Nate Z |
Man, everytime I think I'm getting a good grasp of Golarion as a setting, you guys start going on and on about stuff I've never heard of. Guess I'm glad I ordered this book if for no other reason to learn what the heck the "Black Desert" is. :P
(Also: I'm glad I ordered it because you all are also making it sound really, really awesome.)
Mechalibur |
Mechalibur wrote:Kaiju are mythic and CR 26+? Eh... not too excited to hear that. Compared to everything else at that CR, Kaiju seem kind of, well, tame.Would they seem less tame if they were at a lower CR? Doesn't a higher CR make them more impressive?
That's not exactly what I mean (not that I was being clear of course :P)
I think that the greatest threats to mythic PCs should be history rich villains like the Whispering Tyrant and the Runelords of Thassilon. Or maybe strange and mysterious monstrosities from other worlds or the Dark Tapestry. Or fighting demon lords on realms of their own creation, who try and use their insidious cults at every opportunity to spread evil and chaos. Not Kaiju, which are, from what I understand, really big monsters in the jungles of Tian Xia. They just seem so much less... epic, I guess? I mean, it mostly comes down to personal preference, but I never really thought of them as very interesting.
Of course, if anyone could change my mind on that, it's Paizo.
Jason Nelson RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games |
Mikaze |
Ha - glad you enjoyed!
He's definitely sparked some ideas and questions. :)
"Whoa hey, the history books never said anything about this being here! Don't go lumping the blame on me!"
It's like finding out that a third A-bomb turned up in the Amazon Jungle...
Dragon78 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I just hope King Mogara is more of a Godzilla wannabe then a King Kong one.
1st Tier
Akitonian Physiology- reshape your appearance to the alien species of akiton and permanently gaing the benefits of one of these alchemist discoveries: chameleon, preserve organs, tumor familiar, or vestigial arms. can be taken multiple times, every time you take it after the first you loose one mythis ability point and gain a cumulative -1 on cha checks/cha skill checks with animals, fey, and humanoids.
3rd tier
Telepathic Mindlink
spend one mythic point for sending or telepathic bond spells.
Waters of Contemplation
Spend a mythic point to turn a potion into any Alchemical concoction that increases mental stat(s) at the lost of physical one(s).
Liz Courts Webstore Gninja Minion |
Matthew Morris RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8 |
Sauce987654321 |
I too would love to know more about the Oliphaunt but I also don't want to encourage too much to be given away in the product thread.
Just knowing it's size would be fine by me. Both fluff-wise and how they handle it in actual crunch-terms.
Crunch terms? As in that it has an 80-ft. space?
atheral |
I'd just like to say that I'm thoroughly enjoying this book, though I am afraid it will be quite some time before I can actually use any of the material in one of my games. I especially found the information on the Star Towers interesting.
Also Pg 33 the last line of the section on Bos-Phargrumm, the collective noun for polar bears is an aurora, unless of course Jarl Thimroth is hosting some rather interesting parties....
The Block Knight |
The Block Knight wrote:Crunch terms? As in that it has an 80-ft. space?I too would love to know more about the Oliphaunt but I also don't want to encourage too much to be given away in the product thread.
Just knowing it's size would be fine by me. Both fluff-wise and how they handle it in actual crunch-terms.
More like if it has any special abilities such as "Massive" or some such, like whatever it is Kaiju are getting, to represent it's greater size with additional mechanics.
Mechalibur |
Mechalibur, once you actually see Agmazar's stats... well, kaiju might not be suitable for the Big Bad of a campaign, but judging by this one's stats, they're good for ridiculously epic fights. Not just by sheer power, but for variety and over-the-top weirdness. "It can do WHAT?!"
Wait, Agmazar is a kaiju? Huh, it didn't sound like one from the description. I thought they were just giant monsters in the Tian Xia jungles.
Okay, what exactly is a kaiju in the context of Golarion?
Joseph Wilson |
Sauce987654321 wrote:More like if it has any special abilities such as "Massive" or some such, like whatever it is Kaiju are getting, to represent it's greater size with additional mechanics.The Block Knight wrote:Crunch terms? As in that it has an 80-ft. space?I too would love to know more about the Oliphaunt but I also don't want to encourage too much to be given away in the product thread.
Just knowing it's size would be fine by me. Both fluff-wise and how they handle it in actual crunch-terms.
It does have the kaiju's "massive" ability, which would explain the fact that while it's codified as colossal, it's actually much larger than the basic rules would indicate by that term.
However, we'll have to wait until Bestiary 4 to find out what "massive" actually means.
Izar Talon |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Evil Midnight Lurker wrote:Mechalibur, once you actually see Agmazar's stats... well, kaiju might not be suitable for the Big Bad of a campaign, but judging by this one's stats, they're good for ridiculously epic fights. Not just by sheer power, but for variety and over-the-top weirdness. "It can do WHAT?!"Wait, Agmazar is a kaiju? Huh, it didn't sound like one from the description. I thought they were just giant monsters in the Tian Xia jungles.
Okay, what exactly is a kaiju in the context of Golarion?
Well, Kaiju means "strange creature," so I would bet they are humongous monstrosities caused by magical, technological, or environmental catasrophe, or are otherwordly monsters, like the Daikaiju ("giant strange creatures") they are based on; Godzilla, Mothra, King Gidorah, Hedorah (the Smog Monster,) Anguirus, Rodan, etc.
Not just giant monsters, but giant monsters resulting from such a horrible warping of nature that they are almost Aberrations, or actually from other worlds entirely.
At least that's my take on what a proper Kaiju should be. Godzilla was nothing but ancient dinosaur remains at the bottom of the ocean until nuclear bombs and radiation warped him into the twisted gigantic monstrosity that destroyed large sections of Japan.
"History shows again and again how Nature points out the Folly of Man."
Mark Moreland Developer |
So then, what makes Agmazar a kaiju, and not, say, the Oliphaunt of Jandeley or the Tarrasque?
The Oliphaunt and Tarrasque lack the kaiju subtype, and are thus not kaiju. If you feel that they'd be better as kaiju, or that Agmazar would be better as a not-Kaiju, adding/removing the subtype is a simple matter, though doing so will clearly have other mechanical effects. In any case, a creature possessing or lacking a subtype has no direct effect on CR, so making such changes wouldn't really affect anything but the flavor and some of the specific special abilities of the creatures in question. One thing to bear in mind with creature types and subtypes is that they are largely just chassis upon which a monster is built, but many creatures could reasonably be multiple types and still work within their given concept.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
Mark Moreland Developer |
James Jacobs Creative Director |
Having only just perused this I'm a bit confused. I was under the impression that Zutha wasn't one of the Mythic Tier Runelords. How is it that a site which is rather canonically associated with him is a font of Mythic Power?
Almost as if we haven't yet fully revealed all that's going on there...
;-)
Mechalibur |
Mechalibur wrote:So then, what makes Agmazar a kaiju, and not, say, the Oliphaunt of Jandeley or the Tarrasque?The Oliphaunt and Tarrasque lack the kaiju subtype, and are thus not kaiju. If you feel that they'd be better as kaiju, or that Agmazar would be better as a not-Kaiju, adding/removing the subtype is a simple matter, though doing so will clearly have other mechanical effects. In any case, a creature possessing or lacking a subtype has no direct effect on CR, so making such changes wouldn't really affect anything but the flavor and some of the specific special abilities of the creatures in question. One thing to bear in mind with creature types and subtypes is that they are largely just chassis upon which a monster is built, but many creatures could reasonably be multiple types and still work within their given concept.
Right, but that's just being circular. I get that all the subtype mechanically signifies is what extra goodies the creature gets. What I'm curious about is what "kaiju" means. All I know right now is that a kaiju is a kaiju, whose subtype gives powerful abilities.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
For the purposes of Pathfinder monsters:
"Kaiju" is a category of monster that can be multiple types, in the same way that "hag" is a category of monster that can be multiple types (such as outsider or monstrous humanoid).
The thing that ties kaiju together is that they're REALLY big monsters—bigger than most colossal monsters are—and that they share similar themes of destruction. Furthermore... all Pathfinder "kaiju" would look quite at home in a Godzilla movie. That means that most kaiju are also relatively unintelligent; they're not stupid, but they're not gonna be talking to people or using spells. They're also all very primal monsters—by which I mean that they're very much Material Plane monsters. And of course they all share several traits in common—kaiju traits.
The Tarrasque isn't a kaiju because he's too small and becauese he already belongs to another category of monsters: Spawn of Rovagug.
The oliphaunt isn't a kaiju because it's too magical in nature and isn't tied to the Material Plane.
Bestiary 4 has a page of introduction about them that goes into more detail—it's a bit weird that some of the monsters (the kaiju and the outer dragon) that show up in Mythic Realms are monsters from a book that's not yet out... but we decided to go for it anyway since in a few weeks or so that's not gonna matter anymore.
Mikaze |
Tar Baphanon pulled a Xanatos Gambit. Cool :-)
And for Mikaze, there's stuff to redeem too.
And a Thanatos Gambit. :D
Re:Redemption hooks, are you referring to Arazni, the Court of Fallen Righteousness, or something else? (still trying to grab time to really dig into the new books!)
edit-nm, I just saw the "Kohal the Redeemed" mythic trial. :)
Alleran |
Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal wrote:Having only just perused this I'm a bit confused. I was under the impression that Zutha wasn't one of the Mythic Tier Runelords. How is it that a site which is rather canonically associated with him is a font of Mythic Power?Almost as if we haven't yet fully revealed all that's going on there...
;-)
Do you have plans for it in the near-future?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs wrote:Do you have plans for it in the near-future?Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal wrote:Having only just perused this I'm a bit confused. I was under the impression that Zutha wasn't one of the Mythic Tier Runelords. How is it that a site which is rather canonically associated with him is a font of Mythic Power?Almost as if we haven't yet fully revealed all that's going on there...
;-)
Nope. Not yet.
doc the grey |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sauce987654321 wrote:More like if it has any special abilities such as "Massive" or some such, like whatever it is Kaiju are getting, to represent it's greater size with additional mechanics.The Block Knight wrote:Crunch terms? As in that it has an 80-ft. space?I too would love to know more about the Oliphaunt but I also don't want to encourage too much to be given away in the product thread.
Just knowing it's size would be fine by me. Both fluff-wise and how they handle it in actual crunch-terms.
I believe the phrase I've been using to describe him is Dumb Big. Anyways yes he has the massive ability as well as a whole slew of other stuff like the fact that he's basically impossible to summon unless you are high end mythic and focused on conjuring. On top of that he is...
Trust me he is like the honey badger of giant death monsters, he shows up, gives 0 f$+~s, and murders EVERYTHING in his way until he gets to go back to his proverbial honey badger den.
Alleran |
Define "near future"
I was sort of thinking the next year and a half, maybe.
Anyways yes he has the massive ability as well as a whole slew of other stuff like the fact that he's basically impossible to summon unless you are high end mythic and focused on conjuring.
What do you mean by high end mythic? As in, you need a certain number of mythic tiers to even try and summon him, or something else?
Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal |
What do you mean by high end mythic? As in, you need a certain number of mythic tiers to even try and summon him, or something else?
He means that in all of Golarion's 10k+ year history, the Oliphaunt of Jandelay has successfully been summoned once, in spite of multiple attempts, including multiple attempts by 20+/mythic summoners.
There are no complete records of how the summoning was successfully accomplished. There aren't even much in the way of incomplete records...Generic Villain |
There were some errors in the Gormuz section (a few of the Spawn of Rovagug's names were mixed up), but there's one part I'm unsure of: there's a single reference that something called Gormuz was Rovagug's first and greatest spawn, but this is incorrect... right? Ulunat the giant beetle was the first Spawn to emerge, the tarrasque was the greatest Spawn, and there are no spawn named Gormuz... I think?