Justy's page

Not only did my RotRL character have a relationship with Ameiko, but there was a year-and-a-day handfasting kind of promise made during Hook Mountain Massacre. This was a problem, because my character came from a fairly well-to-do noble family in Iadara. There was an elf gate assisted side quest to Kyonin for a family emergency between Hook Mountain and Fortress, and an engagement with a baseborn human did not impress dad or elder brother.

Now it turns out Ameiko's not so baseborn after all. I expect an apology from dear old dad. :D

Comments From Aerel's Player:

Yep, no words for Nualia. Aerel has been hiking across Avistan for five and a half years trying to sort himself out. A week ago he found a place and people that, for some reason, he likes. This is where he belongs, for a little while anyway. Nualia wants to destroy that, is working with goblins, demons and a dark goddess, and is pretty clearly not open to rational debate. But I've pulled "I have nothing to say to you" three times now, I'll try to have better banter in Turtleback Ferry. :)

I don't think Aerel's exploitation of Nisk and Savah was shameless... he lifted the repeating crossbow to fight off goblins that were attacking the town AND promptly returned it afterward, even if he did borrow it again right away and with permission this time, and Bottled Solutions has got more good & free PR out of his association with us than a few CLW potions were ever worth. Or the other batch of CLWs. Or the antitoxin. Or the scrolls. Or yet another batch of CLWs and alchemist's fire. Fine, I've taken Nisk for all he's worth! But I do feel it was a kinder, gentler exploitation than you lay it out as, and I have started paying him back with scrolls for his shop. And while the Glassworks was out of commission, I return the empties for recycling!

Aerel does not have the harpy musk anymore. Because there was too much loot to carry, most of it copper pieces (let's never talk about Aerel's elven ability in the privy again, okay?), and they were going to have to swim out of Thistletop, Aerel packed his most valuable equipment (spellbook!) in Carangal's bag, then the party loaded the least valuable loot into his backpack and left it in Nualia's chamber, intending to return for it later; at that time, Aerel had figured they'd pretty much cleaned out all opponents so it was probably safe. The harpy musk was left in the backpack with the copper pieces, and I don't think it was with the backpack as recovered in the farmlands later.

But the musk was watered down? Son of a gun. I seem to recall making a pretty solid Sense Motive check too. But a little swindling isn't worth what the poor guy got in a few more episodes...

The original data source is [link to Environment Canada].

I knew I paid my federal taxes for a reason! ;) Nicely done!

I imagine ages 1-5 happen at about the same speed as a human. If elf kids took any longer than humans to get through the toddler years, they'd never be allowed to survive. Maybe they keep that same pace up until they're 10 or so.

From then to adulthood (human age 15, elf age 110), the pace eases way, way back, and you have a 'tweenager' for most of a century. The elf takes 100 years to mature in the ways a human does in 5, so call it 1/20th speed.

From adulthood, it's shown in the Core Rulebook, page 169. If you figure that each age mark (adult, middle-age, old, venerable, max) is equivalent, then elf's aging speeds up to 1/3rd human speed for the period from adulthood to middle age, slows to about 1/5 from then through old and on to venerable, then slows down even further to about 1/10th speed until he returns to the [insert death euphemism here].

I have always assumed that an elf matures physically and mentally at an equally slowed rate. My 124 year old elf is roughly in his late teens in body and in mind. If the mind aged slowly but the body at a normal pace, then he should have an active mind in the body of a 124 year old human, which is to say, he's dead. If the body aged slowly but the mind at a normal pace, then my 124 year old elf should have the body of a 19 year old human and an epic-level Wisdom score. :)

At least, that's how I imagine it. I think the real answer is whatever you and your DM decide it is... :)

Within the context of the fictional world, it is still science, can still be understood by the characters in the setting.

Within the context of the fictional world, I have always assumed that arcane (not divine) magic IS understood by the characters in the setting, and follows a set of laws that just happen to not exist in reality, same as if you make up a set of new scientific laws for a speculative fiction story. For example, the new laws of motion that let the tractor beam pull that thing over there toward you without pulling you toward it (unless it works better for the story just this once), and yet doesn't change anything else affected by Newton's Third Law.

No, I don't see a difference between fantastic magic and fantastic science, they're both just ways to let impossible things happen for the purpose of telling a story.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

I like Winchell Chung's version, "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced." :)

I'm now going to shift my support to a Golarion of the future support

I want a "Golarion of the future" game too... heatstone-powered steam trains? Orbital colonies in danger because someone's killing off the priests who perform the weekly orbit boost prayer? Cold war between Absalom and Tian Xia? John Carter of Akiton? Hell yes. And yes, it will have magic! Anyone who says they don't want magic in sci-fi, but is cool with spaceships that have artificial gravity, warp drive, and from a distance look like anything but giant heat radiators, needs to ask themselves some questions.

But here's why, as much as I'd love that setting, it must not be written.

Your first option is to write a timeline that explains how you get from the Golarion of the early 4700's AR to the distant future. That kind of ties your hands when you're trying to write more products for the original setting.

Second option is to write off history. It's so long ago it doesn't matter, there was a big disaster that wiped out the old records, it's an alternate timeline that ignores anything in the original setting published after a certain point, or the all-time worst RPG history writeoff ever, "Super netrunner guy wrote a computer virus that scrambled the history files. Also it ate paper, so all the calendars are gone, nobody even knows what the date is. Thankfully, your friendly local mechanic, who couldn't be bothered to remember the date before the datapocalypse, does remember how to fix your flying car even without the service manual."

Anyhow... what you end up with in the second case is a future setting that claims to be linked to the original, but is so disconnected, it doesn't feel like home anymore. It leaves too many questions unanswered. It's unsatisfying. I submit exhibits A through C: ElfQuest, Jink, and Rebels. If you have a series about elves, fast forward the timeline, make the elves all go away, and can't tell me where they went...

So yeah. Future Golarion won't work unless you've already done all you want to do with the original Pathfinder, and I believe (I hope!) that day is a long way off yet.

Thromund’s Talking Book

Transmutation
Thromund’s Talking Book allows a tome, scroll or piece of paper to read itself out loud.

I'm sorry, you can't do that.

As a member of the Golarion Authors Guild, I must point out that you are interfering with the copyright on my work. The audio performance rights for my stories (including "Voyages On The Atlantic Sea," set in a fantasy world beyond the Dark Tapestry with powerful nations astride a vast ocean, available at finer merchants across Varisia) belong to my publisher. Anyone desiring an audio performance must purchase the enchanted story reading item made available by my publisher - with considerably higher royalties for me, which your spell denies me.

Thus I inform you that you have 30 days to confiscate every spellbook, scroll, songbook or magic item enabling the use of your spell "Thromund's Talking Book," after which the Golarion Author's Guild will dispose of these materials via bonfire, using your spell for Kindle.

Name of PC: Aerel

Fortunately the reward that was going to be paid out by the Lord-Mayor covered his return to action.

There was going to be a REWARD? And one big enough to cover ressurections? Aw, crap in a hat! Aerel could have finally been not-poor!

My GM is kind enough to run RotRL as a one-on-one game for me, so everyone but Aerel is an NPC. The party, at the end of The Skinsaw Murders, is:

Aerel: Male elf wizard 6 (universalist). After a tragic raid into the Tanglebriar, had a dream in the winter of 4702AR to head west from Iadara to Celwynvian to look for information on lesser starstones. Headed out with Meycho, loyal canine familiar (who, through the course of Burnt Offerings, was actually the best fighter in the party!). Was turned away from Celwynvian, but met up with...

Carangal: Male half-elf fighter. The two of them decided to head southward to Magnimar, but never did make it past Sandpoint.

Ameiko Kaijutsu (F human bard), Savah Bevanisky (F human rogue), Shalelu Andosana (F elf ranger) and Tessara Velerin (F human cleric, Gozreh) are, I believe, all NPCs from the adventure text, and were folded into the party.