Platinius Nemoralis's page

Even if you don't restrict what classes can be chosen, setting can be conveyed by a list of common or "iconic" classes.

I do not disagree :)

Here a nice idea on how to spice up our clerics:

Allow any cleric (almost) any domain independent of their deity.

That way domains reflect the clerics personality more rather than just being a mini version of their deity.

-Here some of my personal thoughts on a world without primary spellcasters:
The monsters still get their spells and spell like abilities so long as they are part of their natural abilities and not some trick they got by taking levels in a class.
(I actually thing that it valorizes these monsters as only they have these unique spells/spell like abilities. (That a wizard or cleric can just cast a spell and also have something that is supposed to mostly unique to certain creatures is kind of disappointing))
Furthermore, using magic might be very taxing on the body, so only someone in peek physical condition might actually be tough enough to use it, so you can explain that way why every mage would have to be buff to be able to (semi-safely) use magic.
(Warhammer Fantasy actually does that)

-Dragonlance/Krynn starts off as a cleric/divine magic free setting.

-Evil-Lyn could easily be played as an oratory-based bard. She is shown to be very convincing and highly knowledgeable to boot. (I like Evil-Lyn, she is a smart, intense and complex as well.)

-Skeletor could be a staff based magus after he respec-ed from that acid in the face and rebuilding thing. (which is also why he has a skull for a face)

-Personally, I have always seen the PCs' classes as what their training and life experiences manifest as. Few classes other than Druid would actually describe themselves by their class names. (A musical bard, might still describe themself as a bard, but an oratory bard can easily describe themself as a teacher and scholar.)

-More on the No hoomies front:
Humans are usually the intermediate race between all the other races. Without Humans, either another race steps in and does all the contact stuff (I say halflings, they are easy going, get along with most people and live practically everywhere).
If there is no intermediate race, that means that contact between the races is quite limited, which offers a lot of options for campaigns, role play and general shenanigans^^)

If there were no more primary divine casters in the world:

1. Why are the gods so weak in this setting?
2. Has it always been this way or was there some religious schism?
3. Does this also work for the bad guys?
4. Can powerful divine magic items be created?
5. Are there divine artifacts?
6. How does this lack of divine power with unfettered arcane power affect everyday NPCs? Do they lack faith in the gods?

As a GM I want to answer all of these questions. As a player though...

A setting will only be as engaging as the player(s) who inhabit it. You can make up reams of background but if the player shrugs and says "I can't play a cleric? Ok, I'll play a witch" you may have world built in vain.

It might swing the other extreme though. A little while ago I got to be a player in a brief game where the PCs were soldiers on the edge of a contested borderland. The kingdom was run by paladins with the kingdom supposedly in a permanent conflict with neighboring orc tribes.

When the GM rolled out the map I immediately began questioning. Why were there miles of open lowland between forts on the borderland? Who lives in the forest that borders both us and the orcs? Why are there so many small, unwalled villages in the gaps between these couple of forts over here? Why, if the borderland itself is just a wide, open plain, does our kingdom even suffer the orcs?

At one point my GM just glared at me and I stopped asking so many questions. As the game got started though, it turned out that some of my questions were directly related to the opening plot. The game began with a small horde of orcs using the forest on the border of both our lands to get past the patrols, get into our paladin-run kingdom, and commit terrible raids.

** spoiler omitted **...

You hit the nail right on the head.^^

Sorry to read about the rail roading. :(

Naturally, the best world (building) is indeed ultimately only as good as the GM and players that play it. Good ideas are, of course, not enough and it requires these odd things called self discipline and good communication to implement them well. (Who would have thought that you need a degree of discipline to enjoy yourself? Will the wonders ever cease?^^)

Another obvious thing, I deliberately ask the questions as training exercises to see where they take the astute readers of the Paizo forums, knowing that they will find different yet equally insightful answers.^^

But on the the next thought experiments (yes, several this time^^):

First the easy one:
What if there were no primary spell casters at all?
There is a (cartoon) setting like that and it is the world of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe^^ (particularly the 2000's reboot where everybody, even the mages, is buff)

Here is the harder one:
Assuming a standard fantasy world with only the core races, what if there were no humans?

Enjoy coming up with interesting answers! (Comments and discussions about early mentioned ideas are naturally still welcome^^)

(if you read this, congrats, you already overcame the first hurdle, my inability to make a short catchy title^^)

Greetings fellow GMs and Players,

over the years I have been exposed to many different settings through cartoons, comics, video and tabletop role playing games (naturally^^).

So naturally I (and I suspect it was very similar for you) always wondered how you could make this cool setting and that cool setting into a playable ttrpg world. (not too difficult to follow thus far, right?^^)

The most practical thing I found reflecting upon this was actually questions. Question which lead to an entire world to be build around them. So without further ado, here is the first question.

What if there are no primary divine spellcasters in the world? (Always assuming the main classes and not the obscure stuff, Inquisitors and alike are considered secondary spellcasters here)

Answer:
-It means that Rangers, Paladins, Inquisitors, Bards, Witches and specific archetypes for certain arcane classes are the primary source of healing.
-It also means that practically all healers are pretty much unmitigated warriors at their core.
-It means that witches are the sole source for resurrections. Interesting in part because they are healers that are really not bound by a faith.
(partial answer, I do not have all that much time and I want to encourage discussion.

I have several more questions like these and you can actually guess them for yourselves. Happy worldbuilding!

Not the end^^

Thanks Phaedre! That seems to be pretty much it^^

Greetings mods and fellow posters,

at the risk of asking about the obvious and breaking forum protocol, I am looking for the part of the forums where I can post about home brew world building (as opposed to discussing the official material published by Paizo)

Can anybody help me out a bit? The Forums are pretty big and I feel a bit lost.

Thx in advance!

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Sarenites are amazing pets, but you really have to know what you are doing or else they can easily burn you^^

(Though to be fair, you can never be sure if the Sarenite isn't keeping you as a pet o.O )

I think you misunderstood.

What makes you think I did? ;)

*Quickly runs for cover*

Sarenites are amazing pets, but you really have to know what you are doing or else they can easily burn you^^

(Though to be fair, you can never be sure if the Sarenite isn't keeping you as a pet o.O )

In our world, there have been some changes recently. (Something about editions or some such)
Have you felt any different recently? Stabbier perhaps?

Also, what is your favorite pet? (Even if you don't have one, it shouldn't stop you from liking a specific animal^^)

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Have you hear how Amiri has wandered off to the Stolen Lands some time ago?

From what I have heard, she feels a lot better about herself now.

She'll still be angry I hope!

The way I understand it, she can still get incredibly angry, but not so much at herself anymore.

You should visit her. Just do not try to steal from the sovereign. I hear the ruling group has no sense of humour about such things and you wouldn't actually try to really embarrass her in front of her new band of fire forged friends.

EDIT: In fact, I think her rage as a weapon is more powerful and focused than ever before.

Have you hear how Amiri has wandered off to the Stolen Lands some time ago?

From what I have heard, she feels a lot better about herself now.

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Dear Merisiel, stabbiest of all rogues,

what was the first time you stared death in the eye?

I'm guessing some point not long after I was born.

...then we actually have something in common. My parents told that I had almost died when I was but a few weeks old because of a intestinal infection.

Hypothetical Situation:

Kyra is pregnant from you. Boy, girl or twins with one of each?

Dear Merisiel, stabbiest of all rogues,

what was the first time you stared death in the eye?

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Greatest and stabbiest of all rogues, do tell us,

what would you do if you suddenly had a child? (reasons unknown and the child is what it seems and not any kind of trap of any sort)

Probably be pretty surprised, since those sorts of things generally don't happen "suddenly."

I never said that you birthed it, perhaps you found it, perhaps Kyra did, it does not matter. What matters, it's there, in your arms. Though I can guess the decision it would lead to. Would you want to keep it or give it up for adoption?

Hmm, perhaps the real question would be whether Kyra would let you give it away to people less awesome than you.

Also, Amiri will appear in a new interactiv puppet-play.
How do you think she looks? Personally, I think she looks great. Fierce, yet happy.

To be fair, with Valeros around, every day is a party.^^

Greatest and stabbiest of all rogues, do tell us,
what would you do if you suddenly had a child? (reasons unknown and the child is what it seems and not any kind of trap of any sort)

96) The fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy(tm) is still that, a hunk of junk only held together by the careful ministrations of the idiot savant also known as your engineer and his/her reckless and stupid cunning and brave ragtag bunch of misfits band of friends.
The ship has been repaired so often over and over with all kinds more and often less compatible parts/technologies that only these people are even able of using it, nevermind performing any kind of quality maintenance.

I think this sums it up pretty well

Wei Ji the Learner wrote:

Yoon, Iconic Kineticist wrote:

Well I bet you must have at least said a little bit of Tien a lot of times, when you were saying your name. What's the Tengu translation? I'm always interested in languages.

I'll have to check out the amusement park!

The closest approximation is 'Mirthful Evening-Feather', which is a bit longer and complex than the name would seem to indicate.

I... may have been a bit of a trouble-maker when I was younger. It's amazing how plumbing can back up if it isn't... properly mapped out or if someone gives you the... wrong blueprint.

Plumbing is kind of a mystery, but it must be dangerous because it involves a lot of water. And if there's anything worse than water, it's probably potty water.

So no adventures in the sewers for you, I take it? That's a shame.

Say, has Feiya ever taken you on a hunt with Daji? You did say that you spent a lot of time with them.

EDIT: You are so cute on that cover! XD

Merisiel, sneakiest and stabiest of all rogues,

what do you like about women and what do you like about men?

It does mean that a witch can trip/disarm and so on with Prehensile Hair without provoking an attack of opportunity IF the witch is outside the reach of the foe.

Thanks for the answers, but they leads me to more:

1) Can a regular witch use Prehensile Hair to initiate a regular grapple at a distance (or at all for that matter)?

2) And if so, would that be with the intelligence modifier instead of the strength modifier?

Greetings Pathfinder Team,

during my last session my lvl 10 elven witch got grappled by Chuul (with templates of Fiendish and Divine Guardian, I think; it was during the Wake of the Watcher book of the Carrion Crown adventure).
This lead to several questions:

1) Does any Hex necessitate concentration checks while grappling or under any other situation? (For that session, the GM decided that they do, but he himself admitted that he was unsure)

2) Can Prehensile Hair be used to grapple (or get out of a grapple for that matter) and thereby essentially replacing the witch's usually lousy strength modifier with her usually superb intelligence modifier? (my GM decide after some debate that I got a simple +2 bonus on grapple; the Str of my witch is 7 and the Int 26; it wasn't enough, but she did survive thanks to our bloodrager's meat tenderizer^^)

3) Can the witch's Prehensile Hair be used to normally grapple at a distance (much akin to a mancatcher) so that the witch does not provoke an attack of opportunity and/or to stay out of reach (and still keep grappling) if the grappled foe tries to attack? (this particular question did not come up during the session, but thinking my way through the whole situation made me wonder)

4) Is activating Prehensile hair a standard action or only is only it's usage once grown a standard action? The description mentions "instantly" but that was about growing it and that is also more akin to flavor text as opposed to a precise rules description. (also pondering on my part, it did not come as a problem)

Many Thanks in advance,
Platinius

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Fair Merisiel, greatest of all thieves and bestest of all stealth warriors.

Please answer me this question, I simply must know. Do you sleep or do you enter some kind of trance (essentially a state of waking dream)?

I sleep. Like all other people do. This "trance" think is some sort of weirdo fiction some of you on that side think elves do. It's weird.

That's what I thought too XD. Thank you for reassuring me.^^

Fair Merisiel, greatest of all thieves and bestest of all stealth warriors.

Please answer me this question, I simply must know. Do you sleep or do you enter some kind of trance (essentially a state of waking dream)?

In the Strategy Guide on page 94, you and Alain are looking into a treasure chest surrounded by the skeletal remains of sailors (likely pirates). The chest's content is bright and shiny despite it being otherwise gloomy.

What was inside the chest that it glowed so and might it have belong to a man named Marsellus Wallace? What was so beautiful that it left you openmouthed and speechless (other than Kyra in her birth suit) and made Alain grin like a fool (more than usual)? What left you so in awe?

Greetings and salutaions fellow seekers of the path

During a recent session I noticed that the sizes (as in, how tall/tiny they are) of the NPC's and Iconics are not really given and I would like to know that as it helps me get a better grasp of them and how to better describe them in context.

I noticed this as a problem when I tried to describe how a major npc percieved our lovely iconic sorceress Seoni (one of my players uses her as her PC) and I didn't know how to describe her from the NPC's perspective from a more subjective/emotional point of view. Simpler put, I didn't know if the npc would see Seoni as a statuesque stunner with magnificient legs or a tiny cuty with a charming face and captivating rack. (18 charisma are not to be trifled with ;) )
The artwork suggests that Seoni is a rather tall woman, but it is actually relatively difficult to tell as there are few actual things to compare her to.

Some of my thoughts:
Valeros appears actually only slightly above average and not overly broad, definitely buff though^^.
Kyra seems pretty average in height and of a rather solid build. (she is not fat!)
Seela is definitely tall and well build.
Amiri is actually relatively difficult to describe. While she has a pretty belly, I can't tell how the rest of her body is build or if she might be even be particularly tall. I like to think she isn't as it plays well into why she left her tribe. (The "girlier" she looked, the more believable it becomes that the rest of her tribe did not take her seriously, independant of her deeds).
Harsk is also difficult to pin down, while definitely a very hard man, because he is a dwarf I have even less to go on. Is he tall, tiny or average? And how old is he anyway?

To sum up and state it rather bluntly, how tall are the iconics and (by extension) are they considered tall or tiny by the standarts of their own kind.

What are your thoughts? Have any of you encountered similar problems?

I am not surprised by that all. Group images like that cover (love it, btw) are not unusual. The popular cartoonist Sergio Aragonés for example is rather famous for them.

You (along with all the other artists too) probably have been told this before, but I would not find Pathfinder as appealing as I do were it not for the artwork.
Technically speaking, the collection of rules that form the game could function without illustrations beyond the barest necessary to explain certain objects and tactics in need of representation for the younger/less experienced/less knowledgeable players. However, the truth is that without the art, the reading of said rules can easily get very tedious. No-one likes tedious busywork and if playing becomes work, most won't play.
I also find it quite inspiring in a very direct sense, it gives ideas on what one could play. For example, as a GM, I often pick enemies/creatures simply for looking cool or interesting and then thinking up a secenario around them even if some of them are not the simplest to use creatures.

To sum up, it is ultimately the (in my opinon) dynamic and often quite hilarious artwork that makes the game stand out from the competition (at least to me).
Keep up the good work and may you cash many big paychecks for it.^^

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Merisiel Sillvari wrote:

4) Creepy.

I do not understand, is it supposed to be a name?

The idea of anyone "handling children" as you put it is creepy.

O_o

Really? I only meant who of the iconics is best at talking to them, comforting and teaching them and such things, you know, objectively nice stuff. :(

What take from this whole thing however is that none of the iconics have any family plans for the foreseeable future. Is that correct?

To another topic:
Have you ever had an underwater adventures and did you enjoy it? (That is not a euphemism for sex... unless you want it to be, but that is not what I'd like to know)
If you had an underwater adventure, what were the main problems you had and what were the most fun/interesting parts?

4) Creepy.

I do not understand, is it supposed to be a name?

Dear Merisiel,

1)On page 54 of the Technology Guide, you were knelt before and working on some kind of tower or tube like structure adorned with red glowing symbols and red light coming from the inner workings. What can you tell us about that, like what it was, where it came from and what you later did with it.

2)What are androids like? (At least the ones you met)

3)If you had to spend the rest of their natural life with one of the iconics other than Kyra, who would it be? (note that Kyra could be there with you)

4)Who of the iconics is best at handling children?

5)If you could have one of your relatives back, who would it be? You need not say names, but please describe the relation

6)What was your most surprisingly pleasant acquaintance/lover? (as in: that you did not see coming/was actually quite pleasantly different from what you expected)

7)Before you are two street kids, one in good health and the other not so much. You have a good knife, a large trail ration and an hour of your time to give them. What do you do?

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Dear Mr. Reynolds,

how did you come up with the design for Feiya, the Iconic Witch, and what were the directions given?

I seem to recall the art description for Feiya was fairly short.

"Female, Asian ethnicity, white hair, Fox companion".

Her costume has a lot in common with renaissance Europe. Though I wanted to retain aspects that would immediately associate the character with the concept of a "Witch". Consequently, I elected to stick to a lot of black - highlighted with white and red.
Her equipment is organic with a handmade aspect to it that I felt very in-keeping with the concept that a witch would make all of her own items.
Hope you like the character.

I will admit that I see nothing particularly asian about Feiya (except perhaps the very long nails and even that is a stretch). I really like her clothes though. Very vagabond in a 19th century sort of way (at least to my eye). I find that such a vagabondish style fits a witch conceptually very well as witches are outsiders/outcasts of general society. Very well done. :)

Dear Mr. Reynolds,

how did you come up with the design for Feiya, the Iconic Witch, and what were the directions given?

I'll DM a Starfinder game, but only if my players are the Dragonfly crew

Dear Merisiel,

have you adventured with Enora the Iconic Arcanist?

Dear Merisiel,

who is the female alchemist on page 25 of Ultimate Combat?

Merisiel Sillvari wrote:

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Merisiel Sillvari wrote:

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Dear Merisiel,

has Alain ever come through as a person? (not as a warrior, but as a person, we all now he can fight)

Nah.

Not even when his horse was concerned? Well that is too bad. Sucks to be him I guess.

I have another question. Do elves grow new teeth every few decades or do the existing teeth constantly repair themselves?

Sucks more to have to be near him or around him.

Why would we need new teeth? It's not like we're dwarves and eat gravel...

Nor presumably do you have the sugar and acid-laden highly processed diet of the average American. :)

Well, they do have coffee, sweets, vinegar and alcoholic drinks, none of which are good for their teeth and they don't have all a wonderful cleric of Sarenrae to fix them. Which begs the question, do they have toothbrushes and toothpaste?

Platinius Nemoralis wrote:

Dear Merisiel,

has Alain ever come through as a person? (not as a warrior, but as a person, we all now he can fight)

Nah.

Not even when his horse was concerned? Well that is too bad. Sucks to be him I guess.

I have another question. Do elves grow new teeth every few decades or do the existing teeth constantly repair themselves?

Dear Merisiel,

has Alain ever come through as a person? (not as a warrior, but as a person, we all now he can fight)

Dear Feiya, cutest and nicest of all witches,

have you ever wrapped up a child in your prehensile hair to keep it from freezing to death?