OK, let me try to detail a few things, rules-wise...<snip>
Thank you (particularly for the god info).
Carry on!
--C.
Assistant Developer
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Now that we have Protean-spawned Ganzi, I bet we'll be getting an Axiomite or Inevitable-derived race soon. Since Proteans are the opposite of Inevitables a lot of people will probably start asking Paizo for it. After all, there must be symmetry. There must be order.
They're not actually protean-spawned, or in any way related to proteans besides the chaos-oriented bit and a few superficial similarities
Developer
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Now that we have Protean-spawned Ganzi, I bet we'll be getting an Axiomite or Inevitable-derived race soon. Since Proteans are the opposite of Inevitables a lot of people will probably start asking Paizo for it. After all, there must be symmetry. There must be order.They're not actually protean-spawned, or in any way related to proteans besides the chaos-oriented bit and a few superficial similarities
The charming thing about chaos is that it rarely infuses mortality in quite the same way every time. Proteans one day, arcano-planar phenomena the next, and who knows what shall be the cause tomorrow.
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Creative Director
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Now that we have Protean-spawned Ganzi, I bet we'll be getting an Axiomite or Inevitable-derived race soon. Since Proteans are the opposite of Inevitables a lot of people will probably start asking Paizo for it. After all, there must be symmetry. There must be order.
There must not necessarily be order. The existance of a chaos linked race does NOT guarantee a race for every outsider.
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But wouldn't the Inevitables or the Axiomites see it as disorder, and thus create a planetouched race to restore order to things? Good, Evil, Chaotic - the absence of a Lawful counterpart would be exactly the kind of thing you'd think would drive the Lawful outsiders batty, and something they'd immediately balance.
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But wouldn't the Inevitables or the Axiomites see it as disorder, and thus create a planetouched race to restore order to things? Good, Evil, Chaotic - the absence of a Lawful counterpart would be exactly the kind of thing you'd think would drive the Lawful outsiders batty, and something they'd immediately balance.
They'd see that as much as they'd see the mixing of outsider blood with mortal blood as chaos. You can argue both ways. Which means that the final arbiter/decision point will be "If at some day in the future we think it's cool and makes for a good story to expand more races, we'll do it... and if we think it's cool and makes for a good story NOT to expand more, we'll do it."
What sort of abilities do our fine chaotic friends get? Any shapeshifting? Inquiring minds wish to know!
Thanks for the details, by the way- I didn't expect this to be a book I'd need to get, but now I'm quite excited for the street date.
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But wouldn't the Inevitables or the Axiomites see it as disorder, and thus create a planetouched race to restore order to things? Good, Evil, Chaotic - the absence of a Lawful counterpart would be exactly the kind of thing you'd think would drive the Lawful outsiders batty, and something they'd immediately balance.
You, like many readers, seem to be very good at picking up on our design patterns. We've done half-blood races for many of the existing outsider races. We have not done this for all. In some products, like Distant Shores, we take the opportunity to fill in some of those obvious blanks—expanding on the number of races in the game in a place that makes sense and with a story that makes them interesting. We might do that again, we might not. Most likely, we'll let the products we do and stories we want to tell decide.
What we're not interested in is creating an outsider lovechild arms race, where every time we create a new outsider race we need to force a story about how, why, and to what results their sassy-times with humanity goes down. (Fortunately many fanfic sites and rule #34 exist for that.)
However, if you want to do exactly that, I think the precedents we've set with aasimars, fetchlings, oreads, sulis, tieflings, etc, etc should give you ample design suggestions.
For now, though, we're not hedging ourselves in by saying this group of outsiders do/don't have mystical/sexy/dreadful ways of influencing mortal meat-babies.
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We introduce new races to fill narrative roles, rather than to maintain an artificial cosmic balance. The Ganzi exist because they're the Material Plane's response to long-term planar exposure; we specifically wanted to illustrate some of the potential side-effects that could emerge from long-term assistance from the outer planes, no matter how well-intentioned.
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So this new race is the result of long term exposure to the magical equivalent to Chernobyl?
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I just read the Arcadian section. Kudos to the artist for this section...This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for in walking the tightrope between making clothing and style reflect Native American influences, without becoming too overt or unrecognizable.
I can't wait to see more of Arcadia, although I hope in the future we see more unique races. I think so far really all we have are the Syrinx and Skinwalkers, and Wyrwoods feel a bit grandfathered in after the fact.
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So for anybody with the book, how does Ular Kel read? Is it hunnic, sarmatian/scythian, or mongol, or a kickass combo of all three?
It reads like pure, unadulterated joy. Like falling into bed when you're exhausted. Like an angel descending from on high with a lime slurpee when you're dying of thirst in the desert.
*ahem* Sorry, not sure where that came from. *cough*
In terms of real-world analogues, the most direct inspirations were the Kazakh and Mongol peoples, plus cities like Samarkand and Jerusalem. I generally try not to do straight-up reinterpretations of real-world cultures, though. While I love real-world history and anthropology, I believe in intentionally diverging from it (in part because it makes the writing process a lot more fun for me!). So a lot of the parts of the city that I'm most excited about—the Trade Palace, the Water Lords, the Spire of Azi, the Iridian Fold—have no direct historical precedent I'm aware of. (If they do, though, please tell me—it blew my mind a few years ago when someone compared Kaer Maga to Kowloon Walled City, because it was such a great analogue!)
I am waiting to read about Iblydos.I am waiting for you to read about Iblydos and let me know what you think!
Ok, it is awesome, John. I will have questions after subsequent reads.
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I just read the Arcadian section. Kudos to the artist for this section...This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for in walking the tightrope between making clothing and style reflect Native American influences, without becoming too overt or unrecognizable.
I can't wait to see more of Arcadia, although I hope in the future we see more unique races. I think so far really all we have are the Syrinx and Skinwalkers, and Wyrwoods feel a bit grandfathered in after the fact.
I initially wanted to include a new race on one of the final two pages, but we didn't want this to end up being too full of new races. (This is also why I didn't include deity information, though I wanted to.)
I'm with you on your first statement... I also want to see more done with Arcadia! :)
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I just read the Arcadian section. Kudos to the artist for this section...This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for in walking the tightrope between making clothing and style reflect Native American influences, without becoming too overt or unrecognizable.
I can't wait to see more of Arcadia, although I hope in the future we see more unique races. I think so far really all we have are the Syrinx and Skinwalkers, and Wyrwoods feel a bit grandfathered in after the fact.
I initially wanted to include a new race on one of the final two pages, but we didn't want this to end up being too full of new races. (This is also why I didn't include deity information, though I wanted to.)
I'm with you on your first statement... I also want to see more done with Arcadia! :)
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Did we copy the TOC ín here?
Introduction 2
Dozens of hooks get your players out of the Inner Sea region and of to distant cities.
Aelyosos 4
The westernmost port in the archipelago of Iblydos, Aelyosos shimmers with half-floded
streets that are protected from a rampaging behemoth by hero-gods and prophetic cyclopes.
Anuli 14
On the coast of southern Garund, the matriarchal city of Anuli revels in the protection of its
patron empyreal lords, even as it seeks to recover from a mysterious disaster.
Dhucharg 24
Capital of the hobgoblin nation of Kaoling, this city is a place of unlit streets and iron-clad
laws, where firce pride fuels a war machine intent on ruling all of Tian Xia.
Radripal 34
This wealthy Vudran city is split into two parts by a holy river gorge—the rakshasa-ruled
High Bluff and the working-class Silver Shore—joined by a vast natural bridge.
Segada 44
Just inland from Arcadia’s Grinding Coast, the City of Keys acts as a gateway and watch post,
regulating trade and protecting the continent’s interior from dangerous foreigners.
Ular Kel 54
Located at the intersection of two caravan routes in central Casmaron, Ular Kel maintains a
delicate balance between the city’s Water Lords and the steppe’s nomadic Kara horse warriors.
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Okay, got my PDF and browsed through it.
Let me say that this exceeded my expectations. I was worried that it would be difficult to make use of six cities in isolation, without knowing much of the context of the nations they're set in. I'm happy to say that I feel the writeups managed, in my opinion, to convey a sufficient level of depth that I now feel confident in running an adventure in one of the cities featured.
I was very happy about most of the crunch included, and feel that the fluff/crunch balance was about right (about 2 of 10 pages for each city). I do have to wonder, between Inner Sea Races and this product, what on earth is the current fixation on teamwork feats.
There's very nice amount of diversity catered to. Racially, of course we have different ethnicity inspired humans all over the place, but almost all city statblocks list non-core races. Aelyosos has merfolk, sylphs and undines, Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on. Sexually we also have some interesting stuff going on, probably most notably the 'gay lover' sect in Ular Kel, which has a nice Sunni/Shia inspired split, with the other sect also catering to lesbian/mixed/poly.
1. There's a 'sizeable minority' of catfolk, and only a 'smattering' of lizardfolk, yet the latter are noted in the city's statblock and the former are not.
2. This city was an odd choice to introduce a Chaos planetouched race, considering how the city's theme so closely hews to Good. Reading between the lines, it seems like the city has some sort of rift to the chaos planes, but that wasn't elaborated on sufficiently in order to make the planetouched seem like a natural part of the city's themes.
3. The ganzi crunchwise were a little underwhelming, and disappointingly similar to existing planetouched. Aside from the 'reroll' one, the rest of the abilities are just mirror images of what other planetouched have. Darkvision, skill modifiers, elemental resistances...more akin to a tiefling heritage that just switches out the specifics than a new race with new mechanics.
Ular Kel
1. I found it interesting that in the fluff, so much was made of the chain connecting the two partners, yet in all the feats, not one actually modeled that, the most unique aspect of the relationship.
Kvantum already gave a breakdown of the crunch part of the first four cities, here's what the last two have.
Ular Kel gets six teamwork feats "designed for the Iridian Fold, but able to be taken by any character".
Sad to hear that about the Ganzi. At least the flavor is fun and allows for some cool designs.
I just read the Arcadian section. Kudos to the artist for this section...This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for in walking the tightrope between making clothing and style reflect Native American influences, without becoming too overt or unrecognizable.
I can't wait to see more of Arcadia, although I hope in the future we see more unique races. I think so far really all we have are the Syrinx and Skinwalkers, and Wyrwoods feel a bit grandfathered in after the fact.
I initially wanted to include a new race on one of the final two pages, but we didn't want this to end up being too full of new races. (This is also why I didn't include deity information, though I wanted to.)
I'm with you on your first statement... I also want to see more done with Arcadia! :)
I was actually wondering about the god thing, since we get a picture depicting a priest of Kazutl (sp?), but no other information. I kind of figured something was cut.
Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on.
So lizardfolk... are we going to ever get a real PC racial write up for lizardfolk? I know the flumph said they didn't want to put too many new racial things in, and that Anuli already got ganzi in the write up but dang I'm holding out that one day we will get a proper stats for Lizardfolk!
As an aside I really need to get this book. Also so sad the flumph couldn't add a new race for Arcadia. I'm curious as to what he had in mind.
The Advanced Race Guide's PC racial write up for lizardfolk doesn't count?
Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on.
So lizardfolk... are we going to ever get a real PC racial write up for lizardfolk? I know the flumph said they didn't want to put too many new racial things in, and that Anuli already got ganzi in the write up but dang I'm holding out that one day we will get a proper stats for Lizardfolk!
As an aside I really need to get this book. Also so sad the flumph couldn't add a new race for Arcadia. I'm curious as to what he had in mind.
I honestly don't count that. Its not really a racial writeup just an example of the race builder that says lizards have claws teeth and can swim. Its really disappointing for what I consider something of a staple fantasy race
I honestly don't count that. Its not really a racial writeup just an example of the race builder that says lizards have claws teeth and can swim. Its really disappointing for what I consider something of a staple fantasy raceThe Advanced Race Guide's PC racial write up for lizardfolk doesn't count?
Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on.
So lizardfolk... are we going to ever get a real PC racial write up for lizardfolk? I know the flumph said they didn't want to put too many new racial things in, and that Anuli already got ganzi in the write up but dang I'm holding out that one day we will get a proper stats for Lizardfolk!
As an aside I really need to get this book. Also so sad the flumph couldn't add a new race for Arcadia. I'm curious as to what he had in mind.
They did get a nice write-up in the Monster Codex, but I know what you mean. I would love to see a more PC-focused description. They have been one of my favorite races since 1st edition.
Aelyosos things I liked:
Hero-gods is a great way to handle the greek type stories, and the Myth-Speakers are genius.
There are 9 major city-states and I think we now know 3, Pol-Liachora, Pol-Ptirmeios, Pol-Sylirica.
Pol-Sylirica has a Spartan feel to it, although that might just be me reading into it. Anyone else get that feeling?
Very curious about the city of monsters, Dhuraxilis.
Still compiling so I will have a complete list of questions later. :)
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I am really proud from all they way i came alongside Paizo to reach in this product. I really liked the direction the distant shores went and i rest assured that how far i will go with Paizo, i ll be seeing great products. I don´t care about which rules you use, but please, keep telling about these marvellous places and keep me happy that i choose Golarion as my campaing setting. Thank you very much to all the staff and people involved or used as inspiration.
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Assistant Developer
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Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on.
So lizardfolk... are we going to ever get a real PC racial write up for lizardfolk? I know the flumph said they didn't want to put too many new racial things in, and that Anuli already got ganzi in the write up but dang I'm holding out that one day we will get a proper stats for Lizardfolk!
As an aside I really need to get this book. Also so sad the flumph couldn't add a new race for Arcadia. I'm curious as to what he had in mind.
Ironically, a 0-HD version of lizardfolk was my original pitch for my new race. This was probably one of the most collaborative books we've done in a long time, and we all bounced ideas off each other. There were several ideas that went back and forth before we settled on ganzi, including a termite people (which was a little too close to the new race Adam originally wanted to include) and a 0-HD version of aranea. Still hope we can do those other three in the future.
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I'm certainly interested in how an official 0-HD Aranea race would look next to the version of the same that my group homebrewed up.
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Ironically, a 0-HD version of lizardfolk was my original pitch for my new race. This was probably one of the most collaborative books we've done in a long time, and we all bounced ideas off each other. There were several ideas that went back and forth before we settled on ganzi, including a termite people (which was a little too close to the new race Adam originally wanted to include) and a 0-HD version of aranea. Still hope we can do those other three in the future.
.... I...... I ....
PLEASE!PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Seriously all three of those sound amazing
Also just curious were you going to go normal lizardfolk route or something more akin to like a skink, monitor, chameleon, gecko, marine iguana, thorny devil, frilled lizard ect.?
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Ironically, a 0-HD version of lizardfolk was my original pitch for my new race. This was probably one of the most collaborative books we've done in a long time, and we all bounced ideas off each other. There were several ideas that went back and forth before we settled on ganzi, including a termite people (which was a little too close to the new race Adam originally wanted to include) and a 0-HD version of aranea. Still hope we can do those other three in the future.
Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on.
So lizardfolk... are we going to ever get a real PC racial write up for lizardfolk? I know the flumph said they didn't want to put too many new racial things in, and that Anuli already got ganzi in the write up but dang I'm holding out that one day we will get a proper stats for Lizardfolk!
As an aside I really need to get this book. Also so sad the flumph couldn't add a new race for Arcadia. I'm curious as to what he had in mind.
We need names for the other areas like Inner Sea and Dragon Empires, so that I can start suggesting book titles. Because Southern Garund Bestiary, just doesn't have the right ring.
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Ironically, a 0-HD version of lizardfolk was my original pitch for my new race. This was probably one of the most collaborative books we've done in a long time, and we all bounced ideas off each other. There were several ideas that went back and forth before we settled on ganzi, including a termite people (which was a little too close to the new race Adam originally wanted to include) and a 0-HD version of aranea. Still hope we can do those other three in the future.
Anuli has aasimars, ganzi and lizardfolk, and so on.
So lizardfolk... are we going to ever get a real PC racial write up for lizardfolk? I know the flumph said they didn't want to put too many new racial things in, and that Anuli already got ganzi in the write up but dang I'm holding out that one day we will get a proper stats for Lizardfolk!
As an aside I really need to get this book. Also so sad the flumph couldn't add a new race for Arcadia. I'm curious as to what he had in mind.
0-HD spider people? :O That would have been awesome!
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Assistant Developer
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Ironically, a 0-HD version of lizardfolk was my original pitch for my new race. This was probably one of the most collaborative books we've done in a long time, and we all bounced ideas off each other. There were several ideas that went back and forth before we settled on ganzi, including a termite people (which was a little too close to the new race Adam originally wanted to include) and a 0-HD version of aranea. Still hope we can do those other three in the future.
.... I...... I ....
PLEASE!PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Seriously all three of those sound amazing
Also just curious were you going to go normal lizardfolk route or something more akin to like a skink, monitor, chameleon, gecko, marine iguana, thorny devil, frilled lizard ect.?
More like the base lizard folk, with cosmetic difference left up to players.
One of the problems with doing the more "monstrous" player races is that a lot of their cooler abilities (like a lizardfolk's claw-claw-bite) would need to become racial feats, and this book did not have the space for those additional details.
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I like the sound of all those 0HD races. It's a shame there isn't a yearly 64 page volume series with nothing but stats for 0HD races, animal companions, and familiars for Pathfinder....hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
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OK, read through this PDF and I have to say WOW! Very nice read. I really, really want to see hard backs of all of the continents now. Out of all of the location books, I put this up there the the Guide to Absalom, which I find myself reading over and over again. It definitely feels like there is a whole lot more to explore in Golarion. The description of Anuli really made me want to see the buildings.
Nice Work. Now I'm really really wanting more world guides.
What are the Ganzi's ability scores and what special abilities do they possess?
** spoiler omitted **
Are you being vague about the information you include, or are the skill bonuses and elemental resistances selectable/random?
Wow, this product sounds very exciting, and hopefully portents further explorations of these regions, whether via Campaign Setting products or APs.
Aelyosos sounds great, with the Greek flavor of Gods/Divine mixing it up with mortal men, and it feels like the Mythic rules have a solid place in the setting now... It also feels like a more nuanced/approachable take on the Starstone. Plus, the flooded city aspect sounds like a cool set-up for "amphibious" gaming...
Anuli/Holomog sounds great, I've been itching to learn more about this region to eventually run a campaign venturing out of Nex into Southern Garund regions. 2 questions:
Does the historical nation(s) who built the "10,000 years worth of abandoned cities and ruins" get discussed at all, or is it left as a mystery?
It seems heavily intimated that Anuli/Holomog at large have an ongoing planar connection to the Maelstrom and/or Elyseum, is that all over the place or just in specific sub-regions? Does this mean mild versions of those planar traits are in play here?
Ular Kel, well, I've been itching to know more about Iridians since City of Strangers, and being a trade hub we will hopefull be teased some more on the other nations of Casmaron... Plus, Water Lords sound great!
Ganzi
Resistances: Acid, Elec., Sonic
Skills: Sense Motive, Survival
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Anuli/Holomog sounds great, I've been itching to learn more about this region to eventually run a campaign venturing out of Nex into Southern Garund regions. 2 questions:
Does the historical nation(s) who built the "10,000 years worth of abandoned cities and ruins" get discussed at all, or is it left as a mystery?
That nation that built those ruins is still Holomog. They've existed since before the Starstone fell, and over that time they've built entire cities and then moved on when fortunes changed or resources dried up. One location may have been prime for a large city because of a national border it shared or a river that flowed past, but if that other nation ceases to exist, or that river changes course, your community isn't as well-situated any more. Slowly people emigrate away, and nature or creatures take up residence in the abandoned structures.
It seems heavily intimated that Anuli/Holomog at large have an ongoing planar connection to the Maelstrom and/or Elyseum, is that all over the place or just in specific sub-regions? Does this mean mild versions of those planar traits are in play here?
Their close association is actually with the Positive Energy Plane, but they also see frequent planar visitors from all the good-aligned planes, in the same was Cheliax sees a lot of devils.
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Page 21: "Shrine of the Wily Linguist"
...how the heck did that one get through? o.O;
If this is a reference to something, then I don't get it.
Ah, that makes more sense. I was looking for puns, but not thinking of word substitution. (Also, I don't have the sourcebook in question yet.)
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Surprised nobody's mentioned the "Totes can make a Paladin of Asmodeus" trait yet.