RumoWolpertinger's page

I would say yes, you can 100% ignore the mechanics. I would probably still include stuff like naming officers, recruiting members and sometimes sending teams on missions, but just for flavour.

So if e.g. they recruit some thieves into the silver ravens, have them supply the party with minor potions once or twice that they stole from some dottari warehouse. Or when they ask for rumours, habe them be told by some guy in the SR.

As for the rewards that can be earned through the rebellion subsystem: I wouldn't bother. If the PCs are built with a lot of firepower, they shouldn't need it. If you figure they do need a boost, just give it to them similar to ABP.

I much prefer the sandbox method, but in a way that's fair to the players. I don't enjoy arbitrarily dropping things on them just to trick them. That's lame. Instead, I have numerous different story ideas for where things could go, let the players make the choices, and then race ahead of them detailing things as suggested by what they're into.

So a combination. A sandbox, but one where the things the PCs encounter are fair encounters. But with hints of things that are too much for them to handle and if they get bull-headed and go there anyway, they get in over their heads. BUT when that happens I make sure to let them back out and run away once they realize what's going on.

That's exactly what I'm going for, cool to hear! If you don't mind the follow-Update:

As always, thank you so much for engaging in this thread! It's much appreciated!

I get the feeling (don't know if justified) that you have a soft spot for elves, thinking about the characters you've been involved with (Merisiel), your own characters (like Shensen) and characters you like (Eilistraee).
Is there a special reason why you think elves are great?

When you GM, are you more the type to level content to the PCs so that everything is mechanically pretty balanced or are you more likely to present a sandbox and the players need to pick their battles, as the could run into a Lich at Level 1 if they stick their nose into the wrong dungeon?

James, your patience is really unbelievable!

Question: how can I imagine Golarions plant life? Is it similar to what we see in today's world (e.g. The loast coast would have similar plant species like the US west coast) or would there be significant differences apart from certain magical plants? So I'm talking flowers in the garden, crop being grown etc.

Who came up with the name Azlant? I mean in-world and in real-life.

Where in Avistan could you imagine Kaijus living?

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions! :)

Is there a type of cuisine you could imagine Cheliax being known for?

My current campaign features some hugely impactful contracts between several nations. The mortals will use the help of lawful outsiders to set up the contracts and make sure that everything is "legal".
I have a group of evil people, who of course will bring devils with them (easy choice) as arbiters and to support them.
The good people will probably bring archons with them.

Who would you say are a good species of outsiders to be brought in by the lawful neutral people? I thought I remembered you say inevitables are a relict from D&D, but I might be wrong. So, would it be axiomites or something else?

I prefer the Star Trek approach to aliens, not the Star Wars approach... and even better, the Alien approach to aliens.

How would you define those three different approaches for yourself?

(I'm not well versed in Star Trek at all, therefore the question).

Brissan wrote:

What was the best advice you got when you first starting writing TTRPG content professionally?

The first time I submitted a pitch for an adventure for publication in Dungeon Magazine, back in the early 80s before the first issue of Dungeon had even come out (TSR announced the magazine in Dragon #111 and started a call for adventure pitches there, before Dungeon launched), the adventure was rejected but Roger Moore, the editor of the magazine at that time, included something to the effect of "keep trying!" or the like. Seeing that bit of encouragement was more than enough for me to pitch more adventures, and I ended up getting one published in Dungeon #12 as a result.

The advice to "Keep trying" is the best advice I got, since it inspired me to not give up after my first attempt was rejected. I still have that rejection letter... although it's at the office at the moment so I can't quote the advice directly.

Would you mind sharing the quote? Only if it's not too personal of course!

I always thought that the whereabouts of Aroden are officially unknown (well, at least to us, I understood you at Paizo have decided on the official canon). However, the Pathfinderwiki (a 3rd party ressource as I understand it) makes explicit mention of him being dead. Did I miss a change in the official explanation?

Where would you say you as Paizo have grown and gotten better as adventure writers?
I feel like the newer APs feature so much high quality content on average (not to say older APs were badly written or whatever - they are good, some are great, while I feel the newer stuff is even better in some instances).

It's also been a bit of a hurdle transferring all the tools I need to run homebrew games into VTTs; wish there was an easier way to do that also.

What are those tools you use and how did you manage to transfer them to online (if you did)?

What's your opinion on Rorschach from Watchmen?

Mathota wrote:

Hey James!

I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, but the Windsong Testaments that you have been doing lately are an absolute blast. As someone who’s really into the setting, it’s so amazing to here such in depth in world stories and legends.

On that same note, I was surprised the most recent Testament about Pharasma and the Cycle didn’t include any mention of Groetus that I picked up on. I was wondering, when and how exactly did he crop up, if not at the very beginning? As someone so involved with the cycle of the universe, I would have expected him to have been there since the start.

Glad you're enjoying the Windsong Testaments! I've been wanting to not only write mythologies for the core pantheon but wanting to write fiction for Pathfinder for YEARS, and each time something seemed to get in the way of that, so I'm thankful to finally have the chance to get some fiction out there and I'm delighted folks are enjoying the snippets.

Groetus wasn't one of the first eight deities, since until there are worlds populated by people afraid of the end of the world, he doesn't really have a purpose. When and how he shows up is something that maybe we'll explore later.

Who were those first eight deities?

Why do you think are tentacles so prevalent in the aesthetics of many horror-like beings on Golarion (Great Old Ones, many qlippoth etc.)? Is there something inherently horrific about tentacles?

Do fire giants emit heat and if yes, how do they deal with the constant risk of setting their surroundings and possessions on fire?

I believe it cannot be said often enough: thank you so much for answering all our questions!
What makes you keep doing this after all these years?

Is there any Information on what Narcelia Thrune is up to today?

Thank you for answering my earlier question on free will! Hearing your perspective always gives me nice ideas for my campaigns :)

I have another somewhat layered question on the topic of infernal contracts: how does their power work?

What I mean is: say I trade my soul to a contract devil in exchange for a great singing voice.
Does this contract supernaturally give that devil the ability to grant a wish? Or where does my newfound talent come from?
(If you are annoyed by me explaining my questions please just say so and I will try to keep it shorter in the future - I'm only used to providing details for questions because of my profession and hope it's making it easier for you to give an answerw)

What constitutes free will in Pathfinder (specifically as it pertains to infernal contracts)?

RumoWolpertinger wrote:

Which characters come to your mind on the topic of great female role models in fiction? (I'd also be interested in the why, if you care to elaborate).

The first five who come to mind for me:

Robin from Stranger Things 3.

Ellen Ripley from Alien.

Uhura from Star Trek.

Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Arya Stark from Game of Thrones.

If possible, would you be so kind to give like one trait per person that makes them strong or just that you associate with them?

Which characters come to your mind on the topic of great female role models in fiction? (I'd also be interested in the why, if you care to elaborate).

On a completely unrelated note to my prior question... :P
Flavour-wise, what would you say happens to somebody struck by Flesh to Stone and at a later point in time by Stone to Flesh?

Would they at first think they still were in the moment before being petrified (so maybe trying to continue to fight or finishing a sentence they started before, and probably be disoriented after realizing everything seems different), or have perceived time going on and maybe even seen and heard everything that happened around them? Or something different entirely?

I'm not asking for mechanics, just what you as GM would find generally more flavorful or "consistent with world lore" :)

Hell's rebels offered two different "origin stories" for Guttuger.

Which do you prefer?

(Bonus question if I'm allowed: did your "original" Shensen (the PC) also have him as her companion?)

How does Atheism work on Golarion, when the existence of the gods seems to be indisputable (at least to the reader :))?
To be more concise/give an example: There is an avowed atheist in

I hope this counts as one question, though I know the answer can be rather complex...
In any case thank you so much for taking the time!

How is the art done for the APs?

(Like is the developer deciding "I'll need a portrait for that NPC, and this scene drawn, and that will be the title picture"? Or someone else? And who approves the art to be printed or vetoes it in the worst case?).

Hope this counts as one question, as I'm interested in the general process :)

What was each runelord's favourite meal?

Do you as a GM sometimes fudge dice and if yes, in which situations?

RumoWolpertinger wrote:

Going off my earlier question: what is the limit of a gods' knowledge (apart from me as the DM deciding giving out certain information is bad for the game/plot/fun)?

Or put another way: how do gods perceive reality, which (if any) barriers exist for their senses to enter?

That, as with all things associated with the gods, is not covered by rules, and is instead 100% covered by the story creator—be it us or you as the GM.

Thank you for your answers!

Like "they know most of what's going on in the inner sphere if nobody tries to hide it via magic", "some of them don't care about certain things like a human's love life, so some don't know that", "it's easier for Lamashtu to hide something from Desna then it is for the average mortal"?
I respect if you don't want to go into such detail!
But if you'd like to answer it'd make me happy to better understand the general workings of Golarion (not to be confused with the Pathfinder ruleset - I want to know more about the flavor, as it's my favourite part of PF).

Going off my earlier question: what is the limit of a gods' knowledge (apart from me as the DM deciding giving out certain information is bad for the game/plot/fun)?

Or put another way: how do gods perceive reality, which (if any) barriers exist for their senses to enter?

I'm currently reading through Rise Of The Runelords (little late to the party) and one particular sentence stood out to me. In the part about the Ravenous Crypts of Gluttony it says (paraphrasing from the German book): "Zutha instructed his deputies in the runeforge to find a way to split his phylactery into three parts. [...] Should the PCs try to find out more about it, even magic like Commune or Contact Other Planes fail, as not even the gods know what happened to it."

I was pretty surprised by this and it got me thinking:
What was the reason to include this part? Was Zutha so powerful In-world that he was able to hide his phylactery even from the gods through magic?
Or was it mainly to prevent spoiling this information for later adventures like Return Of The Runelords?
(I know this is an incredibly specific question and I'm sorry, I'm just a sucker for details in this magnificent world you guys created :))

RumoWolpertinger wrote:

Hi James! I'm going to DM for my in-laws next week. She is completely new to RPGs and also fantasy (apart from Harry Potter), he at least read some Tolkien when he was younger. Both are in their late 50s.

How would you approach running a game for such an audience?

By focusing on the story and going light on the rules, and by adjusting the story to contain elements I knew that the players would enjoy.

The thing that grabs new gamers to RPGs is the fact that they get to be in a story and affect it's outcome. The delight in the stats and numbers comes later.

I would use the Beginner Box to run this game.

Thanks for the hints! I will be using the beginner box rules and an adventure similar in scope and structure.

Question for clarification: how would you go about focusing on the story instead of rules? Make them roll seldom in general? Allow use of spells even outside their normal scope etc.?

Hi James! I'm going to DM for my in-laws next week. She is completely new to RPGs and also fantasy (apart from Harry Potter), he at least read some Tolkien when he was younger. Both are in their late 50s.
How would you approach running a game for such an audience?

RumoWolpertinger wrote:

What accomplishment of your's (or several of them) are you most proud of?

Making goblins something folks are simultaneously afraid of and adore.

Going from 370 pounds down to 180 pounds and then stabilizing (more or less) at about 225 pounds.

Getting an adventure published in Dungeon magazine #12 back when I was in high school.

Getting a chance to work with some folks in the industry I've idolized for decades, like Sandy Petersen.

Congratulations on all of that! And fingers crossed you can extend this list for yourself much more in the future :)

What are some things you think Paizo as a whole can be proud of?
(doesn't have to be a complete list of course, only some examples. I know you don't want to deal in hyperbole)

What accomplishment of your's (or several of them) are you most proud of?

Is there some kind of QA-position at Paizo who approves translations or do you leave that completely in the hands of the publishers of the translated versions?

Made some enlightening statements concerning Mummy's Mask and the Osirian pantheon

That's interesting to hear, thanks! And makes me want to check out Mummy's Mask. Unfortunately that has never been translated to German as far as I know and I don't really like running adventures and simultaneously translating.

Which brings me to the question: do you think it takes away from the experience if your work is translated to another language?
Like would you say Pathfinder APs are best consumed in their original version? Or do you think it doesn't matter?

(I for example much prefer watching series and movies in their original language, but it's kind of hard with RPGs as a medium if not all players speak English well...)

What was the reason for including the Egyptian pantheon in Pathfinder considering you generally only take parts/inspiration like with Lamashtu, Asmodeus etc.? Because it's intrinsically liked to an Egyptian feel as opposed to maybe the Vikings/Ulfen?

Hey James!
This is my first post in these forums and I'd like to start by letting you know how much I appreciate everything you and Paizo have done for RPGs in general and also for all the people enjoying Pathfinder! It was my introduction to RPGs 1.5 years ago and especially the inclusive, interesting and just generally awesome world you guys created completely sucked me in!

Now for my question: reading up on the religions on Golarion I somehow got the feeling that the way the gods are presented makes them feel very, very human. They have family, they fight, they love etc... So my question is: why did you choose to make the gods like this instead of portraying them much more mysteriously and more or less detached (for lack of a better word) from our reality like many modern real world religions?
It seems to me they are very relatable, kind of just like us, only with unfathomable power. Some of them even seem just as vain and petty as us mortals (and I don't mean this in an antagonistic way!).