Creative Director
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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?
Favorite area = Undermountain.
Favorite realms NPC = Eilistraee.
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Do you know if the forums will ever let us upload our own avatars? It'd be nice to be able to use pics either we have made or found online for our aliases.
just curious
There's no plan to allow that. By moderating the avatars, we help keep the site to looking like Paizo, with our art. We also avoid some possible legal things by avoiding allowing folks to use art in a bad way.
At least, that's my understanding.
Why was Shub-Niggurath given the Chaotic Evil alignment?
From what I've seen and read, she's one of the seemingly less malevolent Outer Gods.
Actually, pretty much the only actively evil one among the Outer Gods still seems to be Nyarlathotep.
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What is the process for deciding when a question that has been FAQ flagged is answered by the development team? There are a great many questions that have been sitting flagged unanswered for years, and the developers could do a great deal to ease contention and arguments by taking a bit of time to go through them and provide some answers!
James,
Do you think that PFS (but really organized play in general, Living Greyhawk et al.) has been an overall boon or negative to tabletop gaming? If it has been a boon, why do you think so?
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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James, can you use your pull to get more racial colorations and subtypes in the upcoming miniatures sets? Ekujae, Mordant Spire and snowcaster elves, Ouat and Pahmet dwarves, bleaching and non-white (e.g. "vibrant colors" ISWG or "floral pink" CRB) gnomes, or half-elves with a non-white human parentage (purely selfish as I have a Vudrani half-elf in PFS) for an example few variations. Frankly, I have found gnome minis to be nearly indistinguishable from most halflings.
Contributor
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James, can you use your pull to get more racial colorations and subtypes in the upcoming miniatures sets? Ekujae, Mordant Spire and snowcaster elves, Ouat and Pahmet dwarves, bleaching and non-white (e.g. "vibrant colors" ISWG or "floral pink" CRB) gnomes, or half-elves with a non-white human parentage (purely selfish as I have a Vudrani half-elf in PFS) for an example few variations. Frankly, I have found gnome minis to be nearly indistinguishable from most halflings.
All of this. While you're there, I always wanted a gnome with light blue or violet skin. Also, since I should ask a question:
You've mentioned, I believe, having future plans for Xanderghul and Sorshen. Does this extend to the remaining three Runelords? I'm guessing Alaznist still has a role in your plans as well...
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Creative Director
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Aw man, well will there at least be a way to submit art to be added to the list?Do you know if the forums will ever let us upload our own avatars? It'd be nice to be able to use pics either we have made or found online for our aliases.
just curiousThere's no plan to allow that. By moderating the avatars, we help keep the site to looking like Paizo, with our art. We also avoid some possible legal things by avoiding allowing folks to use art in a bad way.
At least, that's my understanding.
Only if we hire you to illustrate one of our books and then that illustration gets published and then only if the tech team decides that piece of art should be used for an avatar.
In other words, not really.
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Creative Director
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Why was Shub-Niggurath given the Chaotic Evil alignment?
From what I've seen and read, she's one of the seemingly less malevolent Outer Gods.
Actually, pretty much the only actively evil one among the Outer Gods still seems to be Nyarlathotep.
Depends what you read, and what you consider to be a primary source. In Lovecraft, Shub-Niggurath is actually barely mentioned at all.
In my opinion, she's more interesting, as are ALL of the the mythos deities, if they're evil. They're not meant to be helpful deities, and that means they're not appropriate as PC deities, and making them evil helps to cement that.
And certainly their cultists are evil. And since they're aliens, the only way we can REALLY understand them is by looking at how they influence us. If they make us behave in evil ways when we venerate them, then yes. They are evil as well, even if their actions don't seem evil. Do not mistake disinterest in our underwhelming species as benevolence for us.
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Creative Director
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What is the process for deciding when a question that has been FAQ flagged is answered by the development team? There are a great many questions that have been sitting flagged unanswered for years, and the developers could do a great deal to ease contention and arguments by taking a bit of time to go through them and provide some answers!
I'm not directly involved in the process so I don't know all the details, but basically, one a question hits a critical mass of FAQ tags, then the team tackles it. The more time they have, the lower that critical mass drops, but when they're busy, they have less time and thus only focus on the ones that get the most hits.
The production of our product line HAS to take precedence over the FAQ. We're trying to do better, but it's a constant uphill battle.
Patience is appreciated.
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James,
Do you think that PFS (but really organized play in general, Living Greyhawk et al.) has been an overall boon or negative to tabletop gaming? If it has been a boon, why do you think so?
I think it's a little of both.
It's a boon because it increases awareness of the game and involves people and gets them playing the game on a regular basis.
But the fact that so many people treat org play in a competitive manner (in that they're competing for the "best build") kind of flies in the face of the fact that it's not a competitive game. It's a cooperative game. And I wish more gamers understood that.
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Creative Director
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Art Lobdell, the NY Venture Captain, is putting together a replica wayfinder that we're going to give to the wife of Richard Lightheuser a fellow player and PFS Judge who passed away last month. We need some details to make it as "authentic" as we can.
Wayfinders are usually identified by the name of whom they belong to. (we plan on putting in the name of his character that completed the Eyes of Ten series. Is that on the inside cover?
Also where is the Glyph of the Open Road usually inscribed? We plan on having engraving done. And also can you point us to a high resloutiion piece of art for said Glyph?
The inscriptions are generally placed somewhere protected so that they don't get damaged by exposure to elements or the wear and tear of adventuring. Where that is, exactly, can vary. Inside cover is common.
Same for the glyph.
I don't have a high res version of the Glyph handy, but it's not like it's a complex image; someone could certainly create a high res one for the purposes of something like this, as long as you don't try to sell the image and its access complies with the community use license. OR, you could contact Mike Brock... he might know where to go for something like that.
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Creative Director
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James, can you use your pull to get more racial colorations and subtypes in the upcoming miniatures sets? Ekujae, Mordant Spire and snowcaster elves, Ouat and Pahmet dwarves, bleaching and non-white (e.g. "vibrant colors" ISWG or "floral pink" CRB) gnomes, or half-elves with a non-white human parentage (purely selfish as I have a Vudrani half-elf in PFS) for an example few variations. Frankly, I have found gnome minis to be nearly indistinguishable from most halflings.
That's something we're already trying to do, but the fact that the number of minis we do is relatively rather small and that we want to represent monsters well makes it a slow process.
And gnomes being hard to tell from halflings has as much to do with the fact that detail and color on tiny minis like that is very difficult to pull off, particularly in a mass scale, than anything else.
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While we're on the subject of minis, there is a distinct lack of Kitsune minis on the market.
Sure is. Mostly because kitsune aren't a significant part of the setting. There's also a distinct lack of plenty of other minis. I personally am vexed by the lack of aboleth minis.
I personally am vexed by the lack of aboleth minis.
A friend is a 'graffiK artestte' that makes the oddball minis for her husband's 3+ decades old game. She altered a Japanese Lionfish model into a 3.0 version of the big A. Dang thing is nearly six inches long and 'lives' in her office fish tank. a hollow and 'vents' allow water from the filter to make the tail move.
It serves as a real 'geek' detector!
Hello again James Jacobs,
I have asked you a few questions in the past but here is a new one. Do you think that it is possible to successfully run a horror campaign online?
I am going to try to run one called Hosmer Manor and I am just wondering if the concept is inherently doomed to fail, and if you have any examples of successful horror campaigns on paizo, I would definitely enjoy links to them.
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While we're on the subject of minis, there is a distinct lack of Kitsune minis on the market.Sure is. Mostly because kitsune aren't a significant part of the setting. There's also a distinct lack of plenty of other minis. I personally am vexed by the lack of aboleth minis.
Difference being Kitsune are ARG and permitted in PFS even without boons. I don't think I've seen an aboleth boon yet, although once one comes out, I'd be fully in the "we need an aboleth mini" camp ;)
btw, question about the FAQs wasn't meant as a poke in the eye or anything, I know you guys are busy (and given that super mega back to back to back con season is coming up, I imagine even more so than usual at the moment); it can just be frustrating to try to find an answer to a question and find out people have been asking the exact same thing for 4+ years without resolution.
James, is it rude to throw frozen skittles at people you don't like?
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Creative Director
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Hello again James Jacobs,
I have asked you a few questions in the past but here is a new one. Do you think that it is possible to successfully run a horror campaign online?
I am going to try to run one called Hosmer Manor and I am just wondering if the concept is inherently doomed to fail, and if you have any examples of successful horror campaigns on paizo, I would definitely enjoy links to them.
It's tough, since horror depends so much on mood, but it's possible. Especially if you use a robust VTT and lots of mood music and graphics and have players who stay in character. That said... there's plenty of video games that pull off the horror scene, so while I don't have a lot of experience with running online games, I suspect it can be done.
I don't have any links handy, alas.
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Creative Director
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Did you know that the Second Ghost Rider in Marvel Comics was James "Jamie" Jacobs? He was a sidekick to to Carter Slade, the first Rider. He took up the mantle when Slade was killed but he didn't last long, before he too was gunned down.
I did not know this. Huh.
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Creative Director
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While we're on the subject of minis, there is a distinct lack of Kitsune minis on the market.Sure is. Mostly because kitsune aren't a significant part of the setting. There's also a distinct lack of plenty of other minis. I personally am vexed by the lack of aboleth minis.Difference being Kitsune are ARG and permitted in PFS even without boons. I don't think I've seen an aboleth boon yet, although once one comes out, I'd be fully in the "we need an aboleth mini" camp ;)
btw, question about the FAQs wasn't meant as a poke in the eye or anything, I know you guys are busy (and given that super mega back to back to back con season is coming up, I imagine even more so than usual at the moment); it can just be frustrating to try to find an answer to a question and find out people have been asking the exact same thing for 4+ years without resolution.
Turns out, I've seen more aboleths in adventures than kitsune, so that argument goes both ways.
AKA GMs use minis more than players do.
And like it or not... any FAQ questions are kinda painful pokes. I'm fully aware of how inadequate the system seems to be, but there's really not much I can do to help it other than answer the questions that I can answer here and just avoiding the ones that if I do answer them will just cause turmoil, both in house here at Paizo and out in the wild on the internet. It's certainly frustrating to try to find an answer and not be able to find it... but think about how frustrating it is to KNOW an answer but also know that since you don't have the words "DESIGNER" associated with your name that the Internet won't accept your answer? It's kinda a no-win situation.
Why was Shub-Niggurath given the Chaotic Evil alignment?
From what I've seen and read, she's one of the seemingly less malevolent Outer Gods.
Actually, pretty much the only actively evil one among the Outer Gods still seems to be Nyarlathotep.
Depends what you read, and what you consider to be a primary source. In Lovecraft, Shub-Niggurath is actually barely mentioned at all.
In my opinion, she's more interesting, as are ALL of the the mythos deities, if they're evil. They're not meant to be helpful deities, and that means they're not appropriate as PC deities, and making them evil helps to cement that.
And certainly their cultists are evil. And since they're aliens, the only way we can REALLY understand them is by looking at how they influence us. If they make us behave in evil ways when we venerate them, then yes. They are evil as well, even if their actions don't seem evil. Do not mistake disinterest in our underwhelming species as benevolence for us.
1) Don't tell me what to do.
2) I disagree to an extent with this.
Lovecraft clearly intended the Outer Gods (aside from Nyarlathotep) to be above labels like good and evil. I know the cultists are usually evil (and that's the way I portray them in my table as well), but why wouldn't you consider it interesting that the Great Old Ones and/or Outer Gods simply don't care or that whatever their opinion of us mortals is, it's beyond our understanding? For someone who is wholly unfamiliar with Lovecraft, that would be a nice twist in the ending. "Wait, we've fought these evil cultist folks and stopped their plans, but their patron deity doesn't even care? That's actually kinda funny."
Actually, one thing you said here raises a question. Would you ban evil player characters as DM?
(Edit: We have enough evil beings to begin with in Golarion, what with the myriad fiends of the Lower Planes as well as many others. I just think the Lovecraftian beings work better as Chaotic Neutral with a few exceptions, but that makes them far from benevolent)
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Creative Director
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Why was Shub-Niggurath given the Chaotic Evil alignment?
From what I've seen and read, she's one of the seemingly less malevolent Outer Gods.
Actually, pretty much the only actively evil one among the Outer Gods still seems to be Nyarlathotep.
Depends what you read, and what you consider to be a primary source. In Lovecraft, Shub-Niggurath is actually barely mentioned at all.
In my opinion, she's more interesting, as are ALL of the the mythos deities, if they're evil. They're not meant to be helpful deities, and that means they're not appropriate as PC deities, and making them evil helps to cement that.
And certainly their cultists are evil. And since they're aliens, the only way we can REALLY understand them is by looking at how they influence us. If they make us behave in evil ways when we venerate them, then yes. They are evil as well, even if their actions don't seem evil. Do not mistake disinterest in our underwhelming species as benevolence for us.
1) Don't tell me what to do.
2) I disagree to an extent with this.
Lovecraft clearly intended the Outer Gods (aside from Nyarlathotep) to be above labels like good and evil. I know the cultists are usually evil (and that's the way I portray them in my table as well), but why wouldn't you consider it interesting that the Great Old Ones and/or Outer Gods simply don't care or that whatever their opinion of us mortals is, it's beyond our understanding? For someone who is wholly unfamiliar with Lovecraft, that would be a nice twist in the ending. "Wait, we've fought these evil cultist folks and stopped their plans, but their patron deity doesn't even care? That's actually kinda funny."
Actually, one thing you said here raises a question. Would you ban evil player characters as DM?
(Edit: We have enough evil beings to begin with in Golarion, what with the myriad fiends of the Lower Planes as well as many others. I just think the Lovecraftian beings work better as Chaotic Neutral with a few exceptions, but that makes them far from benevolent)
Well... this is the "Ask James Questions" thread, not the "Get in Debates with James" thread. I'm not very interested in shifting the thread's purpose. I understand that you have a different interpretation than I do... but keep in mind that when one adapts Lovecraft to a game like Pathfinder... both have to give and adapt. Lovecraft DID intend his gods to be beyond human knowledge... but when we stat them up... we don't get to enjoy that level of vagary. We need to give them alignments. I stand by my choices. Sorry they don't match what you would have done, but that's the way it is.
I don't ban evil PCs, but I don't let just any player play an evil PC in any campaign. If the campaign calls for it, I might not allow ANYONE to play them. And vice versa... if it's an evil campaign, I might REQUIRE players to play evil characters.
Anyway, if you prefer chaotic neutral Lovecraftian elements in your Golarion, feel free to make it so. That's not canon is all.
I will respect Golarion's canon even if I don't abide by it. Thank you for taking the time to respond despite my reply not being an actual question :)
Turns out, I've seen more aboleths in adventures than kitsune, so that argument goes both ways.
We should play together sometime, James Jacobs. ;-)
Do you have any other current or former PC's that you would love to make part of the Pathfinder canon?
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Turns out, I've seen more aboleths in adventures than kitsune, so that argument goes both ways.
AKA GMs use minis more than players do.
I've personally seen more kitsune, but that might be because I'm fairly new to Pathfinder and don't have a character higher than level 3, which is a bit early to start running into aboleths (with the running total so far being 3:0). I've actually spent a lot more time looking into lore than monster stats (wikis for general stuff, and I've recently been reading Inner Sea Gods), and based on how powerful they are presented as being in what lore I have read about them, I was a bit surprised they were as low of a CR as they are - I mean, they summoned the Starstone, I thought that we'd be unlikely to run into them in PFS levels :)
That said, point taken - I hadn't thought about it that way, and it does make sense to prioritize minis for GMs. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question despite it seeming to have been a bit more abrasive than intended.
Hmm, maybe if I poke the HeroForge people I can get them to add tail and ear accessories :)
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Considering Brilliant Energy is a valid enchantment to put on an Amulet of Mighty Fists and a monk/brawler uses their entire body as an unarmed strike, what happens when they buy one? In the same vein would you let someone with a Ghost Touch AoMF grapple incorporeal creatures?
So far my favourite use of this bit of rules weirdness is putting Glorious on it and becoming Day Man (aaAAAaah), fighter of the Night Man.
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Creative Director
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Considering Brilliant Energy is a valid enchantment to put on an Amulet of Mighty Fists and a monk/brawler uses their entire body as an unarmed strike, what happens when they buy one? In the same vein would you let someone with a Ghost Touch AoMF grapple incorporeal creatures?
So far my favourite use of this bit of rules weirdness is putting Glorious on it and becoming Day Man (aaAAAaah), fighter of the Night Man.
That's kinda weird, and I wouldn't allow it in my game, cause it's kinda nonsensical to me.
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In regards to aboleths (and the latest minis previews):
We've finally seen the veiled masters. Do you have plans to reveal even greater lords of the abolethic race?
Also, will we ever see an Ecology article? I love Lords of Madness, and it and Second Darkness dovetail nicely, but it'd be nice to see a more... localized vision.
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Creative Director
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In regards to aboleths (and the latest minis previews):
We've finally seen the veiled masters. Do you have plans to reveal even greater lords of the abolethic race?
Also, will we ever see an Ecology article? I love Lords of Madness, and it and Second Darkness dovetail nicely, but it'd be nice to see a more... localized vision.
I've already revealed some hints about them, including the name of the entire race (it's not aboleth) in Occult Mysteries.
I do indeed have more plans for them in the future, but at this point, the Lords of Madness stuff I did for aboleths is pretty viable for Golarion.