Jason Keeley Private Avatar

Jason Keeley's page

Senior Developer. Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber. Organized Play Member. 303 posts (318 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 3 Organized Play characters. 1 alias.


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Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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Thanks! I think the guardian is going to be in a much better place after the playtest ends. Thanks in no small part to all the people who have (and will) give their feedback!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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Ectar wrote:

Small shame that the guardian got two anecdotes and the commander got zero.

Though, the opinions on the forums seem to be more broadly positive regarding the commander, so the guardian could use the extra positive fanfare and hints of improvements prior to release.

Since I wrote the guardian and have been paying attention to its criticism, I did think that it could use a little boost in positivity!

But I had a commander in each of the two playtests I mentioned, both of which performed admirably. Both players happened to make mounted commanders, though only one was interested in using the mount to joust! In the first combat with the lower-level commander (mounted on a big goat), he granted an extra attack to the fighter, who, along with a critical Reactive Strike, dealt somewhere between 40 and 60 damage with reactions! The higher-level commander focused on Piranha Formation to help the party ignore the resistance of an adamantine dragon and then dealt a pretty decisive blow with his lance!

So, yeah, commanders are able to effectively do their jobs!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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So far, only one person has guessed correctly about ONE of the iconics!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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Berselius wrote:
Wait, is the artwork we already have for the Commander and the Guardian not going to be the ones used for the Iconics? I ask as I was hoping the artwork for the Commander showed a female Dhampir (and that we'd get our first Dhampir iconic).

They are not. Those are previously commissioned pieces of art used as kind of placeholders for the PDF and blogs. I believe the "dhampir" commander is an Order of the Asp cavalier from Adventurer's Guide.

We are creating all-new characters for the iconics, with brand-new art!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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I can't say just yet!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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We definitely played with the idea of a Small guardian but ultimately decided to go a different way...

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

Elric200 wrote:
Jason where do I do load the PDF? Do you know if Pathbuilder is going to put the two classes up?

Link in the blog post!

I don't know about Pathbuilder, but Demiplane and Foundry will be supporting the playtest as of today!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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Hi all!

While the time for battles will soon be upon us (in the form of the Battlecry! sourcebook, releasing GenCon 2025), let's honor the rules of war in these forums for the playtest. Everyone's going to have their own opinions about the classes, so please respect that and do your best to make this a place for measured discussions and civil discourse.

Thanks for participating in the Battlecry! playtest!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Atten-shun, soldiers!

Please use this thread for mechanical or thematic feedback on the guardian.

Please avoid having discussions on feedback given by posters in this thread and save that for other threads or venues. This is a place to collect opinions for easy review, not to debate their merit.

Thank you for participating in the Battlecry! playtest!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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I have, of course, made the Tar Baphon mascot illustration my Teamwork profile icon here.

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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MurderHobo#6226 wrote:
I must undergo the Test of the Starstone Burger now.

Sometimes, I can't believe I was allowed to write this kind of thing.

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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QuidEst wrote:
keftiu wrote:
QuidEst wrote:
keftiu wrote:
What a novel framing for a nature book!! I tend to skew more urban and political with my games, but this sounds like it’s too good to miss, between it being a fun read and having such sorely-wanted Ancestries.

Even for an urban campaign, I'm definitely raiding this for the exotic pets of wealthy people.

... Does having a hydra head mounted on your wall just make you look stupid?

One hydra head on your wall looks stupid, but I imagine six of them looks a little tacky. How many is enough to tastefully say “I killed this thing for real, but I don’t wanna go overboard in bragging about it?”
Now I want a fantasy big game hunter with a running gag of more mounted hydra heads. I suppose it is the only thing that allows both "mounted head trophy" and "catch and release".

I'm suddenly picturing a scene in a big-game hunter's den with one hydra head mounted on the wall, but every time we cut away and cut back there's one more hydra head until the whole wall is nothing but hydra heads and no one mentions it.

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

4 people marked this as a favorite.

My only regret is that I developed this adventure before I really learned about the Backrooms.

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

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John Godek III wrote:

I am so excited for this book to get released! I am excited for you to see all the cool new <REDACTED> and <REDACTED> that we got to write for Starfinder! I especially can't wait to start using the new <REDACTED> <REDACTED>!

Hmm hope that's not too many spoilers to get me into trouble.

Ohmygosh, did you write <REDACTED>??

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

I hadn't really seen the final cover for this one yet! Nice!

Paizo Employee Senior Developer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Anorak wrote:
Well, anything by James, James, and Keeley is a must to play!

I'm excited to be in the company of two such esteemed Jameses!

Paizo Employee Starfinder Development Manager

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Ah yes, a typo of course! This is what happens when editors don't look at my stuff.

Paizo Employee Starfinder Development Manager

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John Mangrum wrote:

The zeitgeist mystic connection is missing connection spells. Also, the dual zeitgeist class ability should come in at 18th level, not 19th.

Until/unless we get errata I'm house ruling the following:

Spells: 1st–4th–change attitude; replaced by 1st–comprehend customs (Character Operations Manual), 2nd–spiritual consultation (Tech Revolution), 3rd–remembrance (Galactic Magic), 5th–commune with planet (Character Operations Manual), 6th–mind swap (Alien Archive 3)

Hey, whoops!

A real oversight on our part. Sorry!

I like the way you think John Mangrum, but I think it needs a little tweaking.

Spells: 1st–4th–spiritual consultation (Tech Revolution); replaced by 1st–comprehend customs (Character Operations Manual), 2nd–social reset (Galactic Magic), 3rd–remembrance (Galactic Magic), 4th–discern lies, 5th–retrocognition

Paizo Employee Starfinder Development Manager

3 people marked this as a favorite.
CorvusMask wrote:
Hmm curious if the cult in the article will be expanded so that it is usable outside of this AP or if this is first case of "Well you get article on organization you will disassemble during the ap" :D Like even council of thieves didn't get full article detailing them

We did anticipate that and have included enough information to be able to use this cult outside of the AP (or even after the AP!)

Paizo Employee Starfinder Development Manager

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Alex Speidel wrote:

I am once again encouraging everybody who likes sci-fi to check out The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and the three sequels by Becky Chambers. It's a little bit of Star Trek, a little bit of Firefly, and a whole lot of speculative fiction.

(It's also very LGBTQ+ friendly and the author is a TTRPG player, I believe!)

Other sci-fi I've enjoyed recently:
Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Every year I check out The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy from my local library as well, highly recommend picking up some collections to find new works! This year I really liked "Schrodinger’s Catastrophe," "The Plague Doctors," "The Pill" and "How to Pay Reparations: a Documentary."

Alex, that's totally on my library list, but I have to get through all these horror novels first!

Paizo Employee Starfinder Development Manager

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Leon Aquilla wrote:

Is Verdant Blast supposed to be a cantrip? Seems a bit powerful for one.

120 foot line, 3d6 piercing damage with a reflex save for half.

We had a typo there! It should be a level 2 spell.

Paizo Employee Developer

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Were-wraith wrote:
Leon Aquilla wrote:
Were-wraith wrote:
Is the spell Verdant Blast correct? 3d6 seems like a lot of damage for a cantrip.
I PM'd the author of that section for clarification. My players took one look at that and said "I wouldn't blame you if you banned that, but if you're not going to I am going to BLAST the CRAP out of this planet with leaves!"
Given that the damage is roughly the same as a first level Mind Thrust AND affects multiple targets, I think Verdant Blast should no lower than second level.

Indeed that is an unfortunate typo! It should be 2nd level!

Paizo Employee Developer

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The PDF download should include the Interactive Maps now (or if not now, very soon)!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Spiteful wrote:
Just got my PDF for Serpents in the Cradle, but I didn't get the interactive maps. Do I have to do something different to get them for this book of the adventure path?

Strange! I'm looking into that now!

Paizo Employee Developer

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CorvusMask wrote:

Oh yeah, this is first Starfinder AP right that uses adventure toolbox format right? Does that mean all bonus article content is AP relevant including bestiaries? :O

(if bestiary entries aren't ap monsters, can someone list them? xP)

We are still adding creatures to the Alien Archives that don't show up in the adventures. Though they will generally be as thematic as possible. For instance, the Codex of Worlds entries for this whole AP detail the other planets in the system, and the corresponding Alien Archives have creatures that can appear on those planets! Just in case your players want to REALLY go exploring!

The rest of the Adventure Toolbox (for this AP anyway) will contain additional GM information (in the form of updates as to what's happening elsewhere on the planet) and thematic player options where appropriate!

Paizo Employee Developer

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TRDG wrote:

How big is the hexploration and city building compared to Kingmaker? I'd assume downscaled a bit or about the same or quite different are any of you thinking, and how are the maps?

Do we get the whole hex map for exploration in the AP or just in parts that deal with each module specifically perhaps??

Also how is the players guide, good advice for class, and skill sets?

Thanks

Tom

The first two volumes have full-page hex maps that are technically both open for hexploration from the beginning, but like in Kingmaker, some of the areas in volume 2 will be beyond your players' capabilities, so they might want to stick with the rivers and the lakes that they're used to.

The third volume has a half-page hex map that is technically part of another charter's land, but without spoiling things too much, the players will still be allowed to explore it.

From there, the volumes focus on specific events in the larger narrative with time for the PCs to explore what they haven't yet and continue to build up their charter.

Also, look for the Player's Guide soon! It's a little shorter than previous ones, but it does contain all the necessary advice for making a character--plus a page of new feats!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Written by the fantastic Hilary Moon Murphy!

Paizo Employee Developer

Darius Silverbolt wrote:
Designed for 4 or 6 players?

Like all our non-SFS adventure content, this is designed for 4 players.

Paizo Employee Developer

Steve Geddes wrote:
What level will PCs be at the conclusion of the adventure? Is that known yet?

We haven't said yet, but be on the lookout for more information in the future!

Paizo Employee Developer

1 person marked this as a favorite.
GM GK wrote:
Weird. The title I see is, "We Be Ysoki."

Ha! I'd love to see this module played with an all-ysoki party!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Ixita Hietan wrote:
Oooh a dungeon crawl it seems. Very much looking forward to seeing how this plays.

While it has some dungeon crawl elements, this adventure is so much more!

Paizo Employee Developer

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CorvusMask wrote:
Huh, so starfinder is finally doing fine enough to warrant standalones as well? :O Nice! How many pages this is compared to 2e pathfinder standalones?

64, the same number of pages! At least the same as The Fall of Plaguestone...

Paizo Employee Developer

Xenocrat wrote:
Resolved: 4.1 is the best NPC in the history of Paizo APs.

Just because the fate of the Pact Worlds (and beyond) is at stake doesn't mean you everything needs to be all doom and gloom!

Paizo Employee Developer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Dimity wrote:
I'm a bit concerned that Birnam's Bubble, the planet in Codex of Worlds that is completely incased in an impenetrable energy shield that is completely devoid of animal life, looks so much like earth. I mean, I can clearly see Turkey and the Caspian Sea. Is this what our future holds?

I was wondering if that was still coming across! Let's just say that in sketch form the correlation was far more obvious.

But that's neither a confirmation nor a denial of your theory!

Paizo Employee Developer

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ra9662 wrote:
THis is great news I can do 3 Adventure paths all the way up to 18 level. Start with Aeon Throne then go to Signal of Screams then finish with Devastation Ark.

You sure can!

I don't envy those PCs at all.

Paizo Employee Developer

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If you aren't on the Discord, you can download the Puzzle Hunt from the PaizoCon Online page (https://paizo.com/paizocon) and clicking on the Puzzle Hunt tab!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Hey folks!

Don't think we'd forget about the Puzzle Hunt this year!

You can find the PDF to the fourth annual PaizoCon Puzzle Hunt pinned in the Puzzle Hunt channels on the PaizoCon Discord server!

What Is a Puzzle Hunt?
A puzzle hunt is a set of puzzles, each of which can be solved individually to reach an answer that is a word or phrase. The exact instructions for each puzzle might not be apparent at first, so you’ll need to think cleverly and logically to solve them!

The puzzles’ answers are then combined in some way (that you have to figure out) in a final puzzle that leads to an ultimate solution! If you think you have the right solution, you could win a prize!

How to Get Help!
First, you can use any internet resources at your disposal to solve the puzzles.

Second, you can ask the puzzle masters or your fellow solvers for help on the Discord channel or in this thread. Please use spoiler tags in either format when revealing hints or puzzle answers!

To tag spoiler text on Discord, simply highlight the text and an option to use the spoiler tags should appear over (it’s the eyeball).

How to Collect the Prize!
Email your final solution to joe.pasini@paizo.com with the subject line “PaizoCon 2020 Puzzle Hunt.” Include the email address associated with your Paizo.com account. And if you’re correct, you’ll receive $5 in credit to the Paizo.com store! (If you get it wrong, however, Joe will nudge you in the right direction.)

One prize per person (not account), and prizes will be awarded after PaizoCon is over, once all account emails have been collected. We will no longer accept answers after June 1, 2020.

Find the Secret Bonus Puzzle!
The secret bonus puzzle is hidden somewhere within the puzzle hunt, which reveals a certain phrase. Try to find it! There are no prizes for submitting the answer to the secret bonus puzzle, except our unwavering respect.

Paizo Employee Developer

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Joe Pasini wrote:
Grim Ranger wrote:
Puzzle hunt this year?
Yes! We're currently playtesting it (and good thing!).

And hopefully we'll have a forum thread or some other method for y'all to talk about the puzzles together, and for us to give you hints if needed!

Paizo Employee Developer

Love to hear it!

Paizo Employee Developer

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John Mangrum wrote:
Putting a marker down on "Bantrids *are* the Sivv" now.

Interesting theory!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Vanessa Hoskins wrote:
Oooo! I love what you've done with this character, Jason. Chilling!

Thanks! I hope you like that art!

As a teaser, Vanessa wrote more about the grays for the second volume of the AP, which *might* feature a little more of the character of Reyard Maldun!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Mimski wrote:

Man, I am really a fan of what this adventure is going for, plot and mood wise. This looks really fun.

Also, Pistol Pirouette is very stylish. Pew-pew indeed.

But in my PDF I do not see any of the envoy icons to define the new improvisation's traits, even though it says they use the icons on p.47.
From reading them I guess they are neither language-, sense-dependant or mind-affecting, but I am a bit uncertain. Hmm.

Infuriating Target was meant to be mind-affecting, but I guess we lost the icon somewhere along the line! Oops!

Paizo Employee Developer

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The "stealth system" of the stealth enercycle is described on page 136 of Armory. Basically, the rider can use their Stealth skill to hide with the vehicle at the listed penalty (usually only when stationary though).

Oh, and I am so glad people are enjoying the vehicles article! We weren't super sure what else to put in this volume at the end of a campaign, but Anthony Bono knocked it out of the park!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Oh, hello there!

This adventure is basically three adventures in one! What a bargain!

Paizo Employee Developer

Luckmann wrote:

Sorry for the double-post, but it feels inappropriate to edit my previous post for an entirely new point/issue.

In Event 3: Gunship Showdown, pgs.18-19, it says that if nobody is piloting the vehicle, the Gunnery Check DC for the Swarmship is only DC 5.

But then, much later on the next page, it says that the Swarm fleetfury attempts a gunnery check with a total +5 modifier.

I'm sorry, I'm fairly new, maybe I'm missing something, but if the DC is 5 and the Skill has a total of +5, why even roll? Why not just say that if no-one is driving, the ship hits automatically?

There's always a chance the Swarm fleetfury could roll a 1, which is automatically a miss. But overall, the low AC of a driverless vehicle is really meant to encourage someone to get behind the wheel!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Watch out!

Paizo Employee Developer

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We are planning to have a blog post at some point in January with a little more information about The Devastation Ark AP... but I haven't written it yet.

So what would you want to know? Do you want to hear some spoilers? Would you like to see some preview art? How can I get you even more excited?

And just to be a bit of a tease, I'll say that there's some REALLY GOOD speculation going on in this thread...

Paizo Employee Developer

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Shukkaro wrote:
Oh dang, that is a really cool design, looking forward to that statblock

Yeah I can't wait for everyone to see it! It is bonkers.

Paizo Employee Developer

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The cover figure is a transitional (neither winterborn nor summerborn) ryphorian, which indeed we have never illustrated before. We've mainly shown the furry winterborn ryphorians and our one or two summerborn illustrations have depicted them as basically being bald, but there's nothing saying a transitional ryphorian can't grow a nice head of hair. Or maybe she's wearing a wig...

Paizo Employee Developer

Also, I've put the correct map key over in the GM reference thread for this adventure.

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