Maybe you're the wrong person to ask, but what is the process Paizo uses for deciding when to add creatures from the backs of Adventure Path books and other such sources to one of the Bestiaries? I keep forgetting that stats for certain creatures exist, such as the selkie, which I just rediscovered in the back of my copy of Jade Regent part 2.
So, the topic of giving gobbos cocaine came up, so...
Where are non-alcohol based drugs in Golarion? Are they a thing? It's kind of weird there's a god of alcohol, but not one of, say, cannabis. Does that just not grow on Golarion?
I understand you're an American publishing company, and there's probably a little pressure to not have some chemicals pop up regularly in the mythos, due to our government's curreny overall opinion that fermentation is an okay way of altering one's mindset, but anything else is an absolute no-go, but does that transfer over to Golarion nations as well?
I mean...there's alchemical mind alterers, and the like, so...is it that besides alcohol, every drug in Golarion is otherwise fictional on Earth, or is it just something not really mentioned?
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Maybe you're the wrong person to ask, but what is the process Paizo uses for deciding when to add creatures from the backs of Adventure Path books and other such sources to one of the Bestiaries? I keep forgetting that stats for certain creatures exist, such as the selkie, which I just rediscovered in the back of my copy of Jade Regent part 2.
The process is that Wes and I and a few others make those decisions, factoring in a bunch of things, including what monsters we like, what fits in the book, and so on.
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So, the topic of giving gobbos cocaine came up, so...
Where are non-alcohol based drugs in Golarion? Are they a thing? It's kind of weird there's a god of alcohol, but not one of, say, cannabis. Does that just not grow on Golarion?
I understand you're an American publishing company, and there's probably a little pressure to not have some chemicals pop up regularly in the mythos, due to our government's curreny overall opinion that fermentation is an okay way of altering one's mindset, but anything else is an absolute no-go, but does that transfer over to Golarion nations as well?
I mean...there's alchemical mind alterers, and the like, so...is it that besides alcohol, every drug in Golarion is otherwise fictional on Earth, or is it just something not really mentioned?
There are drugs throughout Golarion. Some of them are significant and incorporated into regions, such as pesh in Katapesh. Some are made up, like flayleaf; others are real world drugs, like opium. There's a spread of information about them in the GameMastery Guide, but now and then, we'll do adventures that have more information about them.
There are indeed gods of drugs, but not really among the core 20 deities.
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I had actually missed the question and answer regarding multiple currencies, but after I went back and read it... I would like to say that I really like that there are different canonical names for the various types of coins depending on region. A gold piece is a gold piece is a gold piece, but being able to describe a treasure hoard as containing crowns, measures, sails and even scarabs adds a bit of interest, since the coins came from all over the Inner Sea region.
Given their nature, would it be particularly odd for a dragon to become obsessed with collecting Thassilonian or Azlanti coins for their hoard, both of which must be fantastically rare to find in the modern era, and yet not intrinsically worth any more than coins of the same sort minted yesterday in Absalom?
Having in-world names for coins IS important, if only for us to use those names in our fiction or in in-game handouts. But being able to refer to them all as "pieces" is equally important, since that means we only have to define that once, not once every time we mention a coin.
I don't think it'd be that odd for a dragon to become an obsessed coin collector.
Would a dragon who is very social in humaniod societys also consider using slave/henchmen, etc to mint their own coins..to build their hoard, spread their renown, or instill fear
Hi James...was wondering
1. what are you reading
2. will you ever update your blog. i check it everyday
3. have you read monte cooks numenera..if yes did you like it
4. any plans for a nex/geb adventure
5. do you have a huge collection of rpg books. not counting paizo stuff
6. can you name a few current writers that do lovecraft type storys well
7. i miss the days of the giant rpg box set..i know cost is a issue nowadays, but if you could do one would you and if so what would it be about
thank you
In your opinion James, who are the coolest NPCs in Golarion?
Sorry if this has been asked before!
are shoanti bald or doe they just like shaving their head
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Would a dragon who is very social in humaniod societys also consider using slave/henchmen, etc to mint their own coins..to build their hoard, spread their renown, or instill fearI had actually missed the question and answer regarding multiple currencies, but after I went back and read it... I would like to say that I really like that there are different canonical names for the various types of coins depending on region. A gold piece is a gold piece is a gold piece, but being able to describe a treasure hoard as containing crowns, measures, sails and even scarabs adds a bit of interest, since the coins came from all over the Inner Sea region.
Given their nature, would it be particularly odd for a dragon to become obsessed with collecting Thassilonian or Azlanti coins for their hoard, both of which must be fantastically rare to find in the modern era, and yet not intrinsically worth any more than coins of the same sort minted yesterday in Absalom?
Having in-world names for coins IS important, if only for us to use those names in our fiction or in in-game handouts. But being able to refer to them all as "pieces" is equally important, since that means we only have to define that once, not once every time we mention a coin.
I don't think it'd be that odd for a dragon to become an obsessed coin collector.
Depends on the dragon, but in most cases, for a dragon, taking others' coins is easier and more fun than minting your own.
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Hi James...was wondering
1. what are you reading2. will you ever update your blog. i check it everyday
3. have you read monte cooks numenera..if yes did you like it
4. any plans for a nex/geb adventure
5. do you have a huge collection of rpg books. not counting paizo stuff
6. can you name a few current writers that do lovecraft type storys well
7. i miss the days of the giant rpg box set..i know cost is a issue nowadays, but if you could do one would you and if so what would it be about
thank you
1) Consumed, by David Cronenberg.
2) I should get back to updating it, yeah. Maybe I'll start that up again this weekend!
3) I haven't read it, but I own it and Kickstarted it and do like it.
4) No plans.
5) Yes. I've been collecting RPG stuff since 1981 or thereabouts. I've got several bookcases full of RPG products.
6) Ramsey Campbell. Thomas Ligotti. T.E.D. Klein.
7) I'd love to do a Sandpoint boxed set. But yeah... the costs are pretty much at a point where it can't happen.
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What do you think evil campaigns should be like? Do you think they should always be against goodity good shoes?
I checked out Way of the Wicked at store since I heard good things about it. From summary they seem to be LE vs LG where you overthrow good government to become new tyrants. I suppose those kind of evil campaigns are okay sometimes, but descriptions just seem to be about reveling about being evil
Like, I think Hermea might be good location for evil campaign... I mean, yeah, for all we know there might be some dark evil secret behind the country that makes it rulers LE instead of LN, but as it is right now... Well, its totalitarian country ruled by usually good aligned creature with well intension for humanity and everyone who lives there had choice to come there.(as far as we know I mean) It sounds like a place where it would be understandable why someone would become evil and want to turn place into anarchy instead of just "Lol, I'm evil, I hate good people"... Maybe I just like gray vs gray morality more interesting than black vs white when it comes to villain protagonists...
So yeah, do you think evil campaigns should always be evil vs good to be interesting or can they be more than that?
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7) I'd love to do a Sandpoint boxed set. But yeah... the costs are pretty much at a point where it can't happen.Where do I throw my money?
Nowhere yet. Not only is a boxed set pretty much an impossibility, financially and logistically, I don't currently have the energy to write said boxed set.
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Creative Director
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What do you think evil campaigns should be like? Do you think they should always be against goodity good shoes?
I checked out Way of the Wicked at store since I heard good things about it. From summary they seem to be LE vs LG where you overthrow good government to become new tyrants. I suppose those kind of evil campaigns are okay sometimes, but descriptions just seem to be about reveling about being evil
Like, I think Hermea might be good location for evil campaign... I mean, yeah, for all we know there might be some dark evil secret behind the country that makes it rulers LE instead of LN, but as it is right now... Well, its totalitarian country ruled by usually good aligned creature with well intension for humanity and everyone who lives there had choice to come there.(as far as we know I mean) It sounds like a place where it would be understandable why someone would become evil and want to turn place into anarchy instead of just "Lol, I'm evil, I hate good people"... Maybe I just like gray vs gray morality more interesting than black vs white when it comes to villain protagonists...
So yeah, do you think evil campaigns should always be evil vs good to be interesting or can they be more than that?
Good campaigns aren't always against evil foes, so no, evil campaigns don't always have to be against good ones.
I'm currently playing through Way of the Wicked... it's VERY fun. No spoilers, please!
I actually think Hermea would be great for a chaotic good campaign, frankly.
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Do priests and clergy of deities with organized religions have titles by which they are addressed? Could you provide a few examples?
I can recall one priest of Erastil who is addressed as "Elder", but I'm having coming up with titles for priests of, say, Pharasma or Sarenrae.
They do have titles, but I don't believe we've ever set them all down in print. Inner Sea Gods would say for sure. I do know that Desnan priests are called Father or Mother, just off the top of my head. I suspect Master or Mistress works for priests of Calistria.
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... I don't currently have the energy to write said boxed set.Do you need a vacation? Where would you go?
If you were magically granted the ability to take a 1-week vacation on Golarion, where would you go?
A vacation does sound nice, but at the moment it's not much of an option. I did take Friday off, which turned this into a four day weekend, so that's cool.
And I'd go to Sandpoint.
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You're up remarkably late/early... what prompted such late night activity? Or are you typically a night owl? (Or possibly night owlbear?)
are shoanti bald or doe they just like shaving their headThey shave.
what do they think of shoantis that do not shave their head?
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Good campaigns aren't always against evil foes, so no, evil campaigns don't always have to be against good ones.
I'm currently playing through Way of the Wicked... it's VERY fun. No spoilers, please!
I actually think Hermea would be great for a chaotic good campaign, frankly.
Ooh, who is your Way of the Wicked character? What's he/she like? What crime did he/she commit prior to the start?
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Creative Director
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Ooh, who is your Way of the Wicked character? What's he/she like? What crime did he/she commit prior to the start?Good campaigns aren't always against evil foes, so no, evil campaigns don't always have to be against good ones.
I'm currently playing through Way of the Wicked... it's VERY fun. No spoilers, please!
I actually think Hermea would be great for a chaotic good campaign, frankly.
She's Bezlarue, a neutral evil demon-born tiefling bard. She's a devotee of Nocticula, but more along the assassin/shadow line than the lust line, but she doesn't neglect that angle! Her crime was heresy.
A few android questions today, to help me with my Iron Gods character!
1) Do Androids sleep? It's stated they " ...are not subject to fatigue or exhaustion, and are immune to disease and sleep effects.", and in the first Pathfinder's Journal in Iron Gods, an android character states '"I have no need of it, but I rest."'. Obviously they need to 'rest' for 8 hours to regain spells, so that's not what I'm asking. I had the idea my Android would meditate during downtime and also make an excellent night-time guard so our characters won't be sleeping in shifts.
2) There's been some debate about how an android should act. Obviously they speak in a sort of monotone emotionless style, and can in time come to be really human, but would something like this be really obvious? Would a local of Numeria be able to pick out an Android almost immediately if they started talking?
3) Internally, do androids function very similarly to a human, concerning sight, sound, etc? There's no jarvis-like Iron Man screen that pops up in their field of view, right? A few people thought it might be the case, making them more computer than humanoid, but I think that's what the Mannequin Robots are more about than Androids.
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James, could you atleast give me a link to a list of all non straight pathfinder characters? Its an issue that if it isn't resolved, my players won't stop grumbling over it.
Could you yell at gozreh and the irrisen winter witches for me? We have around sixty billion tons of snow smashing our state and we have a named blizzard hitting us at the same time.
How would the peoples of Golarion react and adapt to a scenario like A Pail of Air? In short, a dark star swings through the solar system, steals Golarion from its home star, and makes the atmosphere slowly freeze out.
Of course, with magic and omniscient deities in the mix, there might be much more advance warning than we realworlders would have. Visions, dreams, revelations, prophecies, and overwhelming divinations, maybe any time someone casts a spell to communicate with a cosmic power they get flooded with DANGER DANGER GOLARION WE HAVE A PROBLEM emotional signals unrelated to their lines of query.
Were Golarion captured by a dark star and dragged out into deep space, how long would you rule the portals to work relative to the increasing distance of Golarion to her sister planets? What other likely surviv routes would arise besides Mass Interplanetary Teleport, going deep underground/underwater and switching to geothermal, or (if you'll excuse the term) spelljammers?
So many gods would intervene and try to prevent the disaster... Which gods would actually be indifferent to or in favor of such a catastrophe? Rovagug and Groetius I'd be betting on, but anyone else?
Who all could be saved if the catastrophe was recognized say ten years in advance through divinations and messages from the gods? Which peoples, nations, species, would resist the warnings to flee to another planet? Which non-deity beings would be most likely to accept or embrace the idea of an airless Golarion buried in its own atmospheric frost? (Or at least be willing to adapt via magic vs. fleeing to another planet)?
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James, could you atleast give me a link to a list of all non straight pathfinder characters? Its an issue that if it isn't resolved, my players won't stop grumbling over it.
Could you yell at gozreh and the irrisen winter witches for me? We have around sixty billion tons of snow smashing our state and we have a named blizzard hitting us at the same time.
Read the Pathfinder comic book, for starters, I guess; it documents how Merisiel and Kyra fall in love. There's also PLENTY of examples of non-straight NPCs in the game. Many have shown up in the novels. There are several in Wrath of the Righteous. There's been non-straight characters in the APs since Burnt Offerings, actually. We don't have a list though that I can link to you.
In any event, the whole veiled homophobia angle is tiresome, and I'd rather not have it keep popping up on this thread. Or at paizo.com for that matter.
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A few android questions today, to help me with my Iron Gods character!
1) Do Androids sleep? It's stated they " ...are not subject to fatigue or exhaustion, and are immune to disease and sleep effects.", and in the first Pathfinder's Journal in Iron Gods, an android character states '"I have no need of it, but I rest."'. Obviously they need to 'rest' for 8 hours to regain spells, so that's not what I'm asking. I had the idea my Android would meditate during downtime and also make an excellent night-time guard so our characters won't be sleeping in shifts.
2) There's been some debate about how an android should act. Obviously they speak in a sort of monotone emotionless style, and can in time come to be really human, but would something like this be really obvious? Would a local of Numeria be able to pick out an Android almost immediately if they started talking?
3) Internally, do androids function very similarly to a human, concerning sight, sound, etc? There's no jarvis-like Iron Man screen that pops up in their field of view, right? A few people thought it might be the case, making them more computer than humanoid, but I think that's what the Mannequin Robots are more about than Androids.
1) Yes, they sleep. Like elves, though, they're immune to sleep effects. Androids were built to closely mimic humans, after all, and that includes something that is close enough to sleep that it's basically the same thing... but not close enough that they can be affected by external sleep effects, such as those caused by a jackalwere's gaze or a sleep spell.
2) The primary inspiration for the androids in Golarion are the androids from Alien, and by extension Aliens and Prometheus. They're your best cue for how they'd act. You can't instantly pick one out if they talk. Again, their MEANT to be human-identical, but they're not perfect.
3) They are like humans, yes. No HUD int heir eyes, unless they have special cybernetic implant eyes.
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Creative Director
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How would the peoples of Golarion react and adapt to a scenario like A Pail of Air? In short, a dark star swings through the solar system, steals Golarion from its home star, and makes the atmosphere slowly freeze out.
Of course, with magic and omniscient deities in the mix, there might be much more advance warning than we realworlders would have. Visions, dreams, revelations, prophecies, and overwhelming divinations, maybe any time someone casts a spell to communicate with a cosmic power they get flooded with DANGER DANGER GOLARION WE HAVE A PROBLEM emotional signals unrelated to their lines of query.
Were Golarion captured by a dark star and dragged out into deep space, how long would you rule the portals to work relative to the increasing distance of Golarion to her sister planets? What other likely surviv routes would arise besides Mass Interplanetary Teleport, going deep underground/underwater and switching to geothermal, or (if you'll excuse the term) spelljammers?
So many gods would intervene and try to prevent the disaster... Which gods would actually be indifferent to or in favor of such a catastrophe? Rovagug and Groetius I'd be betting on, but anyone else?
Who all could be saved if the catastrophe was recognized say ten years in advance through divinations and messages from the gods? Which peoples, nations, species, would resist the warnings to flee to another planet? Which non-deity beings would be most likely to accept or embrace the idea of an airless Golarion buried in its own atmospheric frost? (Or at least be willing to adapt via magic vs. fleeing to another planet)?
That kind of total apocalypse event is, essentially, a world-changing event. On the scale of the types of events that the Forgotten Realms seems to go through with every edition change. It's not the type of mass event that I'm fond of, and it's unlikely to ever happen on Golarion, because it basically means throwing out the current campaign and building a new one.
How it would all play out would depend on the end game goal; if it was to transposition Golarion into an entirley new setting, then it'd be full of change. If not, then it'd be about fixing things. In any event, the PCs, not the world's NPCs, would be the primary agents active.
In any event... not something I've put much thought into. As I've said elsewhere, the apocalypse stories are MUCH more interesting if they happen on Earth rather than a made-up world where everything is already different from the real world.
Hi James,
Do you play many boardgames, and if so, what are some of your favourites?
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Hello James,
I had a question concerning ethnogenesis in Golarion. First of all, I think paizo staff did a great job of making a world with believable history with believable transitions. Humans of Galarion did great by creating a map that shows how various human ethnicities merged and mingled. It really helps visualise how different languages are related to one another and from where all the naming preferences come and originate. Now, that said, the slavic vibe of Brevoy puzzles me.
The region was predominantly settled by kellids and taldans, with some sources pointing to skalds mixing in at one time, from Iobaria. So, who and how gives the region its featured slavic-heavy vibe? Now its obvious the slavicness is polarized from north to south, with north being heavily slavic and all the noble houses having a thick layer of slavic culture added onto them. That leaves the taldan influence out. Kellids of nearby lands also bare little to no slavic seeds, with a small exception to ustalav... Skalds are known to inhabit irrisen, the very notable feature of which the noble line of witches related to baba yaga, a slavic mythic creature. While nobles there hold some slavic vibes, the skalds themselves do not, which shrinks skald I fluence for brevoy region. What we have left is Corel the conqueror, the cyclopean kingdoms and dwarves.
So what is the main source for the region being so slavic?
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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That kind of total apocalypse event is, essentially, a world-changing event. On the scale of the types of events that the Forgotten Realms seems to go through with every edition change. It's not the type of mass event that I'm fond of, and it's unlikely to ever happen on Golarion, because it basically means throwing out the current campaign and building a new one.
Glad to hear you say that James! I discovered the Forgotten Realms in AD&D and loved the updates for 3/3.5. One of the main reasons I never switched to 4th was the Realms were ruined for me and I didn't want to spend all that money for new books. At the time I was playing with a group that liked to keep our game setting the same as the published setting.
Which was your favorite area of the Realms? Favorite Realms NPC?
What do?
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Hi James,
Do you play many boardgames, and if so, what are some of your favourites?
I don't play often, but I do have some current favorites. I'm quite fond of Cthulhu Wars (which is good, since I kickstarted it), and also quite enjoy Zombicide. Tried the Witcher a few weeks ago and it was fun too. And Arkham Horror is always a blast.
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Hello James,
I had a question concerning ethnogenesis in Golarion. First of all, I think paizo staff did a great job of making a world with believable history with believable transitions. Humans of Galarion did great by creating a map that shows how various human ethnicities merged and mingled. It really helps visualise how different languages are related to one another and from where all the naming preferences come and originate. Now, that said, the slavic vibe of Brevoy puzzles me.
The region was predominantly settled by kellids and taldans, with some sources pointing to skalds mixing in at one time, from Iobaria. So, who and how gives the region its featured slavic-heavy vibe? Now its obvious the slavicness is polarized from north to south, with north being heavily slavic and all the noble houses having a thick layer of slavic culture added onto them. That leaves the taldan influence out. Kellids of nearby lands also bare little to no slavic seeds, with a small exception to ustalav... Skalds are known to inhabit irrisen, the very notable feature of which the noble line of witches related to baba yaga, a slavic mythic creature. While nobles there hold some slavic vibes, the skalds themselves do not, which shrinks skald I fluence for brevoy region. What we have left is Corel the conqueror, the cyclopean kingdoms and dwarves.
So what is the main source for the region being so slavic?
The Slavic vibe of Brevoy is very much an influence of Iobaria. It's far enough away from the rest of the Inner Sea, up in the corner and all, that influence from Taldor is lesser there than the influence of Iobaria. Add into that the fact that the Skalds spread all over the northern reaches of Avistan and into Iobaria and there ya go.
Anyway... yeah. It's Iobaria that is the source.