Contributor
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I didn't see any other threads about this, so I thought I would start one.
I really like the new sketches for Kyra and Merisiel. Not only is the artwork top-notch, but also:
1) The women are dressed practically for their class/role. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against depicting hot women in fantasy art. I just like them to look like they are dressed for what they do. Seoni was a little borderline for me, but she is a tattooed sorcerer after all, and these two balance her out nicely.
2) Merisiel has sold me on the long-eared elves. She looks awesome. In fact...
3) I just realized, I may have to steal this image for my existing female elf rogue character with a rapier and 500 daggers. My PC actually has dark hair, but otherwise, this picture really suits her.
Craig Shackleton,
The Rambling Scribe
I really like the new sketches for Kyra and Merisiel.
Ditto. Merisiel is absolutely AWESOME! It's like a female elven version of Shadowspawn from Thieves' World...with a hundred daggers in a hundred different locations. My gaming group is halfway through D0: Hollow's Last Hope right now and we're using the four pregens. I had gone with some stock art from Wizards' website to put a face with Kyra and Merisiel, but these are much nicer!...obviously.
In addition, the player running Merisiel noticed early on the sheer number of daggers the elf had on her character sheet and the fact that she's better with ranged weapons than hand-to-hand. Needless to say, those daggers have some frequent flyer miles already...and again, we're only halfway through the adventure. So I've lifted these images as well and dropped their faces onto the character sheets instead. Should be a much better rendition for our second gaming session. Thanks for the sneak peak, James!
...Merisiel has sold me on the long-eared elves. She looks awesome.
Personally, I still think the ears are a litte longer than they needed to be. She still looks great. But when the points reach to the top of the head, I think they've gone a little further than my image of an iconic elf. I've always viewed half-elves as the same size ear (in terms of length) as a human, but with a point at the end. And elves with the same kind of points, but a little longer...just not all the way up to the top of the head.
But again, this is a very minor point. The moment I saw Merisiel's image, my immediate reaction was positive. So no biggie on the ear-length thing.
Aside from that...when will we see a colorized version? I'm eager to see what fashion scheme these ladies use...
--Neil
That's one hot Manga thief chick. Put it on the cover and you might pull some grown up sailor moon fans into the game.
I am a little bit confused on the iconics skill point selection. In the 1st-level versions for D0, near as i can figure, Merisiel has spent 30 skill points as opposed to the 28 she should have, and I believe she has one to many in Disable Device (4=-1 dex + 5 ranks).
And then when you look at the D1 versions, they have all lost skill points, except for Merisiel, who now has 45 ranks instead of 35, and has lost the previous skill of Open Lock (which i believe she had 2 ranks in).
Other than this relatively minor mistake, i am thoroughly impressed with the two modules and eagerly await the the next one and Pathfinder.
Thanks alot guys and gals.
I'm not as big on the art for Merisiel, though I'll leave my final judgment for after I see the color version. I don't mind the ears at all, and I'm not an anime fan. I'm not saying it's a bad picture overall...I'm not sure what I'm saying. Call me undecided.
Definitely like Kyra. Love it, really. I can't wait to learn more about the area she's from.
Randy
I am a little bit confused on the iconics skill point selection. In the 1st-level versions for D0, near as i can figure, Merisiel has spent 30 skill points as opposed to the 28 she should have, and I believe she has one to many in Disable Device (4=-1 dex + 5 ranks).
I think I can solve this mystery. Someone forgot that Merisiel had a -1 modifier when they were summing up her total skill levels. They got it right when deciding how many skill points she had, but just forgot to apply the -1 for her Int modifier on the skill totals for Search and Disable Device. Essentially, I see the following breakdown:
Climb (+2 ranks, +1 Str) = +3
*Disable Device (+4 ranks, +0 Int) = +4 (but should have been +3 with -1 Int)
Hide (+4 ranks, +3 Dex) = +7
Jump (+2 ranks, +1 Str) = +3
Listen (+2 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 racial bonus) = +5
Move Silently (+4 ranks, +3 Dex) = +7
Open Lock (+2 ranks, +3 Dex) = +5
*Search (+2 ranks, +0 Int, +2 racial bonus) = +4 (but should have been +3 with -1 Int)
Spot (+2 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 racial bonus) = +5
Tumble (+4 ranks, +3 Dex) = +7
Total = 28 ranks (which is appropriate for an Elven rogue with an 8 Int)
* = These are the two skills where they forgot the -1 modifier for Int and just left it at +0...probably because they went back and forth over whether she would have an 8 Int or an 8 Cha...
Hope that helps,
--Neil
P.S. I don't have D1: Crown of the Kobold King yet, so I can't assess those distributions.
Climb (+2 ranks, +1 Str) = +3
*Disable Device (+4 ranks, +0 Int) = +4 (but should have been +3 with -1 Int)
Hide (+4 ranks, +3 Dex) = +7
Jump (+2 ranks, +1 Str) = +3
Listen (+2 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 racial bonus) = +5
Move Silently (+4 ranks, +3 Dex) = +7
Open Lock (+2 ranks, +3 Dex) = +5
*Search (+2 ranks, +0 Int, +2 racial bonus) = +4 (but should have been +3 with -1 Int)
Spot (+2 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 racial bonus) = +5
Tumble (+4 ranks, +3 Dex) = +7Total = 28 ranks (which is appropriate for an Elven rogue with an 8 Int)
* = These are the two skills where they forgot the -1 modifier for Int and just left it at +0...probably because they went back and forth over whether she would have an 8 Int or an 8 Cha...Hope that helps,
--NeilP.S. I don't have D1: Crown of the Kobold King yet, so I can't assess those distributions.
Definitly squares away the level 1 versions.
thanks
All I have to say is Valeros you lucky dog, you.
Creative Director
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She certainly looks creepy and intimidating, but where's the missing sheath for the second dagger in her hand? The empty sheathes look like one for a dagger and one for the rapier. Is it in her right foot's boot?
Merisiel's the type of girl who keeps one dagger out at all times, so there's no need for that missing sheath.
Either that, or its on her back or along her right side and invisible to the viewer.
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...when you look at the D1 versions, they have all lost skill points, except for Merisiel, who now has 45 ranks instead of 35, and has lost the previous skill of Open Lock (which i believe she had 2 ranks in).
From what I've heard from the Paizo staff on other threads, the iconics are meant to be just that; icons and mascots for the company.
Their actual stats/skills/feats/spells can and will change, often from the ground up, between adventures, with the only restriction being that they remain true to the existing artwork and themes.Kind of like Mario; no-one objects to Mario Tennis, on the grounds that "Hey! Weren't you a racing driver before?".
Okay, now that I've seen the full color versions Merisiel and Kyra-
Merisiel has grown on me. She has a truly inhuman look about her.
Kyra is just amazing. Definitely my favorite of the four.
Can't wait to see the next batch.
Randy
Kyra rocks!!! Ditto for Merisiel, Valeros and Seoni. Hard to say who my favorite is so far, probably Kyra or Valeros. Query -- I thought I remembered reading that all of the Pathfinder iconics would be depicted in a gatefold in the last issue of Dragon. That seems improbable at this point. Please tell me that all of the iconics will be released as Wayne Reynolds completes them. Or, are you only going to unleash 4 per adventure path, meaning we have to wait 6 months for the next set!?
Also, I'm dying to know the race/gender/class assignments for the remaining iconics. Has that information been posted previously?
* My mistake -- what I was remembering was the promise that Dungeon 150’s gatefold cover will feature all 11 "Paizo iconics” (not the Pathfinder iconics).
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Creative Director
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Yeah. We were originally going to have a gatefold cover for Dungeon #150 with all 11 of the Dungeon iconics on there, painted by Wayne Reynolds. For various reasons (most of them assocaited with the $$$ of the situation) we weren't able to do a gatefold cover. But Wayne still managed to get all 11 iconics PLUS Demogorgon on the cover.
Because Wayne's awesome.
The Pathfinder iconics have nothing to do with Dungeon, and vice-versa, in any event. We'll be releasing new iconics more or less once a month, with a new one on the cover of each Pathfinder. Since Wayne paints them as he gets the time... they tend to show up sort of randomly, though.
We have not yet revealed the race/gender/class assignments for the remaining iconics, and probably won't be doing so for a month or few.
I'll be looking forward to the new iconics; if the first four are anything to go by, they'll be great. I'm half-tempted to tell my players, "No, you may not make your own characters. You'll use the pregens because they look so cool." Might not be that hard of a sell, as the rogue looks a lot like one of my wife's favorite characters...
That you have Wayne Reynolds designing the look- just wow.
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I also love the "Meet the Iconics" feature. It helps breathe additional life into the character portraits. My one contention: After Seoni's, Merisiel's and Kyra's entries, poor Valeros's looks rather slim. Is there any chance I could convince you guys to revisit (and expand upon) Valeros's profile (even if it is just on a thread)?
Merisiel has grown on me. She has a truly inhuman look about her....Kyra is just amazing. Definitely my favorite of the four....Can't wait to see the next batch.
You know, I had the same reaction in reverse. I thought Merisiel was just amazing. And now, Kyra has started to grow on me.
At first, I wasn't as enthused with Kyra's pencil sketch. Something about her face or eyes and mouth looked angry...almost sullen. I started to assume she was going to have more of a St. Cuthbert-esque in-you-face attitude about pursuing justice or something...and not in a good way.
But the colorized version looks ten times better. I don't know if it's the shading or what? But instead of looking angry/sullen, she now looks more serious and determined. The tone or vibe of the image now comes off more like the warrior sun-priestess that her background describes. Very nice fit. And I now like Kyra at least as much as the other iconics, possibly more.
Is there any chance I could convince you guys to revisit (and expand upon) Valeros's profile (even if it is just on a thread)?
I've got to agree with Azzy here. Valeros was first out of the gate, so it's understandable that his "Meet the Iconics" profile was a bit slimmer. But if you could go back and do another write-up for him more in line with what's been done for the girls, I'd certainly appreciate it.
Also, if you could somehow set aside an area where all four of the current iconics (and maybe the future ones as well?) can have their artwork up and available, that would be awesome. As it stands now, I wind up surfing through the blog looking for their images when I need to recall something about the details of them. This was important at the time, because in D0, my gaming group did use the iconics as their pre-gens. And now, we may carry these characters into D1 as well.
Anyway, keep up the great work! And pass along the fan-appreciation to Wayne Reynolds for this stuff, too. He's done an awesome job on everything so far. Honestly, there's not a bad piece in the bunch. It's all good...and most cases, great!
My two-cents,
--Neil
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Creative Director
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I like Kyra, and love the look of that scimitar.
Her background reminds me somewhat of another sword wielding priestess of literature.
Seomi's not to get a large telepathic wolf/cat thing as a familar is she? ;-)
Nope. Not sure what Seoni's gonna do about a familar, honestly. Probably some sort of little bird like a thrush or something.
Not sure what Seoni's gonna do about a familar, honestly. Probably some sort of little bird like a thrush or something.
What? No pseudodragon down the line? With dragonblood as part of a sorceress' heritage, I was kind of imagining she'd take Improved Familiar and a pseudodragon. Obviously, not at low-level, though. Still...eventually maybe?
--Neil
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Creative Director
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Not sure what Seoni's gonna do about a familar, honestly. Probably some sort of little bird like a thrush or something.What? No pseudodragon down the line? With dragonblood as part of a sorceress' heritage, I was kind of imagining she'd take Improved Familiar and a pseudodragon. Obviously, not at low-level, though. Still...eventually maybe?
--Neil
That's certainly possible, although she's lawful neutral and doesn't quite get along with pseudodragons. And in any event, in Golarion, being a sorcerer doesn't mean you've got dragon blood. It just means you've got some sort of magical heritage. That might be dragon blood, it might mean your ancestors were half fiends or half celestials, it might mean that you've got close ties to the fey, or something else. Seoni is one of the "something else" cases. Her ties to magic are from her Varisian heritage, and are linked to the region's ancient past.
I've refashioned Seoni in my own campaign a bit, giving her a toad familiar, which I find appropriate for a "gypsy witch" (as I term her). Plus, those extra 3 hp don't hurt....
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That's certainly possible, although she's lawful neutral and doesn't quite get along with pseudodragons. And in any event, in Golarion, being a sorcerer doesn't mean you've got dragon blood. It just means you've got some sort of magical heritage. That might be dragon blood, it might mean your ancestors were half fiends or half celestials, it might mean that you've got close ties to the fey, or something else. Seoni is one of the "something else" cases. Her ties to magic are from her Varisian heritage, and are linked to the region's ancient past.
Bloodlines from Unearthed Arcana are OGL, might be an idea for sorcerers to auto. have a minor bloodline. IMO they could use the minor boost, them and wizards for both are rather weak classes. Once their spells go poof I'd rather take a commoner or expert with me.
That's certainly possible, although she's lawful neutral and doesn't quite get along with pseudodragons. And in any event, in Golarion, being a sorcerer doesn't mean you've got dragon blood. It just means you've got some sort of magical heritage. That might be dragon blood, it might mean your ancestors were half fiends or half celestials, it might mean that you've got close ties to the fey, or something else. Seoni is one of the "something else" cases. Her ties to magic are from her Varisian heritage, and are linked to the region's ancient past.
Hmmmm...
You know, I think you may have just given me a new idea for creature submissions. Basically, some new Golarion- and Varisian-style familiars along the same flavor as pseudodragons, quasits, imps, etc. The Improved Familiars, basically, but something new or with a different spin. And then that could be Seoni's high-level familiar, rather than something small and innocuous.
--Neil
Bloodlines from Unearthed Arcana are OGL, might be an idea for sorcerers to auto. have a minor bloodline. IMO they could use the minor boost, them and wizards for both are rather weak classes. Once their spells go poof I'd rather take a commoner or expert with me.
I actually do this for my games as a house rule . . .just really minor variations to the SRD stuff.