Does Pathfinder have an Iconic wizard as does the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk or even Cook's Malhavic?
Ezren is the iconic human wizard... he's on the cover of Pathfinder #5 and his statistics are in Pathfinder #7-12. In addition, Seltyiel (on the cover of Pathfinder #12) is a fighter/evoker multiclass with statistics in Pathfinder #13-18.
He can also be found on the Paizo Blog for October 26th of 2007
thanks. Who is the wizard on page 169? Talk about an evil look.
If my players don't reverse their current luck, Karzoug may be the iconic for my version of Golarion.
Does Pathfinder have an Iconic wizard as does the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk or even Cook's Malhavic?
Not like the Realms. There's no super-powerful wizard like Elminster around, one who keeps meddling in things and is known across the continent(s).
There are Ezren and Seltyel, the iconic wizard and multiclased character, respectively, but their role in the world and power level are not fixed (since they serve as premade characters in adentures, so their level depends on what the adventure needs).
I think the role of heroes who go places and do deeds is reserved for player characters. That's not to say that there aren't any powerful characters around, but they won't be in the spotlight all the time.
I don't really think we have much in the way of honest-to-god distinctive characters of any class yet. Sure we've written a lot about Lem and Karzoug and Captain Cressida and Kwava and others, but how you run these NPCs is going to differ from how the guy down the street does. Until we really have a fiction line that defines character personalities and makes our world's inhabitants identifiable as more than just the same name in different games I don't expect to see Golarion's Rasitlins, Strahds, Gords, and Conans cropping up quite yet... though I suspect some of their names are already out there. Eando Kline is probably the closest we've got to a representative in-world character of any class so far, as we can all read about him and see how he acts and expect reactions based on more than what Joe EveryDM decides.
Ask that question in a year, though, and... well, you know what, I bet the answer will just be obvious by then.
...though instead of Elmister/Mordenkainen route one can go for Rincewind, Librarian or Ridcully...
Librarian
OH GOOOOO! AAAAAARGH! I MEANT SILVERBACK *APE* I REALLY DID! I'LL NEVER SAY THE M WORD AGAIN! NOT MY ARMS!
I don't really think we have much in the way of honest-to-god distinctive characters of any class yet. Sure we've written a lot about Lem and Karzoug and Captain Cressida and Kwava and others, but how you run these NPCs is going to differ from how the guy down the street does. Until we really have a fiction line that defines character personalities and makes our world's inhabitants identifiable as more than just the same name in different games I don't expect to see Golarion's Rasitlins, Strahds, Gords, and Conans cropping up quite yet... though I suspect some of their names are already out there. Eando Kline is probably the closest we've got to a representative in-world character of any class so far, as we can all read about him and see how he acts and expect reactions based on more than what Joe EveryDM decides.
Ask that question in a year, though, and... well, you know what, I bet the answer will just be obvious by then.
Be careful with that though. The highly successful fiction line is one of the forces that eventually destroyed the Forgotten Realms - both by creating more and more layers of lore and creating numerous NPCs who were both more powerful and (perceived to be) "cooler" then any group of PCs.
|
Be careful with that though. The highly successful fiction line is one of the forces that eventually destroyed the Forgotten Realms - both by creating more and more layers of lore and creating numerous NPCs who were both more powerful and (perceived to be) "cooler" then any group of PCs.
They will be. James (I think it was James) said they don't plan on having save the world, epic level stories in their novels. Meaning it'll be many many novels about a specific character before he see them hit levels 10-15.
Keep in mind, many Realms characters, like Drizzt were created under a different rule set. A lot of people like to complain about Drizzt and Wulfgar defeating a White Dragon. Those same people don't realize Drizzt and Wulfgar defeated a dragon in 1986... 1e... where white dragons were more like 3E Wyvern. In other words, low level.
|
The highly successful fiction line is one of the forces that eventually destroyed the Forgotten Realms
Not true. What destroyed the Realms is called the Spellplague. So what Paizo should avoid at all costs is world-shattering events in their books.
Btw, a lot of NSCs in Paizo adventures is way "cooler" than everything I could create myself so if the same happens in the novel line, I guess I can live with that . ;)
Be careful with that though. The highly successful fiction line is one of the forces that eventually destroyed the Forgotten Realms
No. The only force that destroyed the Realms was the Authos who thought that they had to force 4e changes onto the Realms (instead of making the rules work for the story), arbitrarily advance the setting a hundred years and kill countless popular heroes, villains, nations, deities, and planes in a plot so badly written a soap opera author would be fired and forced to commit seppuku with a wooden sword for.
I don't see that happening to Golarion.
The closest you get to massively powerful wizard type is Tar-Baphon, aka the Whispering Tyrant, who is currently MIA, or locked up, I can't remember which.
The Whispering Tyrant is incarcerated.
But he was around at some time, and will probably have created some spells back in the day.
And then there were Nex and Geb, who waged war upon each other with such intensity that the magical fallout left the area between their countries lifeless.
Then there was Xin, and the seven Runelords. The most powerful of them was probably about level 25, maybe more. Even the middle field was level 20.
Finally, we should not forget ancient Azlant. And the elves.
|
Keep in mind, many Realms characters, like Drizzt were created under a different rule set. A lot of people like to complain about Drizzt and Wulfgar defeating a White Dragon. Those same people don't realize Drizzt and Wulfgar defeated a dragon in 1986... 1e... where white dragons were more like 3E Wyvern. In other words, low level.
So the solo Balor was...?
I kid, of course. ;)
So the solo Balor was...?
I kid, of course. ;)
You mean back in 1st edition, as well, when a Balor was 7+7 Hit Dice? ;)
Sure... we'll do our best in the adventure paths to bring it all down, but we assume there are heroic PCs enough to step in and save the day.
And that's the way it should be. ;)
Yeah, on the player's side of the screen, there may not of have been drastic changes from 1st edition to 2nd edition, but some things, like dragons, fiends, and giants, got a major facelift. Or hit dice lift, as the case may be.