Douglas Muir 406 |
Okay, over in the Advice forum I have started a thread on the various Diabolical obediences and boons. It's primarily from the POV of a Diabolist, but should be of interest to anyone who's thinking about using these feats, whether as a player or a GM.
Doug M.
Amanda Hamon Development Coordinator |
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Thomas Seitz wrote:Eiseth is cool. :)With you there, Thomas. Eiseth is a contender for the top spot in my Top 5 archdevils list.
I'm so glad to hear this! I'm STOKED about the new canon I was able to build for the Queens of the Night in this book. Eiseth is probably my favorite (ESPECIALLY the plans she has for the future).
Ixos |
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She has cool plans, but are they feasible? As far as I understood (and I could be wrong), but who gets to be one of the archdevils depends on Asmodeus' blessing. So, some of the Infernal Dukes might have a higher CR than say Barbatos, but Barbatos is Lord of Avernus because Asmodeus backs him in the hierarchy of Hell. Even worse for Eiseth, Asmodeus is a misogynist (because he is a jerk.)
So if she succeeds and overthrows Moloch, then isn't she still doomed because Asmodeus would kill her for upending his order in Hell?
Amanda Hamon Development Coordinator |
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So if she succeeds and overthrows Moloch, then isn't she still doomed because Asmodeus would kill her for upending his order in Hell?
I would keep in mind that Asmodeus's machinations are rarely straight forward and always self serving. What would happen if some of Eiseth's plans come to fruition could be pretty darn interesting.
Amanda Hamon Development Coordinator |
CorvusMask |
I did ask earlier if anybody had thoughts about Queens of Nights, didn't really get replies so now that discussion up I ask again: Did anyone else notice that four of them have a theme with them having almost sympathetic backstories? Like I'll copy paste myself:
"I mean, on surface all of their reasons sounds sympathetic 1) "did evil in desperation to find out where her siblings were" 2) "did evil thing for what she thought was for greater good" 3) "was horrified to find out how she was going to die" and 4) "was disgusted by smugness of mortals" but when you look closer the sympathetic part falls apart 1) "found out she loves torture" 2) "seems self delusional about reason she did it, like she sounds like she thought for sure everyone would applaud her and promote her" 3) "well if we are giving immortal beings pass for being afraid of death, I guess we gotta give passes for liches and everyone else willing to do horrible things to avoid the inevitable" 4) "ok so she went from 'how dare those inferior mortals feel lust towards me' to killing people out of boredom and wanting to take over Nirvana? That is pretty big escalation even if you hate your job"
Mighty Squash |
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Flicking through this book has just left me feeling that the core rules line has been devalued by this book's inclusion.
With so much setting specific reprinting, this book is just disappointing.
And the modernising of some of the few actual rule elements included seems a lot more about forcing the use of multiple elements of the book to only be used when used together than it does anything that would feel like improving the material.
Steve Geddes |
4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Flicking through this book has just left me feeling that the core rules line has been devalued by this book's inclusion.
With so much setting specific reprinting, this book is just disappointing.
It's a definite change in focus. Some will like it and some not.
For me the books which are nothing but rules tend to be flicked through once and then get ignored (unless I run some specific genre that would benefit). I'm glad they've moved to incorporate more setting specific material in the rules line. I suspect books like this will see more use at my table than previous entries.
There's bound to be people disappointed by any change in direction, I guess.
Rysky |
Mighty Squash wrote:Flicking through this book has just left me feeling that the core rules line has been devalued by this book's inclusion.
With so much setting specific reprinting, this book is just disappointing.It's a definite change in focus. Some will like it and some not.
For me the books which are nothing but rules tend to be flicked through once and then get ignored (unless I run some specific genre that would benefit). I'm glad they've moved to incorporate more setting specific material in the rules line. I suspect books like this will see more use at my table than previous entries.
There's bound to be people disappointed by any change in direction, I guess.
*nods*
This, pretty much.
Douglas Muir 406 |
Did anyone else notice that four of them have a theme with them having almost sympathetic backstories? Like I'll copy paste myself:
"I mean, on surface all of their reasons sounds sympathetic 1) "did evil in desperation to find out where her siblings were" 2) "did evil thing for what she thought was for greater good" 3) "was horrified to find out how she was going to die" and 4) "was disgusted by smugness of mortals" but when you look closer the sympathetic part falls apart 1) "found out she loves torture" 2) "seems self delusional about reason she did it, like she sounds like she thought for sure everyone would applaud her and promote her" 3) "well if we are giving immortal beings pass for being afraid of death, I guess we gotta give passes for liches and everyone else willing to do horrible things to avoid the inevitable" 4) "ok so she went from 'how dare those inferior mortals feel lust towards me' to killing people out of boredom and wanting to take over Nirvana? That is pretty big escalation even if you hate your job"
I didn't notice until you pointed it out, but it's a very nice touch!
Doug M.
FallenDabus |
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I'm not really sure how this book's inclusion into the Core line, and therefore the PDF being able to be sold for $10, "devalues" the Core line.
This. At $10 for the PDF, it is cheaper than the originals, even if you are just buying it for the new content. If you you are missing even one of the original books, it is a huge steal of a deal.
Milo v3 |
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Even without the setting-specificness, the fact that there is basically no rules content in the book makes it rather disappointing for a book in the line.
It's great if you wanted a book detailing the backstories of demon lords... but some were hoping that it being in the RPG line would mean a larger focus on rules for fiendish realms and interacting with fiends than there is in the book.
Milo v3 |
I didn't say it was just a lore book, I said "some were hoping that it being in the RPG line would mean a larger focus on rules for fiendish realms and interacting with fiends than there is in the book."
But it is primarily a lore book. The "flavour to mechanic" ratio is insanely different in this book to any other book in the RPG-line.
Luthorne |
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I'm hoping for the Concordance of Rivals, but I would certainly be happy to see the Chronicle of the Righteous. I'm just very interested in the psychopomp ushers and kami lords, so would love to see them fleshed out, as well as the primal inevitables, the protean lords, the axiomite god-mind, and the aeon's monad (including whether or not all of them are officially deities or not...). We did get some more on the Eldest, but more would be interesting. And of course, there are many other deities who interest me who are neutral about whom we know very little, such as Daikitsu, Erecura, Feronia, Nalinivati, Ragdya, and Sun Wukong.
That said, there are certainly some good-aligned empyreal lords I'd like to know more about...Kelinahat, for example. And various deities, like Kofusachi...
Xenocrat |
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Douglas Muir 406 |
Douglas Muir 406 wrote:Okay, question: do the obediences, boons and benefits given here trump and overwrite ones given elsewhere? So, for instance, the boons for Geryon are pretty different from the ones given in PF #107. Book of the Damned is the newest ruleset and should prevail, right?It depends.
Huh: "The fully refined version will be Paizo's default version for adventures, NPC compilations, and the like moving forward, since it benefited from two development cycles and is available on the PRD, but as always feel free to use the version that your group prefers, or make your own variant."
So it's official, but they won't force it on you.
Doug M.
Eric Hinkle |
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Xenocrat wrote:Douglas Muir 406 wrote:Okay, question: do the obediences, boons and benefits given here trump and overwrite ones given elsewhere? So, for instance, the boons for Geryon are pretty different from the ones given in PF #107. Book of the Damned is the newest ruleset and should prevail, right?It depends.Huh: "The fully refined version will be Paizo's default version for adventures, NPC compilations, and the like moving forward, since it benefited from two development cycles and is available on the PRD, but as always feel free to use the version that your group prefers, or make your own variant."
So it's official, but they won't force it on you.
Doug M.
Or in other words, "if you and your group want to use the old version of the Diabolist or any other class/PRC/rule, go ahead; it's just not official any more"?
Alchemaic |
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Mighty Squash wrote:Flicking through this book has just left me feeling that the core rules line has been devalued by this book's inclusion.
With so much setting specific reprinting, this book is just disappointing.It's a definite change in focus. Some will like it and some not.
For me the books which are nothing but rules tend to be flicked through once and then get ignored (unless I run some specific genre that would benefit). I'm glad they've moved to incorporate more setting specific material in the rules line. I suspect books like this will see more use at my table than previous entries.
There's bound to be people disappointed by any change in direction, I guess.
That's because the definition of what the Core line was seems to have changed fairly drastically, from "a big book of new rules that can vastly change the nature of the game by its inclusion" to "a big book". The closest comparison points for Book of the Damned are to the Bestiaries or the Codices which, while they aren't exactly what I'd consider transformative rulebooks, are at least handy piles of usable statblocks without any real chaff. Book of the Damned, while a handy companion book to the Campaign Setting line, changes very little about the base game by its existence and inclusion in any game.
If you want more fluff that's fine, but it kind of feels to the rest of us that these are taking the place of fun new material to play around with.
The Raven Black |
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Rysky wrote:I'm not really sure how this book's inclusion into the Core line, and therefore the PDF being able to be sold for $10, "devalues" the Core line.This. At $10 for the PDF, it is cheaper than the originals, even if you are just buying it for the new content. If you you are missing even one of the original books, it is a huge steal of a deal.
With the exception of the GMG and the Strategy Guide, all products in the RPG line until now were exclusively content that you could easily plug in your campaign (player options and opponents' statblocks). Even Adventurer's Guide was relatively light on Golarion-exclusive stuff, though not all player options were easy to separate from the setting.
Not so with BotD.
I can see how someone who already owned all the original books (ie, a true Paizo aficionado such as I) or someone who is not interested in them, would have preferred another book full of player options and/or opponents' statblocks.
And, no I do not count the subsystem of Fiendish boons as player options, since they are very much specific Evil NPC stuff. Neither do I count them as opponents' statblocks, since they require the GM to build the NPC AND use a new subsystem with a high level of dispersion in its balance of power.
(BTW, great analysis job done on this by DougM in his thread linked in a post above)
The value of BotD is mostly flavor for the setting.
It is obviously an even greater step in the setting/RPG fusion experiment and I think it is important that negative feedbacks can reach the devs without being drowned in the counterposts of those who enjoyed the product.
Doubly so because I think that this fusion will NOT make PFRPG stronger. Would DnD have soared if it had stayed completely grounded in the Greyhawk setting ? I think not
Is it a good idea for Paizo to hedge its bets so heavily only on the people who play in the Golarion-setting ? I think not
I would hate to see my dire omens come true and I wish the very best for PFRPG. But I think silencing the dissenting voices does not help here
Rysky |
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And, no I do not count the subsystem of Fiendish boons as player options, since they are very much specific Evil NPC stuff.And you would be wrong. Nothing in them is NPC only, and if they are PC appropriate is up to each group and GM. Not everyone plays Good guys, there's Evil PCs and Evil leaning/heretical Neutral PCs.
Neither do I count them as opponents' statblocks, since they require the GM to build the NPC AND use a new subsystem with a high level of dispersion in its balance of power.It's not a new subsystem. It's a Feat. Which NPCs have.
Is it a good idea for Paizo to hedge its bets so heavily only on the people who play in the Golarion-setting ? I think not
*looks at the Adventure Path line*
Douglas Muir 406 |
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Neither do I count them as opponents' statblocks, since they require the GM to build the NPC AND use a new subsystem with a high level of dispersion in its balance of power.
"A high level of dispersion" is a good way to put it. These guys are all over the board. Some are useless even for NPCs, some are pretty strong all-rounders.
(BTW, great analysis job done on this by DougM in his thread linked in a post above)
Aw. [blush]
Doug M.
Douglas Muir 406 |
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Nothing in them is NPC only, and if they are PC appropriate is up to each group and GM. Not everyone plays Good guys, there's Evil PCs
If you read through them carefully? Many of them are pretty clearly designed for NPCs. Yes, there are a few patron/path combinations that could be attractive to PCs. But of the 30 or so I've looked at so far in detail, there are maybe five or six that strike me as attractive to a player -- i.e., thematic, fun, and mechanically balanced or advantageous. The other 80% are really good only for building NPCs. (And I'd say that of that 80%, a third to half are obviously intended for NPCs -- they're super situational, are useful only to a particular odd sort of build, etc.)
-- Looked at from that POV, having a "wide power dispersion" makes perfect sense. You have a boss that's shaping up as maybe a little too powerful, and you want to nerf him just a bit? Give him one of the suboptimal patron/path combinations. He can cackle cinematically about his mighty demon lord, while the demon lord's actual boons are junk enough to prevent him from being OP. Got an NPC who's a bit weakish, flip the script and give her one of the stronger paths.
Doug M.
Gorbacz |
Gorbacz wrote:Your dire omens already have come true, because the heavily-FR-grounded D&D is pretty much eclipsing Pathfinder.Huh. Cite for this?
Doug M.
Of course I don't have the numbers, but between Icv2 reports and anecdotal evidence, 5E went supernova. Note, this doesn't mean that Paizo tanked (although I am pretty sure their sales took a hit), but it means that it's very difficult to be a D&D-based fantasy RPG in the time when the Actual Real Deal has such a strong showing.
Hence Starfinder and experiments with making the game and setting integrated a bit more - out of top selling RPGs today, Pathfinder is the only one that does the setting netural-branding to any larger degree. Heck, the newest 5E splatbook is named after a FR NPC. It *might* contain mostly rules material with some lore sprinkled on the top, but it sends a clear "this is a FR book" message off the shelf. I guess that WotC did the research and found out that people who don't do FR will buy it anyway regardless of the branding.
Rysky |
Rysky wrote:Nothing in them is NPC only, and if they are PC appropriate is up to each group and GM. Not everyone plays Good guys, there's Evil PCsIf you read through them carefully? Many of them are pretty clearly designed for NPCs. Yes, there are a few patron/path combinations that could be attractive to PCs. But of the 30 or so I've looked at so far in detail, there are maybe five or six that strike me as attractive to a player -- i.e., thematic, fun, and mechanically balanced or advantageous. The other 80% are really good only for building NPCs. (And I'd say that of that 80%, a third to half are obviously intended for NPCs -- they're super situational, are useful only to a particular odd sort of build, etc.)
-- Looked at from that POV, having a "wide power dispersion" makes perfect sense. You have a boss that's shaping up as maybe a little too powerful, and you want to nerf him just a bit? Give him one of the suboptimal patron/path combinations. He can cackle cinematically about his mighty demon lord, while the demon lord's actual boons are junk enough to prevent him from being OP. Got an NPC who's a bit weakish, flip the script and give her one of the stronger paths.
Doug M.
Not being balanced or mechanically advantageous does not mean "NPC only. " What you quoted was me disagreeing with the assumption that these boons are for Evil NPCs only, which they are not. Though there are some that I would not want to see a player have and would refuse to play with one who took it (Folca for example), but that has to do with what that Fiend is and what it represents, not because of the power disparaity of what its boons are.
And your second paragraph is too labrous to be viable, I'm not going to completely rearrange a character and their faith just so I can add a supposedly mechanically subpar option (while they're may be some that are subpar in comparison to the other books themselves, I have yet to see an actual useless Boon), when I could simply add Alertness or something.
Douglas Muir 406 |
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And your second paragraph is too labrous to be viable, I'm not going to completely rearrange a character and their faith just so I can add a supposedly mechanically subpar option
I've done this. Lots of times.
(while they're may be some that are subpar in comparison to the other books themselves, I have yet to see an actual useless Boon)
Nothing is utterly useless, but in context some choices are obviously better than others. In the case of fiendish benefits and boons, some are much MUCH better than others.
Doug M.
Rysky |
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Okay, you may enjoy doing it but I sure wouldn't. Religion is a big part of a character, I couldn't imagine digging around and slapping on a deity as an after thought to them just for a mechanical reason.
Yes, some are better. That's how options are. But just because one is better doesn't make the other useless, it simply means it's not as good as the other one.
Ixos |
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It's been mentioned a few times that the writers and developers find the use of "fluff" to describe the lore they create to be diminutive and insulting. So let's avoid doing that.
Also, I don't entirely understand why some people would think that this content is Golarion specific. Much of the information in this book is not about how the fiendish demigods relate to one planet, but their respective histories in the planes which could apply to any world that uses the Core cosmology.
Robert Brookes RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4 |
Rysky |
It's been mentioned a few times that the writers and developers find the use of "fluff" to describe the lore they create to be diminutive and insulting. So let's avoid doing that.
Also, I don't entirely understand why some people would think that this content is Golarion specific. Much of the information in this book is not about how the fiendish demigods relate to one planet, but their respective histories in the planes which could apply to any world that uses the Core cosmology.
*nods*
For the most part Golarion is only brought up when mentioning if a particular Fiend has a large following there or not.
Douglas Muir 406 |
between Icv2 reports and anecdotal evidence, 5E went supernova. Note, this doesn't mean that Paizo tanked (although I am pretty sure their sales took a hit), but it means that it's very difficult to be a D&D-based fantasy RPG in the time when the Actual Real Deal has such a strong showing.
That's totally plausible, but it's also possible that D&D, by bringing more people into the hobby, has been good for Paizo's long-term bottom line. (Saying "possible" here; I truly don't know.)
out of top selling RPGs today, Pathfinder is the only one that does the setting netural-branding to any larger degree. Heck, the newest 5E splatbook is named after a FR NPC. It *might* contain mostly rules material with some lore sprinkled on the top, but it sends a clear "this is a FR book" message off the shelf.
Well, I definitely agree that BotD is more Golarion-y than any core book to date. That said, this is probably inevitable at this point. Pathfinder is nearly 10 years old now, which means they've had time to chew through most of the design space for a new 3.x game. (Especially keeping in mind that it IS a 3.x game, so a lot of the design space has been taken up already.) They've come up with complete new sets of character classes, what, four times now? There are only so many times you can to to that well. Fluff and setting-based stuff, OTOH, is a much bigger domain. (Though not infinitely big. At some point you're reduced to Farm Animals Of Golarion, and it's time to reboot.)
So, I'm inclined to see this as an inevitable part of the aging process. Not every core line book will be about Golarion -- the next one looks like it'll be fairly crunchy -- but that's likely to be the long term trend.
Doug M.