... and ones that were connected to her homeland. It wasn't until she could literally feel the weapon/shield's connection to her homeland that she realized what wood it was.

Calm down buddy, the entire team has been busy with Paizocon prep and the event itself. On top of that, they're still looking to hire a Webstore coordinator, which may also be why we haven't gotten as timely of updates.

Which is why I hope that, during maintenance on the Third, they take some time to update the descriptions of the products. If they've got it to spare, of course.

Generic Villain wrote:

nighttree wrote:

I hope we get more information on just how the whole "Runelord" title works. For a long time I thought it was the basic "assassinate your predecessor" to gain the title....but James stated somewhere that's not exactly the case.....

Krune, last Runelord of sloth, got his position when his predecessor (Runelord Ivarinna) peacefully abdicated and granted her rulership to him. The first Runelord of wrath is still alive to this day, though he clearly lost the title. I'm sure there are more examples. Trickery, blackmail, bribery, nonlethal duels, imprisonment, etc. etc.

I'm not sure if "alive" is a good definition of Alderpash's current state... I don't believe people abducted by Baphomet have a life. Someone even took his skull...

I'm not sure I'd use "alive" either, mostly because if I recall correctly he's actually managed to turn himself into a lich.

CorvusMask wrote:

Malefactor wrote:

Now, I don't mean to seem overly pessimistic regarding the leadership abilities of Princess Eutropia, but does seem that the villains got a point here. It stands to reason that, seeing as Taldor was founded slightly under 6 millenia ago, that there has been many so many rulers of the empire that the title of " Greatest Emperor(s) of Taldor" has some rather stiff competition. I am sure her qualities as a ruler are up to a high standard, but I don't know whether they are up to the "greatest-leader-in-the-six-thousand-year-long-history-of-one-of-the-greate st-empires-of-all-of-Golarion" standard, a criteria that her opposition meets by default.

Just my 2 CP, though.

Do note that even if they don't come back as undead abominations, the "greatest emperors" might have been sort of like irl great historical figures: Really horrible warmongers and otherwise not really good people who are respected just because they had notable achievements for their country

Maybe, but being a good person and being a good ruler often doesn't have much to do with each other.

As T'Chaka told his son, "It's hard for a good man to be King."

Oooh... What's sort of a "one-line summary" for each of the Eight Houses?

Do changelings need to be witches to form a coven?

If you have a druid capable of 4th-level spells or a witch capable of 5th-level spells, you can abuse reincarnate by killing yourself once you hit venerable and having reincarnate cast on you for the low cost of 1000gp per reset (since reincarnate puts you in a random race young adult body). Otherwise there aren't many options outside of either mythic or very high-level class options (most of which are capstone ability options).

Strange Aeons: Man learns elder gods are not playthings the hard way. Now his hired help has to fix the mess he made.

Ironfang Invasion: Magical draft survivor wreaks vengeance on racist system that left her for dead and forcibly recruited her into its army, stopped by guerillas.

Hell's Rebels: As MLK once said, "A riot is the language of the unheard."

Hell's Vengeance: Usurper attempts to retain throne in wake of paladin uprising, hires scum of the earth to ensure her reign continues.

I love the Galaxy Quest theme you've got going with the store blogs about Starfinder, whose idea was it so that if I meet them I can buy them a coffee (or hot chocolate if they don't drink coffee)?

Yeah, since the Technic League is basically "Evil psychotic dumbasses find crashed spaceship" you could put them in any setting where you have a crashed spaceship.

Or "Power-hungry brutes meddling with concepts beyond their comprehension", which can go into any setting that plays with Clarke's Third Law a bit. Or "Secret society attempting to withhold wonders the like of which the world has never seen" which... I mean, is there a setting where that particular group wouldn't work? Just because the Technic League isn't especially great at it doesn't mean you couldn't have a more competent (or Lawful or even Good) version of them dedicated to keeping technology a secret (Lawful Evil TL would be all about controlling it, like the current TL is, but with the addition of a better-managed hierarchy, while I could see a Neutral Good TL being more interested in sequestering technology away until it's able to be used by everyone in society, keeping it secret so that some dumbass warlord doesn't conquer half the world with an army of laser-wielding murderbots).

Hmm... 18 factions. Probably nothing on the Technic League. I mean, on the one hand, it makes sense since the TL would probably necessitate reprinting and/or expanding on the Technology Guide, but on the other, I do kinda want to learn more about them. Plus, I mean, there are some organizations of bad dudes here.

But they are kinda local and not exactly major players in a lot of other regions.

*sniff, sniff*
*breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out*
Seems fine to me.

Wrath of the Righteous: Jerks try to shut down the set of Extreme Home Remodeling: Abyss Edition and kill the star of the production.

Mummy's Mask: Rightful King returns to find a usurper on his throne, gets kicked around by a bunch of upstarts working for that usurper.

Reign of Winter: Woman seeks to retain throne. Group of know-nothings hired by her mother's goons to force her to abdicate. Mother is also missing.

Giantslayer: Man is punished for trying to unify his people using ancient artifact.

Iron Gods: Robot wants to make friends but does not know how to make friends. People show up to punch it for making friends the wrong way.

Charles II fails to reclaim the throne during the English Civil War. What happens next?

So James Jacobs said you'd be a better person to ask this question to:

Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:

History however has yet to show where this hasn't been the case.

Okay, lets assume that you're correct and it's never happened in the past and therefore can't be done in the future.

Your/Jessica's argument basically leads to the conclusion that because of inherent gender differences there will always be hatred between the genders. If so, you've basically made a strong case that men should be actively trying to oppress women in order to prevent being oppressed by women.

And maybe I'm an optimist, but I really don't think that's where you wanted to go with that.

It seems like you and they have a fundamental disagreement on one point. Your arguments seem to be predicated on the axiom that "inherent gender differences" exist and matter, whereas their arguments seem to be predicated on the axiom that "inherent gender differences" either don't matter or don't exist (and therefore can't matter).

For the record, I'm firmly on the "don't matter or don't exist" side of that particular argument, but that particular axiom is always going to be a sticking point in these kinds of debates.

Getting someone to love you is a job for the Grim Harvestman.

I imagine your friendship is a pestilence even Ghlaunder wouldn't want to spread.

You're so cold. Are you sure Brigh didn't make your heart?

Now there's a soul not even Asmodeus would buy.

Erastil knows everyone has a job to do in society; yours is leaving it.

He's so ugly, even Lamashtu would recoil in horror upon seeing him.

Pharasma and Zyphus are trying to pawn your soul off onto one another.

So according to Book 2 of Hell's Vengeance,

1044) There is no position in the hierarchy of Calistria's church known as "Dr. Feelgood".
1044a) The same goes for Dr. Love.
1045) Striptease is appropriate in bars and Calistrian temples, not in line at the bank of Abadar.

In my games, for example, the rules on using spells to grind alignment are in place to stop that kind of abuse. It will never happen. That is because my personal house rules call for a character casting a spell with a descriptor that is contrary to their base alignment as a "moderate" infraction, while casting in according is a "minor" reward.

This seems, to me, to be an elegant solution to the question posed by this thread. Like must be met with like; you can't get into Heaven just by giving everyone you've wronged a fruit basket.

Also, in the Wrath of the Righteous Player's Guide, it lists example penances for someone looking to redeem themselves from Evil, and it notes that casting a spell with the [good] descriptor is a penance one can perform — but it only works once per stage (i.e., once at Evil, once at Neutral).

(Plus, it had always felt like a shame to both of us that everyone reads Dante's Inferno, but not even hardcore planar fans can be bothered to finish Paradiso...)

I've tried! I really have! I got partway through before the text got too dense for high school me. I'll probably pick it up again, though; I feel like I should read the entire Divine Comedy.

I have read all of Purgatorio, if that makes any difference...

1028) "Let the werewolf win" is not an old Ustalavic proverb.
1029) "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good crossbow at your side" is not an old Rahadoumi proverb.

So far it looks really good; can't wait to see more human ethnicities on there!

Graeme Lewis wrote:

FallenDabus wrote:

Waldgeist - CR 8, more incorporeal undead, this times with ties to forests and the ability to possess trees.

With a name like that... Honestly, the only other way to make that name make sense is to have it be a ghost Treant/Dryad.

So what diabolical evil can one get up to in this volume?

They are actually supposed to come from gnomes, although I'm sure you could make an advanced one to represent the ghost of a Trent. That's actually an awesome idea, I may steal it!

Well, since "Waldgeist" literally means "Forest Ghost" or "Forest Spirit", it makes sense that it'd be an incorporeal undead or fey with ties to trees and forests.

My Great Aunt Elana Moonrunner had this bit of sage advice for arguing with a God.

"Don't".

See, m'grandpappy gave me a different piece of advice.

"If'n yer gonna argue with a god," he'd say, "become a god yerself, otherwise y'all ain't got a snowball's chance in Osirion o' winnin' that'n."

"I was in a church in Andoran once. Cathedral dedicated to Iomedae. They had the Eleven Deeds on the walls in stained glass. The first deed stuck out the most... I know she's supposed to have defeated Nakorshor'mond, but I swear the artist decided to make it look like the child of Asmodeus and Zon-Kuthon."

"So there's this guy I met, Iomedaean who's got an illustrated book. First Deed's illustrated in there, the monster looks like it's a massive beast, almost like someone took Ulunat and crossed it with a dragon."

"What was Nakorshor'mond? Hmm... Let me ask you this question in response. Which matters more: What it was, or what she did? Answer that question, and you will know what Nakorshor'mond was."

Waldgeist - CR 8, more incorporeal undead, this times with ties to forests and the ability to possess trees.

With a name like that... Honestly, the only other way to make that name make sense is to have it be a ghost Treant/Dryad.

So what diabolical evil can one get up to in this volume?

I have no name, that I can recall. I suspect it was taken from me. All I have is my mind, my... deductive capabilities. From this wig beside me, I suspect I must be involved in law. Not as an officer, but as a lawyer or judge. The book next to me is... filled with arcane formulae. ...No, arcane is the wrong word. Esoteric, perhaps. Mentions of weights, and measures, and fluids. The language is difficult, but... familiar, in a way. Almost as if it were mine.

I am wearing a robe. Black. No markings, nor badge of office. This will tell me nothing. In my other pocket... hmm. A note...? "Writ of Habeas Corpus"... That name looks familiar. And is this... a picture? Hmm... she looks frightened. Was I... trying to help her?

Basically, barrister-alchemist or barrister-investigator who was seeking to rescue someone kidnapped by Hasturian cultists

1020) Deskari is not "weak to RAID".
1021) Cyth-V'sug cannot be killed "if you just pour some Round-Up on him".

I can't really think how the practice of basically stealing the souls of almost everyone in their country has gone unpunished for so long.

"So long"? I'm sorry, a century is not "so long" to someone Pharasma's age. When they've been doing it for thousands of years, then we'll get back to you on something that's been going on for ages.

Besides, we've got bigger threats to the integrity of the River of Souls than some idiots trapped in some stupid knife that any idiot could figure out how to break. That bloody fallen Psychopomp and her damnable hidden corruptions...

1017) We've all heard the "Athatch with a third leg" joke, you don't need to tell it again.

*sharp sudden intake of breath*
*long, drawn-out pause*
*still waiting to know whether to sigh with relief or grumble disgruntledly*

Are any heads of state or important international players (e.g., members of the Decemvirate, Red Mantis leaders, level 16+ clerics of various gods) asexual? Can you name any off the top of your head?

Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:

Dreaming Psion wrote:

Well, going by least likely locations, on Golarion

1)Time travel back to ancient Thassilon, Azlant/time travel- I highly doubt they'd ever do this because it has way too much potential of changing stuff in the current timeline, unless the adventure path was really railroaded into preserving the status quo. That and they've always been slow to play their hand about ancient cultures.

That wouldn't be a problem. None of the AP's feed back into mainline canon, because almost all of them are severe world-changing events.

Not what the T-rex told me.

Yeah, as JJ said in the linked post, time travel makes all sorts of crap go wonky. I mean... the gods alone have probably changed unrecognizably. Let's say we go to Thassilon. You not only lose Iomedae, Cayden Caillean, Norgorber, and Aroden, you also probably lose Nethys and might lose Irori. Who is and isn't major changes too; Torag probably isn't known among the surface-dwellers, as there are no surface dwarves, because they haven't begun the Quest for Sky. Zon-Kuthon isn't present, because Abadar has banished him for the time being. For all we know, Rovagug's prison was stronger in that time; if so, the Pit of Gormuz might not be open and we might not have even heard the Rough Beast's name in an age.

And that's just the uncertainty of the God situation. Forget everything else.

Edit: Also, no problem responding point by point. I don't have the energy to do the same, but I don't mind that you do so. I do worry that I seem like I'm cherry picking and taking things out of context, and if it looks like I'm doing so, I apologize. I'm just trying to keep things clear.

Speaking as someone who's been reading this thread for a while, this is not how you come across. You come across as someone who's being respectful and responding to points within the argument, and you've said at least twice that you don't have the time/energy/etc. to be able to respond to TL the same way.

And by the way, I'm really liking reading your discussion. It's clear that while you may disagree on some points, you're not trying to attack one another; you're trying to understand each other, not being dismissive, not being antagonistic... There are people both on the internet and in real life who could take some pointers from your discussion here.

EDIT: Occasionally myself included. *looks sidelong at a couple posts of his in this thread, including deleted ones*